Peach Tree Manny: Gay Romance Page 4

  "There's a lot of good stuff here," Rob said and Danny nodded.

  It was strange for Julian to watch Danny getting acquainted with all the things he knew so well from his own childhood. The way he looked at those things was different though.

  When he looked over his shoulder at Julian and Rob, Danny didn't do it because he was waiting to get yelled at. And he wasn't just checking to make sure they were still there either. There was a puzzled expression on his face, like he wanted someone to explain to him what these things were for. Were they toys?

  "This is a good one," Julian told Danny as he pointed out an elk carved out of wood. The elk stood proud and lifelike on a shelf, and Julian was warned never to touch him. But as Danny came forward, Julian handed the elk to him. Taking it from him, the little boy held it reverently then looked up at Julian.

  "You can play with him," Julian told him and Danny smiled and gingerly touched the antlers.

  Noticing that he was still wearing his jacket, Julian remembered they should have the heat on. Leaving Danny alone for a little bit, he went to turn it on and showed Rob the panel under the stairs.

  "So far so good, right?" Rob said to him. Obviously he knew Julian needed to be reassured.

  For a second, Julian considered putting on a front, pretending nothing was going on with him, but there was something about Rob that made it hard to put on an act with him. Julian nodded and didn't try to hide his troubled expression. "This isn't my favorite place in the world, but as long as Danny likes it, that's all that matters."

  They went back to find, Danny looking anxiously toward the door.

  "We're back," Julian announced.

  "With those heavy, wooden blinds open, I can see this is a nice house," Rob said. "And look at the tchotchkes, Danny. There's some neat stuff here."

  Danny was already showing all the various things to his wooden elk. The bronze statue of some general on horseback held his attention then he moved on to a pair of vases painted with colorful birds.

  "Looks like he's having fun," Rob said as he and Julian strolled to the windows and he took in the view.

  While Danny made friends with the knickknacks, Rob noticed him try to pick up a pewter lion. "I don't know if you're allowed to play with that," Rob told him and looked over at Julian.

  "As long as he can't hurt himself, he can play with anything he wants," Julian said, but Danny only petted the lion.

  Rob was surprised to hear that. "Really? At least some of this stuff has to be valuable."

  "Probably, but to me everything here is just a reminder that my grandfather valued things more than people," Julian said as they went over to the last window and he leaned into the corner.

  "Sorry. Then I guess you don't mind if Danny breaks everything in sight," Rob said archly but kept his voice low so Danny wouldn't get any ideas.

  Julian chuckled, but he couldn't see Danny being so destructive. He was such a gentle kid. "He won't do that. But if there's any accidental breakage, I won't be heartbroken."

  They went on to the dining room with its huge oval table in an oversized room that was obviously meant for hosting formal dinner parties. Julian only remembered a few of them and only vaguely. He had always been told to stay in his room and be quiet.

  "Big table," Danny said. At first he just peered into the big room though Rob had opened the shutters. Danny hung back until Julian flipped the light switch and the huge, sparkling chandelier came on. Now Danny went in and started jumping the wooden elk from one chair to the other all around the big table.

  "I knew this room was good for something," Julian said and smiled watching Danny circle the table.

  "I guess this house is like a playground to him," Rob said then looked over at Julian. "It should have been that way for you too when you were little."

  Looking at Rob and the serious cast to his green eyes, Julian could tell that he had already figured out it wasn't that way for him. It was restrictive and punishing. Don't touch. Don't speak. Stay in your room until I say you can come out. And sometimes total darkness.

  Wrapped up in gloomy thoughts, Julian hardly noticed that they had moved on. A set of open doors had drawn them the other way instead of continuing toward the kitchen.

  "A library, wow," Rob said impressed with the large room with its walls of bookshelves.

