Christmastime at Papa Lee's Read online

  “Now, if we can get back to what we were discussing.”

  Marty dug the fingers of his unbroken arm into his eyes and pressed hard, trying to ease his mind. “Look, I don’t really know what John felt for me. Hell I don’t even know if he felt anything at all. How blind am I? I didn’t even realize the man was gay.”

  “You worked side by side with the man for years. Didn’t you have some sort of insight into the man?”

  Frustration poured out of Marty, “Not every gay man in the world wears a badge which states their sexual orientation. I didn’t even know Casey was gay until I asked him out.”

  “Casey would be Kevin Chambers?”

  “Yes but he goes by the name Casey and has for the last three years.”

  A serious look filled Officer Houston’s eyes, “Do you think he could have anything to do with this?”

  “No!” He didn’t even have to think about his answer.

  “Why? He goes by a false name, and, as you say, all this happened after you asked him out.”

  Marty shook his head. “My first beating happened a couple of days before then. Casey uses an alias because his family doesn’t want him. They threw him out three years ago. Casey’s one of the sweetest, gentlest people I have ever known. If he wanted to hurt me why would he wait until after he moved into my apartment and started working for us? If this was Casey, he would have done something before this.”

  “Maybe he wanted to throw suspicion away from him.”

  “No! Casey never had anything to do with this. He’s a hard worker and a very good person. Just because he dresses like a goth doesn’t make him sinister and evil — not that I’m saying goths are sinister and evil. All I’m saying is Casey would never do this or have anything to do with this in any way. I’ll never in a million years believe he did.” In his heart he knew Casey was innocent. “Casey loves me. This wasn’t him.”

  “I’m not suggesting it was him; I only asked if you thought he might be involved.”

  “No, I don’t think he was involved in any way, shape or form,”

  Marty stated firmly.

  Officer Houston stood up and held out his hand. “If the truth be known, I don’t think Casey is involved either. We’ll be in touch if we find anything out or if we have further questions. If you think of anything else, please don’t hesitate to call.”

  “Thank you for coming,” Marty replied as he let go of the officer’s hand.

  No sooner had the police left then his mother came in carrying a glass of water and a bottle of pain pills. She took them into the bedroom before coming back to help him to his feet.

  Once he was settled back in the bed, she watched as he took the required dosage of pills.

  “They will find out who did this, won’t they?”

  Marty grimaced. “They’re looking into John.”

  “I know; your father called me. I don’t know if John is involved or not. He never seemed hurtful toward you at all.”

  “Ma, I don’t know any more what to think. Officer Houston asked me if I thought Casey was involved.”

  His mother snorted in disbelief “That’s preposterous; Casey would never be involved in something like this.”

  “I know. That’s what I told him. Besides, Casey loves me too much to hurt me.” He grinned at his mother’s shocked expression.

  “I know how much he loves me, because it is probably the same amount that I love him.”

  “Does he know you love him?”

  Marty laughed, “Have I told him? No. Does he know? He might. I don’t think he would be as pissed at me if he didn’t know, though I do plan on telling him at some stage. I wanted to wait until all this bullshit was resolved.”

  “Oh, Marty.” She shook her head in dismay. “Stop being such an idiot and tell that boy how you really feel.”

  “Ma, I knew I was stupid even as I tried to push him away this morning, but I thought I was doing the right thing. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to Casey because of me.”

  “Don’t you think that should be his choice?”

  She was right; she was always right. He should have given Casey the facts why he was acting like a complete and utter dick this morning. He hoped the beautiful man would forgive his stupid ass.

  § § §

  By the time they finished decorating and then cleaning Papa Lee’s, Casey was a nervous wreck. The police stopped by and gave him the third degree. He was pretty positive they thought he was somehow involved in the whole sordid thing. Officer Baker did most of the talking while Officer Houston sat back and studied him as if he was some bug under a microscope. His palms sweated as he was almost — but not quite — accused of being behind what had happened to Marty. Their belief he might have been involved was a reasonable assumption, no matter how wrong they were. He wasn’t about to say he was the mastermind of something he wasn’t. The staff backed him up which was a good feeling. At least he now knew they didn’t blame him for Marty’s pain.

