[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
doesn t love you.
Leo looked up in surprise to see Reed standing in the living
room, a few feet away. The words came out of his mouth before he
even thought about them. You don t know what you re talking
about. And what in hell were you doing listening to my private
conversation?
Reed s expression didn t change. He lifted his broad shoulders
rather casually. I shouldn t have said anything. It is none of my
business, and as for listening to your conversation, given that you
were hollering into the phone, it was hard to miss when I walked in
the door. I thought maybe you d be upset, and my words would
comfort you. I was out of line. He turned to leave the room.
Leo hadn t been expecting an apology. He felt stupid and
embarrassed. You have the knack of making people feel like
idiots, don t you, Mr. Owens? he muttered. Shit. Why don t I just
31
SKIPPING STONES
apologize instead?
Reed paused at the door. He didn t turn around. You give me
too much credit, Leo. I don t have any magic ability to make
people feel anything. I think you re quite capable of experiencing
what you feel all on your own.
Leo found himself standing there, phone still in his hand, in an
empty room, Reed s words ringing in his head. You smug son of a
bitch. He took a breath.
What s wrong with you? Mark asked as he walked in
suddenly.
Nothing, he snapped.
You look like you d like to kill somebody.
Yeah, I d like that.
Who was on the phone? Mark asked him, reaching for it and
taking it from his hand.
My mother.
Again? Mark replaced the phone on its receiver.
She thinks you re corrupting me. He smiled, trying to shake
off his anger.
Mark laughed. God, that was done long ago. And I wasn t to
blame.
Leo sank into the easy chair. She says I can come home as
long as I pretend to be straight. I have no intention of going home.
I m twenty-five years old. But even if I wanted to, I& damn it,
Mark, she doesn t even know me. And my father& God&
Mark came over and stroked his hair. It never bothered you
before. Why now? Is it because of what happened with that French
man?
I know I told you that I came to terms with it& but damn it,
you re so lucky with your parents.
32
SKIPPING STONES
It wasn t easy in the beginning. Now, they don t care
anymore. My mother volunteers with gay teens. Imagine. He
laughed. They do want me to find some nice fellow and settle
down though.
Leo stood. How do you stand him?
Who?
You know who. He s so damn smug, and arrogant.
Whoa, what did Reed do?
Stop defending him.
I m not defending him, but Leo, he s been back less than
twenty-four hours and already he s pissed you off. What did he
say?
It s the way he looks at a person.
Leo, come on. Mark laughed. That s not fair. What did he
say?
Oh, some crap about my mother loving me even if she didn t
understand.
Sounds like he was trying to be nice.
Nice, Leo hissed. He was trying to be& He stopped. Listen
to me. What to hell has gotten into me? Stop demonizing him. He s
not Pierre. I was unfair. I said something I shouldn t have and he
gave it back to me, twofold. He laughed a little.
Mark eyed him.
I know how he s treated you, how he s hurt you, and I
suppose I can t help but make the comparison with Pierre.
Leo, I m not a little boy in need of your protection. Stop it. Be
civil to him, and knowing Reed, he ll be civil back. Now, are you
ready to do some work today? The shed outside needs painting and
I m sure you re low on cash.
Is it all right with Reed?
33
SKIPPING STONES
I spoke to him about it last night, and he said yes.
Okay. Do you have some old clothes that I can put on?
Yep. I put a big bag of old stuff in your room. You just have
to find something in there. And all the paint and brushes are out in
the shed. You won t need primer because we re going to paint it
the same color, so it just needs a going over. You may need to
scrape a bit. The paint has peeled in places, especially where the
sun hits.
Yes, Captain. Leo saluted.
Mark grabbed him and hugged him for a second. You ll
always have me. I love you, crazy boy.
Leo hugged him back. I know. And I m sorry for being so
protective of you. It s just that you can do so much better than
him. He made a face. There s someone out there who will love
you and treat you right and
Well, never mind that now. He clicked his tongue. Let me
make you some breakfast and then you get to work, slave.
Leo clicked his heels. Jawohl mein kommandant.
They ate delicious cheese omelets and brown toast, drank
almost a pot of coffee between them, and chatted about all the
renovations Mark had planned for the place. A half hour later, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl karpacz24.htw.pl
doesn t love you.
