After dinner, as they turned into the driveway at the bungalow, Mason puzzled at seeing his dad’s car in the driveway. His parents knew he was on a date. Besides, they normally texted before coming over. Was something wrong?

Anxiety churning in his stomach, he entered the house with Rhy at his side. His parents were sitting in the living room with Heather and Travis, big smiles on their faces.

“I hope you don’t mind that we let these strange people into the house,” Heather said. “Your mom—if that’s indeed who she is—showed us photos of them with you at your college graduation, so we figured they were cool.”

“Also,” Travis said, “she had a key to the house, so…”

“It’s fine this time,” Mason said to them as he hugged his mother. “Just don’t let it happen again.”

“Maggie, Gus,” Rhy said, shaking Mason’s dad’s hand, “good to see you.”

“We’ve missed you at church the last few Sundays,” his mother said.

“Mom…”

“It’s okay.” Rhy grinned. “I’ll be there this Sunday.”

“Travis and I are going, too,” Heather said.

“It should be interesting,” Travis said, “to attend a service where the preacher does something other than yell at the congregation about all the reasons they’re going to Hell.”

Mason was a little surprised that his parents had managed to win over Heather and Travis so quickly. But then, his mom was a born salesperson. “What brings you by?” Mason asked her.

“You know me. I worry,” she said. “You young people think you have all the answers, but I wanted Heather and Travis to know that they can come to us if they need advice about anything. Or just…someone older to talk to.”

“It’s fine, Mase,” Heather said. “Nice, actually.”

“All our parents’ friends are nut jobs like they are,” Travis added.

“And Heather,” his mom said, “If you ever want a break from these men for a while, we’ve got a spare bedroom.”

She smiled. “I might take you up on that.”

“It’s getting late,” his dad said. “Tomorrow’s a work day.”

“Yes, of course,” his mom said. “Lovely meeting the two of you.” She rose and gave Rhy a big hug. “Good to see you, dear. Don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t.”

Mason watched at the window as their headlights turned out of the driveway. Rhy came up beside him and set a hand on his shoulder. “I should go, too.”

Mason’s lips parted, and sadness washed over him. “You can’t spend the night?”

“Not tonight. I’m still processing everything that’s happened.” Rhy laid his hands on Mason’s hips. “Maybe you could spend the night at my place on Wednesday?”

“I’d love that. We could go shopping before our date, pick up some puppy supplies to keep at the cabin.”

“Would you like that?” Rhy asked Dora, who came over and sat at his feet. “Would you like to come play up on the mountain?”

“Hopefully she’ll get used to riding in the car. Dogs like car rides, right?”

“Usually.” Rhy ran his hands across Mason’s shoulders. “I’ll be here around nine tomorrow.”

Mason walked him to the door, and they kissed good night on the porch before Rhy took off. Mason watched after him a long time, wondering whether things might be returning to normal for them, or if there were more bumps in the road ahead.

 

***

 

“How was your week?” Rhy’s therapist asked.

He smiled. “Eventful.” He explained everything that had happened.

Dr. Chin listened, her reading glasses dangling from her hand. “How do you feel about all that?”

“Seeing Austin unnerved me. I still haven’t unpacked it all. Mostly I feel a lot of rage toward my parents, and I’ve been trying to figure out whether any better feelings exist, like whether I can still say I love them.”

He shook his head sadly. “I didn’t feel any love for Austin, any longing for his acceptance. I did the last time I saw him, at my granddad’s funeral, at least a little bit. But now…I don’t know. Maybe now that I’ve got Mason, I don’t feel that same desire for my parents to love me. I’ve got this amazing man, and his family is pretty amazing, too. With my brother and sister back in my life, maybe that’s all I need.”

“How’s your relationship with Mason?”

“Good. I’ve seen him every day since Saturday, and he’s spending tonight at the cabin with me. My life is getting back on track.”

“Do you still think that moving in with Mason triggered the panic attacks?”

He sat back and looked out the window, trying to put his thoughts into words. Mallards swam on the pond with half a dozen ducklings trailing behind.

“Not for the reason I originally thought,” he said. “The last time I had the attacks was after my grandmother died. They didn’t come back when I lost my grandfather, and I assumed that was because I was getting over them.”