  “They’re idiots if they think you’re involved,” Ellen grumped as she placed a cup of green tea on the table in front of him.

  “They’re just doing their job.”

  “They should be out looking for the real monster who did this, not in here grilling you. It’s total bullshit.”

  Pain filled him, and he had to ask, though he didn’t want to, but he needed to know what other people thought. “Do you think Marty blames me? Do you think this is why he doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore? I wouldn’t blame him for thinking that, but I don’t know how to prove it wasn’t me, especially if someone hurt him because of me. I swear to you all, I had nothing to do with this.”

  “No one thinks you had anything to do with his getting hurt,”

  Graeme growled softly as he sat in the booth beside him. Graeme reached over and patted his hand. “The police are ruling us all out one by one.”

  “Yeah, they always blame the spouse first,” Adam said as he grabbed a chair and turned it backwards, sitting and folded his arms across the back as he spoke. “In all cop shows, they always go after the husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, domestic partner…whatever.”

  Casey frowned, “But I’m not Marty’s anything.”

  Sonny laughed. “Yes you are! Think about it. You live together, sleep in the same bed even. For all intents and purposes you are his boyfriend.”

  “He asked me to move back to my own room this morning,”

  Casey confided.

  “Are you going to do it?”

  Casey shook his head. “Nope,” and a small smile graced his lips. “He still has bad dreams. I need to be there in case he needs me during the night.”

  “Good for you,” Graeme said.

  In the silence which had fallen, the soft strains of the Christmas CD played on, filling the void while they sipped their drinks all caught up in their own thoughts. Karen and Cherie had long since gone, leaving only those who sat at the table now.

  Looking around the table, he realized this is what a family should be like: all sticking together and standing up for one another.

  Casey felt blessed they now counted him as part of their family.

  For the first time in three years, Casey was actually looking forward to Christmas as he had the perfect people to share the day with. Graeme had told him yesterday how, on Christmas Day, everyone came early to help set up and cook the meal which they served to the homeless and other people who couldn’t afford a real Christmas dinner of their own. Casey confessed he had been one of those homeless people last year and how grateful both he and Abe had been because they had somewhere to go and escape reality, even if only for a few hours.

  This year they were trying something different. Graeme and Cathy had gone out and purchased some small items to be placed beside every plate; they didn’t want anyone to walk away empty handed. This year they wanted everyone to be considered part of the Papa Lee family. Was it stupid? Who knew. In Casey’s eyes, it was one of the most beautiful, t
houghtful things he ever heard of. Nobody truly understood that people who were homeless still had pride, and being shown even the smallest measure of respect and normalcy was worth more than he could think of.

  His only regret was that Abe was no longer here to see how he had changed his life around. In his heart, he knew Abe would be proud of him, be proud of the man he was becoming.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Ellen asked.

  “Yeah, I was thinking about Abe and wondering what he would think of me working here. He used to tease me about having a crush on Marty. Abe used to say instead of dreaming about it, I should do something about it.”

  Ellen squeezed his hand. “Abe sounds like a truly beautiful human being.”

  “He was. He taught me many things and gave me a family when I needed it the most. I was utterly lost when he died, and then I found all of you. He would be happy knowing I wasn’t left alone after he was gone.”

  “We’re all glad you are here with us as well. You’ve been a good asset to the Papa Lee’s family.”

  Casey blushed. “Thanks. I appreciate you saying so.”

  “Come on, let’s head home,” Graeme said as he stood. “Cathy will want to decorate the house today as well, and she’ll get you to do the apartment because Marty sure won’t be helping.” Stopping in the kitchen, Graeme pulled out a pot of beef stew he prepared earlier and carried it out to the car. He said by the time they had finished at home, no one would feel like cooking.

