by Lynn Lorenz
“Oh.” She blinked at him and lowered the purse. “What sort of emotional support do you need?”
“Here in Spring Lake? All the support I can get, honey.” He winked at her and flipped his hand, camping it up a bit for her. It never ceased to amaze him at how comfortable the ladies were once they realized he was gay. Some of them needed a bit more…uh, evidence. He didn’t have many male customers, surprise, surprise. But he planned to hire a female masseuse, so that might get them in. If their wives let them.
She smiled. “Well, I suppose so.” She giggled. “So, it’s true? You and…?” She let the rest of her question hang in the air, but Edward knew what she was asking. Everyone who came in the first time did. For the first few months the spa was open, he’d figured most of the customers came just to get it straight from the horse’s mouth. Fine by him. The money was the same either way.
“Yes, Chief Whittaker and I are partners.” He batted his lashes.
“Oh my. He’s such a…manly man.” Her eyes widened.
“And don’t I know it!” Edward sang out, then he leaned in as if imparting a secret. “You know, gays come in all shapes, sizes, colors and types.” Every encounter with a person here in town had become a teaching opportunity to him. His personal mission was to make gay normal. It was the reason he’d agreed to attend church with Jack. He figured once everyone realized they knew someone gay, and they were just like everyone else, the mystery and fear would be eased and that would lead to acceptance.
“Well, of course.” She nodded. “Uh, does the dog stay while I change?”
“Don’t worry. He’s gay too!” Edward shifted from one hip to the other.
Her eyes widened even more as she giggled. “Oh, okay.”
“Now, go ahead and get ready. I’ll come back in a few minutes.” He gave her a smile and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.
He leaned on it and covered his mouth to keep from bursting out in laughter. The one about Winston being gay always cracked him up.
Down the hall, Beth sat at the desk, ringing up one of the nail salon customers. He killed time by checking into the other rooms. The kitchen and bath were the same, but he’d renovated the three bedrooms into his massage room, a nail room with four stations, and a pedicure room, complete with two state-of-the-art pedicure chairs that had temperature controlled water tubs for feet and remote-controlled massaging backs.
The day before Christmas, and half the chairs and stations were filled. Not bad. The holiday season had been good to his business. They had sold a ton of gift certificates. The hardest part was finding qualified technicians, but ever since he’d spoken at the local high school’s senior class career day about employment opportunities, several of the young women had gone on to get training, had passed their exams and been licensed to work. If business kept improving, he’d need to hire two more nail salon employees.
“Hi, Edward!” a chorus of female voices sang out as he entered the manicure room. He’d had the doors removed from both the manicure and the pedicure rooms.
“Everyone having fun?” he posed in the doorway. “Y’all looking good enough to eat, I swear.” He spun and moved on to the pedicure room, where the same thing happened. He’d discovered he was just as big a draw as the services he provided.
Time well spent, he headed back to his room and knocked on the door.
“Ready?”
“Uh, come in?” Mrs. Eggers sounded a little uptight. He’d have to do something to remedy that.
Edward entered, shut the door and adjusted the covers to expose her back. “Now, we can chat or you can close your eyes and just relax. It’s up to you. I’ll let you know with each step of the massage what I’m going to do, so there’s no surprises, okay?”
“That sounds fine.” She exhaled.
“If anything hurts, you tell me, okay? Or if the pressure is too much? I’ll start off gentle and build up.” He pumped out some oil, rubbed his hands together, and started on her back. He opened himself up to her spirit, waiting for an answer from inside her.
“Right now, I’m working on the tension spots on your back and shoulders.”
He massaged her upper back, easing her into a more intimate lower back touch and there it was. A knot of pain…he reached for it…right there…and it loosened and slipped away, passing through him to wherever it went.
She sighed, a soft exhale that told Edward she’d felt the release. “Oh my. That was…”
“I know. It just needed a bit of loosening. You’ve got some knots, but nothing bad. If you come once a month, we can work those right out of you.” He rubbed her lower back until all the tension had dissolved and moved out of her and through him.
