by Trina Solet
Now he was afraid that Danny might hate it there too. Packing had distracted him, but Danny didn't seem too thrilled about the move now that it was about to happen. With all their things in boxes, the apartment looked so different, and that made Danny feel a little insecure.
With Julian next to him, Danny was kneeling backwards on the couch and looking out the window into a pale blue-gray sky. A crane was swinging its arm over the tops of distant buildings and Danny watched it closely.
"There won't be tall buildings like these where we're going, but there will be lots of trees," Julian told him to try and make him look forward to the move.
Danny turned his serious, brown eyes to him then he nodded. Julian saw the trust that the little boy had in him. That's why he had to try anything he could to make his life better and just hope he might like Peach Tree.
He knew without a doubt that Rob would hate it over there – that lonely house, no place to have fun anywhere nearby. Rob was too good-looking and dynamic for small town life. Idly Julian wondered what kind of social life someone like Rob might be leaving behind.
"Rob is going with us," he reminded Danny. "He'll be helping me with my work."
Danny turned to look at him again. "I wanna help."
"All right. You'll help me too," Julian said with a smile.
Danny was such a sweet, little guy but so quiet. Julian didn't get to hear his voice often enough. That's why he was surprised when he spoke to Rob so readily. Rob was a surprise too. Turning easily from friendly to intimidating when the circumstances called for it, he wasn't easy to figure out.
"Rob is going to be here soon," Julian told Danny after he saw a text from him. "He's on time."
Leaning over, Danny stared out the window toward the street far below like he expected to see him arrive from way up there. At the sound of the door chime, Julian got up.
"Rob is here?" Danny said as he clambered down off the couch and ran to the door to wait for him to open the door.
As soon as Julian opened the door to Rob, Danny announced, "You're on time."
"I guess so," Rob said and then smiled at Julian, knowing he was the one who must have said something like that. "Good morning, Julian. Good morning, Danny."
After greeting Rob, Julian looked down at Danny and prompted him to say good morning.
"Me too. Good morning, Rob," Danny said in a small, shy voice.
Rob didn't even get the chance to put down his bags before they got on their way. All of the things they were taking along were already down in the car. They all went into the elevator together, where Danny clutched Julian's hand tightly.
Danny didn't like being in the parking garage either, and Rob noticed. "Want to help me carry my bag?" he asked Danny.
"It's too big," Danny told him.
"We'll carry it together," Rob said and let him hold on to the bag.
That did the trick, and Julian found himself smiling at the two of them working as a team. But then he got distracted. Even through Rob's jacket, Julian could see the flex of his biceps. It wasn't easy to tell himself to look away and not to admire the man.
Julian's Mercedes SUV was loaded down with a lot of Danny's things plus office equipment and supplies. They still managed to find room for Rob's duffel bag and backpack. With his things in the car, Julian suddenly felt how real this was – the move and Rob coming along. Oddly, having Rob with them didn't add to the strain like Julian would have expected. Maybe he was a nice distraction.
Julian was buckling Danny into his car seat when Rob leaned into the front passenger side. Going over to him, Julian took him aside. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to sit in the back with Danny so you can keep a close eye on him and keep him occupied, or let me know if he gets upset."
"What if I drive and you sit with him?" Rob offered.
"You're new and more interesting to him, so I think you will be able to hold his attention better. But we can take turns later," Julian said.
Though he seemed skeptical, Rob agreed and Julian gave him Danny's favorite book, Super Strong Little Bee. "He likes for me to read him this book when he gets scared."
Flipping through, Rob nodded at the story of a little super strong bee lifting various heavy things in order to help other insects and animals and making friends along the way, nothing too complicated. Danny liked it and that's all that mattered.
Soon they were driving away, and Rob was keeping Danny company. Because he had to be able to stop on short notice, Julian planned to avoid the highways and toll roads. That meant their trip would take longer, but it would also be more scenic.
"Are we going far away?" Danny asked as they got on one of the surface roads out of town.
"Not too far. We're going to a nice place," Rob told him in that cheerful way of his. "But on the way, we have to keep an eye out for animals. If we see any cows or horses, we have to count them, and we have to wave to them."
"I can count to eleven," Danny told him. He seemed OK, but then a big truck rumbled past and Danny started to breathe too fast.
"That was a big truck, but it's gone now," Julian said as he slowed to make sure the truck passed them.
"You want to hold my hand?" Rob asked Danny.
"A little," Danny said.
"OK. Here you go. You're a brave guy, you know," Rob told him.
In the rearview mirror, Julian saw as Danny nodded. He worked so hard not to be scared, it broke Julian's heart.
Chapter 4
Rob hadn't expected that he would be the one to sit in the back with Danny and keep him calm. It was almost like Julian had more confidence in Rob than in himself. That man was a puzzle.
From the back seat, Rob had a good view of Julian's attractive profile. Most of the time, Rob was preoccupied with Danny, but he glanced toward the front now and then and enjoyed the view.
The drive was going well so far. Danny got scared sometimes, but not so badly that Julian had to pull over. Rob did his best to keep him distracted with things they saw along the roadside. When they drove through a stretch of roadway with only drying fields alongside them, Rob decided to tell Danny about his own childhood.
