Page 7 of Beyond the Rainbow (Pride Camp 2025 #11)

“It’s not just me. He and Sophie have grown close. She misses him terribly.” He husked out a breath. “I don’t like to see her hurt. We’re supposed to be a family !”

“Look, Trent. Sophie is a smart, sensitive young lady. She can be helped to understand the situation. Jeff’s not staying away because he wants to! You know he adores her.”

“I know, Colin,” Trent muttered. “But that’s not the only problem.” He leaned toward his friend. “I’ve asked him to marry me at least a dozen times in the past six months, and he refuses even to discuss it. We’ve been living together for two years, and he still backs away anytime I bring it up.”

“Trent, there may be other emotions at work here.”

“ Adam ?” Trent said, referring to Jeff’s former partner who died ten years ago earlier of brain cancer. “You think it’s still Adam ?”

“Could be. I mean, I’m not a shrink—that’s my husband’s territory.

And I know he’s let Adam go. But the kind of trauma he went through with Adam tends to last. I mean, I get it.

You’re worried. You’re upset. I’d be worried, too.

But, man! Bitching him out only adds to the stress he’s already under.

I can’t see that being good for his heart, or for any marriage plans you might want to make. ”

Trent leaned back on the couch, staring down at his hands. “You’re right,” he murmured finally, coughing out a noisy breath. “I need to talk to him.”

“Well, for fuck’s sake, be nice to him.”

Trent ambled toward the kitchen, passing Joshua, who pointed over his shoulder toward Jeff. “Be nice !”

“Yeah, yeah ,” Trent replied, his voice gruff. “Your husband already bitched me out.”

“What’s with them ?” Joshua asked Colin, but before he could answer, the front door burst open to reveal David and Nate.

“We brought stout!” Nate announced, waving the six-pack in the air.

“So did Trent and Jeff!” Colin said, laughing as he took the ale from Nate’s hands.

“Good! More for me!” Nate gave Colin’s shoulder a soft punch, then turned to hug Joshua.

David reached for the six-pack, pulling a can free before falling onto the couch. “Gimme that! I’ve been waiting all day for this.”

“Hey, you guys!” Jeff said in greeting as he entered the room. “Haven’t seen you in a while!”

Trent walked directly behind him, both hands resting on Jeff’s shoulders. He shot Colin a look and gave him a quick shrug, then leaned forward, wrapping both arms around Jeff from behind. “Good to see you guys.”

“Yeah, we haven’t all been together since Chrismukkah!” Nate said. “We’ve missed you.”

Colin noticed Jeff’s head tilt to press his cheek against Trent’s arm, the tension in his shoulders easing as he drew in a breath, his eyes softening for the first time that evening.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” Joshua announced. “Colin, come help me, would you, babe?”

Colin followed him into the kitchen and stood beside Joshua while he piled both salmon and chicken onto a platter. “What the hell’s up with them ?” Joshua asked, tilting his head toward the living room.

Colin bent over the platter and inhaled deeply.

The savory aroma of roasted salmon mingled with the faint tang of lemon and herbs.

“My god, baby, that smells like heaven.” Then he shrugged.

“Oh, it’s Jeff’s CIA schedule. Things down there are pretty panicky right now, and he hasn’t been home for a couple of days.

” Colin tilted his head and shrugged. “Trent’s all pissy about it. ”

“Can’t say I blame him.”

“No. But I’m not sure his attitude is all that helpful. Jeff doesn’t want to spend that kind of time away from home. He does it because he feels a sense of patriotic duty!”

“Maybe Trent would like Jeff to think about his duty to him and to Sophie, who adores him.”

“Could be. But being a snarky bastard isn’t likely to get him the results he wants.”

Joshua shrugged, his expression weary. “I know, babe. But I can’t worry about them right now. My plate is too damned full.”

“Are you OK?”

“I’m fine. I’m just a little frazzled with all this Camp Pride stuff.”