  All Julian could think about was how he was told he had to ask for each book he wanted to read and how often his grandfather said, "No. This is pure nonsense. You don't need to fill your head with trash like this." Usually the book in question would disappear from the library. History books were the only ones his grandfather approved of, preferably military history.

  "It's a much bigger house than I expected," Rob said breaking him out of his reminiscing. He had opened the shutters in here too, and now Danny was making the most of the new territory he got to explore.

  "Too big maybe," Julian said thinking of all these darkened rooms sitting empty for years. "There's nothing cozy or welcoming about this place."

  "So far Danny hasn't noticed that," Rob pointed out with a wry smile.

  Seeing how Danny was happily running back and forth in front of a wall of books, Julian had to agree. "I guess not. I just need to stop moping." But to him it was like they weren't all walking through the same house.

  They were on their way to the kitchen when there was a knock on the door. It startled Danny and he ran to Julian.

  "I'm expecting someone," Julian told him. Then he spoke to Rob as well. "I wanted a handyman to do a few things in here."

  "I'll get the door," Rob volunteered so Julian could stay back with Danny. Julian appreciated that, and he took Danny's hand to lead him to the front hall. They got within sight of the front door but stayed back while Rob opened the door.

  Standing in the doorway was a man with an impressive physique, dark hair and blue eyes. "I'm Mitch McEvers," he said and looked at Rob then over at Julian.

  "You're here to see Julian. I'm Julian's assistant, Rob." They shook hands and Julian felt a pang of unreasonable jealousy. He and Rob had never shaken hands.

  "Julian Brenner," he said to Mitch as he came in. As he shook hands with Mitch as well, Julian noticed that he looked like he had a crushing grip but shook hands like a man who had nothing to prove.

  While holding onto Julian's free hand and hiding behind him, Danny looked up at the newcomer curiously.

  "This is my little brother, Danny," Julian said and watched Danny duck his head shyly.

  "Nice to meet you, and welcome to Peach Tree," Mitch told him.

  Danny stayed hidden behind Julian but felt brave enough to wave at Mitch, and got a smile in return.

  "I have a daughter who's a little older than you. I'm sure you'll get to meet her one of these days," Mitch said.

  Julian tried not to let on that he wasn't eager to set up any play dates for Danny. His experiences with other kids at day care weren't encouraging. The little guy just got scared too easily, and other kids didn't understand so they teased him.

  "Let's show Mitch around," Julian said to Danny and they started with the living room. "I'd like to do something about those shutters."

  Mitch looked them over. "The wood on some of these is faded and cracked. I can replace it and stain it to match."

  "Actually I'd like all the shutters painted white," Julian said and Mitch looked surprised.

  "That's really going to change the look of the house," Mitch said.

  "I hope it will brighten up this place," Julian said.

  "It will," Mitch assured him and made notes on his clipboard.

  To free up Julian, Rob offered Danny his hand. "You want to go see if there are any books for kids in the library?"

  Julian wasn't sure he would go, but after getting a nod from him, Danny let go of his hand and took Rob's. The two of them went off, and Julian and Mitch discussed what else needed to be done. Mitch seemed very efficient and not very talkative. Just as well since Julian was still preoccupied by doubts about being
there.

  With the plans for the work finalized, they met up with Rob at the front door. "Danny is reading in the library," he said before Julian could ask.

  "Reading?" Julian said, but he was more surprised that Danny didn't mind being left alone.

  "Looking at pictures in a book called the Amphibians of Africa," Rob said.

  "I remember that book," Julian said. It was funny to think of Danny looking at it now. "Mitch and I were just finishing up."

  As they stepped out in front of the house, Mitch looked all around and smiled. "The last time I was up here was for the wedding this summer." He turned to Julian. "I heard you changed the rules so Sam and Wyatt could get married up here like they wanted. That was really nice of you."

  "Are they guys?" Rob wondered. He probably wondered if Sam was short for Samantha.

  "They are," Mitch said and Rob turned to Julian with an approving smile. Then Mitch waved and went off toward his SUV.

