by C J Baty
Justin’s eyes darkened with lust but then suddenly changed as he slowly stepped from Marcus’s arms. He stared at Marcus, as if he were searching for something in the other man’s face. “Did you ever wear glasses?”
Where the hell did that come from? He didn’t want to admit that Justin’s sudden change unnerved him.
“Sure,” Marcus answered carefully. “Though I had corrective vision surgery a few years ago, so I haven’t worn them for a while. Why?”
Justin continued to stare at Marcus. He was clearly thinking about something or remembering some— Shit!
Marcus felt a chill rush through his body; internally he shuddered. Somehow he knew in his gut Justin was finally remembering that night they’d shared a long time ago at the club. Marcus continued to watch Justin, trying not to flinch or lose eye contact.
Justin shrugged and kissed his cheek. “Just curious,” he said. “Let’s go to the hotel; I’ve got a few things to do there. I’d like to check on Richard and Daisy, and I need to have someone set up my old suite for Damien. Oh, and the wedding party is due to arrive next Friday, so I need to check with Melissa to see if there are any more changes in the plans. Then we can go for that walk on the beach.”
Marcus nodded his head and followed Justin as he walked out into the hall.
He wasn’t sure what was going on in the other man’s head, but he knew his was full of questions he wasn’t sure he could ask. If Justin did remember, would he bring it up? Was he angry that Marcus had never brought it up?
Would the new bridge they had managed to build between them be destroyed by something that had happened years before? Now it was Marcus’s turn to wonder if the fates were out to get them.
12
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INSIDE THE HOTEL everything seemed to be quiet and orderly. Melissa was behind the reception desk so Justin stopped to talk to her.
“How’s things going?”
“No problems at all, Mr. Warfield. I’ve even made several bookings already this morning for the holidays.”
“That’s great, Melissa. Oh, by the way, have you seen Miss Lee this morning?”
“I saw her and Mr. Brooks come down and head for the restaurant about thirty minutes ago.”
“Together?” Marcus cut in, his tone curious.
“Yes.”
The restaurant was nearly empty at this time of the morning, breakfast having been served several hours earlier. Richard and Daisy were sitting at a table toward the back of the room, close to the windows that showed a view of the shoreline. The food on their plates had barely been touched. They were sitting close together, and Daisy was staring into Richard’s eyes. They whispered to each other in hushed voices. Their attention was solely on each other so much so that they didn’t hear Justin and Marcus approach.
Marcus cleared his throat, and they both jumped slightly. Justin couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face.
“How long have you two been standing there?” Richard asked as he stood and stretched out his hand to Justin for a shake.
“Long enough to see that you two seem to be getting reacquainted.”
Justin took the open seat next to Richard. Marcus had already sat down next to Daisy.
“Yes, well, we’ve talked several times over the last few days. It gave us time to come to the conclusion that we were lied to and manipulated,” Richard said as he sat down in his chair again.
“My father and yours, Justin, convinced me Daisy had accepted money to leave town and give up the baby. In my gut, I knew it wasn’t true, but there was no sign of her, and the two of them put a lot of pressure on me to just accept it and move on with my life.” Richard covered Daisy’s hand with his as he spoke.
“And I got the same kind of treatment from them as well. Everyone told me Richard didn’t want me or the baby and that he left town to get away from me,” Daisy admitted.
“We went to confront my father yesterday.”
Justin was surprised. Being sober had changed the man completely. The way he was looking at Daisy probably had something to do with it as well.
“What did he say?” Marcus asked, leaning back in his chair after accepting the coffee that the waitress had brought along with Justin’s tea.
“He admitted that he had gone to Bradley Warfield for help when I told him Daisy was pregnant and that I wanted to marry her. My parents were worried that a scandal would ruin Justin and Caroline’s wedding.” Richard’s voice rose and grew angrier as he spoke.
“A damn scandal. Our child would have been a scandal they said!”
Daisy laid her hand on Richard’s forearm and stroked it softly. The man took one look at her and his anger seemed to melt away. In a calmer voice, he continued, “Your father,” he said looking at Justin, “arranged everything. He found a couple to adopt the baby. He somehow got our signatures on the release forms and handled it all. My father let Bradley make all the decisions.”
“I’m sorry Richard. I had no idea about any of this. Does Albert know who adopted the baby?” Justin asked.
“No,” Richard answered, shaking his head. Bradley told him it was better he didn’t know.
“What do we do now, Marcus?” Worry was etched in the tiny lines around Daisy’s brown eyes.
Justin hoped he wouldn’t mention the journals. Only a handful of people knew about them. Justin wasn’t sure how much they should share with Daisy and Richard. He didn’t want to get their hopes up in case they didn’t find the rest of the journals. Marcus had been studying Justin before he spoke up, and his words were almost exactly what Justin had been thinking.
“We don’t want to get your hopes up, but we might have a lead. It’s early yet. We will let you know as soon as we have something concrete to tell you.”
Daisy looked relieved, but Richard seemed skeptical.
“I’m thinking about going to see my mother,” Daisy said. The empty coffee mug she was nervously playing with slipped out of her hands as she and Richard stood, and it clattered onto the table. “It’s been years since I’ve seen her. Maybe she can tell us something now that she wouldn’t or couldn’t tell me back then.”