“Honey, it’s months in the future. Do you have to work on it 24/7? You remind me of Jeff!”

“I just don’t want to fuck this up.”

Colin spun away in frustration. “Jesus Christ , Josh!” But after an instant, he turned back and took Joshua’s arm. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, babe. Now I’m acting like Trent, and that’s fucking horrifying.”

“Colin, I know I’ve been …”

“I’m just worried about you,” Colin interrupted. “Like Trent is about Jeff. And I really wish you had more faith in yourself. You’re doing an amazing job. Amazing ! I wish you could see that.”

Joshua stood, holding the platter of food, staring into Colin’s eyes in complete silence.

“And now probably isn’t the time to discuss this,” Colin added with a sheepish grin. He gave Joshua a gentle nudge and took the platter from his hand. “I promise, I’ll behave. I’ll be nice. I’ll even be nice to Trent.”

“Just be nice to me ,” Joshua said with a soft smile. “Trent can take care of himself.”

After dinner, Joshua handed out daily schedules for Camp Pride and brought everyone up to speed on their progress.

He also handed out several legal papers that the counselors had to sign.

“Get those back to me as soon as you can. At this point, the schedules look fairly tight, and we’re on track for everything else.

David, what’s the story on the UVA grant?

Is there any progress? Time’s getting short. Camp starts in less than a month.”

“I’m presenting it to the Board of Visitors this week. I’ve been privately polling the members, and it’s almost guaranteed to pass, Josh. You should have your grant money fairly soon, possibly next week. And I’m urging them to up the ante and give you the whole ten grand.”

“My god, David, that would be wonderful!”

“Well, it’s not a done deal, but it’s looking good. I’ll let you know as soon as I have a definite answer.”

“Great work, Professor,” Colin crowed.

As the door closed behind their guests, Colin let out a long breath.

The evening had been productive, but his unease about Trent’s revelations still filled his mind.

He led Joshua to the couch, where they sat, relaxing and discussing the evening.

“Did Trent tell you about Jeff’s health issues? ” Colin asked.

“Jeff told me.”

“That fucking job is going to kill him.”

“He told me he’s not going to take any more overtime. That should make Trent happy.”

“That’s not the only thing bothering Trent.”

Joshua turned toward him, curiosity evident in his gaze.

“Trent wants to get married.”

“And Jeff doesn’t?”

“Josh, I hope to hell I’m wrong, but I don’t think Jeff will ever want to get married.”

“Adam? Is it still Adam?”

“My darling boy, in my opinion, it will always be Adam.”

“Hm.”

“Jeff thinks he’s let Adam go. But …”

“You don’t think he has?”

“I’m not sure he can ,” Colin stated, his voice a monotone.

Colin took Joshua’s hand and kissed it. For a long time, they sat in silence, each lost in their thoughts. “I think …” Colin said at last, “…that Adam was Jeff’s…” He shot a glance at Joshua. “… Colin .”

Joshua winced. The words sank in with the weight of a stone. His husband didn’t need to elaborate—Joshua knew exactly what he meant.

“If anything happened to me …” Colin trailed off, his eyes locked on Joshua’s. “Could you let me go? Enough that you could marry someone else ?”

“God, honey, I don’t know. I doubt it.”

“I think, in his mind, Jeff wants to marry Trent. I know he adores him. But I think a piece of his heart is still married to Adam.”

“They weren’t married, were they?”

“Jeff and Adam? No. It wasn’t legal back then. But they were married in every way that counts.”

“My god. Poor Trent.”

“I know this: Trent won’t sit on the back burner forever. He’s a proud man. Jeff will have to make a choice sooner or later: marry Trent or let him go.”

“I wish Jeff would talk to someone from my office. One of our grief counselors. They could help him move on.”

Colin heaved himself to his feet and held out his hand. “C’mon, darlin’. It’s time for bed. We can work on our friends’ relationships tomorrow. Tonight, I want to sleep.”