Six Degrees of Lust (30 page)

“Doin’ what?” He found it hard to keep the aggravation out

of his voice. “I’m here, just like I said I’d be.”

“Lord, sugah…” Mac wanted to roll his eyes and scream, but

knew it wouldn’t make a difference if he told her for the five

hundredth time that month alone to stop calling him sugah. “You

know how important today is to the family, and still you choose

to ignore their request to be on time by showing up nearly an

hour late. I just don’t understand you sometimes. I really don’t.”

“I spoke with Mother on the phone yesterday and told her

when to expect me, so what’s to understand?”

Before she could say anything else, Mac moved closer to his

friend and laid a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t want to hear

any more of her stupidity and it really pissed him off that she

had completely ignored the fact that Remy was standing right

next to him.

Amy’s nostrils flared a bit, and it made Mac’s day to see

he’d been able to shake her up a little. Lately Amy didn’t react

to anything he did or said, too focused on her own life. His

childhood friend was turning into a carbon copy of his mother.

Christ.

Her nostrils flared some more and he gave her a slight smile.

Amy had assumed a long time ago Remy was his lover, and he

never cared enough to correct her. “You remember my good

friend Remy, right?”

He noticed the Cajun raise an eyebrow at the emphasis he

put on the word “friend” but remained quiet and just held his

hand out to Amy. That bitch, because there was no other word

he could call her at the moment, just stood there looking at it, like

she thought Remy had something contagious.

“Good to see you again, Amy.” His friend didn’t let her

reaction bother him. Finally she nodded a hello and briefly shook

his hand. “Changed quite a bit since the last time… and you don’t

even sound Texan anymore.”

“Why? Because I insist on speaking properly?” Had she not

been a woman Mac would have punched her smug, overly made

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up face right that moment. But Remy just laughed and ignored

her, and he’d about decided to do the same when she opened her

trap again. “Good Lord Mac, why are you dressed like that? It

isn’t appropriate and you look atrocious!” She literally turned her

nose up in the air.

“You mean like I was invited to a backyard barbecue?” He

mocked her. “It’s a freakin’ hundred degrees out here and I’m

dressed fine.”

“Well you look like a slob, sugah. And flip flops? Really?” She

looked him up and down. “What are you, ten? You could at least

have pressed your shirt, worn nicer shorts… This is an important

day for the family. I don’t mean to nag, I really don’t, but there are

so many of Father’s important friends here today. I would think

you’d try harder to look nice, you know.”

“If you don’t mean to nag, why are you doing it anyway?”

Mac snapped.

Remy must have noticed he was done with Amy’s bullshit

because he cleared his throat and slightly bumped Mac’s shoulder

with his fist. He was smiling, but his eyes told Mac to take it easy.

“Cher, I’m gonna go look for those beers. Want me to bring ya

one? Hell, maybe I’ll get lucky and find a big pot of mud bugs.”

He laughed, probably because he knew he’d never find such a

thing at the O’Bannon’s Manor.

“I’ll definitely take the beer.”

“Been a pleasure, Amy.” The smile was gone from his face.

“Mud bugs?” she repeated as soon as Remy walked away.

“Good Lord, Mac! That man…” She shrugged in disgust. “Does

he really think we’d have crawfish here? That’s unthinkable!

They’re nasty and messy and why on earth did you invite him?

He’s not family and should have stayed at that slimy bayou he

came from!”

“He’s my best friend, so he has as much right to be here as

you do. And you know very well that man is the executive chef

of a five star restaurant that’s been featured in more fine dining

magazines than I knew existed. Not to mention, the reservations

214 Taylor V. Donovan

list at Utopia is six months long, and Remy’s rubbed shoulders

with more famous and important people than you’ll ever meet

in your life, so where do you get off being so snobbish?” Lord,

the woman was impossible. “Where are Emma Rose and Austin

anyway?” he asked, trying to avoid the confrontation he knew he

was bound to have with her. Maybe bringing up her kids would

send her on her way.

She scowled for a second, and then gave a small sigh.

“They’re playing over there with the other children.” She

waved in the general direction of the tent, but Mac couldn’t see

any kids. “And having a grand time, I might add.”

“And who’s watching them?”

“There are adults over there.” She smiled. The gesture wasn’t

as cute as she obviously thought it was.

“You should be taking care of them instead of being here

chewin’ my ass off over things you can’t do shit to change. Now

don’t get me wrong, I happen to enjoy some good ass chewing

on occasion, but never from nagging females!”

“Why are you being so rude, Mac?”

“Could it be because I’m sick of this game where I pretend to

be straight and y’all pretend to be lovin’ and caring?”

“You know this won’t look good to Mother and Father,

bringing your…” She squeezed her eyes shut for a second.

“Whatever that man is to you to our house!”

“Why, Amy…” He pursed out his lips and put one hand on

his hip while the other hung limply in the air, channeling his

friend Christian Murphy at his most flaming and not giving a shit

about who might see him. “Are you sayin’ they won’t approve of

the gayness of it? Because, you know, it is sooooo gay to bring

my best friend over to help me get through the unbelievable

amount of crap I gotta deal with whenever I make the mistake

of stopping by, isn’t it?” He made sure his voice was as high

pitched as possible.

“Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!” She looked around frantically, her voice

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215

hushed. “There’s no need to act so gay!”

“I’m not acting gay, Amy. I am!” he growled, and then laughed

at her shocked expression. “Look at you reacting all surprised. As

if you didn’t know.”

