Friends and Lovers (29 page)

Jack stared at his cell phone, and his hands began to shake. Tom had hung up on him!

What was going on? Over the last couple of weeks, he’d seemed to become more and more… not distant, but… distracted?

Jesus, Tommy wasn’t getting tired of him, was he? They’d been together for some years now, and Jack would have sworn Tom loved their life together. He knew for a fact that Tom loved his kids, and often referred to them as the children of his heart.

Jack worried a thumbnail. Could it be that Teddy and Josh having decided to tie the knot made Tom unhappy that Jack had never asked him?

Although Jack had wanted to. He’d even obliquely broached the subject after Teddy had proudly announced he’d asked and Josh had said yes. Tom had looked surprised, then hugged him and told him that as far as he was concerned, they were as married as they needed to be.

But he’d lived a pretty wild life back in the day. Was he growing bored? Was having one man in his life not enough?

There was a tap on the trailer door, and Farmer John poked his head in. “Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Jack, but the radio’s saying that storm system isn’t looking good. Power’s gonna be knocked out for sure.”

Jack shook himself out of it. This had been a bad storm season, and a lot of damage had been done. Even though the season had officially ended in November, it didn’t pay to relax and get careless.

“Okay, make sure the small generators are gassed up.” There were any number of older people living in their neighborhood, and once the power went out, they stood a good chance of losing everything in their freezers. He’d make it a point to stop by the various homes, leaving the generators to run for a couple of hours, guaranteeing hot showers and a chance to cook.

“Got it, Mr. Jack.”

Jack pushed his worries about his lover out of his mind and went out to take care of business.

After all, that was what he did best.

It was getting dark, the winds were increasing, and the rain was starting. It wasn’t much right now, but the forecast was for heavy downpours. He’d closed down all the jobsites and sent his men home, then had stopped by Miz Honey’s with Farmer John to see if she and Charlie might want to ride out the storm at the ranch, but she’d insisted they were all right.

“We’ve got that generator you and Tom gave us. Where is he? I’m surprised he didn’t come here with you.”

“He would have, Miz Honey, but he had some errands he had to run.” Jack hoped his answer was vague enough, but she gave him a sharp glance.

“Well, if you have everything you need, we’d better be going,” Farmer said.

“Oh, yes! Get along home before the skies open up!”

Jack sent Farmer a grateful look, and bent and kissed Miz Honey’s cheek. “Call us if you need anything.”

“We will. Drive carefully, now.”

Farmer followed him out to their pickups. “If you don’t mind, Mr. Jack, I’ll stay at the ranch?” He was still tentative about his place, not so much in the company, but on a personal level.

“You’re more than welcome, Farmer.” He knew things weren’t going well at Farmer’s home, and although he was unaware of the long and the short of it, he had a feeling Farmer’s relationship with Kira was at the bottom of it.

“Thanks. I… uh… don’t want you to think I’m leaving Daddy high and dry. He’s got Billy Ray to help him.”

“Isn’t Billy Ray married?”

“Yes, but he spends more time at home than with Becky. I don’t think she’s happy, but - I mean, she’s a good Christian girl, and she understands sometimes Billy Ray needs to be at home to help out Daddy and Momma…” He shifted uncomfortably and changed the subject. “It was really nice of you to invite that poor guy to stay at the ranch.”

“Bread on the water.” Jack shrugged it off. He’d come across the young widower and his three toddlers while at Home Depot. They’d raced up the coast ahead of the storm, and the poor kid had run out of gas in Savannah. “I don’t want to think what he’d have had to go through. All the hotels and motels are full up, and the shelters are having to turn people away.”

“I’ll bet you anything it turns out to be a tempest in a teapot.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised, but after Charley, Frances, and Jeanne, I’m not taking chances.”

“Oh, no, Mr. Jack! I didn’t mean…”

“I know, Farmer.” He glanced up at the sky, blinking as rain hit his face. “We’d better get a move on. It’s starting to rain harder.”

