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Kansas.  Have you ever thought of adopting Gracie?
Hearn, whose own thoughts seemed to be keeping him busy, put a hand on Tyler s
thigh.  Huh?
Tyler chuckled.  I asked if you d ever considered adopting Gracie.
Hearn seemed surprised at the question.  Ah, no, not really. She deserves a family.
Tyler rolled his eyes and turned sideways in the seat.  What she deserves is love, and
that you have for her in spades.
Hearn gave a little shake to his head as if to clear it.  There s more to raising a kid
besides loving them.
 Like what? Tyler was curious about Hearn s views on what a real family should be.
 Well, there s clothing them, feeding them& 
 All of which you have the means to do, Tyler interrupted.
 It just wouldn t be right, Hearn stated.
Tyler knew he d continue to work on Hearn regarding the issue. His lover had far too
much love in his heart to deny the little girl they d just left.  Will you do me a favour?
 Sure, if I can.
 I ll drop the discussion for now if you ll promise to think about something for me.
How would you feel if someone swooped in and adopted Gracie tomorrow? Would you be
able to live with yourself if you never again had the chance to hold her in your arms?
THE LAST BOUQUET Carol Lynne
58
Tyler watched Hearn closely as he spoke. The pain visible on the man s face said it all.
Tyler leaned over and kissed the bigger man s neck.  I m sorry if it hurts, but it s something
you need to think about before it s too late.
They drove the rest of the way to Cattle Valley in silence. With the cold chill sitting
beside him, Tyler unbuckled and moved to the other side of the truck cab s bench seat. It
came as quite a surprise when Hearn bypassed Tyler s shop and headed towards his house.
Pulling into the garage, Hearn shut down the engine and turned to Tyler.  Thought I d
make you some dinner if you re up for it?
He could tell by the tone of Hearn s voice he was asking for more than just dinner. Tyler
could ve kicked himself. Had he unknowingly made Hearn feel like he was criticising him
for not adopting Gracie? Shit.
Tyler released himself from the seat belt and slid across to Hearn s lap. With the
steering wheel against his back, he wrapped his arms around Hearn s neck and kissed him.
 I d love to stay for dinner, he whispered.
Hearn looked like he wanted to say more, but instead simply smiled.  Spaghetti?
 Sounds good, Tyler agreed, opening Hearn s door. He could tell something between
them had shifted, but he wasn t sure if it was good or bad. He sent up a silent prayer as he
waited for Hearn to climb out of the truck. Lord, please don t let me screw this up.
* * * *
After putting the last of the dishes in the dishwasher, Hearn turned to Tyler.  Stay over
and watch a movie with me?
Tyler nodded enthusiastically.  You do have a DVD player in your bedroom, right?
Chuckling, Hearn turned off the kitchen light and wrapped his arm around Tyler s
shoulders.  I do, as a matter of fact.
As he led Tyler over to the DVD cabinet, he continued to work through things in his
mind. Tyler had been right earlier. He hadn t allowed himself to think about Gracie leaving
the centre with another family. There was a large part of him that knew it would be best for
her to have both a mother and a father, but Gracie was a special case. Hearn seriously
doubted she d ever get over her fear of women, and who could blame her?
THE LAST BOUQUET Carol Lynne
59
The hour drive home had given him a lot of time to think. He d realised he did want a
family, but not without Tyler. Watching his lover with Gracie earlier had cemented Hearn s
feelings for the man. It hadn t mattered that the two most important people in his life had hit
a few speed bumps. The important thing was the hug Tyler had given Gracie before they had
left. As she wrapped her little arms around Tyler s neck, Gracie had looked up at Hearn and
smiled. His angel appeared truly happy right there in Tyler s embrace.
 How  bout this one? Tyler asked, holding up Walking Tall.
Hearn chuckled.  Are you sure? Do you know how many times I ve jacked off
watching The Rock in action?
Tyler s face screwed up like he d just sucked a lemon and put the movie back on the
shelf.  I may never watch another one of his movies again.
Next, Tyler picked up the new James Bond flick. Yep, Hearn had jacked off to Daniel
Craig as well, but he wasn t about to admit that to Tyler, if he did, he d be reduced to
watching nothing but animated cartoons. Damn. I m a pathetic horndog.
 That s good, Hearn agreed with Tyler s choice.
Feeling only slightly guilty, Hearn pulled Tyler towards the bedroom. As Tyler loaded
the movie, Hearn undressed and slid under the covers.
Tyler turned around and chuckled.  Wow, you re fast.
 I wanted to watch the pre-movie entertainment. Fluffing his pillows against the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]