Oleander House: Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Book 1

and place. He could handle Bo’s reaction. What he wasn’t sure he could deal with was having everyone else know how he felt.
He almost didn’t hear the light tapping on his door. Bo’s voice cut through his thoughts just as the knocking registered in his brain.
“Sam, let me in,” Bo called through the door. “I need to talk to you.”
Sam considered ignoring him, but something told him that Bo wouldn’t give up that easily. Sighing, he rose to his feet, shuffled over to the door and flung it open. “C’mon in,” he said, standing aside to let Bo by.
Bo walked in and stood in the middle of the room, hands in his pockets. He gave Sam a faint smile. “Thanks.”
Sam closed the door and leaned against it. “What is it?”
Bo bit his lip. “This doesn’t change anything. Everybody knowing about you, I mean.”
Sam laughed without humor. “Uh-huh. Right. I saw their faces. Don’t try to tell me that they won’t look at me differently now.”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” Bo tugged on the end of his braid, something Sam had started to understand was a nervous habit. “They were surprised, sure, but it won’t stop any of them from working with you. Or from liking you in your own right. I hope you realize that.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Bo’s eyes burned into Sam’s. “Was that true? All those things you said?”
Sam’s guts twisted. “Every word.” Pushing away from the door, he crossed to where Bo stood, standing just close enough to bring that sweet flush to Bo’s cheeks. “You never gave me your answer.”
Bo stared at him as if he were trying to see straight into Sam’s mind. “I’m married,” Bo whispered. “I have a family that needs me. I can’t just ignore that.”
Sam managed to keep his disappointment off his face. His throat felt tight and dry. “Okay. Well. Thank you for telling me the truth.”
He wondered if he imagined the guilt he thought he saw flash briefly through Bo’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Sam forced a smile. “Don’t be. I asked, you told me. I can’t blame you just because the answer isn’t what I wanted to hear.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I won’t mention it again.”
Bo nodded. “Okay. I, um, I guess I’ll…I’ll go then.”
“Yeah, okay. Good night.”
Bo stared at him. For a second, Sam thought he was going to take it all back. But he shook his head and left the room with a murmured “good night”, and Sam was alone again.
Even through the hollow ache in his chest, Sam couldn’t help noticing that Bo didn’t seem satisfied at all by the outcome of their conversation. If anything, he looked as lost and dejected as Sam felt.
Not that it mattered any longer. It was over. He’d bared himself to Bo, and he’d been rejected. It wasn’t the first time in his life, but it was by far the worst.
“You’ll live, Sam,” he promised himself. “You’ve made it through worse things before, you’ll get through this.”
Now if only he could make himself believe it. Sighing, he wandered onto the porch and sat in the big rocking chair. He was still there long after the sun had set.
    The night was still and eerily silent. The sheer white curtains hung limp across the open doorway behind him. Sam rocked gently while contemplating the clouds scudding over the moon. They formed tantalizing almost-shapes, lines and curves and angles coming together in ways that made his bones ache. One suggested the sharpness of a jaw, another a long braid with careless strands coming loose, brushing a sensual vaporous lip.
    Sam leaned his chin on the cracked white railing. Moon shadows raced over the grass below. He watched them, and saw himself out there, standing barefoot on the lawn. He imagined Bo running to him, his face painted with light and shade as he smiled and took Sam into his arms…
    The stealthy sound of his bedroom door opening jarred Sam from his fantasy. He jumped up from the chair, ready to tear into whoever had the gall to walk uninvited into his room in the middle of the night. The angry words died in his throat when he saw Bo gliding toward him in the fractured moonlight. He wore a pair of blue cotton pajama bottoms that rode low on his slim hips. He was barefoot and shirtless. The way the silvery light played over his skin made Sam’s heart race.
    “Bo?” Sam whispered. “What are you doing?” “I needed to see you, Sam.” Bo’s voice flowed over Sam like cool cream. He paced forward, silent and graceful as a panther, until he stood