Up in Flames (Carlisle Fire)

Chapter 11

AS WITH any meal with Peter and Jerrod, dinner was interesting and involved a lot of Peter talking about anything and everything. And the kid did definitely love his rolly tacos. Not that Chase minded. It was almost like being part of the family. When they were done, Chase took things to the sink, setting the last of the dishes in it as his phone rang. He suppressed a sigh when he saw his mother’s name.

“I’ll take this out back,” he said softly, as though his mother could hear, and went out into the small yard. “Hey, Mom.”

“You are alive,” she snipped. “It’s been weeks since I heard anything from you. I was starting to think you had died in one of your fires and that no one had told me or your father.”

He groaned softly. She had always been overly dramatic where he was concerned. His mother had a successful career managing boutiques for one of the large retail chains that sold makeup and jewelry. At one point she had twenty managers under her. There was nothing that she couldn’t handle when it came to her stores. But with him, everything was absolutely over the top. “I’m fine, Mom, as you can hear. I’m having dinner with a friend and his son tonight.”

“What sort of friend? Is he divorced? I’m assuming that since he has children, he isn’t the kind of friend that you would be in a relationship with.”

Chase turned away from the house. “Never make assumptions, Mom. I met Jerrod through work, and he’s raising his nephew.” More than anything, he hated the road this conversation was taking. “Was there a reason you called other than to give me grief?” The best way to get to his mom was to call her on her drama. That usually helped get her to the heart of the matter.

“I called because I was worried,” she told him.

“Okay, but I’m fine now. How are you and Dad?” Chase asked, and his mother brought him up to date on all the happenings in their community, including gossip about people Chase had never met and didn’t know from Adam.

“Your father has taken up tennis and is trying to get me to play with him. Can you imagine me in one of those short skirts with my legs? Please. I don’t need anyone to know that I spent years walking on concrete floors and that my legs look like purple caterpillars made tracks all over them.” He could almost see her shaking her head at the notion.

“I think it’s a great idea. Not the legs part, but playing tennis. I think it’s something you’d be good at.” He had no particular reason why, other than she had always been good at sports and outdoor activities.

“Me? No.”

“Yeah. Remember Little League? Dad tried to help me, but it was you who spent the time after school playing catch with me. I say go for it, and if you get the chance, wipe the floor with them.” He smiled, and she laughed. It was a good sound.

“I’ll think about it.” She sighed, and the lightheartedness that had taken over seemed to fly away on the summer breeze. “You need to settle down, you know.”

“Geez, Mom, you’re giving me conversational whiplash here.” He turned and peered in the window to where Jerrod lifted Peter, the two of them playing airplane or something. In a few seconds, they were out of sight. “And things will happen when the time is right.”

She hummed in that way she had that always drove him crazy. Like she knew better than he did. “With the man raising his nephew? You know kids are hard and take commitment. Though I do like the idea of a grandson. He could call me Nana—”

“Hold on. Don’t get ahead of yourself here. Jerrod is….” He paused, but he needed to get his mother off this particular track. “He’s a great man, but he’s going through a lot right now.”

“So you aren’t serious?” she asked, and Chase wished he knew if she was excited or guarded. Sometimes it was hard to tell.

“I like him, Mom. But there’s a lot going on in his life right now. I think he likes me too, but with all the background noise, it’s hard to cut through it. I can tell you that I see them a couple times a week and we do stuff like have dinner, and I color with Peter.” He paused. “But….” He swallowed hard.

“Oh for heaven’s sake, just let the other shoe drop and tell me.”

“I met them when I saved Peter from a fire at their house,” Chase said. “I got him out of the burning building. So are Jerrod’s feelings real or is he sort of grateful for what I did? I don’t think that’s what it is, but it’s hard to be sure.”

His mother tsked. “Just kiss him. You’ll know then.”

“I have.”

“And you’re still unsure? Is he a sucky kisser or something?” He could almost see the amusement on her face.

“Mom,” Chase chastised. “And no, he isn’t. Not at all. Jerrod is…. He’s really….” He couldn’t even finish the thought, she had him so turned around. Or maybe it was Jerrod who had him all wound up. He smiled, looking through the window as Jerrod peered out at him. “He’s watching me.”

“Of course he is,” his mom said. “And you got all dreamy for a second there.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Look, all I can tell you is to understand how you feel and then talk to him. It isn’t that hard, but you can tie yourself in knots trying to figure someone out when all it takes are words—something the male of the species seems to have trouble with. Lord knows your father did. That man would run a marathon with three lions chasing him the entire way before he’d ever willingly talk about his feelings with anyone.” Sometimes she really had a way with words.

