Page 8 of Beyond the Rainbow (Pride Camp 2025 #11)

Mapping the Journey

C olin stood in the doorway, eyeing the stacks of printed schedules, pamphlets, and rainbow flags that covered their bed while Joshua stood next to a nearly overflowing box of water bottles, scribbling on a legal pad.

Colin looked down at the floor and smiled, then moved to his husband’s side. “Hey, bud.”

“Oh, hi, sweetie,” Joshua replied. “Are you done prepping your case?” He glanced at his watch. “Damn! Let me fix you some lunch.”

Colin smiled and waved away his suggestion. “I just ate a sandwich, and no, babe, not done yet. I still have a ton of forensic evidence to go through.” His handsome face twisted into an apologetic grimace. “Sorry. I know I haven’t been much help.”

“Don’t be sorry! I know it’s an important case.”

"Well, I don't know if it's important, but it's definitely high-profile. It's a fraud case that hurt a lot of people. Millions were siphoned off, and hundreds of innocent lives were ruined. And as if that weren’t enough, I’m up against a defense team renowned for overwhelming any prosecutor they meet with an avalanche of irrelevant legal details.”

“You’re not just any prosecutor, my love,” Joshua assured him. “You thrive under pressure.” He slid his fingers beneath the sleeve of Colin’s snow-white T-shirt, caressing his skin, feeling his heart skip a beat as he stroked the warm, smooth muscles.

Colin leaned back and cocked an eye, drawing a quick laugh from Joshua. “Now I’m sorry,” Joshua said, still chuckling. “I didn’t mean to um … distract you.”

“Bullshit! You love to distract me!” Colin shot back, flashing his dimples. “Besides, my goal when I walked in here was to make you stop working for a few minutes and relax with me.” He leaned closer to Joshua and nuzzled against his hair. “Are you nearly done?”

Joshua gestured toward the piles of Camp Pride material. “Once these things are sorted into packets, I’m done, at least for today. Give me fifteen minutes to deal with this stuff, and then maybe we can grab a little Colin-and-Josh time.”

“Sounds great. D’you need any help?”

Joshua shoved a piece of paper into Colin’s hand.

“Here’s the list for the counselors. They each get one of everything on that list, and there are six of us.

So, you need six sets.” He pointed to the end of the bed.

“You’ll find all their materials down there.

That’s the counselor’s area. I’ll do the campers. ”

As they both began to gather the items together for their respective groups, Joshua leaned against Colin’s arm. “I know I’m investing a lot of time in this.”

“And I get it. I understand how much Camp Pride means to you.” He turned and took Joshua’s hand in his. “It means a lot to me too.” He lifted Joshua’s hand and rubbed his lips across his knuckles. “ However …”

Joshua bowed his head and gave a soft, knowing laugh.

“For over a month, you have been obsessively buried in this project on top of maintaining an already-heavy patient load at the clinic, doing group therapy on Thursday nights, and doing mental health assessments at the courthouse.”

“I know, babe.”

Colin shrugged and went back to sorting the various items into packets. “I’ve been too buried in this case to argue about it—but it’s on my radar now.”

“Scary!”

Colin shot him an irritated look.

“OK. OK. I get it. Help me finish this, and after that, I’m all yours. Do what you want with me.”

“You might want to reconsider giving me that kind of open-ended opportunity. You have no idea what I might want. I’m pretty inventive.”

He nudged Colin’s shoulder with his own. “I think I can handle you.”

Colin snorted out a laugh. “Yeah, you’ve proven that pretty conclusively during the past five years.” He handed Joshua the sorted material. “OK. What’s next?”

“I think we’re done. Hey! Have you spoken to Trent lately? Or Jeff?”

“I talked briefly to Jeff, and I mentioned what you said about the clinic.”

“And?”

“And he said he’d think about it.” Colin grimaced and shrugged.

“I am not optimistic.” He glanced up at Joshua, expecting to see his usual determined focus.

Instead, he stood quietly, his hand resting on a Camp Pride flag.

His gaze was distant, lost in thought, as his fingers traced the shape of the rainbow.

Colin straightened, watching him for a moment before stepping closer. “Hey. You OK?”

Joshua blinked as if realizing where he was. He exhaled and nodded. “Yeah. What you said about Jeff reminded me …” His voice trailed off.

Colin laid a hand on Joshua’s arm, his voice low and steady. “Of what ?”

Joshua hesitated, then grimaced. “It’s stupid.”

“Doubt it. But tell me anyway.”

He blew out a breath and stared at the floor, his jaw tight.

“I spoke with Project Hope last week. Remember our conversation about including LGBTQ+ kids who are homeless?” He hesitated, then went on, his voice low.

