Chapter Two
Jesse stood in the back of the kitchen kneading the dough for the diner’s signature fresh biscuits. The diner wouldn’t open for another hour, giving him the chance to stock the kitchen. Sarah would be arriving thirty minutes before opening to make sure everything was set to go when people started arriving. It had been three days since his cousin and his people had tried to run him off the road, which only meant something was going to happen soon.
His muscles bulged as he pushed down on the dough before throwing a light dusting of flour across the counter and grabbing the rolling pin. Since he was opening today, the owner, Bear Mitchell, would be closing. At the moment, he and Bear were the only two cooks, but they’d scheduled interviews over the next couple days in hopes of finding a third cook to take the pressure off them.
He finished with the biscuits, placed the trays in the oven, and checked on today’s special, roast beef, which was still cooking away in the second oven. Rick, the boss’s boyfriend, loved roast beef, and it always made it onto the weekly menu. Rick was also the man Royce had been protecting when he was shot.
Jesse grabbed onto the counter—his legs always weakened when he thought back to the day he’d almost lost his partner forever. He knew it was only a small percentage of the pain Royce must have felt when his husband died. At least Jesse still had Royce.
While sitting beside Royce’s hospital bed, Jesse swore he’d open himself completely to this wonderful man. Up until that point, Jesse had still held back, never fully trusting that his happiness would last. When the Redemption Squad showed up, he thought it would be enough for Royce to run in the other direction, but he’d stayed right by Jesse’s side.
The shooting just proved how quickly everything could be ripped away from him and that he should make the most of each and every day no matter his past. With that decided, Jesse went about sharing everything with Royce, who seemed to be behaving the same way. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one who’d had an epiphany that day. But Jesse knew that no matter how open he was, there would always be a part of him waiting for the end of his happiness.
After spending so much time together Jesse had decided he wanted to move in with Royce on a permanent basis but didn’t know how to go about it, or if Royce was even interested in living with him just yet. True, they were doing that at the moment, but it had been to help Royce recover. So he kept quiet. He’d never lived with someone before, other than his parents, and that hadn’t turned out so well. But he was willing to try. He loved Royce more than he’d ever loved anyone before. To be absolutely honest, living on the run didn’t bode well for his love life, but he knew what he had with Royce was special.
The back door opened with a sharp squeal. When Sarah didn’t automatically yell “good morning,” Jesse went on alert. “Sarah? Are you okay?”
Nothing, not a sound. Shit. Jesse slowly walked to the kitchen door leading to the hallway, Bear’s office, and the washrooms—still nothing. He leaned his head out of the doorway, finding the hall empty. Gradually, he stepped out of the kitchen, across the hall to the washrooms—still nothing. He walked out of the washrooms and made his way to the office. His hands shook as he opened the door and took a quick scan of the empty room.
There was only one other place left for someone to hide: the front of the diner. But he couldn’t figure out how someone could have gotten past him. Jesse’s nerves were frayed as he walked out into the front and along the counter, his eyes scanning every possible hiding spot, finding nothing. Was he losing his mind? No, someone opened the back door; this was all real. With a slam, he heard the door close and Jesse began to panic. Somehow they’d made it through the locked door.
“Jesse! Why would you leave the diner door open?” Sarah’s voice carried from the back and into the front seating area, leaving him a little lightheaded in relief. “Jesse, what’s going on, son?”
Jesse’s eyes focused on the plump figure of a sixty-year-old woman in her waitressing uniform, apron and all. “I didn’t leave the door open. I didn’t even open it.”
Sarah’s demeanor changed in an instant. She scanned the area around her and pulled out her cell phone. Jesse finally snapped out of his fear-induced paralysis and went around turning on every light in the place. A loud knock was coming from the front door. Jesse froze. Wait, my cousin and his men wouldn’t knock. Sure enough, it was Jake—or rather, Shadow from Sentinel. Jesse walked to the door, unlocked it, and let Shadow in.
“I’m sorry, Jake, we’re not open yet, but I could throw on some coffee.”
“Thank you, Jesse, but I’m not here for breakfast,” Shadow said, before walking past Jesse and heading for the back entrance. What’s going on?
