You Are the Reason (35 page)

I grimaced. “Sorry, sweet pea. I guess Uncle Dave still needs to be educated a bit more.” She hit me again in agreement and then crawled away. Jake placed the pretty things in a Ziploc bag and knew they were destined for the box of “things Uncle Dave bought that are too old for Maxine.” It was probably already full.

I got to my feet as Maxine crawled over to Patrick and yanked on his trousers to get his attention. He scooped her up and asked her, “Are you ready to show Uncle Dave what we’ve been working on?”

Patrick never spoke baby talk with her. Jake did and pointed out the “doggies” and “kitties” and all the “birdies” to her. Patrick simply said, “Is that a dog I can smell Maxine? Show Papa where?”

It amused me no end, but somehow Jake and Patrick were absolutely perfect as parents.

“What have you been working on?” Lee asked as he finished putting pink icing on the cupcakes for the party we were throwing in two hours. Lee had insisted on helping to bake and decorate. He and Jake had planned it for weeks. Patrick grinned and jiggled Maxine around until I could see her face.

“Ready, Maxine?”

“Da,” she responded.

Obviously Patrick knew what that meant because he said, “Okay. Now say ‘Daddy.’ Can you say ‘Daddy’?”

I watched as Maxine immediately looked around until she could see Jake. “Daddee,” she babbled, and I laughed. But Patrick wasn’t finished.

“Good girl. Now say ‘Papa.’”

Maxine knew this game and placed a wet, slobbery kiss on Patrick’s nose and answered, “Pah-pah.”

I clapped my enthusiasm. And she turned to me with a grin that showed her sparkly white teeth.

Then Patrick said, “Good girl. Now the hard one. Say ‘Uncle Dave.’”

Without hesitating, she reached a chubby hand to me and said, “Uck Day.”

My heart melted. I swooped over, took her from Patrick, and gave her a big hug. “Oh, darling. What a wonderful surprise. You are my favorite goddaughter ever.” I kissed her tummy and made her giggle, knowing that I had never been more happy than I was at that moment—surrounded by those who loved me.

Yes. Being gay meant I got to use the word “darling,” know all the words to every single Wiggles song, and be “Uck Day.”

And nothing could be sweeter.

Jake Manning’s smart mouth frequently gets him into trouble. Because of it, he can’t hold a job. Combined with some bad luck, it’s prevented him from keeping steady employment. A huge debt looms over him, and alone he shoulders the care of his alcoholic mother and three younger sisters. When a housekeeping position opens, Jake’s so desperate he leaps at the opportunity. On landing, he finds his new boss, Patrick Stanford, a fussy, arrogant, rude… and blind man.

Born without sight, Patrick is used to being accommodated, but he’s met his match with Jake, who doesn’t take any of his crap and threatens to swap all the braille labels on his groceries and run off with his guide dog unless he behaves.

Jake gets a kick out of Patrick. Things are looking up: the girls are starting their own lives and his mum’s sobriety might stick this time. He’s sacrificed everything for his family; maybe it’s time for him to live his life and start a relationship with Patrick. When his mother needs him, guilt makes his choice between family and Patrick difficult, and Jake must realize he’s not alone anymore.

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R
ENAE
K
AYE
is a lover and hoarder of books who thinks libraries are devilish places because they make you give the books back. She consumed her first adult romance book at the tender age of thirteen and hasn’t stopped since. After years—and thousands of stories!—of not having book characters do what she wants, she decided she would write her own novel and found the characters still didn’t do what she wanted. It hasn’t stopped her, though. She believes that maybe one day the world will create a perfect couple—and it will be the most boring story ever. So until then, she is stuck with quirky, snarky, and imperfect characters who just want their story told.

Renae lives in Perth, Western Australia, and writes in five-minute snatches between the demands of two kids, a forbearing husband, too many pets, too much housework, and her beloved veggie garden. She is a survivor of being the youngest in a large family and believes that laughter (and a good book) can cure anything.

Her first novel,
Loving Jay
, was voted the Best Book Debut 2014 by the member’s choice awards in the Goodreads M/M Romance Group.

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: http://renaekaye.weebly.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/renae.kaye.9

Twitter: @renaekkaye

One thing Liam Turner knows for sure is that he’s not gay—after all, his father makes it very clear he’ll allow no son of his to be gay. And Liam believes it, until a chance meeting with James “Jay” Bell turns Liam’s world upside-down. Jay is vivacious and unabashedly gay—from the tips of his bleached hair to the ends of his polished nails. With a flair for fashion, overreaction, and an inability to cork his verbal diarrhea, drama queen Jay must have a screw loose.

An accident as a teenager left Liam with a limp and a fear of driving. He can’t play football anymore either, and that makes him feel like less of a man. But that’s no reason to question his sexuality... unless the accident broke something else inside him. When being with Jay causes Liam’s protective instincts to emerge, Liam starts to believe all he’s known in life has been a convenient lie. From intolerance to confrontations, Liam must learn to overcome his fears—and his father—before he can accept his sexuality and truly love Jay.

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Shawn is single, twenty-nine, the full-time carer of his Alzheimer’s-stricken mother, and a frequent victim of Murphy’s Law—although his family calls it Shawn’s Law. Other than caring for mum, his day consists of painting nude men and spying on the guy who walks his dogs along the street every day at four o’clock. When Shawn takes a spectacular fall on his front steps, who is there to witness it other than the man of his dreams?

Harley doesn’t believe in Shawn’s Law—but he soon changes his mind.

The two men make it through a memorable first date and Shawn’s sexual insecurities to begin a relationship stumbling toward love. But when Shawn’s Law causes Harley to be injured, Shawn is determined to save Harley’s life the only way he knows how—by breaking up with him. Not once, but twice. Throw in a serial killer ex-boyfriend, several deadly Australian animals, two dogs called Bennie, a mother who forgets to wear clothes, an unforgiving Town Council, and a strawberry-flavored condom dolly, and Shawn’s Law is one for the books.

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At twenty-five, Hank owns a small parcel of land in Australia’s rural southwest where he supplements his income from the property with seasonal shearing. Hank is a “shearing gun”—an ace shearer able to shear large numbers of sheep in a single day. His own father kicked him out when his sexuality was revealed, and since no one would ever hire a gay shearer, Hank has remained firmly closeted ever since.

Elliot is the newbie doctor in town—city-born and somewhat shell-shocked from his transplant to the country. When a football injury brings Hank to Elliot’s attention, an inappropriate sexual glance and the stuttered apology afterward kickstarts their friendship. Romance and love soon blossom, but it’s hard for either of them to hope for anything permanent. As if the constant threat of being caught isn’t enough, Elliot’s contract runs out after only a year.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com