Chapter 11

Nolan had spent Saturday setting up bookshelves and unpacking boxes. There wasn't much to do around town, so he planned on catching up with his reading and watching movies he'd missed over the last few years. The bookshelves full of fiction books he'd picked up over the years would help him accomplish at least a part of that goal.

On Sunday morning, he was contemplating which movie he wanted to watch when his phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number and was about to push it to voicemail when he rolled his eyes and answered.

“Hello.” Before Nolan got the whole word out, he was contemplating hanging up.

“You answered.”

The voice seemed familiar. Then memories hit, and he wanted to toss his phone out the door. He swallowed over the rising bile and tried not to sound like he wanted to vomit.

“Sherrie.”

“I want Andrew’s ashes. I can come by the house and pick them up. I’m in Virginia today. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

Nolan almost burst out laughing. The joke was on her. She’d been an asshole when Andrew had been alive. He actually had to take out a restraining order on her because she kept showing up at the base to harass him about their marriage.

“I don’t live in Virginia.”

"Liar. You answered the phone. I'm pulling up. You'd better answer the door, or I'm calling the cops. We'll see what they have to say about you stealing his ashes."

“I didn’t steal his ashes. I’m his next of kin.”

“Bullshit. You’re some fairy who should be dead. My Andrew was a good man until you ruined him.”

This time, Nolan did snort. "That's not the story Andrew tells. He made me swear I'd never let you get close to him if he was injured or dead. You aren't getting the ashes. Don't call again."

Nolan ended the call, hoping the people who were living in their old place didn’t get too pissed about Sherrie showing up on their doorstep.

The phone rang again, and he clicked the button, silencing the noise. Two seconds passed before the phone rang again and again and again. He blocked her number, but that didn't stop her. Another number called, interrupting him. He couldn't take it anymore. Pain and pressure built. They'd had enough trouble with Sherrie when Andrew had been alive. After his death, she'd been a total nightmare.

He opened the door and stepped outside, releasing all the frustration and anger with a yell at the top of his lungs.

He felt better until he heard someone beside him. Ryder either was already back from church or hadn’t gone this weekend.

“You okay?” Ryder asked.

Nolan lifted his hand and held it up, not trusting his voice. His phone rang again, and he turned the volume down so he couldn’t hear it. He would have to get a new number. He should have changed it before, but he’d wanted to have the connection to Andrew. It was silly, but Andrew had memorized his number so he could call from anywhere in the world if he got the chance. But Andrew would never call again. Keeping his number was one of the last vestiges of hope he’d held onto, not that Andrew would come back from the dead, but he had to have something to hold on to.

“Nolan?” Ryder asked hesitantly.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled. I’m having a…thing.” He didn’t know how to explain the situation. He didn’t want to tell Ryder that his mother-in-law, who was more like an outlaw instead of family, was harassing him.

“It’s okay. You haven’t met my mom, but I’m sure once you do, you’ll understand if I ever come outside and yell like that.”

“I hope I didn’t disturb you.” Nolan turned and met Ryder’s gaze. He shouldn’t have looked at the man because now he wanted to pull him close and hug him.

“Everything’s fine. Mavis might have been stunned, but it’s all good.”

Nolan blew out a breath. He wanted to say he was sorry again, but he needed to drop the subject. He couldn’t tell Ryder the reason he had yelled was because his dead husband’s mother had called wanting his ashes. And he certainly wouldn’t lie and say he’d been married to a woman. No way would he ever disrespect Andrew that way.

“Would you like to come over for dinner?”

Nolan let go a sigh. "I would, but there's a new doctor at the clinic, and tonight is the welcome dinner."

“Oh, I didn’t know the town was getting a new doctor.”

"Yeah, the other doctor retired a few months ago. The place has been running short-staffed. It will take some of the burden off me, and my hours should be better."

“Cool. I hope it goes well with the new doctor.”

Though disappointment slid through him, he tried to keep it from showing. "So do I. Sorry again. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"Honest, I'm sure I'll be out here yelling about something my mom does at some point. I love her, but she keeps trying to set me up, and I'm nowhere close to wanting to date, much less get married. I don't have any desire to tie myself down again. Not that my marriage to Amy felt like I was tied down." Ryder blew out a breath. "I'm going to stop. I loved her, but I'm making it sound like I didn't. I just can't."

Nolan nodded, not wanting to talk about personal stuff. Knowing Ryder had lost someone sucked, but he didn’t want to commiserate. Losing Andrew had been the worst thing he’d ever gone through, and he didn’t want to keep reliving the pain. “I understand. And don’t worry about saying what you think is the wrong thing in front of me. I won’t judge you.”

