later.” Hugo left with an imaginary tip of a hat.
Levi put his bag down on the other bunk then closed the door. Put both hands on George’s shoulders. “Breathe for me, okay? I know this is new, this isn’t what you’re used to, but you are perfectly safe. I’m right here.”
George sucked in a ragged breath, held it, and released. His color got a little less pasty and more lifelike as he took a few more long, cleansing breaths. “I’m not used to this.”
“I know. And the good news is, all the activities are voluntary. If you need to stay in the room until lunch, do it. The only thing is if you want to ride this week, we do have to be at the corral for today’s first lesson.”
“Right. I think, uh, maybe I should stay in here for a little while. Get my bearings.”
“If that’s what you need, then do it. The ranch Wi-Fi password is in the welcome packet. Make sure you get it and text me if you need anything. Unless...you’d rather I stay?”
George hesitated before shaking his head. “No, you go explore. If we both stay in here behind a closed door, people will talk.” His wry smile was somehow both worried and teasing.
A fresh wave of tender feelings warmed Levi’s chest. “Wouldn’t want rumors on the first day.”
“No. They’ll figure out I’m a basket case soon enough.”
“You are not a basket case. You’re George Thompson and you are a fighter. We’ve got this.”
They held eye contact for a long, lovely moment in time, and Levi really, really wanted to kiss George. But he wouldn’t. He was along on this vacation as chaperone, nothing more. George needed a friend, and Levi would give him friendship and support.
George took a small step back and broke eye contact. “Thank you, Levi.”
“I’ll see you in the little while.” Levi didn’t want to leave him alone this early in their trip, but he had to trust George to know what he needed.
With a sad sigh, he went downstairs to meet the other guests.
Chapter Nine
George hated that he needed a break less than an hour into their vacation, but being alone inside the room, door shut against the world, helped immensely. He sat on the floor beneath the window and concentrated. He breathed in and out. Noticed the brown and gray shades of the wood floor and walls. The simple ivory blankets on the four bunked beds. The scents of detergent and something vaguely floral. The creaky sounds of the old guesthouse as people moved around inside it.
Those things grounded him.
He pulled out his phone and did a voice-to-text because his fingers were shaking too hard to type. “I’m here. Settling in. The place is beautiful. I miss you already.” Send. He played a word puzzle on his phone for a while. This particular game relaxed him because it forced him to focus on making multiple words out of a jumble of letters. It took all his concentration to complete each level, and he could block out everything else.
Orry replied about fifteen minutes later: Miss you too, bro. You okay?
Had a minor panic attack but I’m okay now. Handling it.
He could only imagine the face Orry was making. The conversation seemed over for now. George set an alarm for eleven fifty so he didn’t miss lunch, then continued playing his game. Managed quite a few difficult levels before the alarm went off. His ass was numb from sitting on the hardwood floor for over an hour. He stretched carefully as he stood and popped a vertebrae in his neck, too.
Then came the new challenge: opening that door and going downstairs alone. He stared at the door handle. And stared. And stared. Somewhere outside, a loud bell clanged, probably the call for lunch. But George still couldn’t open the door. Too many strangers out there. Even after the opening speeches, even knowing he was in a perfectly safe environment, he couldn’t—
Someone knocked. “George, you still in there?”
Levi. “Yes.”
The door opened and Levi popped half his body inside. “It’s lunchtime.”
“I know. I, uh, I tried.”
“It’s okay, that’s why I came up.”
“Thank you.” Instead of feeling like a child for not being able to do something as simple as open the door, he was grateful to Levi for thinking ahead. For coming to get him so George wasn’t alone.
Levi winked in a familiar gesture of both amusement and affection. “Come on, I’m starving.”
They left together and descended the big staircase. The dining