Hurricane Reese

by R. L. Merrill

  Jude frowned and chewed on his lip. “I don’t know. But…. It’s, well, it’s a family—”

  Reese held up a hand. “You don’t have to tell me anything. I understand. But if I can help, I’d be happy to.”

  Jude dropped his hands, cocked his head to the side, and studied Reese. Then he approached him and placed a palm against Reese’s cheek.

  “You’re so not what I thought you’d be.” He pushed up on his toes to kiss Reese softly on the lips and then disappeared around the corner. “I’ll meet you over there,” he called. Reese heard the water run in the bathroom a moment later and the sounds of tooth brushing. Jude was back in minutes with keys in his hand. He seemed lost, like he wasn’t really sure what to do.

  “Jude?” Reese placed a hand on his shoulder. “Whatever it is, I’m here if you need me.”

  Jude looked up at him as though he wanted to spill everything. Instead he nodded, chewed on his lip again, and left without another word.

  Chapter Nineteen

  JUDE CURSED as he took a corner a little sharply on the way to his brother’s school. Bailey’s counselor said she’d keep Bailey in the office until he could get there. Jude rushed in the front doors and took the familiar path to the counselor’s office. He’d graduated just over four years before, but it felt like a lifetime.

  “Jude,” Mrs. Martinelli said as she shook his hand. “It’s really good to see you. Please come in.”

  She gestured to the empty seat next to Bailey, and Jude sat down. Bailey wouldn’t look at him, which pained Jude tremendously.

  “I’m sorry to take you from work, but Bailey has something he’d like to tell you.”

  Mrs. Martinelli waited patiently at her desk for Bailey to speak. After almost a full minute of silence, Bailey mumbled, “I got picked up cutting school.”

  “Excuse me. What did you say?” Jude asked in a low voice. He shifted in his seat to look more closely at his brother. Bailey had lost weight or grown… or both. He didn’t look high, but something was off.

  “The police did a truancy sweep this morning, and they found your brother downtown, coming out of a coffee shop.”

  Jude raised an eyebrow in question at his brother.

  Bailey said nothing. They sat in silence until Jude thought he’d gone deaf.

  “Mrs. Martinelli? May I speak with my brother alone for a moment?”

  She seemed uneasy about leaving them, but Jude figured she knew him and knew he worked with the kids. She stood up.

  “I’ll just be right outside if you need me,” she said. She touched Bailey’s shoulder on her way out the door. Jude turned to face his brother and planned to wait him out, but Bailey spoke.

  “I know it was stupid, and I know I shouldn’t have done it, but you have to let me explain.”

  “I’m waiting,” Jude said after a moment.

  Bailey looked down at his shoes. “You’ll think it’s stupid.”

  Jude sighed. “I will always listen to you, Bailey. No matter what. But you have to be honest with me.”

  “I was out trying to find a job. I thought if I earned some money, I could help, you know? Pay for an apartment. And we could move out. With Brianna. I’m just so sick of it there.”

  To Jude’s horror, Bailey started to cry.

  “Bail, no. Honey, don’t cry.” He knelt next to his brother’s chair and breathed a sigh of relief when his brother accepted his embrace. Jude held Bailey while he cried and cried as though his heart were breaking.

  “I’m going to fix this,” Jude said. “Give me a week. Stick it out for a week, and I’ll find us a place. Just the three of us. I promise.”

  Bailey looked up at him with dark eyes so much like his own. “I can’t take it anymore,” he cried, his lower lip quivering. “I’m always getting yelled at, always doing something wrong. Brianna’s the star, and I’m the loser. My grades will never be like yours and hers. Tita Gemma tries to be nice to me, but….”

  Jude hugged his brother tightly. He knew just how difficult it was for his younger brother to be compared to his older siblings. Bailey was the best dancer of the three of them, but academics were always hard for him. Jude would help. He would make it right. Until his parents came home.

  Mrs. Martinelli came back in with a sad smile. “How’re we doing in here?”

  Jude stood and took his chair, moved it closer to Bailey’s, and grabbed for his hand. “My brother is going through a tough time at home. I’m going to try to come up with a solution, but is it okay if I take him with me? For the rest of today? He’ll be back tomorrow, I promise.”

