“Yeah. Small world, huh?” Colson grinned at Hogan’s snort.
“You could say that. Let me ask you something. And don’t take it the wrong way.”
“I will if you’re going to be negative.”
Hogan released a long, drawn-out sigh. “It’s not being negative so much as I wonder if you understand what you’re getting into.”
Of all the people in his life he’d expected to understand, Hogan was at the top of the list, which was why his comment stung.
“Explain what you mean by ‘getting into.’ Because I’m not liking what I’m hearing.”
“Don’t get your ass in a sling. I think it’s great that Harper has dedicated his life to taking care of his brother. It shows tremendous strength of character on his part. But are you willing to do the same? Do you want the responsibility of a third person in your relationship? Especially one who’d require so much care?”
It was a fair question, and he’d spent hours since Harper’s visit asking himself the same. But he’d concluded that Harper was who he was because of how the circumstances of his life had shaped him. Losing his parents and caring for his brother were what made him a superior detective and gave him a caring heart. He had an innate sense of fairness, right and wrong, and compassion.
“I’m not mad you asked me that. But I look at it this way. Would I leave my husband if something happened to him and he’d need lifelong help? What kind of person would that make me?”
“But you’re not married to him. This is a choice you’re deliberately making to step into a situation.”
Colson smiled. “Yeah, I am. You didn’t see the passion and fierce love in his eyes when he spoke about David. Anyone who has such a big heart is the kind of person I want in my life. And if you’re thinking I’m going to be missing out on things, don’t. I’m a homebody at heart. I don’t need to travel to the ends of the earth to find what matters to me. I’m not changing who I am to fit my life to Harper’s. I’m rediscovering me. I’m more than someone who writes books. That burnout opened my eyes. I need something else in my life other than words on a page. I’m finding a family. A home.”
“I hope so. You deserve the best. That’s all I want.”
“Then wish me luck. Because it’s all I want as well.”
“Okay, so now, dude, what the fuck is up with your parents? Did your mother really think because she had a heart attack that you were going to change who you are?” Any other time, Hogan’s outrage would be funny, but not concerning his parents.
“Lifestyles of the absurdly rich and extremely self-absorbed, what can I say?” he deadpanned. It had taken him years to get over their abandonment yet only minutes for it to rush over him like a tidal wave, threatening to knock him over and drown him. “And from the way she argued with me, I wonder how sick she is. She’s always been the queen of manipulation and selfishness.” When his grandparents died and left him their house, a nine-room estate with six acres, she’d tried to get him to give it to her, since he was so young and lived in New York. She’d couched it in terms of doing him a favor and taking away the burden of taxes and upkeep, but he’d refused.
“I remember,” Hogan said darkly. “She never liked me, that’s for sure, and tried to break up our friendship.”
Colson winced. “Yeah. She had her opinion on who she wanted me to be friends with and didn’t appreciate my refusal to join the fraternity her father had belonged to.”
“Especially in favor of hanging out with the scholarship kid from Brooklyn. That was a real fuck-you to her.” Hogan chuckled.
“But that was never the reason. You understood me. You felt like you didn’t fit in because everyone was rich, while I had my sexuality to worry about.”
“And now we both have what we want.”
Thinking about Harper and David, Colson smiled. “Yeah, I think maybe we do.”
Chapter Twenty
“So you’re finally taking the plunge?” Nolan asked.
He and Nolan had spent five straight hours watching videos and taking notes. Harper’s eyes burned, and he’d thought he was ready for a break, but now he wasn’t so sure, if discussing his personal life was how they’d spend it. They closed the computer and removed the flash drive. Harper put it into the evidence file, and they returned to their desks.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Colson is coming over on Saturday to meet David. That’s all. You make it sound like we’re getting married.”
“Yeah, but for you, having someone to the house to meet your brother? That’s huge, man. Come on,” Nolan said, sounding genuinely happy. “It took you close to a year before you allowed me to come over.” Nolan blotted his face. The air conditioning in the room wasn’t the best, and Harper pressed the cold can of soda against his forehead.
“Yeah, well…I guess we’ll see.” He was trying not to get too worked up about it. He’d only told David he was bringing home a friend, and David had shown little reaction.
“What’s there to see? Colson seems like a good dude, and now he knows the score about your home life and isn’t running.”
“It’s one thing to be told, another to see it. I’m being cautious, is all.”
“Okay, I get it,” Nolan agreed. “Still, at least he’s willing to try. You have to learn not to be so negative.”
