by John Inman
Even while Jilly was living under their roof back in town, there were nights of terrible nightmares when Jilly refused to sleep alone. She squirmed in between them in the big bed and stayed there until the morning sun chased the nightmares away.
Gradually the nightmares lessened, and the constant fear in Jilly’s eyes began to abate. She found a lot of her happiness with Bruce. He tagged along behind her everywhere she went. She especially loved being on the mountain, which was one of the reasons Jonas and Terry had decided to move there full-time once the cabin was finished.
And now, after everything that had happened, here they were. One small, happy family. Two daddies, one daughter, and a pug.
Jonas could hear Bruce’s toenails tapping like castanets on the hardwood floor in Jilly’s room. The new one behind the kitchen. Interspersed with the tapping, Jilly hummed softly to herself while she piddled around on her bed.
Jonas listened to her with a lazy smile on his face. He dragged his chair a little closer and laid his hand alongside Terry’s on the tabletop. Their two silver wedding rings gleamed red in the light from the fire flickering on the grate. Their eyes met, and Jonas’s heart gave a quiet little thump of contentment.
“You need a haircut again,” he said.
“So what’s new?” Terry answered, running his fingers through his mop of red hair.
Both men smiled.
Jonas’s eyes went sneaky. “I keep thinking about Colonel Briggs,” he said.
Terry looked up. “Why?”
Jonas sucked in a monumental sigh. “Because he was kind of a hottie. And I like a well-maintained older man in uniform as much as the next gay guy. Plus he killed the queen and saved our asses.”
Terry frowned. “Oh, shut up. I could have saved our asses too if I’d had an army behind me. And maybe a bazooka.”
Jonas arched one eyebrow high because he knew it would irk Terry when he did. Then he nudged Terry’s knee under the table and grinned.
They turned when Jilly came running through her bedroom door. She had her screaming red hair, every bit as red as Terry’s, pulled up in a scrunchie at the top of her head. Her hair was so long, it still cascaded down to her shoulders. A spray of freckles danced across her nose, getting all tangled up in wrinkles when she laughed.
“I’m ready!” she sang out, doing a dainty pirouette to show she had on the proper clothing for a walk in the woods, which she had been promised and wasn’t about to let anybody forget. At her feet, Bruce gave a yip as if agreeing with her. He did a little pirouette too. Apparently he was ready for a walk in the woods as well.
Jonas poured the rest of his beer down his throat, and Terry followed suit. They rose from the table and stepped to the back door, where they pulled their respective jackets off wall hooks and shrugged them on after slapping baseball caps on their heads.
Terry looked down at Bruce. “What’ll it be? Leash or no leash?”
Bruce glowered and gave a testy little bark.
“No leash it is,” Terry said, waving his hands in mock submission.
Jonas plucked a wool scarf off another hook and draped it around Jilly’s neck. He took a heartbeat to stare deep into her eyes while she adjusted the scarf across her shoulders. The melancholy that used to hover there had almost vanished. Looking at her now, one would never know the horrors she had seen in her young life or how much she had lost in living it. Her parents, her home, and for a long time, her sense of trust. But the trust was returning. Jonas could see it in the way she carried herself. The way she smiled at little things and laughed like a little girl at big things. She still demanded a night-light when she slept, but rarely anymore did she come crawling into their bed for company. In a way, Jonas rather missed that.
Too excited to wait any longer, Jilly ran toward the cabin door, dragging Jonas and Terry along behind her. All three stepped out into the dusk of early evening. The air was cool but not cold. The dark was drawing close but had not yet settled in. The mountain and the trees and the brand-new cabin stood gray in the waning light. Like a black-and-white postcard. As always, the mountain smelled of honeysuckle and pine smoke from the chimney at their backs.
Jilly and Bruce took off running down a narrow path that led into the trees. Jonas noticed that even now, she never let herself get completely out of sight. Occasionally she would glance back over her shoulder to see where they were. To know she was safe.
Jonas heard her up ahead, chattering to Bruce. God knows about what. She gave a merry cry and squatted at the side of the trail to gather a fistful of California fuchsia for the kitchen table. The narrow little flowers bloomed red all over the mountain, and it was one of Jilly’s favorites.
Her bouquet to her satisfaction, she set off down the trail once more. When they were alone, Terry took Jonas’s hand.
“She’ll be okay now,” he said softly.
Jonas nodded. “I know.”
“So will I,” Terry said, gazing deep into Jonas’s eyes. A happy warmth burrowed through Jonas. He edged closer to Terry’s side and rested his head on his broad shoulder as they walked. Terry’s arm came up, engulfing him, holding him in place.
