Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 1

night with an aching groin. Jordan couldn't remember anyone ever getting under his skin this way. He wanted Cal with a ferocity he would have feared if he wasn't so damn driven to have.
    Jordan rolled his shoulders and paced up and down the sidewalk to cool down from the run, thinking about the straight up ridiculous number of times he'd jacked off in the past two weeks. He hadn't been this wound up since he'd discovered boys really, really did it for him far more than girls ever had.
    Thomas was already on his phone chatting away to his friend Kody while they walked the last stretch to the house. Jordan was only listening with half an ear as they made their way into the kitchen. He was downing a giant glass of water when his emergency cell rang. Only mildly concerned to see Mrs. Miller's number on the display, he was still a little breathless when he answered.
    "Dr. Mac!" Mrs. Miller sounded—not surprisingly—frantic on the other end. "I need you to come quick!"
    "Calm down, Mrs. Miller. Tell me what's happening." Jordan wasn't worried yet. He'd received more than one call from Mrs. Miller when she'd overfed Winston ice cream or she'd lost him when he'd napped somewhere hidden for too long.
    "Okay." She took a loud breath. "I was on my way to the park with Winston when he suddenly insisted we stop at the home improvement store. You know the one off—"
    "I know the one." Jordan interrupted, trying to keep her on topic, if there was one. He nodded at Thomas, who was indicating he was heading for the shower.
    "Oh, okay." He could hear the jangling of her jewelry as she made gestures he couldn't see but could easily imagine. "Well, I decided I could pick up some spring seeds to plant anyway, so why not go ahead and stop?"
    Why not, indeed , thought Jordan, jabbing himself between the eyes with his middle finger. Oh, yeah, maybe because taking directions from your barely conscious dog is bat-shit crazy ? Aloud, he said, "Go on."
    "So I pulled into the parking lot, and the minute I opened the door Winston barreled right over me and out the door, and the next thing I knew he was running around the side of the building and into the lumber yard!" And there was The Voice only this woman could produce. Jordan desperately tried to ignore it and concentrate instead on what it was saying.
    "What do you mean?" He wasn't comprehending. "He ran away from you?" He was completely stunned. Not only did the dog rarely venture more than a few yards away, it was with even greater reluctance that he ran... anywhere. Ever.
    "Yes!" Mrs. Miller shrieked. "He's in there now behind the huge stacks of lumber and he won't come out, and the manager is getting really angry, and I don't know what to do!"
    "Okay," Jordan drew the word out, thinking. He was at a loss. "I'm not sure what you want me to do, Mrs. Miller."
    "Can you come?" Her pleading voice may have actually been worse. "He listens to you, kind of. He'll probably come right out to you, you know, because of the way he, well, you know."
    Jordan sighed. She was probably right. But he wasn't happy about it. "I'll be there as soon as I can."
    "Please hurry!" Egad, the decibel of the screech in her voice was directly proportionate to the level of her hysteria.
    He checked his watch, debating running out as he was and trying to return to shower, or just making them wait. He decided a quick rinse in the shower would be best for everyone, since he had no idea how long this was going to take.
    Jordan didn't know what to expect, but it sure as hell wasn't what he found. As he rounded the back of the building to the lumber warehouse, he could see Mrs. Miller gesturing wildly to the oversized manager, identified with quick deductive reasoning based on the clipboard clenched in the man's hand that wasn't planted on his hip. A hip that was remarkably smaller than the broad shoulders that sprang from them in a wide vee. As he shifted to say something to Mrs. Miller, the man's back obliterated virtually any view of her.
    Jordan cleared his throat to announce his presence. "Excuse me. Mrs. Miller?"
    The giant swung around at the interruption. Jordan braced himself for hostility but was surprised to see wide hazel eyes whose calm was only slightly marred with perfectly understandable frustration. Jordan smiled, relieved at not having to defuse an irate manager. In fact, he was rather nice to look at, he admitted, when he received a genuine smile in return.
    "I'm Jordan Mackenzie." He offered his hand,