Gale was about to lodge a protest when the sound of an engine revving cut through the night air. Dillon looked towards the parking lot in time to see Sadie Bank’s big-ass old Cadillac come racing into a nearby space. Jamie jumped out of the front seat almost before the car even stopped. He all but flew to Dillon’s side. “What’s everybody doing here?”
Dillon reached out and grabbed Jamie’s hand, pulling him in closer. “They’ve come to solve my housing problem. They all want me to come and live with them.” The Nash collective nodded in agreement.
Before Jamie could respond, Sadie exited the car and glided up the sidewalk with all the grace of a queen. “A generous offer, no doubt, but a young man your age needs his own apartment, Dillon. You and Jamie will need privacy, especially if what you said to your father is true. Do you really think of yourself and Jamie as a family?”
Dillon heard Megan sigh in appreciation to that statement and saw Jamie’s eyes go wide. “Miss Banks, how did you know about that?”
“Enough of this Miss Banks nonsense. I’m Aunt Sadie to you. And as for how I know what was said, Adele Hopkins works in the office across the hall from your father’s office.” Sadie shook her gray head. “I’ve known her for years, and I can tell you, the woman couldn’t keep a secret if it was stapled to her butt.”
Gale chimed in with, “That’s the God’s honest truth.”
Sadie said, “Yes, well, in this case, it worked to our advantage. The minute you left Douglas’s office, Dillon, Adele called me and spilled everything she’d heard. Did you know she has a photographic memory?”
“Um, no, I didn’t.” Dillon was still reeling. “How does that relate to me getting my own place?”
“Oh no, young man. You’ll answer my question first.” Sadie drew herself up to her full height, such that it was. Dillon would have smiled if she hadn’t looked so serious. “Did you or did you not threaten to kick your father’s sorry carcass if he ever laid a hand on your family, i.e. my Jamie?”
The look Jamie gave Dillon in the pale glow of the various apartment security lamps and porch lights was so sexy and so loving, Dillon felt his blood begin to heat. Without ever taking his eyes away from Jamie’s, Dillon said, “Yes, ma’am, I did say that, and what’s more, I meant it, too. Every word.”
Jamie leaned forward, and Dillon started to close his eyes, anticipating the kiss he hoped like hell was coming. Who cared if a large part of the Nash family, his brother, and Jamie’s aunt were watching? He was in love, and Dillon didn’t care who knew it. He heard Jamie whisper, “I feel the same way about you,” just as Aunt Sadie cleared her throat, breaking them apart as effectively as if she’d thrown cold water on them. When both of them turned back towards her, Sadie said, “That’s better. Now, as I was saying, a young couple just starting out needs their own place. When you told Jamie about the eviction, he came to see me straightaway. Of course, I already knew all about Douglas’s little plan thanks to Adele, but I didn’t tell Jamie that. No, I was waiting to see how he reacted. And I can tell you this, I didn’t have to wait long. Jamie begged me to let you move into the house with us, Dillon, but I’m afraid I can’t, in good conscience, do that.”
Dillon’s heart sank. “What do you mean? I thought you approved of Jamie and me.”
Again, Sadie shook her head. “You misunderstand me. I do approve of the relationship, but how would it look if I had two teenage boys shacking up under my roof?” Sadie motioned towards Jamie. “I told this one here as much, and the little devil threatened to move out. Said if you couldn’t stay, he wouldn’t stay, either.”
Oh no. First Heath was ready to give up his home for Dillon, and now Jamie. Dillon was touched, but there was no way he was gonna let this happen. “Aunt Sadie, please don’t be mad at Jamie. He didn’t mean it. He--”
Jamie yelled out, “Oh yes, I did,” just as Sadie threw up her hand and said, “Quiet, both of you.”
Dillon thought he heard Brandon or Nate chuckle--he never was sure which--but one glare in that direction from Sadie stopped the sound altogether. When quiet again reigned, Sadie said, “Mad at him? Why on earth would I be mad at him? I’m damned proud of my nephew. Proud of him for having the convictions to stand up for those he loves, and proud of him for sticking by you no matter what. Jamie is determined to live with you one way or another, Dillon, and I’m going to help him as much as I can without compromising certain principals. We put our heads together and came up with what I believe is a working solution. That’s why I’ve spent the last few hours helping Jamie clean out the carriage house.”
“The carriage house? You mean that old building behind your house?”
