What Remains by Bailey Bradford (to read list txt) 📕

get tired of catering to their parents’ demands. One can only hope, because it’s a shitty way to live.”

Sev asked the question Laine was wondering. “What happened? And what are you saying, that our parents wouldn’t let y’all have anything to do with us?”

Roger looked at Alma, as did Sev and Laine. Her face tinted again. “Well, something like that. They didn’t know you kept in touch with us or the rest of our brothers and sister. Then Rogelio said something a few months ago—you remember, you talked to him on the phone for a long time? He thinks you hung the moon, Sev. Anyway, we were at Mama and Papa’s for dinner, and Rogelio made a comment about watching some show about ghosts. That set Mama and Papa off.” Alma darted an apologetic look at Sev. “Rogelio got mad and started defending you. They kind of went nuts.”

Roger shook his head. “There wasn’t no ‘kind of’ to it. Your mother can screech like a damned banshee. But what it came down to was a big family meeting where everyone was told in no uncertain terms were they to have any contact with you. To do so would mean being cut from the will, and anyone receiving any financial help before then would be on their own.”

Laine kept his expression bland even though he felt like driving to San Antonio and kicking Sev’s parents’ asses. And the rest of Sev’s siblings’, too, if they were stupid enough to allow themselves to be manipulated.

“I’m sorry,” Sev whispered brokenly.

Laine forgot about his anger and took the drink holder from his partner. He handed it off to either Alma or Roger, Laine didn’t pay attention who took it. “You’ve got no reason to be apologizing,” Laine said clearly as he pulled Sev into his arms. “It’s not your fault your parents are the way they are.”

Alma stepped behind Sev and placed a hand on his shoulders. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. “No, baby brother, it isn’t. They’re hateful people, and they won’t ever change. That isn’t your fault. I’m just sorry we put up with it for so long.”

“Why did you?” Laine thought he knew, but he wanted to hear it.

“Who doesn’t want their parents’ approval?” Alma said, confirming his suspicions. “We were raised up to believe certain things, behave certain ways. It was always easier to go along. Having children of our own…well, I don’t want them to grow up like we did. I just hope it’s not too late, that they haven’t been exposed to so much hatred that it’s become a part of them, or will in the future.”

“It hasn’t with Rogelio,” Sev mumbled against Laine’s chest. “He wouldn’t have talked to me as long as he did or defended me if he wasn’t a good kid.”

Alma’s watery smile quivered. “I told you, he practically idolizes you. He went online and printed out everything he could find about your work with police departments. He has them all in an album he keeps on his dresser. When he told Mama and Papa that I thought they were going to have a stroke.”

“He brought it with him,” Roger added. “That boy was not happy being left at the motel, but we needed him there since Adela and Martin are too young to be left alone. We were hoping maybe we could all go get lunch, although I’m not sure, with Adela…”

The door opened and Loretta came in, her usual scowl gone. She looked at Laine and Sev then blinked as if unsure she was seeing the two of them. Whether it was because of the embrace or something else, Laine didn’t know. He couldn’t figure the woman out. She darted a glance at Roger and Alma before returning her attention to Laine. “Could I speak to you in your office?” she asked, and Laine nodded as he grudgingly released Sev.

“All right.” He excused himself and patted Sev’s shoulder when the man looked at him and arched an eyebrow. Laine shrugged—he didn’t know what was going on either. He gestured for Loretta to precede him then followed her into his office. Once she’d taken a seat, he sat behind his desk, the springs in the chair groaning and reminding him he needed to buy a replacement soon. One of these days he’d come in and plop down and end up on the floor. Laine scooted the chair a few inches away from the desk and tried to look as attentive as possible. “What can I help you with? Are there supplies that—”

Loretta hugged and flapped a hand toward him. “Nothing like that. This job just isn’t working for me. I don’t know why Doreen thought it would, because it seems obvious to me our personalities clash.”

Laine’s stomach tingled as he comprehended what Loretta was getting at. He sat back and steepled his fingers under his chin as he considered the woman for a few seconds. “Is it because of me and Sev? Did you decide to quit when you walked in and saw us together?” It didn’t make sense to him, because it wasn’t like them being gay was a secret.

“No,” Loretta said slowly, as if she was speaking to someone slow on the uptake. She leaned back, mimicking his pose as she tucked her fingers under her chin. “I told you, we just don’t click, or whatever you want to call it. I know you’re aware of it, and surely I’m not the first person you’ve met who ruffles your feathers. You certainly aren’t the first who ruffled mine.”

Laine bit back a comment about how that didn’t surprise him, as Loretta seemed rather unpleasant to him. Maybe she wasn’t like that with everyone, he didn’t know. “It has happened on occasion,” Laine conceded. “Usually there’s a reason for it, though.”

Loretta sniffed and dropped her hands to her lap as she sat up straighter. “Well, I don’t always have a reason. Sometimes I just get these feelings about people, and I trust