The bell tinkled over the front door and Bear walked in, followed by Royce and Chief Graham. Okay, something’s up, Sarah’s called in everyone. Could whoever opened the back door still be here somewhere? Bear headed straight for the back without saying a word. Jesse figured he must be tired of having all this shit happening in his diner.
“Are you okay?” Royce asked as he wrapped his arms around Jesse. Even with their height difference, Jesse always felt completely surrounded and safe.
Shouts echoed from the office as Bear and Shadow dragged a man, who was cursing and still struggling to break free, up to furious Chief Graham to be handcuffed. “Quit with the whining. You broke the law so you must know what comes next. You get to spend some time with me and my officers. Won’t that be fun?” The man struggled even harder but the chief had control of him.
When Chief Graham finally turned the man to face Jesse, he realized he knew that cruel, vicious look. Jesse stood there staring at his cousin, Jerry. He hadn’t been this close to the evil man in a lot of years. Up until now, Jerry had always sent his cronies to do his work. Some of Jesse’s worst punishments had been at this man’s hands.
“He was under the desk in the office,” Shadow said, the one place Jesse hadn’t looked. “He couldn’t get back out the door because Coop’s now stationed out there.”
Why are two members of Sentinel hanging around the diner when it’s not open?
“You’re all just disgusting fags, and God will punish you if you don’t repent and change your ways. You destroyed your parents, Jesse, when you chose being gay over them.” Jerry began to spout his hate-filled words in front of everybody. Jesse wanted to just go back to the safety of his kitchen. His embarrassment was complete when Jerry spat on the diner floor.
“Well, my God loves everybody no matter their race, religion, gender, sexual identity, or who they share their lives with, asshole. Being gay isn’t a choice. We are born this way. When will you guys realize that?” Bear said as he gave the irate man a little shake.
“Let’s get him over to the police station,” Chief Graham ordered. “I have a nice cell all reserved for him.”
“I have to go check my biscuits,” was all Jesse said before he basically ran back into the kitchen.
Thank goodness they weren’t burnt, because he didn’t have time to make another batch; the front door would be opening in thirty minutes. He felt a presence at his back and knew it was Royce, but he didn’t have the courage to turn around and face him. By the time his cousin and the men following him were done, they wouldn’t have to drag Jesse out of Brighton; the townspeople would kick him out first. Though they were all nice to him, how long could that last with the Redemption Squad riding around spewing their hate?
“Babe, please turn around,” Royce asked.
Jesse could never deny Royce anything, and this time was no different. He put the tray of biscuits down on the counter and turned to look at his partner’s calm face, which in turn made him calm a bit as well. There was no anger or disgust on his face and his eyes held only concern.
“I’m sorry,” was the only thing Jesse could think of to say.
“Sorry? For what, Jesse?” Royce asked as he took Jesse’s hand.
“Everything. For the damage they’ll do and the hate they’ll spew. Like mud on a white sheet, they’ll stain this community. This is all my fault. I brought them here.”
“None of this is your fault. They followed you, and you didn’t invite them. You’re a victim in all of this, love,” Royce argued.
“But the town?” Jesse couldn’t believe that everyone wouldn’t hold him accountable. He certainly held himself responsible.
“The members of this town understand what’s going on and no one blames you,” Royce said, wrapping his arms around Jesse. “You can’t control the actions of others. They’re responsible for themselves.”
Jesse stood there in silence, hoping what Royce had said was true. He liked Brighton and wanted to stay. A few moments later, the sound of heavy boots coming down the hallway put him back on alert. He knew those big boots belonged to Bear, and he also knew his reckoning had arrived. Would he be fired outright or given time to find another job?
He let go of Royce and stood tall, looking Bear straight in the eyes when he walked in.
“Hey, Jesse, you okay?” Bear asked.
“Yes, boss. He just scared the hell out of me.”
“I can understand that, and I think that’s what he wanted to do. Well, now he has his own jail cell to skulk around in. Breaking and entering and trespassing are the start of his charges. Unless he has someone to bail him out, he’ll be in there until his court date,” Bear explained. “While I have you here, I wanted to talk to you.”
Jesse deflated right on the spot. He was being fired. “It’s okay, boss man. I understand. If you give me a couple days, I can have my belongings out of the apartment and it’ll give me time to organize all my recipes for you.” Royce squeezed his hand in support and stood silently by his side.
