“ARE YOU sure you want to do this, Jesse?” Doug’s voice was quiet and steady and his words low enough that they wouldn’t be heard outside the walls of his tan-carpeted office. His jewel blue eyes didn’t blink as he stared at Jesse in disbelief.
Jesse simply stared back, letting the smile on his face spread just a little more as he slipped his hands into the pockets of the heather-gray hooded jacket he wore unzipped over his thin T-shirt. Neither was suitable for the office of the Attingwood Journal, and the well-washed jeans he had also chosen to wear that morning were an even starker contrast to the tailored clothing Doug wore. But they were clean, and had been washed enough times to be comfortable, and were perfect for giving Doug the answer he should have already known.
The day had dawned cool and clear, with the temperature outside perfect for May and the sun having risen just enough to promise a beautiful spring morning in Attingwood. Jesse had admitted that much on his drive to the Journal’s downtown office.
But it was going to be the last spring morning he would see in this city.
Six months. That’s what Jesse had asked Dustin for the morning he left Miller’s Creek.
Six months to let the dust settle over what he had learned in the rural Indiana town, about Jacob Palmer and Geoff Meyers. About Artie Bennet and what he had done to Jacob and Geoff, and about Miller’s Creek itself. About everything Jesse had learned about himself.
And six months to see if what had grown between him and Dustin during those few days in November could grow into something that would last. Find out for sure if the words they had said outside the cemetery the morning he visited Geoff’s grave had been real or merely a moment of weakness when they had both been too ready to grab anything to steady them.
More importantly, to see if distance and the return of normalcy to both of their lives would take what they had felt in Miller’s Creek and relegate it to the realm of happy memories. A pleasant and enjoyable detour from the routine, though with no true possibility for a future.
Six months to see if what they had was real.
And Jesse couldn’t summon up the slightest regret for leaving the Journal as he watched Doug come to grips with the fact he wasn’t going to change Jesse’s mind.
He and Dustin had spent Thanksgiving apart, with Jesse slicing the turkey at his parents’ table in Attingwood, while Dustin sat with his own parents at the table they set in Bartlesberg.
But Christmas had been spent together, with Dustin arriving at the airport in Attingwood two days before Christmas and meeting Jesse’s parents for the first time on Christmas Eve. And the welcome his parents had given to Dustin was the best gift Jesse could have asked for.
“I always told you that quality was better than quantity.” His father’s words had made Jesse laugh when he said them on the back porch of their house and had turned his cheeks red as he guessed he hadn’t hidden his trips to the bars as well as he thought he had all these years. But Jesse’s embarrassment had turned to relief when he realized his father also knew Jesse hadn’t been back to the bars since his return from Miller’s Creek—and he approved of his reason why.
And it had made ending their holiday early in Attingwood easier, and the trip to Bartlesberg for a late celebration with Dustin’s family less nerve-wracking. Dustin meeting Jesse’s parents hadn’t been the only introduction to take place over the holidays, though Jesse would count meeting Dustin’s parents as another pleasant experience.
The New Year’s Eve they had spent in Miller’s Creek had been even better. They hadn’t watched the fireworks by the creek and hadn’t counted down the seconds until the clock struck midnight, but they had welcomed the New Year in perfectly nonetheless. Tangled in the sheets that had somehow wrapped around them, their breaths harsher and louder than the ticking of the clock, Jesse’s legs locked tightly around Dustin’s hips as the pleasure of his pounding cock and the heat in the green eyes above him drove his awareness of even time from his mind.
And the kiss they shared at midnight had been lost amid the ones that had begun long before the clock struck the hour and the ones they shared after, each of them hot and messy and burned into Jesse’s memory, vivid even now as Jesse stood in the cool, pristine office of Douglas Keats.
And every one had been repeated the day Jesse had flown to Bartlesberg with the realization firmly in his mind that he had known what he wanted before he had ever left Miller’s Creek. That had been Valentine’s Day, and the wine and roses Dustin had arranged in their hotel room were perfect for the occasion.
But the kiss Dustin gave him before they ever popped the cork was the last thing Jesse needed to convince him Dustin felt the same.
Six months apart had never been necessary.
And then it was just details.
The first week of March had brought the first results from the resumes Jesse had sent to both the Bartlesberg Times Record and the Miller’s Creek Sentinel, and Dustin had met him at the same hotel they had made love in a month earlier, the day before Jesse’s interview at the Times Record office. They had made love on Dustin’s bed in Miller’s Creek the night before his interview at the Sentinel.
And then the last week of March had brought Jesse job offers from both. That was the same week Jesse gave his thirty-day notice to the Attingwood Journal, while the first week of April he gave his notice on his apartment.
