Piecing Together His Life

By Jon Keys

Real estate broker Colin Romu has been estranged from his family for many years, but an unfinished quilt bequeathed in his mother’s will might help him make peace. Seeking solitude, Colin heads for his isolated cabin in upstate New York, but a sudden blizzard lands him in a ditch instead. Fortunately local EMT Mason Doyle is on hand with a rescue and a place to stay until the storm blows over.  As they contemplate Colin’s mother’s last gift, they realize their lives entwine in ways they never imagined.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2019 Advent Calendar "Homemade for the Holidays."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
• Release date: Dec 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781644057766

Jon Keys

Jon Keys’ earliest memories revolve around books; with the first ones he can recall reading himself being “The Warlord of Mars” and anything with Tarzan. (The local library wasn’t particularly up to date.) But as puberty set in, he started sneaking his mother’s romance magazines and added the world of romance and erotica to his mix of science fiction, fantasy, Native American, westerns and comic books. A voracious reader for almost half a century, Jon has only recently begun creating his own flights of fiction for the entertainment of others. Born in the Southwest and now living in the Midwest, Jon has worked as a ranch hand, teacher, computer tech, roughneck, designer, retail clerk, welder, artist, and, yes, pool boy; with interests ranging from kayaking and hunting to painting and cooking, he draws from a wide range of life experiences to create written works that draw the reader in and wrap them in a good story.

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Table of Contents

Blurb

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

About the Author

By Jon Keys

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Copyright

Piecing Together His Life

By Jon Keys

Real estate broker Colin Romu has been estranged from his family for many years, but an unfinished quilt bequeathed in his mother’s will might help him make peace. Seeking solitude, Colin heads for his isolated cabin in upstate New York, but a sudden blizzard lands him in a ditch instead. Fortunately local EMT Mason Doyle is on hand with a rescue and a place to stay until the storm blows over. As they contemplate Colin’s mother’s last gift, they realize their lives entwine in ways they never imagined.

Chapter One

COLIN PACED the attorney’s office hallway while he waited. He covered the distance so many times that people stopped noting his passage. But he refused to allow anyone to affect his routine. His years as a realtor had let him develop an attitude that served him well, and living in Manhattan for the past decade gave him a unique perspective on life.

He gathered his thoughts before making another trip through the law firm his family had used since his grandparents moved to the suburb of Jericho. But Morris and Associates’ longevity didn’t figure into his quest as he studied each unoccupied space that might work for a neutral location. He had hoped letting his brother and sister care for their mother’s final wishes would give them the sense of command they seemed to need. Colin wasn’t surprised when they disappointed him again by failing to present an alternative. Maybe it was only fair, since he had disillusioned them a multitude of times after he told them he was gay at his sixteenth birthday party.

Let me get you some coffee. We have at least forty different flavors of those little cup things. It’s not bad either.

Colin recognized the voice as belonging to Thomas Morris, son of the firm’s founder and currently one of their senior partners. He was also a strikingly handsome man with immaculately groomed salt-and-pepper hair Colin wished he could emulate. That would be great. My brother and sister are pulling their normal posturing… for whom, I’m not certain.

Thomas motioned one of the office workers close and whispered instructions, then turned back. Colin gave him a faint bow. Thomas, you’ve been my family’s attorney for years. I’m sure you’ve seen it all already.

Before the silence became awkward, the associate sent for coffee materialized with mugs of steaming dark liquid. Colin accepted the cup and let the heat seep into his hands and enjoyed the effect it had on his stiff joints. He’d found that happened more now that he’d passed the big four-oh.

After a short time, he brought the cup to his lips and took a sip, which confirmed what his nose already told him: this was a fine hot chocolate. He lifted the mug toward Thomas. Good choice. I have developed a taste for coffee, but Mexican hot chocolate takes me back to when I was a kid. The nip of cinnamon and a bite of chili…. Just delicious.

Thomas nodded as he drank from a matching cup. The same young man who’d brought the chocolate signaled from the door.

It was your mother’s recipe. I thought it was an appropriate choice. He motioned to an open door ahead of them. Your brother and sister have arrived. One of my associates will bring them to the conference room. We have several items to cover.

Colin nodded, stepped through the entry, and found a seat.

The people who joined them a few minutes later were the textbook definition of New England aristocracy. To Colin they represented another way his family deserted him when he needed support the most. His brother, Franklin, and his sister, Madison, had ostracized him at every opportunity and made it clear they were made of much sterner stuff than Colin. He shook himself, knowing the days of him being part of this family had evaporated decades ago. They gave him a chilly acknowledgment, turning when Thomas entered with a stack of paperwork. After a few minutes organizing his files, he turned to the siblings.

"Your mother had a wide variety of assets, both from your father and those she amassed herself. This distribution is complex, and I expect it to