by Carol Lynne
Joseph rolled Cullen’s real name around in his head, trying to associate the name with the man he loved.
“But after what we just shared…” Cullen pinched the bridge of his nose. “If I didn’t like the way you say my name so much, I’d change it again. I’d lose every memory except those I have of you and become someone new.”
Joseph was stunned. He didn’t know how to thank Cullen for the gift he’d just been given. “I fell in love with Cullen. This town will soon be full of people who don’t know our pasts, so you can keep the name Cullen and still be reborn in a way. We both can. From here on out, we can be the people we were always meant to be.”
* * * *
Keys in hand, Mario stared at the house he’d just signed papers on. It was a simple Cape Cod-style home, white with dark green shutters, but he’d never seen anything more beautiful. “I did it,” he whispered to himself.
Growing up with an alcoholic mother and no father to speak of, Mario had lived in a series of apartments, some good, some bad. It all depended on which man his mom had conned into supporting them. He’d always dreamed of living in a real house with a real yard. When he’d moved in with Asa, he finally got the house and the yard but they weren’t his because he hadn’t paid for those luxuries. But this house is mine. He’d nearly cleaned out his savings to buy the house outright from the bank, leaving only enough for a few minor repairs, but it was worth it.
One lesson Mario had learned growing up was luxuries could be easily taken away if they weren’t yours to begin with. He planned to be with Asa for the rest of his life, but if the unthinkable happened and the two of them parted ways, he’d still have a place to call home. He heard the truck pull into the driveway and knew it was Asa. He wasn’t mad at his partner for missing the signing because he’d known when the appointment had been made that Asa would be busy picking up the town’s new police chief from the airport in Bangor. Truth was, Mario had wanted to go through the process without Asa there to hold his hand.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Asa said, getting out of his new pickup.
“Don’t be. I just got here myself.” Mario continued to stare at the three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath home. “I’m in love with this house,” he admitted.
“It’s a nice place.” Asa wrapped his arm around Mario.
Mario leaned against Asa and tried to figure out a way to tell the man he loved that he didn’t want to return to the mansion in Cattle Valley. They both had jobs in Wyoming, he managed The Gym and Asa’s company was the largest employer in Cattle Valley. He decided to use Asa’s new business venture as an excuse to stay. “I think Lobster Cove needs a health club.”
“Where’d that come from?” Asa asked.
Mario shrugged. “I’ve been wondering what I’ll do here in town while you’re busy getting the new manufacturing facility up and running. I could go back to Wyoming and come out on my days off, but we both know you’ll be spending the majority of your time here for the foreseeable future.” He bit his bottom lip. “I just thought while you’re busy at the plant, I could keep myself occupied here by setting up a health club. Of course I’ve spent most of my money on the house, but since you own most of the buildings in town, I figured I could get a break on the price of renting one of them from you.”
Asa turned Mario to face him. “Are you asking me to go into business with you?”
“Yeah, I guess I am. I won’t need much capital. I can start small and build the gym up slowly,” Mario explained.
Asa shook his head and Mario’s heart fell. “Never mind,” Mario said, breaking eye contact.
Cupping Mario’s chin, he turned Mario’s face back toward him. “If we’re going to do it, it needs to be done right. You know the money doesn’t matter to me, but even if it did, I have faith in you. You’ve done a damn good job with The Gym since you’ve taken over, and I have no doubt you can work your magic here.” He leaned in and gave Mario a deep kiss. “What’ll you tell Rio and Nate though?”
“The truth,” Mario replied, missing the feel of Asa’s lips against his. He jangled the keys in his hand. “Want to break in the new house right?”
“Hell yes.”
* * * *
Cullen glanced at Joseph as he dipped his roller into the paint tray. He couldn’t get used to seeing Joseph in anything but his usual black wardrobe, but they’d stopped by the supply building on the way to the shelter and grabbed a pair of coveralls for Joseph to wear. The simple change made Joseph seem more approachable.
As if he could feel Cullen’s gaze on him, Joseph paused in the process of painting to look over his shoulder. “What?”
