Appeal to the Heart Read online

  “Appeal to the Heart”

  M/M Gay Romance

  David Horne

  © 2021

  David Horne

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This book is intended for Adults (ages 18+) only. The contents may be offensive to some readers. It may contain graphic language, explicit sexual content, and adult situations. May contain scenes of unprotected sex. Please do not read this book if you are offended by content as mentioned above or if you are under the age of 18.

  Please educate yourself on safe sex practices before making potentially life-changing decisions about sex in real life. If you’re not sure where to start, see here: http://www.jerrycoleauthor.com/safe-sex-resources/ (courtesy of Jerry Cole).

  This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Products or brand names mentioned are trademarks of their respective holders or companies. The cover uses licensed images and are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any person(s) that may be depicted on the cover are simply models.

  Edition v1.00 (2021.01.11)

  http://www.DavidHorneauthor.com

  Special thanks to the following volunteer readers who helped with proofreading: Bob, RB, Big Kidd, Jennie O., and those who assisted but wished to be anonymous. Thank you so much for your support.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter One

  “Daddy, Daddy!”

  Joe looked up to see a little boy with thick black curls running into the room Joe had once called his office. He signed and turned away from his computer. So much for thinking he had a few minutes to check on emails for work. His four-year-old son had the ability to figure out when was the best time to disturb his dad from working.

  “What is it, James?”

  “Look!” James held up a big sheet of paper proudly. “I did this for you!”

  Joe did look. When he had last checked on his children, James and Lily had been at the kitchen table doing some colorings. Lily liked color by numbers and had been engrossed in one of her books. Not wanting to be outdone, James had wanted to do some scribbling as well. And he had. He had drawn a haphazard house with three wobbly-looking stickmen, a playground nearby and a car that could have resembled the one Joe drove.

  Not a work of art, but Joe’s heart softened at the sight. James hadn’t been interested in coloring or drawing at all. Trying to teach him how to hold a pencil and write his name had been more of a headache. But James had come along in the last few months, to the point he could even manage the letter J in the corner of the picture, marking it as his.

  “Wow, buddy.” Joe took the picture and beckoned his son over. “Did you do this all by yourself?”

  “I did.” James beamed. He clambered up onto Joe’s lap, his knees digging into everything before he was safely settled on Joe’s thigh. He began to point at things. “That’s our house, that’s you, that’s me, that’s Lily, that’s our car, and that’s our favorite playground.”

  “It’s really good, James.” Joe hugged his son. “You did well on this.”

  James giggled as his father tickled him. It was good to hear him laugh. That hadn’t always been the case.

  “Can I draw another picture, Daddy?”

  “Of course you can.” Joe kissed his son’s head and nudged him off his lap. “Just don’t snatch pencils from your sister. She won’t be impressed.”

  James pouted.

  “Lily’s using felt tip pens. I thought we weren’t allowed.”

  “I said Lily could use them if she behaved, which she has. I might extend the condition to you if you can behave as well.”

  “I can behave!” James lifted his chin defiantly. “I’m better behaved than Lily!”

  Joe bit back a smile. His son was very stubborn. No wonder he and Lily, while they loved each other, often butted heads.

  “We’ll see. You’ll be five soon. I’ll have a think about it for your birthday.”

  James grinned and then he hurried out of Joe’s office, sounding like an elephant the whole way. Joe could hear him go into the kitchen and loudly declare that he was going to get pens for his birthday. He couldn’t help but laugh at that. His son had no volume filter.

  He sat back in his chair and looked at the picture again. It was nice to see James involved in more than just playing with his train set, take an interest in lots of other things. He did try to copy his sister, which did make Lily unhappy on the odd occasion, but James was a bit more open.

  The effects of the divorce, even from a year ago, were beginning to wear off. Thankfully.

  Joe sighed and put the picture on his desk. He had noticed that James hadn’t drawn in his mother or asked if she was coming home. James hadn’t asked that for a few months now. It was like he had accepted, or given up, on having his birth mother in his life again as a big happy family. James had been a Mommy’s Boy and had been very upset when Tracey did leave. Joe hadn’t known what to do, and it was only with the help of a child therapist that James was able to understand and control his emotions. Children of divorced parents did often blame themselves for the breakup of a marriage. Some parents even blamed them, which was ludicrous. Joe would never blame his children.

  The one to blame was Tracey herself. She had lost interest in being a mother when James was two. She was staying out more and more until Joe wondered if she had been kidnapped. Then when she did finally come home, she was often drunk or high or both. Joe didn’t want that around his children, especially James. He had been at that inquisitive stage where he was into anything. Joe wasn’t about to endanger his son.

  Tracey hadn’t appeared to care. Joe had no idea what made her switch from loving mother and wife into someone he didn’t recognize anymore, but he didn’t like it. Any love for her had died when he realized she was putting herself before everyone else. Tracey loved sex and drugs, and she wasn’t afraid to show it.

