Recoil

by Evelyn Drake

  “When will you be home?” she asked with eager anxiousness.

  “Soon. Are you okay?”

  “Honey, I’m just fine now that I know that you’re okay. If they buried you, they’d have to dig a hole right next to you for me. But since you’re okay, I reckon I’d stick around.”

  They said their goodbyes and clicked off, but before handing the phone back to Tobias, Kyle punched in another number and hit dial. For this call, he held the phone up to his ear instead of having it on speaker.

  “The Derriere,” answered Mary-Ann Feckle’s voice.

  “Hi, Mary-Ann. It’s Kyle.”

  “Kyle! They found you! Oh, thank God. Are you okay?”

  Kyle shuffled uncomfortable, shifting his weight from one foot to the other before scuffing the sole of his shoe against the ground. His heart sank into his stomach. “I’m okay,” he said. “Ella’s not okay, but I am.”

  Mary-Ann gasped. “Ella? It was Ella? Oh, that fucking bitch. Is she alive? If she’s alive, I’m going to fucking kill her.”

  “You won’t have to kill her, Mary-Ann.” Kyle heard her suck in air before the sound of a long, tired sigh followed.

  “Was this all about you, Kyle? All of it?”

  Kyle rubbed his brow before answering, and when he did his voice was raw. “That’s what she tried to convince herself.” He cleared his throat. “Mary-Ann, you know that two weeks notice I put in?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m moving up the date, effective immediately.”

  “I’ve never heard wiser words, Kyle,” Mary-Ann said, her voice warm and understanding. “You’ll always have a place with us if you ever want to come back.”

  “I won’t…”

  “I know, hun. You take care.”

  Kyle clicked off the phone, and then took another deep breath and rolled his shoulders to stretch out the tension in his muscles. Despite all that had happened, he suddenly found himself smiling from ear to ear.

  “I’m a free man,” he said to Tobias. “For the first time in my life, I am free!” He grabbed Tobias around the waist, pulled him tight, and twirled him in a circle as if dancing on a ballroom floor. He pulled away and held the phone out to Tobias. “Your turn,” he said and lifted an expectant brow.

  Tobias laughed a big belly laugh, and it was music to Kyle’s ears. “Don’t look at me,” he said, lifting his hands in surrender. “I’ve got that done already. I put in my notice a couple of days ago, effective as soon as we figured this out. And now that it’s done, I’m done. I mean, there’s paperwork…”

  Kyle laughed as Tobias pulled him in for another hug. “Uh huh, and then what?”

  “And then anything you want, baby,” Tobias said, looking up into Kyle’s eyes.

  Kyle shook his head in disbelief. “Can you believe it took us this long to get back on track? This long to reclaim our lives? I’ve missed you so much.” He ran a hand through Tobias’s hair and then leaned in for a kiss. “I didn’t think I could ever have you again. And if I couldn’t have you, I wanted to at least be near you.”

  “I wish you’d told me you were alive.”

  “I didn’t know you thought I was dead… just thought you’d moved on. That I didn’t matter.”

  “Kyle Rivers, alive or dead, you have eclipsed my life. You’ve defined it and shaped it, and there has never been a moment that you have not been a part of me. I was ruining myself. My life was torture without you, and you saved me.”

  “Speaking of saving people… I’m glad you’re moving on past that.” Kyle looked straight at Tobias. “It’s time to save yourself.”

  “I will,” Tobias said, brushing a thumb over Kyle’s cheek. “Now that I feel like I’m worth it.”

  “And I promise to save you right back,” Kyle said, pulling Tobias in for a kiss that bent him backwards in Kyle’s strong arms.

  27

  Tobias

  “Did you say where you wanted the sofa, honey?” Kyle asked as he crossed the expansive lawn to where Tobias stood.

  “Whatever Monica says,” Tobias answered, holding out his arm in welcome to wrap it around Kyle’s waist as the big man took his place next to him. “I’m getting the impression that’s the right answer for any question. It is, isn’t it?”

