Steam (Homecoming Hearts #4)(77)

He was happy for them. His dad deserved someone special in his life.

“Maeve is a wise woman,” he said to Trent. “And she loves Ashby like her own son, I think.”

It was Trent’s turn to laugh. Ashby had been complaining that he’d got himself an American ‘mom.’ But Trent suspected he was secretly thrilled to have her fussing over him and caring so much.

“I won’t let her down,” he said in all seriousness. “I’m going to treat Ashby right. I promise.”

His dad nodded, apparently satisfied. “You decided what you’re going to do yet?”

Trent took in a deep breath of fresh, cold air. “Yes,” he said. “I’m going to cut back and only take on projects that I really want to do. And when I’m not working…I’ll come home. Here.”

His dad blinked rapidly, but his mouth quirked into a smile. “You sure your old man won’t cramp your style?”

“Oh, I’m buying a place in town,” Trent said with a laugh. “Now that Ashby has a job he’s crazy about, someone will need to drag him away from it every now and again. We’ll keep out of your hair. What’s left of it.”

His dad scoffed and batted Trent’s arm. “I still got plenty of hair,” he said.

Merlin woofed in agreement.

Trent never thought he would feel at home in Nowhere, Wyoming. But home was indeed where your heart was. He had his dad back. And he had Ashby. This was where he wanted to lay his hat.

The world would still be out there, waiting for him to explore. He never thought his wanderlust would fade. But he would travel with Ashby by his side now. Then they could come back to their little corner of the globe, a place they could carve out just for themselves.

He couldn’t wait.





Epilogue





Two Months Later





Ashby





“Guinevere, no! Sit!” Ashby said sternly to the St. Bernard puppy at his feet. She looked up at him with a doggy grin and wagged her tail. “Merlin’s been teaching you bad habits again, hasn’t he?” Ashby grumbled as he got back to work. He wasn’t really mad at his and Trent’s rambunctious puppy, though. He never could be.

He still didn’t want her and Merlin running around the bar and wrecking everything before Trent arrived. Ashby would hate for all his and his team’s hard work to go to waste.

It was a double event tonight. The bar and restaurant were having their grand reopenings and all the staff would be in attendance as well as guests from the local towns and further afield. Ashby didn’t need to be there, setting up himself. The events team were perfectly capable. But he was so proud, he wanted to have his boots on the ground, mucking in with the others.

He’d finished tweaking the table with all their new brochures on display, then smoothed down his skirt as he moved through the crowd over to the floral display.

He had leggings on under the skirt as well as his fluffy boots. But there was no mistaking his lacy blouse, lip gloss and eye makeup as anything other than ladylike. But, as he’d explained to Trent before, he wasn’t trying to look like a woman. He wasn’t wearing a bra or trying to alter his body shape in any way. He just felt like being pretty for the resort’s big party. And so far, the staff and guests had responded with overwhelming positivity.

Part of the relaunch and new marketing campaign had been because Ashby had proposed to Bob and the other managers that they make it known that the Grand Resort was now a rainbow-friendly vacation spot. Not exclusively LGBT, but somewhere which welcomed all guests, no matter their orientation. Bob had been very nervous thinking it would drive other customers away to begin with and Ashby couldn’t blame him. But ultimately, they decided that any guests that had a problem with a queer-friendly space could go on holiday elsewhere.

So Ashby wanted to feel free from gender constraints for the big opening. The way he felt free in so many aspects of his life now. He was liberated by his new job, thriving in a way he never thought possible. He was also completely, almost painfully, in love.

He sighed down at Guinevere, his thoughts turning bittersweet. Because this wasn’t just a party for the reopening.

It was also Trent’s farewell party.

He wouldn’t be gone for long. His next film was only scheduled to keep him away for six weeks and then he would be back until October. Ashby knew he would miss him like crazy, but it was fine. He had so much occupying his time now, he wouldn’t be bored. Trent promised they would talk every day, and Ashby thought he might fly out and visit him in Monaco halfway through the production.

He could tack it onto his trip back to London. He needed to finalize the sale of his flat and see some of his friends. There were a couple of them who were convinced he’d lost his mind. He needed to assure them he had never been happier in his whole life.

He had purpose. He was in love. He was living and expressing himself authentically. Now, if he could just wrap his head around this damn visa business he’d be all set.

Even though his mum was American, it still wasn’t easy. He was nearing the end of his tourism visa, and he had to leave the country. But he couldn’t leave Trent. He could extend it to a business visa for another three months, but then he would have to leave the country before he could come back on another visa. If the State Department saw any reason to ban him, they had the right to keep him out of the country for five whole years. There was no way Ashby could stand that. If his green card application would just hurry up…