Chapter Eleven “Happy Birthday!”
Chapter Eleven
“Happy Birthday!”
Joshua glared at the parcel in Alex’s hands. “That looks suspiciously like a gift. I thought I said no presents.”
Alex stared at him. “Aw, c’mon, it’s not much, I promise, just a little something I saw when I went shopping this morning.” He grinned at Joshua. “So, are you going to invite me in, or let me freeze my nuts off on your porch?”
Joshua stepped aside and let him enter. “Sorry. I’m a bad host. Give me your jacket and I’ll hang it up.
Micah’s gotten a fire going in the living room.
” He took Alex’s thick jacket and hung it on a hook, before gesturing to the door.
“Through there. I’ll get us some coffee. ” He followed Alex into the warm room.
Alex took in the comfortable surroundings, responding to the feel of the house.
It felt like a good space. “This is great. I know you said you remodeled it. I’d be interested in knowing which bits you added,” Alex called out toward the kitchen as he walked into the center of the room, smiling when he caught sight of Greg already sitting on the couch. “Hey. How are you doing?”
Greg flashed him a smile. “I’m doing okay.” He lowered his gaze to the wrapped package. “Ooh, another present. And it doesn’t look like five pairs of socks either.”
Alex frowned at the odd remark. “Am I missing something?”
“Ignore him,” Joshua said, walking over with two steaming mugs. “Just because I made a comment about my daughter’s choice of birthday present…”
Light dawned. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with socks. Do you know how often I have to go buy more? I swear, either the washing machine or the drier eats them. But they never eat a pair, only one.”
“That is one of life’s great mysteries.” Joshua held out a mug. “Coffee. Nice an’ hot.”
“I’ll swap you the mug for your present.” Alex handed him the parcel. “Something to help you continue on your new journey.”
“That sounds intriguing.” Greg’s eyes gleamed with interest.
Joshua sat in an armchair, put down his mug and tore into the paper. When he’d removed a strip, he laughed. “A spice rack?”
“You said you wanted to be more adventurous,” Alex said with a grin. “I’m not saying throw away the salt and pepper, but try adding different herbs and spices now and again.”
Joshua stared at one of the jars. “Cumin. I’ve seen this before.”
Greg nodded. “Micah puts it in his coconut chicken. And you love cilantro with chicken. Coriander is the ground version.” He got up from the couch and carefully crossed the room to perch on the arm of Joshua’s chair.
Greg pointed to one of the jars. “That’s what Micah adds to soy sauce and garlic when he does those pork steaks you like. ”
“Paprika?” Joshua removed the jar from the rack and opened the lid, sniffing cautiously. He grimaced. “Wow. Smells kinda… bitter.”
“I love using spices in my cooking.” Alex grinned.
“And seeing as we’ve already started with the cheesecake, why not continue?
” He’d been thinking about this on the drive over to Joshua’s house.
“Consider yourself enrolled on the Alex Rycliffe Cooking Course. You can cancel your membership at any time.”
Joshua stilled. “Seriously?”
Alex gave a shrug. “Why not? I’m sure Greg and Micah would love to taste the results of your experiments—I mean, endeavors.” He was enjoying himself. The idea of teaching Joshua to cook appealed to him, but it was more than sharing his love of invention in the kitchen.
It gave him something to look forward to, something that had nothing to do with work, and Alex sorely needed a few distractions.
“Uh-oh, what have I missed?” Micah came into the room, and glanced at the rack before aiming a nod in Alex’s direction. “Hey Alex. Nice gift. I’m just not sure how much use Dad will get out of it.” He winked at Greg.
“Alex says he wants to teach Joshua to cook,” Greg explained.
Micah arched his eyebrows. “Oh, I think we need to taste the results of Alex’s teaching before we let Dad make any decisions.”
“Excuse me?”
Alex chuckled. “That was a not-so-subtle hint to bring out the cheesecake, if I’m not mistaken.” He nodded in greeting to Micah. “I’ve recently discovered that you’re an artist. If you don’t mind, I’d love to see your work.”
Micah beamed. “Sure. I’ll give you the guided tour—after the cheesecake, of course.”
“Oh, of course,” Alex agreed with a straight face. He glanced across the room at Joshua. “That was another hint, in case you missed it.”
