The Lonely Heart (25 page)

This. This was what Isaiah would miss the most, if he left Grady behind. Not the sex, though that was admittedly world-shaking at times. Not having someone there to watch Josh when Isaiah was frustrated and out of patience and just needed someone else to take over for a while. No, it was this casual affection he would miss, snuggling close to someone to exchange lazy words, without really caring what those words were. The small touches and the absent caresses that neither of them were even conscious of.

“You’re right,” Grady admitted. Isaiah jerked his head around, preoccupied enough that he had to scramble for a minute to remember what they were talking about.

“Nearly losing Josh…” Grady paused and licked his lips. “You’re right. And my perspective has definitely changed. If you and Josh do decide to leave, you won’t be going alone.”

Isaiah stilled, heart pounding. Did that mean…
surely not
. “You would come with us?”

he asked, barely daring to hope.

“Yeah, I would come with you.”

“But the Branch, it’s everything to you,” Isaiah protested, mostly out of disbelief. The last thing he wanted to do was talk Grady out of this particular idea. But at the same time, he didn’t want Grady to lose such a vital part of himself. He had a mental image of Grady, pale and worn, lost without the place that was buried so deeply within his blood.

“No,” Grady corrected. “It
was
everything to me. I’ve found something better.”

Isaiah pounced, lips crashing against Grady’s in a violent kiss as he tried to express the emotions that he didn’t have the words for. Grady pulled him closer and returned the embrace clash for clash, lips nipping and tugging, eating at each other with such force that Isaiah tasted a hint of blood.

“You’d really do that for us?” Isaiah finally had to pull back to breathe. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he struggled to get his body and emotions under control. Grady’s face was www.total-e-bound.com

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flushed, cock pressing insistently into Isaiah’s leg through the covers. Isaiah had never seen his hazel eyes so deep and dark.

Grady shook his head. “No, I’d do it for me.”

“Thank you,” Isaiah whispered.

“But…”

Isaiah squeezed his eyes shut. Oh, damn. Here it came.

“But I think we’re giving up too soon.”

His eyes shot back open. Grady studied him with serious eyes. The man even licked his lips a touch nervously.

“I won’t risk—”

“I don’t think it will come to that,” Grady interrupted. “I really don’t. Besides, what we have here, isn’t it worth fighting for?”

Isaiah sighed and dropped forward onto his lover’s chest, arousal fading into a swamp of utter exhaustion. He was just so tired. Tired of the mental tug-of-war, tired of obsessing over that damn letter, just plain tired.

Grady seemed to understand. He tangled his hand in Isaiah’s hair, tugging until Isaiah looked up from his sprawled—and very comfortable—position.

“This is why I wanted to wait until tomorrow to talk,” he chided gently. “Neither one of us is in any kind of shape to be making important decisions right now. Just know whatever we decide to do, we do it together.”

“Thank you,” Isaiah whispered. He dropped his head back onto Grady’s chest, pressing a soft kiss to the closest nipple. Grady groaned.

“Darlin’, as much as I love your mouth on me, I don’t think I’m up for it.”

“You were a minute ago,” Isaiah teased.

“Yeah, but that was a minute ago.”

Grady slid down on the mattress, pulling Isaiah with him. He wrapped the covers more firmly around both of them. Their legs and arms tangled together, bodies curled into each other.

“Sleep,” Grady ordered. “We’ll talk more in the morning, when we’re both more coherent.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Jerk.”

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“Doofus.”

“I—”

“Go to sleep, Isaiah.”

“’M not Josh.”

“I know.”

“’Kay.”

Isaiah quickly lost the battle with Morpheus, eyes sliding shut on the sight of Grady’s affectionate gaze.

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Isaiah let the front door slam behind him, pausing briefly to knock a bit of snow off his boots. The weather had eased, warming up and providing them with a bit of a lull in the snow. Blinding sun aside, it still took a blasted long time for four feet of snow to melt.

“Dillon!” he shouted. “You in here?”

