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  “I nearly lost you,” his mom sobbed.

  Lisa joined Mollie, and they held a hand each. He tried to speak to reassure them he was okay, but his throat was too dry again, and he was getting tired.

  He caught Charlie’s eye and looked at the water before yawning. Charlie was a godsend. First he gave Tristan some more water, and then he pulled Mollie away, telling her she needed to get something to eat so Tristan could rest.

  Once she and Lisa had given Tristan another kiss, they headed out, leaving him and Charlie alone.

  “How long?” Tristan managed to ask.

  “You were out for less than a day. You managed to ask for me at the scene and unlock your phone before losing consciousness the first time. A passerby who was trying to help as many as he could called me. I called your mom and she got your sister, and we got here as fast as we could. They came and got us after you had the surgery on your arm. They tried to make us leave, but your mom and I kicked up enough of a fuss they let us stay until you woke up. Since visiting hours run for another three hours, we could stay until six, but I think you need to rest and I know Mollie and Lisa do. We’ll be back to see you tomorrow. Now you’re awake and alert, you should be released soon.”

  “Did you mean what you said?” Tristan tried to force his eyes to stay open.

  Charlie leaned down and kissed him. “Yes, I meant it. You are going to stay with me until you can cope alone again. Then we can discuss things. We may have only been together a short time, but I love you, and I think I would like having you around all the time.”

  “Love you too.” Tristan’s words slurred as sleep wouldn’t be put off any longer, and he slipped into darkness once again.

  Five days until the fair

  TRISTAN WAS discharged a day later, and at Charlie’s insistence, he went home with him. His mom wasn’t up to giving the care he needed, and Tristan drew the line at staying with his sister and having her help him dress. Plus, she had a family to care for.

  He sat on Charlie’s couch and sulked. He’d contacted the police about his car, and it was a write-off. Apparently the police were chasing two men who had been interrupted while robbing an elderly couple’s home. The men stole the couple’s car and took off with the police in pursuit. They didn’t expect the traffic jam and were going too fast to stop. They crashed into the last car, that car was pushed into the car in front, and so on down the line.

  But worse than that was a fire in one of the other cars, and Tristan’s had to be doused with goodness knew what along with other cars to ensure they didn’t catch fire too. All his crochet work he was transporting was ruined. He had some things left, but nowhere near the number he needed. The fair was in less than a week, and his broken arm meant he was out of action.

  Life wasn’t fair. At all.

  Everyone kept telling him to concentrate on getting better. To not worry about things he couldn’t change. The accident wasn’t his fault. There was nothing he could do, so there was no point worrying.

  How could he not worry? Two people had already been in touch with Fran to cancel their stalls for different reasons. Fran also told him two printers had broken and the photocopier was refusing to work. It kept insisting it needed new toner, even though they had changed it already. To top it all, three volunteers were now saying they were unavailable to attend and help out.

  Tristan wanted to help. He might have broken his arm, but his brain still worked. He could type with one hand. He needed to do something.

  “Come on, Tris, you’re meant to be resting.”

  Tristan turned from the window to face Charlie. “I need to do something. I’m going stir-crazy. I’ve been out of the hospital a few days now. My head feels fine. Please.”

  Charlie frowned. “You can’t move around too much. You may feel fine, but too much too soon could make your concussion symptoms worse.”

  “Can you get my laptop from my place? I can at least mess around on the internet. Maybe I can even get the word about the Christmas fair out via my social media?”

  Charlie tilted his head, and Tristan held his breath. “Fine. But if your head starts aching, you stop and rest. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, sir.” Tristan grinned and wrapped his arm around Charlie’s neck, pulling him in for a long, deep kiss.

  Charlie pulled away looking dazed. “Grief, you keep doing that, and you will end back in bed whether you want to rest or not.”

  Tristan hummed and pulled him back in, giving him another longer, deeper kiss before pushing him away with a chuckle, then shooing him out the door. “Go get me a computer, slave.”

  “Yes, master.” Charlie gave him a mocking bow and shut the door behind himself.

  Tristan watched as he got into his car and waved through the window as he drove down the driveway.

