The Right One - Felice Stevens Page 0,74
day can’t come quick enough.”
Tucked perfectly into Leo’s side, Morgan raised his glass. “I’m actually looking forward to it. I love the beginning of the new year. It’s like a fresh start or a reboot.”
“Well, all hail you teachers. I give you all the credit in the world. And I love that you teach the little ones. It’s great for them to see a man in a nurturing role as a kindergarten teacher.”
“I think so too.”
“Morgan’s a great teacher. Any kid would be lucky to have him.” Leo took a burger off the grill, put it in a bun, and was about to bite into it when Peter spoke in his ear.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice how you turned the conversation away from yourself to Morgan. If you don’t want to talk about it with me, it’s okay.”
Slightly ashamed at continuing to sidestep the issue with his best friend, Leo tipped his head toward the picnic table. “Let’s sit.” Morgan, who was still talking to Marla about school, raised his brows, but Leo shook his head, and Morgan gave him a smile filled with reassurance and fierce pride. It was as if they had an unspoken language between them, and that simple exchange gave Leo the courage to open up. He sat on the bench opposite Peter, who gazed at him expectantly.
“I know I’ve been hard to deal with, especially lately. My mother is very sick—she may be dying. She’s had several strokes, plus a few heart attacks that damaged her valves, and she’s too high risk for surgery.”
“Dude, I’m sorry. I had no clue.” Peter looked stricken.
“I know, and you don’t have to apologize. I barely mention my family because I never felt like I had one. Once my father died, it was rough going. I’m not going to bore you with the details of how my mother didn’t love me and my stepfather smacked me around.”
Peter paled. “The fuck. Leo, I—”
“I know. What happened all those years ago made me so fucking angry, I hated my own mother. Can you imagine that? What kind of child hates their parent? But most of all, it made me lonely. I kept to myself because after a while I started to believe the shit my stepfather said about me.”
“Fucking asshole. People like that should be locked up. No one has the right to hurt a child.” He vibrated with restraint.
Peter came across as intimidating simply by his stature and appearance, but an angry Peter was fearsome. Leo hadn’t seen that man since their bar-brawling days.
“Funny thing? Robert’s a lawyer, so he knows the system. He tried to make it sound as though I was a troubled kid. Angry and out of control because of my father’s death.” His voice hitched. “Of course I was. I’d lost my father. How was I supposed to feel when he was being replaced so quickly—happy? I couldn’t forget him as easily as my mother did.”
“You needed counseling, not a hand across your face. I’m sorry. It must’ve been horrible. It makes it clearer now why you always held back.” The storm clouds faded in Peter’s eyes. “Even from me. You know I’d never judge you.”
He’d already been judge and jury on himself, figuring a life sentence of solitary was all he had waiting for him. “More than that, I stopped caring about myself, so how could I ever have feelings for another person? I kept everything on the surface—it’s why I let Diego walk. He couldn’t penetrate my shell. Maybe I didn’t give him the chance, but none of his words mattered. He could threaten to see other guys and leave me, and it all sailed off my shoulders. Out of sight, out of mind.”
“Only Morgan got through.”
“Yeah. Only him. And believe me, I fought it. I had no clue what was going on in my head. Why did that guy, who was the total opposite of who I am, get to me? Why couldn’t I stop thinking about him?”
“Life has a funny way of doing that. Look at Marla. She’s way out of my league, but thank God she never saw it. And I wake up every morning feeling so damn lucky. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”
“Exactly. Morgan is good, you know? So fucking sweet, with such a big heart. He looks for the best while I expect the worst.” The abuse from Morgan’s ex wasn’t his story to tell, but Leo wanted Peter to understand. “When we met, I thought he