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He swallowed. He couldn t believe it. You did
the right thing.
I lost my wife and my children because of this.
I ll probably lose my job, too. I m leaving town,
going to stay with my cousin for awhile. I need to
sort some things out.
Patrick nodded. Makes sense.
I envy you, he said suddenly, having him,
loving him.
Patrick opened his mouth to speak, but he
didn t know the words. I don t have Dak at all.
Suddenly, someone was calling out his name.
Patrick turned to see Josh walk in. What s going
on? Josh demanded, staring at William. What s
that bastard doing here?
I m sorry, William said, sobbing into his
hands. I m sorry. It was a lie. It was all a lie. I told
them everything. William Gallant pushed by Josh
suddenly and ran outside.
What in hell just happened? Josh demanded.
Your father s name is clear. Gallant just told
the police that he lied. Patrick closed his eyes and
bowed his head.
Why did he do it? Why would he tell the truth
now, after all these years?
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DJ Manly
Maybe he wants to join reality, I don t know.
Where s your father? Either that or love is a great
motivator.
Dad s gone home After a second or two, what
had happened had sunk in. We need to
celebrate! Josh cried out. I want to scream this to
the world. It s over. It s fucking over. He grabbed
Patrick and hugged him. Patrick, you re a genius.
We have to tell Aunt Kate now and Dad. Dad
needs to know.
You go tell Kate. I need a minute.
Dak was sitting alone on the front steps when
Josh and Patrick showed up in Aunt Kate s car.
Kate got out and ran to her brother. They hugged
for a long time. Are you all right? Josh asked
him as Kate stepped aside, drying her tears.
Dak nodded, hugging his son. Yeah, I m fine.
He looked over his shoulder at Patrick. Thank
you, he mouthed.
Patrick smiled. How did you know?
I got a phone call from the police. He opened
his arms and Patrick gave him a brief hug.
They all had supper together and later, Josh
asked Patrick how he got William to confess.
I just talked to him, one gay man to another,
Patrick said. They were sitting on the porch, side
by side. Kate and Dakota were in deep discussion
in the kitchen.
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Last Call
Why did he do it? Josh shook his head. Did
he say? Was it really about his grades?
Not totally.
I really appreciate what you did for me,
Patrick.
I didn t really do it for you. Patrick looked at
him. I m in love with your father, Josh.
Josh laughed. That s a good one.
It s true. But don t worry. He s never going to
give me a chance to make him happy.
Patrick! You he stood. You re serious.
His face changed. He backed away, just about fell
off the porch. You re too young for my dad.
Nothing happened right?
Ask your dad. Patrick replied and got up. He
walked down the steps and started walking off
down the road.
About ten minutes later, someone honked a
horn. Patrick stopped and waited, blinded by
headlights. Kate pulled her vehicle to the side of
the road. Hey, where you going? It s pretty dark.
Wild animals out here, you know.
I m okay. I m just taking a walk.
Want a lift?
Where to?
Into town to the bar for a drink. I need a
drinking buddy. Dak passed.
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DJ Manly
Patrick shrugged. Sure, he came around to
the other side and crawled in. You buying?
She laughed. Sure. I owe you one& or twelve,
she said, starting off again. You re a hero, you
know. You saved my brother.
I m no hero.
I tried to get Gallant to do that years ago, to
come clean. He told me to go to hell.
He wasn t ready.
You connected to him on some level.
Maybe. I suppose all hell is breaking loose
now at home?
No. Why? Josh and Dakota are truly happy for
once.
I told Josh that I loved his father.
Well, no one said anything about that. What
did Josh say to you?
Not much. He was too shocked. I think he
found it hard to believe and of course, he said I
was too young for his father. He laughed harshly.
Josh will get over it, but will you?
Patrick didn t answer.
Kate pulled up across the street from the bar.
They walked in together. Kate ordered two
straight whiskeys and they leaned on the bar,
chinking their glasses.
It s my birthday, he said suddenly.
What? Your birthday?
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Last Call
Yep, I m twenty-two years old, as of now, he
checked his watch. It was after midnight.
Why in hell didn t you tell anybody? Happy
birthday.
Irish music played in the background and there
were some people dancing slowly in the corner.
Patrick stared straight ahead into the mirror over
the bar. He saw a sad, young man with a broken
heart looking back at him. I want another, he
told her.
You sure? Kate asked him.
Sure. It s my birthday.
He drank down another and already the place
was starting to spin.
You d rather be here with Dak tonight,
wouldn t you?
Patrick didn t say anything.
Doesn t Josh know it s your birthday?
He might have forgotten. But even if he does
remember, tomorrow, he probably won t be
speaking to me anymore.
That I don t believe. Kate put an arm around
his shoulder.
Last call, the bartender called out suddenly.
Patrick looked at Kate. You might as well
order us another, Katie sweetheart, because this is
my last call. There is no one else after this one.
Kate signalled the bartender to bring them two
more. You re far too young to be talking like that.
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DJ Manly
I know what it feels like now, but& do you want
me to talk to my brother?
No. He d be angry if he knew I blabbed all this
to you. You know, it has nothing to do with my
age, Kate. I just know it. In fact, I have never been
more certain of anything in my life. Dak is the one,
the love of my life. He just doesn t know it. He
tilted his head and swallowed the last of the
whiskey.
Back in Kate s vehicle, her cell phone rang.
Yeah, she opened it and put it to her ear. Ah,
hi, Dak, Patrick is right here with me. He s all
right.
Tell Dakota I said to fuck himself and I m sure
he d be very good at it, Patrick hollered, the
whiskey doing his talking for him.
Kate laughed a little. You heard that, did you?
Well, I won t have to repeat it then. Yeah, I ll take
care of him tonight let him sleep it off on my
sofa. See you, she said and hung up.
Did you tell him what I said?
Didn t need to, honey, she smirked. He
heard you good and loud and maybe even the
whole town heard it, too.
Patrick s head was aching as Kate drove him up
to the house the next day to get some clean clothes
before work. He placed his hand over his eyes to
shield it from the sun and wished he could just
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Last Call
curl up somewhere and hide. He was hoping that
Dak would be gone when he got there, but as luck
would have it, he wasn t.
Patrick sighed heavily when he saw Dakota
sitting on the porch, his chair leaning back against
the outside of the house. He had his hat tipped [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]