The Lonely Heart (21 page)

“Hey, big guy.” Isaiah closed the office door behind him and even took a second to make sure it was locked. Then he crossed the room and dropped a quick kiss on his lover’s lips. As always, a quick kiss turned into something more. Then they were both laid out on the couch, touching and humping and having a grand old time.

Isaiah pulled back to take a breath. “Damn, babe. You get any better at this, I’m gonna have a heart attack.”

“No heart attacks.” Grady leaned in and kissed Isaiah on the neck. He ended the gentle caress with a sharp nip that had Isaiah arching into Grady.

“Damn,” he gasped again. “Liked that. Do it some more.”

Grady obliged, nibbling on Isaiah’s skin like he was a big ol’ juicy rib.

“What brings you to the house in the middle of the day?” Grady asked between bites.

“Huh?” The man expected him to
think?
Isaiah shook his head, but thought remained elusive.

Grady pressed down more firmly, squishing Isaiah into the couch cushions. It was a delicious pressure, especially when one thick thigh settled between Isaiah’s legs.

“Shit.”

Isaiah tugged his hands free. At some point, Grady had stretched his arms up and was holding him down. The position gave him the chills. Might be something to explore.

Later.

For now, Isaiah settled for opening Grady’s jeans, then his own. He pushed fabric aside until he could get to hot, slick skin. With a low groan, Isaiah rubbed their cocks together.

They didn’t have a lot of time, but that was okay, ’cause the friction was right and perfect and…

“Shit.” Isaiah’s brain seemed to be stuck on that one word as he arched and writhed against Grady. Grady couldn’t seem to find words at all, just a delightful series of moans.

Grady shifted his weight until he lay nearly flush along Isaiah, their lower bodies humping together with shallow, tight motions. Grady’s lips, when they met Isaiah’s again, www.total-e-bound.com

THE LONELY HEART K.M. Mahoney 135

were hot and swollen. Isaiah bit gently on Grady’s lower lip, sucked on his tongue, and kept moving.

His climax hit with no warning. He stiffened, arching up, muscles going all tight as the pleasure ripped from his balls to his head.

“Shit.”

Grady groaned, still moving, as Isaiah soaked his groin with his seed. One more long, deep kiss, and molten liquid splashed against Isaiah as Grady found his own release.

They lay pressed together and panted heavily.

“Gonna have to move soon,” Grady murmured. “Or else we’ll get stuck here.”

The big guy had a point.

Isaiah shoved at Grady’s chest until Grady took the hint and wiggled slowly to one side. Isaiah made a face, grimacing at the feel of sticky gunk coating his skin.

“Love the during,” he muttered. “Hate the aftermath.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

If he stretched just so, Isaiah could snag the tissue box with the tips of his fingers. It only took a minute to wipe off the evidence of their afternoon hook-up.

“I think we need to make this a habit,” Isaiah said when they were all clean and dry.

“Makes me nice and relaxed.”

“Hmm. Good for you. Makes me sleepy.”

Isaiah looked up into Grady’s half-closed eyes and laughed. “Too bad, cowboy, we’ve got work to do.”

He slapped Grady’s hip. The man grumbled, but moved reluctantly off the couch, freeing Isaiah to do the same.

Isaiah couldn’t remember ever being this happy. Grady seemed happy, too, more light-hearted than before, definitely smiling more. Heck, the big guy even laughed more now, and not just when Josh was around. Each time warmed Isaiah up inside.

Isaiah stood and took another kiss. “I should get back to work,” he said quietly.

“I guess.”

Isaiah was halfway across the room when Grady called after him.

“What did you come in here for, anyway?”

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THE LONELY HEART K.M. Mahoney 136

Isaiah smacked himself in the forehead. “God, I’m an idiot.” He turned back around. “I needed the bill of sale on Mariah. Was talking to Mark Justice earlier today and he’s got a stud would make a good match. I need a peek at her line, make sure we don’t have any conflicts.”

“I don’t think so.” Grady wandered to the filing cabinet and started rustling papers.

The registrations and bills of sale were all kept together in the top drawer, colour-coded and everything. He tossed a folder on the desk. “Should be in there.”

“Thanks.”

Isaiah scooped up the whole pile and once again turned to leave.