  She had turned into a mess, and she needed help. But she refused it. The children were suffering, so Joe had had to kick her out. Filing for divorce had been with a heavy heart, but it was the right thing to do. He couldn’t have himself tied to someone who had gone into a tailspin. He knew Tracey would just make them more miserable if they stayed together.

  At least Lily and James were starting to recover from the divorce proceedings, which had been dragged out longer than Joe had wanted. James was now being a normal kid, happy and careful as a four-year-old should be. Lily was a little more reserved, but she had always been like that. She was a quiet, observant girl who was often far too serious. Joe adored both of them. Tracey hadn’t seemed to pay them any attention, even though Joe was generous with custody and gave her every other weekend.

  Now she was fighting for custody. When Joe knew she wasn’t stable in a home, job or mentality to look after children. It was like fighting a losing battle for her, but Tracey didn’t see it that way. It was all to hurt him.

  Hopefully, her antics would be a lot less ridiculous than the divorce and it wouldn’t drag out as long, either. Joe had no time for pathetic behavior. His lawyer was
dealing with most of it, so that was something; dealing with Tracey was nothing short of a headache.

  Fingers crossed, Lily and James wouldn’t be as affected this time around. Joe had taken forever to get them to how they were. He didn’t want to go through that again.

  “Daddy?”

  Joe looked up. Lily was standing in the doorway, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

  “Yes, Lily?”

  “Mr. Washington is at the door.”

  Joe groaned. Not again. This could only mean someone trying to stir up trouble again. Then he realized what Lily had said.

  “Wait, did you open the door to him, Lily?”

  “No! I looked through the window. He waved to me.” Lily frowned. “I’m not stupid, Daddy. I don’t open the door unless you say so.”

  “I know. I just wanted to check, honey.” Joe sighed and rose to his feet. “Go and play with your brother. I’ll see Mr. Washington.”

  He headed through the house to the front door, making a mental note of the house and its tidiness. The laundry had been done, the dishwasher was finished, and Joe had vacuumed that morning, plus the kids had spent most of the morning tidying their rooms. It was good enough for an impromptu CPS visit.

  For the fifteenth time in four months. This was getting ridiculous. Joe was getting sick of it.

  At least it was the same CPS worker who came out each time. He knew them enough now to know that these claims were false and ridiculous, but he still had to check.

  Joe opened the front door, and was greeted by a tall, dark-haired man with a goatee and somber hazel eyes. He was hunched over in his coat against the chill of the wind that whipped around him. Joe planted a hand on his hip and arched an eyebrow.

  “So, Mr. Washington. We meet again.”

  “I’m sorry, Joe. You know I have to follow it up no matter what.”

  “Sadly.” Joe sighed and beckoned the man in. “Come in before you get blown away. I swear there’s a gale out there.”

  “Thanks.” Mark Washington ducked into the house and shuddered with a sigh as he felt the heating seep into his body. “God, that feels better. I thought you were going to make me stand out there forever.”

  “It was a massive temptation.” Joe shut the door, having to lean against it with the wind. His house seemed to have been built in the middle of a wind tunnel. “But I didn’t want to ruin my good record with CPS.”

  “Very wise.” Mark chuckled.

  At least there were no hard feelings on that part. Mark was an easygoing man and actually listened. He had been the one to come each time there was an allegation of abuse or neglect against Joe, and he always came away saying he was more than satisfied that the allegations were false. Both men were in no doubt who had called them, but there wasn’t much Mark could do except make a note about it in their file.

  Which Joe believed he shouldn’t have, but he wasn’t the boss of CPS.

  Mark turned toward the kitchen door when there was the sound of footsteps, and Joe realized that James had come into the hallway. The little boy practically beamed at Mark.

  “Hi, Mark.”

  “Hey, James.” Mark’s smile was warm. “You being a good boy?”

  “Of course!” James puffed out his chest. “Daddy says I’m going to be ready for school soon! I’m nearly five.”

  “Five? Wow, big boy, certainly.”

  Joe had to admire the way Mark was with children. It was like a knack for him. It took a couple of visits before Lily and James were practically jumping on Mark asking him to play with them. It wasn’t in his job description to play with the children he was checking on, but Mark made time for it. Joe was stunned that this six-foot former athlete was happy to sit on the floor and play trains with kids he had been given worrying reports about. It did look odd.

  At least they weren’t scared. Joe was glad about that; these constant visits were beginning to take a toll on him. He couldn’t imagine how they would feel if they were nervous of CPS.

  Lily then appeared behind James, staying huddled by the door. But she gave Mark a friendly nod.

  “Hello, Mr. Washington.”

  “Hello, Lily.” Mark nodded back. “Are you doing okay today?”

  “We’re fine. James and I were doing some coloring.” Lily glanced at Joe. “Can Mr. Washington come and join in?”

  Mark arched an eyebrow at Joe, who rolled his eyes.