His voice echoed along the hallways and Isaiah sighed. He was just about to turn around and head back outside when he heard a loud thud, followed by a curse.

Grady came thumping down the stairs, grumpy-faced and coated in dust.

“What the hell have you been doing?” Isaiah asked with amusement.

“I was looking for something in the attic.”

Isaiah grinned. “You’ve got cobwebs in your hair. Maybe I should check you for spiders.”

Grady scowled. “Did you want something in particular, or just to pester me?”

Isaiah waved the folder in his hand. “Just got done meeting with Edwards.”

Grady’s grumpiness vanished under anxiety. “What did he say? Is everything okay?”

It had only been a few weeks since they almost lost Josh, but the situation had most definitely improved. Isaiah had promptly hired a lawyer, who had sent out a lot of letters that Isaiah couldn’t understand. Josh running away, too, must have got through to the sheriff. Oh, he was still an ass, but Isaiah kind of figured it was simply the man’s natural personality. In any case, ever since that horrible night, he’d stopped harassing them or making threats. The sheriff must have worked on the mayor, too. They’d never apologised, never come right out and said ‘we’re leaving you alone now’, but no one had ever followed up on the letter, either. Isaiah figured they were safe.

Either that or some lawyer-type had pounded some sense into the town officials’ heads.

Without panic clouding his view, Isaiah had been able to do what he should have done in the first place—dig for information. He’d talked to people in social services, child advocates, lawyers…anyone he could find.

The news had been liberating. While Social Services could often be pesky about gay couples, he was family, which seemed to make all the difference. Just to be on the safe side, www.total-e-bound.com

THE LONELY HEART K.M. Mahoney 164

though, Isaiah was working on adoption proceedings. He was still trying to talk Grady into doing the same. If anything happened to Isaiah, he wanted Josh staying here.

“All signed, sealed, and delivered,” Isaiah announced. “Josh is officially and legally mine and the good town leaders can go jump in the creek.”

“Thank God,” Grady breathed.

The man looked so relieved and happy that Isaiah simply had to take a kiss. One kiss turned into two. Then three. Isaiah pushed back, panting and hard and really wishing they had time to take this upstairs. Hell, the couch would do.

“Babe, we have to go,” Isaiah said reluctantly, running his palms along Grady’s shoulders. “Josh will be waiting.”

“I guess.”

Isaiah gave him another kiss, making sure to keep this one to a quick peck. “Grab the rest of your gear. We’ve got reservations, huh?”

They were going on vacation. One whole weekend in Denver. Isaiah couldn’t wait.

They were picking Josh up from school and dropping him off at Emily’s on the way. Emily was the unofficial Barton ASL expert. She and Josh had bonded right away and she was more than willing to watch him for a couple of days.

Josh was safe and a permanent part of their lives. Grady only freaked out about their relationship once a week now. The boys had all been given raises. They were in the process of expanding the breeding barns and planning to spend more time focused on breeding horses in the spring—Grady hoped to eventually phase out the cattle entirely, although Isaiah wasn’t so sure that was the best idea. And now they were on their way to take a well-deserved few days off playing around in Denver.

Yeah, life was looking pretty good.

Isaiah smacked Grady on the butt. “Move it, cowboy,” he teased.

Grady growled, but went.

Isaiah double-checked that everything had been packed. The extended cab of his truck was crammed full. Grady came out with two more bags and Isaiah groaned.

“Babe, what the hell do you need all that crap for? I don’t think we’ve got room.”

“It’ll fit,” Grady replied with a stubborn expression. Isaiah stepped back and waved his hand.

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“Go for it,” he stated, then watched with amusement as Grady stuffed and shoved and finally managed to wedge his bags into a teeny open space.

They climbed in and headed out with one last honk and wave at the distant bulky shadow that could only be Tommy.

The drive flashed by, familiar enough that Isaiah could zone out a bit. Not much traffic, and the roads were finally clear of snow.

