by CJ Bishop
Dane had said he was making this effort his parents’ sake, but it was for Dane, too. Angel suspected that reconnecting with his parents had been on Dane’s mind a lot longer than he was letting on. Angel knew how it felt to be rejected by one’s parents. And specially to feel like they had no use for you. Regardless the fact that Dane had stood up to them in his youth, Angel knew it had to have hurt to be unaccepted by them. Maybe because Angel had “never” felt the acceptance by his biological parents, was why he could just accept his new family as his only family. Dane had experienced love and affection from his parents at a younger age, he had some good memories in there—where Angel had none.
Grasping his hand, Angel held firm and smiled at Dane. “No matter what happens, I’ll be right there with you.”
Dane brought Angel’s hand to his lips. “I don’t think I could’ve done this without you, baby.”
“We’re here for each other,” Angel said softly. “It’s called love.”
“Gotta love love,” Dane murmured with warmth in his dark eyes.
Dane’s parents—George and Katherine Chambers—lived at the far edge of town in a quaint little family home with a fenced yard and large driveway, which was currently packed with cars. Dane parked by the front gate to the yard and let the engine idle as he stared at the house.
“Lots of company,” Angel said quietly, anxiously.
“Yeah.” Dane continued to watch the house.
“If you don’t want to do this right now,” Angel said. “We can come back later. It isn’t that long of a drive from the motel.”
Sighing, Dane shook his head. “No,” he whispered. “I’ll just deal with it now. Whatever happens, happens.” He exhaled hard and squeezed Angel’s hand. “Ready?”
Angel wasn’t entirely sure if he was or not, but he nodded and smiled. “Ready when you are, baby.”
They exited the car and Dane led the way through the yard gate and up the rock path to the large front porch. At the door, Dane paused, looked at Angel, then rang the doorbell.
♦
Horatio believed in traveling in comfort and style, and had a limo waiting for Abel and Devlin when they came off the plane in Chicago. Horatio waited on the plane with strict instructions for them to call him immediately if they encountered any problems.
The address took them into a middleclass neighborhood and to a decently maintained duplex with a steep set of concrete steps leading up to the entrance door. The limo parked out front and Abel stared up at the building. Did Noah live there alone with Abel’s dad? The desperate tone in the boy’s voice had frightened Abel. The kid could have just been upset at the moment, and Abel considered that he may have overreacted and acted impulsively by immediately contacting Horatio for use of his plane, as if this were a rescue mission. Maybe there wasn’t actually anything wrong here.
And maybe there is. Was he willing to bet a young boy’s welfare on the chance that he misunderstood the situation? Abel remembered his father very well. If Jim Evers was the same man he had been back in Abel’s early teens, then he wasn’t fit to be guardian of a minor. Noah had said his mom died in an accident, and Abel suspected it was recent. Why would Jim Evers take on a child that wasn’t even his own?
Devlin stroked Abel’s hair and kissed his head. “Are you ready to go up and meet your stepbrother?”
His hands wringing in his lap, Abel took a deep breath, released it on a shaky exhale, and nodded.
Chapter 8
Caleb stuck his head in the door of the office. “Where’s Nolan?” he asked, looking around.
“Out.” Samuel twisted his chair around and faced Caleb as he cast a glance at the wall clock. “He won’t be back for about fifteen minutes.”
“Good.” Caleb entered and closed the door behind him.
Samuel smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Why good? Did you come down here for some hot office fun?” He wiggled his eyebrows hopefully and his cock jumped in anticipation.
“No.” Caleb snorted and walked over to him. Despite his emphatic no, he nonetheless straddled Samuel’s lap and locked his fingers behind Samuel’s neck. He kissed him hungrily and Samuel grabbed his ass, pulling him up harder against his crotch.
“I thought you said you didn’t come down here for this?” Samuel panted when Caleb pulled back.
“I didn’t,” Caleb grinned, kissed him again, then stood up and walked around to sit on the desk.
Samuel swiveled the chair, following him. “Then why’d you bring your sexy ass down here, if not for a wild ride?”
