“I don’t give a fuck what you are,” Grantsaid. “I don’t care about you. I care about Will.”
“I understand that. But Will is who he is.He didn’t become gay for me. I didn’t make him gay.” Taylor’s senseof humor sparked back into life — did Grant think he’d forced Willto watch musicals? Eat quiche? — but he squelched it. This wasserious because this angry young man was Will’s little brother andhis feelings and opinions mattered to Will. Therefore they neededto matter to Taylor.
“He was never queer before.”
“He’s been queer for as long as I’ve knownhim.”
Grant made a sound of fury and launchedhimself at Taylor.
Taylor was ready. Mostly. He had known fromthe minute he forced Grant to go with him, this was probably goingto happen. In fact, he had been pushing Grant into it. Even so,he’d had a long and exhausting day, and as Grant piled into himlike a young bull charging a red cape, he felt a flicker ofalarm.
He had underestimated his own weariness andstiffness. He had also underestimated Grant, who had been taught tofight by Will.
Grant tackled him low, burying his head inTaylor’s gut, wrapping his arms around Taylor’s knees, and Taylor,who relied on kicks and footwork to avoid getting thrown to theground where his lack of weight was a dangerous liability, couldn’tmaneuver. The wind was knocked out of him and he went down hard inthe damp earth with Grant on top.
Worst case scenario. Thirty seconds in andhe was about to be pinned in a double leg takedown his own sistercould have avoided.
Instinct and adrenaline saved him. That andGrant’s unsportsmanlike attempt to knee him in the balls. Possiblya subconscious wish to neuter him, or maybe not subconscious, butGrant’s shift allowed Taylor to twist and bring his own knees up.He used his left forearm to trap both of Grant’s in an arm bar.That left his right hand free. Taylor swiveled, grappling underGrant’s legs, and throwing his left leg behind Grant’s neck. He wastrying to pin Grant face down, but Grant knew that move and yankedout, rolling away to his knees.
Taylor let his own momentum carry him to hisfeet, and he scrambled ungracefully up. Standing, he was no longervulnerable. He faced Grant who was upright again as well.
He needed to prevail here. It was thatsimple. Partly because he would not be able to live down theembarrassment of pushing for a fight he couldn’t win. Partlybecause with a young guy like Grant, winning was nine-tenths of thelaw. The law that said Might Makes Right. But he had to do itwithout seriously hurting Grant — and without letting Grantseriously hurt him. Because Will wouldn’t forgive either of themfor seriously harming the other.
Now aware of his own limitations, Taylorwaited, breathing hard, for Grant to charge back in — which he did,still too angry to be cautious, throwing a powerful right punchthat would have taken out a rib or a lung had it connected. Yeah,that power strike was straight out of the Will Brandt book ofhand-to-hand combat. Taylor deflected, grabbed Grant’s lapel andhauled him sideways while delivering a hard kick to the inner kneearea of Grant’s weight bearing leg. He was careful not to take outGrant’s knee, but even so the strength and speed of that blowshould have brought Grant down.
No such luck.
Oh, Grant was hurting, limping, but he wasstill on his feet, still looking for a way past Taylor’sdefenses.
“Come on, Kwai Chang,” Grant jeered. “Whatelse have you got?”
It was the Kwai Chang comment that did it.It sounded exactly like Will, and Taylor started to laugh, albeitbreathlessly. “You little shit. Why do we have to do this? Will isexactly the same person you loved and respected two daysago. He hasn’t changed.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to think.”Grant crowded in on him, and Taylor realized the kid was shrewdlytrying to maneuver him onto the wet grass where his footing wouldagain be precarious.
Taylor’s aggravation bubbled over. “I’m nottelling you what to think. I’m pointing out what oughta be obviouseven to a boneheaded jarhead like you. As far as you and Will areconcerned, nothing has changed. Nothing will ever change unlessyou change it.”
“Things are already different ifyou’re going to be around all the time.”
That note of childish grievance said it all.This was exactly what Taylor had thought, and the reason he hadthought it, was he too had been the youngest kid in a family wherefailure was not an option and most attention and affection had comefrom his two older siblings. So yes, he understood the instinctivefear of being supplanted. And it would be worse for Grant. With awoman, a girlfriend or wife like Madonna, there would be clearlydefined roles and parameters. But another man…
“Sorry. I’m not going anywhere,” Taylor toldhim. “Will and I are partners in every respect. But I’m not goingto get between you. I’ve got a brother of my own. I know how itworks. I’m not going to push in where I’m not wanted.”
“You already did. You’re notwanted.”
“No. You don’t want me. Will does.And how come his feelings don’t matter?”
He couldn’t read Grant’s face in thedarkness, but he saw his rigid figure deflate a little. “Heshouldn’t have done this,” Grant said sulkily.
Taylor shivered. “For all I know, he agreeswith you,” he admitted. “But he did do it.” The cold was sinkinginto him now, perspiration drying, muscles stiffening up. He reallydid not want to go another round with Grant. The morning would behell as it was. “You know what, I don’t have energy for this. I’mtoo tired to disable you without actually disabling you.”
Grant instantly flared up. “Oh, you thinkyou can take me?”
“I know I can take you.” Taylor saidwearily, “But it won’t be quick and it won’t be easy. So I’m goingto go pick up a couple of six-packs of beer. If you can’t handlebeing in the car with me, start walking and I’ll pick you up on myway back.”
He didn’t wait to hear Grant’s response,instead turning and striding back to the SUV. He had started theengine and was just rolling forward when the
