Heart's Home

by E. Davies

  “Hunter, the only reason I was worried about you giving the wrong impression was because I thought it was the wrong impression. If I'd known you were, I never would have said that,” Roy told him simply.

  “Ah,” Hunter breathed out, then raised his glass to nose for a few moments before resting it on his leg again. “You've still said enough things before to make me not want to come out without reason. I've never had a reason to before Logan came along.” He glanced for a moment at Logan and smiled.

  “Tell me more about that,” Roy told Hunter, narrowing his eyes. “I don't understand: the man who helped take not one, but two of your friend's deals down in recent memory alone? Who's protested against other friends' businesses? Even gone against your own interests?”

  Logan cast Hunter a sharp look and Hunter glanced at him. “I had a financial interest in the deal that Charlie lost to your community garden.”

  When Logan nodded, Hunter looked back at his father and spoke strongly. “At first, I thought it was amusing. The idea of seeing the man who's most unlike me, rather than all the men I've been surrounded by who are like me but uninteresting to me.”

  “Opposites attract?” Roy tried to summarize.

  “Sort of. It's more complicated at first...”

  “Opposites repel for long enough that they come full circle and realize they have more in common than they first thought,” Logan spoke up, earning a nod from Roy.

  “Yeah,” Hunter agreed. “Something like that.”

  “You dated Charlie, didn't you?”

  The question came out of the blue and made Hunter flinch with surprise. How did he know all of a sudden?

  “Yes,” Hunter answered, his voice still quiet.

  “For how long?”

  “Almost six months.”

  “In nearly half a year, you and one of your closest friends and business associates didn't think to tell me?”

  “Like I said: there was no reason.”

  “That makes him a giant hypocrite, then,” Roy frowned, finally raising his glass to sip from. When he met the confused looks of both young men, he explained, “I think I understand what Charlie was after.”

  Hunter swallowed hard. “Yeah.”

  “I'm glad he didn't get me to sign those papers beforehand. He thinks much more lowly of me than I ever imagined, if he thought I would disown you in order to give him money.”

  Even the words, the possibility, stung. Hunter nodded.

  “I thought of him as a second son for so long, it's no wonder I didn't see you two were romantically... involved.”

  Hunter grimaced. He'd done a good job of hiding it, mostly because Charlie had been unwilling to face his father and introduce himself as Hunter's boyfriend, as Logan had just done within seconds of meeting the man.

  “But that explains why you and Charlie were distant towards each other. I thought it was because you took the land deal away from Charlie. But... it started a long time before that,” Roy mused. “I still don't understand what the two of you,” he gestured towards them with his glass, “see in each other, what common ground you share compared to a man like Charlie and Hunter, but it's not my place to judge.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Logan murmured. “I want to get to know you and Mrs. Kenning properly now that we've been introduced.”

  “Speaking of which – Paul!” Roy called out.

  The household manager appeared at the door a few moments later. “Yes, sir?”

  “Where is Catherine? She should have landed by now.”

  “Landed?” Hunter questioned.

  “She's in the limo on the way here, sir,” Paul answered, then looked at Hunter. “She flew in when she was told there was news.”

  Dad flew her in? Hunter shook his head. “Really?” His father was a bit over-the-top.

  “I wanted her here to tell her about this, although it seems you've already met her,” Roy answered, glancing again at Logan. “This is enormous family news. You've been holding off on telling us for years. If anything deserves a visit, that does.”

  Logan cast a glance at Hunter and Hunter hoped he wasn't judging his family too much. Even to Hunter, it sounded a little bit unnecessary, but not nearly as much so as it would to Logan.

  “In the meantime, enjoy some of this '78 single-cask bottling,” Roy spoke up, raising his glass to his nose again. “We have more to discuss when your mother arrives.”

  The three of them shared the dram, each nosing his own glass and sipping it now and then, sharing a few words that described it to them.

  It had to be beyond strange to Logan. In Logan's world, people hugged hello, made supper, watched TV together...