“I didn’t know Celia was still alive,” Justin admitted.
“She’s still living at Marta’s old place. My grandmother left it to Celia when she passed away. My mother couldn’t leave, even when Moses shut the place down. She had nowhere else to go.”
“Let us know if she has any information for you.” Marcus gave Daisy a gentle hug.
Justin stood beside Marcus, and they watched the couple walk away. Justin smiled when he saw Richard take Daisy’s hand as they went.
“Think they’ll be able to start over?” Marcus asked.
“I don’t know. I’d like to think so. Everybody deserves a second chance.”
Justin was pleased to see Marcus nod his head.
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THE WEATHER had turned warmer, as it often does in an Indian summer. It wouldn’t be long until winter’s wind would blow in and the days would become more overcast and gray. They very seldom saw snow this far south and this close to the ocean, but hurricane season would bring plenty of rain and gloom.
Marcus walked beside Justin, their arms occasionally brushing.
“Just, do you really believe everyone deserves a second chance?” Marcus asked.
As soon as Marcus called him the shortened version of his name, Justin had no doubt that the man in his dream had been real and it was Marcus. The few times they had been together reminded him of the gentleness the man at the club had taken with him. Marcus was one of the few people who had ever used that shortened version of his name.
For so long he’d believed it really was a dream; it was a relief to finally know that it had actually happened. The only thing now was bringing the subject up to Marcus. Should he do it or just let it go? After a half hour into their walk down the beach, Marcus interrupted his thoughts.
“I know you have something on
your mind.” Marcus took his hand and squeezed it gently. “Whatever it is we can talk about it. If you are having doubts . . . about us or anything, I want you to just tell me.”
Justin could see the mix of concern and confusion in Marcus’s eyes. Those gorgeous brown eyes that had drawn him in from the moment he’d seen Marcus in his bar a lifetime ago. But it hadn’t been the first time he’d seen Marcus. Even though he hadn’t consciously remembered that night until now, somewhere deep inside of him, he had known.
“While you and Peter were roommates at college, I made an effort to be a real husband to Caroline, and she became pregnant. I was away in Atlanta when she fell and miscarried the baby. Her parents had sent her to a hospital to recover before I got back.” Justin pulled Marcus over to a fallen tree limb and motioned for him to sit.
“I know about that. You called Peter to tell him, and he was very worried about you,” Marcus said as he sat down on the log.
“Peter didn’t know everything, because even I didn’t know it at the time.”
Justin sat beside Marcus before he continued. “The thought of being a father never crossed my mind until Caroline announced she was pregnant, then it was like a switch got flipped on inside my heart. I was incredibly happy for the first time in a very long time. Things were fine for a few months, but then Caroline became extremely moody and distant. I put it off to the pregnancy, but now I wonder could it have been more her mental illness at the time.”
Justin picked up a stick lying at his feet to give him something to focus on and threw it toward the ocean. He could feel Marcus’s eyes on him, waiting for him to continue.
“When I came back from Atlanta that weekend and learned what had happened, I blamed myself. If I’d stayed home, she wouldn’t have fallen; that’s what I kept saying over and over. Albert and Pamela were kind enough and said Caroline was getting the kind of medical and mental attention she needed right then, that I shouldn’t worry about her, and that everything would be okay. But no one asked how I felt about it. I was devastated by the loss of our child. I grieved for the little boy or girl I would never hold or know.”
“Peter said you were depressed over it and drank a lot,” Marcus added, brushing his fingertips lightly across Justin’s hand.
“That’s putting it mildly,” Justin huffed out. “I was stinking drunk for a month after it happened. I let the staff at the hotel run the place while I stayed in Atlanta trying to drink and fuck my guilt away.”
“At the Gentleman’s Club?” Marcus questioned softly.
“Yes, at the club.” Justin turned to face Marcus.
“Something you said this morning suddenly connected to a dream I’ve been having on and off for years.”
“A dream?”
“I thought it was a dream, but it wasn’t a dream was it, Marcus?” Picking up Marcus’s left hand Justin intertwined their fingers and placed them on his knee.
“You were the man in the club. The man who was so gentle. Who called me Just like he knew me. Your hair was different and you were wearing glasses, but it was you.” Justin watched Marcus carefully. Would he lie about it or would he admit what Justin believed in his heart to be the truth?
Marcus rose from the piece of wood and walked toward the edge of the waves lapping gently against the shoreline. He stared out across the ocean for what seemed like hours to Justin, though he knew it was mere minutes.
“Yes.” It was all Marcus said. He stayed where he was, facing away from Justin, not saying anything else.
Did he need for Marcus to say anything else? Did he want an explanation?
Did it really matter what happened back then and why Marcus had never brought it up? Not really. It didn’t change the way Justin felt about Marcus.
It wouldn’t change what the future had in store for them.
Justin walked slowly to stand behind Marcus and joined him looking out at the water. Carefully, he wrapped his arms around Marcus’s waist and pulled him back into him. Only for a moment did Marcus resist, then his body melded to Justin’s, and a deep sigh escaped him.
