Carol Lynne Read online

  “Neither do I, but I’m trying my damndest to put your safety above my own needs. I have a feeling if you stay much longer, my good intentions will be lost.”

  Tyler slid off Hearn’s lap and refastened his jeans. “Call me when you wake up?”

  “I’ll do one better. I’ll stop in and take ya to lunch, maybe get a little kissing in before we eat.”

  Tyler lifted his shirt from the couch and pulled it over his head. Sitting on the sofa to put his athletic shoes on, he bumped Hearn with his shoulder. “Can you do me a favour and ask Isaac to put a rush on that test?”

  “Definitely.”

  Chapter Three

  “Hello? Anyone here?” Nate called out, standing in the middle of the empty reception area.

  George Manning opened the door to Quade’s old office. “Hey, Nate. Carol just left to grab us a couple sandwiches from Deb’s. Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Uh, yeah, I wanted to ask if she had the paperwork I need to fill out to get on the mayoral ballot?”

  George’s black brows rose. “Really? You thinking about running?”

  “Yeah.” Nate shrugged. “I talked it over with Rio and Ryan and they told me to go for it.”

  “Great,” George said, going to the shelf beside Carol’s desk. “You’d be a good choice for the position.” He handed Nate a small stack of papers. “You’ll need to fill these out and pay the running fee. It’s not much so you shouldn’t have any problems. When you’re done, just bring ‘em back here and Carol will make it official.”

  “Thanks.”

  “No problem,” George replied with a wave as Nate turned to leave.

  Nate climbed into his SUV, laid the forms on the passenger seat and drove to The Gym. Parking in his usual spot, he noticed the place appeared pretty dead. It wasn’t unusual for that time of day. He knew the place would be packed within an hour as businessmen and women came in on their lunch hours, all hoping to shed the pounds they’d picked up over the holidays.

  He spotted Mario and Rio sitting at the juice counter, playing a friendly game of cards. “Don’t the two of you have anything better to do?” he asked, pressing himself against Rio’s heavily muscled back.

  “Nope,” Rio said, laying down a fan of cards. “Gin.”

  “Shit,” Mario spat and threw his cards on the counter.

  Chuckling, Rio took the pencil from behind his ear and scratched his score on a pad of paper.

  “So what’s the damage?” Mario asked.

  “Two private kick-boxing classes and one spin class,” Rio informed him, turning the pad around so Mario could see for himself.

  “Shit.” Mario stood and gathered the cards. “Remind me to do sit-ups next time I get bored.”

  “Hey, if you’re nice and don’t pout I’ll let you have your choice of which lessons to take over for me.”

  Mario grinned, flashing those perfectly white teeth. “I can choose, really?”

  Chuckling, Rio nodded. “Yep. Asa comes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at six. If you impress him, maybe he’ll ask for you from now on.”

  Mario rubbed his hands together. “I’ll have to bone-up on my skills.”

  Nate burst out laughing. “Believe me, if you’re working with Asa you’ll already be boned up. You’ve had a thing for that man since the first day he came in here.”

  Mario’s face turned a delightful shade of red. “That noticeable, huh?”

  Nate walked over and gave Mario a hug. “Only to the people who love you.”

  Giving him a hug back, Mario kissed Nate’s cheek. “Thanks. You guys are like family to me, too.”

  After Mario left to get ready for the onslaught of the New Year’s resolutioners, he turned back to Rio. “I stopped by City Hall and picked up the papers.”

  “That’s good,” Rio said, holding out his arms.

  Nate gleefully accepted the invitation. Life always felt better in the comfort of Rio’s embrace. The butterflies in his stomach from earlier still hadn’t calmed. “I can’t believe how nervous I am. I’m never nervous.”

  Running soothing hands up and down Nate’s spine, Rio kissed him. “Makes sense you’d be a little worried. It’s an important position.”

  Nate shook his head. “It’s not that. It just reminds me too much of high school. Did I ever tell you I ran for class president?”

  “Ran? Does that mean you didn’t win?” Rio asked.

  “Right. I was creamed in the voting by a jock named Steve Hurley. Hell, the guy didn’t even know what a class president did, but they elected him anyway.”