“Yes, sir. I sure do hope Miss Cath and Kira have dinner ready. I’m starved!”

Jack gave him a friendly slap on the back, went to his own truck, and got in. But at the back of his mind he worried about Tom. Dammit, where was he?

Jack was fretting. It was almost 9, Tom had been gone all day, and they’d lost power once already. If they did again, he’d power up the big generator.

The rain was coming down in sheets, and he hated the thought of Tommy being out there in it.

Everyone else was at the ranch – his daughter, his son and future son-in-law, Kira, a few of their friends, watching videos, while Farmer, who’d decided to apply to a local community college, was on the computer, Andretti giving him some tips on the best courses to take.

Well, if Andretti was with Farmer, at least he wasn’t with Tom, Jack thought with sour satisfaction, but Tom still wasn’t home. When he got back, he’d have a lot to answer for, Jack promised himself.

Lights – a car’s headlights – flashed through the windows along the side of the house and disappeared as the car bypassed the circular drive out front and rolled to a stop.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief and hurried toward the kitchen. Tommy was home.

The back door flew open, driven by the wind, and Tom was blown in, followed by a big man. Well, the man had no choice but to follow him. Tom seemed to have a death grip on his arm.

Resolutely Jack ignored the buff, blond man who stood beside his lover, staring down at the floor as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. At least he had the courtesy to be uncomfortable confronting Tom’s partner.

“Tom, where have you been? Do you know how worried I’ve been?” He cringed. His tone of voice reminded him of Julie, his second wife, and her complaints and reproaches whenever he’d come home late. He’d never cheated on her, but she’d always seemed to be waiting for him to take that first step.

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, you’ve succeeded.” Jack was more than surprised. He was scared. Had Tommy brought this man home to make Jack realize what they’d had was over? Normally he wasn’t inclined to think that way, but Tom had been so freaking secretive these past weeks…

“Merry Christmas, buddy!”

“Christmas isn’t for another two weeks.”

Tom tried to frown at him, but there was subdued excitement in his eyes, and Jack’s right hand clenched into a fist. Goddammit, Tom was his, and he wasn’t going to let him go, not after all it had taken to get him here.

The big man beside Tom cleared his throat and raised his head, and Jack found himself staring into a pair of blue eyes he hadn’t seen in more than half his life.

“S-Sam?” His voice cracked. He could hardly believe that after all these years, his brother was standing here in front of him.

“Hello, little brother. Although you’re not so little any more.”

“Yes, it’s Sam!” Tom was almost bouncing with excitement. “I drove up to Myrtle Beach to get him. I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure – ”

“Sure about what?”

“That he’d want to come back to Savannah.”

“What- How- Why- Where- ”

“You want those answered in any particular order?” Sam’s grin was lopsided, and it was obvious his brother was as nervous as he was.

“Sam, don’t give him a hard time.” The voice was warm and husky, and it wasn’t Tom who spoke, but a woman. She was almost as tall as his brother, beautiful, dark-skinned, with astonishing green eyes.

“This is Evangeline, Jack. She’s my wife.”

“Hello, Jack.”

“Uh… Hello, Evangeline.”

“I need to know if you have a problem with that.”

“With what?” Jack was not only nervous, but now he was confused.

“The fact that I’m married to a black woman.”

The light suddenly went on. “Is that why you left all those years ago?”

“Didn’t Daddy tell you?”

“You’re kidding, right? He just dropped dark hints about you doing something unnatural. I thought he meant you were gay. Sorry, Evangeline.”

His sister-in-law burst into a deep, full-bodied laugh.

Sam glared at her. “I don’t see how you can find that amusing. My father is a bigoted old man who – ”

“Knowing you, darlin’, how could I find that anything
but
amusing?”

“Wait a second. Tom, you said you went up to Myrtle Beach. Is that where you’re living, Sam?”

