women was all a hoax—invented and orchestrated by Amos Rawlings to protect his reputation and moneymaking schemes. Amos couldn't stand on a pulpit denouncing homosexuality and let it be known that his son was gay. My poor mother was trapped between Amos and Calvin's manipulations to hide my father's homosexuality. I don't believe she knew the truth until after she'd been married several years."
"It was a different time," she said quietly. "A lot of men were in the closet and denied their sexuality until recently."
"I'm not ashamed that my father was gay, Josie," Jack said. "I was ashamed that he put up this huge facade of a life because he wouldn't stand up against Amos. My father died, never being the man he was meant to be. He allowed Amos to make him ashamed of what and who he was as a human being. He also made my mother's life miserable because he wouldn't give her a divorce even after she knew the truth. He used me as a bargaining chip to make her stay. That was some heavy crap for a kid to try to understand. After my mother died, I despised both Calvin and Amos. I never settled those accounts with my father. Ironically, it appears I did settle accounts with Amos."
"What do you mean?"
Jack barked out a laugh that was without humor. "Amos left everything to me. The old SOB had rewritten his will to spite my father when I was about ten. I guess the old devil thought he was going to live forever, and he never got around to changing it. I signed all of it over to organizations Amos would have hated, organizations supporting gay rights and hospices for victims of AIDs. His empire will be dismantled and whatever is left over beyond the legal fees will be turned over to more charities."
Josie laid her head on Jack's shoulder. "Why do families have to be so complicated? That's not my idea of what a family is supposed to be like. I liked your father, I liked your grandfather."
"I liked my father, too," Jack admitted. "I couldn't stand that he was living a life of lies and he wouldn't stand up to Amos. Amos is another story altogether."
"Were you hurt in that rescue mission against the Somali pirates?"
Jack tilted his head. "No, I wasn't hurt. You copped to that?"
"I'm not stupid," Josie complained, smacking him hard on the chest. "It still doesn't excuse you for not contacting me!"
"The mission was classified," Jack said, shaking his head. "It was my job, Josie. I was needed and I did my job. At least I proved to myself I could handle a mission again. I had my doubts after the last one. We went in, did what we needed to do and got the hostages out alive."
"I thought you were gone again," Josie complained.
"I was always coming back. But it took a while to clear the decks, to get back here. I'm a civilian now, as weird as that seems to me," Jack admitted. "I'm back. I'm yours, and I'm here to stay. Are you going to stay mad at me?"
"Two months, Jack," she mumbled with a catch in her voice. "Two, long, long, months. You deserve to suffer. I cooked up some really hideous plans for revenge if you ever showed your ugly mug around here again."
Jack grinned. "Are you going to try to execute them? If I remember correctly, your revenge plans were never very successful."
"I've gotten better at overall planning and execution," Josie promised with a stubborn glint in her eye.
"Have you?" Jack laughed. "I have a better plan."
"What would that be?"
Jack lowered his head and kissed her. "Make-up sex instead of revenge, anything your heart desires," he offered.
"Yeah," Josie whispered. "I don't think you're man enough to make up for two whole months."
"Want to bet?" He lowered his head to her breasts as he brushed his tongue over her nipples making her shiver. "When I have a job to do, I become very single-minded and do whatever it takes to complete my mission."
"Yeah?" was her sultry shaky moan.
"Yeah. I have a target in mind I'm working on right now," Jack said, trailing kisses down her belly and parting her legs to reach
"It was a different time," she said quietly. "A lot of men were in the closet and denied their sexuality until recently."
"I'm not ashamed that my father was gay, Josie," Jack said. "I was ashamed that he put up this huge facade of a life because he wouldn't stand up against Amos. My father died, never being the man he was meant to be. He allowed Amos to make him ashamed of what and who he was as a human being. He also made my mother's life miserable because he wouldn't give her a divorce even after she knew the truth. He used me as a bargaining chip to make her stay. That was some heavy crap for a kid to try to understand. After my mother died, I despised both Calvin and Amos. I never settled those accounts with my father. Ironically, it appears I did settle accounts with Amos."
"What do you mean?"
Jack barked out a laugh that was without humor. "Amos left everything to me. The old SOB had rewritten his will to spite my father when I was about ten. I guess the old devil thought he was going to live forever, and he never got around to changing it. I signed all of it over to organizations Amos would have hated, organizations supporting gay rights and hospices for victims of AIDs. His empire will be dismantled and whatever is left over beyond the legal fees will be turned over to more charities."
Josie laid her head on Jack's shoulder. "Why do families have to be so complicated? That's not my idea of what a family is supposed to be like. I liked your father, I liked your grandfather."
"I liked my father, too," Jack admitted. "I couldn't stand that he was living a life of lies and he wouldn't stand up to Amos. Amos is another story altogether."
"Were you hurt in that rescue mission against the Somali pirates?"
Jack tilted his head. "No, I wasn't hurt. You copped to that?"
"I'm not stupid," Josie complained, smacking him hard on the chest. "It still doesn't excuse you for not contacting me!"
"The mission was classified," Jack said, shaking his head. "It was my job, Josie. I was needed and I did my job. At least I proved to myself I could handle a mission again. I had my doubts after the last one. We went in, did what we needed to do and got the hostages out alive."
"I thought you were gone again," Josie complained.
"I was always coming back. But it took a while to clear the decks, to get back here. I'm a civilian now, as weird as that seems to me," Jack admitted. "I'm back. I'm yours, and I'm here to stay. Are you going to stay mad at me?"
"Two months, Jack," she mumbled with a catch in her voice. "Two, long, long, months. You deserve to suffer. I cooked up some really hideous plans for revenge if you ever showed your ugly mug around here again."
Jack grinned. "Are you going to try to execute them? If I remember correctly, your revenge plans were never very successful."
"I've gotten better at overall planning and execution," Josie promised with a stubborn glint in her eye.
"Have you?" Jack laughed. "I have a better plan."
"What would that be?"
Jack lowered his head and kissed her. "Make-up sex instead of revenge, anything your heart desires," he offered.
"Yeah," Josie whispered. "I don't think you're man enough to make up for two whole months."
"Want to bet?" He lowered his head to her breasts as he brushed his tongue over her nipples making her shiver. "When I have a job to do, I become very single-minded and do whatever it takes to complete my mission."
"Yeah?" was her sultry shaky moan.
"Yeah. I have a target in mind I'm working on right now," Jack said, trailing kisses down her belly and parting her legs to reach
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