  It occurred to Hunter that he didn't know what people in Logan's world did when they met their son's boyfriend. He could only imagine. Would he meet Logan's soon? That was going to be strange.

  In Hunter's world, he was invited to drink from a thousand-dollar or more bottle of whisky in almost total quiet in a sitting room around a fireplace, occasionally commenting on the drink's lightly fruited, toffee-like characteristics.

  Logan was handling it well, all things considered.

  “I should tell my parents,” Logan spoke up a few minutes later when they were all down to the last few drops.

  Roy glanced at him, tipping his head and glass back to pour out the last few drops, then set the glass aside. “That would be decent. There's a phone in the corner if you like.”

  “Oh, no, no. My parents already know that I'm... you know, gay...” Logan shook his head. “So there's no surprise there. They just don't know I have a boyfriend yet.”

  “We only decided on it this afternoon,” Hunter laughed quietly and Logan shared his smile.

  The door opened and Catherine came in, so they all rose to their feet.

  Roy nodded. “Catherine, come on in.”

  “Hello, dear,” she greeted his father, striding across to the fireplace. “And Hunter, darling... and Logan! So good to see you again.” She approached and leaned in to kiss Logan on the cheek, then Hunter. She sat on the arm of Roy's chair, a hand on his shoulder. “Now, your father sent an urgent message to me and woke me at this hour for a flight, so I expect there is important news. The house doesn't seem to be on fire, so what is it?” she asked Roy.

  “Er, they have something to tell you,” Roy told her, glancing at the two.

  Hunter reached for Logan's hand and Logan took it. This would be a lot easier to say than it had been to Roy and the whole room not even an hour ago. “Mom, I'm dating Logan.”

  “Of course you are.”

  “What?” Logan stared.

  “You already heard?” Hunter asked.

  “No. I figured it out when I met you,” she told Logan. “You seemed just the opposite of Hunter, in a good way. And a new mysterious friend he hadn't told us about, coming to build a house on his property... that, and I always suspected something went on between him and Charlie,” her eyes twinkled.

  Hunter's face felt hot. He should have known his mother knew. “Mom. You didn't even tell me...”

  “I didn't want to rush you,” Catherine said simply. “Now, Roy, why on earth would our son coming out mean I have to be woken up for a flight out here? I could have called him to tell him I love him. Hunter,” she looked at him, “I love you, and your father does, too.”

  Roy seemed stunned, but he nodded and followed her lead. “Of course. We'll support the two of you.”

  Logan was more confident and already stood straighter beside Hunter. That, more than anything, made Hunter relax. He would have been just as confident walking out of the room and his parents' lives if he'd had to – devastated inside, but keeping it together for Logan's sake – but he was thankful it hadn't come to that.

  “I love you both, too,” Hunter told them. “Dad, we should get this sorted out with Charlie before it gets too late.”

  “Of course. Invite him over straight away,” Roy told him, and Hunter pulled his phone out to dial his ex-boyfriend and enemy
's phone number.

  It was time to settle their affairs with him.

  Chapter 18

  Logan

  “Just this way,” Logan heard Paul – the household manager, which sounded an awful lot like being a butler to him – say to Charlie.

  The door swung open to the sitting room and the real estate developer entered, his back straight and smarmy face self-assured. Logan knew at least part of it had to be an act. He didn't have everything finalized in that deal yet, so he was bluffing until he did. It didn't make Charlie's posturing any less annoying to watch.

  “Hello, Roy,” Charlie greeted, then nodded slightly at Hunter and Logan. “Oh, Catherine, lovely to see you again.” She didn't return the smile. To Charlie, it should have been the first sign that something was wrong, but he continued, “I'm looking forward to seeing more of you when this partnership is finalized.”

  “Actually, Charlie, you won't be.”

  This voice was Roy's. Everyone looked at him.

  “I had a good conversation with my son and his boyfriend,” Roy told him, and Logan's heart swelled at the term. “Among other things, we discussed your motivations for wanting to get into the partnership.”

