CHAPTER TWO
After he closed down the stall at the market, Luke texted his mom and let her know he wasn’t planning to be there for dinner.
Then he ignored the passive-aggressive texts she continued to send for the next half hour while he picked up an order from the Ames Garden Supply and chatted with his cousin Dale.
After one more text assuring his mother that he appreciated her making his favorite pie, but he really wasn’t in the mood for company, he drove to his aunt Trish’s diner.
“Luke, I thought you were having dinner with Miss Julianne.”
“My parents are and probably my siblings, but I’m having dinner with you.”
“Well, I’m flattered. What would you like? I’ve got chicken ’n dumplings today.”
“That sounds great.”
“You want tea or a beer?” she asked.
“Wow, another person who remembers I’m actually twenty-one.”
“One of those days, was it?”
“Yeah, it was, but actually I just want tea.”
Thankfully, she didn’t tease him, just added his food order to the queue and then got him a sweet tea with extra lemon exactly the way he liked it.
“Have you thought more about going to school?” she asked as she put his drink in front of him.
“A little.” A lot. He’d figured out the classes he would need and considered programs at GTCC and UNC-G. He’d even searched for apartments in Greensboro and looked at job listings.
“You could start after the holidays.”
“I could, but—”
She laid a hand on his arm. “I know how your mama feels.”
“She’ll do everything she can to stop me.”
“I love my sister, but she’s got to accept that you’re grown up, healthier than most people around here—probably herself included—and you need a chance to go out on your own.”
“I…” Cal and Beck walked in, and Luke couldn’t help but watch as they approached the register. They were two of the most gorgeous men he’d ever seen, and they were living exactly as they chose. Sure it had been a struggle at first, but they were happy, and they had plans to get married in the spring. Would he ever have something like that?
When he turned back to Trish, she raised a brow, and he realized how obvious he’d been.
“I think maybe you have more to tell your mama than your plans for going to school.”
He choked on the tea he’d been trying to swallow. “Aunt Trish!”
“Don’t worry. I won’t say anything; it’s your secret to tell.”
Was he fooling himself that he’d kept his sexuality a secret? “How many other people know?”
She shrugged. “Anybody who would actually consider the idea, which means almost no one.”
That made him smile.
“Maybe them.” She tilted her head toward Beck and Cal.
Oh God, had they seen him staring at them? “I didn’t mean—”
“Men who look like that get stared at all the time, honey. People can’t help it.”
At least Cal and Beck would understand, and they’d never out him. Wouldn’t it be nice if he didn’t have to hide, though?
“I can’t tell Mama. She’s got enough to worry about without adding that to the mix.”
Trish snorted. “She’d do better to put the energy to something more productive.”
“Yeah. Do you think that’s actually going to happen?”
“Not likely.” Trish laid a hand over his. “Hate the situation all you want—the bigotry, the way you feel penned in here where most of the town won’t admit that the sick baby they prayed for is all grown up and healthy—but don’t hate who you are. God made you the way he did, and he doesn’t make mistakes.”
“You really believe that, Aunt Trish?”
“I do.”
“I’ll think about it, okay? School and…the rest of it.”
She nodded. “You do that. I better see to the Baptist women before they start raising a fuss about the service.”
He snickered. “That’s the last thing you need.”
Luke’s order came up, and Trish set his food in front of him. Then she picked up a pitcher of tea and walked over to where the ladies, who’d probably just left a Bible study, were pushing two tables together.
Luke blew on a bite of chicken and dumplings to cool it down as he contemplated what Trish had said. He wanted to go to school so he could have a career he’d actually chosen. He didn’t hate working on the farm, but he’d done it his whole life, and he was itching for something new. He’d been saving, and there was no reason he couldn’t get a job in Greensboro to help out more. He’d go to school part-time if he had to. He was a slow reader, and writing could be difficult, lingering effects from the heart defect that had deprived him of oxygen after birth, but he’d made excellent grades in high school.
As a kid, he’d never let his medical problems or his learning issues hold him back, but as much as he wanted to get a degree, he was also scared. He’d never admit it to his parents, but what if something awful did happen while he was away from his family? Or, what if, with no one to watch over him and take care of him, he failed, not because of his heart, but because of a lack of self-discipline. Maybe he wasn’t as independent as he thought.
Thinking of independence made him think about his other big secret. It would be one thing to tell his family he was gay. And with Trish as the head of the family, his parents would have a damn hard time doing anything but accepting it. Even without Trish’s influence, he knew they’d never throw him out or stop loving him. But if his mother knew what he fantasized about, she might be the one whose heart gave out.
***
Jack kicked the door to his office closed. Alone at last. Most days Jack loved running his own inn. Today was not one of those days. His morning had been filled with plumbing problems, entitled guests, and frustrated staff.
He dropped the papers he was carrying onto the desk and sank into his chair, glad he’d splurged on the high-end, ergonomic, leather chair he’d coveted. It cradled his body as he exhaled away some of his tension. He let his head drop back and stared at the knobbly popcorn ceiling as he contemplated how to get his day back on track.
