Homecoming Hearts Series Collection

by HJ Welch

  Reyse offered her a small smile and picked his drink back up again. The alcohol was already helping to decrease his fucks, even just artificially and temporarily. “I’m not sure what else to do. About anything, not just Corey.”

  Evangeline frowned and also picked up her glass again, swirling it and narrowing her eyes at him. “Forgive me, darling nephew, but you are one of the most famous people on the planet, correct?”

  Reyse rolled his eyes. “Well, when you put it like that,” he mumbled.

  “Come on,” she said cheerfully with a twirl of her wrist as she got to her feet. “Let’s get this to go.”

  “Get this…” Reyse said faintly, then looked around. “This isn’t a restaurant. And I can’t go anywhere.”

  “If you’re worried about Corey, leave instructions with your doormen,” Evangeline insisted, knocking back the rest of her drink. “They really are very good. I had a dreadful fight on my hands to convince them I was family and get them to let me up here.” She grinned and winked. “It was worth it for the look on your face.”

  Reyse chewed his lip. Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. He trusted the staff here implicitly – they were paid enough to be discreet as well as just being genuinely nice people. He could leave instructions with them if Corey were to turn up.

  He shook his head. “This isn’t just about Corey. I need to work out what the hell I’m doing with my life.”

  “Exactly,” said Evangeline. She had already picked up the still mostly full pitcher and waltzed off into the kitchen. “Ah!” she said, finding a Thermos. “That will do. All right, stop fretting, we can discuss it on the drive there.”

  “Drive where?” Reyse asked apprehensively.

  Evangeline’s smile was maddeningly infuriating.

  “You’ll see,” she told him.

  26

  Reyse

  Reyse should have known they were headed back to Fort Ladrillo the second the private car turned toward LAX. But he hadn’t been thinking straight for days now (or ever, he joked weakly with himself) so it wasn’t surprising he missed it.

  “Do Mom and Dad know I’m coming back with you?” Reyse asked as their car pulled up.

  Evangeline just hummed and poured him some more cosmopolitan.

  Reyse was resigned to his fate, though. There was no going back. He was out of the closet and everyone knew it, including his parents. As the jet took off, he tried telling himself there was nothing he could do to alter the facts now. They would react however they were going to react.

  At least Evangeline still loved him. Actually, she seemed thrilled about the fact.

  “So, you knew about me and Corey, too?” he asked her on the private plane. Sometimes he forgot just how rich she was as well, thanks to all her divorces. He was pretty sure she’d made several intelligent investments, too. But she never liked to talk about money. It was ‘vulgar.’

  She patted his hand as the flight attendant presented them with a very nice bottle of Champagne. The staff were doing an excellent job of pretending they couldn’t hear a thing, Reyse felt.

  “He’s a lovely young man,” Evangeline said, not directly answering his question about Corey. She was also being discreet to a certain extent in front of the crew, even if they were purposefully not listening in. Reyse appreciated that. “I’m sure it will all work out.”

  Reyse didn’t share her confidence, but it warmed his heart all the same. Even if he never saw Corey again, he was at least glad to know Evangeline approved of him.

  Luckily, the flight was very short. Reyse was feeling decidedly tipsy after mixing vodka with bubbles, and disappointed Evangeline by insisting on ‘cheating’ by having a bottle of water and a sandwich to line his stomach. But by the time they touched down in northern California he was no longer feeling wobbly.

  He was, however, still feeling slightly sick on the drive over. But at that point it wasn’t so much to do with the alcohol and more his impending doom.

  He had to admit he was thrilled to hear that his dad was well enough that he’d been moved back home. If he was fit enough for that, he must be significantly improved. As apprehensive as Reyse was as to what his dad’s reaction to his son’s coming out would be, he was overjoyed that his health was improving.

  When the front door of his parents’ house opened to him, Foofy and Evangeline, however, what little good mood he’d managed to build vanished.

  His uncle Dave was on the other side.

  Dave didn’t say anything, but his look of disappointment and disgust spoke volumes. He turned, leaving the door open for Reyse to follow with his carry-on. Evangeline sailed straight in like she owned the place, Foofy for once calm in her arms.

