Chapter Eleven
“Come on, Greg. Three more. Just three more.”
Greg glared at Fran. “You want three more? Fine. You do them.”
She sighed. “Okay, I know you’re aching, and you’ve probably had enough, but you’ve been doing so well today.”
It didn’t feel that way to Greg. As far as he was concerned, the whole of their physical therapy session had been one complete ball ache from beginning to end.
They’d only started working together the previous week, so he knew it was early days, but he hadn’t anticipated how much it was going to hurt.
“Sorry to interrupt your torture—I mean, exercises—but I’m making hot chocolate. Would you like some, Fran?”
She glanced over at Joshua and beamed. “I’d love some, Mr. Trant, thank you.” She peered at Greg. “You can have some as a reward for doing the last three.”
“Fine.” He glared at her again. “Only I think he got it right the first time with ‘torture’.”
Fran grinned. She waited until Joshua had gone into the kitchen, then leaned closer.
“You have no idea. So let’s get these finished, then you can grab a shower before your cute friend finishes working out there.
Wouldn’t want to be all hot and sweaty when he walks in here, would ya?
” Greg gaped at her, and she laughed. “These eyes don’t miss much. ”
Greg narrowed his gaze. “You are evil.”
Fran buffed her fingernails on her shirt. “Thanks. It sorta comes with the job.” She put her hands on her hips. “I’m still waiting.”
Grumbling to himself, Greg slowly lifted his left leg off the ground to a height of a couple of inches, held it there for a moment, then slowly lowered it again. Sweat popped out on his brow, but he repeated the motion two more times, before dropping his arm across his eyes. “No more.”
Fran patted his arm. “No more. You did good.” She helped him to sit on the couch, and then rolled up the mat on which he’d been exercising.
“Okay. We’ll carry on next week. In the meantime, try to do a little exercise every day?
Just don’t overdo it. You’re still not ready to put your full weight on that leg yet, so don’t even think about. ”
“Are you always this bossy?”
She grinned. “Always, so suck it up.” Joshua walked into the living room to hand her a mug, and she sighed contentedly. “This is my reward too.” Fran peered at Greg. “So what are you doing with the rest of your day?”
“Gee, I thought I might go for a run around the yard,” he retorted. Joshua rolled his eyes as he handed Greg his mug.
“Sassy. I like that.” Fran beamed. “Whereas I am going to the Home Depot to pick up a Christmas tree.” She was almost buzzing.
“Even if my dumbass boyfriend thinks it’s too damn early.
I told him this morning, today is December first, so I’m officially allowed to put up a tree.
Hell, it’s not like we haven’t had the Festival of Lights since mid-November. I’m just catching up.”
“Festival of Lights? What’s that?”
Fran gaped. “How can you not know about that?”
Joshua coughed. “Maybe because he was in the hospital November tenth to the eighteenth, and since then he hasn’t left this house.
He hasn’t had the opportunity to go to Gillette.
” He turned to Greg. “Gillette has had a festival of Lights for the past eleven years. There’s a park over on Doubletree Lane that puts together displays, stuff like the Twelve Days of Christmas, Santa’s Workshop, Penguins on Ice, a Nativity scene, and a whole lot more. ”
“They use over one million lights,” Fran added, “and some of the displays are over fifty feet tall.” She stared at Greg. “You gotta see it. Maybe Mr. Trant will take you.”
“Thank you for that suggestion. I’ll consider it.” Joshua regarded her with arched eyebrows.
Greg wasn’t all that surprised by Joshua’s response, not after what Micah had told him. Christmas wasn’t ever going to be the same for his family, understandably.
Fran waited until Joshua had left the room, before speaking in a low voice. “Maybe there’s someone else who might wanna take you to see the lights.” Her eyes sparkled.
Greg shook his head, chuckling. “You don’t give up, do you?
” Not that the idea didn’t appeal to him.
Micah, a million Christmas lights twinkling against a black sky, snow…
He sighed inwardly. Just because he wanted it to happen didn’t mean it was going to.
In the week since Thanksgiving, Greg had slowly become aware of something.
He was crushing on Micah.
It had started with little things, like the way Micah smiled.
