Justin Redmond: A Sweet Gay Romance (James Brothers Book 4)

by C. E. Wilson

  Carson said, “Simon doesn’t like me. He thinks I’m bad, and he’s going to try and take Charlie away from me. I swear I won’t hurt him Justin. I just want to have a friend and Charlie can be my friend. I’ll take care of him and protect him.”

  “I know you will, Carson. I’ll talk to Simon. I’m his father now so he’ll listen to me. We all have to get along in the house. I think we have some good boys here and we can all be happy.”

  Hunter put his hand on Justin’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. He was about to say something when Simon walked into the room. He looked at Justin and Hunter and then narrowed his eyes at Carson. He glanced at Charlie and smiled. “Hi, Charlie. I’m Simon your big brother. Is there anything I can do for you?”

  Charlie smiled. “Hi, Simon. I don’t need anything right now. Carson has been taking good care of me.”

  Simon asked, “Are you alright here? I don’t have a roommate, so you could stay in my room if you would be more comfortable there.”

  “I like it here with Carson. He’s my friend. He gets me something to eat all the time, and he is helping Dad with my exercises so I can walk when I get stronger. Dad showed him how to do it and it is fun.”

  Simon looked at Justin and raised a brow. Justin stood up and got Simon by the arm, and they walked out of the room and down to Simon’s room and went inside. Justin said, “Carson is doing good with Charlie. I want you to try and be friends with Carson. I know he said some mean things to Jordan, but we talked about that and I don’t think that will happen anymore. If Hunter and I get married, Carson will be your brother too. I don’t want any fighting between the two of you or anyone else in this house.”

  “Dad, I would never hurt Carson or anyone else. I just don’t want Carson to mistreat my brothers either. I never had brothers before, and I love having them. I want only good things for them.”

  Justin pulled Simon in for a hug. “I’m glad you do, son. I want a good life for my sons as well. I think Carson was jealous of Jordan and now he has Charlie to take care of; he’s going to be fine with him. Charlie is going to need a lot of care to get him back to where he needs to be.”

  “What happened to him, Dad?”

  “His father beat him and only fed him dog food. When Carson and I picked him up from the judge, he wanted to know what kind of dog we had so he would know what he would have to eat. He doesn’t like canned dog food and was hoping we would have dry dog food. I told him we didn’t have a dog and he wanted to know what he was going to eat. I would say as small as he is, he’s probably at least thirty pounds lite. We’ll get him back to where he needs to be.”

  “How old is he? He looks like he is about three or four. I didn’t think we took boys that young. Usually, Hunter will only allow school-age kids here.”

  “He’s seven years old. So, you know how much he has been mistreated. He needs to get his strength back. He can’t even sit up unless he’s sitting in a corner to hold him up.”

  “Dad, I’m not a violent person, but I wish I had his birth father in a room for just five minutes. That’s all I would need. Oh, and a bag of dog food and see how he liked it shoved down his throat.”

  Justin chuckled. “I’m glad you’re not a violent person, son. I would hate to see you if you were.”

  “Dad, there is no sense in treating a beautiful child like that. He seems like a sweet child. I can’t stand seeing these boys coming in here with their cuts and bruises. To think that the people that are supposed to love them have done that to them. They should be shot for treating their kids like that.”

  “I can’t disagree with you, Simon. I think there should be stiffer punishment for child abuse, but it is what it is. All we can do is try and make their lives better. It won’t make up for the way they were treated but at least we show them how it should be.”

  Simon asked, “Where do you think Levi will start with the color Saturday, Dad?”

  “I guess it doesn’t matter, does it? It will all be colored in the end. I know it will be pretty when he gets it done. He’s the best tattoo artist I have ever seen. If I ever get another tat, it will be Levi that does it. I was thinking about getting your name and your brother’s names put on my chest over my heart. What do you think?”

  Simon grinned. “I would love that, Dad. Thank you. I know that Jordan and Charlie would like that too. I love you and I know they will too.”

