The Wounded (3 page)

“Yeah, I’m fine. If you don’t mind, why don’t you go on up to bed. I’ll be there soon. I want to talk to
Jase a bit.”

Jay shifted his gaze to Jase, who nodded. Mark placed a hand on Jay’s arm, leading him away. “Think they’ll be all
right?” Jay asked once they’d left the banquet hall.

“They’ll be fine. I think they’ve been needing to talk for a while now. How about you, are you okay?”

Jay nodded, though he wasn’t sure. He’d only wanted Michael to feel he fit in, to know he wasn’t alone. Did hearing war
stories bring back memories of fallen friends? “Michael lost a good friend over there.”

Mark nodded. “So did Jase. For a long time he wouldn’t talk about it, but now he’s starting to open up.” His eyes
roved toward the banquet hall door. “As much as it hurts that he can’t yet tell me everything, I hope that with Michael he’ll
unburden himself to the understanding ear.”

They bid each other good night and Jay went upstairs. He lay awake in the dark, waiting to hear Michael’s key in the lock.

***

Jase watched Mark walk away with Jay and gave a silent thank you. He turned his attention back to Michael, who fumbled with one of the napkins
they’d used at dinner.

“You, too?” he asked softly.

Michael’s head jerked up. “What do you mean?” he snapped, then shook his head. “Sorry.”

Jase smiled awkwardly. “Not big on crowds, right? I get the sweats when I go out. I work late nights because it’s the only time there
aren’t a lot of folks around.”

Michael nodded. “I’ve been in therapy for a while. If it wasn’t for Jay, I don’t think I would have ever done
it.”

Jase stood and moved to the chair next to Michael. “I tried to push Mark away. I didn’t want him to see me since I thought I
was…less than a man. The stubborn son of a bitch wouldn’t let me, though. He saved my life, even if he doesn’t know it. I
wanted to die. I’d lost my folks when I came out. I wouldn’t have Mark, especially after what I did to him. I just wanted it to be
over. Eric, Mark’s brother, brought him to see me and Mark gave me holy hell.”

Michael looked around at the nearly empty dining hall before turning his attention back to Jase. “Same with Jay. He pulled me out of the darkness
and got me to stand on my own again.” Michael blanched. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Jase laughed, deep and hearty. “Never thought you did.”

Michael scrubbed the side of his face. “It’s weird, you know? We get invited to this because of what happened to us in the war, but
those people who love us? They’re our heroes. They won’t let us give up. Won’t let us lose out on having a life. Not everyone
is that lucky, I know, but when I think about Jay, I can’t imagine not having him in my life.”

Jase bobbed his head. “I know. That’s exactly how I feel.”

There was an awkward pause before Michael spoke. “What was it like?” he asked quietly.

Jase didn’t answer for a moment. “I don’t remember much of it. I heard voices around me and I hurt badly. I think I cried out
for Mark, but I’m not really sure. When I woke up and they told me my leg was gone, I knew the doctors were lying. I could
feel
that it
was still there. After they left, I looked and saw…nothing. It was like it was never even there. They patched me up and sent me home, but I
thought my life was over.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Michael said, his voice choked with emotion.

Jase reached out and grabbed Michael’s shoulder. “Thank you. Marky told me what happened to you. I think we’re both just damn
lucky.”

Michael nodded. “I’m really glad Jay forced me to come. Meeting you and Mark means a lot.”

“Yeah, our guys are definitely stubborn. I’d hate to see them if they didn’t use their power for good.” Jase looked
at his watch. “I’d better get back before Marky falls asleep. He made me a promise and I intend on seeing that he keeps it
tonight.”

Michael chuckled, a knowing grin spreading across his face. “Hope you have fun.”

“See you tomorrow at the parade?”

Michael shook his head. “I’m not really good with those things. I think I’ll just sit in the room and wait for Jay to come
back.”

Jase leaned forward and grabbed Michael by the elbow. “You have to come. This parade isn’t just for us, it’s for those who
love us. Jay didn’t just bring you here to sit alone. He wanted you to know how proud of you he is that you were strong enough to be up there for
him. It’s why I’m doing it for Mark. It’s my way to give
him
my thanks.”

Michael leaned back against the chair, rubbed his chin, and nodded. “Okay, but I’m marching with you, and I expect you to keep me
moving forward.”