Sadie was filled to the brim with indignation. “Old building? I’ll have you know that old building, as you call it, was originally the property’s carriage house, built the same year as the house, eighteen-eighty-four. My Grandfather Banks converted the carriage house to a garage in the late twenties, and when my father inherited the house and grounds from his father in the early fifties, he sold off most of the property, but kept the carriage house and had the upstairs of the building renovated as a garage apartment, complete with an eat-in kitchen, full bath, and one nice-sized bedroom. My father rented the place--usually to young married couples just starting out--until he died in nineteen-eighty, six months after my mother passed away.” Sadie’s eyes got a bit misty with the memory. “A few months after Daddy’s death, the people who were renting the apartment bought a house and moved out. Since Jamie’s grandmother--my sister--had her hands full with Jamie’s unruly mother,” Sadie paused long enough to give Jamie a warm, apologetic smile, “I was the one elected to settle the estate. I was so busy, I just didn’t bother to rent the carriage house out again.” Sadie smiled. “Until now, that is. Jamie and I spent most of the afternoon and evening cleaning the place. There’s plenty of cleaning left to do, though. I’ve been in the apartment a few times since last it was rented, but not to do any real housekeeping.” She sighed. “It needs a little work before it’s strictly livable, but I think it will do nicely. And since the gas and electricity are tied in to the main house, we won’t have to wait for those dunderheads down at the power company to come out and hook it all up before you and Jamie can move in.”
Ever the contractor, Dean spoke up. “Meaning no disrespect, Miss Banks, but if that apartment has been empty for over twenty-years, there could be serious structural damage. I’m not sure the place is even safe for the boys to live in. It would need a complete inspection before I’d feel comfortable about it.”
Sadie looked down at her fashionable gold watch. “It’s just past eight now. Plenty of time for you to run over there and give it a good going over.”
Forty years of doing construction work--twenty-five of those spent owning his own company--had given Dean enough experience with shrewd customers like Sadie to know when he’d been had. “Miss Banks, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you set me up for that.”
Sadie was the picture of innocence. Gale laughed and kissed her husband on the cheek. “Well of course she did, dear. And you do make it so easy.”
Dean sighed. “I’ll call Wayne and see if he’ll meet me over there.” To Sadie, he said, “Wayne, my son, is also in the construction business. With the two of us working together, we can have the place inspected in half the time and, if no major repairs are needed, the boys should be good to go.”
Gale clicked her tongue. “They will not.” She looked to Sadie, “I’m assuming there’s no furniture up there, and if there is, it’s probably not in the best of shape after so long a time. Am I right?”
Sadie nodded. “There’s a small dinette set that seems to be in good shape, but the last tenants took everything else with them. The boys will need a couch, some chairs, and a bed.” She thought for a minute. “Wait, scratch that last one. They can have Jamie’s bedroom suite. Oh, and his television and computer. All the things from his room, in fact.”
Dillon listened in amazement as the entire assembly, save for himself, planned his new living arrangements. Brandon said, “I think I still have the living room suite Grandma and Grandpa Nash left when they moved down to Florida. When I bought the house from them, I bought new furniture, but the living room set was in such good shape, I stored it in the attic just in case any of us ever needed it. If I remember correctly, there’s a couch, loveseat, and two chairs.”
Heath shuffled nearer to Megan. “I’ve always wondered why the call them loveseats.”
Nate winked. “Because you have to sit so close together. Brandon and I sit on ours all the time.”
Gale ignored the lusty looks her son-in-law was giving Brandon. “Can we get back to the matter at hand, please? The boys are going to need more than just furniture. There’s dishes and towels, not to mention a good starter supply of groceries.” Gale slapped her forehead. “Speaking of food, they’re gonna need a refrigerator, too. Maybe even a new stove.”
Heath said, “I can get both of those. One of the guys I work with runs a used appliance shop on the side. He’ll cut me a good deal.”
“And as far as food goes, meals are included with rent.” Sadie laughed. “Jamie’s kitchen abilities are limited to microwaving pre-cooked dinners and heating frozen pizzas, so I thought perhaps the two of them could just eat with me in the mornings and at night. They’ll still need a refrigerator and stove though, for snacks and such.”
To Dillon’s amazement, Jamie seemed not to even notice that no one had even asked Dillon whether this was what he wanted or not. No, Jamie just seemed to be going right along with the rest of them, especially when he said, “Aunt Sadie, you never did tell me how much rent you’re gonna charge us.”
Sadie appeared to be thinking it over, but Dillon wasn’t fooled. If he knew Sadie, she’d had the rent issue sorted out before she ever even brought up the idea of renting the place to the two of them. “Well, lets see. I think my father rented the place for eighteen dollars a month back in nineteen-fifty-four, but that didn’t include meals and utilities, so I’m going to have to charge you and Dillon a little more.” She pursed her lips and paused for effect. “We’ll tack on ten more dollars for that, so I’d say twenty-eight dollars a month sounds fair. And since I’ll be paying your half, Jamie, Dillon’s part will be fourteen dollars, even.”
Gale said, “Sadie, that seems a little high to me. Didn’t you say the place needed some work?”
