Love Means Courage - Andrew Grey

behavior. So just climb on your broom and fly back to Oz.” She had nothing to say to that. Whirling on her heels, she stuck her nose in the air and walked away as Len did his best Margaret Hamilton. “I’ll get you my pretty and your little dog too!”
    Cliff snickered, and even Geoff laughed as he ate and waved around a French fry. “Where did that come from?”
    “Tim used to call it being campy. I heard him say that once, and it just popped out.” Len tried to look all innocent, but his eyes sparkled too much to pull it off. “If they can dish it out, so can I.” Cliff and Len were still smiling as they finished their dinners and Steve brought the check. “Have a good night, guys.” 195
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Cliff took the check and got up to pay. “You too, Steve. We’ll see you soon.” The young waiter smiled and nodded before hurrying to his next table. Cliff paid the bill while Len left the tip, returning to get Geoff and gather their things. “Let’s get him home.” Len followed Cliff to the truck, getting in, and helping get Geoff buckled in his seat. “I had no idea people could be like that,” Cliff commented.
    The headiness of the confrontation had worn off, and a tinge of fear crept into him. Sure, he could take on an old lady, but what if it had been a stronger man or a group of men? What would he do then? “That was tame by comparison to some of the things Tim told me about. We need to be careful.”
    “This is Scottville. How dangerous could it be?” Len remembered some of the things he’d heard when he was in high school, how cold people could be, how unaccepting. Yes, this was Scottville, but it wasn’t a utopia where everyone accepted each other. This was real life, and there were people who’d be threatened by them.
    “I don’t know. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but we shouldn’t take chances, especially with Geoff.” Len was quiet as Cliff drove. That seemed to wipe away some of Cliff’s frivolousness.
“Okay, we’ll be careful. Does that mean we won’t go to the fireworks?”
“We need to be careful, not hermits. We stick together and watch out for each other.”
    “I like watching your back.” Cliff’s eyes twinkled as he looked over at Len with a rather feral look on his face. Len quivered, but the innuendo didn’t have its usual effect. He felt himself sinking into his own thoughts and worries.
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“What are you thinking about?”
    Len shook his head. “I don’t want to make you angry. But I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to Geoff because of me, because I’m in your life.”

    Cliff pulled the truck into the drive and slammed it into park, jerking it to a stop. “I thought we already covered this.” Cliff’s eyes blazed with frustration and anger.

    Len just sat there and looked down at his feet for a while, and then he lifted his eyes. “We did, and I haven’t changed my mind. I’m just scared that someone might try to hurt either of you.” Then it hit him, hard, and he swallowed the lump that threatened to rise in his throat. He didn’t have the words for it, and he couldn’t quite understand it, but the feelings were so strong.
    Cliff got out of the truck, and Len followed deep in thought, stepping to the tailgate bed and pulling out their purchases. He set Geoff’s new pool near his sandbox in a spot that would get plenty of sun before putting a little water in it to weigh it down. “Simmin.” Geoff raced to the pool and was about to get in clothes and all before Cliff scooped him into his arms. “Simmin, Daddy.”
    “You can go swimming tomorrow. Right now, it’s time for bed.” Cliff unlocked the back door and carried a suddenly fussy Geoff inside while Len unloaded the rest of the purchases and followed them into the house.
    Cliff got Geoff ready for bed while Len sat in the living room, alone with his thoughts. He heard Cliff come down the stairs. “You okay?” “I will be.”
Cliff sat next to him on the sofa. He felt arms slide around him and tug him against Cliff’s chest. “We’ll be okay. We’re not the first 197 Love Means Courage
    to deal with this, and we won’t be the last.” Len shifted to look at Cliff. “I know. But this could cost your relationship with your sister, make people hate you, and even cause problems for the farm.”
    “Shhh… I know that.” Cliff put his hand on the back of Len’s neck and drew him closer. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll handle it together.”