  His blond hair shining in the sun, Rob stared after him, and Julian wondered if Mitch might be his type then did his best to dismiss the thought. That kind of thing was none of his business.

  As they were going back inside, Rob had a pleased expression on his face. Thinking it was because of Mitch, Julian felt another pang of jealousy.

  "It's cool that a small town like this is gay friendly," Rob said.

  "Is it?" Julian said vaguely. He was still preoccupied with unseemly worry that Rob might be attracted to Mitch.

  "It seems like it is. That handyman wasn't homophobic," Rob noticed.

  "I would hope not. He's gay too," Julian informed him.

  "Oh, OK," Rob said but he didn't seem especially pleased to hear it.

  "He and his fiancé want to get married in the orchard as well." As Julian told him about that, he watched for signs of disappointment from Rob, but he didn't see any.

  Instead Rob gave him an inquisitive look. "And you said yes to all these weddings?" Rob asked like that surprised him.

  "It's allowed as long as they're residents of the town," Julian explained. He had changed the rule mostly because he knew his grandfather would have hated it, but it was still nice to see that it made some people happy.

  "That's great," Rob said with a smile. He seemed to really like the idea. If it put a smile on his face, it was the right decision.

  Lying on the library floor, Danny seemed pretty well occupied with his reading, so they left him to it. "We can go look at the offices," Julian said as they went next door.

  "Offices?" Rob said.

  Julian showed him the office that adjoined the library on one side and on the other side adjoined the bigger office his grandfather had used.

  Going in from the library, Rob crossed the small office and stopped in the discreet doorway in the corner. That was the door to his grandfather's office that his assistant used. There was another set of double doors across from his grandfather's desk. Those led out into the hall.

  Julian didn't go over to look in. It was one of his least favorite rooms in this house. The only times he had gone in there was to be lectured or punished.

  "That one is my grandfather's old office. But I'll be using this one. My grandfather's assistants used to use it," Julian said as he opened the shutters, and the office brightened around him. It was a nice office, simply decorated and not too big.

  "You want to set up your office in here?" Rob said, not understanding his choice to use the smaller office. "But there is that big one."

  "You can use it if you like," Julian told him. His grandfather's wood paneled office didn't appeal to him, and he knew the memories would weigh on him in there. He wanted to be able to concentrate.

  "That seems the wrong way around," Rob said as he went into the big office with that massive desk and all those built in shelves full of binders that Julian had never cleared out.

  "Let's set up a few things in here," Julian decided and they unpacked some of the boxes that had been delivered to the house then Rob got some more from the car.

  With his jacket off, lifting boxes, bending and stretching, Rob looked so good. It was a struggle for Julian not to notice and admire him. But it wasn't like Julian didn't have enough to occupy him. There was the office to put in order and Danny to look after.

  Since the assistant's office was connected to the library, they could see Danny in there. Lying on the library floor and flipping through the nature book, Danny would look up and crane his neck to catch sight of them through the office door. Once he assured himself that they were still there, he would go back to 'reading'. A few minutes later he would do the same thing again.

  Working on setting up the office kept Rob and Julian busy until Danny came to the door and poked his head in.

  "You found us," Rob said to him.

  "We should take a break and look upstairs. Then we'll have dinner," Julian said.

  "We're not done with downstairs," Rob pointed out.

  "There's only the kitchen," Julian said.

  "We won't need that," Rob joked.

  "I won't make much use of it. I can't cook. And you?" Julian asked.

  "Not really," Rob said then he turned to Danny. "Can you cook?"

  "No. I'm a kid," Danny told him reasonably, and Rob gave him that bright, beautiful smile.

  Chapter 6

  They had been there a while, and Rob couldn't believe they hadn't even finished touring the whole house. The kitchen was big, full of marble and dark wood, like the rest of the house. Though the appliances in there were in an older style, they were expensive looking.