Leo looked up in surprise to see Reed standing in the living
room, a few feet away. The words came out of his mouth before he
even thought about them. You don t know what you re talking
about. And what in hell were you doing listening to my private
conversation?
Reed s expression didn t change. He lifted his broad shoulders
rather casually. I shouldn t have said anything. It is none of my
business, and as for listening to your conversation, given that you
were hollering into the phone, it was hard to miss when I walked in
the door. I thought maybe you d be upset, and my words would
comfort you. I was out of line. He turned to leave the room.
Leo hadn t been expecting an apology. He felt stupid and
embarrassed. You have the knack of making people feel like
idiots, don t you, Mr. Owens? he muttered. Shit. Why don t I just
31
SKIPPING STONES
apologize instead?
Reed paused at the door. He didn t turn around. You give me
too much credit, Leo. I don t have any magic ability to make
people feel anything. I think you re quite capable of experiencing
what you feel all on your own.
Leo found himself standing there, phone still in his hand, in an
empty room, Reed s words ringing in his head. You smug son of a
bitch. He took a breath.
What s wrong with you? Mark asked as he walked in
suddenly.
Nothing, he snapped.
You look like you d like to kill somebody.
Yeah, I d like that.
Who was on the phone? Mark asked him, reaching for it and
taking it from his hand.
My mother.
Again? Mark replaced the phone on its receiver.
She thinks you re corrupting me. He smiled, trying to shake
off his anger.
Mark laughed. God, that was done long ago. And I wasn t to
blame.
Leo sank into the easy chair. She says I can come home as
long as I pretend to be straight. I have no intention of going home.
I m twenty-five years old. But even if I wanted to, I& damn it,
Mark, she doesn t even know me. And my father& God&
Mark came over and stroked his hair. It never bothered you
before. Why now? Is it because of what happened with that French
man?
I know I told you that I came to terms with it& but damn it,
you re so lucky with your parents.
32
SKIPPING STONES
It wasn t easy in the beginning. Now, they don t care
anymore. My mother volunteers with gay teens. Imagine. He
laughed. They do want me to find some nice fellow and settle
down though.
Leo stood. How do you stand him?
Who?
You know who. He s so damn smug, and arrogant.
Whoa, what did Reed do?
Stop defending him.
I m not defending him, but Leo, he s been back less than
twenty-four hours and already he s pissed you off. What did he
say?
It s the way he looks at a person.
Leo, come on. Mark laughed. That s not fair. What did he
say?
Oh, some crap about my mother loving me even if she didn t
understand.
Sounds like he was trying to be nice.
Nice, Leo hissed. He was trying to be& He stopped. Listen
to me. What to hell has gotten into me? Stop demonizing him. He s
not Pierre. I was unfair. I said something I shouldn t have and he
gave it back to me, twofold. He laughed a little.
Mark eyed him.
I know how he s treated you, how he s hurt you, and I
suppose I can t help but make the comparison with Pierre.
Leo, I m not a little boy in need of your protection. Stop it. Be
civil to him, and knowing Reed, he ll be civil back. Now, are you
ready to do some work today? The shed outside needs painting and
I m sure you re low on cash.
Is it all right with Reed?
33
SKIPPING STONES
I spoke to him about it last night, and he said yes.
Okay. Do you have some old clothes that I can put on?
Yep. I put a big bag of old stuff in your room. You just have
to find something in there. And all the paint and brushes are out in
the shed. You won t need primer because we re going to paint it
the same color, so it just needs a going over. You may need to
scrape a bit. The paint has peeled in places, especially where the
sun hits.
Yes, Captain. Leo saluted.
Mark grabbed him and hugged him for a second. You ll
always have me. I love you, crazy boy.
Leo hugged him back. I know. And I m sorry for being so
protective of you. It s just that you can do so much better than
him. He made a face. There s someone out there who will love
you and treat you right and
Well, never mind that now. He clicked his tongue. Let me
make you some breakfast and then you get to work, slave.
Leo clicked his heels. Jawohl mein kommandant.
They ate delicious cheese omelets and brown toast, drank
almost a pot of coffee between them, and chatted about all the
renovations Mark had planned for the place. A half hour later, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]