“I’m glad it was you,” Justin whispered against the curling hairs on the nap of Marcus’s neck. He left a soft kiss against the tender skin and rested his chin on Marcus’s shoulder.
“Some day we’ll talk about that night when we’re an old couple who are reliving fond memories of their youth.” Justin chuckled softly. “Until then we don’t have to talk about it, if that’s what you want. It doesn’t change the way I feel one little bit.”
Marcus shuddered in his arms and turned. He wrapped his arms around Justin’s neck. His lips captured Justin’s in a desperate, needy kiss. They lingered there together, the rest of the world miles away, until the cawing sound from a passing seagull broke the magic. Marcus smiled brightly at Justin.
“An old couple, reliving fond memories of their youth?” Marcus chuckled.
“Well sure, we’ll be old one of these days,” Justin answered, nipping the tip of Marcus’s nose.
“Speak for yourself. You’re already older than me.” Marcus laughed as he turned and started slowly jogging up the beach back toward the hotel.
“What?” Justin’s mock shock sounded against the surf as he rushed to catch up to the man with the dark curls who was laughing as he ran.
13
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THEY WERE ALREADY back at the hotel before Marcus realized they hadn’t made it to the boat shed. Well they could go there on another day, now that it looked like there were going to be more days.
He was glad Justin had let things lay about what happened between them that first time in Atlanta. Marcus knew he’d talk to Justin about it one day, and the man had been right, it could wait for some time when their relationship was more secure. There wasn’t anything to hide, but he had taken advantage of the situation and Justin’s condition at the time. He’d carried a lot of guilt about it, and when Justin hadn’t remembered him or that night, it had hurt him too. In time, they’d share it together and it would be all right for both of them.
They were crossing the threshold of the hotel into the lobby when loud voices echoed through the room.
“What the hell?” Marcus muttered as he focused on Damien Fitzgerald, his body rigid and hands waving frantically in the air with Robert in front of the reception desk.
“Damien, calm down.” Marcus heard Justin say as he reached the agitated man.
“Justin! Finally! Where have you been? This idiot said he had no idea where you were, and he didn’t do a thing to help me.” Damien glared across the desk at Robert.
Marcus almost didn’t recognize the man standing beside Justin. In all the times Marcus had been in the presence of the suave, self-assured journalist, he had never seen him unkempt or disheveled. He had clearly slept in the clothes he was wearing; though, by the dark circles under his eyes he hadn’t gotten much sleep. His hair couldn’t have been brushed in a few days, and the usual Van Dyke beard he wore hadn’t been trimmed in a while either. He was a mess.
“He came in here demanding to see you or Peter, Justin. His manners haven’t improved with time. I tried to explain that you weren’t at the hotel at the moment and that Peter was out of town,” Robert said. He glanced over at Marcus, but Damien interrupted before he could speak again.
“This idiot said he didn’t have me booked into a room. That I’d have to wait while he checked on things and got a room ready for me.” Damien was still fuming, but at least he’d stopped yelling.
“That’s my fault,” Justin said, trying to make peace between the two men.
“Marcus and I were distracted with another problem when we arrived this morning, and it completely slipped my mind. I’m sorry.” To Robert, he said,
“I should have mentioned earlier that Damien can have my old suite. It should be ready. Can you get someone to take his bags up?”
Robert nodded his head, came out from behind the desk, and picked up three suitcases that were piled on the floor to
the left of where Marcus stood. Marcus couldn’t help but smile when Robert walked past him and mumbled asshole under his breath as he headed for the elevator.
Melissa came into the room at that moment and asked if she could help with anything.
“Could you please put my name in the registry for my private suite?” He didn’t want Damien’s name in the computer.
“Thank goodness some of the staff around here know what they’re doing.”
Damien winked at Melissa as he accepted the key she offered him.
“Damien that’s enough,” Justin chided his friend. “I know you’re upset, and from the looks of you, you haven’t been sleeping either. You’re going to be safe here, so try to relax and get some rest.”
Justin hugged his friend and turned to Marcus. It was the first time Damien had looked at Marcus, and he seemed surprised to see him standing there.
“What the hell are you doing here, Drummond?” Damien looked to Justin and then added, “I mean. I didn’t know the two of you were on speaking terms again.”
“I’m here helping with some problems that Peter and Justin have been having at the hotel,” Marcus said, offering his outstretched hand to Damien.
Damien took Marcus’s hand and then looked from him to Justin and back again. A wide smile played across his face. Marcus watched as his shoulders relaxed and Damien finally looked at ease.
“You two worked out your differences. That’s amazing. I’m so happy for both of you.” Damien dropped Marcus’s hand and grabbed Justin for a tight hug.
Marcus loved to see the look of happiness on Justin’s face as he pulled himself free from Damien’s tight embrace. It made his heart beat faster in his chest to think that Justin was that happy about the two of them.
“Let’s get you to your room. Do you want to talk about Car—” Justin didn’t finish his sentence because Damien was shaking his head furiously.
“No!”
Marcus waited and watched as Damien morphed into a fear-filled man. He nearly caved in on himself, and he shuddered violently.