  "What did you want to do for dinner?" Rob asked as they poked around in the kitchen. It wasn't stocked with anything but dishes and years old spices.

  "We can order in from the local café," Julian said automatically. "By the time we're done with upstairs, our dinner should be here."

  "The fridge is empty. Does the local grocery store deliver?" Rob wondered.

  That's when Julian looked over at Danny who was opening and closing drawers. "Maybe Danny shouldn't stay cooped up in here. We can go into town. That way we can eat, do some shopping and you can familiarize yourself with Peach Tree, not that there is much to it."

  His decision surprised Rob, but Julian did whatever was best for Danny.

  "We're going out to dinner and to see the town," Julian told his little brother, but he wasn't too excited.

  "OK," Danny said cautiously. "Are we going in the car again?"

  "We are, but it's only a short trip. We'll go now and look at the upstairs later. Danny should see the town while it's still light out," Julian said. He must have been worried that being out after dark in an unfamiliar place would scare him.

  Danny already seemed apprehensive as they went to the car and Julian got him into his car seat. "Want to wear your yellow cap?" Rob asked him seeing the cap on the back seat.

  "Aha," Danny said. As soon as the yellow cap was on his head, he showed more confidence.

  Rob sat in the back with him, and the drive to town was over in no time. Soon they were walking down Main Street with its tourist attractions and quaint stores. Tourists were taking full advantage, and Rob wondered if the three of them seemed like tourists as well.

  His ears sticking out from under his precious, yellow baseball cap, Danny looked all around and didn't seem too scared.

  "I think he likes this better than a city street," Julian said.

  "It's not as loud and the buildings aren't too big, right?" Rob asked Danny.

  He nodded but he was preoccupied with looking around. Julian pointed out their destination up ahead just as a little blond girl came out the doors of the place called Peach Tree Café. She was holding the hand of a good-looking, young guy who was staring at his phone. The little blond girl smiled and waved at Danny. Hesitantly, Danny gave her a little wave in return.

  "I guess there might be some kids here for you to play with," Rob said since the girl was only a little older than him.

  Inside the café, it was bustling and it
smelled really good. "I didn't realize it would be so busy," Julian said seeing that there were no free tables.

  Rob was about to ask if they should get takeout, when an older, blond woman approached them.

  "Julian Brenner," she said. "I saw your picture online, an article about some investment firm. You look even handsomer in person."

  "Mrs. Del Rio," Julian said.

  "The one and only," the woman said.

  "Since when? Don't you have a daughter-in-law or something? Rico's mother?" a teenaged waitress asked her while holding a tray with only a bill and a credit card on it.

  Rob wondered which table was about to become available while Mrs. Del Rio introduced the young waitress. "This is Hannah, and she's not wrong. There is that other Mrs. Del Rio, but I am the original. Hannah, this is the famous Julian Brenner." Mrs. Del Rio then noticed the same thing on Hannah's tray that Rob had noticed. "Looks like we're about to have a table for you."

  "Nice to meet you Hannah," Julian said. "This is my assistant Rob Gerric."

  "And whose kid is he?" Hannah jumped in to ask before Julian could introduce Danny.

  "Danny is my brother," Julian said.

  "Such a little brother, my goodness," Mrs. Del Rio said leaning down to smile at Danny. "Do you handsome guys think you might be hungry?"

  Danny nodded and Julian agreed. "I guess we are."

  "I'll have that table ready for you in just a sec," Hannah said and she went off.

  It turned out that Mrs. Del Rio was the owner of the café and also a former Vegas showgirl whose photos decorated the walls of the café. While they waited and chatted with Mrs. Del Rio, Julian kept checking to make sure Danny was doing OK, but as long as he stayed by his big brother's side, it was all good.

  Once they were seated, Danny got his own menu to look at. He disappeared behind it while Rob and Julian smiled at each other.

  "Did you find something good?" Rob asked Danny.