“What? Why would you do that?” Bear asked, looking honestly confused.
“That way you don’t have to fire me outright. I can just leave. No guilt or upset feelings, I understand. I brought all this to your doorstep, and for that I’m truly sorry.” Jesse lowered his head and waited.
“I wasn’t going to fire you. I was promoting you. I’ll need a manager to keep an eye on the new cook and teach him. With Rick and my nephew taking up most of my time, I need you to help keep the place running,” Bear explained. “I was going to tell you later today but since I was here I thought I’d do it now.”
“Manager? Me? But—”
“But nothing. You’re a good man and I trust you.”
“But my cousin and his friends aren’t going to give up,” Jesse stated.
“Yeah, I don’t think so either, but we’ll be ready for them.” Royce’s voice was hard and his jaw set.
“Yes, you have friends and bodyguards,” Bear assured.
“Bodyguards?” Jesse asked Royce, who wouldn’t look him in the eye.
“Back to the manager thing, babe. We’ll talk after,” Royce answered once again without eye contact.
“You bet we will,” Jesse replied before turning back to Bear. “You really want me to be the manager of the diner? What about Sarah?”
“She’s going to retire soon, and I need someone who can run the front and the back of the diner. I want you for the position. So what do you say? I could really use the help once we hire more people.”
Jesse had never been allowed to manage anything, not even the everyday running of his family farm. Could he do it? Could he manage staff and the diner when Bear wasn’t around? The excitement building inside him had already made the choice for him. This was his chance to show what he could do.
“Yes, I’ll help manage the diner with you, boss man,” Jesse said with his head held high.
“Thank God, oh, and it comes with a raise in pay, and you start immediately. We have two interviews this morning and two this afternoon. I want one new cook to start and then we’ll add on more staff as needed.”
“Thank you, Bear, for giving me a chance.” Jesse was honestly thankful that after the events of this morning he still had a job, let alone a raise.
“Thank you for not running. You have a life here in Brighton, and we’re not going to let them push you out of town.” With that said, Bear turned and left the kitchen.
Before Royce could make a sound, Jesse turned and said one word: “Bodyguards?”
*****
“Ummm…yeah, bodyguards,” was all Royce could manage to get out. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure what Jesse’s reaction was going to be. It could go one of two ways.
“You hired a Sentinel to watch over me without telling me?” Jesse asked.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid you would say no, that it wasn’t necessary. I need to protect you even when I’m not with you. I’m not saying you can’t protect yourself, but I know you don’t like to use violence and I worry.”
Royce waited for the recriminations to begin, and he knew he deserved it for keeping secrets from Jesse. He waited another moment but nothing came out of Jesse’s mouth. He just had a smile on his face.
“Jesse?”
That seemed to snap Jesse back to reality. He wrapped his arms around Royce, lifted him off the ground, and kissed him deeply before he said, “I love you.”
Shocked, Royce replied, “I love you too, and I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you.”
“You were trying to protect me, and I love you for it. No one has ever protected me. Only you,” Jesse confessed.
Royce could feel his heart breaking for the boy who had to grow up without unconditional love and protection. It still amazed Royce that Jesse had grown into the amazing man he was. With his parents as his guide, Jesse should have been as evil as his cousin.
“I will always protect you. You mean so much to me. Jesse, you’ve brought me back to life. I was only existing after my husband died. I don’t know how much longer I could have lived like that… I—”
“You’re a strong man who lived through a horrible tragedy. You survived and are now helping to save me from my own family. Don’t ever think you’re anything but the amazing man that I love.” Jesse continued to hold Royce. He seemed desperate to get closer after all the events of the day, and the diner hadn’t even opened yet.
“I should let you get ready to open, sweetheart. I’ll stay for breakfast before physiotherapy. Shadow will be around today to watch out for the other four men in Jerry’s group. I don’t want you to worry,” Royce explained.
“How can I when you worry enough for both of us? Now go. I’m safe. You don’t want me to get fired after I just got a promotion, do you?” Jesse joked.
“Okay, smart-ass, I’ll leave you be,” Royce stated before smacking Jesse’s firm ass as he turned to leave.
“Leave my ass out of this.” Jesse laughed.
“Never,” Royce replied as he walked out of the kitchen doorway. God, I love that man.