"When I was a kid, we went on road trips so we could have ourselves a cheap vacation. It was me, my sister, Christie, my mom and my dad. My sister and I wanted to stop everywhere. My dad had a bumper sticker that said, 'I break for barbeque.' That tells you everything you need to know." Rob said but Danny had on a confused expression. "That means he liked meat. Mom liked any place that made for a good family picture."
Mentioning her, Rob got wistful. She loved to compose a perfect shot then she would stare at the screen and smile. They had to work hard to get her in front of the camera though. That's why she was often missing from family pictures even before she was gone for good.
"What happened then?" Danny asked and Rob realized he had gone quiet.
"Right. We would find good places to eat or just have pie or ice cream. We would visit fun places and buy souvenirs."
"Souvenirs are little things that remind you of the places you visited," Julian said from the front. "And speaking of places to eat. We should stop somewhere for lunch. There is a place coming up soon. After we go over the bridge, it will be on our right."
Julian must have planned this stop. He was the opposite of the way Rob's dad had been. Dad was all about spontaneity. He wanted to discover new places, no advance research, no looking at reviews. Mom went along with it, though she did sneak a look at some maps so they wouldn't get hopelessly lost. It tore at the wound in Rob's heart to think how indulgent she had been, and at the end, how quietly she sank into her depression.
As they neared a roadside diner, Rob forced himself to shake off thoughts of the past. He needed to be cheerful for Danny's sake, and for Julian's sake too. Julian wasn't exactly chipper either, though he always had a smile for his little brother.
"This place looks nice," Rob said as they got out of the car in front of Dorothy's Diner with its blue roof and pictures of food paint
ed on the windows.
"They have burgers," Danny said seeing one painted on a window in front.
"I guess they do," Rob said as they went through the doors and looked around for a free booth.
Spotting the dessert stand, Rob was about to say something about the mint chocolate chip pie behind glass that was right at Danny's eyelevel, but then thought better of it.
"Can he have dessert?" Rob leaned in to whisper the question in Julian's ear and he felt like time stopped. Julian smelled good. His skin, all of him would taste incredible – Rob just knew it. Being so near him, Rob had to hold his breath to get himself back under control. He almost forgot what he just asked Julian.
"He can have something sweet," Julian said then he got Danny's attention. "Look what Rob discovered."
Danny looked at the dessert display eagerly then up at Julian.
"Yes, you get to have one," Julian told him and led the way to an empty booth.
"And I found something I'd like. They have a Ruben on the menu," Rob said and pointed at two sandwiches going out on a tray. They reminded him of a deli he used to go to when he was in college.
"Order anything you like. Lunch is on me, of course," Julian said as he let Danny scoot in ahead of him into a booth.
"Thanks," Rob said and sat across from Julian and Danny. He vowed not to gaze at Julian like they were on a date, but it was hard not to appreciate the man when he was right there in front of him in all his bearded, handsome and refined glory. He was like some kind of dream date.
What was it he just vowed not to do? Oh, damn it.
It was like that all through lunch. With Danny being so quiet, it was easy for Rob to let his attention drift to Julian and his beautiful, brown eyes.
He had to cut that out. Noticing how Danny was eyeing his Ruben, Rob told him, "It's a grown-up sandwich, but you can try a bite if you want and if your brother says it's OK."
Julian nodded and Rob cut off a small piece for him and a bigger piece for Julian. Julian started to shake his head. But on seeing that his big brother was having some too, Danny smiled. Now Julian couldn't refuse.
"Thank you," he said to Rob.
"Thank you," Danny repeated after him.
The brothers each had a bite, and Julian said, "It's good."
But Danny frowned. "It's for 'growned-ups'," he declared.
Rob laughed. "Yes, it is."
After lunch, their waitress brought over a slice of mint chocolate chip pie that had mesmerized Danny a little while ago. Danny was about to take a little bit on his fork when he stopped and looked at Rob and Julian, neither of whom got any pie. "Wanna bite?" Danny asked them.
Rob gave him a big smile. "Not me, but thank you for offering."
Julian said no as well. "You go ahead and enjoy."
"It's a kid pie," Danny concluded as he started eating in a clumsy way. The spoon Julian substituted for his fork was held in his fist, so he got pie on his nose and chin and one cheek. Julian wiped him a few times but his face just wouldn't stay clean.
In a corner behind them, there was some kind of video game. Rob didn't pay much attention to it until a group of kids went over and huddled around it. Suddenly the kids all yelled, and Danny got startled. He huddled against Julian and buried his face in the crook of his arm.
As he held on to him and stroked his hair, Julian told him. "It's OK."
"It's just some kids. They're playing a video game," Rob told him.
That made Danny perk up, and he craned his neck to try and see. Julian kept his arm around him anyway. He was so protective.
Stepping outside the diner, Rob pulled his arms over his head, stretching and enjoying the mix of cool air and sunshine. Eyes on him, Danny then lifted his arms and stretched too.
"That was a good lunch. Thank you for treating me," Rob said to Danny and Julian.
