Stood Up (The Family Jules Book 3) by Sean Ashcroft

Author:Sean Ashcroft [Ashcroft, Sean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-09-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Just as he was starting to think about going to bed, Brent realized that he hadn’t seen Riley in a while. More than a while, actually. One minute he’d been quietly sipping tea in the kitchen, and the next… gone.

Brent peered out the kitchen window to see if the RV was still outside, fear that Riley had abandoned him settling uncomfortably in his gut. Maybe Riley was mad at him. Maybe Riley didn’t want to get involved, and Brent kissing him earlier had been a mistake.

Thankfully, the RV was still out there, in the same spot Riley always parked it. The same spot Brent kept clear for him.

And the lights were on.

So that explained where Riley was.

Spurred by his fear that Riley was leaving, Brent headed outside. It wasn’t impossible that Riley was just getting something, but Brent couldn’t take that risk.

If he’d seen the RV pulling out right now, he was pretty sure his heart would have broken in two.

That probably meant he needed to be honest about his feelings. The shock of finding that they might not have been as one-sided as he always assumed they were was still affecting him, but for his own sake, he needed to speak up.

Riley had said so. The advice might not have been directed at Brent, but Brent had taken it to heart anyway. He’d feel better if he told Riley how he felt.

The door shuddered as Brent knocked on it. Sometimes, he marveled at how Riley could live in such a tiny, flimsy space. How he could handle not having the security of four walls and a roof.

Of course, in a lot of ways, he did. There were people all over the country who would have taken Riley in if he needed somewhere to stay. Probably all over the world. He made friends easily, and he had a big family to rely on.

Brent didn’t really have anyone except Riley. Everyone else he knew relied on him, but he couldn’t really have relied on them.

Riley opened the RV door, blinking owlishly at Brent. He’d stripped down to a t-shirt and sweatpants.

That wasn’t what Brent had been expecting.

“You’re staring,” Riley said after a moment. That was true, but Brent couldn’t immediately get himself to stop.

Now that Riley was in front of him, speaking his mind proved harder than he thought it was going to be.

Where did he even start?

“Come in.” Riley stepped back from the door, giving Brent space to get in past him.

Other than checking it out when Riley first bought it, Brent had never actually been in the RV. It was a lot different now than it had been back then, the inside covered in bumper stickers, postcards, family photos, and strings of tiny Christmas lights.

Brent didn’t miss the photo of him and Riley among the family ones. That felt good to see.

The whole thing was so exactly like he would have imagined Riley’s home that it was a surreal experience.

“I, uh. Love what you’ve done with the place.”

Riley grinned brightly.

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