  Tristan didn’t want to admit it, but he was slightly worried. Charlie had been acting odd since Tristan got out of the hospital. He would disappear at different times when he thought Tristan was resting. He would stop what he was doing when Tristan came into the room, even changing the topic of phone conversations if Tristan appeared nearby.

  Maybe staying with his still-new boyfriend hadn’t been a good idea. But then there were the nights they spent wrapped around each other. Tristan had never slept so well.

  With a sigh, Tristan pushed aside his worries and tried to focus on what he needed to do once Charlie got back with his computer. There was nothing he could do about Charlie at the moment, and he had so many worries running around in his head he didn’t need to be making more for himself.

  Three days until the fair

  “YOUR MOM is what?”

  Charlie grinned at the shocked look on Tristan’s face. Could his jaw drop any further, Charlie wondered. “My mom and dad are dropping by with dinner for us. Since she is cooking and delivering it, I offered for them to stay and eat it with us too. Come on, I’ve met your mom and sister. Surely you’re not going to deny me the pleasure of introducing my new live-in boyfriend to my family?”

  “Temporary live-in boyfriend,” Tristan corrected with a scowl.

  Charlie gave a bow. “Until I work my charms on you and make sure you never want to leave.”

  This got a smile out of Tristan. “When are they arriving?”

  Charlie started to answer but was interrupted by the doorbell. “Um, now.”

  Tristan’s scowl returned and he added in a glare. “You did this deliberately, didn’t you?”

  Charlie gave his best innocent look as the sound of a key in the door made them both turn. “If I’d told you sooner, it would have given you time to panic. This way you only have time for a mini freak-out.”

  “You will pay for this later.”

  Charlie patted Tristan’s butt on the way past to greet his mom and dad. “Promises. Promises,” he whispered.

  The dinner went well and Tristan was stuffed by the time he’d finished his second bowl of sausage casserole. His mood was much improved too. Geraldine—who insisted Tristan call her Geri—and Charlie’s dad, Brian, both entertained him with stories from Charlie’s childhood. It seemed Charlie had been quite the terror when he was younger. Falling out of trees that he wasn’t meant to be climbing in the first place. Stealing the neighbors’ washing and using it as a flag for his garden fort. And many more hilarious shenanigans.

  Geri and Brian finally took their leave when Tristan couldn’t hide his yawns any longer. When he tried to insist they stay and he’d just leave them and Charlie alone, they waved him off.

  “We aren’t young enough to be staying out all night anymore,” Brian stated. “We need our beauty sleep. We’re looking forward to seeing this fair of yours on Saturday. Make sure you get some rest so you’re well enough to attend.”

  They said their goodbyes and Charlie dragged him off to bed. His last thoughts were about the fair and how disappointed he was that all the things he’d made for it had been ruined.

  Day of the fair

  TRISTAN SWALLOWED hi
s nerves as he and Charlie entered the hall where the fair was being held. Someone had done a great job of decorating. Banners in every color of the rainbow were strung around the entrance. They’d passed two poster stands pointing the way to the fair and giving the start and finish times.

  Once inside, they saw a huge tree had been erected and lavishly decorated in the main hallway. Multicolored lights twinkled, and hanging crystal decorations sent light reflecting everywhere. Tinsel had been wrapped around or taped to every available surface. There were blues, reds, silvers, and golds everywhere they looked.

  Charlie pulled open the door to the main hall and held it for Tristan to go through first.

  Tristan froze just inside the doorway, and only a gentle push from Charlie sent him the rest of the way in.

  There were people everywhere. Children ran around yelling and laughing, watched carefully by parents who were sitting enjoying a drink and cake in the small café area.

  People meandered from stall to stall. Older children were gathered around a table set up for craft activities. There was a queue of people waiting to have their faces painted.

  Everywhere he looked, there were people having fun. Charlie took his hand and pulled him along. They started at the stall nearest to them.

  “Look at this.” Charlie held up a thick leather bracelet made up of a rainbow of colors. “This would definitely suit you.” Over Tristan’s protest, Charlie paid the stallholder and fixed the bracelet in place. “Perfect.” He gave Tristan a kiss, causing Tristan to blush.

  Tristan retaliated by buying Charlie a pretty crystal earring that reflected the light beautifully. The fifth stall they came to made Tristan freeze all over again. There in the stall were the things he’d made. The things that hadn’t been in the car during the accident. Then he took in the rest of the stall.