Cullen smiled. They’d made love three times in the last sixteen hours, and he doubted he’d ever get enough. “Have you ever owned a pair of jeans?”
“Years ago.” Joseph went back to rolling paint on the apartment wall. “I know you hate the black, but it makes it easier to approach the boys who need my help. If I were to dress casually, they wouldn’t see me any different than the johns who offer them money for sex.”
While it made sense to Cullen, it didn’t explain why Joseph wore his uniform-of-choice at all times. “Okay, I get that, but why not wear normal clothes when you’re not actively looking for kids?”
Joseph shrugged but didn’t stop what he was doing.
The truth came to Cullen in a flash of insight. “You wear the black to keep yourself apart from everyone else.”
Joseph spun around and dropped the roller into the tray. He crossed the distance between them in no time, his face a mask of uncertainty. “Why would you say something like that?”
Cullen set down his roller before squaring his shoulders. “Because I think it’s the truth.” He reached for Joseph, and was grateful when Joseph accepted his embrace. “I think you need to remind yourself that you’re a man of God instead of allowing yourself to simply be a man because you know men make mistakes.” He pressed his cheek against Joseph’s chest, headless of the splatters of paint on Joseph’s coveralls. “I’ll love you no matter what you wear, but I think this is another of your throwbacks to that priest who gave you such a hard time.”
Joseph held Cullen tighter. “Maybe. My father always told me the clothes make the man. As you might guess, he was the kind of person who always dressed for success. His idea of weekend wear was khakis and a designer golf shirt. It’s possible my dad’s words combined with Father Matthews’ nonstop speeches has something to do with my wardrobe choice.”
“So can we order you some jeans and flannel shirts? I’ve always wanted to fuck a lumberjack,” Cullen said, trying to lighten the mood. He pulled back and stared up at Joseph. “When we go into the cities to help rescue, you can transform back into the man in black, but when the two of us are here, you can just be Joseph.” A thought struck him. “Or Joe.”
Joseph scowled. “I have never nor will I ever be a Joe.”
“Okay. I’ll concede the name thing as long as you’ll promise to play my hunky lumberjack on occasion.” Cullen pursed his lips and waited for the kiss he so desperately needed.
“Fine,” Joseph agreed a split second before his mouth closed over Cullen’s.
Epilogue
Joseph led Cullen into the café for their evening meal. He’d been in Lobster Cove for nearly two weeks, finishing the last details of the shelter and getting to know a different side of Cullen. It seemed if they were at Cullen’s place, the two of them were having sex, and Joseph wasn’t about to complain.
“Hi, Bev,” Cullen called as he slid into their favorite booth next to Joseph.
“I thought you boys would be gone by now,” Bev replied, bustling over to the table with two glasses of iced tea.
“Nope. Our plane leaves at ten in the morning, so we’re going to have to get up early and drive into Bangor.” Cullen squeezed Joseph’s thigh. “Joseph thinks it’ll only take a day or two to pack up the shelter. Two of our friends, Al and Snake, are driving the moving trucks up while we come back with the b
oys on the used school bus Asa bought.”
“Carl and I have started packing, so whenever you decide it’s a good time for us to move in, we’ll be ready.” Bev leaned down and spoke in a softer tone. “I think Carl’s more excited by this lifestyle change than I am. Of course he would be since he won’t be cooking for nearly as many people.”
Joseph smiled at the older woman. He still couldn’t believe how quickly Carl and Bev had jumped at the chance to upend their lives to help care for the young men they’d bring up from DC. Carl had even started to rework some old poles so he could teach the boys to fish. “Have you found someone to run the Bluebird or are we all gonna starve?”
Bev reached out and patted Joseph’s hand. “I wouldn’t let you starve, sweetie. Carl called his nephew. To be honest, we were both kind of surprised that Bishop would be interested, but we felt offering the café to him first was the right thing to do. Turns out, Bishop knew all about Cattle Valley and was ecstatic to hear about Lobster Cove. He put in his notice three days ago.”
