Lies That Bind by Caitlyn Willows

blue eyes and crinkled the corners, and absentmindedly passed the chart off to the nurse sitting nearby as he walked around the counter.
    “Hello, Ms. Fairchild. I’m Dr. Robert Baron.”
    A strong handshake followed. Tessa gave him points for that, as well as for guiding them into a small consulting room with little more than a gesture.
    “Nate is doing well.” Baron perched himself on the edge of a rolling stool, commandeering the only seat yet putting himself in a less intimidating posture. “We’ve stitched him up, given him a unit of blood, and have him on IV. We’re going to keep him overnight. You can see him if you want, but we have given him some pain meds, so he’s pretty much out of it. So please don’t make it a long visit. After what he’s been through, the man needs the rest. The doctor on the ward can brief you further.”
    He tilted his head toward Tyler. “You don’t look so good yourself. Adrenaline rush ought to be wearing off soon. You need to be home. You all do.” He waved his hand over their clothing, stained with Nate’s blood. “It’s been a hell of a couple days for all of you. I’m sorry for your loss. When I heard Derek had died…” His shoulders drooped and his head fell forward with a slow shake, as if he couldn’t believe it.
    An intake of breath brought him upright once more. “He started having severe migraines about a year ago. Loss of coordination too.”
    Tessa’s stomach turned. A year ago, a year ago. God, she was tired of that phrase and the memories it dredged up.
    “Brain tumors. Inoperable. Apparently he’d known for a while. About six months before we met. He refused chemo. Said he was going to get his affairs in order.”
    Tears rushed in. Why hadn’t he said anything?
    “He never told us.” Rex’s confusion echoed her own.
    “No wonder he spent so much time to himself lately,” Tyler said. “We thought he had a honey on the side.”
    Baron looked everywhere but at them. A red flush crawled over his face. “Derek might have been having seizures at that point. Bright light would have been excruciating. He took quite a risk, riding out on his own.”
    Rex hooked his thumbs in his pockets. “A little heads-up might have been nice.”
    “Doctor-patient privilege,” Baron further explained.
    “And that usurps boyfriend-boyfriend sharing?” Tyler asked.
    Another flush swept Baron’s features. “Yes, we were a couple. He didn’t want you to know about the tumors. He didn’t want you coddling him. Hell, these last couple of months, he didn’t even want me around half the time. And let me tell you, it’s hell when someone you love cuts you out.”
    “Tell me about,” Rex and Tyler said together.
    The words thrust into Tessa’s heart. She hugged her arms around her midriff to quell the pain. “It must have been hell, hearing secondhand that he was gone, Doctor.”
    “It was.” Tears flooded his eyes. “Having to hide our relationship from the world… I never expected it to hurt this badly.”
    They reached for him at the same time. Rex and Tyler touching his shoulders, Tessa his forearm. “You don’t have to hide from us. We loved him too. You share your grief with us, Dr. Baron.”
    Baron blinked his vision clear. “Thank you. Robert…please.” He cleared his throat. “I know it sounds morbid, but I’ve asked the medical examiner to notify me when he completes the autopsy. I want to see how far the tumors spread. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn a seizure knocked him from the horse and contributed to his death.”
    “Sheriff said the medical examiner did a preliminary look and found a hole in his head he presumed was a gunshot wound. Exposed to the animals and elements the way Derek was, it’s impossible to know for sure with just a look,” Tyler said.
    In such close quarters, it was hard not to feel the tension radiating off Tyler.
    Robert shook his head. “I was afraid of that. For a man like Derek, it might have been the last