The long, low building of Barton’s grade school loomed ahead and Isaiah pulled in, parking in front of the kerb. He shut the truck off and stepped out, shoving his sunglasses on top of his head and squinting at the flare of sunlight that hit his eyes. On the other side of the truck, Grady leaned against the open door, waiting patiently.

A bell rang in the distance and Isaiah winced. Here it came.

Children began pouring out of the building, loud and skittering. It reminded Isaiah a bit of a swarm of locusts. God, it was a frightening sight.

“Gonna run, darlin’?” Grady drawled.

“You’d be right behind me, babe,” Isaiah retorted.

“Damn straight.”

Isaiah chuckled, scanning the mass of little people for one familiar blond head. He didn’t see it, but that was okay. He was safe on the far side of the truck, well protected from the invasion.

A small tyke about two-foot-nothing tripped and slid to the concrete, wails filling the air. Grady was over there in a second, big body crouched down as he soothed the boy. Isaiah shook his head. That was Grady. Softest heart in the West.

“Doesn’t look too bad,” Grady said, brushing dirt off the offered palms. “Hush, now, Barry-boy. I think I see your mama comin’, so wipe those tears, huh?”

The little one sniffed a couple of times, nodded, and let Grady help him up.

“Barry, did you trip again?” Melinda Pierce shook her head, ruffling the dark hair. “I swear, boy, we’re gonna get you some tighter shoes.”

She turned to Grady with a bright smile. “You do have a way with children,” she complimented.

Isaiah straightened with a jerk. Well, damn it all, she was making a move on his man.

Grady gave one of his bright smiles—as normal, completely oblivious to the come-on.

And for the love of heaven, a woman with a five-year-old should
not
look so lecherous.

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“Kids and animals,” Grady agreed. “But then, they’re easy, aren’t they? Just love ‘em.”

“Such a nice sentiment,” she murmured, glancing up coyly.

Isaiah rolled his eyes and stepped away from the truck. For Grady, he’d brave the mob of pint-sized humans. It was quite the sacrifice. He hoped Grady appreciated it.

“Grady! Isaiah!”

Isaiah’s attention was diverted when he heard Tony call his name. The school principal came jogging down the front steps of the school, seemingly oblivious to the screaming hordes darting around his knees.

The skinny man came to a halt near Grady, nearly bouncing in place. Oh, to have that kind of energy. Then again, the man probably needed it. He was, after all, a grade school principal.
There’s a special place in heaven reserved for those brave souls
, Isaiah thought. He certainly didn’t envy the man.

“Hey, Tony,” Isaiah called. He nodded politely to Melinda, who gathered up little Barry and left. Not without a few backward glances, however, and a wistful twist of her lips as her father-seeking attempts were thwarted once again. Isaiah was getting damn good at it. It was amazing. Grady might not be all that popular over in Edmonton—although it was getting better—but the good single mothers of Barton came after him in swarms.

“I was hoping I could catch you two before you left,” Tony said, grinning widely.

“Emily tell you yet?”

“Tell us what?” Grady asked.

“Well, I’ve managed to talk her into coming to the school one day a week and teaching a class on ASL. She’s also willing to do an adult night class for anyone who’s interested. I thought I’d try and convince you guys to help.”

“I’m sure we could work out something,” Isaiah agreed.

“It’s great of her to do that,” Grady added. “And you, too. The school board went for it?

I mean, Josh is just one kid.”

“Ah, but I’m very persuasive.” Tony waggled his eyebrows and Isaiah smothered a snort. “Besides, I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for these kids. We already teach them Spanish, why not sign language? It’ll be good for the kids to learn, plus we can work in some fantastic lessons about disabilities at the same time. Tolerance and diversity, yeah?”

“Wish you could teach a few people in Edmonton those lessons,” Isaiah muttered.

Tony winced. “Yeah, sorry. How is everything on the home front?”

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“Could be better, could be worse. There are certain businesses that won’t let us through the door, but it appears that the mayor has backed off on the custody thing for now.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Tony declared. “Because that was just stupid. As for the businesses—who needs them? I’d rather take my patronage elsewhere, anyway.”