  Mrs. Martinelli grabbed a pad of passes from her desk. “I think that’s a great idea. Bailey, you give yourself a break today, spend some time with your brother, and see how you feel tomorrow. Okay?” She handed the pass to Bailey and shook hands with Jude. “I’m here if you need me. Either of you.”

  “Thank you,” Bailey mumbled as he and Jude left the office. Jude nodded his thanks, and they walked quietly to the car and got inside. Jude sat for a moment before turning on the engine.

  “I have a confession to make, Bailey.”

  Bailey turned to look at him with a frown. “You? A confession?”

  “Yeah. I do. Okay? Look. You know I got let go, but then Reese asked me back because he needed help, right?” This was going to be much more difficult than telling Mom. Jude blew out a breath. “I’m staying with him, but there’s something else I need to tell you.”

  Jude turned to look at Bailey and recognized the same crease in his forehead he saw when he looked in the mirror.

  “I’m gay, Bailey.”

  Bailey blinked. “Okay. So?”

  Jude blinked. “‘Okay? So?’ That’s it?”

  Bailey shrugged. “So, you’re gay. So? What does that have to do with anything?”

  Jude laughed loudly. “Wow. Yeah. It has everything to do with it. Umm… I’m kind of…. There’s something….”

  “I’ve never seen you act so weird. What? Do you have a boyfriend or something? Look, whatever it is, it doesn’t matter to me as long as you’re happy.”

  Now it was Jude’s turn to cry. With everything Bailey had been through, he cared about Jude’s happiness first.

  “I love you, Bail. Seriously. I don’t deserve you, but I love you. You’re right. I have a… something. Reese. I don’t know what’s happening.”

  For the first time in a very long time, Bailey smiled. He beamed. “That’s really cool, Jude. I’m happy for you.”

  “Thanks,” Jude said as he wiped at his eyes. “The reason it matters is that I’ve been back staying at the house. But I’m going to find us a place. Okay? I promise. I’ll make it work. Somehow.”

  Bailey put a hand on his arm. “Jude, I don’t care if I have to sleep on the floor somewhere. Anywhere. Just please don’t make me go back to Tito Rommel’s. I hate it there.”

  Lord, what was he about to do?

  REESE STAYED at the hospital through lunch and told Grandpa he’d be back in the evening. He wasn’t sure why Jude hadn’t made it there, and he was worried. He checked his phone a couple of times, but there was no word. Then he went home thinking he’d grab some food, but instead he just collapsed onto the bed. He smiled when he smelled Jude’s cologne. He knew he should get up and change the sheets, maybe even straighten up their mess, but he was too tired. It felt empty without Jude there.

  “Reese? Are you home?”

  Reese woke to the sound of Jude calling from the living room. He popped up out of bed, and had to fight to keep from running out and jumping on him—which turned out to be a good move, since he wasn’t alone.

  “Heyyyy…. Wow, Jude, you didn’t tell me you had a mini-me.”

  Jude looked as uncomfortable as Reese had ever seen him. And the kid was grinning like he’d just caught big bro in deep doo-doo.

  “This is my brother, Bailey. Bailey, this is Reese Matheson.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Bailey said. He walked forward with his hand extended
. Reese shook hands with the kid and smiled at Jude.

  “Let me fix you both lunch,” Jude said hurriedly as he walked toward the kitchen. Reese recognized Jude’s need to busy himself when he was uncomfortable. Reese and Bailey followed him in. Jude pulled out some pasta from the drawer and started water boiling. He found the rotisserie chicken Reese had picked up and sliced breast pieces off for each of them. Then he pulled fresh broccoli from the drawer in the fridge to steam… and was promptly out of busy work. The whole time Reese and Bailey sat at the table chatting about life.

  “So you haven’t actually started learning yet, even though you have your permit?” Reese asked Bailey.

  Jude dropped a spoon loudly into the pasta bowl. “What? When did you get your permit?” Reese could hear the frustration in his voice.

