“Are you saying maybe we’ll find somewhere you don’t buy for the resale value?”
Kris hooted. “Maybe. I want someplace as unique as New Mexico, you know?”
“I… I would totally help you find somewhere that could be ours. You… you’re sure? I mean, about me? Us? Being together and in love and real?”
“I’m sure.” Kris had spent too long wanting and hating himself for it. Maybe this forgiveness thing had something going for it. “We’ll need room for the dogs, some horses. Maybe goats or alpacas. And Tyna and her woman will want to come visit….”
“Her woman? For real?” Josh’s laugh made him happy, all the way to his soul. “Well, maybe she can be real now too, since she’s done hiding.”
“You should have seen her introduce Deb to Daddy, bold as brass. They talked bucking bulls for an hour.”
“Better her than me.” Josh gave him a suddenly serious look. “You know, I’m better as an artist than I ever was trying to be something else. I’m never going to be anything else, cowboy. That has to be okay.”
“That’s more than okay.” He put a hand on Josh’s cheek. “If you never sold another piece, it would be okay.” He didn’t add that he had enough money to live five lives on. That wasn’t what this was about, even if it was his first impulse to say it.
“I’ve sold ten thousand dollars’ worth in two months.” Josh beamed a little, and Kris liked the way pride looked in those dark eyes.
“I know.” He chuckled when Josh’s mouth fell open. “Danny worked with Janey for a while, and she sold what, four paintings for you? Zack told me the rest.”
“He’s proud of me. How does he look? Did you go see him? His life has sucked lately.”
“I took him out to lunch last week.” Kris sighed. “His friend Ray is losing it. Got arrested for DUI two weeks ago….”
“I just… I don’t….” Josh sighed. “It breaks my heart. It’s scary too. I’ve been going to meetings, every week.”
“Good for you, baby.” He meant it. Zack had explained how important meetings were to someone in the program, how they were a kind of barometer for the mindset of the member.
“I have to go. It’s important to me, to my recovery.”
Kris nodded, and something Zack had said niggled in his brain. “Baby, what happened to you to send you to the meetings?”
“I hit my bottom.” Josh didn’t look away from him, didn’t hide. “I got mugged downtown after a bender. They took my wallet, my car keys, my phone, after they beat the living hell out of me. I asked the people that passed for help, and the only person who stopped was a lady who gave me a flyer for a homeless shelter. I went to my first meeting that day. Zack helped me clean up, literally, and he helped me find my car.”
Kris sat very still, trying to take that in. All sorts of thoughts raced through his head, chief of which was Why didn’t you call me? He knew why, so he didn’t ask, or yell, or anything else he wanted to do. Kris just shook his head. “I’m sorry that happened to you, Josh.”
“I’m not. I needed it to happen so that I made my decision. I’m always going to be an alcoholic, but I don’t have to be a drunk. I’m sorry I couldn’t quit when you asked me to. It’s my biggest regret.”
“You did what you had to.” Some days were easier than others to accept that, but Kris did understand now that you couldn’t do something like that for someone else. He was stubborn, but he hoped to God he wasn’t stupid.
“I did what I did. I can still be sorry.” Josh looked at him, and a twinkle was growing, sparkling in those dark eyes. “Are we done being major emo boys now?”
“Emo boys? What are you? Sixteen?”
Josh cackled like a big bird. “What? You don’t think I’m reverting?”
“Not to that age, please.” Kris gave Josh a kiss just before room service knocked on the door. “Food!”
He was going to put some meat on Josh’s bones. Man did not live on art alone.
Enchiladas were necessary.
Josh got up and let the food, and the dogs, who were right behind, in. Jake went to hide in the bathroom, Boomer flopped at the feet of the waiter and damn near tripped him, and Trike? Talk about chatty, unhappy pup.
“Did you get a bath, buddy?” Kris tipped everyone, got the food in and the people out, and finally sat down to dig in. This was the frickin’ life. He hadn’t looked at his phone all day.
When Josh looked at his lap, he opened his arms. “Come on, baby.”
The grin he got proved that he’d said the right thing. He was getting better at this in love nonsense. He was a cowboy, after all. Took him a while to learn, but give him a few years and he’d be the world’s foremost expert.
Epilogue
“Cypress. Late.”
“I’m not! Not yet! I mean, they can’t start without me anyway.” Cypress glared at Lonan, then grabbed the box. “Do I look okay?”
Lonan looked amazing in his dark jeans and starched shirt in reds and blues. Cypress was wearing his best soft green shirt and a pair of pants he’d dyed himself. They were a little big, but Josh wouldn’t mind.
The ceremony was at the big house. Cypress had never seen such a huge place on the inside, but it wasn’t scary. It was covered in art and soft places to settle and sunshine and dogs. A dozen goofy dogs.
“Cypress.”
“I’m coming! Do you think we ought to take treats?”
Lonan blinked. “For who? The llamas?”
“Do llamas eat treats?” He stopped halfway to the cabinet where the dog jerky lived.
“No. Now, come on. Kris has dog treats out his ass.”
“Lonan. Bad image. Bad.” They looked at each other and started laughing together.
“Everyone is waiting.”
“Yeah.” Zack was there, Kris’s sister and her friend, and Kris’s dad, who looked just like that general in the insurance commercials. Everyone was there, even Cypress’s granny, who was performing the ceremony.
He opened the box again, just to make sure everything was safe. This piece was wider than the first one he’d created, thicker and lower to the ground, but the base was stable and the handle was embellished with amethyst and turquoise, a wish for his best friends. He’d glazed it in muted rainbow hues, something sun-washed and well loved.
Cypress closed his eyes for a moment, thanking the powers at large in the universe that the wedding vase hadn’t cracked this time. That this whole thing was clearly meant to be.
“I am going to beat you if you make us later than we are,” Lonan finally told him.
“Promises, promises.” He rolled his eyes and headed out, dreads bouncing on his shoulders. “What are we waiting for?”
Lonan closed the door behind him, and they headed out to see their friends’ dreams finally come true.
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Spurs and Shifters
About the Author
Texan to the bone and an unrepentant Daddy's Girl, BA Tortuga spends her days with her basset hounds, getting tattooed, texting her grandbabies, and eating Mexican food. When she's not doing that, she's writing. She spends her days off watching rodeo, knitting and surfing Pinterest in the name of research. BA's personal saviors include her wife, Julia Talbot, her best friends, and coffee. Lots of coffee. Really good coffee.
Having written everything from fist-fighting rednecks to hard-core cowboys to werewolves, BA does her damnedest to tell the stories of her heart, which was raised in Northeast Texas, but has heard the call of the high desert and lives in the Sandias. With books ranging from hard-hitting GLBT romance, to fiery ménages, to the most traditional of love stories, BA refuses to be pigeon-holed by anyone but the voices in her head.
BA loves to talk to her readers and can be found at http://batortuga.com/.
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