  “I love you too, Simon, and I love your little brothers too. I think I’ll do that. Maybe in black color and fancy lettering. Something unusual.”

  “What do you think Hunter will say about that? He might not like that if you get married. Will, you put Steve and Carson’s names on your chest too?”

  “I’ll have to think about that one. Maybe Hunter will want to put their names on his chest. That would be cool, don’t you think?”

  “I can’t see Hunter getting a tat. He isn’t the type to like tats. The only reason he’s letting some of us get tats is to cover our scars.”

  “He likes my dragon.”

  “Um…Dad, how did he see your dragon?”

  “I showed it to him. He thought it was beautiful. It was when I was talking to him about you getting a tat. He wanted to touch it, and I let him. It’s on my back Simon, nowhere else.”

  Simon started laughing. “Let’s go see what our new little brother is doing. I still worry about him being in the room with Carson.”

  “Carson won’t hurt him, Simon. Just watch him with Charlie; you’ll see what I am talking about.”

  “Am I going to get to spend some time with him, so I can get to know him? I don’t get time with Jordan. He’s always playing those games with Steve, and I never see him. I want to get to know them.”

  “Yeah, I have seen those two with that game. They need to go outside and play some and get some sun. It’s not good for them to do nothing but sit in front of that television and play video games. I’m going to talk to Hunter about that with all of you boys.”

  “You don’t have to worry about me, Dad. I never play them. I don’t think I even know-how. I’m too busy with my schoolwork and worrying about graduating.”

  “Are you having trouble with your schoolwork that you have to worry about graduating?”

  “No, not really. I just want it to be perfect, and occasionally I get a B+ and I want all A’s. That’ll get me a scholarship.”

  “What do you want to go to college to be?”

  “I have always wanted to be an Architect. I’ll have to go to Penn State. They have the best school there for it. I’m hoping to get a full scholarship for there.”

  “I promise you’ll go to Penn State scholarship or not. Architects make great money. I’ll see to it that you go.”

  “Thanks, Dad, but it will be better to have the full scholarship. It would save you a ton of money.”

  “Well, this is true, but if you don’t get it, I’ll make sure you do. I want you boys to have a good education.”

  They arrived at Charlie and Carson’s bedroom and went inside to see how Charlie was getting along. Carson was sitting beside Charlie, reading him a story out of a book. He glanced at Justin and Simon and then went back to reading the story. Charlie was just about asleep, so they eased back out of the room. When they were in the hallway, Simon chuckled. “Is that the same Carson we know? He sure didn’t look like the mean kid in the house.”

  “I told you he’s great with Charlie. Charlie needs some love. He has had it rougher than most of you boys have had it. Dr. Willis said he was suffering from malnutrition. He said it was horrible and Charlie will have to have soft foods for a while with no spices. He has to eat often. His little tummy can’t hold much at a time.”

  “Can I spend some time with him tomorrow? I can come and get him and take him to my room and spend some time with him.”

  “We’ll see Simon. I don’t want to move him around too much until he gets his strength back, but you can go to his room and spend some time with him.”

  “Carson and
I don’t get along that well. I guess I can try. I do want to spend time with Charlie and Jordan if I can get his nose out of that game. I think Mrs. Willis did a bad thing getting him that game and tv.”

  Justin wrapped his arms around Simon and gave him a big hug and kissed him on the head. “Go get your homework done, son. I’ll call you for dinner.”

  “Ok, Dad. I do have a bunch of it.”

  Simon went back to his room, and Justin went downstairs to the kitchen to see Hunter. He stopped and listened at Carson’s door and was happy to hear it all quiet in there. Charlie must have gone to sleep. Carson would be quiet so as not to wake Charlie.

  Justin went downstairs and walked into the kitchen. Hunter was watching Michael and Dalton making dinner. Justin sat down at the table next to Hunter. “Babe, we need to talk.”

  Hunter turned to look at Justin and said, “What did Carson do now?”

