Liam cheeks bunched up in that cheeky smile that was familiar to Nathan, one he had on while throwing teasing comments at each other during sex or even when he was microwaving dinner for them.
It was a smile Nathan didn’t want to forget.
“You’re the coolest ginger sheep.” Liam put his arms around Nathan and pulled him in for a soft kiss.
Nathan kissed him back, although inside, he flinched at something in the moment. He didn’t like talking about his family, especially such personal moments like those. It was too easy to drop his guard around Liam, and that was dangerous.
“Mark kind of feels that way with his own family of redheads. He’s the black haired sheep. You’d fit in perfectly with him.”
Nathan bit his tongue and gulped back the awkwardness. The truth rattled in its locked cage deep down inside him.
You have no idea.
Nathan let out a sigh.
Yet.
Chapter 19
Nathan
Nathan recognized a new car in Mark’s driveway when they walked over for dinner. Had he been ensconced so much in lambing and sexing season that he didn’t know Mark got a new car? Hanging from the rearview mirror was a gold cross that caught the moonlight in its clutches.
“Did Mark find religion recently?” Nathan asked.
“Shit,” Liam said when he saw it. “That’s Pastor and Mrs. Fry. Mariel’s parents.”
“Mariel’s parents?” Nathan repeated.Mariel’s parents equals my grandparents!Nathan hadn’t thought about having grandparents. He thought that since Mariel had passed, so had her parents. They must have been ravaged by losing her, so hopefully finding out they had another grandson might cheer them up.
But the spring in his step vanished by the time he reached the front door. How could he tell them the truth and not Mark and Liam?
Liam let out a sigh and turned to him. “Just so you know, you might be the first openly gay person they’ve ever met.”
“That they know of.”
Liam raised an eyebrow, somewhat agreeing with him. He opened the door.
And there they were. Nathan’s grandparents. They sat on the couch with Walt as he showed them something on his phone. They had to be in their late sixties, but they looked like a pair of those active senior citizens who play golf and tennis. The Pastor was a tall man with a full head of unabashedly white hair and a bulbous nose that Nathan remembered from his pre-nose job days. (Fortunately, Damian hit him in the face with a ball once. It was the nicest thing the kid ever did.) He hoped he held onto his hair like the Pastor had. His grandmother was shorter and had a plumper frame. She wore an ankle-length skirt and very little makeup.
“Hiya Pastor Fry. Hi Brenda,” Liam said with reluctance. Nathan’s grandparents stood up. Pastor Fry shook Liam’s hand, while Liam went in and kissed Brenda on the cheek. “Good to see you. This is Nathan.”
Liam stepped aside and let the grandparents have a good look at their grandson. Nathan found himself straightening his back and smoothing down his hair.
Nathan found himself getting emotional instantly, the same way when he’d first seen Franny and Walt. This was hisfamily. His grandparents back in London had favorites, and Nathan was not one of them. They went three years without acknowledging his birthday, and gave a shrug when he was cast in a movie.
Pastor Fry looked him over for a lengthy moment, and Nathan wondered if he knew. Oh, how he wanted to ask, but now was not the time. He would charm them at the dinner table and let them fall in love with him like his half-siblings had.
“Pleasure to meet you.” Nathan shook both of their hands.
“Likewise,” Pastor Fry said. Brenda gave a polite smile.
“I’m working on Liam’s farm during lambing season. It’s been quite an experience.”
“Busy, eh?” the Pastor asked.
“You have no idea. Lots of lambs. We had to build a whole extra pen to house them. But it’s part of Liam’s grand plan to expand this operation.” Nathan couldn’t stop himself from speaking. He was like a little kid wanting to impress his grandparents with all the cool, new facts he learned in school.
“Nathan!” Franny ran down the stairs. She wore the baby blue dress Nathan had bought for her and still looked like a million bucks. “And Grandma and Grandpa!” She hugged them, too, though with less enthusiasm.