“Deal.” Jase pulled Michael into an awkward hug. He felt Michael stiffen, then sigh, before finally relaxing into it.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Michael finally said, pulling away. He nodded toward Lisle, who had finally broken free of her
admirers. “I think I want to talk to Lisle a minute.”

“It’s a date.”

***

At long last the room door opened, emitting a momentary stripe of light to dance across the comforter. Keeping his breath even, Jay pretended to be asleep,
waiting to take his cue from Michael. “Jay,” Michael whispered. “Are you awake?”

“Yeah, I’m awake.” He rolled over and opened his arms, letting Michael slide against his chest. Michael’s breath
ruffled his hair.

If Michael wanted to speak, he would, though by his own admission, sometimes he wasn’t good with words. Instead, he roved soft lips over
Jay’s eyelids, down his jaw, mapping out his face with lips and fingers, as though memorizing every inch of skin, every ridge, every plane. Was
he imagining using only his other senses, not his sight, as the blind artist did?

Michael answered the unspoken question. “I spoke to the artist after you left. Damn, but she’s good, without ever even seeing who
she’s sculpting. Before meeting her I’d have called her handicapped, but she explained to me that, using her fingers, she finds things
in faces that eyes might miss, the way someone’s mouth pulls up higher on one side, or how a nose might be flare a bit more on the right than on
the left.”

Mimicking Michael’s movement, Jay stroked his fingers down his lover’s cheek. He found the dimple that stayed hidden except on special
occasions, and a tiny scar from when Michael fell out of tree when he was six. Each scar, each line, told a story of the man who bore them.

They abandoned faces to work lower, and though they both sported erections, there was nothing sexual in their touches. “Do you reckon that in the
dark you could pick me out of a line up?” Jay teased.

“Yeah,” Michael replied. “You have a scar here,” he traced an appendectomy scar, “and here,” a
lasting reminder of a mole that’d been removed.

“We all have our scars.”

“Yes, we do.” Michael grew silent for a time, fingertips still stroking Jay’s skin. “I guess they’re just
a part of who we are.”

“Yeah.”

More silence, then, “Why do you put up with me?”

“There’s no ‘putting up with’. I love you.” Jay pulled Michael close to rest against his chest.

“But I’m not easy to live with. Look at how hard you had to work to get me here.”

“You came, didn’t you?”

“Dragging my heels.”

“But you’re here.”

“Thanks to you.”

“What did you think of Mark and Jase?”

“I can see why you wanted me to meet them. They’re nice guys.”

“Yes, they are.” Jay had once asked his papa how he’d proposed to Mom.
“The time was right and the words just came out,”
Papa had said.

Holding Michael, gently caressing his skin, Jay’s heart filled to bursting. If the time wasn’t right, it might never be. “You
know they’re married, right?” he ventured.

“Cool! Too bad Alabama doesn’t allow that.”

Really? Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard after all. “No, they don’t. Not yet, but we don’t need the state’s
approval to live our lives together, even without the benefits of a piece of paper.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” The hitch in Michael’s voice might be a good thing or a bad thing.

“If you’re thinking I’m asking you to be my husband, then yes. If that scares the hell out of you and makes you want to run,
then I’m just thinking about ordering coffee and dessert from room service.”
Please, Lord, let him say yes!
Jay held his breath.

Laughter was the last thing Jay expected.

“What?” Oh God, he’d pushed too far and Michael’d lost his mind.

Through chuckles, Michael got out, “I was going to ask you tomorrow, after the parade.” All traces of humor fled his voice.
“That is, if you’ll have me.”

“Always. If you’ll have me.”

Lips replaced fingers on Jay’s lips, a kiss answering better than words.

Chapter Four

“Jase and Mark are waiting downstairs for us,” Jay said, smoothing down his T-shirt. “Mark and I will be watching.”
He crossed the floor the take Michael into his arms. “There’s still time to back out if you don’t want to do this.”

Michael flashed a genuine smile, not the “I’m okay, y’all can quit worrying now” smile he normally used, but an
honest-to-goodness happy smile. Of course, Jay’d been grinning all morning. “I promised Jase I’d march with him.”
Michael glanced down at his T-shirt and jeans. “I wish now I’d let you bring my uniform. Jase is wearing his.”

“Really? You mean that?”

