by Lynn Stark
“You shouldn’t put everything together,” Jett told him with a laugh. “Your clothes will look better, if you separate colors. Wash darks and bright colors in cold. Wash whites in hot, unless the detergent calls for a different temperature. You’ll thank me later.”
Randy then received a lesson in how he should sort clothes. He was about to go get change to put in the machines, when Jett took change out of his pocket and fed the machines. Randy quickly dropped a detergent tab in each and closed the lid.
“Okay, let’s go eat,” Randy said as his stomach grumbled. “I need some of those ribs, like yesterday. The Silver Pig has some of the best ribs I’ve ever had.”
“They are good. When I was overseas, ribs and pulled pork sandwiches were some of the foods I would fantasize about. That and strawberry shortcake.”
Jett opened the laundromat door and Randy walked out with Gemma dancing at his side. They turned toward the restaurant. It was within easy walking distance and hadn’t occurred to Randy to take his car.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had strawberry shortcake,” Randy commented with a frown, trying to think back.
“Oh, wow, really? My mom grew her own strawberries to can and sell. People would come in to pick their own. We would have strawberries in one form or another until they were out of season. She would freeze some, others were turned into jam, jelly, and anything else she felt like experimenting with that year. I went back home for a few days in June to visit. I helped out with strawberry picking while I was there.”
Hearing the wistfulness in Jett’s deep voice, Randy asked curiously, “Do you think you’ll move back there? Or are you going to stay permanently in Silver?”
Jett didn’t respond immediately. “I don’t know yet. I like it here. I’m making friends.” He chuckled. “I know my mom would like it if I moved back. She says she needs her baby where she can take care of me.”
What would it be like to have a mom like that? Randy wondered. Randy’s mother had left him at a hospital. It was about all she had done for him. He supposed he should be grateful that she hadn’t tossed him into the trash or something equally terrible. Because she had given a false name, he had no way to find her. There was an even smaller chance of discovering who his father was.
“That’s pretty cool,” Randy responded. “What’s your dad like?”
“Well, he likes everyone to believe he’s tough, but he’s really a big softy. He spent thirty years in the military. Now that he’s retired, he’s doing his best not to make my mom crazy.”
They had arrived at the restaurant. They went through the gate to the large patio between the buildings and chose a table. Two people came out immediately. One had a mat and a bowl of water, the other had menus. Gemma yipped and wagged her tail as she promptly stood on the mat and then drank from the bowl of water. Despite knowing what they wanted, Randy and Jett thanked the servers as they left them to look over the menu and to get their drinks.
“Look, they have strawberry shortcake listed in the dessert section. I think I’ll try that,” Randy said, smiling at Jett and setting the menu aside on the table.
“I think I will, too. Then I’ll call my mom, tell her I had some, but it wasn’t nearly as good as hers. That always gives her a thrill.”
“But what if it is as good as hers? Or better?” Randy asked curiously, trying to understanding the complexities of relationships.
A wide grin spread across Jett’s handsome face, causing Randy’s heart to skip around in his chest. “That’s easy. While I doubt anyone could make better, I would lie.”
Randy guessed he could understand that. Jett loved his mother and would never consider hurting her feelings. Randy had never had anyone he would do anything for, including a little lie to spare feelings.
Well, he thought, that wasn’t quite right. He did have friends now. He would avoid hurting their feelings. The knowledge made him feel warm inside.
They ordered their food and sat back to chat more as they waited. It was easy and relaxed, as if they had known each other for years instead of a few weeks. When their food arrived they fell into a mutual silence, devoting their attention fully to eating. The meat was tender, pulling easily off the bone. The barbeque was sweet, tangy, and made Randy’s mouth water. Corn on the cob, coleslaw, and biscuits slathered with butter, almost sent him into food bliss. However, it was the strawberry shortcake, made with real shortcake he was told, that sent him over the edge. It was one of the most delicious things he had eaten in his life.
