All of the Voices by Bailey Bradford (little red riding hood read aloud txt) 📗

his head to find two men standing by the table. One was tall and had vivid green eyes, long dark hair topped with a Stetson, and a cane that he leaned on slightly. The other man was a couple of inches shorter and had sandy brown hair and big brown eyes. Both men were handsome enough that Carlin would have considered playing with them if he were the sort to do such things. He wasn’t, though, so he merely looked at the pair and waited.

“Heard about Matt’s mama going ape shit on y’all last night,” the dark-haired man said. “Thought maybe you could use a couple of friends while you’re here in McKinton. I’m Zeke Matthers and this is my partner, Brendon Shanahan.”

Carlin shook each man’s hand as he stuttered out his own name. For some reason, seeing Zeke Matthers shook him. It was the attack on this man that had sent Carlin running back to New York, and the fear that had filled him here in McKinton had chased him all his life. Yet here stood Zeke Matthers, uncowed by the attacks he’d suffered. Carlin was kind of in awe.

“Can we join you?” Brendon asked, his eyes crinkling at the outer corners as he smiled. Carlin realized he’d been staring like an idiot and nodded. Brendon and Zeke pulled out a chair each and sat down.

“So, did Shelly really haul off and deck you?”

Carlin sputtered and repeated the whole staring like an idiot bit.

Zeke shrugged and looked chagrined. “She told my sister Enessa. Nessa about ripped the bitch a new one.”

“Unbelievable,” Carlin muttered.

Brendon laughed and waved at a passing waiter. “If we could figure out how to market McKinton’s residents’ ability to gossip faster than they can breathe, we’d be wealthy men. It’d be like telepathy in a bottle.”

“And that’s a good thing?” Carlin asked before taking a sip of his coffee.

Brendon shrugged then ordered two coffees and three breakfast plates from the nervous looking waiter. Brendon turned his attention back to Carlin. “Probably not, but it can be amusing unless you’re being hurt by it.”

“I don’t think it’s amusing at all,” Carlin grumbled. “And yeah, Shelly caught me by surprise when I ran into the living room. Sucker slapped me.” He turned his head so both men could see the bruise on his left cheek.

Zeke hissed and fisted the hand he had resting on the table. “I shoulda told Nessa to go for it. Shelly’s a bitch and her mama ain’t any better. I don’t know how Matt turned out so normal.”

Carlin didn’t have anything to say to that other than, “Yeah, well.” He heartily agreed, but it seemed wrong to badmouth his lover’s mother and sister. Although, they had disowned Matt. Carlin slumped down in his chair.

“Hey,” Brendon said as he reached across the table and took Carlin’s hand. “It isn’t your fault. Matt is who he is, and his family should love him. Period.”

The bells on the café door jangled and Carlin’s skin prickled with awareness. He wasn’t surprised at all to see Matt standing there, though why in the world was the man looking so pissed?

Brendon craned his head around and spotted Matt.

“Might want to let go of Carlin’s hand,” Zeke advised.

Carlin and Brendon both jerked their hands away as Matt approached, scowling fiercely, which only made Carlin’s dick harder than it’d become as soon as the man walked in the café.

“It was an innocent offer of comfort,” Brendon said as he smirked. “But possessive and jealous looks good on you, Matt.”

Carlin agreed but wisely kept his mouth shut as Matt sat in the chair beside him.

Zeke leaned forward and glared at Matt, who was sitting directly across from him. “Do you really think I’m the kind of guy who’d share?”

Matt glared back as he slipped his arm around Carlin’s shoulders. Brendon grinned and winked.

“I think I’ve already had a go ‘round with the red rooster from Hell this morning,” Matt drawled. “And I’m in no mood to put up with another cock.”

Carlin snickered as Brendon and Zeke groaned. If they’d have seen the way Robbie Red went after Matt this morning, they’d have been laughing, too. The waiter came over and set two more cups of coffee on the table then set the carafe down as well.

“Better bring two more cups and enough breakfast plates for six of us,” Matt quietly told the waiter. Carlin noticed Matt kept his gaze on him rather than the young man fidgeting beside their table. Carlin thought the poor kid looked ready to bolt, but he too turned his attention away from the waiter.

“Why coffee and breakfast for six?”

Matt pointed at the window looking out onto Main Street. “Because we’re fixing to be joined by Laine and Severo.”

“Laine?” Carlin asked as he watched the sheriff and his partner walk by.

“He’s going to tell you to call him Laine anyway, and I try to call him Sheriff when I’m working, but since he’s sort of a friend, too, sometimes I slip.”

“I call him lots of things,” Brendon said in a stage whisper, “but he knows I only mean the good ones, most of the time, anyway.”

“But…” Carlin looked at the two men across from him and Matt, then at Laine and Severo as they entered the café. “What is this, some kind of gay support group?” It came out louder than he’d meant it to, and several other customers laughed as they looked over at the group, although none of the laughter sounded hateful, just happy.

“As a matter of fact, yes, it is,” Severo called back from halfway across the café. “Although I’d really prefer it if you saw it more as a gathering of concerned friends.”

“One of whom is going to do his damnedest to get you to file charges on Shelly Nixon. That would be me,” Laine said without a trace of humor as he looked over everyone in the café. His gaze seemed to linger on the waiter, then Laine continued his perusal. “I will not