Hidden Riches Read Online Free PDF

really want?”
    Shaking his head, Clayton sighed. “Is it really over between us?”
    â€œOnly if you want it to be.”
    It took a few moments for Archer’s words to sink in. When they did, a glimmer of hope unfurled somewhere deep inside Clayton. It had been like this between them for months—everything fragile, tentative. As if any abrupt moment or movement on either of their parts would shatter their relationship, more than a decade long, into a million pieces.
    Clayton held out his hand. He hesitated for a beat, then Archer took it in his—the apology given and accepted.
    â€œWhat were you saying about Ana Mae?”
    â€œShe left money. A lot of it, according to JoJo.”
    â€œWhere’d it come from?”
    â€œThe lottery.”
    Archer’s brow crinkled at that. “The lottery? The gambling lottery? Holy woman Ana Mae won money from playing the numbers? That doesn’t sound right.”
    â€œI was thinking along pretty much the same line. Maybe JoJo’s had a few drinks or took a pill to calm her nerves.”
    â€œAre they here at the inn?”
    Clayton shook his head. “Lester and JoJo are staying at the house.”
    Archer made a face.
    â€œMy thoughts exactly,” Clayton said. “I don’t know why, though. If memory serves correctly, JoJo is allergic to cats. I wonder where she put them.”
    â€œShe must be doped up on Benadryl or something to be able to stay there,” Archer observed as they settled together on the sofa.
    â€œProbably. None of us were particularly close, but if I had to guess, I’d say JoJo kept in touch with Ana Mae more than either Delcine or I did.” Then Clayton said, “Hmm, though now that I think about it, it may have been Delcine who was allergic. We didn’t have pets growing up, but Ana Mae was always feeding some stray.”
    â€œIs that right?”
    Clay nodded and told Archer about one of the strays Ana Mae had been hiding in the house until Delcine or JoJo spent twenty-four hours sneezing and their mother found the kitten.
    Archer waved away as inconsequential the topic of the cats and allergies. They weren’t staying at the house on Clairmont Road, and that was all that really mattered.
    For the next few minutes, the two men chatted companionably. Like surface friends, not at all like the confidants they used to be.
    Talking about cats and Ana Mae back in the day meant they did not have to talk about the rift in their relationship, a divide that sprang up from nowhere a few months ago. Clayton, while a prominent, successful, and sought-after physician in his professional life, remained insecure in his personal life. Deep down, he was still the picked-on gay kid from small-town North Carolina, and all this trip did was reinforce that thinking—a character flaw he thought he had shed years ago.
    As a matter of fact, if Ana Mae hadn’t died, necessitating this trip across country, Clayton couldn’t at all be sure that Archer wouldn’t have moved out of their Pacific Heights home.
    But gathering his courage, Clayton broached the topic that had been on his mind since he’d gotten the call that Ana Mae was gone.
    â€œThank you for coming out here with me.”
    Archer took his hand. “I know how much you hated this place. I didn’t want you to be alone. Not at a time like this.”
    A tremulous smile curved Clayton’s mouth. Maybe things between them weren’t as bad as he’d imagined. Maybe they would sleep together tonight after all.
    But before Clayton could nestle into the comfy crook of his lover’s broad shoulder, Archer moved away. Clayton bit back a sigh.
    â€œDo you think Ana Mae knew that her preacher is queer?”
    That brought Clayton up short. He almost choked. “What?”
    â€œThat reverend. Le Baptiste. He’s as queer as you and I.”
    Clayton shook his head. Getting up, he went to the bar and poured