"You're welcome," Julian said to him.
At the car, Rob stopped Julian before he could take a seat behind the wheel. "Let's switch. Let me drive the rest of the way. You sit in the back with Danny. What do you say?" Rob put out his hand for the keys, and Julian handed them over.
"Thank you," he said and got in the back with his little brother.
"Rob is driving," Danny said, seeing him at the wheel. "You know where to go?" Maybe having Rob drive them made him uneasy.
"The GPS and your brother will tell me which way to go," Rob told him. "Like this, your big brother gets to sit with you, so you guys can have fun together."
Danny gave Julian a small smile. They drove on past the yellowed stalks of a cornfield and Julian pointed out various landmarks to Danny and also helped Rob navigate.
As they got close, Julian told both him and Danny. "We're going to see a hill soon. First there will be a sign that says Peach Tree Hill. Then we'll see the hill with all the peach trees. That's how we'll know we're almost there."
A hill came into view, just like Julian said. One side of it was yellow and orange with dry leaves on what must have been the peach trees. The other side of the hill sloped down covered with yellowing grass. Julian pointed toward the grassy side of the hill and told him to go that way.
"So we're going up the hill," Rob said as he followed the road that meandered up the hillside.
"We are. The house is on the western slope. Turn here," Julian said.
That's where Rob saw a sign that read "Private Road. Authorized Vehicles Only." There was a gate but it stood open.
"Mrs. York got the place ready before she left for her trip. She's the orchard attendant. She keeps the tourists in line, and she also takes care of the house. The house is at the end of this road," Julian told them.
And what a house. The driveway circled around and they parked in front of what could only be called a mansion. The windows were tall and narrow and covered with heavy, wooden shutters. Wide front steps led to a big front door under a portico. Rob couldn't believe he would be living there.
He was busy taking it all in, but he still noticed that Julian was subdued. He only looked at the house briefly then turned away to unbuckle Danny from his car seat. Julian put on a more cheerful face for him, but his dark eyes were still troubled. This wasn't a happy homecoming for him.
Chapter 5
Seeing the house again, Julian felt his misgivings return. How could this be the right place for Danny? The house loomed over him and he felt like it would crush him.
"This is a big house, isn't it?" Rob was saying to Danny while Julian was lost in thought. He turned to see Danny climbing out of the car and looking around curiously.
Taking Danny's lead, Julian told him, "We're going to live here. And there are lots of places to play all around." As Julian gestured at the countryside, Danny gave him a cautious smile. Wide-open spaces didn't hold much appeal for him, not yet anyway, but he seemed ready enough to go and see the house.
They would be going inside now and Julian dreaded it. Approaching the house gave him a heavy feeling. He was glad Rob was there to lighten the mood.
"We had a pretty good road trip, didn't we?" Rob said to Danny as they went up the steps. "Julian showed you a lot of good stuff along the way."
Stopped on the doorstep of his childhood home, Julian felt as small as he did back then with the front doors towering over him. "This house belonged to my grandfather and he left it to me," Julian said as he unlocked the front doors and willed his hand not to shake.
"This is Julian's house," Rob explained in a way Danny was more likely to understand.
That made Danny look up at the place more cheerfully, that is until Julian pushed on the door handle and opened the door into near total darkness.
Out here, the sun had been shining, glinting off the fall leaves. Where they were going, the only light was coming from the open front door. Shrouded in darkness, the house was gloomy and cold. What were they doing here? This was a mistake.
Danny was already afraid. He didn't want to go inside the dark house any more than Julian did. The little boy stayed close by his sid
e, but Rob went right in.
"I should open the shutters, right?" Rob said as he flipped on the light switch and found the foyer lighting kind of weak.
The double doors to the living room were right across the hall from the front door. After a vague nod from Julian, Rob went across the hall into the living room and pulled the shutters open one by one so that light flooded the old place. Staring straight into the living room, Julian blinked at the bright sunlight streaming in.
In all the time he had lived there, he had never seen all the shutters standing open like that. When his grandfather was in charge, that would have been unthinkable. "The sun will fade everything and ruin it," he used to say.
"That's much better," Rob proclaimed and Danny agreed.
Julian felt a small tug as his little brother pulled on his hand, wanting to go further in. Noticing that Julian was still rooted to the spot, Danny turned a questioning gaze up at him. Smiling down at him, Julian let the little boy lead him inside. Right now, he was the brave one.
"I think he wants to have a look around," Rob said.
To prove him right, Danny let go of Julian's hand and cautiously went to Rob who was standing at the double doors. With Rob by his side, Danny went into the big living room.
Holding on tightly to Rob's hand, Danny was peering all around. After getting a good look at everything, he let go of Rob's hand so he could explore on his own. Danny started stalking his way between hulking pieces of furniture like he was stalking through a jungle, not a stodgy, old living room with a gland piano on one end and a fireplace on the other.
He stopped in front of a side table with a small statue of a knight with a lance and stared at it intently. Next he discovered the porcelain busts of classical composers lined up in a row. Then Danny got nose to nose with bronze sculptures of two hunting dogs.
