by C. E. Wilson
“You got it, Justin. See you guys next week.”
Justin and Simon started home. Simon said, “I still think you need to tell Hunter what you’re doing, Dad. He’s your boyfriend and I think he has a right to know. If you don’t feel the same, then that’s on you but if it were me, I would tell him. Maybe he would want to get Steve and Carson’s names on his chest.”
“Yeah, you’re right son. I need to be honest with him if I want to marry him. I’ll tell him when I get home and see what he has to say about it. I’m still going to get it even if he’s not happy about it. You’re all my sons and I’m proud of you and want you over my heart forever.”
Simon smiled, but he had unshed tears in his eyes. He thought that Justin was the best dad in the world. He was so happy that Justin would always be his dad and was proud enough of him to put his name on his chest.
When they got home, Simon went upstairs to rest and do some homework. He had most of it done already but needed to study too. He walked past and noticed that Jordan was sitting on his bed alone. He stepped in the door and smiled. “Hi, Jordan what are you doing here by yourself? Where is Steve?”
Jordan frowned. “He’s not my friend anymore. He won’t play with me because Dad said I can only play an hour a day, so he went downstairs to play on the big tv with Leon. Now I don’t have a friend.”
“Do you want to come to my room and play? I have some homework and studying to do, but you can come and keep me company.”
“Can I really come to your room? I have never been to your room before Simon.”
“Yes, bring something that you can play with until I get done with my homework, then we’ll play until I need to study after dinner. Ok?”
“Can I bring my tablet and you can get it on the internet, and I can watch cartoons on YouTube with it? I heard they have great shows on there.”
“Sure, that would be fine, Jordan. You know you could also go out and play outside. It’s a beautiful day out there.”
“No, I would rather come to your room and play with you. I’m glad you’re my big brother.”
Simon grinned. “I am too. Let’s go, and I can start on my homework and get it done sooner.”
Simon helped Jordan carry a few toys to his room in case he got bored with the tablet. He settled Jordan on the floor and got his tablet online and to YouTube and found cartoons for him to watch. Then he settled himself at his desk and started his homework.
Chapter 24
Justin went into the kitchen. He walked up behind Hunter and wrapped his arms around him and kissed him on his neck. Hunter asked, “How is Simon doing? Was he in much pain today when he had his back worked on?”
“He’s fine. He took it like a champ. He’ll get a little less next week. Levi said he was getting to some sensitive places on his neck, so it’ll be more painful for him. Levi is going to work on a tat for me. I’m getting the boy's names and birthdates put on my chest right over my heart.”
Hunter didn’t say anything for some long moments. He didn’t push Justin away just didn’t say anything. Justin asked, “You don’t have anything to say about it?”
“It’s your body, so you do what you want with it. I don’t have a right to tell you what to do or not to do. You didn’t ask me about it before you set up an appointment to get it done, so that’s up to you.”
Justin dropped his arms and sat down at the table. He thought about coffee, so he got up and got himself a cup. He sat back down at the table sipping his coffee. He opened his mouth and started to say something when Steve came running down the stairs screaming. Justin jumped up and ran into the stairs. “Steve, what is wrong?”
“Jordan is missing. I left him sitting on his bed while I came down here to play a video game with Leon and when Dad came and took the controllers away from us, I went back upstairs to play with Jordan, and he was just gone. I don’t know where he is.”
“Did you look good upstairs?”
“Yes, I looked in every room except for Michael, Dalton, and Simon’s rooms. Their doors are shut, so that means they’re busy and not wanting to be disturbed.”
“Simon said he had homework and studying to do so; that’s why his door is shut. He’s trying to get good grades for a scholarship so I know Jordan wouldn’t be in there. Go look outback. He might be in the garden doing his hour so he can have the controllers back for an hour.”
“We already did that, Justin. He said he was angry that you had taken his controllers away and he said he would run away. I think that’s what he did. I told him that was crazy to do and that would get him into Juvie, so he changed his mind. Maybe he changed it again and ran away. We need to call the police now Justin.”
