Homecoming Hearts Series Collection

by HJ Welch

  Joey screwed his head back on and started walking, trying to pretend he hadn’t just been caught ogling. The guy gave him a nod for some reason and walked past.

  What was the nod for? Did he recognize him?

  Joey sighed to himself and shook his head. He probably did, and Joey couldn’t help that. From the number of tell-all articles that had sprung up over the years, it was apparent that everyone in town knew about Joey Sullivan running off to be in a boy band.

  Still, it would be really nice if the hunky man-candy didn’t think that he was an utter loser without even meeting him. Joey glanced back over his shoulder wistfully.

  He hadn’t noticed the guy holding anything before. But now it was obvious he had a big cardboard box perched on one hip and a brown paper bag from Maggie’s in his free hand. As Joey watched, Mr. Geek-Chic stopped and handed the bag to a guy sitting on the street who was obviously homeless from his grimy condition.

  Joey felt several emotions at once. First, that that was probably one of the kindest acts of selflessness he’d ever witnessed. The homeless guy broke into a big smile as he pulled out the bagel. Then raised his eyebrows at the hot drink Geek-Chic offered him. Then he gave the homeless guy a business card and pointed down the road.

  Joey wasn’t sure where he was giving him directions to, but by then Joey was already wrestling with a bunch of other feelings.

  He felt guilty he’d not even seen the homeless guy. He’d honestly just walked right by him. But if he had seen him, there was no way he could pretend that he would have done something so thoughtful as to buy him some food. Even if he had any money.

  How did the guy know what the homeless man would like? What if he was wheat intolerant, or vegetarian? And he’d just gone and got him a bacon and cheese bagel. Maybe he preferred chicken? Or tuna? And there were a million kinds of coffee you could get, let alone teas. What if the homeless guy didn’t like what he gave him? Wouldn’t Geek-Chic be embarrassed?

  Then a tiny, awful part of Joey felt horribly jealous.

  No one would do that for him. Well, the guys from the band would, but they didn’t know how bad things really were. He couldn’t believe a stranger would be that kind towards him, to save him when he was at his lowest.

  Because right now, he was pretty sure he was as low as he could go.

  There was no knight in shining armor to save him from his fate. So he turned back around and carried on walking.

  Do-gooders only did things like that to make themselves feel better, Joey was sure. Why else would strangers go out of their way to do nice things? Joey would give anything to help Blake, Raiden, TJ, even Reyse. Although Reyse Hickson didn’t really need anyone’s help right now judging by his chart positions.

  Those guys were his brothers, and he’d do whatever he could for them. But some random dude on the street? Joey shook his head. He had to help himself out before he could even think about anyone else.

  He clenched his fists as the sidewalk led him away from town into a more residential area. Fuck, when had he become so bitter? He remembered feeding a stray kitten one winter when he was a kid. Giving his friend Jilly his lunch money at school because the bigger kids took hers. He wasn’t heartless.

  But he was sure as hell angry and resentful right then for being forced into a corner like an angry alley cat.

  He also knew that his jealousy wasn’t entirely without bias. If it had been some soccer mom acting with such kindness, he probably could have seen the generous act more clearly for what it was. As it stood though, Joey couldn’t help but think about Mr. Gorgeous Geek-Chic being sweet to him, specifically, without a deep longing.

  What would it be like to be cared for like that?

  He gritted his teeth as he walked up the hill. He didn’t need caring for; he looked after himself. He loved his friends and, when he’d been able to, he’d given liberally to charity.

  Right now, he had nothing to give. It was easy to stick your face on a campaign when you were adored. As it stood, he suspected no one would want him at the moment, and it wouldn’t do any good if they did. He was a nobody again. He just had to protect his own skin, his own heart, and try and get through this.

  With that thought still in mind, he turned down his old street, steeling himself for what was to come. He’d played to crowds of eighty thousand people, yet stepping back onto Carter Drive was somehow far more intimidating.

