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“I just got lucky he was at Sundae’s Best when I stopped by,” Granny said.
Grady held out his hand to Tasha. She was beautiful, some of her features similar to Deacon’s. Her eyes were a similar color and kind like his. She had long, red-painted fingernails, and her hair was kept in a style Grady didn’t know the name of. It looked like her strands were twisted together. “I’m Grady. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name. Deke has told me a lot about you.”
She shook his hand. “He mostly kept you a secret, and I’m still a little pissed at him about that.”
Grady wasn’t sure how to respond, but Deke’s brother, Leroy, just nudged her out of the way. “Ignore our sister. Good to meet ya, man.”
“You too,” Grady replied, and then…then he tried to figure out what to say next.
His pulse sped up some, easing with the feel of Deacon’s hand at the small of his back. “Mama, this is Grady Dalton. Grady, this is Monique.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
She looked at him for a long moment, her light-brown eyes darting back and forth between Grady and her son. He got hot, even though it wasn’t hot outside, felt under the microscope, because he sure as shit was being studied. Grady couldn’t blame her, though.
“You’re quite the surprise,” she said.
“Mama,” Deacon warned.
She looked at him. “Am I not allowed to state the truth?” Her gaze found Grady’s again. “You’re a surprise, but all I care about is seeing my son smile again. If you make him do that, you and me are okay. If you hurt him, it’ll be me you deal with.”
Damned if he didn’t almost tear up. He was so grateful Deacon had such accepting people in his life. He still felt like shit about Patricia’s parents, and neither Deacon’s dad nor his siblings’ spouses had come out, but he had people in his corner, and that was all that mattered. “I won’t. He, um…means a lot to me. What’s best for Deacon will always come first.” He meant that.
“Us,” Deke said. “What’s best for us.”
“That’s what I want to hear.” Monique pulled Grady into a hug, then Deacon, and they went inside.
The house smelled like apples and cinnamon, mixed with ham and some kind of cheese, and Grady breathed it all in. But the second they stepped into the living room, he felt the shift in the air. Deacon’s dad was staring at them, Tasha’s husband and Leroy’s wife as well. Not angry looks, just confused, as if they didn’t know what to do or say, or maybe like they were hoping the ground would open up and suck them inside. No, not them. Grady. He was the outsider, the one they didn’t trust, the man who was now dating the man they loved and whom they still saw as straight. He was pretty sure they thought he’d changed Deacon, that they weren’t positive how they felt about the change, but they were trying because of Deke.
“That’s my dad, Adrick, and Jason and Macy,” Deacon pointed out each person.
“Who are you?” a young boy asked, which was when Grady noticed there were three kids in the room as well.
“Lil’ Roy,” Deacon’s brother snapped. “You don’t talk to adults that way, and you know it.”
“Yes, sir,” the young man replied.
“This is Uncle Deke’s friend, Grady.”
Ah, his friend. Grady wondered if he would have been introduced that way if he were a woman. He tried not to let it bother him. He’d known people who’d been together for three years and still had to call each other friend around certain family members.
He was introduced to the other two kids next, both younger than Lil’ Roy. Tasha’s husband, Leroy’s wife, and then Deacon’s dad all said hi to him. They were friendly, tried to engage with him, but Grady could tell it was because they knew they should. Again, he didn’t feel like they were being hateful or disliked him; they just didn’t know him, and this was new territory for them. Clearly, it was harder for the three of them to wrap their brains around Deacon and Grady being together than it had been for the siblings, Granny, and Monique.
But they were trying. Despite how clumsy most of the conversation was, the trying was the significant part to Grady.
Deacon put the ice cream away, and Grady offered to help cook anything. They turned him down, told him he was a guest, and they could handle it. He stuck close to Deacon, the two of them playing with the kids some, then eventually setting the table.
Monique, Granny, Tasha, and Leroy all seemed to take turns talking to him about his life, likes, and things like that. While Deacon was attentive, he didn’t touch Grady all night, didn’t put a hand on his thigh or on his back, or even brush his fingers against Grady’s hand. He told himself it didn’t matter, but he’d be lying if he didn’t admit it hurt some, felt like it peeled the scab off old wounds he thought had healed for good.
