Page 328 of Sticks and Stones

“I won’t leave him. I’d marry him and never have sex again. There’s more to a relationship than that. I want to be with him as his partner. I want to make breakfast for him, watch movies with him, and I want to come home from work and have sushi and wine on the couch.”

Ethan listened, and he believed him. As someone who spent all day being lied to, as he investigated, he could tell when someone was being genuine.

Will was.

The man kept going.

“The sex is amazing, but I can live without that. I can’t live without him. That’s what Corbin isn’t thinking straight about. Love is more than lust. Love is the foundation of something great, and what we have is great, Ethan. I’ve never felt anythinglike it before in my life. The second I saw him in his parent’s pub, I knew. In that moment, he was the one.”

That was what Ethan hoped he’d say.

“Tell him that. Oh, and when he asks how you got in…lie your ass off, Mr. Prosecuting Attorney, or I’m going to the gallows. We’ll be out interviewing, so you’ll have to talk him down from the ledge.”

Well, Will would do that.

Anything in life worth living was worth fighting for, and Corbin was exactly that.

Will needed one thing.

“Can I hug you?” he asked. “Because I know how difficult it was to make this choice to tell me. I know how you’re trying to protect and save him, and frankly, I need a hug myself. I’m scared at how close I came to losing him.”

Honestly, he didn’t mind. Ethan let him, and he patted his back.

It wasn’t as awkward as he expected it to be. In fact, it felt nice.

Their family circle was definitely getting bigger.

“Be there for him. We can protect him, but we can’t protect his heart. He’s given that to you, and that’s the most precious thing you can trust a person with as I’m learning.”

Oh, Will would.

“I’ll protect him and love him until my last breath,” he stated. “I’ll die loving him.”

That was what he needed.

“You’re a good friend, Ethan. Thank you for coming here to tell me. Now, I can face Corbin, and help him through this. I’ll make sure he knows I’m sticking.”

That was all Ethan wanted.

“Love supposedly fixes everything. If you love him like you say you do, you can pull him out of this, Will. Gene and I lovehim, but it’s not the same kind of love. He needs a partner who won’t be shocked or horrified when he finally feels comfortable talking about it. That’s why I told you. You need to know what you’re up against so you can be there for the hard moments. There will be plenty of them as he fights to get back to where he once was.”

And he was grateful.

Will was honest.

“He loves you and Gene. When he talks about you both, he tells me how amazing you guys are, and how you’re his brothers. He is right. He has some amazing family, and I’m grateful for that. Thank you, Ethan, for having his back. I’m glad he can hide behind you until he’s strong enough. Now, he can hide behind the three of us, together.”

It was the least he could do.

“I’m heading back if you’d like to ride with me,” Ethan admitted. “I grabbed coffees, and I have one in the car for you.”

He smiled.

“You knew I’d come back?”

Blackhawk was honest.

“I had faith. If anything, I learned from someone I love that faith is an important thing.”