8. Henry

Henry

T he next morning, Henry sat on the back stoop of his house and watched the sun slowly rise. Juan's Bluetooth and MP3 player sat beside him, volume low, as he listened to Dolly Parton's "Light of a Clear Blue Morning."

He knew of Dolly, of course, everyone did, but he'd never heard her music before. The song spoke of dark nights ending and new days dawning. The beginning of hope and the certainty that the future would work itself out.

Henry felt the words deep inside him. In the past, after spending the night with a man, he'd be self-conscious, embarrassed at the idea of not meeting expectations. He'd worry about what his parents and friends would say about a new relationship. Would they approve? Would he be accepted by the boyfriend's friends and family? For years, he'd tried so hard to be the perfect son, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect Powell.

Tomás didn't care about that. He loved Henry just because. There was no hidden agenda. He didn't want the Powell money or connections. He didn't want Henry to be pretty and quiet, just another trophy to be shown off. He just wanted Henry.

More importantly, now, with the sun rising over his messy backyard and beautiful chicken coop, Henry was ready to just be himself. He felt free in a way he never had before. Was it embarrassing? Yes. He was an adult, damn it. A night of sex shouldn't affect him this much. It was more than that, though.

The difference between sex with Tomás and sex with anyone else was how it made Henry feel afterward. Tomás's love wasn't possessive or shallow. He'd worshiped Henry, his every touch full of reverence. Henry finally felt comfortable in his own skin. He was where he wanted to be, with who he wanted.

"Everything's gonna be alright," he sang softly. "It's gonna be okay."

He wiped at the tears running down his cheeks, flushing when he noticed Juan watching him from where he leaned against the house. The large alpha was a bit odd. His short mohawk was dyed a deep green and he wore his work clothes – jeans, boots, flannel shirt and a t-shirt with a sasquatch on it.

"Good morning," he said, smiling past his tears. "Tomás is still sleeping inside."

Juan gave him a soft look and sat next to him. "You like Dolly, huh?"

"I've never heard her before." Henry laughed, embarrassed as more tears fell. "Damn it, my eyes won't stop leaking."

"She does that to us all sometimes." Juan leaned over and bumped his shoulder against Henry's. "I like this song a lot. There's nothing more beautiful than a bit of hope after a long fight."

Henry nodded, trying to stifle a sob. "I'm so tired of pretending to be someone I'm not. Of worrying that I'm not enough. I'm fucking beautiful, damn it."

"You're gorgeous." Juan nodded. "Tomás sees it. We all do."

Henry sobbed harder. "God, the way he makes me feel. He loves me." He gestured to himself. "Me. Hell, when I'm with him, I love me too."

"You deserve that love."

"My last relationship was," Henry struggled to breathe for a moment, "really, really bad. It ended right before I came to Hobson Hills for the first time. He made me feel so bad about myself. I'd never had a lot of self-confidence anyway, but he convinced me I was garbage. Nothing I did was ever right because I was stupid and na?ve. No one loved me because I was a disgusting lump of nothingness. The only redeeming quality I had was my money."

"That fucking piece of shit." Juan wrapped an arm around him. "You know that's not true. Right?"

Henry nodded. "I do now, but not at first. I was convinced he was right. He… Keaton," he scowled as he said the name. "He shared me with his friends, and I let him because I thought that was all I was good for." He shivered, tears falling faster. "I've never told anyone this."

"Your story is safe with me, hermanito."

"When I wanted to leave him, Keaton threatened to send pictures of me with them to everyone we knew, including my papa. I stayed like the fool he made me into. No one knew. No one could see what he was doing to me. Everyone thought he was this great guy. If he hadn't dumped me, I don't know what I would have done."

"What would say to your younger self if you could?"

"I would tell him that he's better than a hundred Keatons, and that no one should ever make him feel that way about himself. I'm a good person and I deserve respect."

"You do deserve respect." Juan nodded. "I spent my childhood watching my alpha dad treat my omega dad like a servant. He expected him to cook and clean and look good. That was it. Papa didn't deserve that, but it's how he was raised. It took a long time for him to decide to live for himself. It's a hard thing to do, hermanito. You are braver than you think."

"Thank you," Henry whispered. "I can't believe I dumped all this on you."

"Blame Dolly. She does this to all of us." Juan pressed repeat on his MP3 player. "Come on. It's time to celebrate yourself." He pulled Henry to his feet. "Dance with me."

Henry laughed and sobbed both as he spun around, singing the song along with Juan and Dolly. His body felt weightless, as if he was ready to float away into the sunrise. He couldn't believe he'd told Juan all that stuff about Keaton.

Journey and Mitzy barked, dancing around them excitedly.

