A couple of weeks later the town of Emerald City held it's annual "Fete de Jewel " a pitiable play on the town's name, but a fun and wonderful affair. Townspeople and vacationers alike were out in full force during the second week in June. The sun shown hotly, the sky was azure, and everyone had a sense of fun about them. Tobias had been coming down every weekend. During the week in Washington he was putting in long hours and focusing more on his work than ever before; one, so that he could escape to his hometown on weekends and steal Gen out from under Tim and two, he had been feeling lately that this year may just be his time to make partner at Glynn, Devlin, and Whittlesey; allowing him to pay his father back the money borrowed in order to renovate the art studio. He was feeling uncommonly optimistic. He knew it was in no small part in thanks to Christopher Keller, whom his parents seem to adore; he was Toby's "friend" and always had positive and insightful things to say about their son. He also chased away the empty nest syndrome they had been feeling. Toby had been an inconsistent visitor ever since graduating from high school and going off to college and at the moment, Angus, the youngest was in Spain for the summer, but even he had chosen to go away to Princeton, away from his family. Harrison was practicing law part time while he and Victoria ran the inn, it was nice to have a "son" around constantly, who ran errands, appreciated Mrs. Beecher's cooking and loved to talk sports with Mr. Beecher. Toby had to admit that life was going along perfectly. He, his parents, and Chris were situated on a blanket, under a large tree watching the men, women, and children as they passed by, balloons, candy, and stuffed animals in hand. He and Chris were playing chess and ever so often he would steal a glance at Chris, who stared intently at the board. Tobias found that when he did come to town he would go to see Chris first, not Gen nor his parents. He told himself that it was because he wanted a report on what Gen had said regarding him and how her engagement to Tim McManus was going. He often spoke to her two or three times a week and she never would discuss Tim or the engagement, she had even downplayed the large diamond engagement ring he had given her.
Suddenly Chris glanced up, catching him and for a change Toby didn't color or stumble he just smiled warmly and moved a pawn.
"Your turn." He said softly. Chris gave him a slightly questioning look.
"Son, we're so glad you've been coming down so often. We really have missed seeing you more." His mother said, taking a light sip of her lemonade. "With Angus so far away, it's nice to have at least one of our boys close to home." She looked lovingly at Toby. It had been awhile since his mother had looked at him with something other than worry and slight disappointment. It felt good.
"Well, mother I've felt that we've all been a bit closer and maybe you and dad aren't as mad at me as you once were." It was true, when he'd told them he wasn't interested in practicing law in Emerald City, it had hit the fan.
"That's true Toby, we were angry and hurt." His father chimed in. That was a bolt out of the sky, his father admitting to something like that. To him. In front of Chris.
"But, we've seen a change in you for the better, and we have to give your friendship with Chris a lot of the credit. Young man, you've been a great influence on our son." He and Chris just looked at each other, and tried not to laugh.
"Mr. Beecher, Mrs. Beecher I owe you guys so much, it's been my honor to be considered a friend." He actually meant it.
"Please, call us Harrison and Victoria. We just feel, for some reason like your family. Sort of like another son." Harrison said. Chris beamed. Toby choked on his beer.
"Tobias, you really shouldn't drink that so fast," his mother scolded.
At that, Chris jumped up and patted the grass from his jean-clad ass, getting appreciative, yet discreet glances from both Victoria and Toby. "I really gotta' get back to the Inn, I promised Kenny I'd be back by one so the kid could come to the festival."
"I'll come with you." Toby volunteered quickly. They left his parents comfortably sitting on the blanket. When they were out of sight of the Beechers they burst out laughing uncontrollably, so much so that even in the busy crowd people stared. They took a shortcut into the woods, away from the goings on.
"You are a good influence on me Christopher Keller." He said in mock stern voice.
"C'mon they mean well and they love you, and they show it. A lot of people never get that from their parents." He said a bit too seriously.
"Yeah, you're right." They walked through the large open wood trail in silence for a few minutes.
"So, do you think Gen's about to give in?" Chris asked suddenly.
"Who knows, I think she's confused about her feelings. I'm not the man she knows and I think it scares her, excites her a bit, but she doesn't quite trust it all."
"You think she loves you?"
"Yeah. I think she's always loved me. I don't think she's actually liked me until recently. Thanks to you." He said looking sideways at Chris. Wow look at that profile. Look up man in the dictionary; see a picture of one Christopher Keller, MAN! Bold and Capital letters.
"You're a good guy Toby. You always have been, I can tell. Just self-involved and with a sense of entitlement. Who wouldn't be in your situation?"
That's what he loved about Chris; he could point out your flaws and yet make you feel like a million dollars at the same time.
"Can we stop for a minute?" Toby said. They were alone on the path, nothing but the sound of birds and squirrels. Looking up Chris could see the sun dappling through the trees, his light blue tee sticking to him slightly.
