Risky Secrets

by David Horne

  “Risky Secrets”

  M/M Gay Romance

  David Horne

  © 2018

  David Horne

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This book is intended for Adults (ages 18+) only. The contents may be offensive to some readers. It may contain graphic language, explicit sexual content, and adult situations. May contain scenes of unprotected sex. Please do not read this book if you are offended by content as mentioned above or if you are under the age of 18.

  Please educate yourself on safe sex practices before making potentially life-changing decisions about sex in real life. If you’re not sure where to start, see here: http://www.jerrycoleauthor.com/safe-sex-resources/ (courtesy of Jerry Cole).

  This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Products or brand names mentioned are trademarks of their respective holders or companies. The cover uses licensed images and are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any person(s) that may be depicted on the cover are simply models.

  Edition v1.00 (2018.12.30)

  http://www.DavidHorneauthor.com

  Special thanks to the following volunteer readers who helped with proofreading: Penny T. and those who assisted but wished to be anonymous. Thank you so much for your support.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter One

  Martin Craft had plans when he graduated from medical school. He wasn’t the best in his graduating class. Not everyone who graduated with a medical license had the top grades. And Martin was okay with his accomplishments. He’d gone through a lot growing up, and medical school was his first and only career choice after high school.

  Supportive parents, a doting mother, and father who love him, but Martin felt he’d had secrets that were unavailable to himself and his parents growing up. It wasn’t until his sophomore year of college, when he met Joel Bray that Martin finally understood what he felt wasn’t unnatural and there was an opportunity to explore love without the cost of public ridicule to go with his intimacy.

  It was the semesters he spent together with Joel that made Martin know he was a healthy young man, that he could hold up his head and live a life of sharing with someone who mattered most. After their first years together, Joel graduated from college with his business degree. He took a job on another coast, far away from Martin. While Martin continued his education, following his dream, determined to obtain his medical license and do whatever it took to make the most of life, even after a broken heart.

  He spent hours longing for Joel. The first man he kissed. The first man who shared a passion for life with him, Joel was an inspiration to Martin. A charismatic gentleman who had the world before him and people took notice. Martin emulated his lover the best he could. He wanted to break free from conforms of his upbringing that suggested lovers of the same sex didn’t have the same strength as what his parents considered traditional.

  It wasn’t their negativity Martin endured. His mother never suggested he had to change the man he was because her social circle demanded it. Martin wasn’t a young man who ever felt he had to hide his feelings. But there was something unspoken in their household that repressed him enough to keep his true feelings hidden.

  His father never asked about his lover. Even when Joel spent holidays with Martin’s family there was never an unkind word about him. They looked on Joel as Martin’s close friend, and while their silence suggested they felt conflicted about Martin’s life choices, no one ever demanded anything of Martin, to change anything about himself. It was a matter of his decisions that allowed him to feel at least a modicum of sanctity in his parents’ household.

  And they supported him through medical school. They watched over him when his broken heart threatened to consume him after Joel went off to another part of the country to pursue his career choices. It was his father who spoke of lost love to Martin that made him realize the man understood pain better than he’d ever shown before.

  “I was engaged before I met your mother,” Wayne said to Martin one night coming back from a local high school football game. Wayne loved sports. Martin spent too much time nose-deep in books to experience the magic that thrived between the fans and the players to appreciate the game. Wayne supported the local high school team. He even assisted the coaches when they had away games. “She was a lovely girl who stole my heart.”

  Martin saw the softening of his father’s eyes from the passenger seat when the man tore open the layers of his life to share with his son. Wayne watched the road. He spoke to Martin from far away, embracing a woman who was not his mother.

  “She meant everything to me.” He dared a glance at his son. Martin gave him a small, encouraging smile. “We were going to get married right after high school. We went through some scares. We thought she got pregnant.” He paused there, turning a corner, heading back toward the house from the game. They had a ritual of watching the home games, get a slice of pizza and a beer, and head home. It was usually too cold sitting on the bleachers for Martin’s mother, so Tamara stayed home. Sometimes she had nights with her friends while Wayne went on away games with the team.

  “She wasn’t pregnant, but we had decided to get married.” After a long pause, Martin realized his father wasn’t going forward with his story. He was caught up in the past, and they weren’t too far from home. If he didn’t press his father, the man would keep his tale untold.

  “What happened?” Martin asked quietly. His heart hurt. It wasn’t long after Joel had said his goodbyes when Wayne shared the past with his son. He felt he owed his father the platform and wanted to hear how he moved forward when clearly his heartbreak caught in his throat.

