Love Means Courage - Andrew Grey

sold to Mari.” She couldn’t take her eyes off Len lying in the bed next to Cliff. “But that can wait.” She glared at Len. “What are you doing in Cliff’s bed?”

    Len looked at Cliff and then back at Janelle. “I’m sleeping with the man I love.”
    The wail she let loose sounded more like an animal that any noise ever uttered by a human being. “What?” Len and Cliff heard, “Daddy?” and then the sound of crying followed by a rather panicked, “Daddy!” Cliff threw back the covers on his side the bed and pulled on a pair of boxers. “Get your ass downstairs, Janelle. I will not have this conversation with you in my bedroom.”
    She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Cliff turned around. “Len, would you please get dressed and then call the police. Tell them there’s an intruder in the house.” “You can’t do that to me in my own home.” Her voice had a plaintive tone.
Cliff wasn’t giving an inch. “This is not your home, Janelle.
This is my home.”
“I grew up here.”
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    “This… is… my… home! Now get your fat ass downstairs, or we will call the police and have you arrested!” He pointed toward the stairs and waited for her to move. When she hesitated, he added.

    “Don’t make me shove you down them, because right now, I’d do it for a penny.”

    Len didn’t know if it was Cliff’s threat, the tone of his voice, or maybe it was the fire in his eye that got to her, but she spun around and walked down the stairs.
    Cliff turned to Len, anger still blazing in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” Geoff was still crying, and they heard his cries getting louder. “Go see to Geoff, and I’ll get dressed and meet you downstairs.” Cliff shook his head. “She’s mine to deal with, not yours.”
“We’ll both deal with her. I’m not going to slink away and let you take all the heat. Remember, she’s upset because you got me and she didn’t.”
    Geoff appeared in the doorway, and Len pulled on his pants while Cliff picked up and comforted his son. “I’m sorry. Daddy and Aunt Janelle were having a fight.”

    “Say you sowwy.” Everything was so simple to a two-year-old.

    “Len is going to put you back in bed, and he’ll read you George, okay?” Geoff put his head on Cliff’s shoulder and nodded as he walked out of the bedroom. Len followed, and as Cliff settled Geoff back in his bed, Len sat in the chair and picked up the book.

    Geoff wasn’t going to last long, but he opened it and started reading.

    Cliff leaned down and kissed him gently on the neck before straightening up. “Come downstairs when you’re ready.” Len nodded and began to read.
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    Geoff was asleep before he’d finished half the book. Len closed the pages and set the book aside. Getting out of the chair, he closed the door most of the way and went back into the bedroom.

    Finding his shirt from the day before, he put it on and headed downstairs.
    In the living room, Cliff and Janelle were staring at each other, neither of them saying a word. When Len walked in, Janelle stood up and looked like she was going to start yelling again, but Cliff cut her off. “If you raise your voice and wake Geoff again, so help me God, I’ll bodily throw you out of this house.” He stepped closer to her. “And don’t think for one minute that I won’t. Do you understand?” She nodded stiffly. “Good. Now why don’t you tell me why you came here in the first place?”
    “I wanted to know why you sold that house to Mari and not to me.” She pulled a tissue out of her purse.

    Cliff’s anger hadn’t abated much, and he was definitely in no mood for her theatrics. “First off, she told me she was interested, and we reached a deal. She paid market price for it, and I hold the land contract. That’s all there is to it.”

    “But I might have wanted it too. You never asked either Vikki or myself.”
    Len watched as Cliff took a deep breath. “It never occurred to me. She asked, and we reached a deal. That’s all there is to it. Now, I don’t think you want to explore that subject any further.” Len was surprised at the way Cliff cut off the talk, but he figured he had a reason. “As for the other subject for this morning, I will tell you this once and once only. I love Len and he loves me. He’s my lover and the best friend I’ve ever had. We’ve been together for about a month now, and we’re exploring