Page 76 of His Stepdad Wears Leather

She squeezed his cheek. “Yes, you are. God, I love this face of yours. You have no idea how long I’ve waited to see it again.” She smothered him with a few kisses before plopping down at the island and snagging a piece of his bacon. “So… we have a lot of catching up to do, me and you.”

He claimed the stool beside her and toyed with the last piece of bacon, unsure what to say next. Noah sensed her anticipation, but he feared it wasn’t so easy to open up. Not like she wanted him to.

“Also, I’ve spoken to an attorney, to see what we can do about your situation.”

“That’s good news,” he said, perking up.

“I apprised her of some of the information over the phone, but she really wants to see us in her office as soon as possible. I made an appointment for this afternoon—I hope that’s okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I just need to take a shower first.”

She cupped his cheek. “We have a little time. It’s not until later.”

Noah relaxed—but not much. Her stare was weighty. The expectation in the air nearly choked him. What she needed from him, he wasn’t sure.

They were practically strangers.

Yet not.

She reached out and caressed his cheek. “Did you miss me as much as I missed you?” his mother asked.

Noah eyed the counter, the question stinging. “You really missed me?”

“Of course I did.”

Noah let out a slow breath, trying to hold on to his emotions. With everything that he’d been through in the past couple of weeks, his control was at its limits. He lifted his gaze to her and went for the truth. No matter if it hurt. “Dad and Abbie Lee… they told me you didn’t want me anymore. Over and over again. For years, I thought you abandoned me. I’ve spent most of my life hating you for it.” Noah saw the pain in her eyes. He’d put it there, and guilt slammed into him. “To learn it was all lies…”

“We’ll need time to come to terms with what they did to us. What they robbed us of.”

Noah nodded. Lowering his head, he had no idea where they went from there.

“Damn them,” his mother cried angrily. “We fought, tooth and nail, to get you back, sweetheart.”

“I know. Brody told me.”

His mom smiled softly, tears welling in her eyes. “I feared I might never see you again. I’msoexcited to have you home again.”

“I’m excited to be home again, too. Though it’s been so long, it really doesn’t feel like home anymore.”

She patted his hand. “It will. Give it time.” She wiped away a stray tear. “So I want to heareverything. How you did in school… what you like, what you don’t like… if you have any grand plans now that you’re free.”

“School was pretty much terrible. That town was terrible. I didn’t fit in. At all.”

“How so?”

Noah took a long, deep breath. He assumed she’d accept him, considering she was with Geena—but there was still a hint of fear within. “I’m gay.”

His mom smiled softly. “And in a small town outside of Nashville, that was likely a problem.”

Noah relieved the breath he’d pent up. “Pretty much. I mean, I tried to hide it. I must’ve done a decent job of it. Dad has said a time or two, I don’tlooklike a homo. Whatever that means.”

“It means not wearing a feather boa, makeup, and hot pants—likehedid when he was younger.”

Noah’s head popped up.“What?”

“Oh, your dad was gay… as inverygay… before he met Abbie Lee.”

“Seriously? Fuck…” he turned to his mother. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cuss.”

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