“Not yet, Steve. We still have a lot of places here to look for him first. I don’t want to get the police involved until we have to. You check all the rooms downstairs and I’ll go to the basement and check there. He has to be here somewhere. Did you check with Carson and Charlie? Maybe he wanted to talk with his brother.”
“Carson said he didn’t see him. He isn’t upstairs at all. I know Michael and Dalton wouldn’t have him in his room. They like spending time alone.”
Hunter said, “I say we call the police. They would have a better chance of finding him than we will. I’ll call them while you guys look. We can always call them back if we find him, and he’s fine. That’s what the police are for and the faster we find him the better it’ll be.”
Justin nodded and took off downstairs to the basement to look down there for him. He came up empty-handed. He was glad Hunter called the police. They had to find Jordan. What if his parents got out of jail and kidnapped him? He was getting more worried by the second. He raced upstairs and checked with Steve, then the doorbell rang. Justin ran toward the door and pulled it open quickly. Two police officers were standing there, and he motioned them to come inside. They stepped through the door and asked Justin what happened to his son.
Justin told the officers all he knew and that he had just got home. Hunter said, “Jordan was here at lunch. I made his plate, and he ate it all and went to his room. I haven’t seen him since.
The officer asked, “Did you check in every room in the house?”
“Yes, all but two rooms. They are the rooms of the older boys, and they don’t have the younger ones in their rooms. I know he isn’t in their rooms. No one has seen him since after lunch. He rooms with my son Steve and he had left Jordan sitting on his bed. When he went back a half-hour later, Jordan was gone.”
“All right, we’ll check the grounds and put out a bolo for him. If he’s only ten, he couldn’t get far.”
Justin was frantic. “Make sure his parents are still in jail. If they got out, they might have kidnapped him.”
The other officer said, “Wait, I thought you were his father?”
“I am now. You can check with Judge Stone. I adopted Jordan a few days ago. I guess it’s been about a week now.”
“Oh yeah, this is Judge Stone’s house isn’t it. Ok yeah, we understand now. We’ll call him and let him know we’re on the case. We’ll have that boy back in no time.”
Justin looked at the floor. “I’d rather you not tell Judge Stone. I know we’ll find him, and I don’t want the judge to be upset over nothing. I know he has to be close. He wouldn’t want to leave here. He loves it here.”
The police officers were heading outside when Simon came down the stairs. “Hunter, can we have a few snacks until dinner is ready?” When he saw the officers, he looked at his dad. “Dad, what’s going on? Why are there police here?”
“Jordan is missing, Simon.”
“He’s missing what?”
“We can’t find him. He somehow took off, and we can’t find him anywhere.”
“I know where he is. He’s in my room playing with his tablet. It seems Steve wasn’t allowed to play with Jordan’s game, so he left Jordan alone to come down and play with Leon. It really hurt Jordan’s feelings, so I invited him to my room while I studied. He’s sitt
ing in the middle of the floor playing some music on his tablet. I came down here to get us a snack then we are going to play trucks for a while. Then after dinner, I’ll study.”
Justin’s knees buckled in relief. He went down to the floor and looked up and said, “Thank the Lord.”
The police officers shook their heads and left. Justin looked up at Simon. “Thank you, son. I was so worried he had been kidnapped. Get a snack, but make it some kind of fruit or vegetable and when dinner is ready, I’ll call you all to come down.”
Hunter walked over and got Justin by the hand and pulled him into the living room. Steve went back upstairs. When they got to the living room, Hunter wrapped his arms around Justin and held him tight. Justin laid his head down on Hunter’s shoulder. He let the tears flow from his eyes. Hunter rubbed up and down his back. “It’s ok, Justin, he’s safe and with his brother. It was my fault that we didn’t look in Simon’s room. It never dawned on me that Simon is now his brother and, of course, as sweet as Simon is, he wouldn’t let Jordan hurt without comforting him.”
