On the Rocks: An MM Gay Romance (Tales From Revere's Book 3)

by Leah Meers

  Good stuff kept piling up over the bad. Maybe true happiness wasn't just some fairy tale made up for other people.

  ~ ~ ~

  The day of the camp's open house dawned cool and blustery. A yellow maple leaf stuck to the outside of my bedroom window, and I watched it flutter in the breeze until a stronger one snuck under the edge and tore it away. Cody had half-woken me with a kiss when he left at the ridiculous hour of seven, but I had no trouble falling back to sleep in the warmth his body left behind on my sheets.

  The event officially opened to the public at noon, but Cody said I could stop by early if I wanted to. I wanted to know everything about his life, so I abandoned bed and hurried to the shower. An hour later, my car turned in under the decorative banner welcoming people to the first annual Camp Rocky Cove Autumn Open House.

  The end of the gravel drive opened on a lot dominated by a view of the main lodge and a big sign that pointed the way to parking in a field to the left. I started to turn my car when a man in a camp t-shirt jogged over.

  "Hey there," he said as I rolled down my window. "Event's not starting until noon. You're a might early."

  "Hi, Cody said…" My voice stuttered to a stop when I spotted the man in question striding toward us with a smile on his face.

  "Oh, I see now." The man stood back with a wide grin spreading across his face. "You're Cody's boy."

  Cody bent in the open window for a quick kiss before waving me into a parking spot around the side of the lodge instead of in the field. He slid his arms under my jacket in one of his delicious squeezes before taking my hand and heading back to his coworker.

  "Gabe, this is Jamal who I told you about. Jamal, my boyfriend Gabe."

  The word 'boyfriend' sent a thrill down my spine. We were exclusive, committed, but we hadn't had the label talk. Boyfriend. Yeah, it sounded amazingly good. The casual, comfortable tone of Cody's voice when he said it sounded even better.

  The next hour was a whirlwind of guided tour, meeting his boss Holly, who shook my hand almost hard enough to hurt, a few coworkers who I would probably forget in another hour, and twenty minutes helping move pots of mums from one side of a deck to another with a man who didn't bother to introduce himself when Cody was called away for help with the grills.

  The crowds appeared at noon, car after car of people from town and the surrounding areas filed down the drive and found a spot in the rapidly filling field. I didn't see much of Cody as Holly kept him running back and forth most of the afternoon. Emmitt and Max found me and brought me back to their group of guys from Revere's.

  It had been so long since I was part of a real group of friends, and this felt like the best one I ever knew. Finn gave me a quick one-arm hug, and his handsome boyfriend shook my hand with a smile. Max kept his arm slung around Emmitt's waist.

  "They're turning the old house on the point into a B&B, like a gay-friendly travel destination," Emmitt said. "You should give them your card." He turned to Carter. "Gabe's an amazing DJ. When you guys finally open, you should hire him for parties and stuff."

  I laughed at his enthusiasm but handed over one of my cards, anyway. "Yeah, give me a call whenever you're ready. I'd love to help. The world needs more places where LGBTQ family can feel welcome."

  "That's the goal," Carter said. "Of course, everyone who wants to rent a room can, but we think it's important to let people know they will not get judged when they come to stay. Even some places that call themselves gay-friendly aren't really as welcoming as they should be."

  We talked about travel, building plans, and ideas for events until Max interrupted. "Hold on. There's someone I wanted you to meet." He turned and called out, "Logan!" at a tall man in a plaid shirt with two boys flanking him.

  "Hey, Max, everyone." He nodded around at the group while his younger boy grabbed his arm and looked nervous.

  "This is Finn and Carter. They're opening that B&B I told you about." Max turned back to the group. "Logan owns Adler Landscape Design. We've worked together on some properties in the past, and I thought I'd pass on my recommendation."

  Logan's smile widened, and he fished a business card out of a battered leather wallet. "Sure, thanks. I'd love to talk about your project."

  "Dad…" The older boy tugged his father's sleeve and frowned. "We were going to get ice cream."

  "Yeah, we are. Patience, Mason." He turned back to the group. "Give me a call at any time."