He sat forward, shifting his weight. “But maybe I was able to hold it together because I had to, because I had no one but myself to rely on. And now that I’ve got Mason, it’s okay for me to let go. I can experience the pain, and I’ve got a safety net if I need help. Does that make sense?”

“Does it make sense to you?”

“It does. Plus, I can finally take care of my brother and sister the way I always should have. It feels good.”

“I’m glad to see you’re making progress.” She sat back in her chair and steepled her fingers. “I don’t want to assume that because the external sources of stress have changed, that the internal ones are no longer relevant. But this is good news, Rhy. Did you bring photos of your grandparents like we discussed?”

“I did.” He got out the photo from his high school graduation.

“Can you tell me about that day?”

“It was hot. I wanted to get out of that gown as soon as possible. My grandmother had spent weeks looking for a dress. She looks beautiful. It’s white with a pink and purple floral pattern, and she’s wearing a matching white hat to keep the sun out of her face.”

He swallowed down the emotion that had welled up. “She was proud of me—both my grandparents were. Really, I don’t think I’d ever seen them so happy. It was a big relief to them that I turned out okay. They never said anything, but it was evident in the way they watched me that they worried. Everything I am, I owe to them. Otherwise, I might have ended up on the streets.”

“How does looking at that photo make you feel?”

“Grateful. Sad. They spent their golden years taking care of me, instead of traveling the world like they’d planned.”

“Do you think they minded?”

He scowled. “Wouldn’t you?”

She shrugged. “Living a life of leisure, discovering new places…that has its rewards. Caring for a grandchild who needs you, watching him grow into a strong, responsible young man…that has different rewards.”

She leaned forward, a soft smile on her face. “Rhy, can I be honest with you? I never knew your grandparents, of course, but it’s possible that they considered you the best thing that ever happened to them. Seeing their legacy in Austin may have been hard on them. Seeing it in you must have been very fulfilling. Maybe you were the son they always wanted him to be.”

He nodded thoughtfully, taking that in. “I’ve always wondered how Austin could be so different from his parents and his children. My brother thinks maybe Austin is bisexual, and he’s spent his whole life struggling against same-sex attraction.”

“It’s possible. I’m not sure that kind of speculation is useful, though.”

“Maybe not. Is it weird that I actually feel a little sorry for him?”

“What do you feel sorry about?”

“I think he must be an essentially unhappy person. He’s so rigid, he can’t tolerate it when something doesn’t go according to plan. I mean, when he kicked me out, I don’t think he intended it to be permanent. It was a bullying tactic that went wrong. And his pride got in the way of letting me come back home. Those are terrible reasons to lose you first-born son, don’t you think?”

“Again, I should caution you about presupposing someone else’s motivations.”

“Didn’t you just do that with my grandparents?”

“That was to get you thinking differently about the situation.”

“Maybe I’m doing the same with Austin. Is hating him the answer? I don’t think it helps me find peace. I’d rather feel compassion, even while keeping an objective distance. I don’t want to hate him. Hate is what destroyed my family. I want to move beyond that.”

 

***

 

At five o’clock, Mason waited at the curb for Rhy to pick him up from work. The building was in a sunny spot and powered mainly by solar energy. Fortunately, a couple of benches beneath the shade of redbud trees provided a restful spot. The spring blooms had been replaced by slender brown pods. Dappled light pierced the canopy of green leaves edged in burgundy.

Rhy pulled up. “How was your meeting?”

Mason got into the big, blue SUV. “Looks like there’s a new project coming in to keep me busy. Battery technology is changing all the time.”

“You hungry?”

“Not yet. Can we go to the pet store and get the stuff for Dora?”

“Sounds good.”

The shopping center wasn’t far. Mason had brought the list he’d gotten from the animal shelter. He read off the items from it while Rhy picked them out. Rhy was better at practical decisions like getting the best value for the money.

It was all Mason could do not to get the pink leather, heart-studded collar that cost thirty dollars. Dora would look so cute in it! Instead Rhy talked him into a woven one, pink with white hearts and a silver bow, clearance priced at two dollars.

