Room for Recovery
Page 26
First, they’d called him a disgusting sinner. They threw a Bible at him while railing about all the ways he’d brought shame to the family. But the worst part was that they then dragged him to the church, where the pastor had preached at him, prayed over him and advised his parents to put him in conversion therapy.
Thankfully, he was already an adult. He’d waited to come out until he got out of medical school, sensing his family wouldn’t accept him. He might have never come out if not for his mother’s increasing insistence he marry and start a family once he was ready to start his career.
He’d refused conversion therapy, and then they’d cut him out of the family. That’d been thirteen years ago. Olivia had only been three years old at the time. How she even thought to come to him, a virtual stranger, was beyond him. He’d recognized her only from the Facebook spying he’d done throughout the years.
“Mom and Dad do want me to have the baby; they just don’t want me to keep the baby,” Olivia said. “They think it’d be best if I went away while I’m pregnant and then give the baby up for adoption. They don’t want their church friends to know their daughter is a whore.”
She said this last part bitterly, and Eric winced to hear such an ugly word come from her mouth. The idea she’d heard it from her own parents was even more disturbing.
“Tell me they didn’t use that word.”
She shrugged. “Maybe not, but they were thinking it.”
“I’m sorry, Olivia. I know how it feels to be cast as a sinner by your family.”
“I know. I know you’re gay. They talk about you sometimes. When I was little, they used to pray for you.”
Eric bit down on the old, familiar anger rising inside him. Olivia wasn’t here to talk about his sexuality or whether it made him a sinner. She was here because her family was refusing to support her in a difficult time.
“So, you want to keep the baby?” he asked.
“I do, but I don’t think I can do it alone. If I do what Mom and Dad want, I’ll have to finish high school in another state, away from everyone I know, with the knowledge that I handed my baby away to a stranger. What if that person isn’t good? What if my peanut’s life ends up worse because of that choice?”
“And the baby’s father?”
She shrugged, looking forlorn. “He claims the kid can’t be his because he used a condom. He’s from our church, so I think he’s scared his parents will flip out too. One set of parents is enough for me to deal with, so whatever. I don’t need his help.”
Eric winced. Teenage boys could be such shitheads. Especially boys who felt trapped by their poor decisions. No one was more trapped than this teenage girl with a baby growing inside her, but she didn’t have an escape route. At least not one she was willing to take, and Eric sure as hell wouldn’t try to influence her choice.
“Olivia, what do you need from me?”
She looked him in the eye. “I need help, and it looks like you’re the only family I have who might be willing to let me make my own choice. I know it’s a lot, having a niece you don’t even know show up on your doorstep and ask for help raising a baby …”
“Is that what you’re doing?” Eric asked calmly, even though her word choice alarmed him.
“Would you say yes if I was?”
He took time to think on that. It was a much bigger request than he’d anticipated. Eric figured he’d present Olivia with her options and help her make an educated decision about her future. Possibly recommend a reputable doctor for her to see. But his niece was smart, and she’d already considered her options. Yet, to help raise a baby? Did he want to take that on?
You could finally put those spare rooms to use. One for Olivia, and a nursery for the baby. You could decorate it in a jungle theme, cute little giraffes and monkeys. That wouldn’t be so bad. Having family again wouldn’t be so bad.
Before he could answer, she rushed on. “If that’s too much to ask, I understand. Just a place to stay during my pregnancy would be a start. Maybe some help finding day care, so I can finish school. I don’t have any money, Uncle Eric, and I know I’m asking for too much, but—”
“Livvie, stop,” he said, using the nickname the whole family had called her when she was still in diapers. “Of course, I’ll help you. Like you said, we’re family. Point of fact: You’re my only family. That means I’ve got years of birthday money and quality time to share with you, right? And as you can see,” he said, gesturing to the empty house, “I’ve got plenty of space for you and your child, should you want to stay after the baby is born. We hardly know each other, though, and I’m not sure we should rush into anything. We can have a trial run, set some house rules and see how it goes. But you’ll have to tell your parents where you are. I don’t want them worrying that you’ve run away.”
She launched herself into his arms, the tears coming now. “Thank you,” she said into his shoulder. “Thank you so much. I’ll do whatever you need. You’re a life-saver. I didn’t know what else to do. Peanut thanks you, too.”
He laughed, patting her back.
