Messy Love (Stumbling into Love 3)

Jonathan hit the game-winning home run. Afterward, we ran toward each other. He picked me up and kissed me in the middle of the field, not caring who was watching.

“I love you,” Jonathan said.

“I love you too.”

EPILOGUE

Jonathan

Two Years Later

“Come on, baby! Go, go, go!” I shouted at Danny as he rounded the bases. I clapped my hands together, heart in my throat as he touched third and kept running for home.

Danny slid, gunning for the win, just before the catcher caught the ball.

“Safe!” the umpire yelled, making Danny jump to his feet.

I was already bouncing and cheering for my man, who’d just won the last game of the season for us. Playing on this team was one of our things now.

“Hell yeah!” I ran toward him, and Danny toward me. He jumped into my arms as everyone congratulated us, clapping us on the back.

Our moms, siblings, their significant others, Brad’s kids, and all our friends were shouting for us from the stands. Brooklyn had been in a relationship with the same woman for the last two years as well, and Oscar, one of my old friends from before I came out, had come to see us play too. I’d reconnected with some of them. We didn’t hang out all the time, but it was nice to catch up. The ones who didn’t accept me didn’t matter. I only had time in my life to enjoy the ones who did.

“Good job, man.” Mark patted Danny on the back when I set him down. Outside of our crew, he was the friend I spent the most time with. Mark was great. He’d met a guy about ten months back, and they were getting pretty serious, so I was happy for him. “I’d ask you guys if you wanted to hang out, but you have your whole posse here today,” Mark teased.

“We can get together later this week,” I said as we headed back toward the dugout.

“You and Ken should come to our place for dinner one night,” Danny added.

“Yeah, that’d be great. I’ll give you a call.”

Danny and I had moved earlier this year. We were still close to everyone, but we’d found a condo not too far from where Will and Jameson lived—in a less expensive area, of course. But we had a garage and a small fenced-in backyard, where we enjoyed cooking.

We chatted with the team for a few minutes, then got everything packed up before going over to talk to our cheering section.

“Oh, our boys did so well, didn’t they?” Gloria asked my mom before hugging and kissing me and then Danny.

“They sure did!” Mom replied, then gave us the same greeting.

“Good job, bro,” Nolan said to me. “But your boyfriend is better than you.”

“Ha-ha.”

“Nolan has always been my favorite of your brothers.” Danny wrapped an arm around him.

“Hey!” Brad made a mock-shocked sound.

“Excuse me, what?” Will added, and Danny winked at him.

Things had gotten a lot better between all of us. We’d decided on at least one camping trip every summer just the four of us—me, Will, Brad, and Nolan—our brother-bonding thing or whatever. Danny and Jameson spent a lot of time with us too. Brad and Nolan got along well with them, but that one trip would always be just for us.

“Everyone is still coming over, right?” Mom asked. Since we were close to my hometown for this game, we’d planned a barbecue at Mom’s. She loved having a full house. It was good for her, and she’d started going out and doing more herself too.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Mrs. C,” Oscar said. Then to me, “Good game, dude.”

“Thanks.”

“Nice home run,” he told Danny.

We chatted for a few minutes before everyone climbed into their vehicles to make the fifteen-minute drive to the house I grew up in.

It was loud and crowded, but I loved it. Brad’s daughter, Gracie, was obsessed with Danny. She held his finger and led him all over the house and yard, showing him everything and talking toddler-speak to him. They’d had a boy next. His name was Jonathan, named after our father.

It was weird for me sometimes. I’d mostly made my peace with Dad. He was gone, so there was really no choice. The truth was, I loved him. I’d always loved him and always would, but he wasn’t the man I’d tried to tell myself he was. He wasn’t all good. He wasn’t all bad. He was human, but what he’d thought had no bearing on who I was anymore. Life was messy. Nothing was ever all one thing. We were positive memories and negative ones. We were good qualities and not so good ones. We were happy experiences and sad ones, and that would never change.

I looked over and saw Danny and Elijah speaking. Danny was holding Gracie, while Elijah played with the engagement ring on his finger. Before we knew it, they’d be married, and Shaw would finish school and become a therapist.