  Kyle leaned in for a kiss, and Tobias gladly gave it before returning his attention to the country style, three story house that sat a hundred feet up the sloped, manicured lawn. The house was mostly white with accents of pink and blue, and it had a very deep wrap around porch with lattice work that decorated its upper edge. On each of the floors above the ground floor was another wraparound porch, but those weren’t quite as deep as the ground level one.

  To the side of the house out in the yard was a stone fire pit and adirondack style chairs, and behind where Tobias and Kyle stood was a large lake on which their new bed and breakfast had its own dock and rowboat. On the other side of the house was a small apple orchard with cherry trees and blueberry bushes, too, with four garden pagodas of various styles tucked away in different spots.

  As Tobias and Kyle watched, a small army of movers carried boxes and furniture into the house as Monica directed where to go, and Jack ran the length of the long, inlaid stone walk as if ensuring that no one strayed from the designated path. He was a bundle of unlimited energy, and his happiness was infectious for even the hard working movers who laughed and called out to him whenever he scampered by.

  “Should we help her?” Tobias asked.

  “What—and get yelled at again? No way,” Kyle laughed. “Besides, she’s loving this. Master of her universe. She loves being in control.”

  “I’m still amazed we’re doing this,” Tobias said, slipping his hand beneath Kyle’s shirt so that he could rest his bare hand on Kyle’s back. Monica had chipped in her savings, Tobias had cashed in on his pension, and Kyle had sold his home and had chipped in what he’d made off of the sale.

  They’d all gone in together to buy the huge bed and breakfast, and the sixty acres it sat on. They had plans for organic gardens, nature hikes, and hosting activities for the nearby town as well as being a speciality location for weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and other events. They even planned to make it the go-to place for club activities and specialized crafting weekends for different kinds of crafters and artists.

  “You sure you’re going to be able to keep up with Monica in the kitchen?” Kyle asked.

  “Hey, I just have to tackle the savory dishes. You’re the one who has to master the desserts. I still can’t believe you volunteered for that over scrambling a few eggs,” Tobias teased.

  “Pastries, pies, and breads keep longer than omelets,” Kyle said, giving Tobias a hip bump and then a wink. “Means I get to sleep in sometimes.” He looked over toward the fire pit where they planned to offer morning tai chi. “How are you feeling about the self-defense classes you’re planning?”

  “I can’t wait. And, what about your wood working? Nervous about picking something you know nothing about?”

  Kyle laughed. “Naw, I’m excited. And,” he said, looking down into Tobias’s face, “I’m over the moon about spending the rest of my life with you.”

  Tobias looked away and shuffled his feet as he cleared his throat.

  “Ah, hell. So help me, if you’re backing out…!” Kyle said in disbelief.

  Tobias took a step away and then turned to Kyle before dropping to one knee as he pulled a small box out of his pocket.

  Kyle’s jaw dropped as his eyes went wide.

  “Kyle Rivers, you are my past, my present, and my future. Even when we’ve been apart, you have been as much a part of my life as anyone ever has. Will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”

  Tears overflowed from Kyle’s eyes to slide down his cheeks. In the next instant, he tackled Tobias so that they were in each other’s arms, holding each other in the grass.

  “I can’t believe you scared me like that,” Kyle said, squeezing Tobias tight before rolling the man ont
o his back. Looking down into Tobias’s eyes, he said, “You have made me the happiest man on earth—and I thought happiness was something I’d never have. I didn’t think I was allowed.”

  “I’ll never settle for anything less,” Tobias said, lifting a hand to cradle Kyle’s face. “There’s no me without you. I love you Mr. Collins.” No other last name felt right. And hyphenating? Who’d take which name, in which order? Nonsense, as Monica would say.

  “Whoa-ho! Is that the way it’s going to be?” Kyle teased, but he looked delighted. “Monica did say once—just once…” But he was smiling too hard to go on. “She’ll love it.”

  “Yep, that’s the way it’s going to be,” Tobias said, pulling Kyle down into a kiss that was a kiss to begin a lifetime of love, companionship, friendship… and happiness. The kiss was a promise to fall in love all over again every day for as long as the sun rose and set on the home they made together.