  Rio began nibbling on Nate’s ear. “What kind of fools did you go to school with?”

  “Homophobic assholes.”

  Rio pulled back, an expression of surprise on his face. “You were out in high school?”

  God, I should’ve never brought it up. He’d never talked about his past with his partners other than to say he no longer had contact with his parents. He knew Rio and Ryan figured it was due to him being gay, but Nate knew that was only the tip of the iceberg. He’d suffered enough looks of disgust and pity over the years, the last thing he wanted was to see it in his lovers’ eyes.

  “Yeah,” he finally mumbled. “I wouldn’t recommend it.”

  “What, no date for the prom?” Rio chuckled.

  Nate tried to control his reaction to the question. If his lover knew how much it hurt, the big soft-hearted man would feel terrible. “I didn’t go to the prom.”

  Rio, bless his heart, still hadn’t caught on to the fact it was a sore subject. “I’m surprised that in a city the size of Chicago there wasn’t at least one other gay guy in your school to go with.”

  Nate broke away from Rio’s embrace and walked behind the counter. Turning his back to his partner, he dug in the fridge for a bottle of water. He couldn’t get the picture of Joseph out of his head. The last time he’d seen his first lover was from across a conference table. They’d made them both sign papers that they would never see each other again. Nate wasn’t the only one who’d wept that day. Joseph’s bright blue eyes had been clouded with pain and longing. The image of the normally cheerful man, sad and broken, would forever haunt Nate.

  “Can we talk about something else?” he asked, rubbing the cold bottle against his forehead.

  Strong arms encircled his waist. “Are you okay?” Rio asked.

  Nate nodded. “Just a sore subject that I’d rather not discuss.” He didn’t tell Rio he’d signed legal documents preventing him. He wasn’t a child anymore. Nate knew the papers weren’t preventing him from disclosing the details to his partners. He simply didn’t talk about it out of self-preservation.

  Rio’s arms tightened. Damn. He knew his gentle giant felt guilty. Nope. That would never do. Nate knew he was the fun in the relationship. If he allowed himself to slip back into the depression that had plagued him for years, he wouldn’t be anything special, just a geeky guy with a fabulous taste in clothes.

  Putting his fun face on, Nate spun in Rio’s arms. “Do we have time for a quickie before the hordes arrive?”

  * * * *

  Dressed in a yellow paper gown, Hearn patiently waited for Dr. Singer. He still didn’t understand why Isaac insisted on giving him an exam. All he’d wanted was a damn blood test, not a physical.

  The door opened and the handsome older man stepped into the room. “Good to see you,” Isaac greeted, shaking Hearn’s hand.

  “You, too.” Hearn shifted on the exam table, feeling the cold white paper covering the table crinkle under his bare ass. “I have to say I was surprised I needed a physical just to get a blood test.”

  Isaac sat on the short black stool and linked his fingers. “Normally you don’t, but you’ve been through a hell of a year. I just needed to know you’ve been taking care of yourself.”

  “I feel fine,” Hearn answered. He thought of Tyler and smiled. “Actually, I’m happier than I have been in years.”

  Isaac grinned. “Yeah? And does this new-fo
und happiness have anything to do with wanting an HIV test?”

  “Maybe.”

  Isaac’s brows rose, but the distinguished doctor said nothing more, obviously waiting for Hearn to spill the beans. With a resigned sigh, Hearn spilled. “I’m finally planning to act on my feelings for Tyler Manning.”

  Chuckling, Isaac reached out and slapped Hearn’s knee. “It’s about damn time. And you couldn’t have picked a better guy. I worked a lot with him on the AIDS walk we organised last fall. He’s incredibly giving, always looking out for the best interest of the community. Tyler’s everything a parent could hope for in a son.”

  “I’m a lucky man,” Hearn agreed. He noticed the time on Isaac’s watch. “Actually, can we move this along so I can make my lunch date with the man of my dreams?” he asked, smiling.

  “Sure. Let’s not have it said that I stood in the way of true love,” Isaac joked, taking out his stethoscope.