  The drive home was slow since the weather seemed to be getting worse. It seemed almost as if the weather was in sync with Casey’s own emotions. The darker his emotions were, the worse the weather became. He was lucky he now could afford to buy thicker clothes to ward off the chill of winter. Hopefully by the time he got back to the apartment, Marty would have calmed down some and gotten over his little rant from this morning, because there was no way he was going to be shoved aside.

  His heart lurched in his chest when the car suddenly skidded out of control and started to spin. One minute he was sitting there, lost in his thoughts of his roommate, and the next Graeme was swearing as the car hit the gutter and the hood was crumpled against the base of a telephone pole. His head exploded in pain as it hit the side window. The force was enough to crack the glass, and his vision blurred. Casey fought to stay awake. He could hear Graeme talking on his cell. And in that moment, something struck him as funny; he was still holding the full pot of stew, and not one drop had spilled. How in the hell, with the abruptness of the crash, had the lid stayed on the pot? Somebody upstairs must be looking over him. Laughter bubbled out of him, and he couldn’t seem to stop.

  “Casey? Casey, are you all right, son?” Graeme asked his voice filled with worry.

  “I’m fine,” he turned his head and grinned as he pointed to the pot. “Supper is saved.” This only seemed to crack him up even more.

  By the time the police and ambulance arrived, both he and Graeme were laughing so much they had tears running down their faces. Officers Baker and Houston stared at them blankly until they got themselves under control.

  “Are you okay?”

  “We saved the stew,” Casey said triumphantly as he was helped from the car. The waiting paramedics checked them over before giving them the all clear, saying Casey had only a slight concussion, but other than that, they both seemed fine.

  By the time the ambulance left and a tow truck had been called to move the car, the whole story had come out. Graeme swerved to miss a dog which had run into the street, and he lost control in the slippery conditions. Other than damaging the car, they were both all right.

  Casey could see the relief on Officer Houston’s face, and he realized something. “You thought this was caused by whoever hurt Marty, didn’t you? You thought they had moved onto their next target.”

  Officer Baker leaned closer and said. “The thought did cross our mind. It would seem someone has a fixation on this family.”

  “Holy crap!” Graeme whistled low and long. “I guess I should have mentioned the dog when I called the accident in.”

  “That would have helped,” Officer Baker said drolly.

  Officer Houston smiled. “Though we are glad nothing happened to you guys. Sometimes it feels good when what we expect is wrong.”

  The tow truck driver took half an hour to load and secure the car once he arrived, and when he was done, the police gave Graeme and Casey a ride home. Catherine was waiting nervously since Graeme had called her and told her what happened. Officers Baker and Houston helped move Marty from the apartment over the garage to the couch in the main house at Catherine’s request. She had decided until further notice that both her boys were going to stay where she could keep an eye on them. Casey loved the fact she had included him as one of her boys. Both policemen declined the offer of food, stating they both needed to get back to work and finish their shifts.

  Chapter Six

  The very idea of Casey being hurt slammed into Marty like a freight train. Here he was, trying to save Casey from whoever hurt him when he was faced with the reality of how anything could hurt them, not only other people. His father and Casey could have been killed had they been going faster. Why was he pushing the man away? He should be pulling Casey closer to him and never letting go.

  After dinner he and Casey retreated to the spare room. As he lay there, he could feel Casey’s gaze burning into him. “I’m sorry about this morning. I was an idiot, and I didn’t mean what I said.”

  Casey moved closer and slid his hands over Marty’s stomach until his fingertips rested in his pubes. “I know. I knew you were lying about us. There’s no way you can tell me you don’t love me or have some sort of feelings for me and make me believe it. Your eyes are an open book. I know what I see when you are looking at me, because it’s the exact same feeling I have when I look at you.”

