Read Online A Better Man (The Men of Halfway House) by Jaime Reese - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jaime Reese
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Moment over. Matt still remembered the sensation of Julian's touch. Soft, caressing, not harsh or rough as one would expect with his appearance.
He sighed and tried to focus on the spreadsheets in front of him. Everything was moving along rather nicely. He finally had the money from the sale of his condo and the project was going as planned. Somewhat. He weighed the pros and cons of pushing things with Julian. He just couldn't do it. Things were great between them and the renovation was on schedule. He hoped the trend would continue even though the situation with Julian was slowly wearing away at him.
Chapter 8
July
Matt continued to work on the state government paperwork as he tried to ignore the vibrating cell phone that danced across his desk again. Even though the call was expected, he didn't have the heart to answer it just yet. He grabbed the phone after it quieted and looked at the display—one voice mail and four missed calls.
He sighed. He figured it might be safe to start with the voice mail. He swiped his finger across the screen a few times and heard the familiar tinny voice through the ear piece.
"Happy birthday, Matt," his brother's voice began.
Matt fidgeted with the ends of the paper, trying to busy himself as he listened to the hesitation in his brother's voice. He knew the tone. His brother still harbored guilt for what had happened.
"I…um…just wanted to call to wish you a happy birthday. Shit, uh, I said that already. Um…I hope you're okay. I just wanted to talk to you and maybe work something out where we can see each other. I know it's been a few years, but…I…fuck, Matt…I hate this stupid machine. Just don't shut me out, okay? I want to see you and try to make things right. I stopped drinking and I'm trying to…I'm trying…Matt, just please call me. Okay? I miss my brother…happy birthday," he finished quietly, losing his stamina.
Matt ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled deeply. He hadn't seen his brother in years, outside a few random visits while in prison. With each visit, the guilt grew heavier for his brother until Matt finally asked him to stop coming by. He had made his decision based on what he thought was best at the time, and all he wanted for his brother was for him to clean up his act, stop the drinking, and focus on being the man Matt knew he could be. Now that Matt was out of prison and his brother sober, he was worried about reuniting with him—worried it would send his brother in another tailspin of guilt and return him to the bottle that had played such a role in his downfall.
His frustration was at an all time high. Family had always been so important to him and he just didn't know how to handle things now after so much change in the last five years. More than anything, Matt had changed. He felt as if a veil had been lifted and his tolerance was no longer what it was.
Matt exhaled when his cell vibrated again. He could no longer avoid the call. Resigned, he finally swiped his finger across the screen and answered.
"Hi," he said.
"Happy birthday, sweetheart," his mother responded.
"Thanks, Mom."
"Something odd is happening with the phone. I wasn't able to get through on the first try."
"I seem to have poor reception where I'm at," Matt lied.
"I had my driver take me by your apartment to bring you your gift but your apartment is empty," she said with a hint of accusation in her tone.
Matt rubbed his eyes, trying to stave off the headache that began to form. He had hoped the call would be quick and painless, but who was he kidding. He should have known better. "I moved, Mom."
"Where?"
"Closer to work."
"Matthew, you should be working with your father. We tolerated enough during your time in prison and you should be making every effort to try and work your way back into society," she said with her signature disapproving sniff.
Matt shuddered as that single sound echoed in his head, plaguing almost each action since his
He sighed and tried to focus on the spreadsheets in front of him. Everything was moving along rather nicely. He finally had the money from the sale of his condo and the project was going as planned. Somewhat. He weighed the pros and cons of pushing things with Julian. He just couldn't do it. Things were great between them and the renovation was on schedule. He hoped the trend would continue even though the situation with Julian was slowly wearing away at him.
Chapter 8
July
Matt continued to work on the state government paperwork as he tried to ignore the vibrating cell phone that danced across his desk again. Even though the call was expected, he didn't have the heart to answer it just yet. He grabbed the phone after it quieted and looked at the display—one voice mail and four missed calls.
He sighed. He figured it might be safe to start with the voice mail. He swiped his finger across the screen a few times and heard the familiar tinny voice through the ear piece.
"Happy birthday, Matt," his brother's voice began.
Matt fidgeted with the ends of the paper, trying to busy himself as he listened to the hesitation in his brother's voice. He knew the tone. His brother still harbored guilt for what had happened.
"I…um…just wanted to call to wish you a happy birthday. Shit, uh, I said that already. Um…I hope you're okay. I just wanted to talk to you and maybe work something out where we can see each other. I know it's been a few years, but…I…fuck, Matt…I hate this stupid machine. Just don't shut me out, okay? I want to see you and try to make things right. I stopped drinking and I'm trying to…I'm trying…Matt, just please call me. Okay? I miss my brother…happy birthday," he finished quietly, losing his stamina.
Matt ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled deeply. He hadn't seen his brother in years, outside a few random visits while in prison. With each visit, the guilt grew heavier for his brother until Matt finally asked him to stop coming by. He had made his decision based on what he thought was best at the time, and all he wanted for his brother was for him to clean up his act, stop the drinking, and focus on being the man Matt knew he could be. Now that Matt was out of prison and his brother sober, he was worried about reuniting with him—worried it would send his brother in another tailspin of guilt and return him to the bottle that had played such a role in his downfall.
His frustration was at an all time high. Family had always been so important to him and he just didn't know how to handle things now after so much change in the last five years. More than anything, Matt had changed. He felt as if a veil had been lifted and his tolerance was no longer what it was.
Matt exhaled when his cell vibrated again. He could no longer avoid the call. Resigned, he finally swiped his finger across the screen and answered.
"Hi," he said.
"Happy birthday, sweetheart," his mother responded.
"Thanks, Mom."
"Something odd is happening with the phone. I wasn't able to get through on the first try."
"I seem to have poor reception where I'm at," Matt lied.
"I had my driver take me by your apartment to bring you your gift but your apartment is empty," she said with a hint of accusation in her tone.
Matt rubbed his eyes, trying to stave off the headache that began to form. He had hoped the call would be quick and painless, but who was he kidding. He should have known better. "I moved, Mom."
"Where?"
"Closer to work."
"Matthew, you should be working with your father. We tolerated enough during your time in prison and you should be making every effort to try and work your way back into society," she said with her signature disapproving sniff.
Matt shuddered as that single sound echoed in his head, plaguing almost each action since his
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