A Heart for Robbie (33 page)

rooms, they put it off until Robbie’s condition stabilized. It didn’t matter, though. Julian had loved Simon from the very beginning, and a little piece of metal or paper didn’t change the need they had for each other.

It didn’t take a lot of persuasion to get Simon’s parents at the

wedding. He’d considered a really expensive present, maybe a car,

anything to get them there, but in the end, Simon’s father put his foot

down. Simon told him later that his father had told his mother in no

uncertain terms that he would not lose another child. He wanted a

relationship with his kids, and if she didn’t, well, they’d cross that bridge and not in a nice way. It took a while, but eventually she came to look at A Heart for Robbie

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Robbie as the grandson she always wanted. Simon’s father had spent more

than a few Sunday afternoons in their backyard throwing the ball around

with Robbie, making him feel like Ryne Sandberg.

Robbie ate quickly and took his bowl, spoon, and glass to the

counter before racing upstairs. Always in motion, that kid was, probably because he’d spent so many months lying in bed recovering. Now he was

all about the go-go-go.

“He makes me tired,” Simon commented as he finished his own

oatmeal.

“Are you sure that wasn’t the—” Julian peeked around to make sure

Robbie had gone up to his room. “Are you sure that wasn’t the sex last

night?”

Simon laughed and rinsed his bowl, then Robbie’s.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe,” Julian said as he put his bowl in the sink. “Maybe we can

get my mom to watch him this weekend and spend it naked in each other’s

arms. I just finished the last chapter in the new book. I may be persuaded to celebrate… naked. Did I mention the naked part?”

“You know, that’s actually something I’ve been wanting to talk with

you about,” Simon said, his expression turning serious.

“What, celebrating naked?”

“I want to go back to work.”

Julian took Simon in his arms and tilted his chin so that their eyes

met. When Robbie came home from the hospital, they’d decided together

that Julian could make more as an author than Simon could while he’d

been blacklisted from the hospitals in the area. So Simon took on the role of house husband while they cared for Robbie together, and Julian wrote

the final books in the Black Heart series. The new book was something

completely different, and Julian wouldn’t let Simon read a word until he’d finished.

“Robbie is going to be going to school soon, and it will give me a

reason to be productive.”

“You are productive, Simon. You take care of us: Robbie and his

meds, me when I’m writing and forget to eat. That’s got to be a full time job by itself.” Julian stroked Simon’s cheek. The lines had deepened a bit in his face over the last five years, but he looked remarkably the same.

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JP Barnaby

“I’m almost forty, Julian. I need to… I don’t know, I just… I want to

do something.”

“Have you thought of writing?”

The question stopped Simon short. His mouth opened and closed a

few times, but he didn’t say anything else.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Think about it. You have an advantage over

every new writer out there. You have me, and I know what I’m doing,”

Julian said with a laugh.

“I’ll think about it. That hadn’t occurred to me, but it would be great

to be productive and not have to leave Robbie,” Simon admitted.

“We’ve also been contributing heavily to the youth center. I’m sure

if I flexed my celebrity a little, I could get on the board. We could get you back on the battle lines. Maybe Robbie could go down there with you.

He’d love to play with some other kids. The kids at the preschool are

great, but they’re all younger than him. Playing with kids his age might do him good.”

“Even the rough kids?”

“They’re not going to hurt him.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Well, you don’t have to decide right now. The only thing we have

to do right now is finish setting up for our son’s birthday party. The guests will be here at two.”

“God, I can’t believe he’s already five,” Simon said, leaning forward

to kiss Julian with a slow, thorough meeting of their lips.

“I thank God every day that he made it to five.”

Julian wrapped his arms tighter around Simon as Robbie called

down from the stairs asking again about the scooter. He smiled and said a silent prayer of thanks to God for giving him everything he’d ever wanted.

About the Author

JP BARNABY, an award-winning gay romance novelist, is the author of

over a dozen books including the Little Boy Lost series, the Forbidden

Room series, and
Aaron
. As a bisexual woman, JP is a proud member of the GLBT community both online and in her small town on the outskirts

of Chicago. A member of Mensa, she is described as brilliant but troubled, sweet but introverted, and talented but deviant. She spends her days

writing software and her nights writing erotica, which is, of course, far more interesting. The spare time that she carves out between her career

and her novels is spent reading about the concept of love, which, like

some of her characters, she has never quite figured out for herself.

Website: http://www.JPBarnaby.com

Blog: http://www.jpbarnaby.com/#blog

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JPBarnaby

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JPBarnaby

Survivor Stories from JP BARNABY

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Survivor Stories from JP BARNABY

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Survivor Stories from JP BARNABY

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

The Little Boy Lost Series by JP BARNABY

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com