I DIDN’T WANT TO LET Ollie out of my sight after his big shock even though he recovered fairly quickly. I couldn’t be sure if it was genuine or if he was putting on a strong front for me. There was no need to pretend with me. If Ollie wanted to cry and scream about the injustices he’d faced as a young kid, I’d scream and cry with him while holding him safely against me. His calm demeanor lasted until he fell asleep in my bed when the horrors of his past invaded his dreams, making him thrash and cry out in his sleep.
I woke him with a gentle touch then he demanded I chase away the ugly dreams with my touch and kisses. I wasn’t sure making love right then was wise, but he seemed desperate, and I wanted to be what Ollie needed. I was glad I’d listened to him because his sleep afterward was calm and peaceful. The next morning, only a hint of the hurt lingered in his eyes because he’d resigned himself to facing down this personal demon. I didn’t care what Ollie said; if the guy wasn’t genuinely sorry for what he’d done to Ollie, then I’d toss him out on his ass and damn the consequences.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” Esther said, entering the kitchen. Ollie and I hovered in the kitchen because I could smell that the cinnamon rolls were nearly done. Ollie had already smacked my hands twice when I reached for a piece of bacon Esther had stowed in the warming drawer. “I hope you don’t mind visitors this morning for breakfast. I made too many cinnamon rolls and enough bacon for an army.”
“There’s an army of two right here,” Ollie teased her.
“Visitors?” I asked, although I suspected I knew. “What if I don’t want to share?”
“You’ll share, or you’ll be sorry,” Esther warned with good humor.
“Where’s my lamb?” Millie asked when she entered the kitchen looking as fierce as any mother bear wanting to assure her cub was safe.
“Mama,” Ollie said, brightening up when she entered the kitchen closely followed by my mother. Ollie leaned over to give Millie a warm hug.
“Good morning, Mamma,” I said, opening my arms and hugging my mother. “To what do we owe this pleasure?” As if I didn’t know. Esther had called the troops last night and convinced them to give Ollie time to recover before they descended on him.
“You know why we’re here,” Millie said. “Oliver, I know the Lord wants me to forgive this sorry sap who’s showing up here today, and I will do my best. There’s also a slight possibility I will beat him over the head with my handbag.”
“You better not,” Ollie said, a crooked grin sliding up the right side of his face. “It feels like you carry around small boulders in it.” He kissed Millie on the cheek and added, “Besides, you’re better than that, Mama.”
“I’m not feeling like a good person right now, Oliver. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m getting there. All those years spent in therapy taught me to confront things instead of hiding from them. I sent a text to Drew last night and asked him to meet me this afternoon before the bowling tournament.”
“That’s a wise decision, Oliver. This meeting will most likely trigger emotions and urges that can wreak havoc on your soul. You are stronger than them, and Drew will help you realize it.”
“Is Drew your therapist?” I asked. I knew Ollie had been in therapy after leaving jail, but he hadn’t mentioned the therapist by name.
“No, he’s my NA sponsor. I should’ve told you last night that meeting with him today would be imperative to my well-being, but I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“It’s okay, Ollie.” I reached for his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. I only wanted to help him regain control even if it meant I had to temporarily step aside for someone to give him the specialized support he needed. I understood he needed more than my willingness to listen and my bedrooms skills to get him through the confrontation he was about to face. “Whatever it takes.”
“Esther, your cinnamon rolls smell better than I remembered,” Mamma said, sniffing the air appreciatively. “I’ll help Esther set the table while you go upstairs and rally the guys down to eat breakfast while it’s still hot.”
“That’s right,” Esther said. “No sense in wasting daylight. Those who aren’t working need to be finding work.” She was such a tough nut, and I loved her to pieces.
I also knew Mamma and Esther wanted Ollie to have a few minutes alone with Millie, so I took my time heading upstairs to knock on the doors. Henry and Jeremy were the only two home at the moment, although Reggie would be returning home soon after working third shift.
When I returned downstairs with Henry and Jeremy in tow, the ladies and Ollie were already sitting around the dining room table waiting for us.
“Do any of you mind if I say grace?” Millie asked. No one objected, so she clasped her hands in front of her, lowered her head, and said, “Dear Lord, thank you for this bountiful food we’re about to put into our bodies. Let it give us the strength and fortitude to carry us through the challenges you put before us. May you send healing light and love to those who need it, wisdom to those in doubt, and please stay my hand when I want to knock the boy silly for hurting my baby. Dear Lord, the Bengals are playing Monday Night Football, and they need me. I can’t be locked up in a jail cell awaiting charges.” Ollie cleared his throat in a subtle reproach. “In your son’s name, we pray. Amen.”
“Amen,” everyone said then began digging in. The silence didn’t last long.