  “Sara decided she wanted a little more in life than what I offered.” It came out kind but sounded as if the young woman had crushed his father in one fell swoop. His tone changed when he said it, suggesting Wayne only repeated what the girl said to her before her permanent departure. “It was after the pregnancy scare. You can imagine how that must have affected two eighteen-year-old kids with no real idea what the future was going to be like.” He smiled at Martin. “I love you, son.”

  The words lifted Martin but his heart still stung, and he didn’t think it would ever feel love again after Joel.

  “I want you to know I see how much you’re hurting. I know Joel meant a lot to you.” He turned the corner again. The road home was clear. There was a light cold mist sp
rinkling against the windshield. He didn’t say much after that. Martin waited. But his father didn’t mention how he moved on from the titular character of his cautionary tale of a broken heart. “I can’t say it will get any easier with time.” The words came at the moment the car pulled into the driveway, and they were ready to get out. He looked at Martin. “You’re the only one who can decide if you’re ready to move on.”

  Chapter Two

  There was a myriad of thoughts that went through Martin’s head while he waited in the exterior waiting room. The building had a modern feel of form without a lot of comforts. The office assistant offered Martin the obligatory beverage options while he waited for his allotted time slot.

  Martin thought about a lot of things while he sat there. Arriving a half-hour early, he remained patient and quiet and declined the beverage offer. He’d worn a fresh suit, a new shirt that still had its stubborn creases from the department store, half-hidden under a stylish blazer his mother bought for his job interviews. His black shoes shined in the sunshine streaming through the front window.

  Martin checked his short blond hair in the rearview mirror of the car. His clean-shaven face looked younger than his thirty years. His tan eyes and slim nose were remnants of his mother’s traits. He had full lips that were redder than he liked. It had something to do with his fair complexion and smooth skin. He was pale because tanning never agreed with his skin. And his profession proved there were other methods to acquire vitamin D without subjecting the surface to natural UV rays. His waist size matched his age, and he continued to maintain a healthy lifestyle because it appealed to him and to athletes who looked at his chosen profession as a commitment and not just a paycheck.

  He had a slim portfolio with him that had some letters of recommendation from his residency doctors and some chief nurses. Martin knew to get on the right side of the nursing staff. They had a way of networking further than most physicians.

  There was a boisterous moment as two men emerged from the central office door. Martin remained seated, trying to ignore the young man who laughed and shook hands with the general manager. After the door closed, the general manager went back to the security of his office. The young man stopped off at the office assistant’s desk on his way out. Martin listened to the young man’s jubilant extolment toward the young woman. Martin heard the exchange and clenched his teeth. That much charisma, that height, and sharp shoes, the young man was a candidate for the position. It was a fact that became clear after he gave Martin a nod that wasn’t exactly friendly when he departed the office. Clearly, there was a winning attitude on the man for the job Martin wanted.

  “Mr. Brant will see you now,” the young man said after she received a call from the inner office.

  Martin thanked her, stood up, took a deep breath and went into the unknown.

  “Martin Craft,” Brant said as he stood up, extending a hand over the busy desk. The handshake was shockingly firm. It was impossible for Martin to return a grip after he received the heavy squeeze. “Please, have a seat.”

  Martin sat at the edge of the offered chair. He did his best to hide his nervousness.

  “So, sports medicine.” Brant had something open on the computer monitor, but Martin wasn’t able to see the screen.

  “Yes,” Martin acknowledged.

  “It’s a new one on me still.” Brant was the general manager for the minor league baseball team Cloverdale Coyotes. They were one of the most-watched teams with many of their players on their way to the major leagues. It was a premium shot as the team physician and a list of candidates that were miles long. After what Martin saw in the last person to exit Brant’s office, he did his best to hide the unlikelihood of capturing the spot ahead of the last applicant. “We had a lot of people applying for the position.”

  Martin knew better than say anything. It was something he learned from his professors. Wait to speak. Sometimes influential people tested their flock to see who jumped the gun.

  “Your references are good.” Brant scrolled through the unseen list on his monitor. “You’re in the middle of your graduating class. You’re done with your residency?” It sounded like a question, and Martin waited to see if Brant added anything else.

  The office was all about baseball. There were trophies, and layers of bright colored sports paraphernalia that surrounded the man as if he sat at the top of a cornucopia of baseball memorabilia. He leaned back and laced his fingers together, watching Martin.

  “Why you?” he asked quietly.

