Peach Tree Manny: Gay Romance Read online

  "I don't know," Danny said quietly. "Julian is gonna help me."

  "Of course I will," Julian said. "I see some chicken I think you'll like." That turned out to be chicken tenders breaded with panco and parmesan. Rob was tempted to have that himself. Plenty of things on the menu tempted him, but he kept it simple and got a bacon burger.

  Danny leaned over the table to tell him, "I like burgers too."

  "We're burger buddies," Rob told him then they both looked at Julian.

  "I like them as well," Julian said after they peer pressured him. But in the end he ordered mushroom ravioli.

  Hannah brought their order. Setting Danny's food in front of him, she told him, "Those are real good. Enjoy."

  Rob noticed that any time someone spoke to Danny, Julian watched him closely to make sure he wasn't upset. So far, Danny only got shy but he wasn't too scared. Seeing that he was reacting so well put a bright expression on Julian's face that made him look much younger and more gorgeous of course.

  "How old are you anyway?" Rob blurted out before he could stop himself. "Sorry. I spoke without thinking."

  "I'm twenty-five," Julian told him with a faint smile.

  "I'm a year older than you," Rob said. Glancing over at Danny, Rob noticed he was holding up three fingers. "Oh, sorry. Are you three?" Rob asked him.

  Danny nodded.

  "You're practically a young man," Rob told him but Danny shook his head.

  "I'm little," he said.

  "Right. A little brother," Rob said and Danny looked both pleased and shy. It must still be new to him and he was proud to be called that.

  Rob smiled, but inside he was brooding a little. It made him feel bad that he was temping and Julian had a serious and lucrative career.

  "It's nice to be born into money," Julian said. Did he know what Rob was thinking and he wanted to make him feel better? He must have.

  "I'm sure you accomplished plenty on your own," Rob said and he meant it.

  "I could afford to fast track my way through college with a heavy class load. But without money and connections, I would be working from a cubicle like others my age," Julian said.

  Rob doubted it, but obviously Julian didn't feel he deserved his own success. "So no partying at college for you?"

  Julian first looked over at Danny, saw that his little brother was busy with his food, but he still lowered his voice. "I had a bad time at school. I didn't expect college to be any better."

  "Too bad. I overdid the partying and never finished," Rob confessed.

  "I envy you," Julian said, but Rob didn't see how that was possible.

  At the end of their meal, Mrs. Del Rio brought over a peach pie with whipped cream for Danny. It wasn't something they ordered. It was a special treat for Danny.

  "Two pies in one day?" Rob said and Julian made a face.

  Rob could have guessed he wouldn't approve of too many sweets, but there was no saying no to Mrs. Del Rio, so he just thanked her. Then he told Danny, "That's because today is special. Our first day in Peach Tree."

  They watched him eat and get whipped cream on his face. Then it was time for some quick shopping. By the time they headed back to the house, the sun was starting to set behind the hill. It made for an amazing sight as they drove that way.

  Rob pointed it out to Danny. "The sun is going to the same place we are. The sun is going home to bed."

  As Rob said that, the words came back to him in his mother's voice. It was something she used to tell him and his sister when they were little. Then she would add, "Soon it will be your bedtime too."

  Spending time with Julian and Danny made Rob think of her and miss her.

  "You OK, Rob?" Julian asked him. He must have noticed his sad expression in the rearview mirror.

  "Sure. Maybe I'm just a little sleepy," Rob said for Danny's benefit. The little guy would be going to bed soon, but Rob didn't expect to sleep very well with all these memories of his mom coming back to him.

  Chapter 7

  Though Julian didn't like being back in Peach Tree, he had to admit that everything today had gone better than he expected. Rob was a great help and Danny didn't have a serious fright. Julian wasn't as hopeful about tonight, but he didn't plan on leaving Danny by himself.

  Going inside the house, they could see the sun setting through the living room windows.

  "This is why my grandfather always kept the shutters closed, only opened the slats a little," Julian said as the setting sun filled the room with a brilliant, rosy light.

