Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
It reminded me how lucky I was to have a family who loved me. To still have Nance and Keegan…and to know that the incredible man who’d been my father had done everything in his power to be there for me when I needed him. Until it was out of his control.
Once Keegan and I were winding down, Nance came out and played a game of HORSE with us, after which Keegan went inside. We played another round before she recovered the ball and approached me. I could tell, knew her well enough to know what she was about to bring up. There was an unmistakable expression on her face, and in it I saw our past with Crawford.
“How you feeling?” she asked.
“Good. Real good.”
She checked back at the house, as though to make sure we were alone and that Keegan wasn’t about to run out.
“You know your dad would be really proud of you and wouldn’t have ever cared who you love, right?”
“God, Mom. We gotta do this now?” I asked as the tears stirred, the way they tended to when he came up in conversation.
“Of course we gotta do it now. I just know he’d want me to say it for him since he can’t.”
I never could have doubted how he’d feel. He was too good a man. Kind, loving, compassionate. Most of my beliefs came from his encouraging me to think outside the confines of other people’s ignorance and biases.
Keeping the basketball under one arm, she reached out her free hand and took mine. “Jace, all either of us have ever wanted is for you to be happy and know you’re loved.”
“Aw, come here.” I hugged her, feeling her trembling, knowing she was reflecting on the love we both missed in that moment. The love that was stolen from us.
“I know that, and I love you all so much. You guys have my whole heart.”
We held each other for some time before Nance collected herself and headed inside.
I checked my phone again and saw a message from Dax: What are you doing tonight, Batman?
25
Dax
I stood on my hotel balcony, overlooking Fever Falls, the midrises, neighboring bars, and homes illuminated with streetlights as the sun finished setting on the horizon. Fever Falls was like a mini Chicago, but there was something pleasant about its size. Clean, not too much noise, not too quiet either.
I sipped the vodka tonic I’d made myself, then set it on the cement ledge and took a breath.
I’d spent the rest of the day in my room, not able to make heads or tails of how we were gonna handle this situation and what my part in it would be. For someone whose life was about making plans, I didn’t have a clue. All I knew was that Hacksmore, Elliott, Carter, and I had a meeting at noon the following day and I needed a game plan.
Despite my discussions with Elliott and Carter after my identity was exposed, I hit a wall, couldn’t think straight. So I messaged my personal Batman, asking him to meet me at the hotel because I needed to talk to someone, and as I’d learned that day, he was a good listener.
A knock at the door caught my attention, and I headed inside to answer it. Jace stood in the hallway, dressed in a form-fitting polo that stressed the details of the physique I knew was under it.
“Rough day?” he asked.
“I’ve had worse. Come on in.”
I escorted him inside and led him to the minibar. “What can I get you? The company’s paying for it, so just say the word.”
“Jack and Pepsi works for me.”
“You got it.”
I fixed him a drink and passed it along to him. “I was enjoying the view of your little town before you got here, if you’d care to join me.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
Jace’s relaxed attitude, that cool demeanor he exuded, helped soothe my nerves, which had been on edge all day.
He didn’t rush me…or reach for answers the way Elliott and Carter had.
He was just present.
We headed onto the balcony, where I could collect my thoughts a little bit. “Did you talk to your family about the pictures?” I didn’t want to pry, but I was genuinely curious.
“I did. Nance and Keegan were really cool about it.”
“Figured as much, but you never know with stuff like that. You’d be surprised by some of the people who can have a gay hairdresser, backup dancer, boss, or father, but God forbid it be their own kid. My mom, for instance, had plenty of gay friends, but she didn’t want it to ruin my career. That’s what she was most worried about.”
“World’s a crazy place sometimes,” Jace said before taking a sip of his drink.
“Tell me about it.” I glanced over the ledge at my view of the city, taking it all in. “One minute you feel like the world’s your oyster and the next like you’re trapped in your hotel room because you don’t want to hear anyone shouting at you to say a catchphrase or sign something.”