  He trotted up the front porch steps he’d known his whole life. His heart was in his throat as he stood at the door, his hands trembling. There were so many things he would give to avoid this moment he was facing.

  But the sad truth was, he’d already given them. There was nothing left.

  He sang to himself in nothing more than a whisper, an old tune he’d heard as a lullaby. Murmurs of sunshine and loneliness.

  “Please,” he asked the universe. “A little kindness. That’s all I ask.”

  He pressed the bell.

  4

  Gabe

  Gabe shouldered his way into the Goodwill store, careful not to spill his green tea. “Hey, Lara,” he called out.

  Lara looked up from the battered paperback she was reading behind the counter and waved. “Oh hey, hun.” She slotted in her bookmark, pushed her glasses up her nose and scurried around to take Gabe’s box from him. “What have you got for us today?”

  “Oh, um,” he said. Despite his best effort, his stomach dropped. “Just some of Lew’s things, you know?”

  Lara froze with her hands on the box and looked up at him. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t think.”

  He shook his head. “It’s fine,” he said, mostly meaning it. “It’s for the best.”

  Lara nodded up at him. She was barely five foot five. “That’s the spirit. My mom used to say when one door closes, another opens. You never know what’s around the corner.” She winked at him and took the box to place it out of sight behind the counter. “Like, did you hear Joey Sullivan has come back?”

  Gabe stepped closer and raised his eyebrows. “Who?”

  Lara chuckled. “Who?” she said, shaking her head. “You know, Martin and Teresa’s youngest. The one that went off to be a popstar.”

  “Oh, right, yeah,” said Gabe. He sort of remembered something about that, but it was years ago. “He visiting his folks?”

  Lara sat back on her stool and wrapped her fingers around her chipped mug of instant coffee. “Flick said that Di told her that when the band broke up, he blew all his money trying to start a solo career. She said she saw it on TMZ.”

  Gabe took a second to sip his tea. “Poor guy, that sounds tough. Still, it must be nice to come home to his family.”

  Lara nodded. “I’m dreading my ones running off to college,” she admitted with a laugh. “Teresa must be so happy to have him home. Nothing like Mom’s cooking, hey?”

  Gabe offered her a sympathetic smile. Lara had lost her mom the year before and taken it pretty badly. He’d helped her with the arrangements seeing as her husband had skipped town years ago. It had been a beautiful ceremony in the end though.

  That’s why Gabe liked Lara; she always looked for the rainbow in the storm. The inheritance money meant her kids could go to the schools they wanted. She insisted they take it all, and spent her days working in the store quite happily.

  Gabe admired hard workers. It was all very well being a popstar, but that Joey boy would probably need to get a real job now. Give back to the town where he’d grown up. Gabe was happy for him, getting the chance to get back in touch with everyone. Though he doubted their paths would cross much.

  “You working today?” Lara asked.

  Gabe shook his head. “Not today.” This was one of his rare free Sundays, but he did find it hard to keep track sometimes.

  Technically, his actual job was with the library as an assistant. He mostly stacked the shelves and managed the classes and groups that they offered the community. But then he also worked part-time every other weekend with the fire depa
rtment, as well as a couple of shifts a week at the new homeless shelter in town, and taught a rock climbing class at the leisure center.

  It was rare for him to have a whole day off, let alone two in a row like he’d just had. But his friends understood about Lewis. They knew Gabe needed a moment to catch his breath. He was utterly exhausted. So for now, he was sticking to his plan of focusing on himself and his well-being after the breakup.

  He bid farewell to Lara, glad to be rid of Lewis’s last few things. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. As sad as it was, it was a new beginning, and those should always be celebrated.

  He got back in his old car. It had been his dad’s and was in pretty good shape, but there was no denying it was on its last legs. If it could just get him through this winter, Gabe thought, maybe he’d have enough saved up to get a new one.

  He pulled away from the curb and checked the map on his phone for the directions towards the animal shelter. He’d given it serious thought, and a cat seemed just the remedy for his broken heart. It wouldn’t depend on him being around all the time, but hopefully, they might be able to offer each other some love.

