Without Reservations

too.
    He found his keys on the table in the entry hall, started the car and headed back down the hall to get dressed.
    He threw on a sweatsuit and shoes, grabbed his wallet and ran out to the car. Damn, it was cold. He hated winter. Well, technically it was autumn, but…cold sucked. Fortunately, his car was nice and warm inside. The drive to the donut shop was pretty quiet. All the sane people were still in bed. Which is where he’d be if he could cook. He was going to have to consider trying to cook if he couldn’t talk Chay into it. There were too many other things he could be doing if he wasn’t always going 120 www.samhainpublishing.com

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    to get food. It was a sad state of affairs when everyone at the local burger place knew him on sight. And the pizza place actually knew him by name.
    He pulled up to the donut shop and noticed his brakes were a little squishy. Hmmm, that wasn’t good, he needed to have someone look at them. The pedal shouldn’t go that far down. He shrugged, maybe it was air in the brake line? He left the car running and locked it with the remote. He ordered a dozen chocolate-covered, a dozen glazed and two-dozen donut holes. He figured if he got enough maybe they’d have some left for tomorrow morning, or knowing Chay, they’d only make it until lunch. Chay could eat his weight in donuts. The man had a sweet tooth that put Keaton’s mother to shame.
    On the way back, Keaton ate donut holes and flipped radio channels.
    Why was it they all played commercials at the same time? Up the road a ways there was a kid on a red bike, riding on the sidewalk. Keaton wasn’t sure why, but he had the feeling the kid was going to dart out in front of him. He stepped on the brakes to slow, just in case his intuition was correct. Nothing happened. What the… He pumped the pedal. The car slowed, but not enough. Shit! His brakes were out. He reached for the emergency brake release and put his foot over the brake at the exact same time the kid rode his bike into the street.
    Keaton didn’t have enough time to stop so he swerved to the left. A huge oak tree stopped his forward progress.

    Û

    “Are you Chayton Winston?”
    Chay looked up to find a small Native American woman in a pair of dark green scrubs standing before him. He nodded and stood. “Yes, ma’am.”
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    “Come right this way, he’s been asking for you.” She hit a button on the wall and led him through a set of double doors. “The doctor is going to want to talk to you before we release him. He’ll give you a list of instructions. Oh and the sheriff is waiting too, but I thought I’d take you in to see Keaton first.” She stopped before an open doorway and turned toward him. “He’s a little groggy and not making a lot of sense. That’s because of the concussion. The doctor ordered a CAT scan when he was brought in and it looked fine. In a couple of hours he ought to be more like himself.”
    Chay nodded. He just wanted to see his mate. As soon as he stepped inside the room, Bit smiled.
    “Hi, Chay. You aren’t hurt, are you?” Keaton had a bandage on his forehead and seemed a little paler than normal, or was that just the harsh lighting? He looked very small lying there, his big blue eyes blinking sleepily at Chay.
    “What?” Chay walked over to the bed and grabbed his hand, brushing a kiss across his brow where he was uninjured. “I’m fine, Bit.”
    “Okay. I was worried you’d gotten hurt too.”
    “I wasn’t with you, babe. You were by yourself. You went to go get donuts.”
    Bit’s grin faded. He appeared a little green around the gills, putting his hand over his stomach. “Yeah, I don’t think I want to eat the donuts right now. You go ahead though.”
    Bit really was out of it. Chay wondered if he even knew what happened. He smiled reassuringly and kissed his mate again. “The donuts are gone, Bit. Don’t worry about it. Just rest. We’ll get you home as soon as they say.”
    “Okay—Hi, Joe!” Bit’s free hand shot up in the air and started waving.
    Chay thought Bit was hallucinating until he heard his dad’s voice.
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    “Hi, son. How are you?” Joe walked around to Keaton’s other side and patted his hand, once he snagged it from mid-air.
    Bit turned his head toward Joe and yawned. “My car’s dead, but Chay’s all right. I think I ate too many donuts.”
    His dad shot Chay a