“You know, Gale, I didn’t even think about that. The wallpaper is peeling, so that needs to be stripped, and the walls could stand a good painting. And despite how much cleaning Jamie and I did today, much more needs to be done. I think if Dillon and Jamie have to do all that work, I should at least knock off the first two months rent. I wouldn’t want to charge them too much.”
Dillon was speechless. He knew damn good and well why they were doing this. The average rent for a one bedroom apartment in the city of Reed was five-hundred and sixty bucks a month. Here was Sadie, offering them a place for what would have been a steal fifty years ago. Dillon was touched, but he was also a little irritated that no one even bothered to ask him what he wanted. He’d half-way expected it from the others, but Dillon thought at least Jamie would have asked him if he wanted the two of them to move in together. Dillon did want that. Make no mistake, living with Jamie on a permanent basis was a dream come true, but after the talk he and Jamie had at the police station that night in Chicago, Dillon was almost sure Jamie would at least make the decision a joint effort between the two of them. Instead, Jamie just assumed Dillon was gonna say yes. That point was driven home when Jamie said, “You can charge us a real rent, Aunt Sadie. And you don’t have to pay my half. I’m gonna get a job so I can help pay my share.”
“That is a ‘real’ rent, young man. That amount was good enough for my father and it’s good enough for me. And as for getting a job, you’ll do no such thing. Dillon already had his job, so I can’t fuss too much about his working, but I want you to concentrate on your studies, Jamie. I intend to help with your expenses, and that’s just the way it’s going to be.” Sadie looked at the assembled crowd. “Well, what are you all waiting for? We have an apartment to inspect, accoutrements to gather, and furniture to move.”
Brandon said. “Damn, and I was looking forward to having the kid stay with us, too.” He grinned at Nate. “Guess if we want a family anytime soon I’m just gonna have to keep trying to get you pregnant, huh?”
Nate slugged him on the arm. “Come on, let’s go through the attic and see what else is up there.”
Megan said, “Wait up and I’ll go with you. I think Grandma Nash stored some curtains up there, too. Every house needs curtains. And if those aren’t the right size, I’ll just have to make some.” When eight pairs of eyes gave her eight equally doubting looks, Megan put her hands on her hips. “What? I can sew. Geez, so what if I made a dress in home ec and forgot to cut holes for the sleeves? Doesn’t mean I can’t sew. I happen to think the dress looked pretty good, even if I couldn’t move my arms.” She ignored the laughter coming from all directions, leaned up on her toes and gave Heath a shy peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
Heath gave her shoulder a light squeeze. “Count on it.” He steeped back and stretched. “I’m gonna go call that guy I know and see if he’s got anything at his shop we can use.”
Before Dillon could believe it was happening, the lot of them, Jamie included, were headed towards their various vehicles and tasks. That was it. He couldn’t take it anymore.
“Hold it.”
It was like playing freeze tag. Every one of them stopped in his or her tracks. Gale said, “Yes, honey? Was there something you wanted?”
Dillon cleared his throat. “Don’t think I’m not grateful to all of you for trying to help me, but don’t you think it’s time somebody asked me what I wanted?”
* * *
Jamie wished to God his legs were long enough to kick his own self in the ass. He’d gotten so wrapped up in the idea of having Dillon live with him, Jamie had forgotten to even ask Dillon if this was what he wanted. Damn, damn, damn. Jamie looked around and saw some of what he was feeling reflected on the faces of the others involved. Every single one of them--from Gale and Sadie down to Nate, Brandon, and everyone in-between--apologized for being so careless. Dillon graciously accepted, but Jamie knew that his were the words Dillon was really waiting on. It was time for Jamie to mend his fences, as Aunt Sadie would say, and hope Dillon was as forgiving with him.
Clearing his throat, Jamie said, “Uh, Dillon, do you think maybe we could go inside and talk?”
Dillon nodded, but didn’t speak. Jamie looked to their family and friends. “If you’ll all excuse us, we’ll be right back.”
“Of course, honey. In fact, why don’t the rest of us go on back to my house where it’s warm and drink hot cocoa?” When the group seemed agreeable to that, Sadie gave Jamie an encouraging smile. “That way, if you and Dillon do decide this is what you want--what you both want--we’ll all be ready.”
Dean said, “That sounds like a great idea to me, Miss Banks. And I can go ahead and get Wayne out there so the two of us can start the inspection, just in case. Get that out of the way.”
Gale turned towards her car, then turned back long enough to say, “Dillon, I’m so sorry we ganged up on you like this. Dean and I really would like you to stay with us if you decide that Sadie’s offer isn’t for you. Of course, I wouldn’t blame you if you said no, not after the way we bossed you around and browbeat you tonight.”
“Gale, please don’t think I’m not grateful, because I swear I am. I--”
Brandon cut him off. “We never thought you weren’t grateful, kid, but no man likes to have his life mapped out for him. You’re eighteen. You’ve earned the right to make your own choices.”