Joseph nodded. “That’s great. I think you’re right about keeping the café in the family.”
The smile on Bev’s chubby face said she was excited that her nephew would be close. “You two want the special?”
“Joseph loves the meatloaf, but don’t tell Carl that it isn’t my favorite. I’ll take the chicken fried steak, but can I get brown gravy on my mashed potatoes instead of the white gravy?” Cullen asked.
“Sure thing.” Bev looked at Joseph. “You want the meatloaf?”
“Absolutely.” Cullen had been right—Joseph did love Carl’s meatloaf.
As soon as Bev left the table, Joseph reached down and directed Cullen’s hand higher on his thigh.
The front door opened and Mick Hennessey walked in. The new police chief had introduced himself on his second day in town when he’d asked to sit with them for dinner.
“Hey, Mick,” Cullen greeted.
Mick tipped his head slightly in acknowledgment before crossing the café to talk to Bev. After a brief exchange, he approached Joseph and Cullen’s table. “Mind if I join you while I wait for my order?”
“Sure,” Cullen was quick to say.
Joseph liked the police chief well enough, but he’d already admitted to Cullen that the man made him jealous. Especially because Cullen had used the term hot to describe Mick to Mandy during one of their phone calls a few days earlier.
“Are you eating here?” Cullen asked.
“No. I need to hire two officers, so Ryan Blackfeather sent me a bunch of applications to look through. I pulled a few out of the pile to call this evening. Once the town’s fully operational, I have to hire more, but three of us should be able to handle it for now.”
Joseph jumped when he felt Cullen’s hand on the fly of his new jeans. He tugged on the blue-and-white checked tablecloth, hoping to cover himself from view as Cullen lowered his zipper. What in heavens was Cullen thinking? They were seated across the table from Mick for goodness sake.
“Something wrong?” Mick asked.
Joseph tried to play off his reaction to Cullen’s hidden touch. “No, I thought I saw someone I knew.”
Mick glanced at the large table of construction workers before returning his gaze to Joseph. “In a town this size, I’d think you’d know everyone by now.”
“Joseph’s only been in town a week,” Cullen said, wrapping his hand around Joseph’s cock.
Joseph decided to change the topic. “Have you talked to Asa about the space above the police station?”
Mick’s expression brightened. “Yeah. He gave me the go-ahead to start rehabbing it. I should be able to move in as soon as I get the necessities in place. It’ll be a lot easier to run the department with a smaller staff if I’m there if someone needs backup.”
“Understandable, but I can tell you from experience, when you live in the same place you work, you never feel comfortable taking a day off.” It was for that reason that Cullen and Asa had ganged up on Joseph about letting Carl and Bev move into the shelter. Once Joseph returned from DC, he’d officially move into the small house Cullen had grown to love. Joseph still wasn’t entirely comfortable with the arrangement. It would probably feel strange for a while to have the boys living down the street from him, but he and Cullen would start traveling soon, so he supposed it made sense. If Carl and Bev were going to take over the day-to-day running of the shelter, they should have the newly completed apartment.
“Yeah,” Mick agreed, “but until I can justify hiring more staff, I wouldn’t feel right about living anywhere else. It’ll be enough for now.”
Joseph nearly groaned when Bev delivered their dinner, and Cullen released his cock. He wondered how fast he could shove the meatloaf into his mouth so they could run home and jump into bed. Damn. He was quickly becoming a sex maniac.
“You’re order’s almost ready,” Bev told Mick.
Mick rapped his knuckles on the table as he got to his feet. “How long before you get back to town?” he asked.
“Three or four days. It depends on how comfortable the bus is and how well the boys travel. Most of them have never been out of the city, so we may stop along the way and let them do some sightseeing,” Joseph explained.
“Well, be safe.” Mick dug into his back pocket and produced his wallet. He took a card out and laid it on the table. “If you run into any trouble, give me a call.”
“Thanks.” Joseph hated that he didn’t like Mick more than he did. The police chief had been nothing but friendly to him and Cullen since they’d met.
