Evan Gilbert's Greatest Hits by Evan Gilbert

Author:Evan Gilbert [Gilbert, Evan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 978-1-63477-448-2
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2016-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

6

THE DETOUR was a spur-of-the-moment lark.

Eli had just passed Bridgeton, on the highway to Forest Lake, when he spotted the ice-streaked green sign informing him that the Kingsway Memorial Gardens was one of the destinations off the next exit. He hadn’t planned on visiting the cemetery until later in the week, but the urge to pay his respects was as strong as it was sudden.

He took the exit, driving north on County Road 176. Fourteen years ago, the surrounding countryside had had a definite rural flavor, boasting fields bristling with corn and wheat or grazed by livestock. Now there seemed to be only fast-food joints and gas stations as far as the eye could see. The change in the landscape was so radical he almost missed his turn.

He peeled off 176 onto Kingsway Road. At least this was one section of the county that hadn’t been urbanized. The sparse woodland he remembered was still there, the thin, bare trees looking starkly skeletal against all the snow. The road ended two miles down at the cemetery, which, it seemed to Eli, the owners had tried to tuck carefully from sight, the way some municipalities tried to hide porn shops from tourists. Funny, he thought, how society was no better at dealing with death than it was with sex. He drove through the black wrought iron gates, past a dark gray sedan that sat idling in front of the small building that housed the cemetery’s office and chapel.

The man behind the wheel wore black shades, which looked enormous on his narrow face. His gaze followed Eli. After driving past him, Eli glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the guy pull the sedan away from the building and follow. A visitor who had hoped to get information and found the office closed for the holiday, Eli guessed. Maybe the guy had decided to try to find whatever grave he was looking for himself.

Eli knew precisely where he was going. He drove the short distance down from the entrance to the point where a small brook wound close to the road. After pulling off to the side, he shut off the engine, barely aware of the gray sedan, which continued past him and disappeared around the bend. He zipped his jacket up to his neck, pulled a wool cap over his head, climbed out of the SUV, and walked over to the squat, cross-shaped headstone bearing his parents’ names.

Hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket, he stood over the snow-blanketed grave, staring down. Except for himself, all that remained of his parents was buried six feet down. Coming here always heightened his longing for children of his own. If he didn’t have at least one kid, his family line would end with him. Of course, the devil was in the logistics. Aside from finding a surrogate and getting her through the pregnancy, he wanted to raise his kid with a partner, someone who would love the child as much as he would. But in all the years since high school, he hadn’t come anywhere near falling for another man.

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