  “It’s not about Carson. He’s being adorable and taking care of Charlie. It’s Steve and Jordan I’m worried about.”

  “What did they do? I can’t see them doing anything but playing with that stupid game.”

  “That’s exactly what I want to talk about. They are on that thing except for when they eat and in school. I don’t think it is good for them at all. They need to get outside and play like normal children. I can’t see that as being a good thing with them glued to that tv all the time. I think we need to limit their playing to maybe an hour a day and then only if they spend an hour outside. I’m sure we can find something for them to do outside.”

  Chapter 23

  “There is a nice garden out back that I sometimes work in to get pretty flowers. I can get them to weed the flower beds, and that will take a good hour. How are you going to stop them from playing when they go to their room?”

  “Those things they use in their hands. Do they have to have them to play the games?”

  “Yes, they are called controllers. They can’t make anything on the game move without the controllers.”

  “We’ll take them, and when they have done what you want outside, then they get them for an hour, then they have to give them back until the next day.”

  “That should work, but it will piss them off.”

  Justin shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t care if they got angry. He wanted them to get some sun and save to their eyes.

  Hunter asked, “Are you going to bring Charlie down to eat dinner? I made him some mashed potatoes and gravy. I thought I would mash up some carrots for him. Maybe some of the roast the boys made for dinner. I could put it in the food processor and chop it up for him.”

  “I can. I didn’t want to move him around too much, but I can carry him down on his pillow. I can hold him while he eats. Carson fed him his eggs and toast and then made him a peanut butter sandwich. I don’t think he has had anything but that. John said for him to eat often.”

  “Go ahead and get the boys down for dinner. Some of them can set the table. Maybe we need to get Charlie a highchair?”

  “No, I don’t want to do that to him. He might be small and weak right now, but I don’t want to insult him. The pullups were bad enough. He agreed about not being able to go to the bathroom by himself. He can’t even sit on the toilet by himself.”

  “This is just temporary Sweetheart. We’ll get him back in shape real soon. How does his back look?”

  “John said it wasn’t all that bad. He does have some cuts and a lot of bruises. John said he was going to call Judge Stone and have him throw the book at the father. He said there was no need to feed him dog food.”

  “If John calls him, he’ll do what John asks. If he hasn’t already sentenced him. I’m sure the judge or the police took a lot of pictures of his injuries. He always has photos of the boys in his file.”

  “I’m going to let Simon carry Charlie down to dinner. He wanted some time with him. He’s big enough to carry Charlie and not drop him. I don’t want any more injuries to that poor baby.”

  Hunter reached over and kissed Justin. He got up and went to check on how the boys were doing, and he nodded at Justin. Justin knew dinner was ready, so he went upstairs to get Simon to carry his little brother down to dinner. When he got to the top of the stairs, he turned and went to Simon’s room. He told Simon that he could carry Charlie down to dinner and he could introduce Charlie to the rest of the boys in the house.

  Simon was thrilled. He followed Justin down to Carson’s room and went inside since the door was open. Charlie was sitting in the corner on the pillow and smiled when he saw Simon and Justin. “Hi Simon, it is good to see you again. Hi, Dad.”

  Simon said, “Hey, little man, do you want to come downstairs for dinner? Dad said I could carry you down and introduce you to the other guys here. Are you ready to go?”

  Carson stood up from where he was sitting across from Charlie. “You can go on down, Simon. I’ll carry Charlie. He’s my roommate.”

  “Carson, Dad said I can carry my little brother downstairs. That’s what I am going to do. I want to get to know him too. You’ve been with him since he came to the house, and I haven’t gotten five minutes with him.”

  Justin stepped up. “Carson and Simon. Charlie is a person. Not some toy you two get to fight over. I told Simon he could carry Charlie down to the dining room then I’ll feed him. I appreciate all you have done for him, Carson, but he’s my son and I say who does what with him. You have spent all the time with him, and I think he needs to get to know his brother.”