“This is better than I ever thought it would be,” Terry said. “Us, I mean. You and me and Jilly.”
Jonas closed his eyes, trusting Terry to lead him safely along. “You feel it too, then,” he whispered, as much to himself as to Terry. As much to the mountain around them as to the whole damned world spreading out around them. “We’re a real family now. I never thought I’d have anything like that. I never thought I’d be a part of anything this… beautiful.”
Terry brushed a kiss through his hair as they walked. “Neither did I.”
Jonas looked up ahead, and there at a turn in the path, Jilly stood frozen. The flowers had fallen from her hand and lay sprinkled at her feet. Bruce had snuggled up to her ankle. He was standing as still and tense as the girl.
They were both staring dead ahead at something Jonas couldn’t see.
He and Terry took off running. They reached Jilly in seconds. She turned when they approached, gazing back at them with wide, frightened eyes.
“What is it?” Jonas asked. “What’s wrong?”
Jilly turned back toward the lane ahead where it opened into a meadow. The grass and wildflowers were short, barely covering the earth, with maybe an acre of mountain landscape open to the evening sky. Jilly lifted her arm and pointed.
“There,” she said. “Look.”
Jonas and Terry moved closer and tried to see what she was pointing at. Jonas was the first to spot the movement. Specks of dark shadow in the gloaming sky, flitting about above the meadow. Tiny flashes of life. As black as night against the rising moon in the distance.
All three humans and Bruce stood watching the fluttering beasts dance across the evening sky. They jittered and spun and swooped and soared, as silent as a voiceless wind.
Suddenly Jilly smiled, watching them.
“They’re only bats, aren’t they?” she asked.
Jonas and Terry each rested a hand on her tiny shoulders and stared down at her shining face as she gazed up at them. There was no fear in her eyes now. Only a happy, innocent wonder.
“That’s right,” Jonas said, grinning at her. “They’re only bats. They eat the bugs. They’re our friends.”
“Friends,” Jilly said slowly, as if trying to find the proper place to store the word inside her head. Then glancing down, she saw her flowers sprinkled across the ground at her feet.
“Oh no!”
She stooped and gathered them up as carefully as she could, making sure all the blossoms were facing the same direction. When she was satisfied they were safe, she gave them a tiny shake to remove the dirt. When she glanced back at the sky and the sea of tiny bats still darting about in front of the rising moon, the corners of her mouth tipped up a little.
“They’re so quiet,” she said softly, still watching the bats dip and climb before her eyes. “They don’t sing at all.”
/>
Without another word, she stuck the flowers inside her jacket for safekeeping and grabbed a hand from each of the two men towering above her. The one with dark hair and the one with red hair like her own. Her hands were tiny in theirs, but she didn’t seem to mind.
Neither Jonas nor Terry seemed to mind either.
“Let’s go home,” Jilly said, “I’ll make popcorn, and we’ll sit on the porch!”
Laughing gaily, she gave a tug and pulled them back along the trail they had walked a hundred times before.
Toward a life they had barely embarked upon at all.
More from John Inman
Martin Dance knows better than to get involved with a rent boy. After all, he’s been around the block a few times. And a few times after that. Still, there’s something about Johnny Cotton that catches his eye. And his heart.
When Johnny and his best friend find themselves in over their heads with the woman who owns them lock, stock, and barrel, Martin knows he has to step in.
Martin and his old buddy, Charlie Bass, might be retired from the Firm, but they still know how to manage a gunfight. And how to go underground with a couple of male hookers less than half their age. Just for the purpose of keeping them safe, you understand. No funny business intended.
Odd, though, how funny business tends to creep in when you least expect it.
It’s sort of like love that way, Martin decides. One minute you’re minding your own business, the next minute you’re in a world of hurt. Or, if you’re lucky, a world of happy.
It’s funny how love nails you when you least expect it.
Dilly Jones has pretty much given up on romance ever finding him. Boz Jenkins, his neighbor, is recently out of a bad relationship but has definitely noticed the cutie across the street. When Dilly drops a bag of donuts on the sidewalk, it sets a chain of events into motion. And suddenly both men’s hearts are lost.
But Boz’s ex is still hanging around, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get Boz back. With a brand-new romance gearing up to knock their socks off, the last thing Dilly and Boz expect is to get tangled up in a stranger’s murder. Or to find themselves fighting for their lives.
Just as they finally find happiness, their love for each other becomes the thing that threatens them the most.
