Life Is Fleeting, But Diamonds Are Forever

Family Values

 Adam had never really cared for Clyde. He'd met the man a number of times, especially when he'd tagged along with Blake at family gatherings. The brothers looked a lot alike and were the same height. But there the resemblance ended. Adam considered Clyde Shelton to be the polar opposite of his best friend. Where Blake was gentle, caring, selfless and kind, his older brother was rude, crude, self-centered and often cruel. He and Adam had disliked each other pretty much at first sight. For some reason, Clyde seemed personally offended that his brother was so close to Adam. He had never missed a chance to slip in an insult of some kind, some low-key slight against Adam that he usually played off as joining in with Blake in teasing Adam. Adam had endured slights against his hometown, his tattoos, his voice, his music, his clothing, his height, and anything else that Clyde could think of to throw at him. But the moment Adam started to get irritated, the man had wisely backed down, acting as if it were all just a joke. And of course, he was Blake's brother. It was the only thing that had saved the bastard from a long overdue punch in the mouth.

Now Adam added "misogynistic pervert" to the growing list of reasons he would never get along with Blake's big brother.

Clyde was making Adam's skin crawl. He could practically feel Clyde undressing him with his eyes. And he wasn't holding back his crude comments either. "I hope to hell you bagged it before you did her, Blake," he was saying now. "You know those strippers sell it to the richest customers in those private rooms!"

"Clyde, I swear to the almighty above, if you insinuate that this girl is a whore one more time, I do not care how old you are!" Ma exclaimed as Blake leapt to his feet to confront Clyde. "I will turn you right over my knee, drop yer britches, and spank your ass until it is cherry red right in front of her and your sister!"

"I'm just worried about Blakey, Ma!" Clyde defended. "Do you want him to end up with an STD?"

"Considering the fact that you've slept with half the women we went to school with, that's the pot calling the kettle black!" Blake yelled. He'd gotten up out of his seat and was standing with his fists clenched as he faced his brother. "You had the clap by the time you were sixteen years old!"

"And I learned my lesson, didn't I?" Clyde challenged, rising to face Blake. "Ya just need to learn from my experience."

"Boys, sit your asses down!" Ma barked.

Both brothers immediately sat. But that didn't keep them from glaring at each other.

"The thing is, Miss Miller, we're all worried about Blake," Emma said. Her calm, quiet voice somehow cut through the bristling brothers. "None of us want to see him get hurt, and we're afraid you're... Well..."

"Unbalanced?" Adam supplied helpfully. "That's precisely why Blake brought me here! Well, that, and..." He slipped his hand into Blake's.

Blake blinked in surprise. Then he got with the program, pulled Adam out of his seat, and sat down in it himself, dragging Adam into his lap. "The bottom line is I'm a grown-ass man," he said. "And Ma, you didn't raise me as a fool, ok?"

"No one thinks you're a fool, Blake," Clyde sighed. "It's just that you never were the best judge of women, you know? I mean, two divorces?"

Now Adam bristled. "Blake's marriages didn't work out for their own reasons. And frankly, his relationships are none of your business! That goes for all of them, past, present and future!"

"She said, with absolutely no intention of pointing at herself," Clyde said.

Adam was suddenly glad for Blake's arms around his waist. They kept him from running over and decking Clyde. Instead, he put one hand over Blake's hand on his waist and the other daringly on Blake's knee. "Not that our relationship is any of your business either, but since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you. I never chased after your brother. My memories are gone because I got my brains scrambled in that car crash. I don't even remember the car crash, or anyone who was in the car with me. But I was the only survivor! That's how serious that accident was, alright? I walked around, made the mistake of accepting a ride from a stranger, nearly got raped for my pains, and got completely confused when I called Blake for help."