  "But this is a great view," Rob said. The light was already deepening and coloring the sky with the coppery shades of fall leaves.

  For a while, they stood at the window together and watched the sunset. While holding up Danny so he could see better, Julian pointed out the river shining and meandering through the countryside before losing itself among some evergreen covered hills.

  Once the show was over, it was time to check out the bedrooms upstairs.

  "Up there?" Danny asked pointing up the staircase.

  "I bet your room is somewhere up there," Rob said and turned on the light above the staircase so it wouldn't look so forbidding to Danny.

  Julian confirmed it. "That's right. All the bedrooms are up there, so I will never be far away."

  Danny climbed up one step at a time and Julian and Rob kept pace with him. At the top of the stairs, Julian turned on the hallway light and Danny went a little ahead. He cautiously went up to the six sets of doors, which all stood open. Each time he peered inside the dark rooms, he looked back as if to make sure Julian and Rob were still there.

  "There's nothing scary up here," Julian assured him.

  "I'm not scared," Danny claimed and he pouted at Julian before he went on to peer inside the next room.

  The first two doors were the guest rooms. Julian pointed them out to Rob. "Either of these rooms should work for you," Julian told him as he opened the doors further and turned on the lights so Rob could have a better look. "Both have their own bathrooms."

  "Fancy," Rob said seeing the old fashioned décor. He then made a quick decision. "I'll take the one with the orchard view."

  "That's right. The view," Julian said as he went over to the window. "I remember looking out there, watching the workers tend to the trees. Harvest time was my favorite time of year. But when peach trees are in bloom..." Julian trailed off.

  Rob would be long gone by then. This job and this living arrangement were temporary after all.

  Turning away from the window, Julian found himself face to face with him. He held his breath and noticed Rob's green eyes again. Transfixed for a moment, he stared into them.

  "Sorry. I was crowding you," Rob said and he backed away.

  "No," Julian said and hoped he hadn't made him uncomfortable. "I was just wondering where Danny was."

  The last time they saw him, he was going down the hall. Now he was hovering in the doorway of one room in particular.

  "That room must have something good in it," Rob said as they went to join him.

  "I doubt that," Julian said and then he found himself in the doorway of his old bedroom. Turning on the light inside with his hand trembling slightly, Julian was greeted with a familiar sight of his bed, his desk, his childhood and his nightmares. The light came on, so that was good, not like those times when he was being punished.

  Except for the little boy who was walking in bravely, ready to explore, everything was exactly the same as Julian remembered it. The bedding was striped brown and beige, the rug was patterned in beige and black. The only decorations on the walls were framed, old maps.

  Nothing in the room was suited for a little kid, but it looked like Danny was ready to make himself at home in there. He sat on the floor in front of the bookcase and pulled out a book. Opening it in his lap, he started leafing through it.

  "What did you find?" Julian asked him and Danny held up a children's book about animals.

  "Clockodile," Danny said.

  "Crocodile,
" Julian corrected him. Then he corrected him again. "And that's an alligator."

  Rob laughed and got down to check out the bookshelf. "Some interesting books in here," he said to Danny. "You're finding lots of good stuff."

  "Is it Danny's room?" Danny asked looking up at Julian.

  "It can be your bedroom if you want," Julian told him and Danny looked pleased.

  Leaving him in his new room and stepping out into the hallway, Julian shook his head. "Danny seems to like it a lot more than I ever did. But it's not much of a kid's room."

  As he looked at the dark furniture, the heavy curtains, Rob didn't disagree. "We can change that, add some color and more toys." He was so ready to look on the bright side of things.

  Pointing out a door across the hall, Julian told him. "This sitting room can be for you to use."

  "That's great. Thanks," Rob told him as he looked inside, noticed the comfortable seating and the TV. "There is no TV in the guest room. This will come in handy, but I'll keep it down at night."

  "That TV is ancient," Julian pointed out.

