“You know the sheriff was talking about me right?” Llew’s voice was so deep and gruff, probably due in part to the nervousness that had overtaken him, but most of it was just the man’s timbre. It made Shane pause.
Shane had to clear his own throat. “Yes, Llewellyn.”
Finally, Llew looked in his eyes. “You can call me Llew.”
“Is that what everyone else calls you?” Shane smiled.
“Yes.”
“Well I have to do something that sets me apart from the rest.” Shane shrugged. “So, where you staying, Llewell?”
He thought he saw a faint smile on Llew’s face, but the alley was dark. He hoped he could get Llewellyn to trust him; he was going to need a friend.
“I’m staying at Ms. Pat’s. I rent a room there. At least I did,” Llew said sadly.
“Come on, let’s go.” Shane nodded his head towards the entrance of the alley, and Llew fell in step with him. He loved how tall Llew was beside him. Shane was just a little over six feet but Llew had to be six four or six five. He could climb this man like the strong oak tree that he was. “So, you like the room?”
“Um. Yeah. It’s real nice. Why?” Llew looked down at him, and Shane’s stomach did that fluttering thing that happened whenever that intense gaze was on him.
“Well, I built it so I was just wondering,” Shane said, teasingly.
“You do good work, Shane.”
Shane wanted to stop right where they were and breakdance on the sidewalk. He loved the way his name sounded in that deep tone. He could listen to Llew talk all day and night… especially at night. “Thank you,” he whispered.
They turned down Ms. Pat’s street, surprised it only took them a half-hour to walk to that side of town. Shane wished it could’ve been longer. They were probably both glad that no one was out and about yet. Most everyone was probably still milling around the rec center arguing their points to whoever would listen. He knew inside that Llew was going to have a storm coming his way, and he hoped he was strong enough to withstand it. Maybe with the right man by his side, they could weather the storm together.
They were only a block away and they’d simply enjoyed walking shoulder to shoulder on the narrow sidewalk. The silence wasn’t strained, it was peaceful and it allowed him to think about how he felt being in Llew’s strong company. He felt safe with him.
Chapter Eighteen
Shane called him Llewell because he wanted to be different from everyone else. Well he most certainly was. Llew thought he was home free at the town meeting. All the business had been wrapped up and the mayor was concluding; but of course, things were never easy for him. The sheriff’s wife blew his presence wide open. By tonight everyone and their momma would know who he was and what he’d been accused of… including Shane. He wanted to believe Shane was different, but there was still some critical information Shane was missing: the exact nature of Llew’s crime. The title of “sex offender” covered a broad spectrum of crimes. Of course, there were the more obvious crimes; like rape and sexual assault, but it also included kidnapping, peeping toms, perpetrators of incest, indecent exposure, hell, even public urination in some states.
Llew was wondering if he should just tell Shane, it couldn’t hurt any worse than it already did. He was pretty sure Shane wasn’t going to hire him, but he may have one friend in this town if he played his cards right. They were just a couple doors down from Ms. Pat’s house when he saw her Town Car in the driveway along with a large F-350 that had ladders secured to the top of it.
“Um, Shane. You may not be interested in what I have to say, you may not care why I was in prison, but I want to be honest with you. I know people think every convict has an excuse for his crime, but like my father always told me, ‘Excuses are like backsides. Everyone’s got one and they all stink.’ So I’m not looking to excuse my—”
Llew had to stop before he even got started with his explanation because Shane was laughing so hard.
“That wasn’t meant to be funny,” Llew said, staring at the handsome man.
“I’m sorry. I’m just… I’d never heard that before.” Shane wiped the corner of his eyes. “Sounds like something my dad would say.”
“Momma, I don’t care that you think he’s a nice guy, he’s not staying here!” A loud male voice boomed through Ms. Pat’s front screen door. “You think I’m gonna let a sex offender live with my elderly mother?”
Llew heard some dishes clanging and then Ms. Pat’s usually soft voice was firm and loud. “I’ll show you elderly if I go upside your head with this here frying pan.”