Page 150 of Goaltender Interference

“I do.” This time, Connor was the one to squeeze Jesse’s hand. “I really do. But it’s been hard for me, figuring out what it means to be Catholic and be—be bisexual. I needed to think about what I wanted. What my priorities were.”

“What did you decide?”

Connor definitely didn’t have the words to explain all of his thoughts to his son, so he tried to keep it simple. “I decided my priorities were supporting the people I love and love was more important than religion.”

“Does this mean you’re never gonna go to church again?”

“I don’t know,” Connor admitted. “I’ll probably go to weddings and baptisms. We’ve got a big family so those aren’t gonna stop any time soon. But on Sundays? Probably not.”

“DoIhave to go?”

“Not if you don’t wanna.”

“They hate us. I don’t wanna go to a place where they hate us.”

Oh hell.Connor’s heart ached because it had never been quite so black and white for him but he could see how it might be for Nolan. Especially at that age, when everything was sharply one way or the other and there was no gray in the middle.

Connor lived in the gray now and a part of him was envious of how straightforward it was for Nolan.

“Some of the people in the church probably do hate us,” Connor admitted. “But not all of them. And the ones who do, that says more about them than us.”

“What about Mom? Will she hate me when I come out to her?”

“Your mother won’t hate you,” Connor reassured him. “Ever. At heart, she’s a good person. I’ll have a talk with her. But if she won’t come around, if her disapproval is ever hurting you, I’ll talk to my lawyer about the court agreement. I’ll do everything I can to get custody changed so you live with me full-time.”

Worry flickered across Nolan’s face. “Do you think you’llhaveto go to court?”

“I hope not,” Connor said. “But no matter what, I’m in your corner, you know that right?”

“That’s what Jesse said when I talked to him about this.”

Connor smiled becausedamnhe’d made the right decision letting Jesse handle this. Giving Nolan time to come to him when he was ready. Connor only wished Nolan hadn’t felt forced out by the argument with Viv at the stables.

“Jesse’s smart,” he agreed.

“Yeah, I am,” Jesse said.

Connor laughed, ready to chirp him for being so egotistical, but before he could say anything else, the doorbell buzzed and his phone did too.

Connor got to his feet and jogged up the stairs to answer the door. He fished out a tip from his wallet and thanked the delivery guy. Bags of food in hand, Connor carried them down to the basement.

Nolan cheered at the sight of the food and Connor smiled at his enthusiasm. “I thought we’d eat down here while we watch a game or something.”

“Wait, Connor,” Jesse said with a frown. “Nolan, are you done talking? Do you have any more questions?”

“I think I’m done,” he said slowly. “I’ll probably have more questions later but I’m hungry and my brain is …” He made a face and Connor knew exactly what he meant.

“We’re men of action, not words,” he said. “All this talking about our feelings thing is hard.”

Nolan nodded.

“But I’m thinkin’ maybe we need to do more of this,” Connor admitted, glancing between Nolan and Jesse. “How about we all work on that together?”

Nolan gave him a shy smile. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

Jesse nodded.

“Good. Now c’mon.”

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