Joshua rolled his eyes. “Oh my, it must be time for cheesecake.”
Laughing, Alex followed Joshua and the boys into the kitchen, where the table had been laid out with forks, plates and napkins.
Micah went to the refrigerator. “You sit down, Dad, and I’ll bring out the dessert.”
Greg snickered. “Not that he hasn’t been drooling over it ever since Joshua brought it home. I’d check it for fingerprints first.”
“Hey!” Micah peered around the refrigerator door to give Greg a mock glare. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”
Alex laughed. “See? I was right? These guys keep you young.”
“Wear me out, you mean.” Joshua gave Greg a fond glance. “Not that I’d change a thing.” Then he caught his breath as Micah reappeared, carrying the cheesecake which now bore five lit candles. Joshua stared at them. “Why five?”
“One for each of us—and one for Alex, because without him, we’d be eating a store-bought cake that would probably taste nothing like this.” Micah gestured to the candles. “Go on, Dad. Blow them out.”
Joshua sucked in a deep breath, then expelled the five tiny flames.
“Make a wish,” Alex suggested.
Joshua’s brow furrowed, and then smoothed out. “Got it.”
Alex had a good idea what Joshua had wished for. He only had to look at Micah and Greg to know that.
He wants a good outcome for Greg’s case.
Alex would have to make sure he delivered it.
Micah cut four thick wedges of cheesecake, and distributed them.
“Wait!” Joshua pushed back his chair and went to the refrigerator, only to remove a bottle. “I bought this because someone said it would go well with the dessert.” He handed it to Alex. “I think I’ll let you do this part. You’ve obviously done it before.”
Alex smiled. “With pleasure.” He drizzled lines of raspberry sauce over the four plates. No sooner had he closed the lid than Joshua was forking off a piece of cheesecake.
“Well, here goes.”
Alex loved the look of bliss that spread over Joshua’s face as he swallowed the morsel. “I guess I don’t have to ask if you like it.”
Joshua flushed. “What gave it away?”
“Aw, Dad, this is great!” Micah had already demolished half his portion.
“I think it’s due more to Alex’s expertise than any skill on my part. He invented the recipe.”
Alex bowed his head briefly at the compliment.
Greg groaned. “God, I hope this doesn’t come loaded with calories, because I’ve got a feeling we’ll be asking you to make this on a regular basis.” He flashed Alex a quick grin. “Okay. You’ve got the job.”
Alex raised his eyebrows. “I wasn’t aware I’d applied for one.”
“You have now—Dad’s cooking instructor.” Micah ran his finger over the last drop of sauce and the final crumb of chocolate crust, before licking them slowly.
“Although….” He peered at what was left of the cheesecake.
“Hmm. Maybe this needs thinking about. Maybe I need another portion to help me decide.”
Greg spluttered into his napkin. “Subtle, Micah. Very subtle.”
“Allow me.” Alex cut off another wedge and eased it onto Micah’s pristine plate. “More sauce?”
“I could choke some down,” Micah said nonchalantly.
Alex chuckled. He really liked Joshua’s family.
~ 0 ~
“So this is your inner sanctum.” Alex sank into the comfortable couch in Joshua’s office.
Joshua smiled. “Kind of. I spend a lot of time in here, and it’s where Rachel used to banish me when she was cooking.” He smirked. “Can’t think why she didn’t want me around.”
“Yeah, that’s a shocker,” Alex murmured. He didn’t miss Joshua’s snicker. Alex glanced at the portrait hanging on the wall above Joshua’s desk. “Is that Rachel?”
Joshua nodded. “Micah painted it for me last Christmas.”
“I saw the family one he painted for you above the fireplace. That’s awesome.
” Alex got up and walked over for a closer look.
“She was very beautiful. And Micah favors her, especially around the eyes.” When he was greeted with silence, he looked around.
Joshua was standing by the window, gazing out, lost in thought.
Alex left him to his musing and returned his attention to the painting.
He’d just spent an hour with Micah in his studio, lost in admiration.
Micah was indeed a very talented painter, and what Alex liked most was his humility.
He showed me canvases that took my breath away, and yet seemed shy when I praised them.