Jeremy, who sat across from me at the table, raised his brow and asked, “What did you do to Ollie?”
“Me?” I asked. “I didn’t do anything to him.”
“Who does his mama want to slap upside the head if not you?” he countered.
“Probably the jerk that was here yesterday. What was his name?” Henry asked.
“Ryder Jameson,” Jeremy said in an upper crust, stuffy voice.
“Esther told me about Ryder’s idea to host a benefit gala or something at The Cincinnati Art Museum as a fundraiser for Ryan’s Place. I didn’t know Ryder was even back in town,” Mamma said. I could tell by her tone she wasn’t pleased I’d left her in the dark. I just didn’t think it was newsworthy.
“I guess he’s been back for a month or so,” I told her. “On the scale of one to ten in importance, I’d rank Ryder’s return to Cincinnati as a negative ten.” I realized with all the excitement the previous evening, I hadn’t even told Ollie about Ryder’s visit. I turned to look at him, but he was busy shoveling a bite of hot, gooey cinnamon roll in his mouth. “You don’t look surprised. Why aren’t you surprised?”
Ollie washed down his pastry with a big gulp of milk then wiped his mouth. “I ran into the pompous windbag at Claire’s before I came over. He tried to trick me into thinking your meeting was of the personal variety.”
“I set him straight right away,” Esther said. “Even though it wasn’t my place,” she scrambled to add when she saw the scowl on my face.
“It’s a blessing I talked to Esther first,” Ollie told me, reaching over to wipe a smear of cinnamon icing from the corner of my mouth. “I knew Ryder was lying through his teeth, but I might’ve been caught off guard to find you in the shower after he implied he’d just left your bedroom.”
“What a dick,” Henry said.
“That’s a low blow,” Jeremy added.
“Honey, I’m home,” Reggie called when he entered the house. “What smells so good?” He stopped at the doorway to the dining room and looked longingly at the food set out on the table. “I should really shower first before sitting down, but it looks so delicious.” Reggie got hired as an apprentice with Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority to learn bus maintenance. “I’m a little greasy still.”
“Don’t worry about it, Reg,” I said. “It’s not like you were working in the sewers.”
“How’s everyone doing this morning?” he asked, dropping into the open chair beside Henry.
“Most of us are doing great, but Archie has some explaining to do,” Henry told him.
“What’d you do, Archie?”
“I didn’t do anything,” I calmly said because I knew they were just teasing me. Ollie squeezed my thigh under the table to reassure me. Had it been anyone other than Ollie, I might’ve questioned the timing of his declaration of love. “Ryder only stopped by to let me know about a benefit the museum was putting on next month to showcase local LGBTQ artists. There will be a silent auction for the works on display. Ryder claimed he convinced the board to donate a portion of the ticket sales to Ryan’s Place.”
“I have mixed feelings about this,” Mamma said. “On one hand, it’s a wonderful thing. The museum charges big money for those events, and they almost always sell out of tickets because it gives the wealthy people in the area a reason to dress up and show off. I can’t help thinking Ryder had an ulterior motive for his suggestion.”
“Archie told him the same thing,” Esther said then grimaced.
“I told him the same thing,” I repeated wryly, “and he assured me the offer came with no strings attached. He gave me two tickets to the event, thinking I would be bringing you, Mamma. I told him Ollie would be my guest if I attended.”
“That’s when he got snippy and implied Ollie and Archie might not still be together in three weeks when the event happens,” Esther added. “He must have a really big set of balls.”
Ollie choked on the bite of roll he’d just swallowed. I rubbed his back while he coughed then took another long drink of milk to soothe his throat. “Well?” Ollie asked once he could breathe without sputtering more.
“Well, what? Are you asking me if he has big balls?”
Ollie threw his head back and laughed. The sound warmed my heart as nothing else could. “I meant are we going to the gala? I’d like to see you dressed in a tuxedo, Arch.” If Ollie wanted to see me in a tuxedo, then that’s what he would get. I also saw how eager he was to remove the suit from my body. I was pretty keen on seeing how Ollie would look in a tux too.
“Sure, we’ll go,” I said. I wasn’t at all worried we wouldn’t be together next month for the gala. “It’s a date.”
“Well, there goes our morning entertainment,” Jeremy said dryly. “Not a single face slap or anything.”
“The morning is young, lamb chop,” Millie said, pointing to him with her fork. “Eat your breakfast before it gets cold. Miss Esther went to a lot of trouble fixing this beautiful meal to replenish your body.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, tucking into his breakfast.
Millie shot me a playful wink then changed the subject. “How many of you think the Bengals will win tonight?”
“Dalton chokes during big games,” Reggie said.
“I think this is his year,” Jeremy countered.
“I have no idea what any of you are talking about,” Henry said. “I don’t follow sports.”
