Chapter 13

Nolan smiled to himself as he made his way to his side door. He stepped in and put his keys on the table before turning to the kitchen to pull the lasagna from the refrigerator he’d put together before leaving for work.

He had the lasagna in the oven and was setting the temperature when he noticed something felt off. He set the timer on the oven and then turned, taking in the kitchen. A cabinet was open.

"That's odd," he said to himself before he reached up to shut the cabinet door. He hesitated, knowing he hadn't left the door open. Andrew used to make fun of him for how he would go around shutting all the doors and drawers. A brief thought hit that maybe Andrew's ghost was playing tricks on him. But he didn't really believe Andrew was in ghostly form, following him around the country. He hoped that if there was something after this life, Andrew was living it up, having fun, and not watching after him.

Why would one of his cabinets be open? He would have shut it before work. His heart sped up as he glanced around, worried that maybe the person who’d come into his place and opened his cabinet was still in his house. He opened a drawer and grabbed the first thing he could find, which turned out to be a big black plastic spoon he used to stir soups and stews. He held it up and rolled his eyes. That wouldn’t do much good if he ran into someone who’d broken into his house.

He set the spoon down and grabbed a meat pounder. It wasn't much, but he might stand a chance if he ran into someone. He could at least throw it at them. Of course, they would probably pick it up and beat him to death with it. Everyone would wonder why the killer had picked a meat pounder to kill him. Good God, he could imagine the headline, "Gay Man Pounded To Death With Meat Pounder."

On second thought, he put the item down on the couch and moved through his house, fearing what would jump out at him. The thought that he should leave whispered through his mind, but he had to check. Andrew would check instead of running out.

All the bathroom doors were open, which freaked him out. He never would have left the doors open. When he stepped into his bedroom, he held his breath, wondering if the person was under the bed. He didn’t really want to get down on his knees to look, but he would have to.

Before looking under the bed, he moved into the bathroom but couldn't find anyone there. It was now or never. If he didn't check under the bed, he would lie awake all night just waiting for someone to shove a knife up through his chest. Not that a knife would make it through his box springs and mattress, but that didn't stop his imagination from working overtime.

He needed to stop watching crime shows. No one was under the bed. He hadn’t heard anyone since he’d entered his house.

Slowly, he dropped to his knees and then bent, peering under the bed. Right then, his back door opened, and Ryder called out.

Nolan screamed as fear pumped through him. Ryder ended up in the hall, staring at him on the floor.

“What are you doing? Did you scream?” Ryder asked as he laughed.

“Someone broke into my house.”

The smile on Ryder’s face disappeared. “What? How do you know?”

“The cabinets were open.”

Ryder narrowed his eyes like he didn’t believe that would be a sign the house had been broken into. “Did they take anything?”

Nothing obvious was missing. The TV was still in place, and his stereo equipment wasn't missing. He glanced at his nightstand and saw that Andrew's photo was missing. Whatever he'd felt before dwarfed in comparison to the panic he was currently experiencing.

“Fuck!”

Nolan hopped up and moved to his closet, grabbing the box with his memories of Andrew. He didn’t stop to think about Ryder being in his room as he grabbed the urn with Andrew’s ashes, seeing that it was still sealed and hadn’t been disturbed.

Nolan hugged it to his chest as he checked the items in the box. They were all still there. Nothing else mattered. Tears spilled down his cheeks as relief filled him.

Ryder knelt beside him. Nolan met his gaze and saw that Ryder’s expression was serious. He froze. Could Ryder tell this box of memories was for his husband? What would he say if he knew?

An excuse that would explain having stuff for a guy in this box was on the tip of his tongue, but it felt like acid, and he couldn’t say it. Ryder squeezed his shoulder and didn’t let go.

"I have a box like that for Amy." Ryder pulled out a photo. It happened to be the one of him and Andrew right after they got married. They were looking at each other like they were the only two people in the world. The love Andrew showed in the way he stared into Nolan's eyes had been nearly magical. It hurt to look at that photo now. He could almost hear Andrew saying, "I love you, my husband," if he stared at the photo for too long.

Nolan let loose a loud sob, and Ryder set the photo back into the box, then pulled Nolan into a hug. They clung to each other for a long moment, and he wasn't sure what he would say when the hug ended. He hadn't wanted anyone here in Texas to know he was gay.

He opened his mouth to say something that would get him off the hook, but Ryder spoke first.

“He looks like a good man. Was he military?”

Nolan gulped, then nodded. Why deny the truth? He hoped Ryder didn't hold it against him or spread it around town. Why had he moved here to Texas? He should have taken the job in Los Angeles. Sure, he wouldn't have been able to afford to buy a house, but he would have been able to be out and live the life he was supposed to be living.

"Was there a reason you came to this box? Like, wouldn't a thief have taken something else?"

Nolan tried to talk but had to clear his throat first. “The photo beside my bed is gone.”

“It was a photo of him?” Ryder angled his head toward the box.