He walked over to the small heater that held the hot stones, opened it and gathered four of them into a bowl.
“Now, I’m going to place the hot stones down your spine. Don’t worry, they won’t burn you, but they are hot.” He placed the first one between her shoulder blades. She tensed, then relaxed and he knew he could keep going.
As long as he could help people like her, people with minor aches and pains, he’d be content. Anything bigger than that was off limits. Not only for his own physical safety but for his mental sake too. He’d almost died healing Jack when he’d first met him and that had scared the hell out of him. Made him realize his power was nothing to play with.
And he never wanted to be in the situation he’d found himself in with his grandmother again. She was the reason he’d come to Spring Lake, to heal her, only to discover what she had was cancer. He’d eased her passing as best he could, because she’d made him promise he wouldn’t heal her and put himself in danger.
His power had put him in a position of having to choose to let his grandmother die or decide to go against her wishes and save her, at the expense of endangering, possibly killing himself.
Never again.
Chapter Fourteen
Phillip finished his shower and dried off. A soak in the tub would have to wait until later. His bedroom only had a shower and once all the guests arrived, he’d have to use the tub in the bunkhouse to soak in. Manuel had told him the one there was large and had jets. Rush took good care of his hands and from what Phillip could see, that was true. Which only made him more determined to get hired on.
Manuel seemed to like him and so did Rush. But that didn’t mean they would hire him now, not in the middle of the slow season. They had a hand already, so they didn’t need him. But maybe if they said they’d hire him in the spring, he’d hang around Spring Lake doing odd jobs or something until then.
But from the time he’d spent today, he knew deep in his heart, this was what he was born to do.
He dressed in a clean pair of jeans and one of his nicer shirts, a western style plaid, put on his good boots and went down to the kitchen to see if he could help. His knee only twinged as he took the stairs—he’d barely used it while riding, another good point for being a ranch hand. Most of the day was spent in the saddle, not on his feet like at the garage.
He hadn’t noticed it before, but a bare Christmas tree stood in a corner of the living area. It hadn’t been there at lunch or he’d have remembered. Had to be Brian who’d set it up.
Brian and Rush were in the kitchen, locked in an embrace, forehead touching forehead, whispering to each other. Phillip came up short and cleared his throat to let them know he was there.
They stepped apart without rushing and faced him, arms still around each other’s waists. Brian was in his uniform. Rush had changed into jeans and a nice shirt.
“Hey. Feeling okay?” Brian asked. “How’s your butt?”
“Sore, but I’ll manage.” Phillip rubbed one cheek. “I know it wasn’t a full day, what with Rush letting us finish early since it’s Christmas Eve, but I think I did okay.” He looked to Rush for confirmation.
“You did great.” Rush smiled at him. “Better than most tenderfoots.”
“Hell, I’m not sure I could take an entire day
in the saddle.” Brian shook his head. “You’re a better cowboy than me, for damn sure.” He laughed and gave Rush a peck on the cheek.
“I just noticed the tree.” Phillip pointed to the living room.
“Brian put it up. Tonight, after the meal, thought we’d decorate it. Not Christmas without a tree, right?” Rush grinned. “He got the ornaments out of the shed, too.”
Phillip backed up and took another look. Several boxes were stacked up next to the tree. “Cool.” It’d been years since he’d decorated a tree. That last Christmas before he’d left home at sixteen, money had been tight, but he’d insisted his mom cough up the money for a small tree. They’d decorated it with popcorn strings and construction paper ornaments. There hadn’t been much under the tree that year, or any year that he could remember. His mom was not Susie-homemaker by any stretch.
“Figured with everyone just getting off work, best to not do anything too intensive,” Rush added. “I want everyone to just relax while they’re here.”
“When’s everyone else arriving?” Phillip wanted to be sure to pull his weight around here, not just sit on his ass expecting to be waited on. “Can I help with anything?”
“Sure. Jack and Edward should be coming over soon. Mitchell and Sammi will be here closer to dinner time. They’re coming after work from Houston, so it’s a bit of a drive.”
