Page 31 of The Texas Sterling Collection
I sighed and relaxed. “The negativity scares me. When Dusty outed me and blamed me for everything, I got negative reactions from Marines I thought were friends.”
Walt tugged me to face him. “You are my brother. My only brother. My only family. And whether you’re gay or straight or black or white or polka-dotted, nothing will ever come between us.”
I sighed and found my brother’s eyes. “You mean it?”
“Fuck, yeah,” Walt grinned.
I forced a grin back at him. “Thanks, Walt.”
“And what other motherfuckers think isn't important. If they aren’t willing to accept you for who you are, then you don’t need them.”
I squeezed Walt’s shoulders. “I guess you’re right.”
Walt nudged a knuckle under my chin. “Are you okay now?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Now that I told you my big secret.” I made air quotes.
“C’mon. Sit back down, and I’ll pull lunch out of the oven.” Walt started for the kitchen. “You know I went to meet Rod, don’t you?”
“You did what?” I pulled my stool to the breakfast bar and sat.
“After the Big Spring thing. You were floating on cloud nine, so I thanked him at his office. He’s a great guy. All smiles. He sure acted happy to have you as a friend.”
“Really?”
“Why are you surprised? It was obvious to everyone else. And by the way, I told him he is welcome here any time. So, you’d better kiss and make up so you don’t make a liar out of me.”
I sighed. “I think a kiss is the last thing he wants. But I hope we can work up to that again.”
“Don’t give up, brother. He might have liked it as much as you say you did.”
“That sounds weird coming from you, but I get your point. And now that we’ve talked, I think I’m hungry. What are you doing with frozen fish and fries?”
“I had them before you came home from the Marines.”
“You’ve had these in the freezer for over four months? How did you survive by yourself? I guess I'd better start doing the cooking.”
“Be my guest. But first, figure out how to fix your relationship with Rod, okay?”
“Yeah, and thanks for making me talk. I needed to unload that two-ton boulder.” I smiled for the first time in two weeks.
Chapter Nineteen
ROD
What I did to Wyl clawed at my gut. Yeah, he was the one who kissed me, but then I deserted him. I’m sure he thought he did something wrong. After the heated conversation with Stella, I realized more was at stake than bruised feelings. The guy I had fallen for needed my help, and yes, I fell for him. It was breaking all my rules, but I didn’t care. I must take care of a false campus rumor about Wyl and me. Picking up my office phone, I called Alfonso Ortega’s boss, Janice Cartwright, Division Chair over Science.
“Cartwright.”
Her curt greeting angered me further. In my state of mind, it didn’t take much for me to lash out. In my head, I heard the trumpet fanfare that always came before the crowd shoutedCHARGE!“Cartwright, Bonner here. We need to talk. Are you free?”
“Rod.” Her voice softened. “You sound upset. Anything wrong?”
“A disturbing rumor about one of my students is circulating on campus. The reported source of that rumor is one of your faculty.”
“May I ask who?”
“Not over the phone.” I was pissed.