Nolan nodded. “Yeah. I’d just put the photo of Andrew out last week.”

“Who would want any of this stuff? I mean, I would die if someone took my box of stuff from Amy, but I can’t imagine anyone going after it.”

Nolan closed the box and moved to stand. Ryder helped him up, holding on to his arm even after he was standing.

Pain circled his chest. “Andrew’s mother called. She wanted his ashes, and I thought…”

“Do you think she would break in and steal them?”

"I wouldn't put anything past her. Andrew made me swear I would never let her have his ashes or anything else from him." Nolan's head whipped up, and he met Ryder's gaze as the need to explain filled him. "Andrew was Special Forces. His job was dangerous, and he didn't pretend it wasn't. He made me promise that if he died on a mission, I would never allow his parents to have anything. His mom was an asshole and almost got him in real trouble with the military. She kept showing up on base to try to convince him to leave me and date a woman. He got a restraining order, and she was barred from entering the base. He was so angry that she pulled shit like that. Then I came home, and the photo was missing."

“Do you want me to call the sheriff?”

"And what? Tell him that the photo of my dead husband is missing? That would go over so well here. I don't really want people to know I'm gay."

Ryder nodded. “Check the rest of the house and make sure they didn’t take any money or guns.”

A bark of laughter escaped Nolan. “Guns. You’re kidding. I don’t own any guns.”

“Oh. I guess that makes sense. But you should have something to protect yourself.”

“I’m not killing anyone, so I wouldn’t use it. Trust me, Andrew tried to get me to learn to shoot, but I told him the same thing. I won’t be able to kill someone with a gun, so it would be useless.”

“What about money or documents?”

He shrugged. “I’ll look, but I don’t keep money around the house, and my documents are in a safe.” Nolan glanced around, worry filling him.

“What is it?”

He winced, knowing it made him sound weak. “What I’m really worried about is someone still being in here. Like maybe in the attic or something.” He thought Ryder was going to laugh at him, but the man only nodded.

“I’ll look around while you check for anything else stolen.”

He grabbed Ryder’s arm before he left the closet. “Thank you.”

“It’s what neighbors do.”

Nolan nodded but knew that not all neighbors in Texas would be kind to him once he came out as being gay. Ryder had found out about his husband, but Nolan didn't know what to think. The man didn't seem to be taking it badly. He could have walked out once he figured out the stuff about Andrew, but he had stuck around.

When the timer on the oven rang, he jumped and almost screamed. He found Ryder in the kitchen taking the food out of the oven.

“Sorry, I totally forgot about the food. I have some baguettes I bought from the store but haven’t heated them up.”

"That's okay. We can do that now. So, was anything of any importance taken?"

“No. Only the photo.”

“I don’t want to scare you, but they might come back.”

Nolan nodded. “I know.”

He watched as Ryder pulled the butter from the refrigerator and found a knife to cut the bread. “Do you want garlic bread?” Ryder asked.

"That's what I was thinking, but I invited you over, and you don't have to?—"

“I want to. Do you want to call the cops and get it on record?”

Nolan shook his head as he grabbed the bottle of wine Ryder had placed on the counter and opened it.

“All that was taken was the photo. I have no video evidence of anyone breaking in. Heck, I can’t even figure out how they got in.”

After slicing and buttering the bread, Ryder moved to the slider and tugged on it. He leaned in and bumped it as he pulled it back. The door hopped and then opened.

“The old sliders are easy to break in through. I’d say they got in this way then left out a different door, locking it on the way out.”

“Shit. I’m going to have to replace that door and probably change the locks.”

“I can help you change the locks tomorrow.”

“I didn’t even think she knew where I lived. She thought I was still in Virginia.”

“She probably searched your name.”

“But…shit. The clinic. I’m listed on the clinic’s site. She knows my name because I was married to her son.”

Ryder made sure the door shut then went back to making the garlic bread. It was only under the broiler for a few minutes when it started to smell so good his stomach rumbled.

“You ready to eat?” Ryder asked.

“Yeah, I’m starving. Thank you for helping out.”

“Sure,” Ryder said as he pulled the bread from the oven.

Nolan grabbed two plates and set out the utensils. He noticed Ryder had wine, too, and smiled.

“What?” Ryder asked.

“Nothing. Just that you’re drinking wine.”

“Amy taught me to like wine. It’s weird that we both lost someone special and now we’re in this podunk Texas town and we live next door to each other.”

Nolan nodded. “Yeah, it’s weird.”

This wasn't how he'd expected Ryder to act. When he'd first met the man, he'd thought they would end up hating each other. But this was the second time they'd gotten together to eat, and it felt more right than it had the time before. Maybe Ryder wasn't a jerk and didn't care that he'd been married to a man. Maybe they could be friends. His gaze strayed to Ryder's broad shoulders and scruffy jaw. He forced the lust down because he sure as hell wasn't going to look for more with the guy next door.