Leaving Home by Chase, A. (life books to read .txt) 📗

money going to an out-of-town supplier, his heart sank. If his grandfather hadn’t been such an asshole to Les, he would have been banking all of it, and the family wouldn’t be

struggling.

But being gay was enough reason for Grandfather to deny Les service, and it didn’t

matter how much that hurt his grandfather’s business and his family. He looked at his

phone, trying to decide if calling the hospital would be worth the trouble.

He knew his mother wouldn’t answer the phone, or tell him anything, but maybe he

could call the nurse’s desk and find out what her status was. Shaking his head, Peter figured it wasn’t important at that moment.

After working for another thirty minutes or so, Peter glanced up when the door opened.

Chaz strolled in, holding a cup of coffee. Peter watched as Chaz sat with a sigh.

“Did you eat something, or have you just been drinking coffee?” Peter was pretty sure

filling his stomach with simply caffeine wasn’t the best idea for Chaz, especially after the rough day he’d had yesterday.

“Yes, I did. Margie made sure I ate two full plates of breakfast.” Chaz laughed. “She’s

quite a nice lady, very insistent, but I can tell she cares about you, and the other guys who live here.”

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LEAVING HOME T.A. Chase 34

Peter laughed as well. “Margie is a wonderful lady. She has to be to deal with all of the people who come through this ranch. I heard Tony describe this place as a human Humane

Society. Les has a habit of collecting strays, housing them for a while until they get on their feet, then letting them back into the world.”

“Is that what’s going on with you? Is that why you’re living here? You’re a stray Les

picked up off the street?” Chaz sipped his coffee.

“Yes, though he’s told me several times I’m more than welcome to stay.” Peter wrinkled

his nose while he thought for a moment. “I like it here.”

“You’ll stay until you get a better offer? Or have a reason to move on?” Chaz asked,

seeming really interested in Peter’s answer.

Peter took some time to think about what he was going to say. “To be honest, I’ve never

thought about leaving here. See, as much as I love my family and would’ve done anything

for them, I knew the moment I told them about me, they would throw me away like a used

tissue.”

“Very descriptive, Peter. Why did you tell them about yourself? Couldn’t you have

lived without saying a word to them, especially if you knew what the consequences would

be?” Chaz looked puzzled.

Peter stood up before walking over to the window. He propped his shoulder against the

wall next to it as he watched some of the ranch hands going about their business. Their

muffled conversations drifted through the glass, giving Peter something to concentrate on while he tried to organise his thoughts.

“I didn’t have to tell them anything, not really. I just had to tell them I wasn’t going to stop being friends with Les and Randy. Then, once I’d said that, they asked me about being gay, and I didn’t deny it. I mean, I couldn’t very well say no when I’d finally seen what it was like to live out in public and out of the closet.” Peter snorted. “I was an idiot because I knew they’d shun me the minute they got a hint of it.”

Chaz hummed, and Peter shot him a glance from over his shoulder. The bullfighter

seemed to be listening to him, which made Peter stop and think about what he was saying.

There was no way Chaz wanted to hear him talk about his dirty family laundry.

“If you want to go and get dressed, I’ll drive you to get your truck. I talked to Les, and he said you were welcome to stay here until you have to go to Tulsa for the next event.”

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LEAVING HOME T.A. Chase 35

“Done talking about yourself, huh?” Chaz shrugged. “Can’t blame you. No one wants

to dump his past on some stranger, especially a man he found strung out in an alley.”

Peter started to deny why he’d chosen not to continue telling Chaz his life story, but it would’ve been a lie. Also, he figured a good-looking guy like Chaz wasn’t interested in

getting to know him better. The kiss had been just an aberration.

Chaz drained his coffee before standing to walk towards the door. “I’ll go and get

dressed. I’ll meet you by your car in twenty.”

“All right. I actually have to make a stop somewhere while I’m in Cheyenne. So I can

drop you off, and you can drive back here. That is, if you want to stay?”

He didn’t want to act like he was pushing for Chaz to come back. No point in being too

eager. Not that he thought anything would happen if Chaz did set up residence in the guest suite.

“Sounds good to me, though I’m not sure staying here is a good idea.” Chaz strolled to

the door, but paused before he stepped out. “Do you still have those pills you found in my pocket?”

Peter shook his head. “No. I flushed them last night after you went to bed.”

“Why the fuck did you do that? Those weren’t yours.” Chaz glared at him.

“They weren’t, but I doubt you’ll have a problem getting more of them. They were

prescription meds, Chaz. I’m pretty sure you have a bottle in your hotel room.” Peter raised his eyebrow.

Chaz didn’t answer, simply turned around to walk away. Peter rolled his eyes before

returning to his desk. He saved all his work and stared at the screen for a few minutes. He’d have to tell Margie they were heading out soon. Before he could leave the office, the phone rang again.

“Hello?”

“I’d like to talk to Peter Skinner.”

He frowned, not recognising the voice. “This is Peter.”

“Peter, this is your uncle.”

Peter held the phone away from his ear to stare at it. His uncle? What the hell?

“My uncle? Which one?”

“The one they don’t talk about.” The knowing tone in the man’s voice gave Peter a hint,

along with the statement.

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