  “He can have a look, Lily, but Mr. Washington does have a job to do.”

  Lily nodded and disappeared. James trotted up and grabbed Mark’s hand, tugging him toward the kitchen. Mark gave Joe a helpless look.

  “I think I’ve been cajoled into staying a bit longer than I planned.”

  Joe sighed. He followed them down the hall.

  “I’ll put some coffee on, then.”

  He couldn’t exactly toss Mark back out. That was bad to do to a CPS worker. Even though he and Mark got along well enough, Joe did have to fight back his annoyance whenever he saw Mark. It meant that trouble was not far behind.

  It wasn’t fair on Mark, but that’s how Joe saw it.

  Lily was already sitting at the kitchen table as James practically dragged Mark in with Joe following close behind. The table was covered in various coloring books, pencils and sheets of paper. Lily’s own felt tip markers were laid out neatly in a metal tin beside her place. Lily picked up a pink pen and took off the lip.

  “Is Mommy talking badly about Daddy again?” She asked.

  Joe stared, almost missing a step. Mark managed to get James to stop pulling him, turning a curious look toward the little girl.

  “What makes you say that, Lily?”

  “Because you’re only here when someone’s said something nasty about Daddy. And the only person who doesn’t like him is Mommy.” Lily didn’t look up as she started coloring in a unicorn. “She’s been very mean about him for some time.”

  Joe didn’t know how to respond. He had tried to keep all of the bad stuff regarding the divorce and custody away from Lily and James. But evidently not well enough. Lily was more astute than he gave her credit for. And to say it so openly without batting an eyelid...that cracked his heart. Lily shouldn’t be so resigned to it. Children were supposed to love their parents.

  From the look of it, Lily was ambivalent about her mother.

  “Mean.” Mark leaned on the adjacent chair. “Why do you call your mother mean?”

  “Because she is.” Lily shot back, barely stopping with her coloring. “She’s been mean for a while now. I know it makes Daddy very upset.”

  Mark glanced at Joe, who simply shook his head and turned away. He wasn’t about to explain it. Joe filled coffeemaker with water and switched it on, listening in to Mark talking to Lily.

  “I know your mom and dad aren’t getting along, Lily.” His voice was calm and gentle. “But I’m just here to make sure you and James are safe. You want to be safe, don’t you?”

  “We are safe!” James piped up. He was now sitting at the table, drawing a big, wobbly circle with a red crayon. Lily nodded.

  “James is right. We are safe with Daddy.”

  “Mommy leaves us with Granny on her weekends but we don’t see Daddy complaining that she’s not looking after us.” James added loudly. “He’s not mean.”

  Joe froze. Tracey was leaving Lily and James with her mother when she was meant to be having the children? He had not known that at all. If he had, he would have raised hell with his lawyer about it. Tracey had wanted some custody and to be a perfect mother. How was she a perfect mother if she was dumping the children with their grandmother, who was not the nicest of people?

  And who also lived with a registered sex offender, Tracey’s brother Lucas. Joe had gone cold when he had heard about that. His former in-laws had tried to downplay it and say it was a misunderstanding, but Joe had read the news reports. It was not a misunderstanding, and it made him cold. He had told Tracey, pregnant with Lily at the time, that he wasn’t going to have any future children
around her brother. He put his foot down on that. At the time, Tracey had agreed. It sounded like she had completely ignored that now.

  Mark would know about Lucas. He was the one who had taken Lucas’ children away from him and his wife, who had preferred the bottle to being a parent.

  Tracey’s family were a mess, and Joe often wondered how he didn’t see it until too late.

  Mark hovered near the table a little longer, helping James draw and coloring a bit of Lily’s picture. He really was great with kids. He would certainly be a good father one day.

  Joe made two mugs of coffee and placed them on the center counter. Straightening up, Mark moved to join him, taking one of the mugs.

  “Thanks.”

  “The least I can do.” Joe swallowed. “I swear, I didn’t know that Tracey was letting her brother be around Lily and James. I would have gone straight to his parole officer, if that was the case.”

  “I know. And I’ll make the authorities aware of it myself. As a mandated reporter, I have to.” Mark sighed and shook his head. “I remember Tracey from before. She was pregnant with Lily then. I thought she was a level-headed woman.”

  “People change. And Tracey certainly did.”

  Joe had wondered if Tracey had suffered from postpartum depression. But Tracey had told him off for thinking that. She was not suffering from depression. She was fine. Even so, Joe still thought his ex-wife was undiagnosed with something. It was the only thing he could think of that made Tracey crazy and reluctant to bond with her children, especially James. No woman went off the rails so alarmingly as Tracey had without something in her psyche that she refused to address.

  Joe really wanted her to get help. She had been so against having any contact with Lucas after what he did. And now she was allowing him to see his niece and nephew when he wasn’t allowed around kids? Something was very wrong there.

  “This is good.” Mark gave an approving nod as he sipped his coffee. “You do know how to pick the best coffee.”