“I ran into Seth a little while ago,” Caleb smiled. “He had some interesting questions for me.”
“Oh yeah?” Samuel grabbed Caleb’s swinging feet and tugged off his shoes, then rolled his chair closer and tucked Caleb’s feet into his swelling crotch, slowly rocking his throbbing bulge against the soles.
Caleb nodded, his smile growing as he worked his toes on Samuel’s cock. “He asked me about Nolan’s sexual preferences, if I knew if Nolan was gay or straight.”
“Really?” Samuel murmured with sudden interest. “Did he say why he was asking? Or…who he was asking for?”
“He said he was just curious, since most everyone else at the bachelor party was gay.”
“Hm.” Samuel caressed Caleb’s feet and rubbed his hands up under the cuffs of his pants along his shins.
“Hm what?”
Samuel hadn’t told Caleb about yesterday’s observations and suspicions concerning Nolan. He hadn’t wanted to jump to the wrong conclusions and inadvertently incite false rumors of the man. But it seemed an odd coincidence that all of the sudden there was debate about his sexuality. And by Seth of all people. He wasn’t sure Seth had even met Nolan at the party.
“Yesterday,” Samuel said. “Nolan was spacing off during work—which he never does—and I was fucking with him about fantasizing over some hot woman. When he insisted he wasn’t thinking about a woman, I started teasing him about it being a man then. And he got all nervous like and irritable, like someone flipped a switch. Or rather…” Samuel grinned. “Like I’d just hit the fucking nail on the head.”
“Do you really think he might be gay?”
Samuel shrugged. “I wouldn’t call it just yet. But signs are starting to point in that direction.” He shook his head. “But I don’t buy Seth’s curiosity bit. I bet he had a reason for asking.”
“What reason, though?”
Samuel propped his feet up on the desk on either side of Caleb and used his heels to roll his chair back and forth, lightly pumping his crotch against Caleb’s feet. “Just throwing this out there, but what if his buddy Grid has taken a shine to Nolan?”
Caleb looked thoughtful, then murmured, “You know…at the party…there was one time at the bar when he seemed very distracted. Even Seth noticed it. He was looking down the bar, in the direction of you and Nolan.” He shrugged and laughed. “You might be right.”
“So what did you tell Seth?”
“I said I didn’t actually know. I’ve never seen Nolan with anyone, or even heard him talk about relationships or sex or anything along that line. So I couldn’t say one way or the other.”
“It would be kind of cool if there were some sparks flying between them,” Samuel chuckled. “Something tells me that Nolan seriously needs to get laid. And I have a feeling Grid is just the guy to supply that need.” Samuel dropped his feet to the floor and leaned forward, running his hands up Caleb’s thighs. He hooked his fingers on the snap of his pants and grinned as he lightly bit his bulge. “You got any needs that I can supply?”
Caleb groaned, his breath quickening. “Don’t get me started.”
“Too late.” Samuel unzipped his pants and peeled open the fly. Caleb’s dick thickened inside his briefs and Samuel grabbed a mouthful through the thin white fabric, sucking hard.
“Fuck…” Caleb shuddered and dropped back on his arms. He lifted his hips and wrapped his legs around Samuel’s ribs, his ankles locking against the
center of his back. “Shit…” He began to pant as Samuel repositioned his cock in his briefs so he could run his mouth along the full length, sucking harder. “Oh my God…Samuel…” Caleb’s voice knotted with sexual tension. “Nolan will be back real soon. Don’t get me jacked up and then not finish the job.”
“Maybe Nolan should watch,” Samuel moaned around his thick shaft. “Learn a few things.”
Caleb swallowed, his breath surging through his nostrils. “I really don’t think he wants to walk back in here and watch you blowing me.”
On cue, the door opened, hailing Nolan’s return—sooner than expected. Samuel lifted his face from Caleb’s crotch and looked over his shoulder. “Wasn’t expecting you for another five, ten minutes,” he smiled.
“Obviously,” Nolan drawled and Samuel took note of his evasive eyes as they forcefully looked anywhere but at Caleb’s bulging briefs. Nolan walked around behind the desk. “This is an office, not a brothel.”