“That’s okay, lamb,” Millie said. “What are you interested in?”
“I’m all about the theater,” Henry said passionately.
“Stage or movies?” Mamma asked him.
“Stage.” Henry released a long sigh. “Growing up, I was only allowed to act in church plays, but I loved it so much. Luckily, our church put on four or five productions a year, and the man in charge had a lot of theater and music experience.”
“I saw in the paper they’re having open tryouts for the community theater,” Mamma told him. “I know they’ve already been rehearsing their Christmas show, so this would probably be for the first production of next year.”
“I don’t know,” Henry said. “I’m not sure my talent is worthy of a big production even if it’s community theater.”
“If you don’t get a part in the show, you could always volunteer to help behind the scenes?” Ollie suggested. “I’m sure they’re always looking for help with props, costumes, and all the other little things that go on behind the scene.”
“It actually sounds like a good idea,” Henry said. “I’ll never know if I don’t try.”
“That’s right,” I told him.
After breakfast, the ladies went into the living room to talk, aka strategize, on what to do with Kaleb Jacoby while Reggie went on up to bed and Jeremy and Henry did the breakfast dishes. I linked my fingers through Ollie’s and led him into my bedroom.
“Are you sure you’re okay about Ryder?” I asked.
“I knew he was lying, Arch. I know you love me and want to be with me. I want you to know I didn’t use the L word because I felt threatened. It just burst from my chest when you smiled at me like seeing me in your room was the best thing in the world.”
“I know sincerity when I see it, baby,” I said, pulling him into the circle of my arms. “And seeing you in my room was the best thing in the universe. You light up my world, Golden Boy. Some jackass from my past won’t change that either.”
“We have a few hours before Kaleb arrives.” I could tell Ollie struggled to say his name. It might not have been a good idea to use sex as a distraction, but how could I resist him. Ollie had told me about some of his triggers when it came to sex, but this wasn’t one he’d described.
“What do you have in mind?”
“Let me show you instead,” he suggested.
He slowly stripped off my shirt before removing his. Ollie repeated the process of undressing me then himself until he’d stripped us both bare, and only then did he kiss me. Then the chemistry between us changed from languid to desperate. Ollie’s eager kisses and roaming hands spoke of the need to claim and possess, and the way he leaned into my touch said he wanted to be claimed and possessed too.
“We have to be quiet so the entire house doesn’t know what we’re up to,” Ollie whispered.
“Too late,” Esther said on the other side of my door.
“Esther!” Ollie and I both admonished.
“It’s not my fault the walls and doors need to be thicker in this house,” she replied. “I wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t important.”
Ollie had already scooted off my lap at the sound of her voice, so I rose to my feet and reached for my clothes. “What’s up?” I asked, stepping into my underwear.
“Your noon appointment showed up two hours early.”
“Eager for his ass whooping!” Millie added.
“Oh my God!” Ollie said, covering his face. “Is your mother outside the door too?” I’d never seen Ollie’s face look so red before, but it was better than the ashen white color it was when he learned Kaleb was waiting for us.
“Of course,” Mamma said. “I’m as nosy as the rest of them. And really, boys. It’s ten o’clock in the morning, and you have a houseful of people. Even though I understand you have to strike while the iron’s hard—”
“Hot!” Ollie and I both said then burst into laughter.
“Strike while the iron is hot,” I told her. “We’ll be out in just a few minutes.”
“We can send the twit away if you want to finish,” Esther offered. As if we could ever have sex under this roof again.
“It’s not necessary. We’ll get this confrontation over with and move on with our day. Please show Mr. Jacoby to my office, and I’ll be right there.”
“Okay,” Esther said. I could hear the shrug in her voice.
“And take your two best friends with you,” I told her. “I need to have a private word with Ollie before the interview.”
“Sure thing,” Esther said. “Come on, ladies.”
“‘Private word,’” Millie muttered. I imagined she used air quotes too. “Who are they trying to fool?”
My mother didn’t say anything, but I heard her warm giggles.
“Ollie, are you sure you don’t want me to tell him I made a mistake and there wasn’t an opening?”
“No, Arch. I won’t have you lie. I need to face him.”
“Do you want to talk to him privately?”
Ollie shook his head. “We’ll do it together as you said.”
“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose,” I said, channeling Coach Taylor.
“God, I love you, Archie.”
I gave him a swift kiss then led him across the hall where a tall, slender man sat in the chair facing my desk which meant his back was toward us. His head was bent forward like he was praying or staring down at his hands or perhaps his feet. He straightened and turned his head when he heard us walk into the room. He offered a small smile to me then shifted his attention to the man who entered behind me—the man I’d love beyond my dying breath.
Kaleb Jacoby’s eyes widened in shock, and he leaped to his feet. “Ollie?”