Page 29 of Galen's Redemption
Andy lugged the last two things Galen had kept into his apartment. He hated that he needed to accept Andy’s offer, but until all the accounts shook out, he didn’t have the money to put a down payment on a place of his own.
“Your room is the one on the left. Go ahead and put them in there if you want.”
He took the things from Andy and stepped into thecloset that Andy had laughingly referred to as a bedroom. Galen had seen bigger postage stamps. Still, it was either that or he’d be sleeping in the streets. And wouldn’t that just give Robert Kotke a laugh to see how the mighty had fallen?
A twinge of regret zipped through Galen at the thought of Robert. Galen had been a dick to a man who’d devoted his life to helping people. Maybe this wasGalen’s penance. If there was a God, maybe He was tugging some universal strings to make Galen dance for His amusement. Galen could only hope that, when the time came, Father would be suffering the same fate.
Andy’s head came into view around the corner. “Are you hungry?”
“I could probably eat something.”
“Okay, going to make that macaroni and cheese we never had.”
“Sounds good.”
It didn’treally. Since the phone call from his father’s lawyer, a lead ball had filled Galen’s stomach. He’d lost everything, and not because he was gay, but because his father hated him for what he considered Galen’s weakness. He had wanted Lincoln back so he could get rid of Galen. That kind of sting didn’t go away easily.
Slender arms wrapped around him. “It’s going to be okay, Gale. You’ll see.”
“I wish I had your confidence. I gave him so much and never asked for anything in return. He dangled running Primal in front of me like a carrot, just so I’d do what he wanted.”
“So, your dad is an asshole. My brother cheated with my boyfriend. No family is perfect.”
Galen turned in Andy’s arms and put his head on Andy’s shoulder. He’d never felt so lost and helpless. He’d believed in his fatherand what he was doing, even if he didn’t always agree with it, and he thought Father trusted him, but that was a laugh. Now that he thought about it with a clearer head, he recalled many snarky comments about how Galen could have done this or should have done that. The judgmental remarks where Father would say that Lincoln would have handled something differently, which would have netted betterresults.
“God, I just realized. I was one of those pathetic kids who would have done anything to get their father’s approval.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing. Who doesn’t want their father’s love?” Andy leaned back and grinned. “Why do you think Daddy stories are so popular in gay romance?”
A laugh rolled out of Galen, then quickly turned into a sob.
“What’s wrong, Gale?”
“I just realizedhow pathetic I am.”
“Dude, I’m not going to say snap out of it, because we both know that’s going to come in its own time. What I will say is that you’ve been strong forever. Regardless of what your father says, you shouldered most of the burdens of Primal on your own. How many deals did you broker? How many times did you go to bat for people who ended up losing their jobs because your fatherwouldn’t listen to you? You keep thinking this is the first time you stood up to him, but it isn’t. Sure, the others were smaller but no less important. At least to the people who were affected.”
“How do you know this?”
Andy smiled at him. It wasn’t his usual full-wattage one. It was soft, tender, and betrayed a host of emotions. “I listen to you when you drunk-talk. I can tell you one thingwith absolute certainty: you’re a good man, Gale. You just need to find the person who can bring it out in you.”
“I don’t need anyone else.”
“Yeah, you do. When you were at work, you took the lead on everything. You pushed, you pulled, you prodded. But when you got home, you needed someone to take you in their arms and remind you of your worth.”
His worth. According to dear old Dad, that wasnil. He wanted to say something, but apparently Andy wasn’t finished.
“I know you were drunk that night at the bar, and I didn’t have the heart to tell you what happened after you had sex with those men.”
Galen did his best to think back, but after the sex, he didn’t remember much.
Andy took his hands. “You ran outside and sat in the alley, crying your heart out. You told me you wanted someoneto see you, not for sex, but to seeyou. I sat down beside you and stroked your hair while you kept talking about how no one knew the real you. I tried to assure you I did, but you were too far out of it. I put you in the cab and sent you home.”
A dull pain flared in his chest. It wasn’t the first time he’d wished he didn’t have to hide who he was. He wasn’t ashamed of being gay. At least, notexactly. He believed he was trading that sliver of his life for something much greater. He wanted to take Primal Imports to a higher standing than Father ever could. He wanted the accolades and praise he’d never gotten after he showed the world what he could do. He needed to prove to himself that he was as good as Lincoln.
And now? That was a pipe dream.
“Gale, are you listening to me?”