One look at that smile, and warmth spread through Greg, a languid heat that crawled through every part of him.
And then there were the little touches that seemed more prevalent; a hand on Greg’s back: the way Micah would touch him on the arm or the hand while they were talking: and the way Micah would rub his shoulders when he knew Greg’s leg was aching.
Of course, they might mean nothing. For all Greg knew, this was how Micah was, and Greg was simply becoming used to his manner.
But that didn’t stop him hoping. Greg asked himself countless times if his burgeoning attraction to Micah was because he knew Micah was gay, or if he’d have been attracted to Micah while knowing nothing of his sexuality.
The conclusion he arrived at was always the same—it was Micah, pure and simple.
Not that Greg was going to act on his crush. Once his leg was healed, that would be him out of Wyoming and back to California, or wherever he ended up. Right then he was a guest in Micah’s home, and Greg wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that situation.
“Greg?”
He gave a start. “Sorry. Guess I zoned for a second there.”
“A second?” Fran snickered. “I’ve finished my hot chocolate and I’m ready to leave. You were off in your own little world.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Hope you were sharing it with someone hot.”
“Goodbye, Fran.” Greg smiled. “See you next week. And I hope you find the perfect tree.”
Fran laughed. “Well, I guess that’s me given my marching orders.” She ruffled his hair. “So long. Don’t tire that leg.” She walked out of the living room, and Greg heard muffled conversation. Joshua entered the room.
“How did it go? Is it getting any easier?”
Greg sighed. “Not so much that I’ve noticed.”
In Joshua’s hand was a glass of water and his capsules. “I thought you might need these.”
“You’re a lifesaver.” His leg was just starting to ache again. He took one capsule, chasing it with water. “Is Micah still in his studio?”
Joshua nodded. “He’s been working on that snowscape for a week now. He says it’s almost finished.”
It seemed like the perfect opportunity. “Have you got a minute?”
“Why, what’s up?” Joshua sat beside him on the couch. “Is everything all right?”
“Do you think you could talk about my dad?” It was three weeks to the day since Micah had found him, and Joshua still hadn’t done as he’d promised. Greg didn’t want to pry—he just wanted to know a little more about his dad when he was younger.
Joshua regarded him in silence for a moment. “I was going to go into my office and work for a while.”
Greg waved a hand, although his heart sank. “That’s okay. I know you have work to do.” Joshua was a software designer, and worked from home.
Joshua nodded slowly. “But I guess it’s time we talked.” He leaned back against the seat cushions. “What do you wanna know?”
Greg smiled. “Whatever you want to tell me. I only got to know him these last couple of years, and there’s so much I don’t know. Could you tell me how you met? What he was like?”
A slow smile spread across Joshua’s face. “I could do that.” He clasped his hands in his lap. “He used to hide my toy cars, you know.”
“Really?”
Joshua laughed. “Yeah, the little shit. We’d be playing in my room, and I’d go to the bathroom, only to return and find he’d hidden all my cars. Then he’d start counting, seeing how long it would take me to find them all.”
“How old were you two then?”
“Seven or eight, I think. We used to play hide and go seek in the Talladega Forest, and we’d ride our bikes along the trails too. There was always an element of danger too. We knew there were coyotes and black bears in the forest.”
Greg stared. “Did you ever see them?”
Joshua nodded. “We built ourselves a hideout. It was only an old sheet that we covered with branches and leaves, then we’d crawl under it, and wait.
Some days we’d lie there for hours, and all we’d see were squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, even turkeys.
Once, we even saw a white-tailed deer.” His face lit up.
“God, it was such a beautiful, graceful creature. And then finally, we saw a bear. Lord, it was big. I don’t think either of us dared breathe as it lumbered within a few feet of us. ”
“Sounds like you used to have fun.” Greg hadn’t had close friends when he was growing up. He’d been more of a loner. Come to think of it, things hadn’t changed much while he was at college either.
“We sure did.”
Greg sat spellbound as Joshua told story after story of their exploits. He got the impression that his dad had been a loyal friend, there for Joshua when he needed him. After he’d listened for a while, Greg got up the courage to ask something a little more personal.
“When did you know you loved him?”