Our December by Diane Adams Page A

all there had been Jared.

First Impressions

    It was lunchtime, and the guys working for Jared perched on sawhorses, eating sandwiches out of their lunch buckets. They compared what they brought, trading back and forth. Jared's stomach rumbled, but he didn't have time to eat. The job was supposed to be straight forward, but the measurements were bad and had turned it into a nightmare. Instead of having lunch, Jared stood over the blueprints, working out how to fix the problem while sticking as close to the original designs as possible. Building cubbies for the college library was his biggest contract since taking over the company. After his father's unexpected death, Jared had no choice but to drop out of college and take the reins of his father's construction business.
    JD Construction had a solid reputation in the community, one built on his father's strong work ethic and honest nature, but Jared struggled to establish a reputation of his own. He was young, barely twenty, and it didn't make any practical difference that his dad apprenticed him when he first showed interest at the age of eight. There were certificates he didn't have, and couldn't earn because of his age, that limited the jobs he could get. The past year had been hard, and he was frustrated that his first bid job turned out so complicated.
    He blamed his inexperience for not recognizing the problems before he bid. It hadn't cost more money, yet, but he went home every night with a headache. The stress caused by working on campus didn't help. He didn't think it'd be so hard, but his father's dream had been for him to finish college and return home to work as his partner. Unlike some parent-child dreams, Jared was completely onboard. The fact things hadn't worked out that way was just a part of life. Still, it was difficult to face his loss every day when he came to the job. Jared was determined to one day go back to college and fulfill both their dreams. However, finishing this job came first and that meant figuring out how to make everything fit…
    "That's just cool."
    Jared looked up at what had become a familiar sight. A couple of teenage boys stared at the framework. They weren't old enough to be college students, but they had a habit of stopping by to see how things were going. Their interest didn't surprise Jared. He remembered how he felt as a kid watching construction work. It was such a mystery how things went together. He grinned, waving them over.
    "I'm Jared," Jared offered his hand and the taller boy shook it confidently, introducing himself as Clark, the dean's son. The smaller, dark haired teenager was Alex, with no apparent affiliation. "It's lunch time, so it's okay if you want to look around. Just don't touch anything." Clark grinned and went to explore the skeleton maze. Alex hung back, his expression serious as he studied Jared silently. Jared gave a half smile and returned to work. Undisturbed by his lack of response, Alex stepped beside him. He stared at the papers then looked at the unfinished project.
    "It doesn't make much sense," he said quietly, looking back down at the plans, "How can you tell what you are doing?" Jared flipped to a picture of the completed project.
    "It's not hard once you get used to it," he said. "Look, this is what we are doing now… umm… that section there," he pointed to a section of unfinished wall, "is this," he indicated a place on the plans. "And it's going to be this." He flipped back to the finished picture. Alex chewed his lip while staring at the pictures.
    "Are you gay?" he asked without warning. He kept his gaze fixed on the plans. "What are those numbers?" Startled, Jared glanced sideways at the boy. Alex avoided his gaze. Jared refocused on the papers, but his mouth curved up in a slight smile.
    "I am, are you?" he asked bemused.
    Alex glanced sideways at him. "Yeah," Alex admitted, voice pitched so low Jared almost didn't hear him.
    "Figured. You ask everyone you meet that question? Or did I