“I should have known he was there too. Simon wanted to spend time getting to know his little brothers. He would take him and comfort him just like you said. He’s a very loving young man. I’m more impressed with him every day. Why would parents hurt such a loving young boy? I guess I’ll never understand that side of people.”
“You didn’t learn about that in school?”
“We learned it happens and how to treat the ones that were hurt but who can explain what goes through a parent’s head to hurt their own flesh and blood. That’s something I’ll never understand.”
Hunter nodded and said, “Are you all right now? I need to get into the kitchen. Mark and Seth are cooking tonight, and I’m not sure if they know what they are doing. They said they did, but I don’t know that for a fact. I love you Justin. You just need to calm down a little. Jordan is fine.”
“I’m going to go up and check on Charlie. How is he doing today? I didn’t get to see him when Simon and I left to go to Levi’s place. He was still asleep.”
Carson is taking good care of him. He’s feeding him every few hours. I had to stop him at one point. Poor Charlie’s belly was all bloated. I think he needs to wear pullups all the time. He just can’t stand to go to the bathroom, and he has had several accidents today, so I put the pullups on him. He didn’t have a problem with it.”
“That’s a good idea. I have to go to the store tomorrow anyway we need some gauze and tape for Simon. I’ll pick up some more for him. Do we need anything else?”
“I’ll check the kitchen and give you a list and the card for the boy's expenses. Just get all that stuff with it. That’s what Mr. Willis said to do with it so that’s what we’ll do.”
“I was going to get it. It’s for my sons. I can buy what we need.”
“No, you will take the card and use it. That’s what he said when he gave it to me. It was for all the boys. Look at the stuff that Mrs. Willis brought for the boys. She went on a big shopping spree and got all kinds of things for Charlie, and we gave most of it to the house for all the boys. Just please use the card. Save your money for yourself.”
“Ok, Babe, I’ll do what you say. I love you too, you know that right?”
Hunter gave him a sexy smile. “Yeah, I know babe.”
Justin went up to Carson’s room and walked in. The door was standing open. Charlie saw him and gave him a big grin. “Hi, Daddy. I’m glad to see you. I missed you today. Simon came in to see me and he said you took him to get his tattoo. He showed me but it looks like it hurts. He said it will be pretty because yours is so pretty. Can I see yours Daddy?”
Justin went over and sat on the bed. He hugged Charlie and kissed the top of his head. He unbuttoned his shirt and took it off and turned so Charlie could see his back. “Daddy, can I get one of those too. I think they are so pretty. I like the dragons.”
“You have to wait until you’re a lot bigger. My tattoo artist won’t do someone your age. You have too much growing to do. How are you feeling, son?”
“I feel good. Carson is making me eat all the time. Sometimes my tummy hurts; he puts too much food in me. I want to get better for you, Dad, but I don’t want to eat so much all the time. Can you tell him not to feed me every five minutes?”
“Yes, Sweetie. I’ll tell him to slow down a bit on you. He’s just trying to make you better. He doesn’t realize that he’s giving you too much.”
“Where is he?”
“He went down to get me something to eat. I really don’t want anything before dinner. He keeps insisting that I need to eat to get stronger. I know he’s trying to make me better, but I hurt from eating too much.”
“I’ll get with Hunter, and we can make a schedule for your food intake. That way Carson will know how much to feed you and when. Will that work for you?”
“Yes, thank you, Daddy. Can I come down for dinner tonight? I liked eating with the other boys. I want Simon to carry me down again ok?”
“Of course, he can. I know he would love that. He wants to get to know you and Jordan a lot better. He wants to spend time with you too.”
“Jordan doesn’t like me, Dad. I don’t know what I did to him, but he won’t come and see me and talk to me. I want to play with him when I get better, but he never comes around.”
“I’ll talk to him and find out why he doesn’t come and visit you. He’s so into that game that he doesn’t let anyone play with him but Steve. That’s changed, so there is no reason he can’t come and get to know you and let you get to know him. You’re not that different in ages.”
