This week’s offering is a heart-warming, or heart-breaking (depending on your viewpoint) little drabble by Jackie Keswick which brought a lump to my throat when I read it. Jackie writes a heady mix of suspense, action adventure, fantasy and history, so if you liked this, you’re sure to find more books and stories to love on her website. And in the meantime, here are Renish and Frank, making it perfect.
***
The sky was green, but not the comforting, soft, yellowish-green of an approaching sunset. The cloud rising from the crash site was the acid green of poisonous smoke, and it grew and drifted ever closer. In a few hours it would reach the storm border, where the prevailing winds would collect it and spread it far and wide.
The end would come soon after that.
Renish had stared at the billowing cloud for most of the day, finding the approaching death oddly hypnotic. Now, though, he turned his back on the spectacle and faced the opposite way.
Earlier that morning, when it became apparent that nothing could be done to prevent the disaster, he’d sent a message. And just as he’d known it would, Frank’s big pickup truck appeared in the distance.
Renish walked out to meet him, eyes fixed on the compact, grizzled man emerging from the cab. Solid, dependable, and with a gentle sense of humour that warmed rather than hurt, Frank had always been “it” for Renish.
Frank’s gaze ran over Renish’s body, checking for damage. Then his focus widened to take in the devastation on the plain and the approaching death before it returned to Renish. “So that whole being hurt thing was a ruse to get me to come out here?” he asked in a deep rumble that sent electric shivers up Renish’s spine.
Renish met his eyes. “Well, sure. If the world is going to end, or whatever is going to happen once that cloud hits the storm border, I wanted to be with you.”
“You could have been with me all those years, you know?” Frank pointed out. “You knew how I felt.”
“You’re right. And yes, I’ve always known, but… I’ve been a coward.”
“Renish Farleigh, a coward is the last thing you’ve ever been.” Frank waved at the green cloud, which no doubt had climbed even higher while they spoke. “You’ve had the courage to put MY career before our happiness. If it had been my choice—” His voice broke. Then he took two small steps forward and did what neither one of them had dared before. He put his arms around Renish. Right there on the devastated plain, not caring that the rescue crews could see them.
And Renish hugged back, losing himself in the scents of man, cologne, and dust, and taking comfort from the solid strength surrounding him. This was so much better than anything he’d imagined over the years.
“I didn’t want to die regretting I’d never held you,” he whispered. “Or that I’d never told you I loved you. Maybe that’s selfish of—”
“No.” Frank laid his head on Renish’s shoulder and kept their fingers twined. “I’ve always known how you felt, too. And I’m glad you called me. This,” he tightened his fingers around Renish’s, “is right. Now make it perfect and kiss me.”
RoM/Mantic Reads 