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sigh, Gable opened his mouth to speak, but then thought better of it and bit his lip.
    “Gabe, he‟s your ex. This may sound pretty conceited of me, but I don‟t think I have anything to fear. You barely have a happy memory that features Grant, and although the tension when the two of you are in a room together has dissipated since that first dinner, I‟m still pretty sure he has no idea your eyes are blue.”

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    “Meaning?” Gable asked, eyeing Flynn suspiciously.
    “Grant is just as afraid to look you in the eye as you are, Gabe.” Gable couldn‟t help but smile. All this time he‟d been preoccupied with his feelings toward Grant and Flynn‟s feelings toward Grant and not once had he wondered how Grant felt about him. Not once had he asked himself why Grant had always seemed angry and uncomfortable around him. Maybe it was just Grant‟s way of acting because he didn‟t know how to deal with the situation.
    “I don‟t hate him anymore,” Gable eventually said. “I used to. I used to feel hurt and rejected, I suppose, but he didn‟t know I‟d had an accident when he left.”
    Flynn hugged Gable tighter and put his chin on Gable‟s shoulder.
    “I know.”
    “I suppose it‟s a good thing that Grant and I are learning to spend time together without all this awkwardness if we‟re going to help them build their house.”
    “I suppose so.”
    “Grant took the first step in the restaurant restroom, I guess it‟s my turn to show him there really are no hard feelings.” Gable rested his head against Flynn‟s. He counted his lucky stars he had someone as forgiving and patient as Flynn. His current relationship with Grant was the best proof that he was no good at communicating about feelings and the fact he and Flynn had what they had could all be brought back to the effort Flynn put into the relationship they shared.
    Flynn yawned and snuggled even closer.
    “I think I better put you to bed.”
    “First one up the stairs gets to bottom,” Flynn quipped, jumping up from the couch.
    Gable pulled him back down. “Hey, that‟s not fair. I‟m a cripple.”
    “You are?” Flynn asked. “I hadn‟t noticed.” He pulled Gable to his feet and dragged him toward the stairs. “Okay, let‟s change it to: the first one up the stairs gets to choose who bottoms.” Gable smiled because he knew he‟d get exactly what he wanted.

    213

    Zahra Owens

    SEVERAL months later, while Flynn was in the stables, Calley came by to bring their groceries. As soon as Gable saw her crawling from the truck, he hurried to help her.
    “I hope you have help around the store, Calley, because you‟re struggling,” Gable said compassionately.
    “Tell me about it,” Calley sighed. “I‟m done freaking out every time the doctor shows me there‟s two of them in there and I do see the upside of getting it over with in one go, but I already feel like a beached whale and I still have three months to go.”
    “Is Bill helping you out?” Gable asked as he took the box full of produce out of the back.
    Calley snorted. “It‟s coming up to lambing season. I‟m lucky if he sleeps next to me at night.”
    Gable looked at her empathetically, but she ignored him, so they walked toward the house. “You need to get help at the store, Calley.
    Not just for when you‟ve had the babies, but right now, so you can put your feet up.” Gable saw sadness creep into her face as he put the crate down on the kitchen table. He pulled up a chair and made Calley sit down while he unloaded everything she‟d brought in.
    “I didn‟t lose the last one because I worked too hard, Gabe.” Gable put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. “I know, but I‟m just saying… You need to take care of yourself. These babies are precious and not just because I had a hand in conceiving them. You‟re precious too, you know that.”
    Calley put her hand over Gable‟s and pulled at it so he had to sit down next to her. She placed his hand on her belly and pulled him into a hug that brought his head close to hers. “They‟re fine, Gable.” As if by command, the babies started kicking and Gable pulled his hand away, but she grabbed it back. “They like the attention.”
    “But it‟s Bill‟s touch they should feel, not mine.” Gable didn‟t pull his hand away again, though.
    “Bill is still having a hard time with all this.” 214

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    Gable hurt for Calley. He knew how hard it was on Bill that he