Hay and Heartbreak by Bailey Bradford

Author:Bailey Bradford [Bradford, Bailey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Erotic Romance Fiction
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Published: 2015-11-30T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Telling Hector about his past while spending the day with him and Duke seemed like cheating somehow, as if having Duke there in case Hector blew a gasket over Dan’s drug use as a teenager was unfair. It didn’t make a lot of sense to Dan, and yet it did. Hector’s actions and words might be censored by Duke’s presence, and so Dan decided to wait until they were alone to bring up the past.

He wasn’t concerned too much about the manslaughter charge, though it would be embarrassing to share how stupid he’d been. He’d been exonerated—there was indisputable proof that he hadn’t even been in the area when Ephraim Allen had been killed. And, according to Edward, there was proof that Manning himself had been the one to end Ephraim’s life. That was the last bit of news Dan had received from Edward yesterday.

There were questions he’d considered asking, but when it came down to it, he didn’t think he needed to know anything more about the detective who’d framed him. Dan wanted to let go of the anger and fear he’d carried for so long. He couldn’t gain back the years he’d lost. What he could do was not give any more time to events from the past.

The urge to seek out illegal methods for coping with life wasn’t going to overtake him, either. Dan didn’t want to turn to drugs, or even alcohol, or anything else in an attempt to dull the pain when he was hurting or to hide from things that scared him. He was an adult, and he’d been through hell. He was strong enough to survive and flourish.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to make mistakes. Everyone did, and that was part of growing. He just wasn’t going to make the same mistakes repeatedly.

There was a future to start seriously considering. Goals to set. He’d find out how to get the kind of career he wanted.

And maybe he’d somehow volunteer at the foundation that had helped him out. His confidence was growing and he was as close to happy as he had ever been. When he was with Hector, he felt like a good man who deserved to be happy. One who was worth love, both the giving and receiving of it.

I’m in a bit of a mess. The thought almost made him giggle, something he hadn’t done since he was a kid.

“You’re lookin’ mighty amused over there,” Duke called out to him. “Smiles work for you, brother. I’m glad to see you finally wearin’ some.”

Dan ducked his head down, then raised it back up. He had nothing to be ashamed of, and Duke wasn’t being mean.

“He’s a handsome man, isn’t he?” Hector asked. “Y’all being from Alabama, you can say your own kin’s hot, right?”

“Aw, fuck off, pervert,” Duke quipped, shaking his fishing pole at Hector. “I’ll whap your ass until it’s red and you can’t sit for a week if you keep makin’ jokes like that.”

Hector looked pointedly at Duke’s casted leg.

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