Chapter 2

“Yeah, I just got back a couple of days ago. My mom…” His voice faltered, stopped.

“I know. I’m sorry.” Danny’s look was sympathetic.

Jason nodded. “Hey, I can’t believe you’re teaching drama at our old school.”

Danny smiled. His smile was so sunny and warm it lit up the whole damn classroom. “Hard to believe, huh? Well, I did always have a flare for the dramatic though. At least I put it to use.”

“I didn’t mean to interrupt anything. I just thought I’d come and ask you if you wanted to have dinner with me tomorrow night.”

The other man shook his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

“Oh.” Jason took a step back. Of course, someone as gorgeous as Danny probably had a boyfriend. Maybe even a husband, though he didn’t see a ring. Their relationship had ended fifteen years ago. He’d even had a couple of boyfriends during that time.

Danny’s hand rested on Jason’s arm. “I’ve got the rehearsal with the kids tomorrow night. It’s a long one. We’re putting on Romeo and Julietin a couple of weeks. But, tonight?”

He’d promised to have dinner with his mom. “Do you think you could come to the house? We’re not going to have anything fancy. I think we’re just going to have take-out.” He hesitated. “You can even bring your boyfriend.”

“I’m not seeing anyone, Jason,” Danny said softly. “I had a boyfriend, but we broke up a couple of years ago. What time should I come over?”

Jason knew he shouldn’t be so damn happy Danny was unattached. They’d spent a lot of years apart and just because he came back to Sutter’s Bay didn’t mean Danny was going to be receptive to anything starting between them. Hell, Jason had made the decision to breakup with Danny when they were eighteen. It hadn’t ended well.

“Six-thirty all right?”

Danny smiled. “Sure, see you then. It’s good to see you again, Jason. You look really good.”

Jason smiled back but he knew his smile was strained. He turned and walked to the door, conscious of his limp. He heard Danny gasp.

“What happened?”

Jason stilled and sighed. He turned to face Danny. “I got shot during a robbery. Hit me in the leg and the stomach. My partner got shot, too. I was lucky I lived. Hal died.” His heart raced, remembering that day. “I’m retired from the force now on permanent disability.”

Danny nodded. “I didn’t know. That’s—I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Me, too. See you for dinner.”

* * * *

The house Jason grew up in was just a block from the beach. It wasn’t a large house. In fact, there were only three bedrooms, so his sister, Lucy, had gotten her own room while he’d had to share with his older brother, Kent. And the whole family had shared the lone bathroom.

Before he’d come home a few days earlier, his mom had lived there by herself. His father died a few years back. Lucy had called to tell him, but he hadn’t attended the funeral of the man who’d hated him.

He parked his Civic in the driveway and slid his bad leg carefully out of the car. He had to hold onto the car to steady himself, then he closed and locked it, looking out to sea. The evening clouds rolled in, looking vaguely ominous.

He’d always had a vivid imagination. This was not Castle Rock and he was not a Stephen King character.

Jason limped down the driveway to the mailbox and took out the day’s mail. He shuffled through them. Mostly bills. He’d have to handle all this for his mother now.

He watched the simple bungalow-style house from by the mailbox. One lamp lit the front window. He couldn’t help wondering if the neighbors knew the truth of what had gone on inside the Sweet home. As often as Danny’s family had invited him over, he knew they were aware of what Jason’s dad had been like. His mom had tried to keep up the ordinary appearance to the outside world. But the bruises didn’t always cover well.

He glanced up and down the narrow street. Most of the people living on the block were the same ones he’d grown up knowing. A lot of the older folks stayed in Sutter’s Bay. It was a beautiful seaside town with an annual tourist income. Sighing, he headed back up the driveway to the house.

“Ma?” he called when he stepped through the front door.

“In here.”

Jason set the mail on the table inside the door and went into the living room. His mother, mere skin and bones now from the pancreatic cancer, lay huddled on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. She held a paperback novel in her frail, shaking hands.