Long Way Home by Carolyn Gray (16 page)

Lee wondered what Gev wasn’t saying. “What happened when you came out?” he asked.

He stopped at the stoplight, grateful for the chance to look at Gev’s face. He stared over the

dashboard, not saying anything for a moment. He drummed his fingers on the door where he

leaned against it.

Finally he spoke as the light turned green. “They both took it hard. Dad came round first.

Nina claims she always knew. If it weren’t for her, things would suck really bad around here. I

wouldn’t be here; that’s for sure.” He fell silent, the faraway look back.

Which in itself told Lee a lot. He remembered well how much Mrs. Sinclair had loved

Stefan. Lee wondered what their parents would’ve thought to know Stefan too was gay. Gev

seemed to play it straight around others. Stefan would’ve found it difficult, had he made it past

thirteen.

Lee looked in the mirror; Nina still followed. He waved, and she threw both hands up in

exasperation. They’d annoyed her, but now he was glad of the extra time. Glad to understand

Gev—and his parents—a little better. It was nice to tell someone about the house too. Gev’s

reaction made him glad he had.

“Here,” Gev said. Lee pulled the rental to a stop in front of the last house on the right.

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Carolyn Gray

Ruby had been his mother’s nurse at the hospital when she died, had been kind to his

mother in the end. His mother’s doctor had told Lee about the friendship the two women had

struck up. He’d often wanted to ask Ruby if his mother had ever said anything about him, if she

was proud of him, if she had the capability. He’d never had the courage. He liked to think,

though, as nice as Ruby was to him the few times they’d met, that his mother hadn’t hated him,

at least.

The decision to give Ruby and her kids a house had been an easy one. He knew deep down

that guilt had fueled the decision in part, but that kind of guilt he could live with. After so many

years of hating his mother, he’d come to accept she’d been a very sick woman, and his father had

kept her that way.

It was his father he hated, never wanted to see again. He looked at his cell phone. Then

again, there was a reason he had his dad’s number in there. Since he was staying a few extra

days, he could drop by his dad’s house—once he found out where the man lived. He snorted to

himself and wondered if his dad even knew about Dream.

Somehow, he doubted it.

“Uh, Lee, dude. Getting out?” Gev put his hand on Lee’s arm. Nina appeared at the door.

“What? Sorry. I guess—”

“This is hard. I know.”

Lee hesitated. “I haven’t seen them really since my dad and I ran into them at the police

station, the day—”

“Why didn’t you come around afterwards?”

Lee stared straight ahead. “My father wouldn’t let me. I didn’t know what to say anyway. I

couldn’t—” He swallowed against the lump in his throat. Damn. He wasn’t the kind of guy to

crumple like this. Steeling himself, he swallowed again, opened the car door, and got out.

Gev stared at the empty seat next to him. Damn. He sat for a moment, his hand on the door

handle, trying to make sense of all that had happened. The whole ride had been weird—and

revealing as hell. That was different for Lee. He knew that. Nick had told him Lee didn’t tell

anyone
anything
. Yet in the twenty-minute ride from the police station, he’d learned more about

Lee than his closest friends ever knew.

And had shared with Lee, sort of, the biggest hurt in his own life. He could guess what it

must’ve been like, even though Lee was straight, to deal with Brandon and Nick’s decision to be

open about their relationship. It could’ve killed Dream, but instead, the group had skyrocketed,

hit after hit. Lee had stuck with them through it all. Gev wanted to hear more about that story

someday.

What the heck had motivated Lee to buy that particular woman—a struggling, black, single

mom in her forties with six kids, who had lived in her parents’ rundown old home with three

bedrooms—a practical mansion? He’d seen pictures. The house was gorgeous, two full stories,

with rooms for four of the kids on the second floor, the mom and the two disabled kids on the

bottom. State of the art, really. Even had an elevator, he’d read. Hell, Lee’d helped the entire

street look better, not stopping with that house. For all Gev knew, Lee had paid off everyone’s

house on that block.