“Tell me about it.” Most of the time, the best Chase got was a humph and a pat on the back.

“Then don’t act like him,” his mom said.

“I don’t,” Chase protested.

“Right.” His mom could out-sarcasm any teenager. “That’s why you’re telling me about all this rather than him. There aren’t some magic words. Just talk to him.” He could tell she was smiling again. “And for the record, I’d say that it’s about time you found someone. Maybe you can think about settling down.”

“Okay, Mom. I think it’s time for me to go. I don’t want to be rude, but I’ll call you later.”

“Fine. As long as I don’t have to wait another three weeks.” She ended the call, and Chase rolled his eyes. She always had to get the last word. He put his phone back in his pocket and returned to where Jerrod was finishing up in the kitchen.

Every time Chase came over, the house looked a little more like a home. The walls were still bare, but the small table now had placemats and a napkin holder in the center. “You’re really starting to get things together here.”

“Yeah. With the police indicating that I’m not a suspect in the fire, the insurance company is starting to move forward. They’re sending me a bunch of forms so I can list the contents of the house. That ought to be fun.” He pulled out a chair and sat at the table. “But I suppose it’s how they do things.” He sighed softly. “At least I had replacement value on everything.”

Chase took the other chair, gently putting his hand on Jerrod’s. “Have they given you an indication of a time frame?”

“They said it won’t be too long for the personal property portion of the claim. The rest will take time because the insurance company wants to repair the house because they think it will be cheaper, but I don’t think the borough is going to allow that. Until someone makes a decision, though, we’re going to wait.”

Chase lightly squeezed Jerrod’s hand. “The guys tell me that it usually takes about a year or so to rebuild. I know that probably isn’t what you wanted to hear.”

Jerrod nodded slowly. “I think I knew that, but it’s been hard to think too far ahead. At least I have a place for Peter and me. The landlord has been really cooperative. I think the whole thing with letting Gizelle in the house has him spooked, because he sent a letter of apology and indicated that we could use the house for as long as we needed it. He also said that he had some electrical jobs in a couple of his properties and asked if I was interested in the work. So at least things are starting to look up.”

“And how is Peter doing? I mean, are there any lasting effects on him?”

“I think it’s too soon to tell. He’s sleeping through the night, so that’s a good thing. I keep hoping he doesn’t have nightmares about it. But then I tend to think you’ve helped a lot with that.” He turned his hand, and their fingers entwined.

“I’m glad I could help,” Chase said softly, looking into Jerrod’s eyes. Damn, he could get lost in them as they drew him closer. He leaned over the table, and Jerrod did the same.

“You’ve been a huge help to both of us, and I don’t know how I can thank you.” His eyes grew darker, green flecks dancing in azure. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot when you aren’t here.”

“Me too,” Chase whispered. “But I don’t want to push in or anything.”

Jerrod squeezed his fingers. “You haven’t been. I don’t know where we’d be without everything you’ve done.” Jerrod parted his lips, and all Chase could think about was tasting them, taking Jerrod until he was breathless. Hell, he wanted to throw Jerrod over his shoulder, carry him up to that new bed of his, and break it in properly until Jerrod was hoarse from passion.

“Daddy, can we do something?” Peter asked from the other room.

Jerrod straightened up but didn’t pull his hand away. “What do you want to do? It will be time to go to bed soon.”

Peter came into the kitchen, holding a stuffed duck. “I don’t know. I’m bored.” His shoulders slumped, and he had all the dejection of one of the orphans from Annie . “I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, maybe you could color for a while. Or I could see if I could find some cartoons on the computer.” Jerrod released Chase’s hand and lifted Peter into his arms, heading for the other room. It wasn’t long before Jerrod had Peter settled on the sofa with a laptop on the coffee table. Jerrod closed the curtains and turned out the lights, making the room dark and soothing. Then he got a light blanket and put it over Peter’s legs.

“I have to give him a chance to wind down,” Jerrod said quietly, turning down the kitchen lights so there was just the one over the table.

“I suppose. He tends to go a mile a minute.”

“He does. My mother told me I should get him something for his hyperactivity….” He frowned.

Chase was surprised. “He’s curious, and he asks a lot of questions. That doesn’t mean he needs medication.”

“To my mother it does. The last time we visited, she told Peter that he was talking back to her when all he was doing was asking questions. I think it got under her skin a little. She loves Peter and is thrilled to have a grandchild, but I think Mom prefers him in small doses and doesn’t understand that Peter is smarter than her—or me, for that matter. In the fall he’s supposed to be in first grade, but when I spoke to the school about the kinds of things they will cover, Peter is already reading at the second-grade level, and he can add numbers in his head faster than I can. The school is going to put him in first grade but have special sessions with him for the things he excels at. I want him to learn to be around other kids his own age.” Jerrod scratched the back of his head. “I don’t want to hold him back, but….”