  “I told you, after the accident--” Charlie began, but Roy held up a hand to cut him off. He looked offended at being interrupted, his face drawling into a scowl.

  “It had nothing to do with your belief that I would turn my back on my son when you chose to reveal the nature of their relationship after gaining my trust, then give you the money, since I looked at you as a second son for the years you and my son were dating?”

  Charlie's jaw went slack.

  “Yes, I know about that, now, too. You spent a great deal of time around this family because you were important to him. We believed it was for different reasons, but whatever the reasons, you are not the man I thought.”

  “Neither is your son,” Charlie threw out there. “He's been lying for years to you.”

  “He made a pragmatic decision balancing the risk versus reward, as any sensible man does, and found me wanting,” Roy told Charlie. “That judgment was his to make.”

  Logan smiled to himself as he glanced over at Hunter. He interpreted that as business-speak meaning Roy approved of Hunter's careful decision, even if it had been against him.

  “I'm sorry now that I hid it from him and everyone as you suggested until tonight,” Roy told Charlie. “But my son has a lot more to discuss with you.”

  Hunter took Logan's hand, lacing their fingers lightly as he spoke up. “We don't need to go over everything that was said and done after we broke up.”

  Charlie sneered, but no matter what was out there that he could have used as ammunition in that moment, he clearly didn't want his own words being brought up against him. “No, we don't.”

  “And everything since then has been bullshit,” Hunter said pointedly. “Sorry, Mom.”

  “Don't apologize for the truth. You can put glitter on shit but it still stinks,” Catherine spoke up, startling a laugh out of Logan before Logan quickly cleared his throat. She glanced at him and winked.

  Logan tried not to laugh, then looked at Charlie.

  Charlie was fuming.

  “So,” Hunter spoke up, his voice strong, “let the rezoning slide when I propose to make the property a full-time residence and give up on the partnership with my father.”

  Charlie snorted, looking between Hunter and Roy, then at Logan. “Is that a threat?”

  “Oh, never,” Hunter told Charlie, a smile tugging at his lips. “Just a friendly suggestion. And a heads-up that if you try to take this out on one of us – including Logan – that we'll be watching.”

  “Fine,” Charlie spat out, his hands in his trouser pockets as he glared at Logan. “But you better not interfere with any of my development plans, too.”

  “That sounds fair,” Roy said with a nod, looking at Hunter, and Logan's breath caught in his throat.

  He appreciated that they were trying to protect him... but he couldn't just sit down and watch as Charlie bulldozed land and gentrified suburbs in a quest for money or revenge. It wasn't below Charlie to do exactly that.

  Just as Charlie was relaxing and beginning to speak, Logan let go of Hunter's hand. “No.”

  He was met with a surprised silence.

  “I know – not all of you might agree with what I do...” He looked particularly at Roy, his heart racing, then at Hunter and his mother. “You might not even understand why I do it. But I won't give up the right to block something that will cause more harm than good to the community or the world.”

  “Logan,” Roy spoke up with a stern frown that made even Hunter flinch.

  “I know you're protecting me from Charlie, but that's fine.” Logan's heart raced at the prospect of having to fight this man every time he ran a project from now until the end of Green Thumbs, Green Hearts. “I'd rather have him block me at every turn than have to stand by unable to stop him being an asshole just because he can.”

  Roy winced at his word choice, but Logan wasn't going to apologize for it.

  Charlie was smiling, his eyes cold. “Have fun trying that.”

  “He won't be alone,” Hunter said, taking Logan's hand again and brushing his thumb along Logan's. He watched Charlie closely. “I don't fully agree with everything Logan might say or do, but... I trust him. I'll see you at the next consultation.”

  Charlie turned his back without even acknowledging Logan, striding out of the house without a backward glance.