  “We’re back,” she called out, plucking her large sunhat from her head and dropping it onto the coat stand with practiced ease.

  Dave had stormed off to goodness only knew where, so Reyse wasn’t sure where to expect movement from. But his mom suddenly appeared at the top of the staircase, her mouth open in shock.

  “Reyse!” she cried clutching her hands to her chest. Cautiously, she came down the stairs, like she was afraid she might scare Reyse off. “Evangeline – you brought him back?”

  “I did,” agreed Evangeline, like she was acknowledging that she was, indeed, a saint.

  His mom tiptoed down the last couple of steps, looking at Reyse like she didn’t believe he was really there.

  “I’m so sorry, Mom,” he said.

  His mom surprised Reyse and Evangeline both by flinging her arms around his neck and bursting into tears. Automatically, Reyse patted her back.

  “Reyse!” she scolded thickly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Reyse’s eyes burned, but he did his best to hold on to his composure. He was done crying. “I’m sorry,” he said again.

  “I love you no matter what,” his mom wailed angrily. “You must have been so unhappy, all these years. And Corey! I should have treated him much better!”

  Reyse didn’t want to talk about Corey. “So, you aren’t disappointed?” he asked instead.

  “That my boy has been suffering all this time?” she sniffled. “Yes, I am.”

  “I’ve hardly been suffering, Mom,” Reyse countered. “I’ve been living my dream.”

  His mom leaned back and hiccuped at him with big, red eyes. Evangeline huffed by her side. Two sisters, completely different, uniting under a common cause. Reyse would have been honored if he wasn’t busy squirming.

  “Mom, I’m a millionaire.”

  “But where’s Corey?” she asked. “I saw that interview. You were so upset about him!”

  “We’re working on that,” Evangeline said, coming to his rescue.

  Reyse blinked at the two most important women in his life, next to Bella, who he was starting to think of as an adopted sister. “You wouldn’t mind if I…” he said, not able to finish the sentence for fear of rejection.

  But his mom didn’t need him to. “All I care about is that you’re happy.” She wiped under her eyes and managed a small smile. “I think I see now just how happy he makes you.”

  “Made,” Reyse said glumly.

  “Makes,” Evangeline snapped back with a smug look on her face. “I’m telling you, it’ll all work out.”

  Reyse didn’t have the energy to argue. But he still wasn’t convinced they were really accepting this as well as they seemed to be. “But, Mom, aren’t you upset? I’ve been lying all this time. And what about grandkids?” She’d mentioned what beautiful babies he and Bella would have many a time.

  “Who says you can’t have kids?” she asked, apparently genuinely perplexed. “You can get a surrogate, or you can adopt, if that’s what you want. Like your friend, Joey.”

  For a second, Reyse didn’t understand what she’d said. “Like my…what?”

  Evangeline sighed, loudly. “I appear not to have a drink in my hand,” she announced. “This simply won’t do.” She squeezed Reyse’s shoulder. “I’ll bring us back a bottle,” she to
ld him with a wink.

  Reyse nodded faintly as she strode off, Foofy trotting behind her. What was his mom talking about with Joey?

  But then he realized. The reason Joey and Gabe had been forced to miss TJ and Ashby’s wedding. They’d been in China.

  It suddenly occurred to Reyse that maybe that hadn’t been for work.

  In the time it had taken for his brain to catch up, his mom had already brought up Joey’s Instagram, because of course she followed the other guys’ profiles, too. There were several photos uploaded already of him and Gabe with a beautiful Asian baby boy and little girl in their arms.

  From looking at the dates, Reyse was able to gather that they’d only been back in the US for about a week, so he felt like slightly less of a shitty friend. But only slightly. Damn. He needed to call his friends more often.

  He needed to let them in. What had been the very last thing he had promised Corey before he’d left? To be a better friend. He needed these guys in his life. They meant so much to him but he’d missed weddings, fatherhood. No more. From now on, he was going to stop this isolated crap and start trusting people again.

  “Oh my god,” he said tearfully, taking his mom’s phone with a goofy grin. “Joey’s a dad.”

