Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Shane

Later That Week

"I can't believe the birds are still singing in this cold," Milo marveled as Shane handed him his morning cup of coffee. A splash of milk and two heaping spoonfuls of sugar. Winter had come early to Hope Peak and it made itself at home just as surely as Shane made himself at home in Milo's cabin.

"Singing is how they talk to each other." The bird song was sparse but ever-present. Shane squinted at the treeline as he joined Milo in perching on the porch steps. "They never stop, not even in the dead of winter."

Milo still hadn't adjusted to the cold. He'd pulled on three layers and pilfered one of Shane's thick flannels to go over it too. The raccoons weren't the only thieves up on Wildberry though Milo was the cutest.

Shane wrapped an arm around his boy. They huddled close, knees brushing and ankles knocking while warming their palms on the mugs.

Milo sipped his coffee. "People never stop talking either…"

"Yeah?" Shane prompted as he sipped his black coffee.

"Do you think the town will talk about me?"

"They'll have been talking about you already," Shane said with a huff of laughter, "you're gonna be the most interesting person on the mountain until somebody else moves in."

Nobody was forgotten about on the gossip grapevine but everyone took their turns getting plucked.

"Yeah, that tracks."

It was quiet for a spell, but he could sense Milo had more to say. Shane let the birds fill in the silence while Milo mustered up the rest of the conversation. "I've been worrying…I think about people here hating me if the work I did in the city is ever drudged up. I don't care if everyone knows I'm gay, but I don't want my past following me. I want it to stay where I left it."

Shane shook his head immediately yet it took him a little longer to answer. He thought about it for a long moment before he opened his mouth. His words were chosen with tender care. "Your mama, rest her soul, was always troubled. We all knew that. Yet, plenty of folks still showed up to see her put to rest. I ain't heard an unkind word about her since."

Shane had known her back in high school. Damn, that thought was a shock. It should have made Shane feel like a dirty old man as he glanced over at Milo's youthful profile. Yet it didn't. Nothing about Milo could ever feel bad or wrong.

Age was nothing but a number between them.

And Shane hadn't been close to Milo's mama. He hadn't known her well though he'd always thought she seemed like a sad soul. Hard to believe such a cheerful thing like Milo had come from her. Maybe she'd saved up all her joy and passed it on to him.

"Even if word does get out somehow about your old life, nobody is gonna treat you any differently for it," Shane continued with a grunt. "Besides, you and that big damn sack of money can buy plenty of goodwill around here. Your choice of what business to invest in or start-up. Can buy yourself whatever reputation you want."

Money couldn't buy everything, but Milo had enough to secure himself a safe and comfortable life if he spent it wisely.

Shane cleared his throat and looked down at his boots. There was more for him to say too and Milo held the quiet to let Shane bundle up the words.

"You may have followed in your mama's footsteps for a while but you didn't take the same road to its end. You're on a path of your own now."

Shane waited a beat and licked his lips before he said his next piece.

"I hope you'll let me walk it with you…I want us to walk it together. Until the very end."

Milo set down his empty coffee cup. He reached for Shane's free hand and laced their finger together. His fingers were so delicate as they pressed against Shane's bigger ones.

"We already are." Milo smiled at him. He was always smiling. His sweet smile paired perfectly with his gentle touch and soft words. "I love you, Shane."

It would have been unbelievable if Shane weren't feeling the exact same way, but Milo's confession wasn't a shock. They'd already been acting out their love for the whole week they were snowed into the cabin together. "I love you too," Shane smiled back.

The birds continued to sing.

They couldn't ignore the rest of the world forever. By the time they finished their coffee, Milo's phone had already rung twice. His car was fixed and Jessie Mae had gotten a special delivery to the store.

"Should we head into town now?" Shane asked as he gathered their empty cups.

"I'll help Pumpkin into her coat," Milo said as he pecked a kiss onto Shane's cheek before wandering back into the cabin.

It was a brief break in their newfound domesticity, but not the end of it.