Page 117 of The Prodigal Son

As I rest my head on his chest, I realize that everything is working out. Nothing that threatened to tear us apart has,and we might have been worried about everything for nothing. Truett can’t hurt us. Jensen’s past can’t hurt us.

With time, we’ll come out and either they’ll accept us or they won’t, but either way, we’ll be okay. We’re together, we’re in love, and everything is going to be just fine.

Better than fine. Everything will be perfect.

Thirty-Four

Jensen

Isaac smiles on the screen, large dimples indented on his cheeks while the audience laughs at whatever adorable thing he just said.

The camera loves him. In a tight flannel shirt around a snug white T-shirt, he looks like such an all-American country boy. With the worn-out cowboy hat and boots too, of course.

The audience adores him too. They laugh at everything that comes out of his mouth, and I swear he’s leaning on the chair like that on purpose because he knows just how hot it makes him look.

The host pulls out a picture from Isaac’s last show, and the audience screeches like a pack of horny hyenas. It’s a photo of him onstage in nothing but a pair of holey jeans. Suddenly, Isaac is blushing and hiding his smile like a fool.

I laugh out loud from my couch as I watch him. My phone is in my hand and I can’t wait to text him when this interview is over. He’s a natural, but there’s a subtle possessive part of methat gets a little turned on by how much everyone swoons over him.

You can lust after him all you want, but he’s mine.

“So, did you forget your shirt?” the host asks, making the audience laugh.

Isaac grins harder. “Yeah, I did. I couldn’t seem to find it backstage, and you know what they say…the show must go on.”

They laugh again.

The host avoids any questions about Isaac’s personal dating life, as they agreed to before the show. His publicist has a very thorough plan that involves using this interview to guide the conversation toward Isaac’s overall swoon factor rather than focus on his sexuality.

Isaac clearly hasn’t told her it’s only a matter of time before he’ll come out on his own, anyway.

The host asks Isaac something about his songs, and the conversation settles down for a moment. Not so much blushing and grinning. But when Isaac gets to truly talk about songwriting and music, he turns into a different person. He’s passionate and brilliant, and I swear I fall more and more in love with him the longer he speaks.

Unexpectedly, my doorbell rings. I glance down at my watch to see it’s past nine. I’m not expecting any visitors, so I consider ignoring it. I don’t want to miss Isaac’s interview, but I guess that’s the beauty of modern technology. I can rewatch it online as much as I want.

With a groan, I get up from the couch and walk to the front door. It must be my mom or dad. Or maybe one of Isaac’s brothers to talk about dinner the other night.

I pull open the door, and the blood immediately drains from my face.

“Hi, Jensen. Sorry to just show up unannounced, but you don’t answer my calls or emails.”

“Derek,” I mutter. My stomach coils immediately with a sick, cramping sensation.

Pastor Derek has changed a lot over the years. Back when I was still a teenager, he was younger than I am now. After twenty-plus years, he’s aged with salt-and-pepper hair, a few extra pounds on his slender frame, and heavy bags under his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, trying to remain casual.

“Just checking up on you, of course. We haven’t spoken in…it seems like forever. What’s it been…four years?”

My stomach cramps turn to nausea. Four years. That’s how long ago I attended an Eternal Harmony conference. Call it a relapse, but I was in my mid-thirties, going through either a mid-life crisis or, I don’t know…an identity crisis. My sexual escapades had turned promiscuous, and I felt like I was going down a lonely, dark path.

They reached out, and for the first time in nearly ten years, I answered.

I’ve regretted it ever since. And I haven’t told a soul.

If Isaac found out…

“Well, aren’t you going to let me in?” he asks with that charismatic smile.

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