  Thirty minutes later, Hearn walked out of the clinic and down the street to the floral shop. One thing continued to stand out from his conversation with Isaac. Tyler was a very civic-minded individual. Hearn had always known that, but hearing it from someone else only proved to drive the point home.

  He’d spent years listening to Mitch degrade him for his lack of drive and intelligence. He loved running the park system in Cattle Valley, but it had never seemed to matter to Mitch. Hearn wondered if it mattered to Tyler. Was it the reason Tyler wanted him to run for mayor?

  Before he knew it, he stood in front of the display window. “Wow.” Tyler had obviously been busy. The window had been transformed into a sea of red hearts and fresh flowers.

  The brass bell signalled his arrival as he stepped into the shop. His gaze immediately zeroed in on the man behind the counter. The red cashmere sweater showed off Tyler’s smaller size to perfection.

  Tyler paused in his conversation with a customer to acknowledge him. “Give me a few minutes?”

  “Sure. I’ll just look around,” he answered. Hearn wandered over to the display of stuffed animals. Picking up a fluffy little lamb, he thought of Gracie and smiled. He felt bad for not visiting the young girl that morning, but maybe a gift would make it up to her.

  Idly rubbing the animal’s soft wool against his chin, Hearn continued to browse the gifts and other home accents on display.

  “Soft isn’t it?” Tyler noted, stepping up behind Hearn.

  Hearn realised what he’d been doing and pulled the lamb away from his face. “Yeah. There’s a little girl I’m quite taken with that would love it.”

  “Oh really? You holding out on me?” Tyler teased.

  Hearn glanced around the shop before wrapping his arms around Tyler. “I’ve been spending a lot of time at the Sheridan Home for Children lately. There’s an angel who lives there who’s stolen my heart.”

  Tyler grinned. “Should I be jealous?”

  Tilting his head, Hearn peered out the window. “Ummm, no. But I guarantee Gracie would steal your heart, too. I think she must be a collector. She has the entire staff wrapped around her little six-year-old finger.”

  “Would it be callous of me to ask why she’s there?” Tyler asked.

  “Social Services removed her from her mother’s custody. I guess when she first arrived at the centre she was in pretty bad shape. She’d been abused, both mentally and physically. Even though she was four at the time, she was the size of a two and a half year old.”

  “Why haven’t they placed her in a foster home?” Tyler asked, tears in his eyes.

  “They tried. Several times actually, but Gracie doesn’t trust many people. She seems to have a real problem with women, but who can blame her.” Hearn shrugged. “So I go almost every day and give her all the attention I can. She’s slowly coming out of her shell, but she has a long way to go.”

  Tyler stood on his tip-toes and pulled Hearn’s head down for a kiss. The sweep of his lover’s tongue ignited Hearn’s passion. How many times had he come into the shop and longed to kiss the man he’d fallen so hard for? With his hands on Tyler’s ass, Hearn lifted the smaller man for a deeper kiss.

  Breaking for air, Tyler grinned. “Unless you plan on spending the rest of the day upstairs at my place, I think we’d better go eat.”

  Hearn reluctantly set Tyler back onto his feet. “Guess we’d better.” He pressed another kiss to Tyler’s lips. “But I’ll be back when you close up.”

  Tyler bent and picked up the stuffed animal. “I’ll get my coat and put this into a bag for you.”

  Hearn started to get out his wallet, but Tyler stopped him. “No. Let me do this.”

  “You don’t have to,” Hearn informed Tyler.

  “Of course I don’t,” Tyler replied, slipping the lamb into a lavender bag. “I want to.” Tyler handed the sack to Hearn. “I’ll just get my coat.”

  Once more, Hearn was reminded how good a man he’d fallen for. Tyler never seemed to think of himself first. I want to be that kind of man.

  “Ready?” Tyler asked, dressed in his winter coat.

  “Yep.” Hearn led the way out to the sidewalk and waited for Tyler to lock the store. Taking the smaller man’s hand, they walked next door to Deb’s.

  After getting seated, Hearn took a sip of his water. He still couldn’t believe he was actually considering this. “I’ve been thinking about what you mentioned earlier. You know, about me running for mayor. Even though my business skills are a bit rusty, I think I’ll do it.”

