Just when Cameron didn’t think he could love him any more, the guy did something so damn incredible it actually made his heart ache.
“Thank you, Asher.”
“It’s just a cake.”
It was so much more than that, but Cameron let it go. Asher didn’t see himself clearly. He still didn’t accept that he had anything more to offer the world than a pretty face and a handful of bestselling books. He truly didn’t seem to realize his worth at all, but that was okay. They’d work on it.
In the meantime, Cameron would be right there, every day, every time he faltered, to remind him how amazing he was.
Chapter Fifteen
“Ashley—that is tosay, Asher—was always an odd boy.”Suzanne Derringer smiled into the camera.“He was quiet. Secretive.”
“He never had a lot of friends,”Lawrence said, picking up the story where his wife had stopped.“He spent a lot of time alone. We worried about him.”
“Understandable.”The camera cut to Landon Dwyer, who had adopted an expression of polite concern.“Can you tell us a little about the night he left?”
“I’d been out shopping.”Here, Suzanne paused to dab her eyes with a crumpled tissue.“I came home, and I remember calling out for him to come help me carry in the groceries. He didn’t answer, but he should have been home from school by then.”
Landon nodded in apparent understanding.“What happened then?”
“I went to his room, thinking maybe he was listening to music and hadn’t heard me. That happened sometimes.”Her smile might have passed for fondness if not for the tightening around her eyes.“He didn’t answer when I knocked, so I pushed the door open, and…”Her words became unintelligible through her sniffles.“I’m sorry.”
“Please,”Landon said, passing her a fresh tissue, “take your time.”
“I went into his room and saw him kissing another boy.”
“That must have been very upsetting.”There wasn’t a trace of sarcasm in Landon’s tone.
The fucking hypocrite.
Suzanne bobbed her head.“Times were different then. I didn’t understand.”
“What did you do?”
“Well, I sent the other boy straight home.”She glanced sideways at her husband.“Then, I called Lawrence.”
“I left work immediately,”Asher’s father said, his tone carefully neutral.“We honestly didn’t know what to do. Looking back on it now, I realize we handled the situation poorly.”
“Ashley became violent. Lawrence had to physically restrain him.”Suzanne sniffled into her tissue.“It was awful.”
“I lost my temper.”Lawrence hung his head as if deeply ashamed of this.“I told him that if he couldn’t control himself, he needed to leave.”
Landon was nodding like that had all been a perfectly reasonable reaction to finding out their son was gay.“Were you worried for your safety?”
“Not for myself,” Lawrence answered,“but I was afraid he’d hurt Suzy.”
“So, you gave Asher an ultimatum. What happened next?”
“He left.”It was Suzanne’s turn again.“He packed a few things into his school bag and just left. We thought maybe he needed time to cool down and clear his head, but he didn’t come back.”
“Did you look for him?”
“We looked everywhere.”Lawrence waved his hands around in big, sweeping motions.“We called the police, put out posters, checked the hospital and the school. No one had seen him.”
“He’d just vanished.”Suzanne’s chest heaved with great, wracking sobs.“I was so frightened for him.”
Landon waited for her to quiet some before charging ahead in his questioning.“Then, seventeen years later, you find out that he’s not only alive but thriving. How did that make you feel?”