  It was a valid question and not something Martin expected. He wanted to make an impression, but Martin was all about treating people who experienced pain. Brant looked like a man who was a former athlete, and Martin used that to his advantage.

  “Getting to the injury first means getting on top of diagnosis,” Martin said vaguely. He took a breath and crossed his leg, easing against the back of the chair. “I graduated in the middle of the class. But I excelled at sports medicine.” He wanted to sell his brand, it wasn’t going to happen if he sat there and said nothing. “Sports is important to a lot of people. There’s a lot of money invested in cultivating players. A lot of athletes think they can push through pain, go beyond their injuries. That’s when they make mistakes. My job is to see how far they should go and make sure they know their limitations while they’re on the road to recovery.”

  “So, if you’ve got an injury to the ACL, what do you think needs to happen to get the players back out on the field.” Brant gave him a look that was off-handed but felt tested.

  Martin thought for a long moment. “It’s a long road to recovery.” Martin shook his head. “It’s first about getting into the head of the player. They need to understand they might be out for a few weeks but it doesn’t mean they’re out forever.”

  Brant nodded. “When I was playing, we just got hurt and kept going. There wasn’t all this immediate attention.” He looked to the left side of the office. Martin had already scanned the area to know there were pictures on the wall of teams posing. Likely, Brant was one of the aspiring players. “We got hurt, we got up, and we did it all over again.”

  “It takes a lot out of people when they find their limitations.” Martin knew athletes breathed for the sport. Whatever their preference, they lived for the thrill and preventable injuries turned careers into a dead end when not handled appropriately. “Treating the body is only part of the job.” Martin felt he had something more to offer than the last guy. “It’s more to get through to someone, so they can continue down the path they love.”

  Brant nodded briefly. “What do you know about baseball?” he asked.

  Martin waited again to respond. “I understand the game.”

  Brant found his answer amusing because he laughed. “You follow the Coyotes at all?”

  “Can’t say I have,” he answered truthfully. It was a damning answer, but Martin didn’t want to come off an arrogant person who spouted statistics. “I follow athletes.” He gave Brant a moment to reflect on that. “I know a man who had a promising career in baseball and lost everything when the anterior cruciate ligament separated from the distal femoral condyle because his doctor wasn’t upfront with him about the original injury. He thought after two weeks it was a matter of going back out there. It ended his promising career because he didn’t get the right diagnosis.”

  Brant studied Martin for a moment. “What do you think should’ve happened?”

  “It’s hard to say. I don’t know how the information was presented at the time of the first injury. I don’t know if the doctor explained the problem well enough. Or if the former ballplayer heeded the warning.”

  Brant moved his head slowly with recognition. “Maybe it was a little of both.” His hands untied on his head, and he leaned forward.

  “It’s not just about treating the injury.” Martin felt his closing statement was enough to seal his expectations.

  Chapter Three

  Wayne waited for Martin to say something after the phone
call. But Martin was busy enjoying a singular moment that would change his life. His mother wasn’t home from work, and they had a father-son moment that Martin felt Wayne needed.

  “I’ll be on the road a lot.” It was the verbal confirmation Wayne needed. Martin embraced his father.

  “You’re not really a baseball guy,” Wayne said off-handedly. They watched football and Wayne followed some basketball, but the man wasn’t a devoted follower of any one sport. While Martin didn’t go after athletics in high school or college, he maintained a healthy lifestyle that kept him physically fit. Wayne got the majority of his exercise walking to and from the car on his way to work. It was something his son reminded him about often.

  “You’re right. But I get to take care of the athletes, and that’s really what it’s all about.”

  “Your mom’s going to be so proud.” He picked up the cell phone. “I’m going to get reservations at the restaurant for us tonight.”

  “I can’t,” Martin said quietly. “The call from the general manager’s office was for me to report to the training camp immediately. They booked a flight. You can give me a ride to the airport.”

  Crestfallen, Wayne took a breath. “It’s so soon.”

  Martin was on his way upstairs when he glanced at his father again. “I don’t think they care about waiting,” he said.

  ***

  The coach flight to the Florida training camp was long and crowded. He had a middle seat between two overweight businessmen. One smelled of day-old sandwiches, but Martin couldn’t tell which passenger stank. Instead, he made notes in the book he brought with him on the plane. It was the sport-injury medical book he used during the residency and was something of a bible to him. Types of sports categorized the majority of common injuries. And while the baseball sub-category was highlighted, Martin knew to keep his mind open to other possibilities when it came to what was to come for him and the players.