“Oh, the mail’s on the desk.” Grady snagged the small pile, plucking a white envelope off the stack and waving it in the air. “This one looks kinda important.”

Isaiah rolled his eyes. “Yeah, ’cause the last thing I need is more legal crap. Swear to God, it’s a conspiracy. Forms are out to take over the world.”

“I don’t think it’s the forms to blame,” Grady said with a chuckle.

Isaiah grinned back. Damn, he liked that sound. He ripped open the envelope, not really paying attention, too focused on Grady’s smile.

He should have known the bubble wouldn’t last. Isaiah looked down at the official-looking stationary and cursed loudly. He was
happy
, damn it. Why the hell did people feel it was their right to interfere?

“This is ridiculous!” Isaiah shouted, anger welling up inside until he understood where the phrase ‘seeing red’ had come from. He tossed the offending piece of paper on the table and raked his hands through his hair, tugging hard. The bite of pain didn’t distract him from the anger tearing through him.

Grady scooped up the paper and glanced at it, but looked to Isaiah for explanation.

“They’re threatening legal action.”

“Who?”

“The whole damn town! The Mayor and the Sheriff and the County Commissioner, and God only knows who else. They want to take Josh.”

“What the hell?” Grady’s eyes went dark and stormy. “They can’t do that, can they?”

“Damned if I know.”

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THE LONELY HEART K.M. Mahoney 137

“Why can’t they just leave us alone?” Grady asked. His voice was small, quiet. He looked so vulnerable at that moment that Isaiah felt his anger increase twofold towards the bastards who’d brought this side of his lover out again. “We’re not hurting anyone.”

“No, we’re not. You never have. They’re bastards who don’t give a damn who they hurt, as long as they’re hurting
someone.”

“It’s not fair to you,” Grady continued, not even seeming to hear Isaiah’s words. “You or Josh. Maybe we should just—”

“Oh, hell no,” Isaiah bellowed. “I’m not giving you up.”

“But they won’t give up, either,” Grady insisted, lips pressing together in a harsh line.

“You know that.” He gestured at the letter.

Spelled out in stark black was a warning, straight from the mayor’s office in Edmonton.

They were concerned about the so-called ‘negative environment’ fostered at the Branch. If changes weren’t made, the letter said, the mayor would be forced to take action. There was an innocent child involved. Social Services would be contacted, possible charges levied…

What the hell kind of charges you could make against a man raising his brother, Isaiah didn’t know, but he didn’t doubt that the good people of Edmonton would come up with something.

It was the involvement of Social Services that concerned Isaiah. He didn’t know what the procedure was, what the rules were. He wasn’t a complete idiot and he’d heard the stories. Heard about the prejudices in the system against gays. As much as it rankled, Isaiah wasn’t about to let anything happen to Josh.

Isaiah sighed, not quite able to bring himself to look at Grady again, to see the pain in those darkened hazel eyes. He just didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to give up Grady.

But he didn’t want Josh caught in the crossfire, either. It was a hell of a situation. Grady had the right of it. Why couldn’t people just leave them in peace? They weren’t hurting anybody.

Josh was happy and healthy. What right did outsiders have to get involved in their world?

Sure, they had an unconventional home and an unconventional family. Who didn’t these days? It didn’t make their way of life wrong or detrimental. Just different. Josh was getting love and affection, and being cared for the best they possibly could. That was the important thing. Wasn’t it?

“Isaiah?”

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THE LONELY HEART K.M. Mahoney 138

Isaiah sighed, hand going to the back of his neck in that nervous gesture he could never quite get rid of. “I don’t know what to do,” he said quietly. “I just don’t know.”

Grady heaved a long sigh. “I wish I had an easy answer, but I don’t think there is one.”

He paused, then asked, “Do you think they’re right? That maybe this isn’t the best thing for Josh? That
we
aren’t the best thing for Josh? Together, I mean?”

Isaiah’s jaw clenched so hard he heard his teeth snap together. “I don’t see why not,” he replied stubbornly.

“We’re two gay guys, Isaiah,” Grady persisted. “Doesn’t he deserve an actual family, mom and dad and siblings? The whole bit?”

“Just where the hell is he going to get that?” Isaiah snapped. “Besides, nothing says he’ll never have siblings. I don’t see how us breaking up, giving in to those damn bigots, is going to make the slightest bit of difference.”

