Silver & Gold

by A. D. Ellis

  Arlo dug into the bag. “Blocks, cars, people, stuffies,” Arlo muttered as he pulled items from the bag.

  “People? Let’s see these people.” Bode pushed the coffee table to the side and made room for Arlo to spread out his toys.

  Kyson, Bode, and Arlo settled in on the floor to play.

  Sage took the third bag to the kitchen and I followed. Rhys ventured toward the play area while I chatted with Sage.

  “Bay sent snacks. I told him we’d get pizza, but he sent juice and snacks just in case.” Sage pulled the food items out and arranged them on the counter. “He packed like the kid will be here for a week.” He chuckled.

  “We should probably get some of his favorites to keep here just in case. That way Bay doesn’t have to always pack stuff.” I picked up a box of whole-grain cookies, a round tin of cheese puffs, and a box of fruit snacks. There were also a couple apples, a banana, grapes, and an orange. I laughed. “Yeah, I think Bay’s nerves maybe pushed him into overprepare mode.” I took a picture of each item and added them to the grocery list. “Think we should get like baby aspirin or something?”

  Sage frowned. “Isn’t aspirin dangerous for kids?”

  I shrugged. “We’ll ask Bay what to keep here.”

  “No need.” Sage chuckled. He went to get the first bag.

  When he returned, he held it up. “This is kinda like the diaper bag, but no real diapers. Just the nighttime ones. But Arlo doesn’t call them diapers or pull-ups, just nighttime underwear.” He dug around until he found whatever he was looking for. “Children’s acetaminophen for the win.”

  “Perfect.” I snapped a picture and added the item to the list. Even if Kyson and Bay didn’t make a romantic connection, our whole crew was pretty attached to Arlo. It made sense for us to have things for him at our place since we watched him so often.

  My chest tightened at how difficult it could end up being if Kyson and Bay didn’t work out. We’d all want to stay friends and keep Arlo in our lives, but would it be too difficult for Kyson and Bay? Would they want to stay friends and watch the other date and move on?

  I shook off the sad thought. No need to think of problems before the guys had even had a simple coffee date.

  A ruckus from the living room had Sage and I heading that way to investigate. My heart went on sweetness overload to find Bode, Kyson, Arlo, and Rhys on the floor with a city of blocks, cars racing around with man-made zoom noises, and little people figures being made to walk around and talk to each other. It was quite possibly one of the most heartwarming things I’d ever seen. I snapped a picture and texted Bay.

  Everyone is settling in and having fun. It’s all good.

  Bay replied a few minutes later with a smiley face and a heart.

  The boys played for about thirty more minutes before Arlo lost interest. I swore the three older guys seemed disappointed to put the toys away.

  “It’s okay.” I patted Rhys’s arm. “You boys can play with your toys again later.”

  Rhys smiled. “What?” He shrugged. “It’s fun.”

  “And I love you all the more for it.” I kissed him.

  Sage and Bode were sitting in the bathroom while Arlo played in the bathtub. When I walked by, I couldn’t help but laugh. Sage sat on the toilet seat and Bode was on the floor leaning over the edge of the tub with his big arm submerged as he filled up a squirt toy and sprayed Arlo’s face.

  Kyson had gone to his room to shower and get ready. The excited smile evident on his face.

  Rhys and I were going to get pizza soon.

  My phone buzzed. Bay.

  I thumbed the screen and answered. “What’s up? Everything is good here.”

  Bay huffed. “Glad to hear it. What’s Arlo doing?”

  I chuckled. “Right now, he’s taking a bath while Sage watches him and Bode play. I think if Bode could get in the tub with him, he would.”

  Bay laughed. “I’ll be sure to give him a hard time about that.”

  No one had forgotten how grumpy Bode was toward Bay when they first met. It had taken a while for Bode to accept that Bay wasn’t going to go after Sage, but he eventually settled down and stopped acting as if he wanted to punch Bay every time he saw the man.

  “So, things aren’t going as planned,” Bay grumbled.

  “Problems?”

  “Went down south to get a part. Should have known better to make such a long trip with plans made, but I needed to pick up the part for a repair the shop needs to finish.” Bay sighed. “I’m feeling guilty as hell leaving Arlo all day and then leaving him longer to take Kyson out.”

  “But you still want to take Kyson out?”

  Bay was silent for a moment. “Yeah, and I think that’s where a lot of my guilt is coming from. I’m really looking forward to seeing Kyson, but that makes me feel even worse about dumping my kid with you.”

  “You didn’t dump your kid. He’s having a blast. We volunteered. And you’re a better parent when you take time for yourself.”

  Bay snorted. “You been reading some kinda parenting magazine?”

  “I think I saw it on Oprah or something. Seriously, Arlo is great. Pizza is next on the list. Then a movie. He’ll be worn out and probably asleep by the time you bring Kyson home. You can drop off your big guy and pick up your little guy.”

  “I’m really going to be pushing it to get Kyson picked up on time. I should only be about five or ten minutes late if traffic stays smooth. If I hit any kind of backup or construction, it’s going to be later than that.” He grumbled something I couldn’t understand. “I’m going to call Kyson and let him know what’s going on, but that I’m still coming.”

  Bode motioned me into the kitchen while everyone else finished their pizza.

  “Wasn’t Bay supposed to be here like forty-five minutes ago?” Bode crossed his arms over his chest. “Swear I’ll kill him if he stands up Kyson.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, he leaves his kid with us and then stands up our cousin? Not the best plan.” I glanced back toward the living room where Kyson was definitely on edge. “But I am getting a little concerned. Even if he ran into traffic, he should have been here by now.”

