Raising the Bar (15 page)

“Oh.”

“You sound relieved.”

“I am.” She glared at him. “Do you know how worried I’ve been that Derrick will mess up the good thing he’s got going with Sydney? If he’d cheated on the girl, I’d string him up by his toes.”

Derrick returned, much calmer than he’d been. He sat with them and pursed his lips.

Dylan sighed. “Say what you need to say.”

“So…you’re an orgy guy now?”

Barbara shook her head and groaned.

“You’re such a dick. Sorry, Mom, but it’s true,” Dylan muttered. “Call it what you will, but Harper and Freddy are terrific people.” Dylan turned to his mother. “And Harper is really handsome. Big, muscular, a good head on his shoulders.”

Derrick made gagging sounds.

“And Freddy?” Barbara’s eyes twinkled.

“She comes up to my chest. A petite little thing with big blue eyes. Her eyebrow is pierced, she has a few tattoos and she works at a sex club in town.”

“Augusta has a sex club? What, like a strip club?” Now Derrick sounded interested.

His mother shook her head. “No. The club is a sophisticated place on the outside of town.”

He and Derrick stared at her.

She blushed. “What? I haven’t always been just your mother, you know.”

“Anyhow,” Dylan hurried, wanting to stop that train of thought before it took off, “I met them and we sort of clicked. I don’t just mean physically either.”

“God. TMI.” Yet Derrick sat there without blinking. “So you like this pair. What do they think about you?”

Remembering last night, he grinned. “They like me just fine.”

“Oh man. My brother, the porn star.”

“Stop it, Derrick.” Barbara had to work at not smiling, Dylan noticed. “You’re serious about them? How long has this been going on?”

“Not long.” He’d always felt better after talking things out with his mother, so he turned to Derrick and said, “Get out.”

“What? Now? No way.”

“I need to talk to Mom. Privately.”

Derrick opened his mouth, but Barbara beat him to it. “Derrick, let me and your brother talk.”

“Well, fine. But don’t think I won’t get answers later,” Derrick warned. He kissed their mother on the cheek, slugged Dylan on the arm, then left.

Dylan plunged in. “About James… I’m sorry.”

Barbara smiled. “Don’t be. It was a long time coming, I think.”

He groaned. “Hell. You were listening, before. I knew it.”

“I was. Oh, Dylan. Why didn’t you ever tell me any of that? Sweetie, I’m supposed to be here for you, not the other way around.”

His hostility and fear completely melted away in the face of her forgiveness, and Dylan fought back tears, annoyed with himself for losing control of his emotions. He had to cough to clear his throat. “I guess I never knew, or never wanted to look that hard at myself. I’ve tried to deal with the idea of you and James for months. I saw the way you two looked at each other. But I wanted you for myself.” He groaned. “That is so Oedipal.”

She grinned. “Yes, dear. But you realized the truth without my help. You’re so smart, son. I’m prouder than you know that you’ll be joining us. James loves you too, Dylan. It hurts him to think you don’t respect him.”

“I do.” Dylan knew he’d have to talk to James and explain things. “I just had to work it out for myself.”

They held hands for a moment, the love so strong and pure Dylan knew without question he’d always have a place in his mother’s heart, no matter what. “Mom?”

“Yes?”

“How did you know? With Dad, I mean. And James.”

Her grin widened. “My, my. I’ve been waiting to have this talk with you. Do you realize that in all the time you’ve been dating, you’ve never once asked me that?”

He flushed. “I’m asking now.”

“So you are.” She studied him before answering, “I met your father on a Tuesday, and by Monday of the next week we married.”

“What? I knew it was sudden, but you never told us it was that fast.”

“Are you kidding? With as mercurial as you boys were, I didn’t want you doing what I’d done and thinking it okay because
Mom did it first
. Your father and I just knew. It was instant. My heart raced, my blood thundered in my ears and I kissed him before he knew what to do with me.”

“Go Mom.” Dylan laughed. “Dad never could say no to you, could he?”

“Nope. We always meshed. People like to say if you can’t argue, you have no spark. But, Dylan, your father and I always loved each other, and we rarely had disagreements. There was always passion, always love, but the respect countered our differences enough that we just…flowed.

“Now, James is a different story. I thought he was handsome when I first met him, but I never looked at anyone the way I did at your father. When Andrew died, a part of me died with him. I’m sorry it took me so long to bounce back. I loved him with my whole heart, and I never thought I’d recover enough to love anyone else that way. Sure, I dated. I had needs.”

“Mom.”

She huffed. “Well, I did. I do. But through it all, James was always there. He had his share of failed relationships. We discussed, talked, and argued about lots of things. We have so much in common and so many ideas about life that aren’t always the same. The important things we agree on, but the minutia challenges us. And that spark makes life with him interesting.”

“But how could you know right away with Dad and not with James?”

“I couldn’t look past my grief. And I don’t know. I can’t explain it, but one day, I saw James differently. He didn’t do anything other than be himself, but I noticed the care he’d always given me, and it meant something more.”

Dylan wondered… “You saw Isabel Fields, a beautiful woman looking half her age, hanging all over him at the house. You were jealous.”

“I was. I wanted to maul her,” his mother growled. “And God help me, but I still do when she flirts with him, even over the phone. But James loves me. He always has, and that’s why his other relationships didn’t work. He was trying to substitute other women for me.” She patted her hair. “That kind of affection went straight to my head…as soon as I accepted that it was okay to love him back.”

“That must have been hard.”

“It has been. For years I had feelings for him I refused to acknowledge. It wasn’t until recently that I’ve acted on them. But let me tell you, when you love someone, the physical and emotional aspects of mating are magical.” She smiled slyly. “But I don’t think I have to tell you that.”

