Chapter 12

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“There you go again. I’m going to keep pushing until you stop putting yourself down. Understand?”

Merrick decided the time was right, so he gave Ryan a hug—a brief one, because Ryan pulled away. “Don’t,” Merrick said, putting a bit of exasperation into the tone of his voice. “There’s nothing wrong with a friendly hug, even if we are both men.”

“I know. It…startled me, is all.”

“Get used to it. When I think you need it, you’ll get one.”

Ryan nodded, then smiled. “I get to hug you, too, if I think you need it?”

“You better believe it. Okay, about the drawing. As I said, I do like it, and so will my mother. Is it ready for me to keep, or do you need to, what do they call it? Put a fixative on it?”

“It needs it, or it’ll get smudged. I’ll do it when I get home and…hell, it’ll be a week before we see each other again.”

“Nope. Bring it in to work with you Wednesday night. I’ll come by right after I leave my office to get it.”