A New Pair of Steel Shoes Read online

  Nathan’s mouth quirked on one side. “I will over dinner, though I’m not entirely sure you’ll believe me. However, answer me one question. Will you be my date to a Halloween party?”

  Lucas blinked, confused. “You do realize it’s only the middle of September, right?”

  “Yes.” He took a deep breath, knowing that the words he was about to say could be taken the wrong way. “But that’s how convinced I am that I want to spend all my days and nights with you.”

  “Are you…have you lost your mind?” he asked, making no attempt to move, his arms loose around Nathan’s waist.

  “No,” Nathan replied, giving him a quick peck. “I believe I have found my heart.”

  A moment passed in which panic tried to seize hold of his chest. Everything balanced precariously on the edge of a high cliff, one tiny little push and he’d be falling, but would it be back into heartbreak and loneliness or into the welcoming embrace of love?

  “Well,” Lucas spoke, that damned light shining in his eyes. “You can’t fault a man for knowing what he wants.” Then he added in a whisper, “And in that case…”

  He pulled Nathan closer, a hand flat on the small of Nathan’s back, their hips now touching. It was all Nathan could do not to be aroused, not even one questioning the fact that he wanted a man. Being with Lucas felt right, safe, it felt like home, and wasn’t that where he told Birch to take him? They shared another fevered kiss, Lucas burying his hands in Nathan’s hair, the heat ratcheting up between them. Nathan knew if they kept things up there would be no slowing down, they’d reach the point of no return, and now was not the time. Not with Birch standing out in the backyard.

  By some mutually unspoken agreement, they both pulled back gently, obviously wanting to stay close. Lucas trailed his hand down the back of Nathan’s neck, over his shoulder and brought it to rest over Nathan’s heart. “I can’t recall the last time anyone made me feel so…”

  “Complete?” offered Nathan.

  “Yes. Complete.”

  “Then you’ll go with me to the party?”

  Lucas nodded. “And every one after that.”

  “And to think, this all happened because of a pair of horseshoes.”

  One of Lucas’s eyebrows rose. “Come again?”

  Nathan laughed. “Come on, let me show you. I think you’re going to love hearing this little gem.”

  Hand in hand, they wandered back outside, Nathan already recounting the terrible breakup with Marsha, the one that now seemed slightly insignificant, the pain from it long gone. The broken pieces of his heart had been put back together, though now they threatened to burst at the seams from the overwhelming love building up within. As he picked up one of Birch’s front feet to show the shoes to Lucas, he made a mental note to call Eleanor and thank her for the best gift he could have received.

  A pair of new sparkling horseshoes.

  THE END

  ABOUT KASSANDRA LEA

  Kassandra Lea lives in WI where she enjoys the bitter winters with long hours of writing. She shares her living space with a cast of four-legged critters, her mom, and a friendly ghost.

  ABOUT JMS BOOKS LLC

  JMS Books LLC is a small queer press with competitive royalty rates publishing LGBT romance, erotic romance, and young adult fiction. Visit jms-books.com for our latest releases and submission guidelines!