only one capable of a little matchmaking. Now if she could only stop chasing men off and find herself a keeper.
She turned away from the prospective suitor for a brief moment, worried eyes meeting Jay’s. “Take care of him, and if you need me, call. Okay?” Lines formed on her forehead and she nibbled at the gloss on her lower lip. “I could still get Charlene to take over here for me.”
Jay snorted. “And if we both descend on the apartment like the cavalry, Michael will say we’re babying him and won’t thank us for it. He’s already complained about us calling every few minutes to check on him. Next time we need to coordinate, so we’re not so obvious.” They had to learn how to pull off being protective without making Michael feel even more helpless than he already did. They didn’t seem to be doing a good job of it currently.
Jay pulled his friend into a quick, sisterly hug. “It’ll be fine. Trust me.” He wished he was as confident as he pretended to be. With his partner’s sanity and well-being on the line, failure on this mission was not an option.
He left Angie and the construction worker to their flirting, silently wishing them all the best. Since landing in a meaningful relationship, he privately hoped all his friends could do the same, for he’d never been so happy, despite a few obstacles. Angie, with deep scars of her own, deserved a little happiness too, in his opinion, if she’d just let her guard down long enough to find it.
His live-in partner was wonderful, but their relationship was filled with challenges that other couples he knew didn’t have to face. Michael had so many dark memories.
On the outside, the blue-eyed country boy looked like any other garden variety college freshman, happy and carefree, quick with a joke and even quicker to offer a helping hand to those in need. On the inside, hidden from most, was an unarmed soldier facing a constant horde of relentless demons – demons Jay planned to help him overcome.
Jay squeezed into his Toyota Tercel. Damn, but he’d love to abandon the old beater in favor of something a bit roomier. At over six feet each, neither Jay nor Michael were very comfortable in his high school graduation present, already well used when he’d signed the title. Time to pass the relic down to the younger sister who’d been hinting since Christmas.
Out of college and making decent money now, Jay could afford a bigger, more solid vehicle, one that might make Michael feel safer. The Hummer or Jeep that Jay had dreamed of were out of the question, though. Lately, a lot of decisions hinged on avoiding potential triggers to Michael’s condition. Not that Jay minded, it was just something always to be considered, like asking for tables away from the windows in restaurants, and discretely suggesting to friends that perhaps the barbeque at their summer party was best eaten indoors — to avoid mosquitoes, of course. It had nothing to do with Michael’s fear of open spaces, nothing at all.
He’d no sooner pulled out onto the interstate when traffic slowed to a crawl, finally stopping altogether. It was only five miles to his exit, and traveling this bit of blacktop was faster than taking the back roads, usually. It looked like that wouldn’t be the case today. Stuck in the right lane, there was no way to do a U-turn and exit the highway, either. Jay looked at his watch. Only 5:15. Unless something major happened ahead he had plenty of time to secure his lover away from the panic-attack-inducing noise and flashing lights. The largest displays wouldn’t start before dark.
He drummed his hand against the steering wheel. Damn it, why wouldn’t traffic move? The minutes ticked away. The frantic beat of Latino music, supplied by the Spanish station in Atlanta, got on his nerves, and he turned the radio off rather than hunt for an alternative with a more soothing play list. Five minutes passed. The air conditioner fought a losing battle with the summer heat, and he finally gave up and rolled down the window.
From between the rows of stalled cars a man darted from vehicle to vehicle, dressed in the monogrammed red T-shirt of a local volunteer firefighter. “Does anyone know Spanish?” he called, pausing between cars.
Chapter 2
Without thinking twice, Jay hollered to be heard over the noise of honking vehicles, “I do!” He pulled the Tercel to the side