As he moaned around a mouthful of shortcake, strawberries, whipped cream, and the heavy cream it was soaked in, Jett was sitting back with an I-told-you-so expression on his face. Randy swallowed and wiped his mouth.
Then he was grinning and nodding. “That is so good. So, is it better than your mom’s?”
“No, of course not. Even if hers was the worst, it would still be the best.”
One of Randy’s eyelids closed as he tried to understand that. After a moment of thought, he believed he had it. “Okay, I understand. I think. I don’t know if you are lucky or your mom is. You have someone you love so much and she has you for a son.”
The smile Jett gave Randy was another thing he hadn’t experienced before and it made him pause for a moment to reevaluate everything he had been telling himself since he left Florida. For one crazy second Randy wanted someone wonderful like Jett to be in his life. Randy’s emotions weren’t completely dead or screwed up. He knew he was falling in love with Jett. He had hoped for a friend, but his common sense and his emotions had obviously not consulted on the matter of love versus friendship. Friends were something he could have. Love wasn’t. Even if Jett did have feelings for Randy, they wouldn’t last, not after he learned about Randy’s past. Who could overlook that?
Deciding to ignore what he was feeling, he chose distraction. “Wow, I don’t know if I can move,” Randy said as he patted his stomach.
Jett laughed. “Then it’s a good thing we’ll be walking it off. Ready to go, Gemma?” Jett asked, leaning down to pick up the dog’s leash. She licked Jett’s hand and bounced around excitedly. “Your clothes should be done washing. We’ll throw them in to dry and go find something else to do.”
“I thought we could drive out to the new dog park. We went once, the day it opened. Gemma loved it.”
Although Gemma’s obedience training was going along well, he still didn’t trust her completely. He was afraid she would run off, so the large dog park was a perfect place for her to run to her heart’s content and Randy didn’t have to worry.
“Sounds good.”
They returned to the laundromat to put the washed clothes into the dryers. Then they were taking Randy’s car to the dog park, which was close to the human park, but not too close. It was about a brisk five minute walk. Not everyone appreciated the noisy exuberance of some dogs.
There were only three dogs in one of the two fenced yards. They were small like Gemma. With Randy watching anxiously, the dogs were introduced. It was obvious that the four dogs wanted to get to playing, so he removed the leash and let her go. Randy sat down on a bench and watched as Gemma forgot his existence to play with her new friends.
Randy wasn’t surprised when he had to put a stop to the play. Gemma appeared as if she might be overheating, so he called her over, pleased when she came to him immediately. Snapping her leash to her collar, he led her over to the water spigot and turned it on. The little clown didn’t wait for him to splash water on her. She ducked into the stream, getting wet all over, before lapping at it.
Once they were outside of the fence, Gemma rolled in the grass, while Randy and Jett laughed yet again at the dog’s pure joy in life. It was such a drastic change from that first night, when she had been small and frightened and staring at him with such hope.
As if Gemma sensed Randy’s change of mood she stopped what she was doing to hurry over to him. She jumped up into his lap to begin kissing his chin. He stroked her damp hair and tried to give her a
smile.
“Randy, is something wrong?”
“No, I’m good. I was just thinking about when I got Gemma. There have been a lot of big changes since then.”
A strong hand squeezed Randy’s shoulder. “Mostly good ones, I hope.”
“Almost all of them,” Randy confirmed. Holding Gemma close to his chest, he stood. “Well, we better get back. The clothes are probably done by now.”
The clothes had finished drying by the time they returned. Jett helped Randy fold, although he limited himself to jeans, shirts, and the sheets. Randy took care of his socks, underwear, and towels. Between the two of them it didn’t take long to get it done. Then they were carrying them out and putting them in the car.
“I’ll hold Gemma so she won’t climb all over everything,” Jett told Randy, and took control of the dog as they got into the car.
Randy chuckled. “Thanks. I would have hated to think we did all that folding for nothing. I really hate folding clothes. I don’t mind cleaning house and stuff, but washing dishes and folding clothes completely sucks.”
