Page 291 of A Matter of Time

“What did you bring me?” she asked from the other room, and I could hear her laughing at her own joke.

I heard so many other voices laughing along with her that all at once I was scared. It was one thing for Sam and me to be on unstable ground, but not me and his family. I wasn’t ready to be here, and I felt like I was going to hyperventilate.

“Sammy, get in here,” Thomas Kage called out. “The game started already.”

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked me quickly.

“You first.”

“There’s nothing wrong with me.” He grinned slowly, devilishly. “You’re the one who’s freaked out.”

“And if I am?” I asked, my voice rising just a little.

“You’re scared because this is a lot in a short amount of time.”

I nodded.

“I didn’t think about that. I was just excited to have you here,” he said gently, reaching out and putting an arm around my neck, easing me up against him. He kissed my temple. “I can go in there, and you can take my car and go home.”

But was that what I wanted?

“I don’t want to do anything to make you rethink spending time with me.”

He was worried. It was there in his tone, the furrow of his brows and the clench of his jaw. In the past, he never would have doubted his hold over me. But it was different now, and we both knew it. We had been apart for three years, and we’d both learned that we could live without each other. The point was, though, that neither of us wanted to.

“Love?”

“Let’s go in,” I murmured, smiling up at him.

“Are you sure?”

His clouded eyes made my stomach flip over. To see vulnerability in the man was brand new.

“Yes,” I whispered.

He bent and kissed me, and then I followed him into the living room.

“Look what I brought you, Mom.”

Regina Kage was a stunning woman just sitting doing nothing. When she smiled, you saw the movie-star magic. When she smiled, you got that she was luminous. She was smiling now. Her eyes darted back and forth between us and settled on me.

“Jory,” she gasped, clearly overcome. “Oh my goodness, finally.” Her breath caught as she rushed across the room to me. She threw her arms out wide, and I stepped into them, hugging her tight. “Finally.” She said the word with so much feeling and relief that it was abundantly clear that she loved me. “Oh my sweet boy,” she cooed into my hair, rubbing circles on my back. “My sweet, sweet boy.” And then she said something into my shoulder that I couldn’t hear before she pulled back to look at me. “Everyone, come see,” she called to the women sitting in the living room. “My boy is home!”

And I looked over at Sam as he shrugged and people surged around me.

Jen came and threw herself into my arms, kissing and hugging me tight before stepping back to introduce me to her new boyfriend, Doug Yates. He was nice, had three kids of his own, and was a construction foreman. I liked him right away, and the fact that he didn’t care one bit that I was gay was a big fat point in his favor. He cared more about Sam than me. He was just as intimidated by Detective Kage as everyone else who ever met him—careful of his size, the muscles, and the quick temper. Me, he cared nothing about at all.

Rachel mauled me, and her husband, Dean, was very pleased to see me. There were other cousins to see, and the men greeted me with outstretched hands, cool-guy head tips, or yells. The women quickly invaded my personal space. I kissed and hugged them all, and they pointed out the main attraction to me—Beverly Stiles, Michael’s new girlfriend. She was meeting the extended family for the first time. My heart went out to her. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

“J,” Michael said, smiling crazily at me as he breezed into the room. “Hey, buddy. I missed ya.”

When he was close enough, he surprised me by reaching out and grabbing me into a tight guy-clench. “Sammy missed ya too,” he said softly, his voice catching. “More than a little. Maybe now my brother can stop being such a prick.”

“Michael!” Regina had overheard him, and she was clearly mortified.

“Aww, Mom, you know it’s the God’s honest truth!” he grumbled at her, letting me go. “He’s been a total asshole the whole time Jory’s been gone.”

“Yes, I know, but your words, Michael, Mother of God!”