Spirit by John Inman Read Free Book Online Page A

But I returned his smile with one of my own.
    “Then it’s settled,” I said. “While you’re in town, you can spend as much time with Timmy as you like. Come over whenever. I work at home. We’ll almost always be here. Where are you staying? Did you fly out or drive? Do you have a car?”
    Again Sam looked uncomfortable. If he hadn’t been sitting, he would probably have been shuffling his feet. “My car’s parked around the corner. I haven’t found a place to stay yet. I just drove into town a couple of hours ago. I’m sure there’s a motel close. Maybe you can suggest one.”
    “Stay here,” Timmy said.
    Sam and I looked over at the kid. He had a green bean poking out of each ear.
    Timmy grinned at the expressions on our faces.
    When he knew he had our full and undivided attention, green beans be damned, he said it again. This time to me. “Let Uncle Sam stay here. Then we can play hide and seek.”
    “Oh, no,” Sam said, but I ignored him. I was still staring at Timmy. The kid looked sincere. Even with the beans.
    “Would you really like your Uncle Sam to stay here with us so you can get to know him?”
    “Sure. It’ll be fun. We could play tag too.” Timmy gave a big tooth-baring grin to expose a green bean draped over his front teeth. Combined with the two sticking out of his ears, it made him look absolutely insane.
    Sam and I laughed. Then we gazed at each other.
    Before Sam could open his mouth and try to wiggle out of the invitation, I asked him point blank. “Would you like to stay with us? There’s plenty of room.” Was there an ulterior motive niggling around in the back of my head? Even I wasn’t sure. All I really knew was that it made sense. What better way for Timmy to get to know his uncle than by living under the same roof with him for a couple of weeks. And it would even save the guy some money. That’s always a good thing, right?
    Sam said exactly what I knew he would say. “I don’t want to impose.”
    “Nice try,” I said. “But frankly, you’d be doing me a favor. Maybe I can even take a nap without worrying about the kid shaving the dog bald.”
    Timmy’s eyes popped open wide, like that was the best idea he had heard in weeks. He leaned over the edge of his chair to peer into the living room, where Thumper was snoring like a diesel engine in among the sofa cushions.
    I narrowed my eyes and reached across the table to tap Timmy on the head with a fork. “Don’t even think about it.”
    Sam laughed. Then he offered me a very handsome, very sincere look of pure gratitude. It was so handsome and so sincere that for some reason I felt my dick stir in my pants. Good grief, that was unexpected.
    He laid his hand over mine atop the table, and my dick gave another tiny lurch. “I would love to stay,” he said softly. “And I won’t just be getting to know Timmy. I’ll be getting to know you too. We’re practically related after all.”
    I raised a finger and wagged it in front of his face. “But we’re not.”
    He grinned and his face reddened. “No, Jason. We’re not.” Then he gently added, “Thank you for doing this.”
    My poor dick was confused. Was I putting the moves on the guy or simply being hospitable? Even I wasn’t sure anymore.
    “It’s settled, then,” I said.
    “Settled,” Sam echoed.
    Timmy plucked the green beans out of his ears and poked them both into his mouth with the other one, chewing them all into a pulp. “Yay!” he sputtered, spitting green beans down the front of his shirt by accident. Then he looked down at himself and groaned. “Oops.”
    Sam was about to say something, but once again I waggled my finger in his face before he had a chance.
    “Too late to back out now. You already said yes.”
    He blinked and smiled. His big warm hand still rested over mine, and I was really digging the way it felt.
    “That I did,” he said.
    “You better watch out,” Timmy said, licking the green beans off his shirt. “Uncle Jason likes