Nate snorted. “Yeah, right. Like you let me make my own decisions.” Nate looked to Dillon. “I’m sorry we got so caught up, Dillon, but in all fairness, I think Brandon started it. He’s known for his prowess at telling others what to do.”
Brandon leaned in close to Nate and nipped him lightly on the ear with his teeth. “You didn’t mind one bit me telling you what to do last night. As I recall, when I told you to--”
“On that note,” Gale glared at her son, “I think we’re leaving.”
Brandon laughed and led Nate to the parking lot, the others in tow. Even as nervous about the coming conversation as Jamie was, he couldn’t help but smile when he saw Megan climb into Heath’s truck with him. Now that the plans had changed and they were all headed to Sadie’s, it appeared that Megan was gonna use the situation to her advantage. Good for her. She and Heath seemed to be heading towards something special. Jamie only hoped his own relationship would be moving forward as well.
Dillon indicated the apartment door. “Let’s go. I know you wanted to talk to me, but I have something I need to say, first.”
Jamie nodded and followed Dillon inside, his heart pounding against his chest. Dillon didn’t exactly seem upset, but neither did he seem thrilled at the prospect of the two of them living together. Jamie hoped he was just reading Dillon wrong, but from where he stood, things weren’t looking so good.
Dillon stood back to let Jamie inside, then closed the door behind them. The look he gave Jamie was again neutral, but Jamie was finding it harder and harder to breath. God help him, he didn’t know what he would do if Dillon said no.
But Dillon didn’t say no. Instead, he leaned back against the door, looked Jamie square in the eyes, and said, “Do you love me?”
Not what Jamie had been expecting. “You know I do. Look, Dillon, I’m so sorry for not asking you about moving in. I just got so--”
Dillon shook his head. “I’m not upset about that. I mean, I was a little irritated at first, but I know why you did it, and I’m not mad. I do know that you love me, but I think I phrased the question wrong. What I should have said is, how do you love me?”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean, exactly.”
Dillon ran his fingers through his hair. “Damn, I’m screwing this up.” He gave Jamie a pleading look. “What I want to know--no, what I need to know--is, do you love me in the right-now-we’re-together-so-let’s-just-see- how-it-goes way, or the forever-after-till-we’re-both-pushing-up-daisies way?”
Jamie didn’t so much as hesitate. “Forever. It’s always been forever with me and you. At least, that’s how I see it.”
Dillon’s smile lit the apartment’s small living room, but Jamie could still sense the tension, some underlying nervousness that racked Dillon’s entire being. He hesitated a minute, then said, “Does that mean you’ll marry me?”
Of all the things Jamie had been expecting, a proposal wasn’t on the list. He was stunned into silence, which Dillon must have taken as rejection, because he rushed out, “I wouldn’t blame you if you said no, not after all that’s happened between us. And I don’t have a ring to give you or anything. Hell, I didn’t even buy a class ring because I don’t wear jewelry.”
Jamie shook his head. “Neither do I, but that doesn’t--”
Dillon cut him off. “Look, Jamie before you say no, think about it this way. You want us to move in together. I want that, too, but I want a commitment first.”
“You mean a ceremony like Brandon and Nate had?”
“No. I mean, if you want that we can have it, but I don’t need a public declaration. All I need is right here, right now, you promising to be mine--and only mine--for the rest of our lives. But if a ceremony is important to you, we can do it.”
God, Jamie loved this guy. “No, I don’t want a ceremony--”
Again, Dillon took Jamie’s words as a refusal and cut him off. “Look, Jamie, I’m not moving in with you unless you commit to me. Like Megan always says, ‘Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free?’ Well, this cow isn’t putting out any more milk until you make me a promise. I mean it. I--”
Jamie closed the slight distance between them and put his finger against Dillon’s lips. “If you’ll hush up and listen to me for about ten seconds, I’ll tell you that I already think of us as married. That’s why I don’t need a public commitment. I already think of us as being hitched. I’m not asking you to be my roommate, Dillon, I’m asking you to be my partner in life.”
Dillon’s shoulders literally sagged with relief. “You are?”
Jamie wrapped his arms around Dillon’s waist and pulled him in close. “Yes, I am. And as far as being yours and only yours goes, I always have been. I could never let anyone else touch me the way you do.”
Dillon kissed the top of Jamie’s head. “I feel the same way.”
Jamie laid his head on Dillon’s chest. “Glad to hear it. Now, will you move in with me? I want to get all the cleaning and moving out of the way so we can start the honeymoon.”
Dillon reached between them and tilted Jamie’s head up, bringing his own down for a kiss that set every fiber of Jamie’s being on fire and gave him all the answer he needed. As marriages went, this one looked as if it was gonna be hell on wheels, and Jamie was anxious to start the ride.