  “And you could be too, sweetie,” his mom said, wrapping an arm around his waist. “If you want to. Someday.”

  Reyse did think he wanted that. He’d love to be a father, as terrifying as the idea was.

  It made him turn his gaze up from the screen and look up the stairs.

  “He’d love to see you, honey,” Reyse’s mom said.

  Reyse couldn’t help but scoff. “Really?” he asked nervously.

  His mom sighed. She was still hugging him around his waist, so she moved her hand to rub his arm. “Yes,” she said firmly. “I think you guys have some things to talk about.”

  “And I’ve brought supplies!” Evangeline announced, coming back up the basement stairs with a popped bottle of Champagne in one hand and three glasses held carefully in the other. Foofy was scampering along by her feet with the bottle’s cork in her mouth, her sparkly blue bow bouncing on her head, wagging her tail and looking extremely pleased with her find. When Evangeline saw Reyse and his mom’s anxious faces, she stopped and quirked an eyebrow. “Well, you two can have some later, I suppose,” she said with an eye roll.

  “Come on,” Reyse’s mom said gently to him. “I promise it will be okay.”

  Reyse wasn’t sure if he believed her. But without any other options, he had to at least try and trust she was right.

  At this point, what did he have to lose, anyway?

  27

  Reyse

  Reyse left his carry-on in the foyer and followed his mom up the stairs, Evangeline and Foofy bringing up the rear. The Champagne flutes clinked together, like a musical accompaniment as they made their ascent.

  Reyse’s parents’ bedroom door was open, so Reyse saw before he entered that his uncle was standing over the bed, talking with his dad in hushed tones. Nerves immediately sprung in Reyse’s belly. He didn’t like the way they both turned to look at Reyse, his mom and his aunt.

  “Donny,” Reyse’s mom said hopefully. “Look who came back.”

  “I’m not sure why he left,” Dave grumbled as they entered the bedroom, folding his arms.

  “Because I wasn’t welcome here,” Reyse snapped, finally sick and tired of his bullshit. He balled up his fists, planting his feet on the carpet and glaring at Dave. “You made that perfectly clear. Once I left home and it wasn’t for the Army, I was never welcome back. Well, I’m here now. I know I’m not the son or nephew anyone expected or wanted, but I’m afraid it’s the best I can do.”

  “Reyse, no,” his mom cried. Evangeline huffed and plonked her bottle of fizz on the dresser, pouring a glass. Dave folded his arms and scowled at Reyse. Foofy spat her cork out by Reyse’s dad’s bed and wagged her tail at him.

  “You need to have some respect there, son,” Dave said.

  “I respect people who earn it,” Reyse shot back. “You’re just a bully.”

  Evangeline whooped. When everyone in the room turned to look at her, she didn’t even look sheepish. She just sipped on her Champagne, swinging her leg where she was perched on the edge of the chest of drawers, and cocked an eyebrow.

  “Reyse. Is…is that how you really feel?”

  Reyse was surprised to be addressed by his own father. He turned to look at him, propped up in bed wearing new-looking pajamas. He appeared a hundred times better than he had in the hospital, with color in his cheeks and an extra several pounds on his bones. His dog tags were back around his neck, where they should have been.

  Reyse frowned and angled himself slightly to face the bed. It was the most direct interaction they’d had in a decade as they looked into each other’s eyes. “How I really feel about what?” he asked.

  “That you weren’t wanted at home,” his dad said without missing a beat.

  Reyse’s skin was clammy and his heart rate was picking up. “Well, yeah,” he said. “I know I let you down. I was never…the son you wanted.”

  “I never said that,” his dad replied. “You were never here, when did your mother or I say that?”

  Reyse took a second to rein in his emotions. He didn’t want to get upset or angry or start throwing accusations.

  “You didn’t have to,” Reyse said as evenly as he could. “We never…what I mean is, whenever you were home, I knew I was a disappointment to you.”

  For a second his dad just stared at him. Then he shifted in his bed and looked around at everyone in the room, clearly uncomfortable. Donny Hickson had never been one to talk about his feelings. “That ain’t it,” he mumbled.

