Page 67 of Resilience on Canvas

Henry shut the door. Robert pulled on his sleeve a little, trying to coax him to follow, but Henry stayed put on the bottom stair.

“Uhm, where—”

“I need to talk to you,” Robert whispered in a clipped tone.

“But, my friends, they—”

“They’re fine.”

“Can’t we talk out there?”

Robert leveled a look. “Henry.”

“But—”

“I want to talk to you. Privately.Alone.” Robert crooked an eyebrow. “Do you understand me?”

“Uhm, yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I...Okay, yeah, I’m comin’.”

Robert resumed walking, and Henry followed. The temperature climbed as they ascended. Halfway up, Robert’s pits were starting to sweat.

“Son of a bitch, it’s hot up here,” Robert huffed. “Hotter than hell, maybe.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of funny, ain’t it?” Henry said. “Since we’re in a church.”

Robert snorted. Geez, Henry was cute.

Finally, they reached the top. Robert let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his brow as he looked around the space. It was a solitary room. In the middle, there was a big bell hanging from the ceiling, though it wasn’t perched up particularly high. If Robert had been a head or so taller, he could have leapt up and touched its metal mouth with his fingertips. Dangling from the top of the bell, there was a thick rope, the loose end curled up in a pile on the floor. Each of the four walls was taken up by stained glass windows, and the sunlight that was shining through them cast little colorful patterns on every other surface.

Henry spun in a small circle, taking it in.

“Goodness, Robert, it’s beautiful up here,” he said.

Fierce fondness tugged at Robert’s heart. When Henry stopped spinning, he looked at Robert with a smile. His eyes were shimmering with wonder and happiness, though there was still a heap of melancholy in those muddy browns.

“Yeah, it is beautiful, ain’t it?” Robert said.

He walked toward Henry, the floorboards whining beneath his feet, and placed his hands on Henry’s hips. Even though he wanted to be soft and tender, he suddenly found himself seized with a feeling ofwantso intense that he couldn’t manage it. Hooking his two index fingers into the opposite belt loops on Henry’s pants, Robert pulled Henry close with one violent tug.

“God, I’m so proud of you, little wolf,” he said, touching their foreheads together.

Henry exhaled a sorrowful-sounding sigh and closed his eyes. “But I lost.”

“I know,” Robert said. “Doesn’t matter, though. I’m still proud of you for tryin’.”

Henry mumbled a soft “thanks,” his tone wrought with worry and remorse and sorrow and so many horrible things. All Robert wanted was to take his pain away. After giving himself a moment to breathe in Henry’s sweet scent, Robert tugged on Henry’s belt loops once more, towing their hips together.

“We’ll make it work, Hen. Don’t worry. Between my car and my tractor, we’ll have enough for the train. And when we reach the coast, I’ll find a little home for us. For all of us.” He paused to nuzzle Henry’s nose. “I’ll take care of everything.”

Henry let out a shuddering breath. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

Henry’s hands found Robert’s waist, too, and the moment Henry’s hands settled there above Robert’s hips, Robert was hit with a mix of want and possessivenessso powerful, it took his breath away. Pulling back, Robert wet his lips. He had to kiss his little wolf. Right now.

Slowly, Robert inched his face toward Henry’s, his heart now thundering in his chest. But before he could work up the courage to touch their lips together, Henry’s mouth slammed into his.

Shocked, Robert took a step backward. He’d have unintentionally broken their kiss had Henry’s hand not already found the back of his head, preventing him from pulling away. Immediately, Henry’s fingers became tangled in Robert’s wavy hair, the sensation making Robert’s knees wobble as he let out a moan.

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