“Rachel was an amazing woman,” Joshua said softly.
Alex could hear the love in Joshua’s voice, and silently he aimed a remark at Manda.
I’m not the one with rose-colored glasses here, sweetheart.
He’d been sure of it when he left the house to drive to Joshua’s, and hearing his words only confirmed Alex’s certainty: Manda had Joshua all wrong.
This was no man who was curious about his sexuality, who entertained thoughts of being attracted to Alex.
This was a man who had known true love, and the realization tasted a little bitter. After all, hadn’t Alex felt like that, for more than a couple of decades? And yet…
Alex gave the thoughts a hard mental shove.
He wasn’t about to let his memories spoil what had so far been a lovely afternoon.
Then another memory rose up and nudged him, a more recent, pleasant one.
“Remember when we had coffee and bagels? You said if I wanted to hear something really amazing, you’d tell me how Greg came to be in Wyoming. I have to say, I was intrigued.”
Joshua laughed. “I still can’t believe it myself. Things like that just don’t happen in real life.”
Alex blinked. “Oh, now you have to tell me.” He retook his seat on the couch.
Joshua went over to the filing cabinet. “I’m gonna need a drink for this tale.” He pulled open a drawer and withdrew a bottle of whiskey, before glancing at Alex. “Want one?”
“A small one, thanks.”
Joshua got two glasses from a shelf, poured out a small measure into each, then put the bottle back into its hiding place.
He brought the glasses over to the couch and handed one to Alex.
Then he went over to the desk, opened the top drawer, and took out a book.
From what Alex could see, it looked like an Agatha Christie.
Joshua sat beside him and held up his glass.
“Your health.” Alex clinked it, and took a sip of the warming liquid.
Then Joshua settled back against the seat cushions.
“When Micah found Greg that night in the snow, he took him to the nearest hospital, which was not a short trip. He didn’t want to move Greg for fear of worsening his injuries, but it was the only thing he could do.
Well, once they got Greg into a bed, he came to briefly, and said something about a letter, and a promise.
He was obviously fretting about it. When Micah asked the nurse to check Greg’s belongings, they found a letter, and this was when things got a little… weird.”
Alex said nothing but listened intently. He was transfixed by Joshua’s voice, aware that something was coming. The hairs on his arms stood on end.
“The letter was addressed to me,” Joshua said quietly.
Alex’s jaw dropped. “Wait a minute. Had Micah ever seen Greg before?”
Joshua shook his head. “When he called me to tell me about the letter, I told him I’d never heard of a Greg Chambers.
But you can bet I was in my truck a moment later, heading for the hospital.
” He took a drink from his glass. “Turns out the letter was from Greg’s father, a man I’d known many years before.
He’d… died the previous month, and made Greg promise to mail the letter.
Greg was curious enough to deliver it in person.
” Joshua shook his head. “Curiosity killed the cat, so they say. In this case, it got Greg beat up so badly, we…” He swallowed.
“I’ve never said this to Greg or Micah, but…
I feel like this was all my fault. If he hadn’t been coming here to bring me that letter, he might… ”
Alex saw where he was heading, and cut him off briskly.
He grabbed Joshua’s hand and squeezed it.
“No. You can’t think like that. What do we know about those guys?
If it hadn’t been Greg that night, it would’ve been another poor guy.
You can’t blame yourself for this.” Slowly he relinquished Joshua’s hand.
A heavy sigh rolled from Joshua’s lips. “I guess. Doesn’t make it any easier though.”
“Go on with the story. What was in the letter?”
Joshua opened the book on his lap and took out a folded sheet of paper and a strip of photos. He handed the latter to Alex. “This was me and Hayden, Greg’s dad, when we were seventeen. We’d been friends since kindergarten.”
Alex stared at the four photos. They depicted two young men, pulling goofy expressions in a couple of them, but the last two…
His skin tingled at the raw looks they exchanged.
He could almost imagine them, closed off behind the curtain in a photo booth, shut off from the world, free to show how they really felt about each other.
Because he was undoubtedly looking at two guys in love.
Slowly Alex raised his head. “Wow. Now I definitely want to hear the rest of this story.” In his head he sent out a silent apology.
Sorry, Manda. I guess I should know by now to trust your instincts.