“We should get a low-end bed for now, since we’ll need to replace it once she’s full-grown,” Rhy said.

“I want her to be comfortable.”

“We’ll get her one that’s comfortable. Just not one that’s fancy.” He chose an ugly brown one on sale and put it in the cart.

“That matches nothing in the house.”

“It’s for six months, max.”

“You are no fun,” Mason complained.

Rhy smirked. “You’ll be singing a different tune by the end of the night.”

Mason gave out a low moan. Even here in the middle of a pet store that smelled like dog food, Rhy was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. Broad shoulders and gorgeous blue eyes and a crooked smile that promised all sorts of decadent things.

Mason forced himself not to let his hopes run away with him. Rhy seemed like himself again, but the darkness continued to lurk below the surface. It would always be there. Mason would be as patient as Rhy needed him to be. Rhy’s health was the most important thing.

They made their purchases, loaded everything into the back of the truck, and headed to the restaurant. It was a chain by the mall and offered healthy, organic entrées. The décor had a Zen-like feel, with bamboo furniture, grass-green china, and the sound of flowing water.

Mason ordered the tropical salad, in-season fruits with walnuts and feta over a bed of spinach and arugula. Rhy got the sesame-encrusted ahi with seaweed salad and jasmine rice.

Rhy was in a jokey mood and didn’t broach the topic Mason was most interested in. So after their entrées arrived, Mason asked warily, “How was your session with the therapist?”

“Good.” He stirred his rice around the plate with a fork. “She said something I hadn’t really thought about. I always believed it was a huge sacrifice for my grandparents when I went to live with them, but she suggested they might have enjoyed having me there.”

Mason scowled. “You always talk about your grandparents with such joy and gratitude—I’d be shocked if they hadn’t felt the same about you.”

Rhy stared at the table as if lost in a memory. “They used to travel all the time when I was a kid, but that stopped when I moved in. First, they were saving up for me to go to college. Second, they had to work around my schedule. Mainly they just took beach trips after that. We’d rent a house on the Crystal Coast for a few weeks in the summer, and that would be it.”

“But Rhy, it would be hard to find a more beautiful place to live than your grandparents’ cabin. It’s not big or fancy, but it’s spacious and elegant, and the setting is idyllic. Why would you need a vacation from that?”

Rhy shrugged. “I guess.”

“Plus, as they got older, maybe they didn’t want to travel as much. Traveling can be exhausting in your twenties. Imagine it in your seventies.”

Rhy nodded thoughtfully. “I know they were proud of me. That’s something, I guess.”

“Of course they were.” Mason smiled warmly at him, glad Rhy was making progress and wanting to show his support. “Anything else happen?”

A blush rose in Rhy’s cheeks. That was weird—he never blushed. “I realized that moving out of your place was a mistake.”

Mason’s heart lurched. Suddenly, his throat felt parched, and he swallowed. “Really?”

“I think the panic attacks started again because I felt safe with you, and my unconscious mind started releasing all the stress I had buried after my grandfather died. You didn’t cause the stress—you gave me the freedom to experience it. I got it completely backwards.” He took Mason’s hand. “Forgive me?”

Mason’s throat closed up. For a moment, he couldn’t speak. He took a sip of water. “Always.”

Mason wanted to kiss him, but even though Azalea Ridge was mostly a gay-friendly town, kissing at a restaurant was not a good idea. Folks like Rhy’s parents still existed.

With a small hope in his heart, Mason asked, “Are you thinking about moving back in, then?” He held his breath waiting for the answer.

“That would make sense—but we might want to hang at the cabin sometimes to escape the kids.”

“The kids?” Mason cracked up. “Travis is two years younger than me.”

“I still think of them as kids.”

“And they still look up to you, which is awesome.”

Rhy smiled. “It was nice of your mom to offer Heather a summer internship. I’m not sure how working at a real estate agency fits in with her culinary degree—”

“Kitchen design, maybe? They’ll figure something out.”

“She’ll be happier doing something useful and earning some money.”

“Her baking experiments are pretty useful. I’ve had to work out an extra half hour a day thanks to her.”