“Want us to pick up anything for you while we’re gone?” Cullen asked.
Mick grinned. “Thanks, but what I want you can’t find in a store or I’d have already bought it.”
“Don’t stop shopping and you’ll eventually find what you’re looking for,” Cullen replied.
Bev returned to their table and handed Mick a brown paper sack. “I put a piece of chocolate cake in there for you, too.”
“You’re the best.” Mick kissed Bev’s cheek before following her to the front counter. He paid for his dinner, but stopped to call out to Joseph and Cullen before he left. “See ya in a few days.”
“Yep,” Cullen returned.
Once Mick left the café, Cullen elbowed Joseph in the ribs. “You really don’t have anything to worry about with Mick.”
Joseph concentrated on adding salt and pepper to his mashed potatoes. “I’ll probably always be jealous of men who look like that. It took me too damn long to get my head on straight, and I’m not sure I’d survive losing you,” he admitted.
“I fought too hard to get you. No way are you losing me. Besides, Mick’s nice, but I know his type just from watching him. He’s not a one-man kind of guy.” Cullen took a bite of his steak and smiled.
Joseph picked up his fork. “You think he’s a player?”
“Nope, didn’t say that. He’s bisexual.” Cullen reached for his tea. “I saw him checking out the rack on the UPS lady the other day, but I’ve also caught him looking at a few of the construction workers, Jordan in particular.”
Joseph shook his head. He didn’t doubt Cullen’s assessment. Living on the streets as long as he had, Cullen had learned to read people better than anyone Joseph had ever met.
Cullen shrugged. “To each their own, but I prefer lumberjack cock.”
Joseph sighed heavily. “Fine. I’ll get a damn flannel shirt.”
* * * *
Cullen slammed the front door before ripping off his T-shirt. “Stay right there,” he ordered Joseph before taking off toward the bedroom.
Joseph paused in the process of taking off his clothes. “What? Why can’t I follow you?”
“Just trust me!” Cullen rushed to his bottom dresser drawer and pulled out the shirt he’d picked up several days earlier. He wished he had a pair of work boots to finish off the look, but he doubted his gaze would travel lower than Joseph’s fly anyway.
“Here.” Cullen tossed the red
and black checked flannel to Joseph. “Put that on.”
Chuckling, Joseph slid his right arm into the long sleeve. “Really? You happened to have one of these in my size?”
Cullen lowered his zipper as he watched Joseph put on the shirt. Damn, Joseph looked even better than he’d hoped. “I got it the other day. I thought about making you wear it that night, but decided to ease you into dressing like a Regular Joe instead.
Joseph finished buttoning before holding out his arms. “Shouldn’t I have an axe or something?”
Pushing his jeans and underwear down, Cullen shook his head. “I draw the line at sharp tools near my dangly bits.” He kicked out of his boots before stepping free of his clothes. “I wish we had a more secure backyard. I’d make you fuck me with the birds watching.”
Joseph stilled. “Yeah?”
Cullen grinned. He usually topped, but Joseph had screwed him on a few occasions. “Lumberjacks don’t bottom—at least not in my fantasies.”
Joseph puffed his chest out a bit and grinned. He stuck his fingers in his pockets and stared down at Cullen. “I’ve been chopping wood all day, and I’m ready to fuck you.”
Cullen couldn’t help but chuckle. “Jesus. You kinda suck at the role playing thing, babe, but you’ll get better at it.”
Joseph ran his hands down Cullen’s chest before moving to cup his ass. “Are we using lube or maple syrup?”
“Seriously, you’re gonna have to stop talking now.” Cullen loved Joseph, but he wouldn’t let Joseph ruin the moment with cheesy lines. He dug the small tube out of his jeans’ pocket before handing it over. The two of them had been caught too many times without the slick stuff when they needed it, so he’d started to carry it with him. He pressed his cheek against Joseph’s chest. Heaven. Despite the stubble on his jaw, the flannel was soft on his face. He made a mental note to pick up some kind of woodsy scent for Joseph to wear on special occasions. “Keep your jeans on,” he whispered.