  Bailey shrugged. “A couple weeks ago, I think? Tita Gemma took me. Said she’d put me to work once I got my license.”

  Jude looked as though he’d just been kicked in the stomach. He turned to finish the food and called over his shoulder, “Bail, go wash up. The bathroom is down the hall.”

  “Sure. And thank you for lunch.”

  Reese couldn’t hide his shit-eating grin. “You brought your brother over.”

  Jude turned to face him and crossed his arms. “I did.”

  Reese’s face was going to break if he smiled any wider.

  “He cut school to go try to find a job. His counselor called me and asked me to come down to the school to talk.”

  Reese’s smile faded as his look turned to confusion. “Why would he do that?”

  “Because he’s unhappy living with our uncle. He had it in his mind that if he could contribute, I would take him and our sister and get a place of our own. Which I need to do. I’ll continue working with you, Reese, and with your grandfather, but I need to find a place for them.”

  Reese folded his hands on the table. “Bring them here. We’ll make it work. They can have my room. You and I can stay in the garage. We’ll buy a bed.” He nodded like he had it all figured out.

  Jude shook his head and turned to the food preparation as Bailey came back to the room.

  “So, are you my brother’s boyfriend?” Bailey asked Reese.

  Jude dropped the sauce-covered wooden spoon on the floor. “Shut up!” Jude snapped at his brother.

  Bailey’s smile dropped, and he put his head down, completely admonished.

  Chapter Twenty

  REESE COULDN’T help but be amused by Jude’s discomfort, but he figured he should be the adult. “It’s a little early to be asking that question, I think. But I will say I care about your brother a lot, and I would hope you would respect his feelings in all of this.”

  Jude stood quickly and fixed Reese with a warning look. “We’ll talk about this later,” he said through gritted teeth.

  Lunch was a quiet meal. The only exception was Jude asking Reese how Grandpa was that morning.

  “Already getting in trouble. The pain meds seemed to be keeping him comfortable. He recognized me at least. That’s always good.”

  Jude gave him a sad look. He returned to his food and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I need to take Bailey home to my uncle’s and tell him I’ll be working out a plan to move into a place with them within the week. I appreciate your offer, Reese, but I don’t think—”

  “Just think about it before you say no. Please.” Reese knew he was pushing his luck. Things were so new between them that it could be a catastrophe, but he trusted his instincts. And his feelings. He might be just getting to know Jude, but he knew him. Jude’s actions spoke volumes about what a good person he was. Just the fact that he was trying so hard to take care of his siblings while also taking care of Reese’s family….

  Reese intended to take care of Jude, whether he liked it or not. If he wouldn’t move in there with the kids, Reese would find them a place and make sure they were safe. The image of Jude sleeping in his car flashed through his mind, and it pissed him off all over again. Angered him. But he bit back a comment about the last time he trusted Jude with his own housing.

  When Bailey finished his meal, Reese pushed back from the table. “Come on out back with me. Let me show you my private paradise.” Reese put an arm around Bailey’s shoulders, ignoring Jude’s questioning look, and led the boy out the back slider from the kitchen.

  The backyard had sold Reese on the cottage, and his grandfather loved it too. There was a deck that ran the length of the house. Grandpa’s bedroom also had a slider, and that end of the deck was covered by an overhang. Reese had thought putting a hot tub there would be a great idea, but now he was more focused on the possibility of expanding the place. Beyond the deck was a large area of lawn surrounded by incredibly tall cypress and redwood trees. A wooden fence surrounded the property, and an iron gate opened onto a set of stairs cut out of the earth. They led down to a wide expanse of beach.

  “Whoa,” Bailey said. He took a deep breath. “This is amazing.” Bailey stepped down off the deck and onto the stone pathway that stretched across the lawn toward the gate. Reese thought that perhaps adding an in-law quarters out back might work. There had to be a way to make the place livable for all of them.

  “Hey, Reese? Do you surf?” Bailey spotted the small shed against the back gate where Reese stashed his surfboards and wetsuits.

  “That I do. When I’m not all over the place. I haven’t been able to surf much because I’ve been taking care of Grandpa, but now that Jude’s back, I intend to get out there. You surf?”

