Daniel
“No! It’s too early,”Julian complained as I rolled over to silence the alarm on my phone. “It’s still dark,Daniel.”
“I know, baby. Go back to sleep. You don’t have to be up for hoursyet.”
But instead of rolling back to his own spot, he kept rolling until he was tucked against my back with his arm slung over my torso. I smirked, though he couldn’t seeit.
“Remind me why you have to wake up at the ass-crack of dawn again?” he mumbled into the skin of my back, making meshiver.
“Because I have a good four hour drive even if the traffic’s not bad, which it will be since this is Christmas Eve. And because I have some shopping to do for my parents before I leave town. And because I wanted to stop by Sam’s house and see her before I get on theroad.”
Julian grunted. We’d spent the previous morning eating breakfast with Sabrina before she drove back to Manhattan, and almost the entire previous afternoon with Sam, whose father had been discharged from the hospital after a single night of observation. Sam had looked surprisingly fragile, all tucked up on the couch with her arm in a cast and sling, like the fire and the ensuing investigation had knocked all the sass out of her. I figured that might have something to do with the fact that she was back under her dad’s roof, too. She and her father had talked forhours, she said yesterday, and they were figuring out how to get along. I knew from experience it wouldn’t be easy. They’d lobbed words at each other like grenades, and it would take time and effort to set things right. But after the fire, nothing seemed quite soinsurmountable.
“Wait, shopping?” Julian said lifting his head slightly. “Beforeyou leave town? Wouldn’t you rather wait until you hit civilization, where they have NiemanMarcus?”
“Nope. I’ve decided I’m getting my mom one of the I-Heart-O’Leary mugs they sell at HardisonDrug.”
He snickered. “Oh, I’m sure she’ll love it. And your dad? Does he get an O’Leary themed gifttoo?”
“You know it. I already got his yesterday at the Books and More,” I said, turning so I was laying on my back and Julian’s head was cradled on my chest. “I got him a picture frame that saysA Gift fromO’Leary.”
“Wow.Inspirational.”
“I think you meansimpleandfitting.” I pinched his side and he yelped gratifyingly. Out in the living room, I heard dog tagsjingle.
“You’re waking Honoria,” I warned him. “Are you gonna get up and feedher?”
“You tickledme!”
“You deserved it. As I was saying, I got him that picture frame, and when I get to the city I’m going to print off a copy of that picture you and I took up on Jane’s Peak.Remember?”
“Yeah.” His voice was soft. “Was that the second or third time you dragged me up thatmountain?”
“Hill. And third, I think. It was after you’d introduced me to the wonder and majesty of BearGrylls.”
I ran my fingers up and down his back, while his fingers traced patterns onto mychest.
“So, you’re saying you got your dad a picture of you and me, in a frame fromO’Leary.”
“I mean, I’ll get him a bottle of his favorite scotch,too.”
Julian wassilent.
“What?” I prompted, squeezing him againstme.
“Nothing, really.” He shrugged. “Just trying to imagine how your father’s going to react to you presenting him with a picture of you and your boyfriend, that’sall.”
It was my turn to shrug. “I don’t know if he’ll care all that much. For all his sins, he’s not homophobic. I think he’ll be startled, and I getthat.”
Julian noddedminutely.
“But Julian, if he doesn’t like it, I don’t care. You know that right?” I tilted my head so I could look down at him and tipped his chin towards me with my forefinger, drawing his blue gaze to mine. “I’m going there to talk to them, and hopefully my father and I will be able to figure out a way to move forward like Sam and her dad are doing. But I’m not there to try to please him, babe. If he likes my choices, great. If he doesn’t, I hope he can keep that to himself, or express it in a way that doesn’t sound like disapproval, because otherwise, I’m done. And either way, I’ll be back in O’Leary in no time. This is my homenow.”
Julian nodded, but I could see doubt in those eyes, and it killed me that there was no easy way to reassure him. We hadn’t been together long enough to trust in our own stability—it had been only two weeks since we’d talked openly for the first time, less than two weeks since we’d had sex. And in that time, Sabrina had come to town, Sam had gone missing, and Parker’s bar had burned to the ground. Stability wasn’t even on ourhorizon.
I held him more tightly and let him bury his face in mychest.
“It should take about a week. Maybe a couple extra days, if people have time off over the holiday.” I repeated what I’d told him yesterday, and again last night, hoping this time he’d believe me. “I’m going to spend Christmas with my parents in the Hamptons. I promised Sabrina I’d go to her company’s holiday party. And I need to make an appointment with my accountant. Then I’ll behome.”