  With excitement written all over his face, Tyler clapped his hands together. “Really? I thought you’d decided against it.”

  Hearn picked up the salt shaker and poured a dab on the napkin under his drink. You couldn’t have a serious discussion with a napkin stuck to the sweaty glass you were drinking from. “I know what I said. And I’m still not convinced I’m the best man for the job, but you were right. It’s time to put up or shut up. It’s really the only way I can guarantee my park proposals will get before the council. I’d miss running the parks, but I’d be in a much better position to improve them.”

  Tyler reached across the table and squeezed Hearn’s hand. “I’m so proud of you.”

  Gazing into Tyler’s eyes, Hearn knew that was the reason he was running in the first place. What would it be like to have a lover proud of him for the first time in his life?

  “I’ll go by City Hall after I drop you back by the store.”

  Tyler ran a foot up the inside of Hearn’s calf. “Maybe you could run by Asher’s Pharmacy after that and pick up a few things.”

  Grinning, Hearn winked. “Why, Mr. Manning, are you planning to seduce me later?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m planning. I thought I’d make you a nice home cooked dinner at my place.” Tyler stood and leaned over the table to give Hearn a quick kiss. “Pack your vitamins and an overnight bag.”

  * * * *

  Sitting on the floor of his closet, Nate glanced at the birth certificate in his hands. Maybe he should rethink this whole thing? When he’d told his partners he wanted to run for mayor, he had no idea he’d have to produce a copy of his birth certificate.

  He’d even called Carol to try and get out of attaching it to the application. He’d argued that a passport should be good enough, but Carol told him they had to follow the guidelines which specifically called for a certified copy of the applicant’s birth record.

  William Nathaniel Gilloume. How long had it been since someone called him by his real name? He knew the answer immediately. The day he’d graduated from high school, the same day his father had given him a sizeable check, laying out the conditions of accepting the money.

  Setting the certificate aside, Nate reached back into the box for the photo he knew was safely tucked in an envelope. It had been a couple of years since he’d last pulled the old picture out of its hiding place.

  The tears that ran down his face were normal. Looking at Joseph’s picture always brought back too many memories. “I miss you,” he whispered to the ph
otograph. How old had his first lover been when this picture was taken, twenty-four, twenty-five?

  “Are you in here?” Ryan called out from the bedroom.

  I have to tell them the truth. “I’m in here.” Nate put the photo back into its envelope and picked up the box. “I’ll be out in a second.”

  Before he could get his emotions under control, Ryan appeared beside him. “What’re you doing, baby?”

  “Taking a stroll down Memory Lane,” he answered. “Is Rio home yet?” He knew he needed to confess his sins before chickening out.

  “Yeah. We noticed you hadn’t started dinner, so he’s whipping up his famous tuna casserole.” Ryan turned Nate to face him. “What’s going on?”

  “If I run for mayor, it might come out who I really am.”

  Chapter Four

  Hearn was surprised to find the door that opened onto the street unlocked. With a shake of his head, he started up the steep staircase towards Tyler’s apartment over the floral shop.

  In all the time he’d known Tyler, it was hard to believe he’d never been to his place. He was happy to see another door at the top of the steps. He needed to talk to Tyler about keeping the street-level door locked. Even though crime in Cattle Valley was almost non-existent, it never hurt to be cautious.

  Switching his overnight bag to his other hand, he knocked on the solid wood door. Before his hand had time to reach his side, the door opened with a whoosh.

  “Right on time,” Tyler greeted him.

  The smell of pizza in the room was a bit of a surprise though. “Pizza? I thought you were making me a home cooked meal?”

  Tyler pulled him into the room and kissed him. “I was going to, but I decided to leave that for our second date.”

  Hearn grinned. “You’re just in a hurry to get into my pants.”

  “That’s exactly right,” Tyler agreed. The smaller man gestured towards the living room of the loft-style apartment. “Make yourself at home, and I’ll get us something to drink. Pizza’s on the coffee table so help yourself.”

  Looking around, Hearn was impressed. The loft was small, but Tyler had done a damn good job making the most of it. “Did you do all this by yourself?” he asked, taking off his coat.