“Of course I’ve known since we were teens, but there’s no

need to rub it in people’s faces!” She scrunched her face up like

she had just eaten something sour. “It’s disrespectful towards the

fine folks of Liberty Heights and—” She shut her mouth and

seemed to give careful consideration to her next words. “Why are

you doing this? You promised you wouldn’t let anyone know…

we made a deal…”

Mac put his hands in his pockets and rolled his shoulders a

bit. “You’re right. Our deal isn’t over yet and I was out of order…

But it is only a matter of months now, and I’m not changing my

mind, Amy. That’s something all of you need to come to terms

with.”

For a moment she looked like she wanted to argue, but at

the end she just took a deep breath to compose herself and gave

him that ridiculously fake sweet smile of hers. A shudder rippled

down Mac’s spine, and suddenly he felt like running as far away

from her as he could get. He didn’t have a clue who the hell Amy

was anymore.

“I hate it when we fight.” She brushed his stomach with her

fingernails, and Mac wanted to take a hundred steps back. “You

have to know I only want what’s best for the family… you know

that, right? It’s all I’ve ever wanted. Now let’s quit this silly little

quarrel and go find Mother and Father.”

“Ignoring it won’t make it go away, Amy,” he whispered.

“Jesus… What happened to you? I thought you were going to

be there for me. That you were going to back me up when I

decided to come out. I thought you loved me and wanted to see

me happy!”

“I do love you! That’s why I don’t want you to put yourself

through all that! Don’t you see how difficult life will be for you?”

she asked, tears welling in her bright blue eyes. “I’m saying this

216 Taylor V. Donovan

out of love, sugah! You look so normal! If you don’t say anything

nobody will ever know that you like… that you are…”

“That I am gay and like men?” he finished for her.

“What in the name of the Lord are you saying?” Mac felt

the swat on his shoulder before he even saw his mother who,

somehow, had managed to appear out of thin air. “And in

public?” Her eyes were as big as saucers. “I just can’t believe my

ears!” She covered her mouth for a second, then squared her

shoulders and turned around. “Inside, both of you. Now!”

Amy preceded them and Mac let his mother grab him by the

arm and drag him towards the house, feeling like a four-year-old

all over again. They’d barely made it through the kitchen door

when she started on him.

“Machlan Sean O’Bannon, you should be ashamed of

yourself, showing up an hour late to our celebration when you

knew how important this day is to the family!” Mac wasn’t

surprised to hear her say almost the exact same thing Amy had a

few minutes earlier.

“Nice to see you too, Mother.” He stepped closer to her and

brushed his lips against her cheek, but she pulled back and glared

at him.

“You’re late!” She led the way to his father’s studio. “And

don’t let me ever hear you say the terrible things you were saying

outside!” No doubt his mother intended for that to be the end of

it, but Mac refused to let her have things her way this time.

“We spoke yesterday about my time of arrival. I get out of

work at three in the morning, remember? I needed to catch some

sleep before gettin’ on the road!” His words came out harsher

than he had intended.

“Still, I’d have thought you’d make an effort.”

“It’s only noon, and it doesn’t look like I missed anything

important.”

“Leave the boy alone, Sheila,” his father said from his seat

near the window, the one he always chose whenever he wanted

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to smoke a cigar. “Glad to see you made it, son.”

“Happy Birthday, Dad.” He gave his father a quick hug and

smiled down at him. The old man wasn’t that bad when he wasn’t

under his mother’s influence. Sadly, those times were rare. “Got

you a present that—”

“Why didn’t you take last night off from that place?” Sheila

interrupted. “And if that wasn’t possible for some reason, why

didn’t you drive straight here after work?”

“Guess you don’t care if I happen to fall asleep behind the

wheel and get into an accident, huh?” he asked, gritting his teeth.

“You needed to be timely. It is a very important day for the

family.”

“It’s Dad’s birthday and if it is so important, how come he’s

hiding here in his studio?” He could see how much his retort

irritated his mother by the way she clutched the pearl necklace

she never failed to wear.

“You’re being disrespectful to me, young man. Change your

attitude this instant!”

“Are we keeping you from something important? Is

everything okay at work?” His father may not agree with his

chosen profession, but he always made a point out of asking

how things were.

“Everything’s fine, Dad.”

“But of course it is!” Amy’s voice made Mac bite his lower

lip. God. He needed something way stronger than a beer to deal

with this. “It’s just a bar. What could possibly go wrong there?”

“It is comments like that one that make me dread being

around you lot,” Mac said, shooting Amy a look that pretty much

translated to shut up or else.

“Even if there was a problem, nothing is more important

than your family, Machlan,” his mother said. “Your place is here

with us! That little bar you work for can manage without you for

a few days.”

“I have a very competent staff, so you’re right. But I get to

218 Taylor V. Donovan

decide when I take time off and what for.”

“May I then suggest that you take time off, perhaps a five

year sabbatical, and use it to attend college? Get a much needed

education so that you can become someone of importance?

Maybe go to law school and follow your father’s political steps.”

His mother’s voice was sweet and hard at the same time. He

couldn’t remember it being anything but. “Or you could be a

doctor, a famous surgeon, but if that’s too much to ask, can you

at least go back to being a fireman? Just do something respectable,

for Heaven’s sake!”

“I happen to love my job, Mother. Why can’t you be happy

for me?”

“Why would I when you could be the Mayor of Liberty

Heights? People would vote for you. We’re respected and it’d be

the beginning of an era. Your son would follow in your footsteps

and—”

“Don’t you think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself?”