The plumbing would be fixed soon. The Nortons now had the dinner reservations they wanted and advice on the best places to shop for antiques. Jack was still contemplating how to soothe his housekeepers—the plumbing disaster had created a lot of extra work, work not appreciated by a few guests who found it a great hardship to have their rooms cleaned an hour later than expected. Boxes of chocolate truffles might be in order for his put-upon staff.
At least the new breakfast casserole had been a hit, even if it had to be served by candlelight since the plumbers had to cut the power to work safely. He’d have to tell Luke how well it had turned out. Of course, Luke probably wouldn’t even remember their conversation. Maybe he would have if Jack had found the courage to ask him out on a real date, not just a visit to the inn. He regretted chickening out—damn you, Julianne Mathis—because he really wanted to see more of Luke. Hell, he wanted to see all of him.
Someone knocked on his office door.
Dammit! He’d had what—two minutes?—alone.
“Come in.”
It was Stephanie, the owner of Bridge Town Plumbing.
“How’s everything going?”
“One of my guys is turning the water back on now. We’re going to let it run for a little while to make sure everything looks good, but otherwise we’re all finished.”
Jack let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you for getting here so quickly.”
“I’m glad we could help.”
“Help is too mild a word. You saved me. I was afraid I was going to have to find the guests other accommodations.”
“See if you’re still as happy after I give you this.” She handed over an invoice, and Jack braced himself, but when he saw the total, it wasn’t the shocking figure he’d expected.
“That’s not so bad.”
“The loyalty discount helps, and I charged you like a regular appointment rather than an emergency visit.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“Of course I didn’t, but I chose to. You’ve recommended us several times recently, and I appreciate your support.”
“Thank you. Can you take a card for payment?”
She shook her head. “Just call the office, and you can handle it over the phone.”
“I’ll do that this afternoon.”
“All right. As long as everything looks good, we’ll head on out.”
Jack stood and offered his hand to shake. “Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome. Have a good afternoon.”
He exhaled loudly. “Hopefully, it will at least go better than my morning.”
She lifted up her hand with her fingers crossed. “I hope so too.”
When she’d shut the door, he called her office and took care of the bill. Then he glanced down at the mail he’d brought in earlier that morning. Before he finished flipping through it, his phone buzzed with a text.
Any free time this weekend? I’m back in town, and I’d love to get together again.
It was from Ben, a sub he’d done a few scenes with at the Edge, a fetish club he’d belonged to for years.
His kinks and Ben’s were especially compatible, and they had a good rapport. He’d already been thinking about going to the club that weekend because it had been too long since he’d played with a partner. That made it all the more disconcerting that he was hesitant to respond.
An image flashed in his mind: Luke watching him and then looking down when Jack tried to meet his gaze. He wanted that boy. So damn much. But that shouldn’t affect what he wanted with Ben. He hadn’t even asked Luke out, so he could hardly claim there was a relationship there, and Ben had never expected anything exclusive.
You’re obsessed with Luke.
Was he? Luke certainly made him feel off-balance in a way other men didn’t. Why, though? Because he was so young? Because wanting him felt forbidden? Because he was untrained? And dear God, maybe untouched. No, Luke was a healthy—despite what some people seemed to insist—twenty-one-year-old man. Surely he’d done his share of fucking. Yet, the innocent desire he’d seen in Luke’s eyes made him wonder, and the deer-in-headlights expression on his face when Jack invited him to breakfast made Jack imagine him on his knees, all worked up, watching Jack’s every move, waiting for permission to do more than look.
Jack shook his head. He shouldn’t even be entertaining this fantasy. He was technically old enough to be Luke’s father. He remembered when Luke was a baby, and when he was a child fighting for the chance to just be normal. He’d admired Luke then, but when he’d moved back to Ames Bridge and he’d seen Luke as an adult for the first time, admiration turned to lust.
But what Jack wanted—to tie Luke up, to spank his ass, to teach him how to surrender—would probably scare the crap out of him.
The threat of death hadn’t scared him, though. And Luke had been flirting with him yesterday like he was so damn eager to please.
Eager to please is exactly what you crave.
From someone who understands where that desire comes from. For all I know, he’s never even been with a man.
Then you could be his first. Who better? Someone who wants nothing but a hole to stick his dick in? He deserves someone who wants to give him pleasure. You would take care of him.
No. He couldn’t keep obsessing about Luke, especially when he didn’t even have the nerve to ask him out.
He opened his text conversation with Ben. How about Saturday?
A few seconds later, a response came. Works for me.
8:00 at the club. I’ll reserve a room.
Looking forward to it.
We’ll see if you still think that once you get there.
You have plans?
I do.
Jack was in the mood to go hard on Ben. He hadn’t done a scene where he’d really pushed a sub in a long time. Maybe that would snap him out of his malaise. It would also remind him just how compatible he and Ben were. Maybe then he could forget much-too-innocent Luke Sumner.