Jett laughed outright at this information. “Duly noted. Maybe you could get a laundry basket. That way you could put everything in the trunk to get it home.”
“I’ll put it on the list of things I need to get. I’ve never had my own place. Not really. When I first moved here, I had an apartment for a couple of months, and then I moved out of it to move into Noah’s and Reagan’s house along with a few others. There are probably a lot of things I need.”
“You’ll get it figured out.”
They drove along the quiet streets, finally heading back to Randy’s house. It suddenly occurred to him that he would like to share a lot more of these quiet times with Jett. They seemed to mesh well together. Randy knew he was quiet and Jett didn’t seem to mind. Jett didn’t force him to talk or participate in an activity. Sometimes it seemed Jett was letting Randy work through the moment, as if he knew instinctively that Randy needed to process and assimilate what was happening in his new life. Randy did need to learn how to fit in. He felt he was doing a pretty good job of it so far, with the exception of somehow garnering the attention of Barker. The man had become obsessed with Randy. He hoped he had shifted that obsession to one of his jail buddies. If he had lost interest in Randy, there wouldn’t be any need to have people guarding him. For now, it was okay. He could live with it. Having met a lot of dangerous characters over the years, Randy knew one when he met one, and Barker was dangerous.
After Jett checked out his apartment and allowed Randy to come up, Jett told Randy that he would be outside for the next few hours. It surprised Randy to realize that he had hoped Jett would spend the evening and night in the apartment. He told himself that it was because he liked hanging out with Jett. The realization that his feelings for Jett were shifting from the friendship kind to love, made him accept Jett’s decision. It was for the best that Jett not stay in the apartment.
Despite his feelings, Randy’s stomach churned at the thought of something happening between them. As desirable as Jett was, Randy feared he would freeze up and puke, if they became physical with each other.
Randy nodded absently as Jett went over the rules, things like keep the curtains closed, the doors and windows locked, and don’t open the door until he knew who was on the other side. It was difficult to focus when he was feeling so pathetically sorry for himself. He wanted to feel normal things. He wanted to accept the invitation he occasionally saw in Jett’s eyes. The man was keeping it professional for now, but would that last? One of them had to be strong.
It would have to be him. Randy had survived the streets. He had survived drugs. But he didn’t know if he could survive a broken heart.
Chapter Six
There was something going on with Randy, but darn if Jett could figure out what it was. One minute it seemed the guy wanted to take their friendship to the next level, the next minute Randy was ice cold. Well, not quite ice, he thought, but Randy did close in on himself and wouldn’t open up about what was bothering him so deeply.
Jett had decided that he wanted to pursue a relationship with Randy. The weeks had flown by as they spent a great deal of time together. It was all Jett could do to leave Randy when his shift was up. Barker was seen in town, but so far he hadn’t approached Randy or tried to contact him by other means. Jett and his friends continued to watch over Randy whenever he was home, at one of his various jobs, or just relaxing around town. Randy had registered at the new community college and would be attending full-time in the fall to become a veterinary technician. As a resident of Silver, his education was paid for. Jett knew Randy was planning on giving up all but one of his part time jobs. The program he was a part of would pay his rent and utilities as long as Randy remained in college and kept his grades up.
Now Jett stood off to the side as Randy, Hank, and Quinn went through racks of clothing, looking for items Randy could wear to school. Jett could feel the excitement radiating from the three men. Quinn and Hank were attending, too. Jett believed that would be a good thing. Randy would have the moral support of his friends as he transitioned into this new phase of his life. Jett wanted to be part of that, too, but with Barker behaving himself, Jett doubted his services would be needed much longer.
Maybe he would wait and ask Randy out after the job ended. If Randy said no, at least Jett would have an answer to at least one question. He would have to be satisfied with that. If Randy couldn’t or wouldn’t confide in Jett as a friend, he would have to accept that he would never know what Randy was hiding from.
“Hey, Jett, would you be caught dead in this?” Randy asked.