  The whole table was covered in various crocheted items. There were snowmen, Christmas trees, hanging decorations, gingerbread men and women, coasters in various colors, and much, much more.

  Who had made all this?

  “It’s about time you two arrived.”

  The familiar voice sent happiness rushing through Tristan. “Ivy!”

  He looked up to see Ivy and Ashley, along with an unfamiliar woman holding a baby, beaming at him from behind the stall.

  “In the flesh, young man. You didn’t think we’d let your stall fail, did you? It’s Christmas. What better time to remember goodwill to all men? Everyone worked together. We managed to rescue some of the items from your car, and we replaced all the things that were beyond repair, and more besides.”

  She walked around the table, and Tristan threw his good arm around her. “Thank you,” he whispered in her ear.

  She whispered back, amusement coloring her tone, “Don’t thank me too much. Your man had a lot to do with it too. He spent hours taking leaflets door to door to spread the word. He also made a lot of this himself. I’m told he waited for you to be asleep to work, so as not to spoil the surprise.”

  Tristan drew back, and at her nod, he turned and pulled Charlie into a chaste kiss. He ignored the heat in his cheeks at the catcalls and whoops. This explained the odd behavior recently, as Charlie had no doubt been the main contact for everyone to coordinate everything that had to be done. He pulled away and gazed into his lover’s eyes. “Thank you. I love you so much.”

  Ivy tapped his shoulder, and he turned to find the strange woman and baby there with her. The baby was wearing a rainbow-colored hat with long doglike ears.

  “This is my other daughter, Helen, and her new baby, Nelson.”

  Tristan pulled a startled Helen into a one-armed hug. “It is so great to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you from Ivy that I feel like I already know you. Congratulations on the birth. This is your third, isn’t it? It must be mad at your house at the moment.”

  She laughed, and Tristan stepped back so Charlie could say hello too. Then he started to notice the volunteers at the next stalls. He saw Charlie’s mom making the tea and his dad serving the cake—how had he missed them when he came in? Andy was running a stall that had craft activities. Tristan saw his mom talking to a lady, showing her a wind chime with little snowmen on it. Lisa was manning a stall for guess the number of jellybeans in the jar and guess the weight of the cake. Finally he saw the other three members of the crochet group manning a stall that had games on it, with the help of a few youngsters. They were all smiling and chatting happily.

  Tristan swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked when tears pricked at his eyes. He had the best family and friends ever.

  Tristan ended up sitting in a chair with a cup of mulled wine and a piece of cake, chatting to Helen and cooing over Nelson. He watched as Charlie mingled with the stallholders, and he was struck again by his boyfriend’s grace. He felt love warming him, and he sent a prayer of thanks to whomever was listening that he hadn’t been hurt worse in the accident. He was going to grab every moment going forward to show his family and Charlie how much he loved them.

  This was going to be the best Christmas ever… until next year.

  CAROL PEDROSO lives by the seaside in the south east of the UK. She started writing when she was young but stopped once work and life interfered. She started up again in 2014 when she stumbled upon the Wednesday Briefs Writing Group. She likes to ensure all her characters find their HEA and that any bad guys get what they deserve.

  Carol is a full-time mum and wife, as well as an active volunteer in her community. She helps out with various charitable groups and teaches classes such as cooking, sewing, and crochet.

  She is always grateful to her family and friends (both on and off-line) for their unwavering support in her pursuit of her writing aims.

  Carol can be found at these places (in order of most likely to be found at)

  Gayauthors: gayauthors.org/profile/21914-caz-pedroso/

  Blog: www.cazpedroso.wordpress.com

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/carolpedrosoauthor

  By Carol Pedroso

  Crochet My Heart

  Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS

  www.dreamspinnerpress.com

  Published by

  DREAMSPINNER PRESS

  5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA

  www.dreamspinnerpress.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Crochet My Heart

  © 2019 Carol Pedroso

  Cover Art

  © 2019 L.C. Chase

  http://www.lcchase.com

  Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.

  All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.

  Digital ISBN: 978-1-64405-777-3

  Digital eBook published December 2019

  v. 1.0

  Printed in the United States of America

 

 

 
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