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He guessed Lee had that kind of money. Nick Kilmain was rich, and he and Brandon

adored Lee, and he’d been there since the beginning, and Lee apparently didn’t own anything…

Which meant Lee had to be a fucking millionaire himself. The man was an enigma.

Gev got out. Lee was talking to Nina, acting all normal. To hell with that. There was

nothing about Lee Nelson that was normal. He really was as mysterious as his friends said. As

much of a mystery as who had killed Chad and his friend.

He felt terrible for Curtis’s and Chad’s families. Chad hadn’t had the best relationship with

his parents, but his kid sister would be devastated.

Had it all really happened only today?

His mind whirled with the day’s events, though the puzzle that was Lee stayed in the

forefront.

“Talking about me, huh?” he said as he joined Lee and his sister.

Nina glared at him, but her eyes said otherwise. “You told him to go the long way.”

“Scenic route,” Gev said.

“I asked him to. A lot I haven’t seen in a while. It’s changed.”

“Not necessarily for the better, either. But it’s home.” Nina looked from one to the other.

“Okay, guys, might as well get this over with.” The front door opened. “Mom’s got the ears of an

elephant,” she said, dropping her voice.

Gev saw his mom standing on the front porch, her expression stiff. He wished he could

turn around and leave, but then she gave a tentative wave. His nephew appeared in the doorway

holding a giant cookie.

“Just in time. We made cookies,” his mother called out. “Better hurry before he eats them

all.”

“Okay, come on,” Gev said to the others as he approached. “Cookies? Awesome! Hey,

brought you a surprise. Look who I found at the performance last night?”

His mother’s eyes widened as she focused on Lee. Her hand flew to her chest, and she said

a few words beneath her breath, no doubt in Russian. “Lee.” Then louder, “Lee Nelson.” She

looked faint for a moment, then recovered before Gev could ask what the hell was wrong with

her. She took a few steps toward Lee. Gev stood back, looking at Lee as he approached, his

hands in his pockets.

Gev studied Lee’s reaction, watched the expression on his face. The openness was gone,

replaced by what Gev was starting to think of as the guard-dog look.

He realized he should’ve asked what Lee thought of his parents. He could only guess.

“Hello, Mrs. Sinclair.”

She blinked, looking distinctly uncomfortable, then recovered and smiled nervously. “You

don’t have to call me that, Lee. Irini is fine.”

Lee took a deep breath, shot a quick glance at Gev. Gev instantly knew that his mother

hadn’t missed Lee’s hesitation, the flash of trepidation, even wariness, that momentarily crossed

Lee’s face. Nor had Lee missed hers.

This was going great.

“You’re looking well.” Her words were light, forced, her face tight.

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Carolyn Gray

The kid saved the day. “Hey, Mom, we made cookies!” Colby bounded down the steps,

cookie in hand.

Nina hurried past them. “How many has he eaten?” she said with a groan.

“Only a few. He said you never make cookies.”

“More like his sisters hog them all. And his dad.”

Colby bounced up and down on his toes. “Uncle Gev, are you on a diet still?”

Gev adored the kid when his question caused Lee to smile. “No, not today, I guess. I want

ten of those, at least.”

“Ten! No way. You’ll, uh, get cavities!”

“How many have
you
had already?”

Colby screwed up his face and rolled his eyes skyward. “Only six!”

“Six of the biggest, I bet,” Nina said, eyeing him. “Okay, that’s the last one, then. Inside,

kiddo.” She scooted her stepson back inside, ending the momentary chaos.

“How long are you in town, Lee?” Gev’s mom said.

“Staying a few days, just to visit.”

“That’s nice. Come on inside.” She looked up at the sky, which was starting to cloud a

little.

Gev followed after her. “Mom, I need to talk to you and Dad.”

“Your father’s out in the work shed. I can call him inside.