  Carter shook his hand and Finn nodded as Logan hurried off with his boys toward the snack tables. Finn turned to Carter with a grin. "We better hurry and get the inn built. Everyone's counting on us for work, it seems."

  The laughter and chatter felt so natural as I joined in with comments and quips of my own. Hanging out with the Revere's crowd at a community event like this just cemented the idea in my head that this was home. I had the most awesome job ever, a growing circle of friends, and a gorgeous and thoughtful man ready to stand by my side.

  The group drifted away to check out different parts of the camp, and I wandered down one path toward the lake and away from the noisy crowds. Cody had asked me to stay until the end so he could show me some of his favorite spots, but there was no way I could deal with all the bustle and noise for another two hours.

  A few people clustered near the lake, but the wind off the water pushed a chill onshore, and they left again quickly. I tucked my hands in the pockets of my jacket and picked my way over the rocks to a high flat one that looked like a good seat. The cold sunk instantly through my jeans, but it wasn't bad with the late afternoon sun shining down on me.

  My mind flowed through time, but the memories that caught my attention brought a warm glow instead of splashes of pain and fear. Cody's smile, his shifting, perfect eyes, the strength of his thick arms wrapped around me. A grin snuck onto my face as I remembered our latest trip to the supermarket. We were shopping together when he grabbed me, twirled me around, and left me breathless with a steamy hot kiss in the middle of the cereal aisle.

  A yellow maple leaf tumbled into my lap from a tree overhead, and I flattened it between my palms. The symbol of this perfect day. The scrape of steps on the rocks made me turn, my mind expecting Cody to show up like in some romance novel scene. It wasn't Cody making his way across the rocks, though.

  Chaz glared at me across the space of several feet, white sneakers planted on the rocks and hands fisted at his sides. "I thought I saw you wandering around with the rest of your homo friends." His voice rumbled low and dangerous. "But they're not here now, are they?"

  Fear crashed through me and nearly stole my breath as I scrambled off the other side of the rock away from Chaz. The past filled my mind and overlaid itself over the feel of the wind off the lake, the slick rocks underfoot, and the man with hate in his eyes who advanced across them. I swallowed hard and tried to put as much bite to my words as possible. "What the fuck, Chaz. Getting banned from the diner wasn't enough for you?"

  His sneer turned into a snarl. "I wouldn't be if that fucking moose didn't have a hard-on for you." He stalked closer. "I'm not gonna let some little gay-boy mess things up for me." He lunged around the rock and snatched my jacket before I could react.

  I had warning this time, but I still had no power to counter the fist flying toward my face. A jerk to the side made the blow land on my cheek instead of my nose, but the second caught me in the gut, and I doubled over with a flare of pain. My lungs struggled to draw breath, and my mind stopped trying to fight the terror that brought back the first assault with crimson clarity.

  A scream tore out of my throat. Another fist to my side and a shove sent me sprawling hard onto the hard ground. The chill of lake water soaked into my jeans. My head cracked backwards against the rock. I curled sideways a second before a white sneaker flashed before my eyes and connected with the side of my head. Another scream.

  The pounding of feet registered dully as I fought to stay awake. More voices reached my ears and warred with the echoes of memory and Chaz's words. His hands le
ft me, and I struggled to keep the darkness at the edges of my vision from taking over.

  "Easy now, easy." The gentleness of the voice matched the hands that pulled me out of the water and laid me gingerly on my back. "Help's coming, man. You just rest easy." The man with the kind voice stood up, and a woman took his place. She murmured things I couldn't understand as I lost my battle with consciousness.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cody

  "Cody? Cody!" The voice jerked my attention away from the woman asking me about family rentals over the winter. Jamal barreled out of the path toward the lake and dodged clumps of guests as he made his way toward me.

  "What is it?" The stark look in his wide eyes immediately put me on alert. Where was Gabe? I darted a look around before Jamal reached my side, searching the open area for pale gold hair.

  He sucked in a deep breath and pointed back toward the path. "Your boy's hurt down by the water. Someone was—"

  The initial burst of fear descended into pure panic as I sprinted through the thin crowds. I ran past people craning their necks to get a glimpse of whatever happened by the lakeshore. Curses mixed with a babble of pleas under my breath as I reached the rocks and slowed to cross their smooth surfaces to the small cluster of kneeling people.