  On his way, he passed the same guy he’d seen when he’d walked out of the bakery. He’d not spotted him around town before, and it made Gabe think. Could this be the famous Joey Sullivan?

  He was a smallish guy. Petite was probably the word, although he had a tough look about him. From the way his jeans clung to his thighs as he walked, it was obvious he had good muscle definition. His golden curls caught the midmorning sunlight, and as Gabe drove by, he thought he caught a glimpse of a tattoo on his wrist by his sleeve.

  Joey – if that was indeed Joey Sullivan – had his gaze focused on the sidewalk. His hand was wrapped around the bag strap over his shoulder, and his face was preoccupied with a frown. Gabe only really had a chance to look for a second or two before he had to focus back on the road, but he thought Joey maybe seemed sad.

  He was probably bummed about not being a big-shot singer anymore. But at least he was going home to his family. Gabe wondered if he should have offered him a lift. He wasn’t sure what part of town the Sullivans lived in, but Joey had to be tired after all his traveling.

  The moment passed though. Gabe was already through the lights and down the road. So he contented himself with a glance in the rearview mirror at Joey’s diminishing form.

  Maybe he’d see him around again? Gabe wasn’t sure why, but he felt the urge to talk to Joey quite strongly, despite never having interacted before. But he couldn’t help but feel that Joey looked as lost as Gabe felt.

  He shook the gloomy thoughts away and refocused on the GPS taking him to the animal shelter. It wasn’t far, but it also wasn’t a route he was familiar with. He thought he knew all the roads in and out through town, but it turned out he could still be challenged from time to time.

  The lot wasn’t busy as he pulled in. The building itself was a fair size, with big glass windows at the front by the entrance doors. A silhouette of a cat and a dog had been painted on one of them, along with ‘Greenwich Animal Shelter’ underneath.

  Gabe killed the ignition and sat in the car with the keys held in his lap. He felt a terrible pang for his dog Max, but he wasn’t replacing him. Max could never be replaced. He was just moving on.

  At that thought, the pang was replaced with a thrill of excitement. Hopefully, he’d get back in the car with a new furry friend.

  The woman at reception beamed when she looked up and saw Gabe. He placed her immediately as the mom of one of the kids that came to his reading afternoons at the library, but he couldn’t remember either of their names. He’d just have to smile and hope it came back to him.

  “Well hello, sweetie,” the woman said. As he approached, she took her hands away from the computer keyboard she’d been typing at. Thankfully, she was sporting a name tag that read ‘Brooke.’ Brooke had dull brown, graying hair but a bright smile. “We haven’t seen you here before, Gabe,” she said cheerfully, her curiosity clear. “How can I help?”

  Gabe slipped his hands into his pockets and rocked on his feet. He didn’t feel like talking about Lewis, so he hoped she wouldn’t ask.

  There weren’t many other gay couples in town. Certainly not ones that were involved with the community as much as he and Lewis had been. So they’d become something of a novelty over the past few years. News of their breakup had spread like wildfire, but Gabe didn’t quite feel ready to face their questions yet.

  “I was thinking about adopting a cat,” he said. “Your website said I didn’t need to make an appointment?”

  “No, no, that’s fine,” said Brooke, bustling to her feet and coming out from behind the reception desk. “We’ve got plenty. I’m sure we can find you a purr-fect pet!”

  She chuckled at her own joke as she fished a big bunch of keys out from a drawer. Gabe smiled too at her buoyant attitude.

  “Do you have any preferences in mind? Breed? Temperament?”

  Gabe shrugged, following her through a door out into a warehouse. It was a maze of chicken wire pens, about five feet tall, all lined up next to one another. The cacophony hit him the second the door opened. All around him were barks and meows and whimpers and claws on metal and the concrete beneath. He felt overwhelmed.

  “Will you find homes for all these animals?” he asked in wonder, turning and looking at those he could see. They were in a dog section, and he had to fight the urge to take every one that he saw home.