“Sorry,” Caleb chuckled and unhooked his legs from around Samuel and hopped off the desk, fastening his pants. “Speaking of brothels,” he grinned. “How did you like the bachelor party?” Caleb winked at Samuel then looked at the older attorney. “Have fun?”
Nolan tensed a little and, without meeting the stare of either of them, murmured absently, “That isn’t really my scene. I prefer peace and quiet.”
“You had to have had some fun, though, right?”
The tension in Nolan heightened. “It could’ve been worse, I suppose.”
Caleb smirked and nudged Samuel’s shoulder, then cleared his throat. “Did you get a chance to meet Horatio’s friends from Chicago? Seth, Jamie…Grid?”
Nolan looked up sharply, eyes tight beneath a hooded brow. “No,” he said briskly then nodded at the door. “Don’t mean to rush you off, but we have work to do. And Samuel is useless when you’re here.”
Chuckling and nodding, Samuel shrugged. “He’s right, baby.” Samuel stood up and tugged Caleb against him, grabbing his ass. “When you’re around, all I can think about is getting me some hot, sexy boy on boy lovin’.” He ravaged Caleb’s neck, grinning at Nolan over Caleb’s shoulder. “Nothing better than that.”
Nolan swallowed thickly and looked away abruptly, taking a seat behind the desk.
Samuel kissed Caleb’s ear, grinned, and whispered, “He’s so gay.”
♦
“I got it, Aunt Kate!” A young man’s voice echoed from inside the house. “Probably the strippers I ordered!” He laughed as, further back in the house, someone—a woman—reprimanded him.
Angel looked at Dane and smiled with amusement. Dane’s lips quirked but he was too nervous to fully enjoy the irony of the young man’s joking remark. He and Angel took a step back as the door came open and they were suddenly face to face with a blond-haired, blue-eyed man a couple years younger than Dane.
The wide grin on the guy’s decently handsome face faltered as he stared at them. “Good morning,” he said and surveyed their neat attire. “Hey, we appreciate you thinking of us, but we already found Jesus.” He smiled.
Dane stared back at him. “Hello, Freddy.”
The guy’s smile wavered and slowly drained away. “No way,” he breathed. He blinked as if hallucinating.
A small smile formed on Dane’s lips without touching his eyes. “Surprise.”
“Oh…my…God,” Freddy just stared at him wide-eyed. “Dane?”
“In the flesh.”
Freddy rubbed his mouth, still staring. “I…no one…expected to see you again. The way you left…” He glanced behind him then stepped out on the porch, closing the door behind him. “Where have you been?”
There was a guarded look behind his cousin’s stare as his eyes flickered to Angel then back to Dane; a look that Dane remembered quite well reflecting back at him from his parents’ faces. “New York, for the most part,” he said.
Freddy shifted anxiously. “What made you come back now, after all this time?”
Releasing a slow breath, Dane said, “I’m getting married this weekend.”
“Married?” Freddy’s brow knit. “But I thought you were…?” he faltered and glanced at Angel again as Dane rested his hand on Angel’s back. “Oh…”
“This is Angel,” Dane told him. “My fiancé.” He looked at Angel. “This is my cousin, Freddy Shaw.”
Angel smiled and held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Freddy.”
Following a brief hesitation, Freddy shook his hand then quickly released him. “Yeah, you, too,” he mumbled and looked anxiously at the door, but had yet to open it up to them.
Hopes of things being different in this small town—and specially with Dane’s parents—began to fade quickly away in the face of his cousin’s reluctance to invite them inside and announce the prodigal son’s return home.
♦
The entrance door to the building was open and Abel and Devlin walked inside, approaching the private resident door to their left. A car had been parked out front but Abel had no way of knowing if it belonged to his dad. With this being a duplex, there was likely someone else living in the apartment upstairs; it could be their car.
Devlin touched his back when Abel hesitated to knock. “It’s okay, baby. Go on.”
Nodding, Abel hesitated again, then knocked lightly on the door. The footsteps that approached from the inside a moment later sounded uneven, as if executed with a slight limp. The steps halted at the door but the door didn’t open right away.
