The Same Place (The Lamb and the Lion #2) - Gregory Ashe Page 0,113
said. “Just friends.”
“Best friends,” Jem said, slinging an arm around Tean. The doc’s shoulders were tight with tension.
“So did you, like, meet in a club?”
“Kevin!” Miriam whispered.
“Or on an app or something? I’m just asking, Mir. That’s how gay guys meet these days.”
“Oh my gosh,” Tean said, covering his eyes.
“Definitely an app,” Jem said.
“No,” Tean said.
“It’s called Prowler.”
“Ok,” Tean said, slipping out from under Tean’s arm. “We’re going to check on Scipio.”
The dog and the children had disappeared around the house, and sounds of playing and barking were coming from the front yard now. Jem gave everyone a big gameshow smile as he followed Tean. Two of the boys—the ones who had been jumping on the couch—were tossing a ball back and forth, and Scipio was having a great time racing back and forth and scooping up the ball when one of them dropped it. Two of the older girls were trying to climb the wire fence, which sagged backward under their weight before they fell. Tean moved over to the front door and retrieved Scipio’s harness from where he’d dropped it. Then he called the dog over. For the first time that Jem could remember, Scipio hesitated, as though considering a refusal.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Tean’s hands were shaking as he tried to get the harness in place. “I think we should go.”
“No way. I’ll be quiet, I promise. I won’t make any jokes. I won’t say anything dumb. Well, anything stupider than I usually say. And I won’t even use bad words.”
Scipio was twisting around, trying to keep his eyes on the boys, obviously desperate to sprint back to the game. Tean couldn’t get the harness in place. “Damn it,” he swore. “Scipio, hold still.”
“Ok,” Jem said, folding one of his hands around Tean’s. “Don’t take it out on him. Here, I’ll put on the harness. Just sit back and take a few breaths.”
“Really? You’ll put it on?”
“Um. No, that was kind of an empty promise. But I was serious about taking a few breaths. If you still want to go in five minutes, we can go. But don’t do it right now because I embarrassed you and you’re upset.”
“You didn’t embarrass me.”
“Sure I did. That’s ok, though. I’ll figure out how to do better.”
“No,” Tean said. He dropped the harness, and after a moment, Scipio bolted back to the game. “It’s me. I can’t even believe—”
“Come on, kids,” Hugh/Lou said, waving toward the back of the house. “You don’t need to be out here right now.”
“Dad,” one of the girls protested.
“Everybody in the backyard.”
Jem shook his head.
“Where we can keep an eye on things,” Hugh/Lou finished. And then, just so there wasn’t any chance of missing the point, his gaze slid to Tean and Jem.
“What the actual fuck?” Jem said.
“Hugh has always been like that. Don’t let it get under your skin.”
“He’s always been like what? Afraid the queers are going to sodomize his children in the front yard? Afraid we’re going to gay them up?”
Tean shook his head. He dropped down onto the stoop, pushing his hair back with both hands. His glasses slid off his nose and landed in his lap.
“Is that why you weren’t allowed to hold the kid?”
“They’re just very protective.”
“I’ll show them protective.”
“Jem.”
“I’ll be right back.”
“Jem, don’t get involved, please.”
Jem jogged around to the backyard. The adults were clustered together, talking in low voices, obviously enjoying the thrill of dissecting their close call with faggotry. Corom noticed Jem first, and he elbowed Amos and said something sharp but quiet that made the others stop. They all turned toward him, all trying not to look guilty, all trying not to look like kids who’d been caught misbehaving.
“Jem,” Robert said. “Is Teancum—”
“If you think he’d hurt your kids,” Jem said, and he was shocked at the wave of emotion that came over him, threatening to close his throat, making his voice tight. “If you think he’d let anything happen to them, anything, then you don’t know him at all, and you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. If you haven’t seen how he interacts with them, how he treats them, how much he loves them, and how much they love him, then you’re blind. I don’t know what kind of mumbo jumbo you’ve been working on him, but he deserves better than that. He’s the best person I’ve ever met.”
“We love Teancum—” Robert began.
“Be quiet,” Jem said, and Robert’s mouth snapped shut. “Are you a fucking moron, Robert? He’s not a girl. You can