  "It will do. I just like it on if I can't sleep," Rob said and Julian was surprised. He was going to ask him if he had trouble sleeping, but he changed the subject.

  "That's going to be your bedroom, right?" Rob said indicating the double doors at the end of the hall.

  "I guess so," Julian said though he wasn't looking forward to sleeping in his grandfather's old bedroom. He had considered taking one of the guest rooms, but that would put him right next door to Rob, and that seemed... unwise.

  "You can go and settle in, and I'll get Danny ready for bed," Julian said to Rob.

  Danny's teeth were brushed and he was in his pajamas. "I'll stay with you tonight," Julian told him. "I just need one thing." With that he left him sitting on his bed and went to the end of the hall.

  His grandfather's bedroom wasn't familiar territory. As a kid, Julian never went in there. Now he only took a quick look around. His grandfather's bedroom was large, old fashioned and still closed up. Julian didn't bother opening the shutters in there. He just picked up the armchair from the corner and carried it to Danny's room.

  In the hall, Rob spotted him with it. "I could have helped you with that."

  "I got it," Julian said. It was heavy, but he could manage. And maybe he wanted to show off a little.

  "I guess you'll be keeping Danny company," Rob said when he saw where he was taking it. "I'll stop by to say good night."

  Seeing Julian carrying in a chair through his door, Danny looked at it curiously. "Another chair?" He said since there was already a chair by the desk. Danny then figured it out. "One chair for Danny and one other chair for Julian."

  "That's right. I'm going to sit in it and make sure you sleep well tonight," Julian told him.

  "I can have the light?" Danny asked and looked at the round, brass lamp by his bed.

  "You can," Julian said then he pulled back the covers. "Climb in."

  Julian didn't think this bed was much bigger than Danny's old one, but it seemed to swallow him up. Maybe because the bedding was dark and not kidlike.

  Tucking him in, Julian told him. "We'll get you a fun comforter soon."

  "Not the bee?" Danny asked and pointed at the one that covered him now.

  "This is a bee comforter?" Julian said. It was striped in brown and beige. "I guess it is. Which book should I read you?" Julian had the Super Strong Little Bee book ready on top of the stack of Danny's books they brought with them, but he wanted something different.

  "Read about the alligator crocodile," Danny said.

  "OK," Julian said and got the book about animals. After a little bit of flipping past familiar, well worn pages, he found the alligator. It was pictured barely peeking out of the water, so it didn't look too scary. For a while Julian read about the alligator then he noticed that Rob had stopped by.

  Leaning on the doorjamb, Rob looked in. "Don't mind me. That was interesting. I just wanted to say good night."

  "You're here all night?" Danny asked him.

  "Right. My bedroom is just down the hall," Rob reminded him, but Danny wasn't done.

  "And in the morning?"

  "I'll be here in the morning too," Rob assured him.

  Danny must have been unsettled finding himself in a new place. At least he seemed happy to have Rob there.

  "Good night. Sleep tight, little guy. I'll see you in the morning," Rob told him.

  "Good night," Danny said to him.

  It took a while for Danny to fall asleep, but finally his eyes did close. Julian sighed as he slumped into the armchair with the animal book in his lap. As long as he had this book, no one had ever read it to him. Julian didn't have the book while Mrs. Kent, his nanny, was still alive, but she must have read something to him. He wished he could remember. She had a kind, grandmotherly voice.

  After he lost her at five, Julian was not allowed to have another nanny. His grandfather had decided that they would baby him and make him soft. He was a small boy with no parents to speak of, only a cold, forbidding figure of his grandfather looming over him disapprovingly. Dogged by a sense of loneliness in every room in this house, Julian never thought of this place as home. It was too big, too quiet, too dark, a place where a young spirit would wither.

  Danny didn't seem to feel that way about the house. He had explored and played contentedly with the things Julian hadn't been allowed to touch, and now he was sleeping peacefully.

