Page 46 of From the Ashes
I furrowed my brows, looking up at him. “You read it?”
“Of course I did! My son wrote it, didn’t he? What kind of dad would I be if I didn’t read my son’s New York Times bestselling novel?”
The man always knew how to worm his way into my heart. “I know it’s about gay stuff… so I wasn’t sure if you’d want to read it.” A cold sensation suddenly gripped my stomach as I remembered all the raunchy sex scenes I’d written in based on my own experiences. “And it’s… uh…”
“Sexy?” Ted offered.
I nodded, my face heated with embarrassment. “Yeah.”
“Who says I’m not into that?”
My gaze shot back up to him, expecting him to laugh and tell me he was just kidding. But he only grinned.
“You… are?”
He shrugged. “College was a nice experiment,” he said. “And I still think back on those days fondly. Don’t get me wrong, for all her quirks, I love your mother dearly. But I can see the appeal of having another man around too.”
I wasn’t sure if I was impressed, weirded out, or curious about Ted’s past. Maybe all three at the same time.
“I never knew that about you.”
“Not many do.”
“Does Mom know?”
“Yeah. And she’s cool with it.” He laughed to himself. “In fact, she brought up the idea of bringing another guy in so she could watch–”
“OKAY,” I cried, holding up my hands to stop him. “That’s super TMI for me, Ted.”
“We just haven’t found therightcuck chair yet though…”
“Dad,” I said, knowing that would get his attention. “Stop.”
“Anyway,” he continued. “Furniture issues aside. Your book is amazing Phoenix and you’ve done a great job. And now, if you want, you can continue to have success like this for the rest of your life. Just make sure you invest most of that money, okay? Don’t go blowing it all on stupid shit.”
“I’ve actually got an investment idea already.”
“Oh? What kind?”
“I was thinking about buying a house for you and Mom up near Boston.”
I expected Ted to smile, to tell me that was an amazing idea and that they’d love to be closer to me. But instead, his eyebrows drew together and he turned his head to the side like a confused puppy.
“You want us to leave Creekside?”
“Well, I mean my life is on the east coast now and I don’t know how often I can get out here with all the book stuff going on. I thought it would be nice to have you both closer so we can do more family stuff again.”
“It sounds nice,” Ted began, hesitation filling his voice. “But… I’m surprised you’d want us to leave when Charlie is still here.”
My mouth fell open.
“Unless you’re inviting him to come to?”
“What?!” I scoffed. “Why the hell would I do that?”
Ted gave me a good once over, lifting an eyebrow. Something about his expression made me feel like I had to defend myself.
“Charlie and I haven’t spoken in years! He wouldn’t let me after he woke up even after I tried to visit him over and over again. I gave up trying after freshman year of college. All I wanted to do was be a good friend and help him through his pain. But he just pushed me away and cut me out without an explanation. The guy is a fucking jerk.”