Chapter 14

Ryder lay in bed, his mind on Nolan. The man was gay, no question. That explained the clothes he wore and some of the other things, but Ryder was still a little surprised that Nolan wasn't straight.

Amy would have liked Nolan. They would have been friends, no question. If Nolan and his husband had lived down the street, they would have at least been close enough to invite them over for barbecues and some game nights.

He rolled to his side, tucking his hand under his pillow as he wondered what Nolan was doing at that exact moment. He’d helped Nolan devise a way to keep his slider closed with the help of an old broom stick he cut down to size. They placed bells on the doors, hoping that would wake Nolan if someone tried to break in.

Ryder had thought about offering to stay, but that would be too much. He wondered where he would have slept if he’d stayed over there. The thought of lying in the same bed as Nolan made him hard. He flipped over and groaned as he tried to push the desire away.

What the heck was up with him? He kept getting hard but refused to think too much about why. He wasn’t gay. He’d been married to a woman.

He finally drifted off and woke again to a hard cock. This time, he made it to the bathroom before he came. He had to be at work early, but he saw Nolan outside on his patio and went over to talk to him.

“Hey, do you want me to pick up locks today?”

Nolan shook his head. “No, I’m going to go out and pick something up. I’ll get a new door installed soon. Not sure how long that will take, but I’m going to call around and see what can be done.”

“I should be home by four today.”

Nolan bit his lip and then glanced up. "Thank you for everything."

Ryder had an idea the man wasn't just talking about checking his house to make sure a stranger wasn't inside, and he wasn't talking about dinner either. There wasn't any way he would tell anyone that Nolan was gay. Mainly because he wasn't sure what that would make him. Confusion filled him, and he pushed it down, not wanting to think too deeply about the implications.

He didn't need any hate thrown his way. It was bad enough that he'd moved away to the big city, but if people found out he was spending time with a gay man, they might just not like him at all.

Work wasn't too bad, and he headed home a little before four. When he pulled into his driveway, he groaned. His dad's truck was in the driveway. No way would this conversation go well. He was still mad about his parents setting him up with that woman, and he hadn't talked much to them. He also hadn't gone over to their house. When he'd gone to church, he'd arrived late and sat in the back. Then he'd left before the last song finished. He wasn't planning on attending in the morning, which might make him a heathen in his parents’ eyes, but he needed a break.

He parked so his dad could leave without him having to move his truck. When he stepped out, his dad came around from the back of his house.

“You should give us a key to your house,” his father said.

Ryder didn't reply. There wasn't any way he would ever give his parents a key to his house. He didn't want them over here when he wasn't at the place. He also didn't want them coming and going when they felt like it. If he ever dated again, he sure as hell wouldn't want them coming over in the morning and finding him in bed with some woman. An image of Nolan flashed in his mind, and he pushed it away.

His dad hated gays. There was no doubt in his mind that if his father knew Nolan was gay, he would make trouble for him.

“Your neighbor is strange.”

The hair on the back of Ryder’s neck stood on end. “Nolan is a good person. Leave him alone.”

“What? I just said he was strange.”

“Why are you here?”

His father actually gasped and placed his hand over his chest. “Don’t start accusing me of something without inviting me inside.”

“What are you and Mom trying to cook up?”

“Now, you need to treat your mother with respect. She just wants you to be happy.”

"If she wanted me to be happy, she would listen to me. I'm not dating anyone. There isn't a person in this town I'm interested in." The lie felt heavy as it left his mouth, but there was no way in hell he would even contemplate it with his father in front of him. It was bad enough that he got hard just thinking about Nolan. He didn't need his dad knowing that his thoughts were messed up.

"You have to marry someone, and you're not getting any younger."

Anger flashed hot. “I was married. I’m not getting married to someone just to breed them. I’m not cattle.”

“You’ll disappoint your mother, and I can’t have that.”

“You need to make her realize I’m not dating anyone. I’m not interested in any of the women here.”

“How can you say that? You don’t know them.”

His father wasn’t listening, and he doubted he ever would. He almost said something shocking, but he couldn’t reveal that he was having fantasies about Nolan to his father. The man would do something stupid like pull out a gun or something. Maybe not that drastic, but his father wasn’t the most stable man when it came to letting people live their lives.

When he and Amy moved to Atlanta, his father threatened to drive out there and pack his stuff to return them to Texas because his mother was unhappy that they'd moved. His dad was a bully.

“I’m not dating. I’ve told you both that I’m not dating, and I’m not. I need to do some stuff in the barn. I’ll see you later.”

“You will be at church in the morning.”

“Have a nice night.”

Ryder turned to head out to the barn. He didn’t like doing his chores when it was this hot, but the conversation with his father wasn’t going anywhere. He didn’t need to keep going round and round the same circle with the man.

Something needed to be done about his parents, but he had no idea what he could do. If another team called him up today, he would probably take the job. Not that he had his resume out there, but he was seriously contemplating leaving for good. The only regret he would have was leaving Nolan behind.