Nobody's Son by Shae Connor Read Free Book Online

She held out her hand. “Say the blessing for us.”
    Shaun didn’t like praying out loud, and his gran knew it, but this he could do. He’d been saying the same short blessing almost since he could talk. He took her hand in his.
    “Father, bless this food and the hands that prepared it. In your name we pray. Amen.”
    “Amen.” Sherry gave his hand a small squeeze before pulling hers back. “Now, are you gonna tell me what’s going on? Or do I need to find a switch and beat it out of you?”
    It was a running joke with them. Shaun’s mama hadn’t wanted to spank him, and he’d rarely behaved badly enough to warrant it anyway. His gran had told him tales of being whipped with a switch when she was younger, but she’d never used one on her daughter or on him.
    “I’m all right, Gran.” He stirred his stew, waiting for it to cool enough to take a bite. “Just been busy. New computers at work and stuff.” It wasn’t a lie, but he wasn’t nearly ready to tell her what else was going on.
    “Mmm- hmm .” Sherry Rogers could put a world of meaning into those two wordless syllables. This time she meant, “I know that’s not all, and you know I know it’s not all, but I’ll let you be for now.”
    Shaun gave her a smile. “How was Sunday?” This time of year, the church had a “rising up” ceremony for the kids, where certain age groups were promoted to the next level in Sunday school and youth groups. Shaun could remember the anticipation and excitement he’d felt every time he was a member of one of those groups.
    Gran smiled. “Those kids get younger every year, God bless them. One little boy decided he didn’t like his bow tie, so he tried to take it off and got all tangled up. His mama had to go up and get him untied before he strangled himself.”
    Shaun laughed. “Maybe they should’ve gone for a clip-on.”
    “That’s what I said too.” She took a sip of her sweet tea. “You never did have anything else but clip-on ties until you could tie one yourself.”
    “And that means I still don’t have a real bow tie. Not that I have anywhere to wear one if I did.” The tux he’d rented for his senior prom had come with a banded bow tie that clipped together in the back, so even then he hadn’t needed to tie it.
    “You probably won’t, unless you plan to turn into some kind of secret agent 007 James Bond type or get married or something.”
    Married . Shit. That just brought Shaun back to half the reason for his mixed-up thoughts. He took another bite of his stew and chewed slowly, trying to keep his face neutral so Gran wouldn’t start asking questions again.
    What could he expect to happen if he told her he preferred men? She spent every Sunday and several nights during the week on church activities. She read her Bible every night before bed. She watched some religious shows on TV, too, though he counted himself thankful that she wasn’t a fan of most televangelists—or of the conservative hosts on Fox News, for that matter, even though some of her friends never watched anything else. She mostly voted Democrat, and he’d never heard her repeat any of the usual antigay talking points. He went to church with her now and then, and he hadn’t heard any of that from the pastor, either.
    He should probably figure out a way to ask some leading questions, get a sense of how she might react. But not tonight , he thought, taking another bite of stew and then washing it down with a sip of tea. Tonight he just wanted to enjoy her company.
    He took another tack. “Did Darnell stop by yesterday?”
    Sherry smiled broadly. “He did. Fixed that drip under the sink in two shakes. He’s a good man.”
    Shaun nodded and returned the smile. “He is.” Darnell Curtis was the closest thing Shaun had to a stepfather. He’d been dating Shaun’s mama seriously when she died, and since he worked for a contracting company, he’d been the one to spearhead the work to finish Shaun’s basement room.
    “He