  “It’s okay, Donny,” Reyse’s mom fretted. She sat beside him and took his hand. “Don’t exert yourself now.”

  “No, no,” Reyse’s dad said, frowning. “Getting knocked on your ass like that makes a man think. I reckon there are some things that might need saying here.”

  “Donny, you don’t need to apologize for anything,” Dave said incredulously.

  But Reyse’s dad shook his head. “Maybe I do,” he said. He glanced at Reyse, making Reyse’s skin run hot and cold all at once. His dad was going to apologize to him? “How were you a disappointment to us? I never…I couldn’t provide for you and your mom enough. Never knew how to talk to you. Then you were looking after us. That ain’t the way it’s supposed to be. I figured…I figured you were disappointed in me.”

  “Donny?” Dave scoffed.

  “Shh, let them talk,” Evangeline snapped.

  Reyse’s throat felt like it was full of oatmeal. He tried to swallow as he flexed his fingers and attempted to make himself stop shaking. “I never, ever thought that,” he said. “I know you wanted me to go into the Army and it killed you I didn’t-”

  “What nearly killed me was that damn stroke,” his dad interrupted. He chewed on his lip, pausing to drink some water. He may have been on the mend, but he still looked worn out. “Yeah,” he grunted. “Well, that’s what a fella thinks when he has a boy, ain’t it? It’s what Martin’s boy did, and Calvin’s and Tyronne’s. But you weren’t like that, right from the get-go. I never knew what to say when all you wanted to talk about was music and dancing and them things.”

  Dave scoffed but he didn’t say anything. Reyse was keenly aware of his mom and aunt watching on too. Jesus, he’d thought it was bad surviving that interview on Kimmy. This was possibly even worse.

  “I wanted to come home so many times,” he said in little more than a whisper. “But whenever I did, I felt like you couldn’t wait for me to go. Like you were embarrassed by me.”

  “No, Reyse,” his mom chipped in tearfully.

  But his dad shrugged. “You always talked about your fancy life. Like it was so much better than all this. I figured you wanted to get back there.” He chewed his lip again, not meeting Reyse’s eye. “It would have been kind of nice to have you around, though. I guess.�
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  “Absolutely,” Reyse’s mom cried, looking fretfully between the two men in her life. “Sweetheart-”

  “I wish you’d told us,” Reyse’s dad blurted out. He looked embarrassed, his cheeks going pink as he averted his gaze. “About…about the gay thing. It would have explained a lot.”

  Reyse was aware of Dave still looming nearby with his arms crossed. Reyse hadn’t planned on having this discussion with him around. But then, he hadn’t planned on a lot of things.

  “I didn’t think you’d approve,” he said quietly, amazingly keeping his voice steady and his emotions at bay.

  His dad nodded, pulling at the comforter over his legs and looking like he was thinking things over. “I won’t lie, it would’ve been a shock. But, well, I get why y’are why y’are now.”

  “Dad,” Reyse said patiently, trying not to get riled. It was very important to acknowledge the olive branch his dad was offering him, but it wasn’t right. “Gay guys can be tough and sign up to the military. Straight guys can like the arts and be effeminate.”

  Dave snorted.

  “Be quiet, Dave,” Evangeline said, her voice pure ice. Reyse glanced at them both, but neither looked like they were going to say anything further.

  His dad sighed. “Is it bad if that helps me, though?” he asked. He seemed genuine. “If it would have helped me back then? I thought…I thought I’d been a bad dad, letting you down. Not been there enough all these months I was away. It felt like you were choosing all that singing and dancing over your family…I guess that seems pretty dumb in hindsight.”

  “No,” Reyse said sympathetically. He took a step closer to the bed. “No, Dad. I get it. But…this is the way I was born. I always knew I would never in a million years been cut out for armed combat. I wanted to help the world in a different way. My way.”

  Dave scoffed again.

  “I said-” Evangeline snarled.

  “Oh, come on!” Dave exploded, flinging his arms out. Reyse’s mom flinched. Foofy jumped to all fours, her hackles raised as she barked at him. “You’re going to let him talk to you like that, Donny? After all this embarrassing fucking shit?”