They finished up their entrees, and the waiter cleared their plates. Rhy said to Mason, “It’s early enough for a movie.”

“If you want.”

“Only if you do.”

Mason arched his brows and gave him a sensuous look. “I’d rather be alone with you.”

Rhy grinned. “I was thinking the same thing.”

 

***

 

As they headed up the mountain to the cabin, Mason’s stomach tied up in knots. He wasn’t a fan of these dark, twisty roads, even though Rhy knew them well.

He tried to distract himself by thinking about other things, but soon he was picturing himself in Rhy’s bed. The thought just made him more nervous. It had been a long time since they had slept together, actually spending the night. He hoped he wasn’t attaching too much importance to it, or it was bound to make things worse.

Tensing up would pretty well ruin his plans. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, thinking only about the feeling of the air entering and leaving his body. When Rhy had first moved in, they started meditating together every morning to start the day. Mason had gotten out of the habit, but maybe he should start again.

Rhy pulled onto the driveway. Mason loved how dark it was there, away from the city lights. The stars were brighter, and the frogs screamed their mating call so loudly they could hear it inside the truck.

They got out and walked hand-in-hand to the house. “I’m nervous,” Mason said.

“Don’t be. I don’t have any expectations. I just want to be with you.”

“Well, I’ve got expectations. But I’m trying to stay in the moment.”

Rhy chuckled. “So all my therapy is rubbing off on you.”

“Is the therapy helping?”

“It is.” Rhy slung his arm over Mason’s shoulders. “Considering what a stressful week it’s been, I feel remarkably peaceful. It’s not just because of my brother and sister. It’s being with you again. Moving out was a terrible mistake. You’re my anchor, and when I moved out, I just drifted. Nothing made sense until I found my way back to you.”

Mason halted, emotions vibrating through him. “Rhy,” he said, his chest too tight, his breath too shallow for him to say more.

Rhy enveloped him in his arms, kissing him as if inhaling him into his body. Mason cupped a hand behind Rhy’s neck, holding him close. It was so perfect, this union between them, as if it was ordained by the heavens.

They kissed as they walked up onto the porch. They kissed as Rhy fumbled blindly for his keys, and they entered the house. They kissed as they ascended the stairs, slowly stripping the clothing from each other’s bodies.

It had been desperate like this the first time they made love, the first time Rhy had been inside Mason. Even then, their bodies had fit together as if they were made for each other. This was their destiny. Mason had never been more certain of anything.

Rhy pushed back the bedspread and they tumbled onto the sheets. Rhy found the lube and slathered it onto himself, then inside Mason. The contact ripped a cry of pure bliss from Mason—how long had it been since they had been together this way? Too long, but Mason would never let Rhy go again.

On his back, Mason slung his legs over Rhy’s shoulders. With a gentle glide, Rhy entered him, no sign of the tension from earlier. Rhy hit home, fully seating himself inside Mason’s body. He held fast a moment, dipping down to kiss Mason’s lips, then began to move.

Each stroke against Mason’s gland brought stars to his eyes. The pure, bright pleasure seemed to go on and on. Rhy’s girth filled him utterly, possessing him, burning inside him like a fever.

Mason looked into Rhy’s face, seeing the intensity there. Rhy’s love was apparent in every feature: the smile on his face, the glaze of his eyes, the way his brow crinkled with pleasure as Mason’s body drew him inside.

Happiness blossomed in Mason’s chest, knowing he gave Rhy this comfort, this relief from the sadness that haunted him. That Rhy could endure his burdens without anger and bitterness was a testament to what a good man he was. Mason considered himself incredibly lucky that he had found someone so right for him, who had space in his heart for the love Mason had to give.

Rhy sped up, the tender strokes turning more frantic. Heat built in Mason’s core. Needing more contact, he grabbed his cock and jacked himself at an ever quickening pace.

Bliss rolled over him, and he shot onto their stomachs. Rhy kissed him as his own orgasm rocked him, rippling through Mason, too.

It was everything it should be, and much more. They were as close as two people could be. This was love. This was their destiny.

After grabbing some baby wipes to clean up, they curled up in each other’s arms. Spooned against Rhy’s body, Mason drifted toward sleep, finally home.