Thwarted - 27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

Mark pressed a light kiss to Trey’s lips and slipped out of bed, careful not to wake him. It was still early, but Jackie was an early bird and he wanted to call and check in with her before the day really got going, since he’d kind of forgotten to call and let her know they’d made it.

He grinned.

He had known that there was something strong between him and Trey, but it was still nice to have it confirmed. The cuddling in bed afterwards hadn’t hurt either. Mark unplugged his phone from the charger and, after slipping on his shoes and a jacket, opened the door and listened. Everything was quiet so he slipped out and shut the door gently.

The early morning air was chilly when he let himself out the front door and he was glad he’d had the foresight to put on his jacket. Mark texted Jackie to make sure she was up and within seconds his phone was ringing.

“Good morning sis.”

“Don’t you good morning me, you jackass. Hold on.” He heard Brent’s voice and then Jackie’s. “Can you just give me five minutes to get this done?”

Oh boy, this was going to be a fun conversation. Mark walked away from the house and lowered the tailgate on the truck before hopping up.

“Okay, I’m back.”

“Did somebody wake up grouchy?” Mark chuckled at the gasp of outrage he heard through the phone.

“No. Was your phone not working yesterday? Did I not even rate a call to let me know you’d made it?”

“Would you relax? You could have called me too, you know?” He had gotten out of bed for this? Mark sighed. “If all you’re going to do is bitch at me then I’m going to go back to bed.”

“I was worried.” Jackie sighed. “How’s it going up there?”

“It’s fine. I just figured I’d give you a quick call before everyone gets up.” Mark glanced behind him at the darkened house. “I believe we’re spending the day on their boat.”

“Sounds fun, don’t give them a reason to throw your ass over the side.”

Mark laughed.

“Guess it’s a good thing I know how to swim then, isn’t it.”

“Don’t be an ass and call me tonight if you can.”

“I’ll try.” He wasn’t going to promise anything since he didn’t know what the plans were for later that night.

“Guess that’s all I can ask. Have fun.”

Mark heard the click that signaled she’d hung up and shoved the phone in his jacket pocket. He moved to the porch steps and stared out into the darkness as he thought, not only about his phone call with his sister but also his discussion with Trey about where they’d go to school.

He hadn’t expected to make the offer, but it had felt right and if he was honest with himself, the distance between him and Jackie would probably be a good thing. He loved his sister, but she tended to get just a bit too involved in his life. The door behind him opened and he turned his head and watched Gary approach him, two cups of coffee in his hands.

“Thought you could use one of these.” Gary moved next to him and handed him one of the cups.

“Thanks.” Mark took a sip and savored the first taste of the bitter brew. It was a little stronger than he liked, but he wasn’t about to complain.

“I’m actually glad I got you alone for a minute.”

Marc glanced over to see Gary watching him. He was pretty sure he already knew what Trey’s dad wanted to tell him. They hadn’t yet told Trey’s parents about their talk regarding schools and so it wasn’t surprising that Gary would want to warn him away from his son. Not that Mark would listen. He understood where Gary was coming from, but whatever happened between him and Trey was between them, no one else.

“No disrespect sir, but—“

Gary held up a hand and motioned for Mark to sit.

“I wanted to apologize for yesterday.” Gary sipped from his cup and sat next to him. “Diane and I always expected when Trey got out of the military he’d come home. I was a bit surprised to hear he’d changed his mind so suddenly and I didn’t handle it so well.”

“How long did it take mom to convince you of that?”

Mark turned to see Trey standing in the open door, his own cup of coffee cradled in his hand. He smiled and stepped out to join them. Mark shifted over so that Trey could sit between him and Gary.

“Besides,” Trey reached over and rested his hand on Mark’s knee. “Mark and I talked some more about our plans yesterday, but we hadn’t had a real chance to talk to you and Mom about it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Is the offer for me to live in one of the cabins still open?” Trey glanced at Mark then back to his dad. “Actually, I guess I should ask… Is the offer to live in one of the cabins open to include Mark?”

Gary looked perplexed.

“I think maybe you’d better tell me what you’re talking about.”

“Mark suggested that maybe, for the first two years at least, we could go to the community college up here and do our core classes.” Trey smiled and squeezed Mark’s knee. “It makes sense when you think about it, we could actually get an associate’s degree and then transfer to a four year college if we want to.”

Gary glanced past Trey to look at Mark.

“You’d be willing to do that?”

Mark nodded.

“It’s not that far for me to go and visit my sister or for them to come and visit me.” He shrugged. “Can’t say my sister will be happy about it.”

“That’s an understatement,” Trey muttered.

Mark laughed.

“We’ll deal with that when the time comes.”