He’d never expected as a single gay man to take on the responsibility of a baby. But despite the poor circumstances that brought Olivia back into his life, he couldn’t be sad that she was there or that she would be bringing more life into this empty tomb of a house.
“Have you seen a doctor?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, but I’ve already made an appointment. With Dr. Rollins. Will you come with me?”
He couldn’t say no, even if the idea of seeing Casper Rollins made his stomach roll. Even if he’d have recommended any other doctor, simply to avoid sharing the same air space with the man.
Not because Dr. Rollins was a bad doctor, but because Dr. Rollins turned Eric into a blushing, wide-eyed idiot — a tween with a crush — rather than the distinguished, successful hospital administrator he was.
“Of course, I’ll go,” he said with a sigh. How could he say anything else?
Chapter Two
Casper Rollins stepped up to the open door of the airplane 12,000 feet in the air. He was connected to two instructors who would assist in his free fall, but even with that safety net, his heart was thumping hard and fast in his chest.
Adrenaline flooded his bloodstream.
Bright blue sky rushed by, the wind loud in his ears, and the plane shuddered disturbingly under his feet. The little puddle jumper used for skydiving was a far cry from the smooth sailing jumbo jets he usually traveled on. Staring out into the wide-open space before him, the phrase fight or flight took on new meaning.
His cellphone, strapped to his forearm, buzzed with a text. He didn’t hear the alert, but he felt the vibration against his arm and lifted it to read the screen.
The message was from his answering service available 24/7 to his obstetric patients.
Amber Greene in labor. Headed to Ashe hospital.
“Ready?” the instructor on his right called over the wind noise.
Casper lowered his arm. He was already in the sky, poised to take his big jump. Amber’s baby wouldn’t wait, but there was no faster way to the ground.
“Ready.”
This one’s for you, Kage. This one and all the others.
As instructed before take-off, he stepped out of the plane and into a freefall.
With an instructor on each side stabilizing him and ensuring he correctly deployed the parachute, he didn’t feel any anxiety. Not even the thrilling fear of falling, as he’d expected. Instead, he felt a surge of joy as he floated through the sky, the wind rushing through his hair and tugging at his clothes.
Kage would have loved this. His boyfriend had been an adrenaline junkie with dreams of working as a stunt double and achieving thrilling feats as a modern-day daredevil. He’d never had the chance to break into the Guinness Book of World Records, though. A tumor had put a clock on his life, but Kage had lived his life to the fullest when he could — often sneaking off with Casper for adventures when he was healthy
enough.
Now, Casper carried on alone in his name.
Each time he stepped out of a plane or off a bridge or went cave diving, he thought about how much Kage would have loved the rush of adrenaline, of life. When his courage started to fail him, he thought about how much the love of his life would have given to experience even one of those daring feats. Even after Kage had lost part of a leg, he’d been a thrill-seeker, always looking for the next adventure. Always living hard.
Casper wasn’t the next great daredevil, and he didn’t want to be. But the occasional adrenaline rush kept him in touch with Kage’s memory.
He lurched in the sky, the harness pulling hard enough to bruise as the parachute deployed. “Shit!” he yelled as he was pulled short before beginning the descent back to earth where he would celebrate life is his own way.
By delivering a new child into the world.
Look for Surprise Delivery on Amazon later this month! Sign up for DJ’s newsletter to make sure you don’t miss the release: www.tinyurl.com/djandcompany.
About the author
DJ Jamison is the author of more than a dozen M/M romance novels and novellas, included several series. DJ grew up in the Midwest and worked in newsrooms for more than 10 years, which came in handy when she began writing her first romances centered on a series of love connections between small-town Kansas newspaper staffers, their sources and their readers. It was the perfect entrance into the world of fiction, and she has since branched out into a variety of settings to tell the stories of characters who are flawed but loveable. DJ is married with two sons, two glow-in-the-dark fish, and regrettably, one snake.
Books by DJ Jamison
Ashe Sentinel Connections
Changing Focus
Source of Protection
Rewriting His Love Life
Winter Blom
Hard Press
Chance for Christmas
Hearts and Health
Heart Trouble
Bedside Manner
Urgent Care
Room for Recovery
The Espinoza Boys
Earning Edie (m/f)
Catching Jaime (m/m)
My Anti-Series
My Anti-Valentine
My Anti-Boyfriend