  Brooke touched his arm lightly, getting his attention. “Most of them,” she said optimistically.

  But Gabe’s thoughts immediately latched on to what that meant. “What happens to the ones you don’t?”

  Brooke bit her lip. “We do our best,” she assured him. She was still maintaining her smile, but it didn’t quite meet her eyes. “It’s our mission to find every little buddy their forever home.”

  He looked around again. The dogs around him were gorgeous, and a few of the cages had litters of puppies in them. These were the pets that would go the quickest and easiest, he was sure.

  “You’re still set on a cat?” Brooke asked him. Gabe nodded. “Well, come on then. I’ve got a gorgeous litter of Siamese kitties, as well as a very handsome Persian.”

  She started walking off and Gabe followed her. “Have you got one that’s been here a long time,” he blurted out, not really thinking his words through. “One no one wants?”

  Brooke gave him a look of concern over her shoulder. “Have you had a cat before, sweetie?”

  Gabe shrugged. “No. My family always had dogs.”

  If he was sensible he’d go back and check out one of those lovely-looking terriers, or the collie that had wagged her tail at him. But this was his new start. He wanted a cat. One that no one else was willing to take.

  He wasn’t the only one who deserved a fresh start today.

  Brooke sighed. “Let’s get you going with one of the more easy-to-manage breeds,” she said in a firm but friendly manner. It was probably a tone she used with her kids a lot.

  But Gabe shook his head. “I want to see whoever is at the bottom of the list.”

  Brooke paused, then nodded her head and switched directions down a different row of cages. Maybe she thought once he saw the dregs, he’d listen to her and go for a more agreeable cat.

  Gabe did his best not to look at any of the cute faces peering up at him. He could only rescue one of them today, as much as he wished otherwise.

  They entered an area of empty pens. That was, all but one. “She doesn’t like the noise,” Brooke said with a sigh. “We found it’s best if we keep her away from cages with other animals.”

  They approached the pen in the corner. A striped tabby was crouched in the corner, watching them come closer with wide, blue eyes.

  Gabe felt his heart melt right through his ribcage.

  The cat had a chunk of her left ear missing as well as a few toes on her front left paw. Her fur was patchy in places, an
d one of her bottom teeth poked up over her lip making her look kind of derpy. She backed away as Brooke put one of the keys into the lock and opened the door.

  “See what I mean?” she said as the cat managed to back up even further and hissed. Her big eyes darted back and forth.

  Brooke moved aside as Gabe stepped into the cage. With his bulk, it was no easy feat. He more or less crawled in. The cat stared at him as he sat himself down and looked back at her.

  He had no idea what to do with cats. But when his dogs were ever skittish, he knew it was important to get them to trust you. So he held out his hand, offering the kitty his fingers to sniff.

  “How long has she been here?” he asked.

  “Nine months,” Brooke admitted. “Came off the street. She’s pretty difficult to manage. Not like most of the other cats here.” She looked back towards the other pens, maybe hoping to encourage him to go look.

  But Gabe smiled and didn’t get back up. He knew how it was not to be like ‘most of the others.’

  He continued to sit and hold his hand out. The cat blinked at him, narrowing her eyes. Brooke stood still and watched them.

  A few minutes of relative quiet passed. Neither he nor Brooke moved, and the din of the animals seemed to fade away. The tabby flitted her eyes back and forth, but she kept coming back to Gabe. He never shifted his gaze, hardly even blinking.

  “That’s it, good kitty,” he coaxed in a soothing voice. She regarded him some more.

  Just as his arm was starting to feel the ache of being held out, she put a tentative paw forwards.

  Brooke took in a sharp breath, but it was quiet and she didn’t move. The tabby froze, but after another minute she edged forward again.

  It probably took five minutes for her to reach Gabe’s fingers. She sniffed them experimentally. Gabe foolishly moved to stroke her, and she shot straight back to her corner to cower. But he wasn’t deterred. If he could make that much progress in just a few minutes, just think what he could achieve in a week, a month.