  Bailey shook his head, his hands on the gate. “I haven’t ever been. I’ve always been kind of afraid of the ocean.”

  Reese reached over and pushed the gate open. “Let’s go check it out.” They walked carefully down the steps, and Reese immediately felt the call of the waves. It was the place he was most relaxed, and yet he could feel tension coming from Bailey. They reached the bottom of the steps, and Reese slid off his Vans. He let his toes wiggle in the sand.

  “Take your shoes off and stay awhile,” Reese said to Bailey. “It makes walking much easier, and there’s nothing like warm sand between your toes to wash the blues away.”

  Bailey looked unsure, but he unlaced his dress shoes and placed them on the bottom step. Then he slid off his socks, rolled up his navy blue uniform pants, and pushed up the sleeves of his sweater.

  “There, now. Doesn’t that feel better already?”

  Bailey grinned at him and wiggled his toes. They walked across the wide expanse of beach toward the water. Bailey nervously watched the waves crash as they halted at the top of the dunes, just before the sand became damp from the path of the waves. Reese moved closer and let the water wash up over his feet. He really missed surfing. Perhaps in the morning….

  Reese caught movement coming from behind him and noticed that Jude had joined them. Jude patted his brother on the back and then approached Reese.

  “Hey,” he said quietly. Reese looked down at him and smiled. He wished he could take Jude in his arms and kiss him right then, but he figured Jude wouldn’t appreciate the display in front of his brother.

  “Your brother is a great kid. I’m glad I got to meet him.” Reese was even more in awe of Jude and the easy way he took care of his brother. He was naturally a caregiver. The nursing school was just working out the details.

  “I only came out to him on the way over here.”

  Reese turned sharply toward Jude. “What do you mean? He didn’t know?”

  Jude laughed. “He must have. He barely reacted. The kid is much more sophisticated than I gave him credit for. He’s such a great kid, and it’s killing me that he’s so unhappy.”

  Reese felt honored that Jude was sharing these feelings with him. As more and more of his walls came down, Reese fell harder for him.

  “I meant what I said. Your family is welcome here, Jude. I know it would make you happy too. This is your home.”

  Jude raised an eyebrow. “And how is that going to work? Your grandfather will
wonder why they’re here. You and I are just… well, whatever it is we’re doing. And my sister still doesn’t know. I’ve only come out to my mother and Tita Germaine. My family is really Catholic, Reese. Like really. My uncles and father are very involved in the church community, and—”

  “And what, Jude? You are who you are. They may not understand it, but you owe it to yourself to live your life the way you want.” Reese was angry for Jude. Even though Jude seemed resigned to it, Reese wanted more for him.

  “I wish it were that easy.” Jude looked out over the waves, and his voice sounded far off. “I don’t know if I’m willing to give up my family to be out. Up until now it was never an issue,” he said with a humorless laugh. “I never had a reason to think about it. I just assumed I’d be alone, and that was okay.”

  “Please tell me you have a reason now,” Reese whispered. His chest felt really tight suddenly. What if Jude was too afraid? He was really young. He might not be ready to make that move yet. Would Reese wait for him? Eventually Jude would have to realize he couldn’t be alone forever… right?

  Jude looked as though he wanted to say something, but then he turned and walked back to where Bailey was sitting. “We should probably get you back to Tito’s.”

  Bailey’s face fell. Reese thought maybe the kid would make some headway around the water. Maybe he’d let Reese teach him how to surf. Maybe—

  “Thank you, Reese,” Bailey said with a shy smile. Jude put a hand on his back, and the two of them marched back up the sand, their heads down as they walked.

  Reese exhaled and tried to clear his mind. It wouldn’t do to go after him and beg. Just like with sex, Reese needed to let Jude come to him, otherwise he’d worry that Jude was only trying to placate him.

  But he needed to get some food and get back to Grandpa. Reese climbed the steps to the backyard and glanced back longingly toward the ocean. Soon, my friend.

  Jude was just cleaning up. He handed a container of noodles to Reese. “I put the bottle of hot sauce in the bag too. I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.”