“Yes. Vangie and I have lived there since Daddy found out about us and threw me out.”

“Dammit!”

“What?” Sam looked hurt, and Jack pulled him into a hug, the first physical contact with his brother in almost thirty-four years.

“I was there with my ex-wife on our honeymoon back in ‘88. If I’d known… I would have looked you up. Sammy, I’ve missed my big brother so much!”

“I’ve missed you too, Jack. It was hard not having family close by. Vangie’s folks died just before she turned sixteen.”

She smiled at Sam and touched his arm. “You’re all the family I ever needed.”

It was easy to see from the expression on his brother’s face that Sam felt the same way. Jack was glad he’d found love.

“What made you choose Myrtle Beach?”

“It kind of chose us. We were just heading north. You remember that heap I used to drive?”

“Yeah.” Jack’s smile was reminiscent. “You’d take me down to the soda shop for ice cream cones in it. I always hoped my friends would see me with you in that car. It was the coolest thing on four wheels.”

“Well, Myrtle Beach is where the ‘coolest thing on four wheels’ gave up the ghost. By that time, we were flat broke, so there we were, with not even a high school diploma and no chance of a job.”

“And I was pregnant.”

“Pregnant? I’ve got nieces and nephews?”

“Four of ‘em, Jack, and except for the oldest, they all have their momma’s green eyes.”

“What did you do?” He knew how tough it was to raise a family, but to be unwed and have no job skills and little education…

“I did the only thing I could think of.” Sam’s mouth tightened.

Evangeline slid her arm around Sam’s waist and leaned into him. “Sam found a genuine man of God.”

“An Episcopalian, Jack, and as Vangie said, Father Tom was truly a man of God. He was assistant vicar of St. Luke’s at the time, and he persuaded Father Paul to take us in. We thought it would only be until I could find a job, but Father Tom kept finding odd jobs around the vicarage, and then around the community. After young Jack was born – ”

“Ah, Sammy. Thank you!”

“Who else would we name our baby blue-eyed boy after? Anyway, both he and Father Paul insisted we both go back to school. Vangie’s a nurse-midwife. And I’m…”

Jack was surprised at the color in his brother’s cheeks. “You’re…?” he encouraged.

“I’m the deacon of St. Luke’s.”

“Oh, lord! And wouldn’t Daddy pitch a world class hissy fit if he found out!”

“How he reacts doesn’t matter squat. He made it more than clear that I was no longer his son, so he has no say in how my wife and I and our children chose to live our lives.” Sam hunched a shoulder. “Are you going to tell him?”

“Daddy and I haven’t exactly seen eye to eye in a long time. As a matter of fact, we don’t see each other very often.” The last time it had degenerated into a shouting match, with his father saying things Jack wouldn’t soon forget, let alone forgive in spite of Jesus’ ‘turn the other cheek’ dictum.

“Seriously? You were always his favorite. How could he not…”

“Obviously you don’t remember what he can be like.” Jack didn’t want to go into that right now. Granted his brother was liberal enough to marry a black woman, but would he be liberal enough to accept the fact that his little brother was gay? “And you’re happy, Sam?”

“Yes, more than I’d ever hoped.”

“Then that’s the most important thing. How long can you stay?” He grinned. “I need to know how many more fatted calves I’ll have to take out of the freezer.”

“Well, Vangie and I haven’t had a vacation in years, and we thought we’d like to spend some time here in Savannah.”

“How long?”

“In a rush to get rid of us already, Jack?”

For a second Jack was tempted to call him by the name he’d used when they’d been younger, but ‘doo doo head’ was too childish, so he settled for, “Ass. My son’s getting married in two weeks, and I’d love it if you could stay for the wedding.”

“Jack, we’d love to!” Like most women, Vangie seemed to be thrilled at the thought of white lace and promises.

“Oh, wait a second! I forgot all about your kids! Is it a good idea to leave them home alone for that long?”