“You aren’t. Let him be around kids his own age for a while. You can decide what you want at the end of the school year. Maybe he switches to third grade instead of second.”

“I know. I’m hoping that in his own way, Peter will tell me what I should do.” He sighed and rested his head on the table.

Chase brought his chair around, sat next to him, and gathered Jerrod into his arms.

“I never expected to become a parent. I always thought that since I was gay, it was something that wouldn’t be open to me. When Johnny asked me to be guardian of Peter if anything happened to him, I thought it was one of those ‘it will never happen’ kinds of things.” Jerrod had said that before, but Chase figured he needed the outlet. “Now I can’t imagine not being a parent.”

“I think I can understand that.”

Jerrod lifted his gaze. “You know that no matter what, Peter has to be the first and most important thing in my life, right?”

Chase gently stroked Jerrod’s jaw. “Of course.” That seemed like a no-brainer.

“I dated this guy, Barry, maybe six months after Johnny died, and he couldn’t understand why I didn’t just get a sitter every time he wanted to go to Harrisburg to the clubs or out on a Saturday night for drinks. I’m ashamed to say that I did it a few times until I realized that I was missing out on time with Peter. He’s only going to be little once.” He swallowed as Chase sighed and waited for him to continue.

When he didn’t, Chase prompted, “What happened?”

“Peter was four, and I came home and he ran into the living room to show me how he could tie his shoes. It was late, but he had been waiting up for me and had to show me. Barry stood there behind me and grew impatient while Peter demonstrated this great feat that he’d mastered. And once Peter was done, Barry humphed and asked if the kid was going to bed already.”

Chase felt tension building in Jerrod’s shoulders. “What a real—” He stopped himself before swearing. “Jerk.”

Jerrod nodded. “I told him that I was taking Peter up to bed. Then I lifted my son in my arms and climbed the stairs. ‘Good night, Barry. I’m sure you can close the door behind you.’” Jerrod smirked.

“You didn’t say that.” Chase found himself smiling.

“I did, and he actually had the gall to call me the next afternoon. I simply told him then that I didn’t think that I had any time for dating and he would probably be better off finding someone else.” Jerrod leaned closer. “He was really angry and began calling me names and saying that Peter would be better off with my parents. I simply ended the call.” He sighed softly. “I did like him. Barry was fun, and he was amazing between the sheets.”

Chase’s cheeks heated, and he chuckled softly to himself. “He was, huh?”

Jerrod nodded. “Oh yeah. But that and dancing was all he had. Barry could strut better than John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever . He knew his strengths, and he used them to his advantage. But in every other manner, he was selfish and put himself first. It took me too long to realize that spending time with him wasn’t worth missing important things like Peter learning to tie his shoes or picking up a book and reading out loud for the first time. I missed some of those, but I won’t do that again.” Jerrod got up and checked in the other room. “I’ll be right back.”

Jerrod left the room and spoke quietly to Peter, and then Chase heard the stairs creak. He knew it would be a few minutes before Jerrod returned, so he went into the living room, folded the blanket, and straightened things up, putting away the crayons before settling on the sofa, leaning back. He closed his eyes and let contentment wash over him.

“You okay?” Jerrod asked, surprising Chase a little. He hadn’t meant to doze off.

“Sure. I was just waiting for you. Is Peter asleep?”

“Yeah. He went out like a light. He plays so hard and doesn’t stop until he crashes completely. Then it’s quiet and I get a few hours. Hopefully he’ll sleep through the night and won’t be up at six in the morning ready to go. There are many times I wish he’d learn to sleep in.”

“Have you tried putting him to bed later?” Chase asked.

“Doesn’t matter. He gets up at the same time and is grumpy for part of the day. As soon as the sun comes through his window, he’s up. I tried shades that darkened the room, and that helped for a few days, but then Peter got up, opened the shades, and came to find me.” Jerrod smiled. “Maybe he’s part rooster or something.”

“Maybe. Or he’s just one of those people who are happy to greet the morning.” Chase leaned closer. “Maybe Peter is just happy, and he looks forward to the day. Most of us seem to be happiest once it’s over.” Chase stood. “I can tell you that at the moment, I’m pretty happy that today is over, but the night, well, that’s just begun.” He watched those amazing eyes, wondering whether Jerrod was going to take his hint or if he was going to tell Chase it was time for him to leave.