Page 10 of The Fault Next Door

Nolan nodded and picked up his glass of wine, taking a sip as he stared out at the animals in the barnyard. It was weird that they'd both lived in the Atlanta area at one point. He wondered if Ryder had been there when he'd been in school. They wouldn't have hung out at the same places. Nolan had spent his free time at gay bars and hanging out with other gay guys and a few theater types. Of course, that had been when he and Andrew had been getting together. They'd spent so much time fucking each other that their time outside of bed had been limited.

With Ryder working for the Braves, he probably hung with the jock types. Andrew had been into sports, but he hadn’t. They had gone to a few professional sports games together and watched some sports on TV, but it wasn’t his thing.

He wanted to know more, but if he asked for more about Ryder's past, the man might expect him to talk about his own past. He couldn't chance it. It totally sucked that he couldn't openly say that his husband dying was a huge reason he'd left the east coast and moved here. It had taken a while to claw his way out of his stupor. Once he was more aware of what was going on, he realized he couldn't stay in Virginia. Too many guys knew he'd lost his husband and either tried to take advantage of him or steered clear of him like Andrew dying in a car wreck was contagious. He'd grown tired of the gay scene and wanted a change.

Moving to a small town in Texas was a huge change. Maybe too big.

Ryder stepped out and put the steaks on the grill. The food smelled great and his stomach rumbled. Instead of asking theman more about his past, Nolan stood and moved to the grill, taking in the set up. It wasn't a small grill available at a hardware store. Instead, it was huge and built in what looked almost like an indoor kitchen, but it was outside.

“This is impressive.”

"Yeah, my uncle liked to grill. He had this added on about ten years ago. It's nice. I like the set up. It does get cold in the winter so I have to check the insulation on the pipes for the sink, but it's great having a kitchen out here. After working with the animals, I can wash my hands without going inside, which keeps my kitchen and bathrooms cleaner."

“It’s pretty amazing. I’ve never seen an outside kitchen in a regular home.”

Ryder turned, and his eyebrows raised high. "But you've seen an outdoor kitchen like this?"

"A few times. One time, it was at a doctor's house in Atlanta. Buckhead, actually. The doctor was married to another surgeon. They were both very wealthy. Then there was a—" he almost said general, but he didn't want to talk about Andrew and the military. "Another guy who had a similar setup in Virginia. I'm not sure how they kept their outdoor pipes for the sink from freezing over in the winter. Maybe they just let them freeze, I don't know." Nolan left out the part that the doctors were gay. He didn't need that information hanging over his head.

“Wow, that’s wild. Yeah, some of the players had houses that were over the top.”

“I bet. Did you know any of the players?”

Ryder shook his head. “Not really. There were a couple of guys I helped out with their lawns, but I wasn’t friends with them. I worked one week at one of the player’s houses doing some landscaping. They’d just moved in, and the lawn was a wreck. The place had been a foreclosure. The previous owner had done some bad shit in that house and ended up in prison.”

“Oh, wow. When was that?”

"The guy attacking his family? It was at least six, maybe eight, or nine years ago. I don't remember exactly when."

"Oh, I was working in the ER that night. I still lived in Atlanta at the time. I was finishing my last semester before I became a nurse practitioner. It's what made me want to work in an office and not the ER. Now, here I am at the clinic, but it's honestly not as bad as an ER in a big city."

“Do you like the clinic?” Ryder asked as he flipped the steaks.

“It’s good. I like the atmosphere. It’s not bad at all.”

"That's good." Ryder checked the corn and nodded. "Oh, that's nice. The corn looks done. I bet the vegetables are done, too."

“Can I do anything to help?”

“No, I already got the plates ready. I just need to take everything off the grill. You can wash up in the bathroom. It’s just to the left of the kitchen.”

Nolan stepped back, watching Ryder attend the grill for a moment. He didn’t need to let any of the fantasies in his head run wild. Ryder was his neighbor, not a conquest. The man may be cute, but he wasn’t in this town to hook up. If he wanted to play, he could go to one of the larger cities and pick up someone. He needed to keep his sex life totally separate from his life here. That was the only way he would survive.

Chapter 9

Ryder hadn't meantto be rude, but hearing that Nolan had lived in the same city as him at around the same time was weird. Back then, he would have been busy with work and his new wife. His friend group had been tied to his or Amy's work. They weren't into going out. Instead, they hosted dinner and game nights with their friends. Because his work schedule depended on field rehab during the season, he didn't work a regular schedule. There wasn't any way he would have ever run into Nolan back then.

Now, he was living next door to someone who came from a large city. It was different living in a place like Atlanta. His neighbors in Atlanta had been Asian, and another couple had grown up in Kenya. There was a lesbian couple who lived across the street and a gay couple down the block. He knew people from all walks of life. Here in this small town, everyone was basically the same. Some people went to the Baptist church while others attended the Methodist, but they were all cut from the same cloth.

"So, do you miss living in a big city?" Nolan asked.

Ryder shrugged. "I miss being able to pick up really good sushi or Mediterranean food. I also miss having a good massage therapist. I'm not sure there's anyone above board here. At least I haven't heard of anyone."

“Yeah, stuff like that was good.”

“What about you?” Ryan asked. “Why did you move here?”

Nolan shrugged and then sighed. "I needed a change, and the money was good enough. Plus, my mortgage on this place is one-quarter the cost of what I was paying for rent in Virginia. I'll be able to save money so when I move, I'll be able to buy a nice house or condo in a big city."

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