"What's going on here?" Tomás leaned against the door, looking sleepy, and smiled as he watched them. Henry enjoyed his stare, feeling the love and joy of it soak into him.

"Oh no." Carter came to stand next to Tomás, shaking his head. "Dolly Parton got another one, didn't she?"

"Juan's going to drag my omega off to his Dolly Parton cult meeting." Tomás sighed, eyes dancing with amusement. "I'm just going to have to accept it."

Juan spun him again. "You'll love our club, Henry. We're Dolly's Diamonds and Dragons. The best club in town. We meet every Tuesday and Thursday at the library."

"I'll be there." Henry closed his eyes, getting dizzy. He let the music fill him, enjoying the moment of pure joy.

"Where have you been?" Audrey greeted him at the door when he got home. His sister looked as perfect as always in her Gucci slip-on heels and black silk jumpsuit.

"You're here?" Henry wrapped his arms around her and settled his head on her shoulder. He was so tired, his emotions wrung dry. Her familiar scent, Baccarat Rouge 540, soothed him. "I love you."

Teague and Sam watched them from the couch, surprised, puppies in their lap waiting to be fed.

"Good night?" Sam asked, smirking.

"The best."

"Where were you?" Audrey grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back. "What's wrong with you. Did you take something? You look high."

"High on Dolly Parton." Henry sat next to Sam and took one of the puppies. "Did you know there's a fan club for her in town?"

"Please tell me you didn't join Dolly's Diamonds and Dragons." Sam groaned. "I guess it's better than Ernie's Bigfoot search group, but only by a little."

"We meet every Tuesday and Thursday." Henry watched the puppy drink from the bottle.

"What is going on here?" Audrey pushed him over, squeezing herself onto the couch next to him. "And where's Journey? You're never without that dog."

"He's playing with his friend Mitzy today." He leaned his head on Audrey's shoulder. "I'm really happy you're here."

"High on Dolly Parton." She shook her head. "What has this town done to you, baby bumblebee?"

Sam snorted. "Be careful, Audrey. It'll get you next."

She gave the three men a disdainful look and stood. "I'm going to your house. I brought some samples I want to show Carter."

"Fine, but don't touch my floor. It's perfect as it is."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay." She strode to the door, then turned around. "Oh, I almost forgot. Papa says you have to come to his charity ball in two weeks. Everyone's going to be there, so he wants all of us present." She smiled sweetly at Teague. "Including the newest addition to the family."

"Say what?" Teague looked horrified.

"You're family now, and the Powell family has responsibilities." Audrey sniffed. "I'll take care of your tuxes. I assume Sam is your plus one?"

"Do I have to go?" Teague asked.

Sam patted his leg. "Sorry, love. Timothy is offering an olive branch by inviting you. We should go."

"Two tuxes then." Audrey nodded and opened the door. "Three if you bring Casey and you really should. Papa is a pushover for babies. Bye-bye."

The room was quiet for a while after she left as they focused on feeding puppies.

"I don't want to go," Teague mumbled, breaking the silence.

"I don't either," Henry admitted, hands shaking as he cupped the puppy close to his face. He hadn't been to a party in New York since Keaton had dumped him. His family was close to Keaton's so the asshole would probably be there. So would all of his so-called the friends. The people who had believed Keaton's lies. "I really don't want to go."

"We'll be there with you," Sam said and squeezed his knee.

Henry couldn't help but smile. He had never told Sam about any of the issues he'd had in New York, but his friend supported him, no matter what. He never pushed or asked questions. He just patiently loved him.

"Well, I haven't seen Papa in months, so I really should go."

Sam set his puppy back into its padded laundry basket bed. "So, how was last night?"

Henry sighed happily. "I'm in love."

"That's so sweet." Sam hugged him.

"Hope Tomás is ready to meet Audrey," Teague said, scowling. "Why do I have to go to a stupid ball. I'm not Cinderella."

Henry ignored his grumbling as the situation really set in. "Shit, Audrey is going to the house where Tomás is."

"She doesn't know about him."

"It doesn't matter. She'll be Audrey all over everything. What if he doesn't like her? Sometimes it's hard to see her good qualities."

"Maybe you should go back." Teague gave him an encouraging look. "We'll cover chores today."

Henry took a deep breath, then shook his head. "No. I need to trust Tomás. Plus, I have responsibilities."

Sam kissed his cheek. "I'm so proud of you. I like you high on Dolly Parton."

"Tomás better keep treating you right," Teague mumbled, scowling again. "He should come to the stupid ball too."

"I'm not doing that to him." Henry shook his head. "Not until I'm absolutely sure Papa won't chase him off."

"What happened to trusting Tomás?" Sam asked, snickering.