Page 106 of Galen's Redemption
“I don’t want you to regret anything. What if you start to resent me for keeping Noel from you?”
“You listen to me, Mr. Merriweather. Noel is an adult. He’s going to makehis choice no matter what. A year ago, I would have told anyone who asked there wasn’t a life for me beyond the shelter. Then you showed up and turned everything I thought I knew on its ear. For the first time that I can remember, I wanted something for myself. I wanted you.”
He held Galen, stroking small circles on his back while he whispered in Galen’s ear to remind him how much he was loved.
“If Lincoln and Noel won’t accept us being together, then we’ll have to hold fast to each other and the family we’ve built. If I’m honest, though, I don’t see that happening. Will it be a shock? Probably. But when they get to meet the real Galen, they’re going to love him too.”
Galen couldn’t believe how desperately he wanted to see Lincoln again. How he wanted the chance to apologize to Noel.
“Can I wait until the new year?”
“You can do it whenever you want. There’s no deadline on this. I just want you to think about it. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Galen could only hope that Robert was right and that he wasn’t about to end up losing it all.
THE SMALLhouse was decorated to the hilt. An animatronic snowman stood out front, waving to passersby, while lights festooned the eaves and windows.The small tree in the yard, though without leaves, was covered in garland and even more lights. But the best part for Robert was seeing a smiling Charlie Brown standing beside a door that had been decorated as a snow-covered doghouse, with Snoopy lying atop it.
He wished Galen could see it. Instead, Galen was watching over the shelter, sleeping in Robert’s bed, and that was where Robert shouldhave been too. He wanted to get this over quickly so he could get back home and snuggle beneath the covers, his arm draped over Galen’s stomach. But no, he was crunching through the snow on the way to a party he didn’t want to attend.
A quick rap on the door and it opened to a scene from hell. Who knew there were so many kitschy Christmas baubles? And Katie and Meg had apparently bought themall. There were lighted balls with trains running around on a track inside of them. Another had Santa riding in a gaudy pink-and-green spaceship. A flash of light caught his eye, and he turned to find a glass crocodile holding a coconut-shaped mug.
“It looks like Santa barfed all over the place, doesn’t it?” Noel stepped up beside him, shaking his head as he looked at the decorations.
“It’sawesome.”
“Yeah, well, Meg wanted their first Christmas together to be something special.”
And didn’t those words suck any joy out of Robert? He wanted the same thing, but Galen told him to go on without him.
“So where’s your guy?”
Robert pulled himself back into the conversation at hand. “What?”
Noel glanced around, then frowned. “I thought you’d bring him with you.”
That would have beennice. “No, he couldn’t make it.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was hoping to get to meet him.”
“Well, if things go like I hope, you might still get your chance after the new year.”
“That would be nice. Why not bring him by the diner? I’m sure Lincoln would like to meet him too.”
Robert bit back a retort, wanting to know how they’d respond when Galen walked through the doors. They’d discussed it, and Galenstill trembled when he thought he might be rejected. The more Robert thought about it, though, the less certain he was that Galen would be accepted. He wasn’t sure why. Noel was a sweet guy, and Lincoln, though gruff, seemed to have his heart in the right place, but there was a niggle in the back of his mind that it could blow up in their faces.
“Sure, sounds good.”
“Noel, can you come herefor a sec?”
“That’s Katy.” Noel waved her over. When she got to where they stood, he gestured toward Robert. “This is Robert. He runs the shelter. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know what I would have done.”
“Don’t let him kid you. Noel’s resourceful. He would have figured something out.”
She shook Robert’s hand. “It’s very nice to finally meet you. Noel talks about you all the time.”
“Thepleasure is mine.” He shot a glance at Noel. “You’ve got a lovely house. I can feel the holiday spirit in here.”