  The words were amazing and wonderfully said, and Marty wanted to believe him, but never having been in a real relationship before, he wasn’t sure what he should say in return. In his heart, he knew he was already in love with Casey, because the feelings had been growing for over a year, and when they first kissed, it was apparent to him he never wanted to let the man go. After everything that happened and after a long talk with his mother, Marty realized he deserved the chance to be happy. He never really knew what he had been missing until Casey walked fully and permanently into his life. The mere thought of losing the stunning man had him latching on and spilling his heart out.

  “I do love you, Casey. I think I have been falling for you for a long time now. I honestly didn’t want you caught up in this whole mess. I really didn’t want you hurt because of me.” His breath caught in his throat as Casey’s hand on his stomach moved lower, and his fingers wrapped around his rapidly filling cock. The slow sensual pull had heat rushing all through his body. “Casey, what…?”

  “Shh,” Casey feathered kisses over his shoulder, never once stilling his hand. “I know we can’t have sex yet, but I can at least show you exactly what you mean to me. Promise me you’ll tell me if you start to hurt too much.”

  Before Marty found the words to reply, Casey had slipped beneath the blankets and wrapped his lips around his now fully and painfully erect cock. The heat of Casey’s mouth and the sensual graze of his tongue had Marty panting in desire. Marty’s balls tightened and drew close to his body as Casey’s hand massaged them.

  “Casey, please.” He didn’t know what he was asking for and no matter how much his ribs and bruised and aching body protested, he wasn’t asking the man to stop — ever. The feeling was too fricken good, especially when Casey hummed quietly, making cute little sex noises as he gave Marty the best blow job he had ever had in his life. He didn’t even want to contemplate how Casey had learned to do what he was doing now.

  “Shit…Casey…Fuck.” The words spilled out of him, making no sense at all as his unbroken hand reached down and carded through Casey’s hair, pulling the beautiful and talented mouth closer to him. He almost lost i
t when Casey’s throat opened, and his cock slipped in deeper than he had ever gone before. That the touch of Casey’s nose against his pubes was about the best thing he could think of at this exact moment in time only made it better as Casey also moaned in pleasure.

  The fact that Casey tugged on his balls to ward off the orgasm trying to force its way out of his body made him fall a tiny bit deeper in love with the man sharing his bed. He couldn’t even begin to think about how he was going to repay the gift Casey was giving him now. All he knew was, when his body was whole again, he was going to thoroughly and slowly love on the sexyassed goth man who owned his heart.

  “Casey, babe, I gotta come. Please, baby.” Marty’s head thrashed from side to side on his pillow as Casey’s throat muscles worked, gently squeezing on the sensitive head of his cock. The moment Casey pulled back the slightest bit, Marty called his name as cum flooded into the other man’s mouth and down his throat. To his credit, Casey didn’t lose a drop. By the time his body had expelled of all of his cum, Casey was still lying there beneath the blankets with Marty’s softening cock in his mouth.

  Marty got curious the longer he stayed there because of the small vibrations he could feel humming through his spent member.

  Lifting the blankets Marty had to chuckle as he found Casey fast asleep and snoring gently.

  Damn the man looked beautiful; it was a shame to wake him.

  Gently, he shook Casey’s shoulder and said, “Come on love, time to come back up and go to sleep. He smiled as Casey grunted but allowed himself to be tugged into partial wakefulness. The moment his head hit the pillow, he was off and snoring again.

  His face pressed into Marty’s chest, and his arm wrapped gently around him. Even in sleep, it seemed Casey was conscious of the fact he was hurt and kept away from the sorer parts of his body.

  Marty groaned as his good leg moved a fraction and encountered a wet patch; it seemed he hadn’t been the only one in this bed to find his release. If six months ago anyone had said to him he was going to wind up in bed with Casey he would have scoffed at them. Hell, even two months ago he would have laughed and told them they were absolutely fricken nuts. Tonight, in this bed, he would have to say being here with Casey felt right.