Kenny Long is living a new life. Blinded in an accident, he has taken control of his unexpected reality the best way he can, and it’s working out better than he hoped.
Of course Larry Boots doesn’t know any of that. All he sees is a beautiful man sitting on a park bench.
Larry has a few problems of his own: his mother. His job. The lack of romance in his life.
His job. In the course of that job, Larry strikes up a friendship with Kenny. The next thing he knows, he’s so head-over-heels in love, even his mother doesn’t seem so bad. Of course his career is still a problem, but he’s working on that. Hopefully he’ll have the problem resolved before the man he’s being paid to murder succeeds in murdering him first.
And before the man he loves finds out he’s a cold-blooded killer.
When Jamie Roma and Derek Lee find their blossoming love affair interrupted by dual invitations to a house party from a mysterious unnamed host, they think, Sounds like fun. The next thing they know they are caught up in a game of cat and mouse that quickly starts racking up a lot of dead mice. Yikes, they think. Not so fun.
Trapped inside a spooky old house in the middle of nowhere, with the body count rising among their fellow guests, they begin to wonder if they’ll escape with their lives. As a cataclysmic storm swoops in to batter the survivors, the horror mounts.
Oddly enough, even in the midst of murder and mayhem, Jamie and Derek’s love continues to thrive.
While the guest list thins, so does the list of suspects. Soon it’s only them and the killer.
And then the battle really begins.
Joe Chase and Ned Bowden are damaged men. They each bear scars from surviving the world they were born in. Deep scars, both physical and emotional.
When fate offers its first kind act by bringing the two together, suddenly their scars don’t seem so bad, and their lives don’t feel so empty.
Yet that kindness comes at a price.
Just as Joe and Ned begin to experience true happiness for the very first time, the world turns on them again.
But this time it turns on everyone.
Readers love John Inman
Dilly and Boz
“If you like your romance with a pinch of gunpowder and a blade then this is one-hundred-percent the book for you.”
—Love Bytes
“Dilly and Boz is a wonderful romance and a terrifying thriller all rolled into one. I highly recommend it to you.”
—Joyfully Jay
Larry Boots, Exterminator
“Those looking for a satisfying love story with both an erotic component and an adrenaline rush won’t be disappointed.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Larry Boots, Exterminator was a thoroughly enjoyable read that I’d have no hesitation in recommending.”
—Divine Magazine
A Party to Murder
“John Inman knew what he was doing when he wrote this book. Definitely a recommended read if you like a good mystery.”
—Gay Book Reviews
“I very highly recommend this book to those who are looking for a challenging mystery with romance and the spooky ambiance of a high-energy thunderstorm at night.”
—Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
JOHN INMAN is a Lambda Literary Award finalist and the author of over thirty novels, everything from outrageous comedies to tales of ghosts and monsters and heart stopping romances. He has been writing fiction since he was old enough to hold a pencil. He and his partner live in beautiful San Diego, California and together, they share a passion for theater, books, hiking, and biking along the trails and canyons of San Diego or, if the mood strikes, simply kicking back with a beer and a movie.
John’s advice for anyone who wishes to be a writer? “Set time aside to write every day and do it. Don’t be afraid to share what you’ve written. Feedback is important. When a rejection slip comes in, just tear it up and try again. Keep mailing stuff out. Keep writing and rewriting and then rewrite one more time. Every minute of the struggle is worth it in the end, so don’t give up. Ever. Remember that publishers are a lot like lovers. Sometimes you have to look a long time to find the one that’s right for you.”
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/john.inman.79
Website: www.johninmanauthor.com
By John Inman
Acting Up
Chasing the Swallows
Dilly and Boz
A Hard Winter Rain
Head-on
The Hike
Hobbled
Jasper’s Mountain
Larry Boots, Exterminator
The Last Dance
Laugh Cry Repeat
Love Wanted
Loving Hector
My Busboy
My Dragon, My Knight
Nightfall
A Party to Murder
Paulie
Payback
The Poodle Apocalypse
Ravenous
Scrudge & Barley, Inc.
Shy
Spirit
Strays and Lovers
Sunset Lake
Two Pet Dicks
Words
THE BELLADONNA ARMS
Serenading Stanley
Work in Progress
Coming Back
Ben and Shiloh
Ginger Snaps
Published by DSP Publications
7&7: An Anthology of Virtue and Vice
The Boys on the Mountain
The Second Son
Willow Man
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
50
32 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Ravenous
© 2020 John Inman
Cover Art
© 2020 L.C. Chase
http://www.lcchase.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64405-575-5
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64405-574-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019957869
Digital eBook published June 2020
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America