  Logan swallowed hard, still reluctant even to breathe. It still didn't feel like their business was settled. Logan had been envisioning a satisfying conclusion of some kind where Charlie agreed not to interfere with him anymore, but he knew he couldn't get everything he wanted.

  “Well, that's that settled,” Roy spoke up, apparently feeling satisfied with how that had gone. “I think Catherine and I had better leave you two to what you decide to do. We don't understand, it's true, but Hunter's always had a good heart. I trust him to know best.”

  “Thank you,” Logan murmured. He knew these earnest expressions on Hunters' parents faces would come into mind when he opposed economic development they invested in, but for now, there was peace.

  “Come on, Catherine, let's get home,” Roy said, placing his arm around Hunter's mother's shoulders to lead her – and them all – down the hallway towards the foyer and the front door of the mansion.

  Once they reached the entrance, Catherine leaned in to hug Hunter first, then pulled Logan into the hug with a smile.

  Then, Logan got a handshake from Roy, and to him, that meant the world. “We'll see you both. Logan, it was good to meet you,” Roy told him, his voice serious. “For now, we will have to agree to disagree on many matters.”

  “He'll change your mind on a surprising number of them,” Hunter told them, and Logan's chest swelled with pride. “See you soon,” Hunter said as they accompanied his parents to the limo at the door.

  “I'm up for a challenge,” was Roy's answer. “Goodbye, boys.”

  It was a brief goodbye, but Logan reminded himself that they could fly in any time they wanted to see Hunter. Goodbyes didn't mean much to them.

  When the door closed, Hunter turned to Paul. “Thank you. You can go home for the night. You've done more than enough tonight,” he told his household manager, who smiled and bowed slightly before heading off.

  That left them alone in the marble-tiled front entrance with its vaulted ceilings, swooping staircase bannisters, and huge art pieces.

  It was all a bit too much for Logan. “Can we go to bed?”

  A laugh bubbled from deep in Hunter's chest. “Of course we can,” he agreed, reaching a hand out to take Logan's.

  Together, they walked up the stairs to the master suite, and this time, Logan wasn't even surprised by the scale of the room or the extravagant decorations. None of their surroundings mattered a drop to him – not when Hunter was there.

  They fell onto
the bed wordlessly, Hunter scooting up until his head rested on the pillows while Logan straddled him from above and laced both of their hands together against the bed above Hunter's head. It was an oddly erotic move, full of charged intimacy as well as quiet affection.

  “You should build with me this weekend. We're finishing most of the walls,” Logan murmured. “It'll be rainproof within a few weeks if the weather stays hot.”

  “Why did you suddenly think that?” Hunter smiled. “But I will.”

  “You're strong when you hold me down, and I like it,” Logan winked. “I can put that strength to use in all sorts of ways...”

  “Oh,” Hunter laughed his surprise, leaning down to press their lips together.

  Logan ran his toes up Hunter's leg, grinning at the way it made the composed, polite, meticulous man flinch and twitch with ticklishness.

  “Hey!” Hunter protested, breaking the kiss to let go of one of Logan's wrists and flick his nipple through his shirt.

  Logan's breath caught. “Oof.”

  “You were wonderful tonight,” Hunter told him. “And you were right every time...”

  “Get used to it,” Logan answered, smiling up at his boyfriend. “I'll be right every time in the future, too.”

  “Not every time...” Hunter ran his finger around Logan's nipple, and then unbuttoned his shirt.

  Logan pressed close to Hunter, their hands working faster now as they helped each other push buttons through holes and shrug off fabric until they were left bare, with only skin on skin.

  “Oh, that feels much better.” Logan admired the heat and weight of Hunter's body blanketing him. His stomach already tingled with a touch of arousal at just having that cock pressed against his.

  Hunter took his time running his hand along Logan's chest, playing with his nipples before caressing his neck and cheek. They kissed again, wet lips sliding on lips as their eyes closed and they pushed up into each other's kisses. When Hunter drew back again, Logan arched up a little to try to follow with his mouth and keep kissing him, but he heard a quiet chuckle.