What Hides Inside: Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Book 2

one day to take the house key from Bo, but he’d already learned to hate her. Four times in the past month and a half, she’d agreed on a date for Bo to spend some real time with his sons, Sean and Adrian, only to change it at the last minute. A weekend became an afternoon, an all-day trip to the Gulfarium became a hasty dinner with Janine frowning over him the whole time.
Sam had watched the woman tear Bo down bit by bit, and felt helpless to stop it. What was worse, he strongly suspected she blamed the constant changes of plan on Bo, planting the idea in the boys’ heads that Bo didn’t want to be with them. What kind of mother, he wondered, would deliberately set out to make her children think their father didn’t care for them?
“Bo,” Sam said, keeping his voice calm with a monumental effort, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. That woman is a class-A bitch. You’re their father , for fuck’s sake. You have just as much right to see them as she does. Can’t you go to a lawyer or something?”
“I don’t want to put the kids through something like that. Besides, I’m not sure there’s anything a lawyer could do.”
“They could if you’d file for divorce.”
Sam tried not to sound bitter, but he couldn’t help it. The fact that Bo hadn’t yet asked Janine for a divorce stung more than his reluctance to go to bed with Sam, or even his refusal to see Sam openly. Even though Bo and Janine were separated, Sam knew that he and Bo had no chance for a real relationship until the marriage was dissolved.
“You think I’ve got a chance in hell of getting custody?” Bo barked a short, sharp laugh. “Hardly. She’s holding all the cards. She brings in seventy thousand a year, while I barely make enough to keep this business going. She works at home, I work all kinds of weird hours and I’m out of town all the time. And if I asked for custody, her lawyer would find out that…” Biting his lip, Bo looked away.
“They’ll find out you’re gay,” Sam finished for him, “and use it against you.”
“Don’t think they wouldn’t.” Bo’s eyes flashed with helpless anger. “You have no idea how ruthless Janine can be. And there are still judges here who believe that…how we are is a good enough reason by itself to deny custody, or even visitation.”
“Why can’t you even say it? We’re homosexual, Bo. Gay. Queer.” Sam shook his head. “You didn’t have any trouble saying it before, at Oleander House.”
Bo stiffened in Sam’s arms. “Things were different then.”
“Oh, I see. It was just me that was queer then, not you.” Pushing Bo away, Sam started pacing the floor, arms crossed over his chest in what he knew was a defensive posture.
“It’s not like that.” Letting out an irritated breath, Bo sat on the edge of his desk. “Christ, Sam. I thought you understood how hard this is for me. My life’s been turned completely upside down here.”
“I know that. I understand, truly.”
“Then why are you acting like this? What the fuck do you want from me?”
That stopped Sam cold. What did he want, really? Sex? The freedom to not hide how he felt? Yes, and yes, but he knew those things weren’t the cause of his unease. The root of it all was both simpler and more complex than either. All Sam’s anger and hurt and frustration drained abruptly away, and a soul-deep sadness welled up inside him.
Walking over to Bo, Sam stood between his parted knees and put his arms around him, pressing their foreheads together. “Are you ever going to really accept this, Bo? Or is it going to be this way forever?”
Bo didn’t answer right away. Cupping Sam’s face in his palms, he planted tender kisses on Sam’s cheeks and chin. When their lips met and Bo’s mouth opened to him, Sam knew. He could taste Bo’s fear and confusion in his kiss.
“I want to make this work with you, Sam,” Bo whispered, fingers stroking Sam’s hair. “I do. But I don’t want to lose my children. Can you hold on a little longer? Just until Janine and I are divorced, and I can prove to a judge that I’m a good father?”
“So, you’re going to ask for the divorce?”
“Yes. You’re right, I have to do it. Janine and I both know we’re never getting back together, so I suppose there’s no real reason to wait. But I can’t let Janine or anyone else find out about you and me. Not yet.” Bo kissed Sam again, his desperation crystal clear. “Please, Sam. Please. Just give me a little more