Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“He’s incredible. Look at this.” Clint pulled out his phone and showed photos of Reese’s sketch of him and of the animals at the farm that Roe’s mom had shown him.
“Wow. He’s very good,” Ron said, but Clint felt August’s eyes on him.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing. I just didn’t know you took photos and kept them on your phone, is all.”
It wasn’t often that Clint felt embarrassed, but heat did warm his cheeks then.
“Aww. My widdle brother is so sweet,” Ron teased, prompting Clint to give him the finger.
“That wasn’t nice, Uncle Clint,” Rose said.
“Yeah, Uncle Clint,” Ron joked. Grace and August laughed.
The conversation flowed all through dinner. They went inside afterward, August insisting he help wash the dishes.
“I can do them with him,” Clint said, but Grace was already shaking her head.
“Nope. This is the first time you’ve brought someone home, and I want to gossip with him about you.” She threaded her arm through August’s, and the two of them disappeared into the kitchen.
The girls went into the playroom to watch a movie, leaving Ron and Clint alone in the living room.
“You’re in love with him,” Ron said.
“I am,” Clint answered honestly.
“I’m happy for you. It’s plain as day that he feels the same.”
“I want it to work out more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.” He felt like he was cutting himself open admitting that, but it was true.
“It will. No one deserves it more than you.”
Clint sure as hell hoped so. He’d lost August once, and he wasn’t sure he could handle going through that again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
August
“So…” Vince said, “I’ve been doing my research, and apparently Briar County has its first ever gay bar.”
They were having dinner at Adaline’s. Colby and Clint usually went about once a week, but today Vince and August had tagged along. August enjoyed hanging out with them, liked the fact that he was making friends with all these men.
“No way,” Clint replied, plucking a hush puppy off August’s plate and popping it into his mouth.
“Yeah, I was shocked. I know I said I’m looking for something different, and I am, but it’s also boring as shit,” Vince said, which made Clint laugh. “I was going to try and drag this guy”—he motioned to Colby—“to Asheville, so I was looking stuff up and found a gay bar in Chelsea. It’s only been open for a few weeks. Some guy from California or something.”
“Don’t say that too loud. Locals are already complaining about all the Californians and Northerners taking over North Carolina,” Clint teased.
“I heard someone complaining about traffic the other day. It blew my mind,” August added. The area might’ve grown a great deal, but nothing he’d seen in Briar County would be considered bad traffic in Orlando.
“That’s nuts,” Vince said, then, “You guys wanna go with us? Roe and Holden are camping with the boys, and not sure it’s really Grady and Deke’s thing.”
“I never said I was going,” Colby told him.
“But you will.”
“How do you know?”
Vince turned his way, wrapped an arm around him, and ruffled his hair. “Because you love me and I’m forcing you to be my new best friend.”
Colby jerked back. “What if I don’t wanna be best friends with you?”
Vince grinned. “He’s mad because I made him eat something other than Frosted Flakes this morning.”
“I don’t only eat Frosted Flakes. I like Honey Smacks, Golden Grahams, Lucky Charms, oooh! Cocoa Pebbles.”
“You’re the biggest kid I know,” Vince told him.
“What you say is what you are,” Colby countered, making Vince roll his eyes. They seemed very flirty to August, which surprised him. From what Clint had told him, Colby was straight, but maybe he was imagining things. It wasn’t as if he knew either man very well, and some people just had that kind of personality.
“We’ll talk about this later, dear,” Vince said playfully.
Colby cleared his throat. “He jokes like that because we live together.” He took a bite of his food, eyes on his plate, not looking at them.
“Do you want to go?” Clint asked, interrupting their banter.
It had been a long time since August had done anything like that with people. Christ, he’d really closed himself off to the world before moving back to Harmony, hadn’t he? After the divorce, he couldn’t remember ever going out with friends to a bar. “I’d like that. It would be fun.”
“See? Now you have to go.” Vince nudged Colby.
“Do not.”
“Do too.”
“Do not.”
“Please?” Vince fluttered his dark lashes at Colby. “Straight guys can go to gay bars.”
“I know, and yes, fine, whatever. You’re spoiled as shit.”
“Just how I like it,” Vince said, and yeah, that confirmed what August had thought about Colby, but still, he was definitely feeling some kind of sexual tension rolling off them.
They made plans to go the next night, which was a Friday. They finished the rest of their meal, talking and hanging out. Colby and Vince bickered sometimes like an old married couple, and August found himself laughing both with them and at them quite a bit.