Dustin had come to Attingwood over Easter weekend to help pack up Jesse’s belongings and move them to storage, though he hadn’t stayed throughout Jesse’s last weeks here, even though Jesse’s parents had opened their door to him as easily as they had opened it for Jesse. Dustin still had his own job to do in Bartlesberg and Miller’s Creek, and Jesse wanted to spend the time with his parents, even if he felt guilty admitting it.
Jesse knew he wouldn’t be able to spend all of his time with them, though. His father still had a few years before he retired from the machine shop he now managed, while his mother’s part-time work at the nursing home she loved kept her happy and occupied. But the time they had spent together had been special, and Jesse got the chance to say good-bye to the city that had given him his second chance. It wasn’t a permanent good-bye, of course—not when his parents were still here and Miller’s Creek wasn’t that far away—but it was still a farewell of sorts.
And the last of it was standing right in front of him. Jesse hadn’t needed to come into the Journal office this morning—he was no longer employed here, and all of his paperwork had already been filed—but it just seemed fitting given how much of his life had taken place here and how much of his life he had wasted fantasizing about something he was now glad he had never received.
Doug hadn’t mentioned the offer he had made the day Jesse left for Miller’s Creek, though Jesse had little doubt he would have carried through with it if Jesse had pressed him to pay up.
But Jesse hadn’t. Doug’s jewel-like eyes were still striking, his face was still handsome, and the body under his tailored clothes was still worthy of appreciation, but none of it filled Jesse with the longing he felt for what was waiting in Miller’s Creek. Doug would undoubtedly rise to the top of the Journal’s ranks in the coming years, was destined to, given his focus and dedication when it came to achieving what he wanted—but that wasn’t something Jesse wanted for himself any longer.
Because the promotion Doug had hinted at months ago and offered upon Jesse’s return, the higher rank and promise of greater rewards for a job well done had never been the reason Jesse had studied journalism in college to begin with. What he had done for Jacob Palmer and Geoff Meyers was the reward he wanted from his writing. To see the hostility and suspicion start turning to sympathy and understanding, and to know he had played a part reminding even a few that not every monster was real, and that not every story told the truth. Even if neither Jacob nor Geoff were alive to see their humanity returned, Jesse was proud of what he had accomplished.
And continuing that was what Jesse wanted to do with his writing, while what–and who-he wanted in his life was still hours away.
“The offer is still on the table, Jesse,” Doug said at last, crossing his arms over his chest to create the nearly identical posture he had taken when he had sent Jesse to Miller’s Creek last November. “And if it’s the pay you’re concerned about, I think I can push for a better compensation package. Your resignation can be withdrawn effective immediately, and the promotion can be in place before the end of the day. It’s a golden opportunity, Jesse….”
As opposed to one on a silver platter, as Doug had initially described the assignment in Miller’s Creek six months ago. Jesse couldn’t help smiling at the memory.
“You have a future here, Jesse,” Doug finished, hardening his voice in what was obviously a last-ditch effort to change Jesse’s mind. “You’re not going to get this chance in Miller’s Creek.”
Jesse’s smile turned into a quiet laugh. “I know,” he said honestly, then looked into Doug’s eyes one last time. “But I think I’m going to like what I do find there. Take care, Doug, all right?”
Jesse turned without waiting for an answer and heard only the sound of Doug’s frustrated sigh before he closed the door to the office—and the entire life he had known here—behind him.
THE CONVENIENCE store was a plain, unadorned structure behind the gas pumps that separated the road from the storefront, though in the late afternoon sunlight it looked less stark against the Indiana countryside it was set against. Jesse had seen it and been in it more than once during the last six months, and nothing about it was unfamiliar. Yet seeing it now still somehow felt different—and it took only a moment for Jesse to understand why.
It was the first place he would see on this road to Miller’s Creek that was a part of Miller’s Creek.
He was finally here.
He smiled at the road as his foot sank on the gas just a little more. Just two more miles….
And the road leading into Miller’s Creek opened in front of him. The old brick and slat-board houses also looked less stark and tattered in the golden glow of spring sunlight, with the peeling paint less ugly and both the mowed and overgrown yards showing lush green instead of the brittle brown of winter. Even the stop sign at the intersection before Main seemed somehow more visible, and Jesse stopped to let a rusted green pickup cross in front of him, then made his way through the mix of vacant and open stores that made up Miller’s Creek downtown. The for sale sign on the old flower shop was still there, while the door to the antiques mart was propped open.
But it was the Sentinel’s office that held his gaze the longest. Part-time editor and occasional writer would encompass his duties once he started his job with the small newspaper, while freelance journalist and occasional editor for the Bartlesberg Times Record would fill in the gaps left by his employment in Miller’s Creek. Neither would pay as much as the job he had left, and commuting would be necessary from time to time for the projects that required his presence in Bartlesberg, but Dustin had already proved to him the drive wasn’t that far.
