Page 56 of The Professional
“Hm.” She studied him carefully and Rourke knew what would come next. Mom liked what he thought of as pet projects, turning someone to the Lord made her feel powerful. “You should come to mass this Sunday. Father Shay runs excellent services.”
“Mom, he doesn’t want to come to church. He’s not religious, and you can’t force him to be.”
“Actually….” Forrest glanced at him, gaze hopeful. His eyes glowed with such intense emotions that Rourke’s belly twisted with the desire to please him. “I’d like to come with you, Nadene, if that’s okay? I’m working this Sunday, but maybe we could arrange another day?”
Rourke’s mom perked up and she clapped her hands together. “It would be my pleasure to have you there, Forrest.” The doorbell rang, and her eyes widened. “Oh, he’s here! Finally. I thought he forgot about us.”
“Who?” Rourke asked, but he dreaded the answer.
She didn’t answer him. She bounced from the room with an excitement that made Rourke groan. He shouldn’t have asked.
Orla tittered at him, and then she smiled at Forrest. “I would say welcome to our family, but there’s not much welcoming about it.”
Rourke’s lips curled into a smile. Mom’s whirlwind attitude made even the bravest souls run for the hills.
Voices filled the entranceway, and Rourke groaned.Fuck.He spun in his chair in time to see his mom lead Shay through the archway that led into the dining room. Shay wore his usual black long-sleeved dress shirt and black pants, the white collar visible in a small square at the base of his throat.
“Forrest, have you met Father Shay?” she asked, herding Shay farther into the room.
Forrest stood from his chair and held out his hand. “I haven’t. Pleasure to meet you, Father.”
Shay smiled as kindly as any priest would while he shook Forrest’s hand. By the look he gave Rourke, though, he knew exactly who Forrest was, and Rourke hoped this wasn’t a night where he wanted to prove a point to Rourke. The last thing he needed was for Mom to rant and lecture him on bringing a whore to her dinner table.
“I’ve heard plenty of good things about you, Forrest,” Shay said nicely. He placed his other hand on top of Forrest’s, and he stared into Forrest’s gaze a little longer than Rourke would have liked.
“Have you?” Forrest darted a look at Rourke before he returned his attention on Shay. “Hopefully not anything bad.”
“Rourke’s told me about your line of work.”
Rourke stood, ready to step in and direct the conversation onto safer subjects. Mom beat him to it though. “Ah, yes, Forrest works for Sloan. He sells things.”
Shay coughed into his hand when they’d stopped shaking. “Sell things? Of course.”
Forrest’s jaw tightened and he glared.
“I didn’t know you’d be here tonight, Shay.” Rourke touched Forrest’s elbow, dragging him back toward the table and their seats. They sat down again while Shay rounded the table and took the chair on the opposite side, right beside Orla.
“It’s a funny thing. I’d been thinking about how much I missed Nadene’s cooking, and I called her to ask when she’d be having her next dinner and if she had room for me. She told me about tonight, and I justneededto come.” Shay had always been charming, the kind of man who could talk a virgin out of her knickers, but Rourke saw his act for what it was—intimidation. He didn’t want Rourke sinning with a whore. The concealed threat in his eyes said end it, or he’d take matters into his own hands. He knew the last thing Rourke wanted to do was upset Mom.
Rourke’s jaw tightened, and he wrapped his arm around Forrest’s shoulders. “I’m glad you came. You can finally meet my boyfriend.” Someone gasped, but Rourke didn’t know if it came from Mom or Forrest. Maybe both of them. Rourke could feel Forrest’s eyes on him, though, but he refused to look in his direction.
Shay’s eyebrows dove low in disappointment. “Your boyfriend?” He shook his head. “You know what God says about homosexuality.”
“No, because there was nothing in the Bible about it. I know whatyouand your religion think about it, though.” Rourke kept his voice level, or he tried to, even though he wanted to reach over and strangle Shay. He didn’t know what happened to make Shay act this way. He never cared about religion or the Bible. It took one strange summer for everything to change. Rourke went with his parents to Rome for a vacation, and by the time he got back, Shay wasn’t the same person. His mother had him volunteering at the church and becoming a big brother to some of the younger kids around town.
Instead of spending time with his friends on the weekends, Shay chose to work for the priest of the local church. Most of their other friends chose to forget about Shay, but Rourke couldn’t let his friend go. He kept calling Shay and emailing him too. Shay kept in contact, although his responses were short and unemotional. When he’d finished college and began studying to be a member of the clergy, Rourke visited him when he could. That was, until the local priests kicked him out when they discovered he only went to confessional to talk to Shay.
The Shay Rourke knew didn’t exist anymore, too busy preaching about sin, the same sin he’d once participated in.
Shay clasped his hands on the table and stared between Rourke and Forrest. His expression nearly undecipherable, Rourke almost thought he saw envy. Jealousy of the freedom Rourke possessed. “I didn’t come here to argue with you.”
“Good, because I don’t want to either.” Rourke pressed himself closer to Forrest, daring Shay to say more.
“Oh, honey, I didn’t know you were together.” Mom clapped her hands together again and rose, striding toward them and laying a kiss on Forrest’s cheek before doing the same to Rourke’s. “I’m so happy for you. I always wanted you to find yourself a partner.” She turned to Shay. “As long as he confesses his sins once a month, God will understand, won’t he, Father?”
Shay’s strained smile looked like it hurt. “Of course, Nadene. Just the other day Rourke came in to confess his sins. It’d been too long since his last confession.”
She patted Rourke on the shoulder. “You need to do it more often, Rourke.”
