Colin’s brows furrowed over downcast eyes. His head gave a slow shake in a rejection of Joshua’s statement, which seemed drawn from deep within him. “Josh,” he murmured, then met his husband’s eyes. “You still think I’m Don Quixote. And my god, the heartbreak you’ll feel when you discover how wrong you are.”
“He made mistakes, too,” Joshua said. “And I’mnotwrong, Colin.” Colin opened his mouth to speak, but Joshua laid a hand on his arm:“I believe in you.”
“Colin, for fuck’s sake, shut up and take the win,” David recommended with a broad smile.
“I just don’t want his heart broken when I fall offRocinanteand land on my ass in a twisted heap.”
“He won’t even notice,” David assured him, then leaned forward and met Colin’s eyes. “Josh isn’t stupid, and he’s not delusional. He knows all about your human frailties. And when you land on your ass, he’ll help you up and continue on beside you as if nothing happened.”
“I expect you to fall on your ass,” Joshua said. “My god, Colin, any man who tilts at windmills is going to fall on his ass! Who cares? It’s notaboutthe falling. It’s about thetilting!”
Colin stared at him for a long time. Then, again, he shook his head. “I will never understand you,” he muttered at last, then looked around in confusion when the other three men laughed.
* * *
An hour later,Joshua and David wandered into the kitchen to clean up the dinner dishes while Nate sprawled on the couch, staring at the ceiling.
“Hey,” Colin said, lifting Nate’s feet so he could sit beside him.
“Hey, Irish,” Nate murmured as Colin lowered his feet onto his lap. “I get to use you as a footrest?”
“For the moment,” Colin said, then leaned toward his friend. “You’re exhausted,” he said. “You don’t even have enough energy to argue with me properly. You need to take a break before you head back to that classroom. Give yourself another week.”
“And let that substitute professor further fuck up my process?” Nate asked, his voice weary. “She’s already doing damage.”
“Nothing you can’t repair after you return,” Colin told him. “Give it another week, Nate. You’re not ready.”
“You really do care, don’t you, you big silly Don Quixote wannabe.”
Colin threw back his head and laughed. “Of course I care, you whiney little twat.” He leaned closer to Nate and covered his hand. “David’s worried sick but scared to confront you about it. Do both of you a favor and stay here for another few days. Your husband needs you. And you need rest.”
“Why would he be afraid to confront me?”
“Because he doesn’t want to upset you after everything you’ve just been through.” Colin leaned back. “I, however, have no problem upsetting you if it means I get what I want.” He grinned and squeezed Nate’s hand. “Stay here and rest.”
“I don’t even know if that would do it, Colin,” Nate told him. “It’s more than being physically exhausted. I could deal with that. I feel so… so down.” He set up and leaned toward Colin. “I mean, I was in a place that’s supposed to be the pinnacle of achievement in my field, and it was like juggling snakes! I couldn’t trust anyone! I get a thousand times less grief from a classroom full of sophomores!” He sighed and flopped back onto the couch. “It’s just goddamn depressing.”
“You need a vacation somewhere besides this cabin.”
Nate barked out a cynical laugh and rolled his eyes. “Right,” he said, his voice dry. “Professor David Gardener. Take a vacation in the middle of a school year? Fat fucking chance.”
Colin pursed his lips, and for a long time, he sat in silence, staring through the cabin’s large windows.
“Colin,” Nate began, then startled as Colin surged to his feet.
“Be right back,” he told Nate and strode toward the kitchen, bursting in on Joshua and David, who were stacking dishes and putting away food. “We need to go to Ireland!” he exclaimed.
“Tonight?” Joshua asked with a quick grin.
“If only,” Colin told him, then turned to David. “You need to take two weeks off so the four of us can go to Ireland. Your husband is on the verge of collapse; we all need a break. So let’s go to Ireland together! We’ll visit my family, then train around the country, relaxing and taking everything in. It’ll be good for us!” He nudged David’s shoulder. “Let Nate kiss the Blarney Stone.”
“Now, wouldn’t that be a sight to see,” Joshua laughed.
David stared at him in silence. “Colin, I don’t know. Middle of the school year?” His face screwed into a skeptical scowl. “Be hard.”
“Fine! Then we’ll wait ’til summer! You’ve been slaving away at that university for half your life. They owe you. You’re not asking for a year’s sabbatical. It’s just two weeks.”
“The sabbatical would probably be an easier ‘get.’”