“Can’t wait to meet them.” Phillip rubbed his hands on his thighs. “I can’t believe I’m sharing the holiday with a bunch of gay guys.” He paused. “Since I came out, I never been any place where I could make friends or meet people like me. You know, that didn’t involve anonymous bathroom sex.” He looked at Rush and Brian. “That’s why I thought Houston might be a good place to go. From what I hear, it’s pretty open and accepting there.”
Brian nodded. “It is. There’s a lot of acceptance there, especially in some areas of the city. But there’s also a sort of fast and loose lifestyle. Lots of bars, parties. Someone…naïve might get into some trouble there, if he’s not careful.”
Phillip chuckled. “Spring Lake is pretty slow, but I still managed to get my ass beat. I can’t see how Houston would be much worse.”
“It can be in a lot of ways, Phillip,” Brian warned, then lightened up. “Hey, I hate that you got hurt here, but glad I got to meet you.”
“Yep, we’re happy to have you join us, Phillip.” Rush tilted his head toward the kitchen. “It’s buffet style tonight. Nothing fancy. Mostly casseroles and crockpot food. But with Sammi cooking, who knows?”
“Sammi?” Phillip had heard the name a few times. “He’s with Mitchell, right?”
“Yep. And he’s worked as a grill cook and is currently in culinary school. I’m sure whatever he cooks will be tasty.” Rush lifted one of the crockpots and put it in the center of the dining table, along with a large spoon to dish out whatever was in there. It smelled heavenly to Phillip. “Grab the pot on the stove. I have a serving dish on the counter. Can you transfer it and bring it over here?”
“Sure.” Phillip got to work and in a few minutes, he had the dish filled with chunks of chicken, vegetables and dumplings on the table, sitting right in the middle of the long red runner. He went back to grab another serving spoon just as the doorbell rang.
“Come on in!” Brian yelled. “Look, I can’t stay, I’m on duty. Babe, I’ll see you around midnight.” He kissed Rush—nothing too erotic, but Phillip longed to have someone he could kiss too. Maybe hanging out with these couples wasn’t such a good idea.
Brian opened the front door. “Hey, boss man! Edward! Gotta jet. I’m due at work in thirty.” He shook hands with the taller of the two men, hugged the smaller guy, then left, closing the door behind him.
Rush hurried over. “Jack! Edward! So glad you made it. Here let me take that from you. Hi, Winston.”
Phillip stepped up. “I’ll get it, Rush. You say hi to your friends.”
He went up to a slender, dark-haired man, in his early thirties, handsome as fuck, and who, for a second, seemed familiar. He held out his hands for the casserole dish he carried. “Hi, I’m Phillip. I’m crashing the party.”
A white bulldog sat at Edward’s feet, gazing back and forth between all the men.
Edward narrowed his eyes at Phillip, as if trying to place him. A tickle of warning ran down Phillip’s spine. “I know you.” He glared and the twist of his mouth looked as if he’d tasted something bad. “You’re that guy from the garage. The homophobe who treated me like dirt. What the hell are you doing here?” His voice rose to a near-screech.
Rush stepped forward. “What’s going on?”
Jack put his arm around Edward. “Babe, this is the guy from the garage? The one who threatened you?” Edward nodded.
Phillip backed up, hands out. “No! That wasn’t me! I worked there, sure, but that was Jimmy, the mechanic.” He shook his head. “I worked the counter. I tried to get him to go away, remember?”
Edward, still vibrating with anger, narrowed his eyes at Phillip.
That’s it, Rush is going to ask me to leave. Fear filled Phillip as his dreams crashed around him. This was so fucked-up. What were the chances of running into this man and here of all places?
Jack looked as if he wanted to pummel him, but Edward put his hand on Jack’s chest. “Wait. I do remember what happened.” His shoulders went down and his gaze softened. “That other guy, the one covered in grease. Jimmy. He’s the one who threatened me. You were sort of…trying to defuse the situation.” He titled his head. “So, you’re gay?”
“Yes.” Phillip nodded as if his head was barely attached.
“And he works at the garage? What is he doing here?” Jack glanced at Rush.