“No, you don’t.” He pushed his cup aside. “I can’t believe I can fall in love like that. And with two different people? Harper was just…Harper. With him it started with chemistry. But it ended up so much more. And Freddy was his idea. We both noticed her, though he’s known her for a lot longer. But, Mom, she’s like this little fairy in leather that you want to hug as much as you want to, ah…” Realizing what he’d almost admitted, he stopped himself.

She laughed. “I get the picture.”

“But they’re
two
people. Being bi isn’t a choice for me. It just is.”

“Understood.”

“But loving two people at the same time? Society can barely handle gays. What about two partners? And there’s the practice to consider.”

“Can you pick one of them over the other?” she asked.

“I’ve tried. But it’s like they’re joined in my brain.”
In my heart.
“I don’t want to choose.”

“Maybe you won’t have to. It’s a new relationship. Perhaps it’s just sex. If not for you, then for them.”

A tough position to think about, but he had to concede she might be right. “Maybe.”

“Would you hide them if you could? If they told you tomorrow that they loved you and wanted to be with you, would you take them as they are and just hide the relationship?”

He shook his head before he’d fully thought it out. “I couldn’t. It isn’t right.” He’d never tried to hide being bi, even when he’d known it might cause problems with his friends and family. Some of his friends he’d lost, but his family had stuck by him. And they were what mattered.

“Then there’s your answer.” She seemed to approve. “We are as we’re made, Dylan. You shouldn’t have to hide loving someone. You’re not doing anything wrong or violating consent, are you? Are Harper and Freddy over the age of eighteen?”

“I was kidding before.”

“Of course they are. And they must be lovely people if you feel so deeply for them in so little time. So maybe you come out about your partners and you lose business. What’s worth more in life? Love or money?”

“Hey, it’s your business too. Unless you want me to stay at the hospital?”

“No. I want you with us. James does too. This is one area we won’t compromise on, honey. Love is a beautiful thing, not something to squander. Only you can know how you truly feel about them. Trust your heart, your instincts.”

“And take a risk?” he voiced his own inner criticism. “Harper doesn’t think I’m a risk taker.”

“You aren’t.”

“Gee, Mom. Do you need a minute to think about it?”

“Nope. You, my son, aren’t a fan of change. Hence your problem with James.”

He flushed. “I know, but that’s personal.”

“No, dear. You’ve never been one to like change. It takes you a while to adapt. You’re open-minded but stubborn.”

“And who do I get that from, I wonder?”

“Your father,” she deadpanned, and they laughed. “Derrick has always been the risk taker, while you sat back and protected yourself behind thick walls of confidence and surety. Do you want my advice with Harper and Freddy?”

“Yes.”

“If you truly love them, take the risk. Imagine life without them, and if you really love them, you’ll feel miserable being alone. I married your father after a week of knowing him, and I’d do it all over again, even with the knowledge that I’d lose him too soon.”

“And James?”

She smiled. “My only regret is that I took too long to see what was right in front of me. Don’t be afraid to love. You might get hurt, but you might find joy to last a lifetime. Be strong, Dylan. Make the right choice—for
you
.”

Wednesday afternoon, Harper finished up at the construction site after a heavy argument with the crew leader. The guy had lagged so long that he’d cost them extra time and money on some rental equipment. Now they strained the budget—shit Harper didn’t stand for, but the guy was new. After jacking the asshole off his feet and dangling him like a rag doll, he’d seen the light and called his guys back in to finish the job.

The others gave him a wide berth as he returned to his truck and answered Natalie’s calls. He yessed her to death, ignored her snippy comments about his attitude, and texted Freddy about dinner at her place. A dinner they’d be having alone again, without Dylan.

While Harper understood Dylan’s need to take some time and deal with some work issues, he had a feeling the guy was using work to avoid them. And it hurt. Especially because Freddy felt it too.

But, really, could he complain? He hadn’t told Dylan how he felt, and neither had Freddy. They played at being a unit, a monogamous threesome. But, hell, for all Dylan knew, this was a regular thing for two members of the club.

Harper returned to his office and finished filing some paperwork he’d been putting off for a while. Then he called his mother. After telling her about the new loves of his life, he felt better. She was excited to meet them.

It never failed to amaze him how lucky he’d been with family. A mother and father who supported a bisexual kid in the Deep South. Miracle number one. That his mother couldn’t wait to meet Harper’s new partners was miracle two. Of course, he had to break the news to his father. But the old man still couldn’t get over all the headway Harper had made with Natalie, whom he considered to be a shark in women’s clothing.

That and the investments he’d made with his construction sales had more than made up for his weird love life. He loved his dad, but the truth was, his father liked the finer things in life. And if it took a bit of cash to buy his father’s support and happiness, Harper was all for it. He knew his dad loved him regardless, but the cash didn’t hurt.

He finished his work and drove to Freddy’s by six. On the way, he thought about all they’d learned from Brian. Things Dylan should have told them but hadn’t.

The Warrens were a tight family, well thought of in Augusta. Dr. Barbara Warren had a prestigious practice on the Hill that had been serving the city’s upper class for years. WCC, Derrick and Gage’s baby, was still in the black and doing big business, thanks to their tie to the city’s new development deal. Derrick had recently won a state award for his designs, and Gage had a rep for being one of those rare miracles in the world—an honest contractor.

Harper grinned. He’d already known most of that about Gage and Derrick. But he’d also learned that Gage was engaged to a sexy blonde named Hailey, and Hailey’s best friend, Sydney, was soon to be Mrs. Derrick Warren. She was just waiting on her slow man to pop the question.

Poor Derrick.

Harper chuckled, walked to Freddy’s door and knocked.