Toby took a step towards him, closing the gap between them. Chris had maybe an inch on him and he looked helplessly into those midnight eyes that looked at him with an ache and hunger that he could feel throughout. He put his right hand tentively to Chris' heart, feeling the steady throbbing of it and it made his cock come alive. Chris took his left hand and slowly, ever so slowly caressed that arm, feeling the light, blond hairs. He loved and desired this man. This man who just wanted to use him to soothe his family ties and convince someone else that she was the love of his life.
Toby closed his eyes and just experienced the two-fold pleasure of Chris' heart and hands. He then felt another strong hand at the base of his neck, gently but firmly pulling him forward to those lips, those beautiful lips that he had to kiss. Toby dropped the one hand and wrapped his arms under Chris'. As their lips met, Tobias pressed his tongue forcefully into Chris' mouth. Their tongues dueling for dominance, the warm and moist feel, making every nerve in their bodies come alive. Chris pulled Toby to him violently; as if he were afraid Toby might up and disappear. They just stood their, taking breaths between fierce kisses.
"Just be with me Toby, just be with me," he pleaded in his ear, hot with desire and need. In the back of his mind Toby wanted desperately to say yes, but something just wouldn't let him. "I. I can't," He said, suddenly backing away as if Chris were a hot poker. He swiftly ran his hands through his tousled, blond locks. He had been growing it out a bit, so his fingers had small curls to occupy their nervousness.
"Chris. I have feelings for you. Fuck, I desire you, but. This. You. Me. It doesn't fit into my life. I'm supposed to live my life a certain way. The firm. Genevieve. My family. Fuck, we had a deal. Don't go back on that." He was practically begging Chris not to make him love or feel.
"I think I should leave." Chris said with tightly controlled anger. Panic filled Tobias' eyes.
"No! You can't! You have to help me with Gen, keep the parents happy." He said with a lame laugh. What he was really saying both knew, was "I want and need you near me, but on my own terms." It was the same for Chris. They walked the half-mile back to the Inn in silence; Tobias afraid to say anything, stealing glances at Chris' angry, tight profile the entire time. When they reached the Victoria Inn, Chris went inside without speaking to Toby, who got into his car that he had left in a parking space and drove off towards his parent's house.
Inside, Chris headed to the kitchen storage area and found Kenny Wangler, a recent high school graduate, who had worked for the Beecher's every summer since age 13, doing inventory. "Hey kid, gimme' that and go enjoy the festival. I'll finish up here," he said reaching for the clipboard in the young man's hand.
"Yo, Keller you're early. I still got a half and hour on the clock."
"Don't sweat it, I'm suddenly not in the mood for a party."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, I'll check you later." He said with the enthusiasm that only teenagers seem to possess and bounded out the door. Chris could faintly hear him talking to someone, he picked up the words "Mr. McManus...SATs...University of Florida", then the voices faded away and stopped. A few seconds later, there was a slight knock at the open door and Tim stood in the doorway.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure, my storeroom is your storeroom", he said without humor. He watched Tim McManus closely. Of all the people he had met in Emerald City, this guy was the hardest to figure out. Besides himself, he couldn't picture anyone else who seemed more out of place in this city, as this McManus character. Another thing, it was obvious to anyone who was looking that Genevieve's affections were cooling towards him and heating up towards Tobias and yet, he seemed very cool and certain when it came to her.
"You know, I'm not originally from here. Not even this area. I'm actually from Buffalo, New York." He began in a conversational tone. Chris just continued to watch him. Tim looked around at the canned goods lining the shelves as he continued. "Before I moved here, around six years ago, I was a prison administrator at the Oswald Correctional Facility, isn't that a funny coincidence. Same street you live on. We just called it Oz for short. Anyway, I gave all that up. The stress was killing me and my wife Ellie, she said the place was changing me and not for the better, so she left me."
"It's a sad story, but..." Chris did not like the vibe coming his way.
"I still have friends who work in corrections and law enforcement. When you came to town and suddenly became Gen's confidante and the third Beecher boy. I guess all those old instincts from working around cons so much kicked in. So I contacted a friend of mine, Sean Murphy, and I had him do some digging. I guess I don't have to tell you what he found out." He stated calmly. There was no malice in how he presented this; in fact he seemed fatigued by it all.
Chris' eyes flashed. What did this fucker want?
"Hey, I don't know what it is between you and Tobias Beecher. I can guess. Looking at you two together you seem like you're in love. His family seems to really like you and that's great for you all, it's a love fest. Of course how they miss this thing between you two, I'll never know. These are nice people and I don't believe you would do anything to purposely hurt them. But that's really fucking none of my business and not my concern. However, this all involves Genevieve and my relationship with her. With all this bullshit about you being an old friend of Tobias', you guys are painting a picture that's taking her away from me. And I can't have that, I won't have that."
