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

tolerate shit like that in this town. There’s been too much hate crimes and just plain hatred already, and I am purely fed up with it.”

Carlin would have liked to see the other customers’ reactions, but he was too concerned about Matt’s. He faced Matt only to have his bruised cheek cupped gently as Matt pressed his forehead to Carlin’s.

“Are you okay?”

Carlin shot the question right back. “Are you okay? That’s not your friend Laine speaking, that’s the sheriff wanting to toss your sister in jail.”

Matt grinned and Carlin could not understand why the man wasn’t upset. “Not just Shelly, but Mom, too. All the slapping and insults were hate crimes, you know. I’ve already given my statement.”

Carlin couldn’t fathom Matt’s calm demeanor. “You’re okay with letting your mom and your sister get arrested?”

Matt nodded, the movement making Carlin’s head bob as well. “Yup. I was ready to smack Shelly last night, and I’ve had a lifetime of Mom yelling and cussing at me. She used to get a kick out of taking a belt or a switch to our backsides, telling us what evil little monsters we were when we were kids. I refused to be like her, while Shelly seems to have turned into a carbon copy of Mom. We could kind of get along on occasion, but as soon as Shelly didn’t get her way, she’d turn into a screeching, cussing, hitting nightmare. I had enough of it some time ago.”

Laine sat down beside Zeke and pointed at the man. “And we learned the hard way not to let hatred like that run free. I won’t have anyone in this town go through what Zeke did.”

“Holy shit,” Severo said as he sat beside Carlin. Carlin turned and looked at the smaller man. Severo was all big eyes and indignation. “That bitch! Laine, look at Carlin’s cheek!”

At Matt’s urging and Severo’s nagging, Carlin let Laine see the bruise Shelly had slapped onto him. Laine’s expression turned thunderous and he pointed at Carlin.

“You’re going to file charges, aren’t you?”

Carlin hesitated, still feeling uncomfortable with taking any sort of action against Matt’s estranged family.

“Maybe they’ll leave Matt alone once I go back to New York.”

The utter silence of the other five men was unnerving. Carlin looked at each one of them, saving Matt for last. Man for man, with the exception if his lover, each of the others glared at him.

“Cut it out,” Matt snapped as he glared back at the four men. “Carlin’s been honest about going back, and he really does have obligations there that he can’t blow off, so quit with the bitchy looks.”

The men looked truly chastised and Carlin actually felt sorry for them. “They’re only worried about you,” he murmured in Matt’s ear.

“They can get over it,” Matt grumbled.

Carlin started to argue with him but someone tapped on his shoulder. He craned his neck and met Severo’s sheepish gaze.

“Would it be too intrusive to ask what those obligations are?”

Matt rumbled beside him but Carlin sent him a reassuring smile before turning back to Severo and took a deep breath.

“My father’s there…”

* * * *

Matt waited in the car as Carlin packed up his things and checked out of the motel. He’d had another go round with the rooster, and Carlin had finally admitted the little beast might just be a menace. Matt had to lock the rooster in the chicken coop so the ladies Virginia had rounded up could go back and forth from Mrs. Hawkins’ house as they cleaned it and boxed up her things. Carlin had decided to donate most of it to the local churches and sell the house, hopefully along with the chickens. Anything he wanted would be shipped to him in New York.

Matt’s heart ached with the thought, and not even the scent of cookies—the one Severo was so certain was Mrs. Hawkins watching over him—could make Matt feel any better. How could he have fallen so hard so fast for Carlin? And he couldn’t even tell the man. Carlin would probably just say it was because he was the first man Matt had been with, but that wasn’t it. Matt had been attracted to Rich, but that infatuation couldn’t begin to compare to the way he felt about Carlin.

As if conjured by Matt’s thoughts, Carlin strolled toward the vehicle, a tentative smile on his handsome face. Carlin had been uncomfortable pressing charges against Shelly, but he’d done it. Matt’s respect for the man had grown as he’d listened to Carlin’s accounting of the events the night before. He’d been calm and kept his emotions out of it, giving facts and answering any questions Laine had. Matt bet the guy was a killer lawyer. He wished he’d get to see him in court someday, but that just wasn’t going to happen.

Matt popped the trunk button for Carlin so he could stow his luggage, then leaned over and opened the passenger door for him.

“Are you sure about this?” Carlin asked as he got in.

“You’re going to be leaving tomorrow evening. I’d like to have as much time with you as I can.” Matt had even taken tomorrow off, something he rarely did, but he wanted to be there for Carlin, and he couldn’t skip out on Mrs. Hawkins. Matt had loved the eccentric old lady too much to do that.

“Maybe I should take the rental car. It seems wrong to leave it here in the parking lot.”

Matt didn’t want to be separated from Carlin any more than he absolutely had to, which was why he’d slipped the owner of the motel a twenty to let Carlin leave his car in the employees’ parking lot.

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry about it.” Matt’s conscience pricked at him. He glanced at Carlin. “Unless you really want to bring it. If that’s the case, go ahead. I don’t want you stressing about it.”

“I just don’t want to be a burden,” Carlin said as he buckled his seatbelt. “If you really don’t mind,