“I know it’s hard, Mom, but cut him a little slack. This hasn’t been easy on Bryce. He screwed up, but it came from a place of not wanting to hurt you. He’s just a bonehead and didn’t know what else to do.”

“Gee, thanks, Jamie.” But really, he appreciated his brother’s support.

“What are big brothers for?” he asked.

Bryce ignored him, stood and walked over to his mom. He kneeled on the floor between her legs, gently prying her hands from her face. “I’m sorry. So sorry for hurting you. That wasn’t the plan, but I know it’s what I did. I love you, Ma. I just didn’t want to let you down. I never want to lie to you again, which is why I’m hitting you with the rest of this right now, okay? No secrets. I want to be upfront with all of you.”

He saw Mitch stiffen, probably wondering what was going on. His father still had yet to say a word. His mom wiped her eyes and looked up, strong as ever. “Might as well tell me everything so I can kick your ass for all of it at once.” Christ, he loved the woman. She was a good parent. Both of them were. He hoped like hell they could accept what else he had to say.

Bryce stood, grabbed the footstool and pushed it to the center of the room. He needed to sit to do this. His right leg was bouncing up and down like crazy. “I...” He needed to spit it out. It’s not that big a deal. They wanted him to get serious about someone and now he was.

There was a shifting sound and he looked up to see Jamie stand, walk toward him and put a hand on his shoulder. He’d never loved his brother more than he did in that moment. It gave him the strength he needed to continue. “I’ve met someone else. We’ve been seeing each other for a while now. I can’t promise where it’ll go for sure...well, once I tell you who it is, you’ll understand why, but this person means a lot to me. He means more to me than I ever thought someone could.”

The room was deathly quiet.

Mitch didn’t take his eyes off Bryce. Abbey studied him as though he’d confirmed something to her, but she still wasn’t totally sure what to think about it. His mom...well, she looked confused as hell—red eyed and dragged through the ringer.

“He?” she finally asked. “You’re gay? Is that why you’ve never been serious about anyone?”

“No,” Bryce shook his head vehemently. “I mean, I’m with a man, with Nick, so I guess that means I’m gay...? Or bisexual at least, but it isn’t something that’s ever happened to me before. I’ve never been attracted to another man or anything. I didn’t settle down before because...” Well, he guessed because he hadn’t met the right person. “I’ve just never felt the need. But yeah, I’m with Nick. Christi knows, and she’s happy for me. I just...” Need you to be happy for me, too.

Bryce’s mom pushed to her feet. “When are you going to grow up, Bryce? You’re thirty-two years old. Don’t you think it’s time you grew up by now?”

Jamie spoke before Bryce could say anything. “Mom, he’s happy. Hell, I could see what Nick meant to him before Bryce did. I know it’s a shock, but—”

“Yes. It is a shock, but that’s not what pisses me off. If Bryce was gay, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. He just can’t make up his mind about anything! How many school programs did you start before settling on motorcycle mechanics?” she asked Bryce.

“That has nothing to do with this.”

“It has everything to do with this. Too many, and that doesn’t count working with Dad. Every time you started one, you’d tell us you finally found it. What you were meant to do. You’d get excited and then we’d get excited, only for you to change your mind. You dated like crazy because you couldn’t settle on one woman, either. Then you decided your best friend was the woman for you and I didn’t dare let myself hope. I knew you’d change your mind about her as well, but after a while...I believed. I hoped. You fell in love with motorcycles and you stuck with that. Then I thought you fell in love with Christi and were sticking with her as well, but obviously that was a lie. Now I’m supposed to believe you’ve suddenly realized you’re into men and that you’re serious about Nick, when you’ve never honestly been serious about anything in your life. None of it has really lasted, Bryce... I just thought... I thought you would have grown out of it by now, but I guess I was wrong.”

Each of her words stabbed another nail into his chest. Is that really how she saw him? Is that really how he was? He’d never told her he was in love with Christi, or that they were serious, she’d just assumed. With Nick, he was telling them. He needed them to know.