A Worthy Man by Jaime Reese

Author:Jaime Reese [Reese, Jaime]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary, Gay, Romance, second chances, hurt comfort
Amazon: B072HM53T5
Publisher: Romandeavor, Inc.
Published: 2017-04-29T03:00:00+00:00

∞ ♥ ∞

Drayton pulled into the rear parking area of Halfway House faster than usual and launched from the car, beelining toward Julian standing by the back door entrance with a furrowed brow and crossed arms. He’d seen the police cars drive away when he pulled up around the corner and hadn’t been able to take a breath in the few seconds it took to drive around to the back and park. After everything that had happened and the numerous obstacles that always stood between them, he couldn’t fight the worry that tried to burrow its way into his heart that something had happened to Vann.

“Julian?”

“Shaw’s upstairs. His father decided to stop by for a visit.”

Drayton stilled and slowly squared his shoulders. That son of a bitch always managed to land his strike, leaving a bruise that ran deeper than the purple stamps he would leave on Vann’s body. “How is he?”

“He’s not talking.”

Vann’s shutting down. He lowered his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. “You said he was upstairs.”

“Yes.”

“I know I’m supposed to stay in the common areas, but I need to see him.”

Vann often used angry brush strokes in some drawing to unleash the lingering rage after a physical fight with his father. But there were other fights that left a deeper scar on Vann’s soul, and he’d withdraw, shut down, and distance himself from everyone, sometimes not uttering a word for days at a time.

Drayton couldn’t let that happen.

Julian handed him the signed approval for their weekend furlough. “I’m guessing that’s weighing on him. This was a house incident so the work program rules don’t apply here. We handle house issues differently. Make sure he knows his father coming here didn’t screw up your weekend together. That kid can’t catch a fucking break, and I’m worried he’s going to give up.” Julian crossed his arms again and resumed his position. “His room is the third one on the right. Just get through to him please. Aidan should be here in a few minutes, and I’ll have his ear for a while to see what we can do about Shaw’s old man. That bastard’s going to pay for coming into our house and trying to cancel out that kid’s progress.”

Drayton strode past the worried faces in the living room to the stairwell, taking two steps at a time until he reached Vann’s room. He steeled himself and slowly pushed open the door, stilling at the sight of Vann, huddled in the corner on the floor, folded into himself, like the younger version of the man after another fight with his father—beaten down, not by fists but by the lethal blows of toxic words.

“Vann?” Drayton stepped forward when met with silence, taking a seat at his side on the floor. Vann had different degrees of quiet as he processed his thoughts. But too much thought after any interaction with his father never boded well and often let the poison spread through his system.

There was a steady strength about Vann.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.