Straightening from where he had been leaning against a large column, Jett moved closer to look over the shirt Randy was holding up. It was a burnt orange, long sleeve knit shirt. “Uh, no. It’s not my color, but it would look good on you,” he told Randy honestly.
Quinn smacked Randy’s shoulder playfully. “See, I told you.”
Randy looked at Jett. “Aren’t you supposed to be protecting me?”
“I would, but I didn’t bring my flyswatter.”
“Oh, aren’t you a comedian?” Quinn laughed, after sticking his tongue out at Jett.
“I try.”
Jett hated to shop, but now that he had been brought into the group by Randy, he decided he would put up with anything to be part of the man’s life. Jett didn’t know if Randy was aware of it, but after asking Jett’s opinion the first time, Randy continued to do so as they shopped their way through the department store. Jett never voiced his dislike of shopping, wanting Randy to leave his guard down. He wanted to get to know the man. If that meant being bored out of his skull at some point during the afternoon, so be it.
When Jett spotted a belt, he felt a spark of real interest. He was actually choosing something rather than simply giving an opinion. As he glanced around, spotting an amused Snake standing conspicuously in the shoe department, Jett took the belt off the hook, keeping it out of sight. He headed toward Snake and handed it to him.
“Pay for this for me, would you? I want to give it to Randy, but I want it to be a surprise.”
Snake glanced down at the black leather belt with the small silver diamond-shaped studs and pieces of turquoise decorating it in an intricate design. “Wow, this is nice. Sure, I’ll go pay for it now.”
“Thanks.”
“Damn! We better go stop Quinn before he starts a riot.”
Hearing a shout, Jett spun around in time to see Quinn and another man fall to the floor to begin wrestling around, fists flying. He hurried forward as Hank and Randy dropped all the clothes they were holding to pull at the two fighting men. Jett glanced back and saw that Snake was on his heels. He obviously hadn’t expected his boyfriend to go from quarreling to brawling in the middle of the menswear section. It was unusual, even for Quinn, Jett thought, as he pushed through and reached for the man Quinn was doing a pretty good job of thumping. Snake grabbed Quinn and pulled him in the opposite
direction.
“What the fuck is going on?” Snake demanded, his arm around Quinn’s waist, holding him back as he attempted to go after the other man again.
“He called Randy a sick freak,” Quinn told them, fury in his voice.
“No, I said you were all sick freaks,” the unidentified man said, in a harsh, hateful tone. “This used to be a nice place. We used to be able to ignore your kind. There weren’t so many of you. Now you’re like a plague in Silver, so many of you coming here that decent folks are outnumbered. Why don’t you go back to where you came from?”
Jett had heard it all before. Maybe not since he had been in Silver, but plenty of times over the years. Haters were all the same. However, when Jett got a look at Randy’s face, stricken and pale, he wanted to wrap his fingers around the stranger’s neck and squeeze until he was gasping for breath and trying to beg for mercy. Jett was relieved when Fallon, Hank’s husband, and Grayson Evans, the sheriff, appeared.
“Come on, Wendell,” the sheriff said as he took hold of the hater. “I warned you about what would happen if you started trouble again.”
Wendell spat on the floor. “Like I give a fuck about anything you have to say. You’re one of them, fucking sick freak.”
“I hope you enjoy your stay in the county jail. I already told your poor mother the last time not to waste her money bailing you out,” Grayson told him as he took him away. He paused long enough to tell them, “I’ll need you guys to come over to make out statements.”
“Sure thing,” Jett told him. “Come on, baby. Let’s get this stuff paid for. We can finish your shopping another day.”
Fallon cleared his throat. The man looked pissed, although the expression in his eyes as he looked at Randy, Quinn, and Hank, was gentle. “Don’t worry about paying for anything. Consider everything a gift. Just take it over to the counter to be bagged for you.”
Randy nodded jerkily. “Thanks, Fallon. I appreciate it, but it’s not necessary.”