  Carson held up his hands and backed off. Simon walked to the bed and gently picked up Charlie and his pillow under him. He held him gently but firmly so he wouldn’t drop him. Simon smiled down at Charlie. “Brother, you don’t weigh anything. We need to fatten you up a little. Get some muscles on you and you will fill out nicely.” He turned and left the room.

  Carson sat on the bed and gave Simon’s back a pout. Justin walked over and pulled Carson to his feet. “You will be sleeping near him and have all day every day with Charlie, but he needs to get to know the whole house. Not stay cooped up in this room all the time.”

  Justin pulled him close and hugged him and then planted a kiss on top of his head. He gently steered him out of the room and toward the stairs.

  When he got to the top of the stairs, he called out. “Dinner is ready.”

  Justin and Carson hurried down the stairs ahead of what sounded like a stampede. By the time they got to the bottom, they were both laughing. Justin felt better about Carson. He seemed to be over the problem of letting others bond with Charlie.

  They walked into the dining room, and Simon was sitting next to where Justin always sat. He had Charlie in his arms and was talking to him. Charlie was very animated in his talking. Justin smiled to see them getting along so well. He had decided to corner Jordan after dinner about the new rules on the game playing. He knew Jordan would probably have a fit about it, but it would have to be since he wanted all his sons healthy.

  Hunter sat a plate in front of Justin for Charlie. It was all soft, bland food. Justin took Charlie from Simon and started feeding him. Justin was horrified when Charlie kept asking what this or that was like he had never seen things like that to eat. He knew the eggs since that is what Dads ate in the morning but not kids. He had no idea what a carrot was, but he liked them and ate them all. He ate the mashed potatoes and loved them too. He wasn’t keen on the meat, but Justin told him he needed the protein.

  After Charlie finished his plate Hunter went and got Justin’s plate, he had in the oven so it would stay warm for him. He took Charlie’s plate and set Justin’s down in front of him. Simon said, “Give Charlie to me, Dad so you can eat your dinner. I think he needs to spend a little time out of his room so he can sit here and talk to the others while you eat.”

  Justin gently handed Charlie to Simon, and Simon got him settled against his chest. Charlie kept looking around. He would smile at all the boys that stared at him. Finally, James asked, “Charlie, why do you keep smiling? Don’t you know how s
ick you are?”

  Charlie shook his head. “I’m not sick, James. I’m just weak because all I was allowed to eat was dog food. Now I have a new Dad that really loves me and feeds me people's food. What’s not to smile about?”

  James stared at him for a minute and then got a big toothy grin for Charlie. “Yeah, I see your point. You smile all you want.”

  Justin looked at Hunter and saw the unshed tears in his eyes. Hunter smiled at Justin and nodded.

  Saturday morning, Justin took Simon to Levi’s shop. While Levi was working on Simon, he started looking at different fonts for what he wanted on his chest. He still hadn’t told Hunter what he had planned. It really wasn’t Hunter’s business since it was his chest and they weren’t married yet. He wanted his son’s names on his chest and didn’t care who wanted it to happen or not.

  Simon was done around four for the day, so Justin took the book of fonts into Levi and showed him what he wanted to use and what he wanted on his chest over his heart. Levi nodded and said, “I’m getting into some sensitive area’s on Simon’s back, so I won’t be able to do it as much next week when he comes. I don’t want it so painful for him. I can do that after I finish with Simon next week if you want it then.”

  Justin nodded. “Yeah, that’ll be great, thank you. By then, I should have their birthdates. I should get their new birth certificate by then. The judge said about a week and it’s almost that since I signed the papers for all three of them.”

  “I’ll set it up for next week then. I’ll make a pretty design with the boy’s names and birthdates in it. I’ll use the font you picked out, and I think it will be pretty. How about a family tree? Your name at the top and then the boy’s names below it?”

  “No, I just want the boy’s names on there and no tree. It can’t be a family tree without me having a husband, and right now, I don’t.”

  “How about something tribal?”

  “Yeah, now I like that. Go for that then. Not big just big enough to put their names and birthdates in.”