"That a threat?" Chris asked menacingly.
"Just a fact, like the weather." He said simply. He then said something completely unexpected. "I don't have a lot of money, alimony, yah know. But, I will give you $20,000 to make sure that Genevieve doesn't have a change of heart in my direction. You know that's what you want. She's standing in your way of Tobias, we both know that. He wants to marry her for the same reasons I love her. She represents all that is a perfect existence; beautiful, smart, good family, kind, supportive. However, for some reason she can't seem to completely let him go; outwardly, they should fit. You and I both know it never could work, in the end it would all turn to hell. Tobias knows it, but won't admit it and Gen, well she's just easily persuaded, I guess. I don't want you to leave that would cause too much of a disruption, for some reason people are just drawn to you. So just think it over, I'm offering you quick cash without having to even break a sweat."
Chris let out a laugh. What the hell had he gotten himself into with Tobias Beecher? He felt like he was on a soap opera. He shook his head in amazement. $20,000 wasn't a lot of money, but it was more than he had. This could be the easiest ponzi he'd ever run and without much effort or change in what he was doing. There was Tobias to consider, he had actually convinced himself that being with Gen would make him happy and yet Chris knew that his presence in Toby's life was even more important, Toby wouldn't admit it though. To hell with him! Why the fuck should he sit around and play nursemaid to some closet case, 'cause that's what he was. A man who would rather live some fucking 7th Heaven fantasy, instead of his real life.
He looked hard at Tim McManus. "Keep your wallet in your pocket...for now."
"Okay. So you and this Chris guy were making out in the woods..." began Ryan, as he took a drink of his cola. Tobias and Ryan were in Toby's office working on another tax evasion case, nothing as big as the Morales deal, but a case nonetheless, that if it went their way would get both of them closer to the top floor. The door was closed and the air conditioning humming away as they munched on paninis and pop from the sandwich shop around the corner.
It was the following Thursday since the festival and he hadn't spoken to Chris since then, and true to form Toby was a wreck inside, but seemed calm on the surface.
"We weren't making out... We just kissed, and touched a little." Ryan was not convinced. "First you try to bribe her with real estate, now your lover is supposed to convince her how great it would be if she married you. You guys are so fucked up!" He said with a laugh, taking a bite of his pickle.
"Speaking of fucked up, how are things with beautiful and intense Dr. Nathan? You haven't been talking about her as much lately?" he asked, wanting to not focus on his own messed up personal life at the moment.
Ryan took a deep breath. "I don't know. I love her and all, but it's like she won't admit that she loves me. It's like she's fighting it. You'd think I was a killer or something. I'm just as well off as Preston, got a fucking education. We got a fuck load more in common than that WASPY prick she's married too; working class Catholic's both of us. Maybe that's the problem, I remind her too much of where she comes from. I dunno."
"Having stuff in common doesn't necessarily mean it'll work. Gen and I should have long ago been married... But you know, I think things are looking up. She's coming up this weekend and Sunday, we're having brunch at the waterfront."
"Maybe, I'll see you there. Claire and I were planning to spend Sunday together, maybe brunch, maybe on the mall." He said casually. He looked at Ryan in surprise. He'd been seeing Claire the exact amount of time he'd been "seeing" Christopher. Usually Ryan saw, came and went when it came to woman, except Gloria. This Claire must be something in and out of the sheets to hold Ryan's attention this long. Like most men he usually went for the cute ones; no denying that Gloria was stunning, as had been his previous girlfriend, Shannon, whom he'd dumped the moment he'd met Gloria Nathan. Maybe he was maturing and learning to see beyond the surface.
They again focused on the paperwork before them. The short and the sweet of it was that the government was trying to prove that a charity organization created and maintained by Kareem Said, "Kareem's Dream", was misappropriating government allocated funds. The organization helped underprivileged children all over America go to camps, take cultural trips, and attend colleges and universities. It received 75% of its monies from private donations and the other 25% was government grants. The two spent many late hours working it and found that maybe some of the bookkeeping had gotten a little sloppy, but on the whole that this client was actually innocent! They just had to make all the numbers fit, cross all the T's and dot the I's.
As they worked Toby's thoughts went from Chris to Gen. How had everything gotten so screwed up? Why was he suddenly so doubtful and afraid towards Genevieve actually coming around. Would it really be so frightening to be in a relationship with a man, especially if that man was Chris Keller? He knew it had a lot to do with perceptions from the outside world. Yeah, O'Reily was seemingly okay with his relationship with Chris, even somewhat supportive; he mainly seemed to think that they were just maladjusted, not disgusting. But, out the real world could he, would he, be able to be with Chris and not feel scared and ashamed. Chris for all his faults deserved a fuck lot more than what Toby was willing to give him. Sometimes it was a bitch being aware of your shortcomings. He sighed and went back to his briefs.
Go to next part.