Rush exhaled. “Okay. Let me explain as best as I can, Jack. Brian met Phillip on a call out to that bar on the edge of town. Phillip had been beaten up by some guy he thought was gay, but wasn’t. Turns out, Phillip got outed, lost his job and his home, so Brian thought he’d invite him out to the ranch for a few days to help him get his head on, decide what to do about things.”
“Is that true?” Edward asked.
“Yeah. The guy came by the garage, outed me in front of everyone, including Jimmy, and then the manager fired me.”
“Because you’re gay?”
“Yeah. It’s a Christian garage.” He shrugged. “Said it was bad for the garage’s reputation and shit. They let me live in a trailer behind the place, but he put me out of that, too. Brian’s a nice guy, taking me in. He didn’t have to, you know. Rush, too. I was going to…well, I’m not sure what I was going to do. Probably leave Spring Lake.”
“Is that how you got the black eye?” Jack relaxed a bit too.
“Yep. Guy hit me and then kicked the shit out of me. I didn’t get a chance to…defend myself or nothing. But losing my job and a place to stay hurt worse.”
“Did you file a police report?” Jack asked.
“I did. With Brian.”
Edward shifted the dish to one hand and stuck out the other hand. “Okay. If Brian and Rush say you’re welcome, you’re welcome. Let’s start this over. Hi. I’m Edward. This is Jack. And this is Winston.” Edward nodded at the dog. After shaking, he handed Phillip the dish. “Here. It’s still warm, so no need to reheat.” He took off his jacket and hung it up, then turned to take his partner’s coat.
For Phillip, all the tension in the room dissipated. The fear of being turned out faded.
“Hi, Jack. I’d shake but—” Phillip shrugged, then added, “Hi, Winston. I’d pet you but—” He took the dish to the table and placed it at the end.
“Hey, you’re funny!” Edward chuckled. “Sorry about that scene. I can get a bit dramatic.”
“A bit?” Jack snorted. “Did anyone make dessert? I wasn’t sure, so I picked up some pies. They’re in the car. Edward insisted on driving.” He rolled his eyes.
“You just hate giving up control, don’t you?” Edward dug his elbow into Jack’s ribs.
“Yes, dear,” Jack dea
dpanned.
Phillip snickered. I think I’m going to like these guys. I hope they like me.
“Sounds great!” Rush motioned them to the living room. “We’ll eat as soon as the others get here. In the meantime, anyone want a drink?”
Jack stepped up to the makeshift bar. “I’ll take a whiskey.” He held up two fingers.
“Rough day?” Rush poured out the drink.
“Not really. But when I got home?” He shook his head. “You have no idea what it takes to get this one moving in one direction.” He took a sip, closed his eyes and sighed.
Edward said sweetly, “That’s not what you were saying when I was on my knees blowing you earlier.”
Jack choked and spit-sprayed whiskey in an arc. “Edward! That’s not true.” He wiped his mouth off on his sleeve.
“You’re right. That’s not what you said while you were fucking me.” Edward cocked his hip and winked.
Jack groaned. “TMI, you brat.”
Rush burst out laughing. Even Phillip had to smother his laughter, but it was pretty damn funny. Oh, Edward was a handful, he could see that. Jack must be some sort of man to handle him.
He wondered how Estaban would handle him, if they ever got together. His mind wandered until—
“Phillip! You want a drink?” Rush tapped the top of the counter with his finger.
“Sorry. Woolgathering. A beer okay?” He shrugged.
“Got Corona, Shiner Bock and PBR.”
Oh, man. “A Shiner would be awesome.” Phillip hadn’t even thought about having a beer or two.
“You old enough to drink, son?” Rush got serious. “Might need to see some ID.”
For a moment, Phillip reached for his wallet, then Rush laughed. “Aw, just kidding. Brian told me you’re twenty-three. That’s legal enough for me.” He reached down into an ice chest, pulled out a beer and opened it.
Phillip took it and brought it to his lips. The taste of dark beer flowed over his tongue and down his throat. “Man, that’s good and cold!”’
