Page 35 of The Boy from Half Moon

“He thinks I don’t understand what he means when he asks me about going to his house with him and doing stuff. Sure, I didn’t know what gay meant when he asked, but I know what a homosexual is.”

“Does he still treat you unkindly?” I asked, feeling like an asshole for allowing Tyler’s behavior. “You know, like when he comes in still?”

I hadn’t confirmed Tyler still came in, but Luke had mentioned frequent visits just now. “I haven’t seen him since that night, but we all know why he comes in,” he said.

“You do?”

Even though the store was empty of other customers, Luke leaned toward me, cupping his mouth. “We think he wants to court one of us,” he explained. “We don’t mind that he comes in because we’re taught to be accepting of all people.”

To say I was stunned by Luke’s words would be an understatement of epic proportions. As it turned out, he did know about gay men. Just not that they were called gay. Perhaps he had little exposure to us, but he knew, nonetheless. That in itself was surprising news.

“Would dating him be a bad thing?” I asked, seriously curious about his opinion.

“It’d be a sin, of course,” he began, looking at his hands that he’d moved back in front of him. He looked up again, locking eyes with me. “But if one of us wanted to, well, you know, do something like that, we’d know the risks ahead of time.”

The explosion I just heard was inside my brain. What was Luke saying? Was he actually saying what I hoped he was saying? There was no way I’d heard him properly. There had to be a misunderstanding regarding what he’d meant.

I couldn’t resist. “Something like what?”

Luke stared at me, his eyes revealing that he’d possibly opened a can of worms. Perhaps his internal thoughts were just that; meant to have been internalized.

“Go somewhere with him,” he answered, cautiously looking around again as he answered me.

My pulse raced, fighting the urge to ask another question. There was no way Luke could be talking about dating a man, could he?

“You’re talking about one of your team members, one that works here?” I asked, pushing for clarification. “With Tyler? They’d go on a date?”

He shook his head. “Oh no,” he corrected. “If you mean date like we mean courting, then no, none of my brothers here would court a man. Not that I know of,” he began. “Do you court men, Tate?”

I swallowed hard. I felt he already knew, so I may as well tell him. “Yes. Yes, I do. Not currently though, but if I liked a man that way, I probably would date them.” I confessed.

Luke’s simple yet direct way of speaking and asking questions was different from most people. He didn’t seem to have false pretenses or a hidden agenda. He simply asked questions, gave what appeared to be honest answers, and seemed genuinely interested the entire time. The topic we were currently speaking about would have seemed impossible if we weren’t engaged in it right then.

“Did you want to purchase this piece?” he inquired, coming to a screeching halt regarding the topic we’d just been discussing.

I gazed at him, confused by the abrupt shift in topic. “I would,” I replied, turning and searching for the long table I also wanted. “And that dining table over there.” I pointed at my choice. “Plus, the miner’s cart by the front door. And maybe that mirror.”

“Delivered?” he asked.

“Yes, please.”

“Anything else, Tate?” he asked, backing up and turning toward the cash register. I was too stunned to answer, so he looked back at me, raising an eyebrow in question. “Will that be all?”

I wanted to say I wanted him. And that I wanted to know what it would feel like to be held in his strong arms. I wanted to tell him he was too young for me, and that I should know better, but that I wanted him just the same. I said none of those things.

“That’ll be all for now,” I said, knowing I’d regret leaving there with so many unanswered questions. “Luke,” I said, trying to get his attention, wanting us to continue our talk.

“Yes, sir?”

We were back to sir again. Whatever hidden message we’d danced around a minute ago had passed. Or maybe there’d been no hidden message, after all. I’d obviously misunderstood him.

“Never mind.”

CHAPTER TWENTY: Luke

Two Weeks Ago

“Are you gonna report me?” Josiah asked. “Nobody’s gonna believe me, Luke. You know that.”

---