Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 3

roared. He lunged again, and Ethan prepared himself to fire.
    But this time, Charlie stopped him.
    The big man reached out, grabbed Mike by the collar and hauled him back. "You got a problem with gays, little cuz?" he said, his voice dripping with ice. "Because my old man's gay. And I got no problem with that."
    "Yeah. Big C's cool as hell," another one of the men said. Some of the others murmured agreement, and several pairs of eyes shot daggers at Mike.
    Mike's mouth opened and closed like a landed fish.
    "Okay." Charlie heaved a breath, but didn't relax his hold on Mike. He looked at Ethan, and said, "You two together, then?"
    Ethan trembled all over. "Yes," he whispered as tears stung his eyes. "Yes, we are."
    The stunned look on Jude's face morphed into a grateful smile.
    "Congrats," Charlie said. "Dave, get the keys outta this asshole's truck."
    One of the men nodded and walked toward a gleaming blue pickup, the furthest away from the group. As he opened the driver's side door, Mike broke loose from his shock, snarling and squirming in Charlie's grip. "The fuck are you doin'? Don't mess with my truck."
    "It ain't your truck right now, little cuz," Charlie said. "You owe us."
    "You can't do this—"
    "Shut your fuckin' trap, Mike," one of the other men called out. "Or I'll take that bat to your goddamned skull."
    Charlie gestured, and two more approached him to take hold of Mike. "Get this asswipe outta here. Put him in my truck." As they frog-marched the man away, Charlie turned back to Ethan. "Think you could put that gun down now?" he said. "We're not gonna hurt you, or your man there."
    "Oh. Yeah." Ethan lowered his arm and headed for Jude, half-dazed and breathing hard. By the time he reached him, Jude had managed to stand. He was smiling through the blood and bruises. "You okay?" Ethan said hoarsely.
    "No." Jude smirked, and then pulled him into an embrace.
    Somehow Ethan managed not to tense. For just a moment, he let himself forget they had an audience, and hugged Jude back.
    "Listen, we're real sorry about this, man." Charlie's voice came from behind Ethan and sent his heart jack-rabbiting in his throat. "Don't worry about Mike, okay? He won't bother you again. He's got some serious explaining to do, and then we're gonna take care of him."
    Ethan pulled back from Jude with a stab of guilt. "You're sure he'll leave Jude alone?"
    "Absolutely." Charlie held out a set of keys. "Your ride's dead. Take Mike's truck and we'll come around your place in a day or so to fetch it. Mike can tell us where it is, if he wants his shit back."
    Nodding, Ethan accepted the keys. "Thanks."
    Charlie shifted his focus to Jude. "You gonna be all right? We can call an ambulance once we get back in range."
    "I'll be fine," Jude said. "And no hard feelings. I know exactly whose fault this is."
    "Great." Charlie grinned. "We're gonna head out. Take care, now."
    Ethan and Jude shuffled off to the side of the road while the men piled back into the trucks and roared away. When it was silent again, Jude grabbed his hand. "You saved my life," he said. "God, Ethan. Where'd you learn to shoot like that?"
    "Hey, I'm a country boy. We all know how to shoot." He managed a small smile. "Well, it's over," he said.
    "I gotta say, tolerant is not a word I would've used to describe Mike's cousins. I told you people can surprise you."
    "Yeah," Ethan said. He decided not to bring up the fact that he knew a whole town full of people who never surprised anyone, least of all him. "We should get you cleaned up. I think it's going to be a long day."
    Jude nodded, and then leaned down and kissed him. "Thank you," he whispered.
    It was all Ethan could do to hold himself together, when he wanted to break down and cry at the prospect of a life that didn't include kissing Jude. But he took comfort in that at least Jude was still alive for him to miss.
    ****
    Jude had planned to stop for the night in the little town near the bottom of the mountain, but the place didn't have a hotel. He decided to keep going. Ethan had brought them down as far as he could, to let Jude rest, and he'd gotten enough sleep that he could make the two hours into the city. They could crash at his place—Ethan's car was there, so he'd be able to head home in the morning. Or whenever.
    It was strange driving Mike's truck after this morning. Though he definitely ached all over, Jude was more exhausted than injured. They hadn't really started on him before Ethan showed up—they'd