When Nate thought back to that night six years ago when he’d ceased to be a brother and a son, he always pictured someone else, a man who existed in another lifetime. The new life he’d worked so hard to carve for himself offered a certain amount of insulation against the pain of his abandonment. Walking into that office and seeing Seth again would rip away all the layers of protection he’d built up. Nate wasn’t sure if he was ready to have his shell torn open again.
Amy went back inside the office, but Nate just stood there, his mind refusing to tell his feet to move. He heard Brandon dial a number and tell the person on the other end to handle things at the Sheriff’s department for the rest of the afternoon. Then he felt a pair of iron-strong arms wrap around him and pull him close.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?”
“I don’t know. After all this time, what could he possibly have to say to me? Why now?”
Brandon just shook his head and held him tighter. Nate wasn’t sure how long they stood there like that, but he was thankful he and Amy had a private parking spot where patients and passersby couldn’t see them. Within minutes, the warmth from Brandon’s body began to sink into his own, causing his muscles to relax and his head to clear. He was reluctant to break their embrace, but he knew he would have to face Seth sooner or later. He might as well get it over with. He pulled away and took Brandon’s hand.
“I think I’m ready now.”
“Are you sure?”
“No, but I don’t have a whole lot of choice. Will you go in there with me?”
Brandon nodded. “If you want me to be there, then I’m there.”
“A few minutes ago, when you said I could consider myself off the market, did you mean that you consider us a couple now?”
“That’s how I see us.”
Nate pulled him towards the office. “Me, too.” He stopped before he got to the back door, the one only employees used. “Before we go in, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Brandon led him over to the picnic table that sat just outside the doorway. He and Nate sat across from each other, Nate holding his hand in a death grip. “You can tell me anything. I think you know that by now.”
“I’m learning.” Nate took a deep breath. “Remember how I told you my dad got a restraining order forbidding me from contacting either my parents or my brother?” He Brandon said yes, Nate went on. “Well, since Seth was a minor when my dad took out the order, it expired when he turned eighteen. After that, it was up to him to take out another one.”
Brandon gave his hand a squeeze. “You went to see him, didn’t you?”
“On his eighteenth birthday. I found out where he was from some mutual friends. See, I convinced myself that the only reason he wouldn’t see me was because my dad wouldn’t let him. Don’t worry, though; he set me straight. Well, maybe straight isn’t the right word. Let’s just say, he let me know in no uncertain terms just exactly what he thought of me.”
The sympathy he saw on Brandon’s face was almost his undoing. “What happened, baby?”
“He started screaming at me, telling me to get away from him. He said his brother was dead, that he died the day I decided to become a fag. He said he only hoped that someone would come along and put me out of my misery before I decided to molest a child or something.” When he saw the anger that reddened Bran’s face, he quickly added, “He was only repeating what me father said the night he found out. My dad said it was a good thing I would never have children because a pervert like me would end up raping them myself or allowing another pervert to do it. Anyway, the day after I went to see Seth, he filed his own restraining order against me. That was four years ago. I haven’t heard from him since.”
Bran crossed over to Nate’s side of the table and pulled him close. “You don’t have to see him, Nate. I’ll go in there right now and tell him he has to leave.”
“No. I can handle it, as long as you’ll stay with me.”
Brandon kissed him tenderly on the lips. “I’m not going anywhere. Face it, babe. You’re stuck with me.”
* * *
Part of Brandon’s training, first as a profiler, and then later as sheriff, was never to let his emotions get in the way when dealing with a case. Nate may have started out as a case, but he’d been more than that from almost the minute Brandon laid eyes on him. The thought of anyone hurting Nathan made Bran want to hide him away from the rest of the world and stand guard at the door. It was hard to hate a man he’d never met, but the things Seth Morris had done to Nate made it difficult for Bran not to despise him.
When they walked into the office, Seth was seated in one of the chairs in front of Nate’s desk. Nate teased him about how much he and Keith favored, but the resemblance between the Morris brothers was startling: same dark- blonde hair, same chocolate eyes. Nate was a couple of inches taller and a touch more muscular, but there was no mistaking the fact that they were brothers. What bothered Bran the most was how someone as sweet and gentle as Nate could be saddled with that bunch of losers he called family.
Seth stood up when he saw them. He started towards Nate, but Bran positioned himself between them. Seth stopped short and looked at his brother.
“Nate. It’s been a while, huh?”
“Four years. You aren’t supposed to be here, Seth. You’re violating your own restraining order.”
“No, I dropped that about six months ago.” He looked up at Bran’s hardened jaw. “Uh, Nathan, do you think we could talk? Alone?”
Nate put his hand inside Bran’s larger one. Brandon’s fingers closed around his immediately. “Seth, this is Brandon Nash. Sheriff Brandon Nash. He and I are seeing each other. That means that what concerns me, concerns him. He stays.”
Seth didn’t seem to like having an audience, but at least he was smart enough not to say anything. Nate said, “There’s a small sitting room upstairs. If we’re gonna talk, we’ll have more privacy up there.” He turned to Brandon. “Will you take Seth on upstairs while I ask Amy to cover my patients?”
“Sure, babe.” He started towards the stairs, leaving Seth to follow.