“Who is it?” a quiet voice asked, slightly muffled. Noah.
“Noah?” Abel spoke close to the door. “It’s me, Abel, we spoke on the phone yesterday.”
A brief silence. “Who?”
“Abe-” Abel quickly corrected himself. “Jesse…Evers.”
“Jesse?” the boy whispered. The door unlocked and opened in a hurry. A wide-eyed boy of no more than thirteen or fourteen stared back at him, a mop of brown hair flopped over his brow and into his eyes. “You came?” he breathed, disbelief in his soft brown eyes; eyes that began to glisten before he quickly blinked. He suddenly seemed at a loss for words.
“Uh…” Abel motioned to Devlin. “This is Devlin Grant, my…” he glanced at Devlin, unsure what to tell the boy. Would Noah feel uncomfortable if he knew they were gay?
“A friend,” Devlin smiled at the boy and stretched out his hand. “It’s good to meet you, Noah.”
The boy briefly hesitated then shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, too,” he said quietly.
“Would it be all right if we came inside?” Abel asked.
Noah glanced behind him, suddenly anxious. He looked at Abel. “Jim’s home.”
A tremor swept through Abel. Jim Evers. My dad. “Can we speak to him?”
Noah stood unmoving, then finally nodded. When he stepped back and opened the door wider, both Abel and Devlin noted his prominent limp as he favored his left leg.
“Did you hurt yourself?” Devlin asked with concern, immediately shifting into ‘doctor’ mode.
The boy lowered his eyes as he slowly closed the door behind them. “I was in an accident,” he whispered, his voice catching.
Abel exchanged an uncertain look with Devlin. “The car accident you told me about?” Abel asked softly.
Noah nodded. “My mom…died.” He looked at them as tears slowly formed, turning his eyes a golden honey hue. “Jim says it was my fault.” He looked away and started for the other room, his limp severely impeding his movement, a broken whisper hanging in the air behind him. “It was.”
Chapter 9
“You don’t have any idea where Abel and Devlin went?” Maddy brought back a couple books from one of the shelves and sat down at the table across from Savannah. The library was practically deserted in the late morning, which was Savannah’s favorite time to come here and study.
“No. They just said they would explain when they got back.”
“That’s weird.”
“I know.” Savannah looked a
t him. “Max or Horatio didn’t tell you anything either? Where Horatio was taking them?”
Maddy shook his head and opened one of the books. “They told me the same thing; they would explain when Horatio got back.”
Chewing her thumbnail, Savannah mumbled, “I hope it isn’t anything bad. They left all of the sudden, like it wasn’t planned. People usually do that when something bad happened. Abel seemed kind of stressed.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing bad,” Maddy smiled. He reached over and took her hand. “They’re supposed to be home by this evening, so we can find out then. But don’t worry about it.” He cupped her hand between his palms and raised her fingertips to his lips. “There’s more uplifting things we can be doing than worrying.”
Savannah gazed at him, a small smile on her lips. “Yeah…like studying.”
Maddy sighed and chuckled, still holding her hand securely. “Not really what I was thinking.”
Her cheeks warming, Savannah looked away. “Maddy…come on, we’re supposed to be doing our schoolwork.”
“We are,” Maddy insisted and kissed each of her fingertips.
“You are definitely Angel’s brother,” she mumbled, lips pursed.
“Angel?” Maddy smiled. “What do you mean? Angel’s sweet and innocent.”
Savannah looked at him with a dry smile. “Innocence isn’t what keeps a smile on Dane’s face.”
Maddy busted up laughing and Savannah grabbed his hands, hushing him.
“We’re in a library,” she said quietly. “Lower the volume.”
“It’s your fault. You made me laugh.” He grinned and cleared his throat. “And you’re right, by the way, Angel is really a little devil.”
Savannah smiled. “Like I said, you’re definitely his brother.”
“You calling me a devil?”
“If the horns and tail fit.”
“Well, in that case…” Maddy scooted his chair back and stood up, an evil smile on his face.
