Luke turned on his phone after a long shift at the station to find he had three new voicemails. He was seated in his car, about ready to drive to Freddie’s to spend the morning helping him film.

Did something happen at Freddie’s place? It’s not like my phone to blow up like this...

He checked the voicemails to see who they were from only to be surprised. They weren’t from Freddie — they were from his mother.

Dread turned Luke’s stomach. He accessed the first of the voicemails to listen.

Luke, answer the phone. I know you’re upset about The Incident, but that’s no reason to go around town acting like you are. Do you honestly think that trying to get even with me will do anything other than bring down the family name? You need to call me so we can discuss this behavior immediately. It’s not right.

Luke took the phone from his ear and squinted at his phone like it might tell him what his mother was going on about. The dread in his stomach twisted. He clicked on the next message and listened.

I’ve had calls now from Barbara Whitz and Lianne Baker about this immoral behavior of yours. If you don’t stop, there will be consequences. You cannot do this to our family.

The second message left him just as confused as the first. Luke frowned. He clicked on the next message, hoping it would tell him something about his supposedly immoral behavior.

I’m about three hours away from coming down to the station to collect you, Luke. You will answer me. I know that you acted out as a teenager, but you’re in your mid-twenties now, and it’s absolutely abhorrent that you’re still doing this — and especially with a married man! Do you have any respect?

The issue dawned on Luke all at once. She was talking about Freddie. At the barbecue, she’d been less than thrilled that they’d shown up together, especially since Freddie had a daughter, but it seemed like now she’d gone off the deep end. Since they’d renewed their relationship after Luke had rescued Freddie from the party, they’d been open about their feelings for each other. Luke was never obnoxious about it — he held hands with Freddie when they went out, and they smiled at each other in a way that said they were more than friends, but they kept their public displays of affection respectful. It seemed that their small gestures of affection were too much for his mother and her friends.

By the time the last message ended, Luke was furious. He tabbed out of his voicemails and called his mother directly. It was early — just a touch after six in the morning — but if she was so insistent on getting in touch with him, he wouldn’t spare her.

The phone rang a few times before she answered. It sounded like she hadn’t been to sleep since the night before. Her voice was tense and thin, like she was strung out on caffeine. “Lucas, where are you? You need to come home right now.”

“No.” Luke said it firmly, but tried his best to keep the venom he so desperately wanted to unleash out of his voice. “I’m going to talk to you here — and when I say talk, I mean it. You will listen to me.”

“Don’t take that tone with me, young man.”

“Then please don’t take that tone with me, either.” Luke frowned. “I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m not trying to hurt anyone. What’s so wrong about Freddie? He’s a nice man — a family man. He owns his own business. He’s college educated and he’s funny, but most importantly, I love him. Why are you so angry about that?”

There was a pregnant pause. Luke imagined his mother blowing up with anger, her cheeks growing red and her eyes narrowing.

“You do not love him, Lucas. He is a man with a child, and you are an overgrown teenager who needs to get over his ‘unique’ phase. You need to leave that man alone and let him get back to his family. His wife.”

“Freddie was never married,” Luke said. His hackles were starting to rise. “He’s been single for a long time. Just because he has a child doesn’t mean he’s straight. He loves me, too, mom, and we’re serious about each other. I’m going to marry him someday.”

“You are not.” She didn’t even entertain the notion. “You sound like a sixteen-year-old who’s certain he’s met the girl of his dreams. Life doesn’t work that way, Lucas. You’re a grown man now, and I can’t stop you from doing what you want, but I can still warn you. You’re doing this to spite me, I know. If you follow this through, you will be unhappy. You’ll divorce. You’ll be laughed at and ridiculed. And what about your job at the station?”

“What about it?” Luke asked through gritted teeth.

“They’ll fire you, certainly. You spend entire days in that place with other men. No one is going to want to work with a gay firefighter. You sleep in the same quarters, shower in the same shower stalls... no one is going to want you there, ogling them.”

Luke was appalled. He swallowed the bile rising in his throat and tried to compose an articulate reply, but he couldn’t think of anything. He’d never been so insulted.

“You need to cut it out now before people really start talking,” she said. “I’m telling you that because I care about you, Luke. This is going to impact the rest of your life. It’s time you started to think with your head and grow out of your childishness. It’s time you grew up.”

“You know what?” Luke closed his eyes. “You’re right. It’s really time that I did. I don’t want to talk to you anymore, Mom. I’m done.”

“Done what, Lucas? Please, be clear when you speak. You’re not making any sense.”

Luke didn’t hesitate. “I’m done with you.”

He ended the call, then turned the phone off. It was more than likely that she’d try calling back, and he didn’t have the patience for her. He’d put up with her controlling, manipulative, and closed-minded ways for long enough. He wasn’t going to put up with it anymore.

He had a new family now, and that family had given him the strength to see that he’d been mistreated for far too long. He needed to stand up for himself so he could stand up for them.

He’d made his choice.

Family wasn’t just about blood — it was about respect, and most of all, it was about love. He was done putting up with narrow-minded people who couldn’t find it in their hearts to love him. His world was small, but he intended to make the most of it.

He started the car and headed for Freddie’s house.

Home.