Chapter 8

Alden shrugged in a careless gesture. “Not really. The kinfolk I have are far away, and not much to draw me back in their direction. Never wanted to get married. Gawd, that’s a rat race for most—just a chance to get fucked over big time. You know what they say, ‘divorce is the fucking you get for the fucking you got.’”

Roane laughed, although even to him it sounded forced. Sure, he knew a lot of marriages ended badly; he hadn’t given it much thought. Actually, he’d found more excitement with guys—especially one roommate and one teammate on the football team—than he’d experienced with girls anyway. Knowing New Mexico still tended to be pretty conservative, he’d kept his casual affairs low-key. If his grandpa learned about any of that, he’d probably have a real fit. Roane had never heard a hint of any gay Wellmans, so he didn’t figure he should come out as the first one, at least before he could support himself and maybe even a partner.