  Since he was likely to stay asleep at least for a while, Julian decided this was a good time to stretch his legs. He went out into the hall just in time to see Rob coming up the stairs with a cup in his hand.

  "I was just bringing this to you. You picked this out at the store, so I figured you must like it," Rob said as he handed him the cup of black tea.

  "You're off duty now. You didn't need to do this, but thank you. I appreciate it," Julian said as he took the cup from him. He tried not to let their hands touch, but they did briefly. He shivered a little at the quick contact then began speaking again to cover his reaction. "I'll be going back to sit in Danny's room."

  "Keeping watch over your little brother," Rob said with a smile.

  "So far, he's sleeping peacefully."

  "He did well today, wasn't too scared of anything," Rob noted.

  "You did well too. I appreciate all your help," Julian told him and looked into his green eyes.

  He tried not to stare at Rob, the outline of his body under the jeans and sweater, not to lose himself in the depth of his voice or the lush green of his eyes.

  "Can I get you anything else?" Rob asked.

  "I just told you that you were off duty," Julian reminded him then he frowned. He did want to get some things from the office, but he didn't want to leave Danny alone that long.

  "Anything you need, I'm here," Rob prompted him. He could tell that there was something Julian wanted.

  "All right. Could you watch over Danny for a little while? I want to get some work from the office, do some reading," Julian said.

  "You should try and sleep as much as you can in that chair," Rob told him.

  "There's no chance of that," Julian said.

  "OK. I'll stay with Danny until you get back," Rob told him, but he made it clear with a stern look that he wanted him to rest, not work himself to death.

  So he was going to be that kind of assistant, Julian thought to himself as he hurried downstairs. Rob wouldn't be the first assistant who tried to boss him around, but he might be the only one who could get away with it.

  Back in Danny's room, Julian found Rob sitting in the armchair and leaning forward. Noticing him as he came in, Rob stood up and came over to him. He inclined to whisper to Julian, "He seemed a little restless, but he settled down again soon. He didn't wake up."

  Julian nodded and mouthed, "Thank you." It was good to have someone else there to watch over Danny, but Julian was also aware of how close they stood. He had felt Rob's breath warm against his ear, his body onl
y inches away. The feeling of closeness stayed with him even after Rob was gone.

  With a silent sigh, Julian settled into the armchair again, but he couldn't focus on the work he had brought with him. Would he be able to work here at all with reminders of his grandfather around every corner?

  But that wasn't the problem at the moment. Being back here was clouding his mind, but memories from his gloomy childhood were interrupted by a breathless awareness that Rob was under the same roof with him. Only a few doors down from Julian, he was a lot more real than any shadows of the past.

  Chapter 8

  As Rob got up and looked out the window of his bedroom, the morning sky was lit up with streaks of fiery orange and red. Not a bad view to wake up to, and Rob noticed the quiet too. Maybe that's how he had managed to get some sleep, mostly in the last few hours while dawn was breaking.

  He was getting ready, and listening to snatches of conversation as Julian helped Danny with his morning routine. But when Rob was done in his own bathroom and stepping out of his room, he didn't hear or see either Julian or Danny.

  They weren't upstairs, so Rob went to see if they had gone down to breakfast. They weren't in the kitchen though or anywhere downstairs. Giving up for now, Rob went back into the kitchen to make some coffee. He was just about to pour the water, when he looked out the window over the sink and spotted Julian and Danny outside.

  Once he had the coffee going, Rob went out to see what the two of them were up to. The kitchen door led out to the side of the house. That's where the two of them were hanging out. Julian was holding on to Danny while he leaned over a garden wall and looked down the slope toward the road that meandered up the hillside before turning to go to the front of the house.

  "Good morning. You guys having fun already?" Rob asked them.

  "Rob is here!" Danny said like he thought Rob might have disappeared overnight.

  "Yes, and I was looking for you guys. I started coffee. It should be ready soon," Rob told Julian.

  "Danny was wondering what was out here, so I decided to show him," Julian said.