Ryder nodded, then turned and walked away. He watched the man, then remembered he couldn't let on that he was gay and turned to go inside.

He checked his phone, seeing he had fifteen voicemails. He didn’t want to change his number, but it was looking more and more like he was going to have to. After blocking every number Sherrie had called from, he cleaned his house and when to the grocery store. Later that afternoon, he showered and dressed for the evening events.

The dinner would include himself, the other nurses, and the doctor. It was at a restaurant at the edge of town that had a private dining room at the back. He was the last to arrive, other than the new doctor, and greeted everyone before grabbing a glass of wine from the waiter taking care of the room.

The door opened, and the doctor stepped in. He was good looking. Late thirties, maybe forty, with dark hair and brown eyes. He worked out, which was obvious, and he looked like he had veneers.

The person who ran the office for the clinic introduced the doctor, Michael Moore, around the room, and when he got to Nolan, recognition seemed to flash in the man's eyes. But Nolan had no clue where they would have met. If he'd met this man, he probably would have remembered him.

Dinner was nice, basically meat and potatoes, but it was good. Nolan was glad he wasn’t a vegetarian because the only thing on the menu that came close to vegetarian was a house salad.

The night was winding down and Nolan said goodbye to a group who was leaving then turned around to find the doctor standing close.

“Doctor Moore, I’m glad you’re working here.”

“It will be a change. But one I’m happy for.” Moore stepped closer and flashed an overly white smile. “Have we met before?”

Nolan shrugged. “I don’t remember meeting you. I worked in Virginia for a while and was in Atlanta for school.”

“I’ve lived in Atlanta. I did my residency there.”

“Maybe you were at the hospital when I was. But that was a long time ago, and the ER was busy.”

Moore chuckled. “It was busy. I was in Boston for a few years, then Miami.”

“Wow, this place will be sleepy compared to those cities.”

“I’m honestly looking forward to having a break. The last place I was had me sleeping at the hospital more than in my own bed.”

Nolan shook his head. “Yeah, this is much more laid back. I actually have time to do my paperwork.”

Moore’s lips thinned. “That’s good, kind of. I don’t really like paperwork.”

“True. It’s not the best part of the job, but I’m not stuck at work until eight in the evening or later, and I can actually have a life.”

“Are you married?”

Pain slid through Nolan. He hated answering that question. He was in his heart, but that had broken the day Andrew died, so the true answer just sucked.

“No.”

“Huh, I could have sworn the guy you reminded me of was with someone. I can’t remember if they were married, but it was serious.”

Nolan shrugged. “Not me. Sorry. So I’ll see you on Wednesday.”

“Yes, that’s my first official day. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

“Same, Doctor Moore. Have a good evening.”

Nolan headed home, his thoughts on Andrew and then Ryder. Why did his neighbor always enter his thoughts when he was mulling over his past with Andrew? He needed to get the guy out of his mind.

He slept well and woke up early for work the next day. He waved to Ryder on his way out, glad he hadn't woken to erotic dreams of the man. Instead, he'd had weird dreams about cows and pigs. Maybe living close to the country was wearing off on him.

Nothing exciting happened at work and he stopped by the store on the way home. His phone rang, and he pulled it out, ready to block another number when he saw Ryder’s name pop up.

“Hey, Ryder. What’s up?”

“I was out in the barn and noticed someone snooping around your house. I went over to talk to them, and they ran off.”

The hair on the back of his neck prickled. “That’s weird.”

“Were you having any more work done on your place?”

“No. No one should be there.”

“Hmmm, that’s odd.”

Nolan didn’t know what to think. No one should have been at his place. A bad feeling slid through him. “Thanks for looking out for me.”

“That’s what neighbors do.”

“I really appreciate it. Let me pay you back and have you over for dinner.”

“Can’t tonight. How about Friday?”

“Sure.” Nolan stopped himself from saying it was a date because it wasn’t. No way would he say anything about this being a date or anything like that at all.

The call ended, and he went back to shopping, wondering who the heck had been sneaking around his house. He finished at the store and when he got home, he made sure nothing had been disturbed. This small town had made him complacent. He should have installed an alarm the day he moved in. He was gone from home on a predictable schedule. If he lived in a larger city, he would have installed an alarm and cameras already.

This weekend, he would figure out what he wanted and place an order. It wouldn’t be too hard to get it installed and up and running. Then he would be safe, or relatively safe, though he was still a gay man living in a deep red area.