Brantley chuckled. “You mean when I was readingWhere the Sidewalk Ends?”
“No, I’m serious.”
That sobered Brantley instantly. Never could he have imagined himself answering a question like that, but he figured Reese deserved the truth.
“No. Did you?”
“A fleeting thought from time to time, yeah.” Reese sighed. “Maybe it’s just me.”
“It’s not just you, I’m sure.” He considered making a joke about how women tended to focus more on those things, but he didn’t. One of the many things Brantley loved about Reese was his vulnerability and his wistful spirit. Reese did a good job of masking it for the world, but deep down, he was a romantic. Another of the many things Brantley loved about him.
He parked the truck near the house, and before Reese could get out, Brantley put a hand on his arm, stilling him.
He took a deep breath and shifted so he could look at Reese. “I’ve known I was gay since I was young. Probably twelve or so, I guess.”
“Wow. That’s … young.”
“I didn’t know what it meant at the time,” Brantley clarified. “But that’s when I noticed Jeremy for the first time. He was my best friend. I’d seen his face every day for years, but one day, I noticed he had green eyes. I knew they were green, of course, but I saw them differently. I found the color fascinating. And then I found the way he spoke fascinating. One little thing after another until I saw every part of him in a different way.”
“You were in love with him,” Reese stated.
“I guess so. My infatuation grew from there, but I kept it to myself. At first, I didn’t want him to know. Then, I didn’t want other people to know. I wasn’t ashamed, but it wasn’t something you flaunted. Trey was a year older than me, and I knew he was gay. We all did because we come from a supportive family, so it was okay to be ourselves.
“But we learned that it wasn’t something you shared with everyone. When they knew, they looked at you differently because it wasn’t socially acceptable to be out and proud in the nineties. Certainly not in a small town. Yeah, Coyote Ridge has come a long way, as has the nation as a whole, but it’s still not acceptable to a lot of people. Younger generations have an easier time being open about it.”
“They have more support than our generation did,” Reese noted.
“True. And that’s a good thing. I look forward to the day when our differences don’t divide us. Race, sexual orientation, religion. It would be a better world.”
Reese nodded, his brown eyes glittering like honey in the sun.
“With that said, when I was a teenager plotting the rest of my life, marriage wasn’t an option for me.”
“Shit,” Reese muttered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that.”
Brantley reached over and squeezed his hand. “But it’s what I want now. To marry you. And if you want to recite our own vows, I’ll put in the time and effort to write mine. If you want to recite whatever Pastor Bob has in store for us, I’ll do that, too. I don’t care. No, maybe I didn’t imagine what it would be like to stand at the altar, but if you did, let’s do it your way, Reese. Whatever that looks like.” Brantley thought about that for a moment and tacked on, “Provided it doesnotinvolve me wearing a wedding gown. That shit won’t fly.”
Reese barked a laugh, and suddenly, the tension disappeared. “All right.”
“Good.” Brantley opened the door and got out.
They grabbed the groceries from the back seat and headed for the front door.
“So which is it gonna be?”
Reese smiled. “Lemme think about it for a bit. I’ll let you know.”
“Fine.” He opened the front door. “But that doesn’t mean you get a head start on writing vows. If that’s the route we take, you get the same amount of time I do.”
Reese chuckled. “Fair enough.”
***
They spent the rest of the afternoonhanging out.
Reese tossed the ball to Tesha until she was too tired to move from the cool tile in the kitchen. He camped out on the couch with Brantley for a bit, flipping through channels. When Brantley stopped on the History channel, Reese knew it was time to put his plan in motion. Without saying a word, he got up and headed for their bedroom, taking his time. He knew it wouldn’t take Brantley long to come searching for him, and he was right.
“I assume I’ve got time to shower before—”