“No. This is something that can’t be discussed in front of Colby.” Gev swallowed,

realizing his throat had tightened. They walked into the living room; he could hear Nina and

Colby talking in the kitchen. Lee stood behind him. The living area was stiflingly small and hot

to Gev.

Without another word, his mom pulled a cell phone out of her pocket and quickly texted

his dad. If the situation hadn’t been so grave, if he hadn’t been so wound up, the fact that his

mother texted his dad from inside the house would’ve amused him.

She slid the phone back into her pocket. “I told him we’re coming to talk to him there.”

She turned to Lee. “He’ll be glad to see you, Lee.” Then she headed for the sliding glass door,

her steps clipped, hurried.

If Lee felt anything about the exchange, he didn’t show it. Gev wanted nothing more than

to walk out of there. He hated talking about Stefan, much less bringing up anything that would

remind his parents of it all. And now this.

Lee leaned into him. “You okay?”

Gev took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting against the fucking

swelling of his throat. He dropped his hand, stared up at the ceiling. His heart raced, and his

palms were sweaty. “Not sure. Fucking delayed reaction.”

“Probably is. I’d react the same, after all you saw.”

Lee laid a hand on his shoulder, surprising him. He looked up at Lee. The vague realization

of how dark Lee’s eyes were, how long his lashes were, flickered through his mind. The touch

was reassuring.

Gev scrambled for something to say. “I collapse at the slightest thing,” he finally said.

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Lee’s eyes flashed. “This wasn’t the slightest thing. Your roommate got murdered. That

could’ve been you, man. That would’ve been tragic as hell. I just got here.”

A weird sensation of…of… What? He didn’t know. He could only look at Lee, confused

as hell, but comforted too by what Lee had said. Lee really had stuck around for him, then.

Maybe for all of them; Gev couldn’t guess. Maybe Lee wanted to make peace with everything.

Gev hoped it took a while.

He didn’t want Lee to leave.

Gev took a deep breath, drawing strength from Lee’s presence, those dark eyes with the

kind of lashes he knew plenty of women would kill for. “We’d better go on out there. They’ll

wonder what’s taking us so long.”

“They can wait. Take a minute.”

“Yeah.” Gev took a few more deep breaths, trying to clear his head. Lee watched him,

waiting patiently. Gev’s heart flip-flopped.
This is insane
! The guy was straight; he knew that.

But he couldn’t stop the disappointment. “Okay. I think I’m okay.”

“Come on, then,” Lee said, gently turning him. “Let’s go get this over with.”

“Okay,” was all Gev could get out.

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Carolyn Gray

Chapter Ten

As they followed Irini, Lee had to admire what Gev’s parents had done with their

backyard. The branches of giant oaks spread above the thick grass, bordered by flower gardens

that were obviously tended with care. A baseball and a couple of gloves sat on a lawn chair, and

a waterfall splashed into a pool thick with lily pads. A gray cat watched them from its perch on a

table strewn with gardening supplies. A large red barn, its windows and doors open, took up the

back of the yard. He could hear a movie playing, its sonorous soundtrack oddly fitting to the

moment. He was glad the Sinclairs didn’t live in their old house anymore; he questioned whether

he could have handled seeing all the reminders of back then.

Irini headed for the barn, but Gev paused. Lee found himself putting a reassuring hand on

his shoulder. Gev turned his head, his eyes surprised. Lee wasn’t sure why he had done that—a

moment of brotherly affection? Or guilt and the realization that he truly had not thought of Gev’s

needs either? Nina had been a baby, her needs easily met by parents. But who had Gev had? Or

what. His dance, he’d said. Escaping into dance.

Like Lee had escaped into his music.

“Nice addition,” Lee said.

“My dad’s getaway.” Everyone had one, it appeared.

“A barn?” Lee said as they walked through the grass, still thick and green.

“Yeah, he wanted a workshop; Mom wanted a new den. So they got both. It’s pretty nice,

actually.” Gev headed toward the barn, Lee following. He was absurdly grateful that the family