Free Finding Absolution by Carol Lynne Page A

meet?”
    “Rodeo,” Van answered. He glanced at Jon. “Jon had a little run-in with Guy, and I stepped in.”
    Jon couldn’t believe what Van had just done. Van knew Jon didn’t want to involve the police, yet that was exactly what he’d done. “It was nothing, really.”
    Ryan stared at Jon as he reached into his breast pocket. He withdrew a business card and handed it to Jon. “Here, in case you ever need anything.”
    Jon nodded his appreciation as he slipped the card into his own pocket. “Thanks, but it was just a misunderstanding.”
    Van cleared his throat, clearly unhappy with Jon’s denial. “Where’s Rio?” Van asked.
    “He’s volunteering at the Second Chance Ranch’s food booth. It’s one of our local charities, a place for homeless gay youth,” Nate explained. “And I think they roped Rio into running the cotton candy machine.”
    Jon loved cotton candy. “Where’s that at?”
    “In the gas station parking lot,” Nate replied. “You really need to go. It’s worth the trip just to see Rio in a hairnet.”
    Without discussing it, the four of them started down the sidewalk. Jon still wasn’t pleased with Van’s big mouth and Van seemed to know it. They would definitely have to discuss it as soon as they got away from Ryan and Nate.
    At the edge of the crowd, Ryan reached out to shake Van’s and Jon’s hands once more. “It was nice to meet you,” he told Jon before bending to give Nate a deep kiss. “Break over. I need to get back to work.”
    “See ya later,” Nate called as Ryan disappeared into the crowd. He turned back to Van and Jon. “Where’re you all sitting?”
    Van pointed to the right of the stage. “Over there with Kai, Quade, George and Carol.”
    Nate’s nose wrinkled. “Carol and I barely made it through planning this thing without killing each other. I doubt she wants me anywhere near her on her night off. I’ll probably go torment Rio for a while.”
    Jon chuckled. “Hang on, and I’ll follow you.” He looked up at Van. “Why don’t you get us a couple of fresh beers, and I’ll get the cotton candy.”
    “ Or ,” Van emphasised, “I can come with the two of you to get the floss and we can pick up the beer on our way back.”
    Jon wished he knew if Van was being attentive or overprotective. He stared at Van for several moments before nodding. Sure, he was still ticked off about Van’s mention of Guy to Ryan, but with so little time left for them, he decided it wasn’t worth making a thing over. “Okay.”
    As they wound their way through the crowd, Nate ended up beside Jon as Van walked in front of them to clear a path. Nate leaned closer to Jon in an effort to be heard over the loud music. “He’s hot.”
    Jon already knew that, but it was nice to get confirmation from the man sleeping with two of the most handsome men in town. “Yeah, he is.”
    “So, are you going to tell me what happened with Guy?” Nate asked.
    Jon shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Guy was drunk, and I ended up meeting Van, so it’s good.”
    Van stopped suddenly, causing Jon to run into him. Van reached back and wrapped an arm around Jon. He nodded towards a group of people directly in their path. “Let’s go around,” he said over his shoulder.
    Guy was seated at one of the tables with an identical set of twins in his lap, one on each knee. The twins were openly groping Guy and each other as the three of them shared sloppy kisses.
    “That’s disgusting,” Nate declared. “They could at least have the decency to find an alley like Ryan and I did.”
    Jon hugged Van. “Guy’s got his hands full. He won’t even see us.”
    “Stick close.” Van reached for Jon’s hand and took off again.
    Jon turned his head as they walked by Guy’s table. With Nate beside him, the last thing he wanted was to draw more attention to the situation.
    The moment they broke through the crowd, Van stopped and pulled Jon into a tight embrace. “Okay?” he asked before kissing