“No, probably not,” Grady conceded the point with a distinct lack of conviction. He skirted the table holding the letter like it was a box of venomous snakes. His big body pressed close to Isaiah’s, wrapping his arms around Isaiah’s shoulders. He dropped his head forward until their foreheads touched and he stared solemnly into Isaiah’s eyes. Isaiah’s gut churned. He knew what was coming.

“I love you,” Grady whispered, voice cracking and full of pain. “And Josh. You both mean the world to me. And I can’t risk the hurt that this would cause. I can’t risk something happening to him. I love you too much to stand beside you and watch this town rip you both apart.”

“You mean the way they’ve ripped you apart for years?”

“Exactly. I know better than anyone what kind of cruelty this town can be capable of.

These aren’t empty threats.”

“Why do they hate you so much?” Isaiah asked gently.

Grady’s eyes slid away. “I don’t know,” he confessed. “I’ve never known. Doesn’t really matter, either.”

“No, I guess not.” Isaiah wrapped his arms around Grady, hugging the now familiar bulk of his lover close.

Something inside him was shattering, a piece of his soul ripping away. The threats weren’t empty ones. The mayor and the town council and God only knew how many other people would drag Social Services into it. Maybe Grady and Isaiah could fight back, keep www.total-e-bound.com

THE LONELY HEART K.M. Mahoney 139

custody of Josh. But was the cost too high? The uncertainty and the stress and the trauma—it would hurt Josh in ways Isaiah could only imagine.

Isaiah was selfish, too. Maybe they could win. But then again, maybe they couldn’t.

Isaiah wasn’t certain he could take that chance.

Isaiah’s arms tightened around Grady. Grady returned the embrace, a shudder ripping through him.

“I’m gonna miss you guys so much,” he whispered into Isaiah’s neck.

“I haven’t said I’m going anywhere.” But Isaiah’s voice broke midsentence. He needed to stop and
think
. Just for a minute. But the emotions weren’t letting him. Isaiah’s eyes stung as he inhaled the smell of leather and Grady’s cologne and, under that, the scent that was Grady’s alone. The thought that he wouldn’t be able to hold this man, spend all day playing in bed together, or ride fence line, laughing and joking. Never go to the movies, just the three of them. Scenes flashed through his head, of all the things they’d done together and would never do again. Of all the things they had planned to do and now never would. Goddamn it, would they even get Christmas together?

“Where will you go?”

“Maybe we’ll head back to California for a bit,” Isaiah said after a long pause. “Just for a bit, until things die down and I figure out where I stand, legally.”

Isaiah squeezed his eyes closed to hold back tears. He probably would have stayed there, just like that, except Grady muttered a low, vicious curse.

Isaiah’s head came up and he nearly echoed that curse. Josh stood in the doorway of the study, green eyes huge and brimming with pain.

“Josh, how long have you—”

The venomous look Isaiah received cut off his words. Okay, a while then. Too long.

“Josh, it’s not—”

Grady was having his own trouble finishing sentences, this time because big, silent tears started rolling down Josh’s cheeks, which were reddened from the cold. Heck, the kid even still had his gloves on.

Josh suddenly darted across the room and flung himself at them, wrapping his little arms around Grady’s legs and practically trying to climb the man like a tree. Grady let go of Isaiah to scoop up Josh. Isaiah pulled them both close, tucking Josh and Grady into a three-way hug with Josh sandwiched firmly in the middle.

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“It’s gonna be okay, kiddo,” Grady whispered. “You’ll see. You’ve got Isaiah to look after you. Sometimes real life doesn’t get that storybook happy ending, and I’m sorry for that, more than you’ll ever know. Just remember that I love you. I’ll always love you. Both of you.”

Josh’s choked sobs were ripping Isaiah apart—they were even worse to bear than the thought of leaving Grady and the Branch. He and Grady shared helpless looks. Clearly, neither of them had the slightest idea how to fix this for Josh. It was going to be brutal, on all of them.

“I’m so sorry, Josh,” Isaiah whispered.

Josh pulled back, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his coat. He glared, shaking his head so violently the hood of his coat smacked Grady in the face. Josh reached out for Grady and clung tightly to the man’s large, callused hands.