“I like Carson. He plays with me and spends all his time with me. Except when he’s in school. I take a nap while he’s in school. He wakes me up when he gets back. He’s the best friend I have.”
Justin hugged Charlie close. “I know he is, and he’s been a good friend to you. I know you like him.”
Charlie nodded and snuggled into Justin’s chest.
Chapter 25
Justin sat with Charlie until Carson got back from doing his homeschooling. Justin kissed Charlie on the head and went down to the kitchen. “Hey, babe, you got that list for me?”
“Yeah, it’s over on the counter with the card. How long are you going to be gone?”
“That depends on your list. I have three places to go. I have several things to get at one place and one thing to get at the other and then what you have on your list for the grocery store.”
“My list isn’t that big. Doing it shouldn’t take you long. We need to talk about Charlie. I think that Carson is expecting too much out of him. He thinks if he feeds him a lot, he’ll be able to move around that day. I had to slow him down. He was feeding Charlie so much that he was getting a tummy ache.”
“Yeah, Charlie told me about it. I told him that we would set a schedule and amount to feed him so that doesn’t happen anymore. Just tell Carson until we get the list made, to clear anything he takes to Charlie with you before taking it up. Charlie said he’ll eat what Carson brings because he didn’t want to upset Carson.”
Justin kissed Hunter, grabbed the list, and headed out to his truck. He drove to the drug store and got the gauze and the medical wrap for Simon. He went to the jewelry store and picked up a ring that he had been looking at to propose to Hunter with and then went to the grocery store. Hunter was right; there wasn’t much they needed at the house since Hunter and the boys had gone a few days ago. He filled the list and then went home. He thought it would be a good time at dinner when everyone was seated for him to propose to Hunter.
Michael and Dalton were just walking up the driveway when he pulled in. They were holding hands until they heard Justin come in behind them. They dropped each other’s hands and jumped apart, Justin laughed. He parked the truck and got out. “Boys come to help me with these groceries that Hunter wanted. You know you don’t have to hide your relationship from us. We already know you two are into each other.”
Dalton blushed.
“How did you know?”
“It would take a blind man not to notice you two together. You sit with each other and always spend time together. I think it’s nice. Now take the groceries in and tell Hunter for sure you’re a couple. Hunter and I are a couple, so don’t worry about him not accepting you.”
Dalton nodded, and he grabbed a couple of bags and Michael grabbed a couple too. Justin took the ring and put it in his pocket and grabbed the bag from the drug store. He put the bag upstairs in his room then went back downstairs to the kitchen to give Hunter back the card. He gave him the receipts for the things from the drug store and the grocery store. The ring he paid for out of his own account.
He kissed Hunter and went up to check on Simon’s back. He knocked on his door, and Simon opened the door for him. Jordan was sitting on the floor playing with his tablet. Justin raised a brow to Simon, and he smiled and shrugged. Justin said, “I came to check on your back and see how it looks. Is it hurting any?”
“It does a little just like the outline did but not bad. I think it just needs some petroleum jelly on it. Feels like it’s dry or something. Kind of scratchy, I guess.”
“Take your shirt off, and I’ll go get the supplies. I’ll be right back.”
Simon started unbuttoning his shirt, and Justin went to his room and retrieved the bag of supplies. He went back into Simon’s room and put on some medical gloves. He started unpeeling the bandages and he was startled by the bright colors on Simon’s back. He had gotten more done than Justin knew about. He put plenty of petroleum jelly on his back and then put fresh bandages on it. Simon smiled. “Oh yeah, that feels so much better.”
“I didn’t realize that Levi had that much done to your back. It is really colorful. I like it. I think he is doing a better job on yours than he did on mine.”
“Dad, did you tell Hunter about the tat you’re getting on your chest?”
“Yeah, I told him. He didn’t say much about it except it was my body so I could do what I want with it. He didn’t seem happy about it but he’s right about one thing. It’s my body and I can do as I please with it. This means a lot to me to do this for my boys.”