  "Gabe!" I lunged forward with arms already outstretched to push the woman and two men kneeling between me and Gabe out of the way.

  Finn looked up and caught me in one arm before helping me ease down to the rocks next to Gabe. "He's okay, Cody. He'll be okay," he muttered, but all I could see was the streaks of blood on his too-pale skin and in his hair. His cheek already bloomed with angry red swelling.

  I barely registered the woman moving away as I took her place. My shaking hand scooped up Gabe's slim fingers where they rested on his jacket.

  "Ambulance is coming, Cody," Finn said in that same low, calm voice. "He's okay. Just resting for a minute."

  He didn't look like he was resting. The sob stuck in my throat turned into a snarl as the attempts to soothe grated on my nerves. "Who did this to him?" Finn rested a hand on my arm, but I shrugged him off. "Who? Chaz? I'm gonna—" I was halfway to my feet when Finn dragged me back down.

  "Gabe needs you right now, Cody." He glanced back as the paramedics trotted down the path toward us as his voice descended to a dangerous rumble. "He won't get away with this."

  ~ ~ ~

  The hospital wouldn't let me see Gabe because I wasn't family. Carter leaned on the head nurse with impressive professionalism, but she would not budge. I reached the emergency room ten minutes after they brought Gabe in, and all they would tell me was that the doctors would take good care of him, and I was free to sit in the waiting room.

  Finn sat on my left and Emmitt on my right, Max stood with Paul from Revere's off to the side and talked in low tones. Carter paced outside with his phone pressed to his ear. Someone offered me coffee or water, but I just shook my head. I alternated between staring at the gray tile between my shoes and the heavy door that led to wherever the nurses had taken Gabe.

  I could not lose him. I would not lose him. In the moments I could tear my brain away from the fear of seeing Gabe bleeding on the rocks, rationality told me he wasn't dying… nowhere close to it. The more time passed without a word, the more the fear and anger won out over any rational thought.

  A police car eased up to the curb outside, and Carter strode over to greet the officer who climbed out. I twisted in my chair to watch them talk before they turned to come inside. Finn stood up when I did, and Max and Paul followed us over to the corner of the room.

  "Mr. Meyers? Mr. Bennett here tells me you're Mr. Bellamy's partner." The officer, whose nametag said Hobbes, spoke in a low, calm voice as if I were an animal that might spook easily.

  Partner? I shot a glance at Carter, who gave a quick nod. "Yes. Yes, I am. Did you find Chaz? Is he in custody?"

  "We spoke with Jamal Watson, who saw the end of the altercation between Mr. Bellamy and Mr. Prentiss at Camp Rocky Cove. We have two other witnesses that saw him fleeing the scene. We have officers—"

  "Did you arrest him or not?" I snapped as a splash of rage overlaid the fear in my mind. I didn't need a play-by-play of the entire afternoon. I just needed to know that Chaz would not get away with hurting the man I loved. That thought reverberated through me and made my heart beat faster. I loved him.

  Officer Hobbes opened his mouth to speak, but Finn interrupted him.

  "He tried to run down Gabe in the parking lot of the Sunrise Diner a couple weeks back. Chaz has had it in for him for a while. This is a hate crime."

  The officer covered his mouth with one hand and slipped his fingers down his smooth-shaven cheeks. A thin rainbow stripe circled his watch face, and he met my eyes and held them in a way that conveyed he understood. He glanced from me to Finn and back again before dropping his hand. "We have an APB out on him. We know his car, his address, where he hangs out, his friends. He is not getting away with this." The gravity in his voice brooked no doubt.

  I nodded and pulled away to sit down again. Finn enveloped Carter in his arms and moved to the other side of the waiting room. Max and Emmitt settled in chairs near the door.

  The officer stepped in front of me. "Have they let you in to see him?"

  "No. They won't tell me anything."

  He nodded and strode over to rap a knuckle on the nurses’ station. When a nurse appeared from the back office, he leaned forward. "You are aware that the expanded rights of LGBTQ partners when it comes to hospital visitation have been in place for nearly a decade now, right?"