And he would have the time to try his hand at his own freelance stories.
He wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to make a living writing and selling the stories he wanted to do, but together with the salaried jobs he did have, they made a good start to his new career in Miller’s Creek.
Then the heavy smell of grease and frying food made him turn his head to the other side of the street.
The Miller’s Creek Café was busy, given the number of cars parked on the street in front of it, and he knew Kim would be there… as would Artie Bennet. Dustin had told him the old farmer hadn’t changed despite Jesse’s blasting him for the conniving old goat he had always been, though the number of people in town who ignored him had seemingly grown significantly.
It was the most Jesse could hope, for there was no way to undo the damage the old man had caused, though somehow a fitting punishment for a man who was used to having his words listened to. Artie Bennet had become nothing more than an old windbag.
He knew Kim would be thrilled to see him again, even if it had only been a few weeks since she had seen him last. She always was. That kind of enthusiasm had surprised Jesse his first trip back after he had left in November, but now it only made him laugh. And though Kim already knew Jesse was coming back to Miller’s Creek for good, Jesse doubted she knew that it was today.
Though she would have to wait just a little longer to find out.
Turning at the intersection on the other side of the diner took Jesse past the filled parking places that lined the side street, and three more blocks down and a single turn to the right brought him to the street he had been waiting to see. He knew the house Geoff had lived in was on this street too, but knowing it was there had become nothing more than an idle fact. It wasn’t the house he was looking for the instant he turned the corner, and it took him less than a breath to spot the charcoal short-bed truck in the driveway halfway down the block. Jesse’s heartbeat began to thrum in his ears as he sped up more than was legal or necessary, and a sense of elation filled him as he pulled his car in behind it. His luggage was in the trunk, and empty coffee cups and discarded cellophane wrappers littered the floorboard, but Jesse’s attention was on the front door as he turned the ignition off.
And he threw his own door wide the instant the front door opened.
Jesse’s feet hit the driveway as Dustin stepped out, and Jesse’s heart raced at seeing the ragged jeans and loose T-shirt he wore, how his hair was still damp from the shower he had taken and how his cheeks appeared bristly enough to say he hadn’t shaved since morning. His smile spread as he took the short steps to the pavement, and the light in his eyes made the green brilliant the instant before Jesse caught him in a hug that tore the breath out of them both.
Dustin’s arms held Jesse just as tightly, and neither of them seemed willing to let go now that Jesse was here and the wait was over. But Jesse finally did, easing himself back just enough to see Dustin’s eyes—and then taking him in a kiss that stole their breath again, relishing the touch and the scent and the promise the whiskers darkening Dustin’s cheeks would leave their mark on Jesse’s own.
And God only knew how much time had passed or how many people saw them before Jesse reluctantly let Dustin go again. Jesse wanted to go inside, wanted to feel more than Dustin’s lips and the heat of his body through their clothes, wanted to see those eyes darken even more with the heat that was beginning to simmer in their depths….
But the movement he caught out of the corner of his eye and then turned toward brought entirely different words to his mouth.
“Is that the cat you told me about?”
Dustin’s laugh brought Jesse’s gaze back from the face of the fat gray cat that had slunk around the corner of the house and crouched near the flower beds to watch them.
“That’s the cat,” Dustin confirmed, “and it looks like he’s finally comfortable enough around you not to care if you catch him spying.”
“Well, as long as he doesn’t start gossiping around town about it, I think I can live with a voyeur,” Jesse answered, though his laughter subsided as he was caught again by the warmth of Dustin’s eyes and the sheer charm of his smile.
He had told Dustin he loved him every time they had been together over the last six months, every time they had spoken on the phone or exchanged e-mails. And he had heard Dustin tell him the same just as many times, sometimes saying it first, sometimes saying it with nothing more than a kiss. And the look on Dustin’s face now as well as what he knew was on his own said it again, but it was more than knowing they both meant it that made Jesse’s smile soften as he stared at the man in his arms.
“Now that’s a smile I haven’t seen you wear before,” Dustin murmured, pulling Jesse closer as he closed his arms around him again. “I take it you’re glad the long drive is over?”
“Well, there is that,” Jesse answered, lifting both arms to lace his fingers behind Dustin’s neck. “But mostly I was just thinking….”
He stopped long enough to cover Dustin’s lips in another kiss, letting the feel and the smell and the reality settle over him that he was really here.
In Miller’s Creek.
In his own driveway.
And in the arms of the man he had fallen in love with.
The one place he wanted to stay forever, and the one place that meant more to him than even the peace he had finally found in Miller’s Creek.
Dustin’s eyes were still soft as Jesse pulled back, but he didn’t have to ask Jesse to finish his words.
Jesse said them on his own, with a smile that reflected his heart and every word ringing with the honesty that came from the deepest part of him.
“It’s good to be home.”