“This afternoon, I met one of the kids they’re suggesting as a candidate.

He’s in foster care, still recovering from the abuse inflicted by his parents.

” He looked up at his husband, his expression dark.

“His father thought he could beat the gay out of him.”

Colin’s fingers gripped Joshua’s arm as he nodded, absorbing every word, his silence more eloquent than speech.

Joshua glanced down at the numerous pride-related items scattered across their bed, their rainbow colors evoking a vibrant abstract painting.

“He was scared, Colin. Even of me. He barely spoke, hunched over like he was trying to disappear. And looking at him…”—Joshua’s voice trembled—“it was like looking into a mirror.”

Colin’s fingers slid up and down Joshua’s arm. “I know talking with you helped him.”

Joshua’s head gave a brief, taut shake. “I don’t know.

Maybe.” He dragged his hands through his hair.

“I’m going to talk to him again next week.

He and another prospective candidate.” He gazed up at Colin, his lips parted slightly as if searching for words he couldn’t find.

Then he sighed and turned away. “He agreed to come to Camp Pride. He was scared, but he said he’d try. ”

Colin’s jaw clenched. “Christ, I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry you went through that. I know it had to hurt.”

Joshua exhaled again, staring at the supplies around them. “I’m sorry he went through what he did. I shouldn’t be thinking about my feelings right now. My god, Colin. Every kid deserves a place where they don’t have to be afraid. A place where they don’t have to hide to feel safe.”

Colin let the silence rest for a beat. Then he turned Joshua toward him, pressing their foreheads together. “You’re creating that place for them, Josh.”

“I just hope it’s enough.”

“It is enough,” Colin said, the certainty in his voice unwavering.

He cupped Joshua’s face, forcing him to meet his gaze.

“And get this straight: Your pain isn’t a distraction from his—it’s the reason you understand him.

The reason you can help him. You went through hell, and it still lives in you.

That doesn’t make you selfish—it makes you human . ”

Joshua let out a breath and leaned into him. “Thank you, my yedid .”

Colin smiled, his voice growing softer. “Now. How about you let me steal you away from all this for a bit? You promised me some Colin-and-Josh time, and I’m holding you to it.

” He kissed Joshua’s forehead. “Let me take you to Moo Thru. I’ll buy you that brownie sundae with extra chocolate syrup that you love so much. Perk you right up.”

“Don’t you have forensic evidence to wade through?”

“It’ll keep,” Colin said again, this time with a smile. “Right now, you’re more important.”

“Tempting me with Moo Thru!” Joshua muttered, shaking his head in fake dismay. “Blatantly unfair tactics, counselor. But … all right. You win.”

Colin tipped his chin up and grinned. “I always do . And listen, before I forget, I’m going to hold a mandatory drug education session on the first day of camp, so factor it into your Day One schedule.

Not a scare session. Just facts. What’s out there.

What it can do. Fentanyl’s in everything now, Josh—even pills they think are safe.

These kids need to know what they’re up against.”

Joshua looked at him, heart full. “You’re not doing this as a cop.”

“No. I’m doing it as someone who doesn’t want to watch a kid die like that… again .”

Later that evening, Joshua carried a mug of fragrant Irish tea up the stairs to Colin’s study.

He stood in the doorway for a moment, staring at his husband’s broad back as he hunched over the desk, unaware that his stance echoed Colin’s observation of him from earlier that day.

He heard Colin give a soft moan and saw him twist as if trying to ease an aching back.

“Brought you some tea. Maybe take a break and drink it?” he suggested as he set the mug on Colin’s desk and lowered himself into a nearby chair.

Colin nodded as he lifted the mug and sipped. “Thanks, babe. I’m nearly done … at least for tonight.” He tilted his head, his eyes fixed on Joshua’s. “How’re you doing?”

Joshua shrugged. “I’m OK.” He reached to finger a stack of manila folders. “Looks like you still have a lot to do.”

“Nah. I’ve already sorted all those out.”

Joshua nodded but said nothing, still fingering the folders, and Colin’s eyes narrowed. “You seem … a bit down.”

Joshua shifted his gaze. Colin sprawled in his chair, the fabric of his shirt bunching to reveal taut muscle.

The stubble on his jaw, the weariness in his eyes—he looked maddeningly good.

Too good, and he swallowed hard, his fingers tightening into a fist. He should be focused, should say something—but the way Colin’s hand curled around the mug, his lips lingering just a beat too long, had Joshua’s mind scattering in all the wrong directions.

It was maddening how exhaustion only made him look more touchable. More kissable. More fuckable.

Colin arched a brow. “What?”