  She pursed her lips for a second before flashing a brief professional smile. "I was just coming out to tell Mr. Meyers that Mr. Bellamy has designated him his ride home, and that he is welcome to come back. The doctor is just finishing Mr. Bellamy's release paperwork. Curtain seven."

  Hobbes flashed a tense smile of his own. "My work here is done." He stopped me with a raised hand as I hurried toward the door. "Take care of your man. We'll get this guy, okay?"

  I shot a quick glance at the watch on the hand he held out to me and back to meet his gaze, and he nodded. "Go." He strode back through the automatic doors to his cruiser.

  The emergency department felt cold and still after I left all the guys crowded in the waiting room. A nurse squeaked by in lime green crocs. When I muttered Gabe's name, she repeated "curtain seven" and waved her hand to the opposite corner.

  Gabe leaned back in the narrow bed with a blue-striped hospital gown covering his chest and a blanket pulled up to his waist. He looked tired and small, but thankfully not bloody anymore. A streak of red still marred his beautiful hair, and a small bandage lay near his hairline, but his face was free of anything but swelling and the start of a brutal black eye.

  "Baby," I murmured and sank down on the chair next to his bed. I wanted to climb into it, to wrap him up in my arms and never let go. If only I had kept him with me at the camp or taken care of Chaz after the diner incident. "I'm so sorry."

  Gabe looped his fingers around mine. "Sorry for what? This isn't your fault." He leaned into my embrace as I stood to hold him as close as I could. "Did they… did the cops get him?"

  I wanted to say 'yes' so badly, but I couldn't lie to Gabe. "The officer was just here. They have everyone out looking for him, and he's not getting away with this. There are witnesses stepping forward and everything. I should've…" My jaw clenched to try to keep the anger and pain inside. Gabe didn't need me falling apart on him.

  A quick triple knock sounded on the door frame beyond the curtain two seconds before a balding man in a white coat walked in. "Oh, hello there. You must be the Cody that Gabe was asking for, yes?" He shot a smile in my direction before turning back to Gabe. "How're you feeling? Nauseated, dizzy, like you can't keep your eyes open?"

  Gabe shook his head, then grimaced. "I am tired, and my head, side, and butt hurt." He glanced at me with a half-smile. "I fell on the rocks and came down hard. Probably have an enormous brui
se."

  The doctor snickered and flashed a bright smile at both of us. "You'll have to be careful to avoid any strenuous activities there until it's all better."

  My eyebrows shot up. Did the doctor just make an anal sex joke?

  "Gabe tells me you are available to take care of him and make sure he gets lots of rest for a week. Lots of sleep, no alcohol, take it easy. If anything changes, he should come back to the ER so we can check him out." He handed a stack of papers to Gabe. "There we go. You are free to leave." He turned toward me. "Get him home, some food, water, rest." With a last nod, he swept out through the curtain again.

  "Hand me my shirt. This hospital gown is depressing me." He switched the bright blue stripes for a faded black shirt with skeletal butterflies scattered across the front.

  I helped Gabe back into his long-sleeve tee and bent to tie his sneakers. My arm stayed firmly wrapped around him as we walked back to the waiting room. Emmitt and Carter looked up from where they sat, Finn rose from his chair, and Paul pushed off the wall to give Gabe a quick hug. "Take all the time you need, honey," he said. "Consider this a paid vacation."

  "I'm just gonna take him home, guys," I said, and our friends led the way out into the parking lot. We said quick goodbyes before I steered Gabe over to my car and helped him slide into the low seat.

  ~ ~ ~

  The five minutes jog down the stairs when the pizza guy texted to say he arrived was the longest I left Gabe alone for the rest of the night. My fingers sought contact as often as possible, and I watched him more than the random movie that played on the TV. After a few slices of sausage and mushroom, he got up and headed across the room.

  I stood up automatically and took three steps after him before he turned and regarded me with one of his patented sarcastic looks. "You coming in to hold my dick for me while I pee? The doc said no strenuous activity, and this could be considered heavy lifting."