Page 153 of Something Like Winter

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someone calls the police.”

Tim shrugged. “They’ll have to pay the ransom if they want you

back.”

There was a heavy pause. “Where are we going?”

“Trust me. We’re almost there.”

Holy crap! How had any of this sounded like a good idea? Tim

should have just called Ben and asked him out on a nice boring date.

When he and Allison had planned this, it had all seemed so clever.

Now…

Tim pulled into a neighborhood. Beside him, Ben grew tense. This

was where Ben lived. Tim had driven past his house every night last week, looking at lit windows and marveling that the man he loved was

just behind them.

“What are we doing here?” Ben asked when they pulled into his

driveway.

“I wanted to show you a special painting of mine.”

Ben relaxed visibly. “You mean the one you gave me for my

birthday.” He smirked. “You can’t have it back.”

But Tim knew that the painting was no longer there.

He followed Ben inside, feeling less and less certain. This was the

house Ben and Jace had saved their money to buy, where they had shared

their final years together. When Ben turned on the living room lights,

Jace’s old cat Samson woke up, watching Tim curiously from the couch.

Ben was looking at the cat too, no doubt thinking of his husband. “Jace—” Ben began.

“—was a good man,” Tim finished for him. “The best, in fact. I

would never dishonor his memory, and I will never, ever be able to

replace him. No one could.”

Samson hopped down and walked up to Tim, sniffing his leg and

rubbing against him before doing the same to Ben. Then he returned to

his place on the couch to continue his nap. Well, that was one vote in his

favor. He turned to Ben, who was staring at a nearby wall. There, where

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