Will & Patrick Wake Up Married by Leta Blake Page B

question. But there are ways to improve the life of Healing’s citizens and visitors without expanding the borders, and creating job opportunities for people living on the rez would be an extra bonus if his plans work out.
    The streets are mostly empty this early in the morning, though there are a few cars on the road and a flurry of people outside Brown Gargle for coffee. Will trudges ahead, spying the Good Works building. It’s a new stone and brick one-story full of office space built on the site of a former strip mall. In Will’s opinion, the building is a nice addition to the town: classic, sturdy. And the location can’t be beat. It’s close to the hospital, Old Healing, and the Tallgrass. And it isn’t far from the Methodist church where AA meetings are held twice daily in the basement.
    Like a lot of small towns, Healing has its fair share of alcoholics and other addicts.
    Will has dedicated employees, but it’s not yet eight in the morning, so the parking lot of Good Works is empty and Will’s BMW is right where he left it. Snug in his coat and heated car, he drives the short distance to Eleanora’s house.
    When Eleanora Molinaro arrived in Healing thirty years ago, the house she chose reflected the new life she intended to live. In the old money neighborhood of Langershire, she purchased a two-story Sears Alhambra built in the twenties and massively renovated and enlarged it. It’s one of the oldest houses remaining in Healing.
    As Will parks the car, he considers his grandmother’s home. It’s as classically beautiful as she is herself. To the right, set off behind the large, currently hibernating rose garden, is a guest cottage with a full kitchen, its own back entrance, and separate drive. It’s a perfect location for him to hide away with his strange new husband.
    He wipes his sweaty hands on his jeans, cold air stinging his nostrils as he heads to the front door. His heart pounds. The ground sways beneath his feet. He presses the bell and within moments, Reba, his grandmother’s “woman” (what that means, he’s never quite sure), opens the door, still in her robe, and yawning. The gray in her dark hair glints in the morning sun, and her walnut eyes blink sleepily until she recognizes him.
    “William! Come in, come in. Your grandmother’ll be so pleased to see you. She thought you were traveling this week in Nevada.”
    “I’m sorry to wake you.”
    “No, we’re up. Having coffee and breakfast. Come along.” She takes his coat and hangs it in the entryway closet.
    Reba’s been part of Will’s life for as long as he can remember. When he was little, she fed him crispy strips of bacon and told him Lakota stories her grandfather taught her. While Reba lives in his grandmother’s home, Will’s never understood the nature of their relationship. They sleep in the same bed at times, but his mother says that’s just loneliness. Will’s not sure of that at all, yet Eleanora is more apt to treat Reba as a servant than a friend or a lover.
    It is what it is. Will decided that years ago, and he thinks it again as he follows Reba’s slender back down the spotless hallway to the sunny breakfast room.
    “William, darling!” Eleanora exclaims. Her blond hair with gray streaks is curled into an elegant bob, and her makeup is freshly applied. She sits at the table wearing a cream pantsuit, and Will suddenly wants to ask if Reba dresses her, but that’s absurd.
    “Hello, Nonna.”
    “Kisses.”
    Will crosses the sunny room, the scent of coffee and warm bread in his nose. He bends down to receive his kiss on the cheek. As he straightens, Eleanora grabs him by the collar and glares into his eyes.
    “Out with it. What’ve you done? I recognize that look. It’s your I-have-a-confession expression.”
    Reba snatches up her coffee and plate of jellied toast and leaves the room as quickly as if she’d been dismissed.
    As soon as the door is shut behind her, Will admits, “Yeah, Nonna. I messed