“Yeah.”

Jay punched a few buttons on his phone. One of Michael’s brows rose in question. “Trust me.” He occupied his lover with a
kiss until a knock sounded. Jay opened the door to find Gramps, holding a hanger aloft to keep Michael’s uniform off the floor.

“Can you believe this old things still fits?” Gramps asked, waving a hand to indicate his attire, a uniform much older than
Michael’s. He passed over the hanger. “Hurry up. We don’t wanna be late.”

***

“Here’s a good spot,” Mark said.

Jay laughed. “I think over there is better.” Two red-haired women, one young, one older, frantically waved from a few feet away. Jay
led Mark to where Michael’s mother and sister waited, in lounge chairs, removing a cooler and bags from two other chairs.

“Mark, I’d like you to meet Angie and Sarah, Michael’s sister and mom.”

The drone of their meet-and-greet dropped into background noise for, in the distance, The Star Spangled Banner began. Angie and Sarah jumped from their
chairs, placing their hands over their hearts and Mark and Jay followed suit. The steady cadence of a bass drum pounded out a marching beat, ending the
national anthem and leading into
Stars and Stripes Forever
.

“There they are!” Angie shouted, hopping up on the cooler for a better look. Jay wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. The way
she bounced up and down, she’d take a tumble at any moment. Then he glanced up, and his breath caught in his throat. There was Michael, his
Michael, in full uniform, marching between Gramps and Jase, looking so much like the young soldier Jay first fell in love with while studying a photograph
and hearing stories told by an adoring family. Michael had lived up to and surpassed every one of Jay’s expectations.

He kept his eyes on Michael until the three marchers vanished around a corner, and then, as he turned away, he caught sight of another familiar face.
Gideon Rafferty, Michael’s counselor, kept time with a dozen other men about his age. He noticed Jay and winked, then followed his comrades down
the street, to cheers and “Thank you for your service.”

Only then did he notice Sarah slumped down in a folding chair, tears streaking her cheeks. Oh shit. She’d come very close to losing her son. Jay
dropped down beside her, taking her into his arms. “Shhh…” he soothed. “It’s okay. Michael’s
fine.”

“It’s not that,” she said, a watery smile belying her tears. “He texted me this morning. Said y’all were
getting married. I am so fucking proud of my boy.” For such a small woman, she was terribly strong, and her embrace cut off Jay’s air.
“Welcome to the family, Son.”

Epilogue

“I told you it’d be warm,” Mark told his husband, helping Jase out of his jacket. Back home in Vermont the evening
temperatures dipped into the teens at night, but here in Alabama temps in the 70s weren’t unusual for November.

They stood in an apple orchard, surrounded by people they didn’t know, except for Michael, Jay, Michael’s sister, Angie, and his mom
and grandparents. Through the trees Mark caught glimpses of a log cabin, recently built, that’d be Michael and Jay’s new home, a few
hundred yards from the farmhouse where Mark and Jase had spent the night.

Mark squeezed Jase’s hand, recalling their own vows. “That was us not too long ago,” he whispered.

“Happiest day of my life. Except for every day since,” Jase replied as he stroked Mark’s cheek. He cleared his throat before he asked,
“Did you ever think we’d make it? After everything I did to you—”

Mark cut him off with a kiss. “Old news. And I never doubted we’d be together.”

Jase’s eyebrows arched. “Okay, fine. I did for a while. I knew you were it for me, though. I just needed you to see it, too. I fell so
deeply in love with you and I worried that you’d never feel the same way.”

“I did. When you were clinging to my neck at the pool, I wanted to kiss you so bad. Tossing you into the deep end was one of the stupidest things
Eric ever did, but it showed me how much I needed you in my life. Leaving you was hard for me and Eric. There were times I would have welcomed them kicking
me out of the service, just so I could come back to you. I needed you to be proud of me, though. I didn’t want you to be ashamed because I
couldn’t be strong for you. Then when the whole thing came to a head, I stuck it out, because I knew if I came back, you’d never again
look at me like you used to.”

Mark cuffed Jase on the side of his head. “Idiot. No one would have thought any less of you. Mom and Dad still would have welcomed you with open
arms. I would have been beside you every step of the way. But remember, if you had come home, my brother might not be alive today. You made sure my family
wouldn’t suffer.”