  I gestured for Kyson to join us.

  He frowned as he entered the kitchen. “He’s late. Like, really late. He told me he’d text as he left his place to head this way. But I’ve heard nothing. Do you think traffic is that bad?”

  “Have you called him?” Bode asked.

  Kyson huffed. “I’m not going to look like some desperate fool calling my missing date to see where he’s at.”

  I whipped out my phone. “I’ll call.” I pressed Bay’s number. It rang and rang until voicemail picked up. “Hey, just checking on you. All is good here. Hope you’re not stuck in traffic.”

  An hour later, Sage eyed us from his place on the couch next to Arlo. Rhys, Bode, Kyson, and I huddled in the kitchen.

  “We have to keep things normal and calm so we don’t worry Arlo.” Rhys worried his lip. “But Bay is much later than he should have been and with no call, I’m seriously worried.”

  “Same.” I leaned against the counter. “We can let Arlo sleep here, no problem, but what do we do about his dad not coming to get him? He’s not picked up on the fact that Kyson is still here rather than with his dad, but he’s going to notice his dad isn’t here sooner or later.”

  “We could contact Bay’s mom, but I’d hate to worry her.” Bode frowned.

  “I have this really bad feeling something is wrong. Bay was as nervous as I was about the date, but he seemed excited about it. He went to total radio silence and that seems odd since we’re watching Arlo.” Kyson paced the kitchen. “If the kid wasn’t involved, I’d think Bay was just ghosting me, but he’d never do that with Arlo in the middle. I’m worried.”

  “Have we all called?” Bode asked.

  “Multiple times.” I nodded and checked my phone once more. “Nothing.”

  I nearly jumped out of my skin when Kyson’s phone buzzed.<
br />
  He jerked and scowled at the offending phone. “It’s a 317 number, but not one I recognize.”

  “Answer it, could be Bay.” I shrugged. Maybe he’d lost his phone and was calling from a different number.

  “Hello?” Kyson answered the call. “Yes, this is he.”

  Kyson’s face washed white as a ghost and he faltered in his pacing to lean against the refrigerator. “Okay, yes. I understand. Yes, someone will be there.”

  Kyson hung up the phone and took a shuddering breath.

  I stopped breathing and knew Bode and Rhys had too. Poor Sage was straining his neck from the couch trying to listen without freaking poor Arlo out.

  Kyson swallowed and blinked shiny eyes. “That was the hospital. Bay’s in the emergency room. They called me because I was the last number he’d called.”

  The air was sucked out of the room and filled with collective fear and worry.

  Bode was the first to snap out of it. “Okay, you okay to drive?”

  Kyson nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. I want to be the one that goes.”

  “We’ve got Arlo. We’ll make it a slumber party. Go to Bay, but keep us updated. If you get to talk to him,” Bode paused and cleared his throat, not saying what we were all thinking, If he’s well enough to talk, “you let him know that Arlo is safe and loved and not to worry about a single thing.”

  I hugged Kyson close. “Go on. We’ve got it covered here. But if it’s too bad there, call us and someone will come be with you.”

  Kyson nodded. “They would have told me if he was,” he paused and took a deep breath, unable to say what we were all worried about. “Wouldn’t they?”

  The four of us glanced at each other. We had no answers, only an overwhelming sense of worry and fear that not only might we have lost a good friend, but the little boy sitting in our living room might have lost another parent.

  Kyson started, choked on his words, and tried again. “I don’t want to disturb him, but tell Arlo I love him. I’m going to sneak out the back door. Give him lots of extra hugs and stories at bedtime okay? I’ll let you guys know as soon as I know anything.”

  He turned and walked out the back door.

  I hugged Rhys. “He’s got to be okay. He’s just got to be. That baby in there can’t lose his mom and his dad. He just got Bay, he can’t lose him now.”

  “I know,” Rhys whispered. “Let’s go relieve Sage so Bode can tell him what’s going on.”

  Within ten minutes, Sage and Bode joined us on the couch. Sage pulled a sleepy Arlo onto his lap and Bode hit play on Arlo’s movie choice of Frozen.

  I cuddled in to Rhys’s side and curled my arm through Bode’s. Bode put his arm around Sage. Sage propped a pillow on Bode’s lap and Arlo spread out half on Sage and half on Bode before popping a thumb in his mouth as the movie began. And then we settled in for what would prove to be one of the longest waits of our lives.

  Want more of the guys from Silver in the City? Check out book 3, Silver & Spice releasing February 13, 2020! Grab it HERE!

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  Notes

  If you’ve never been to Indianapolis, you should definitely visit! Here are some of the great places mentioned in this story:

  Love Handle- https://www.facebook.com/LoveHandleIndy/

  Punch Burger- www.punchburger.com

  The Macaron Bar- https://www.macaron-bar.com/indianapolis

  Acknowledgments

  It’s always so hard to write this part because I’m worried I’ll forget someone without meaning to.

  Readers- you are the reason I write. As long as you continue reading my stories, I’ll continue writing them. Thank you for your support.

  Bloggers- your support, reviews, and promotion are very much appreciated. Thank you!

  My author buddies- I don’t know that I could keep doing this without our brainstorm sessions, laughter, road trips, meals, wine, and friendship as my support.

  Thank you to my betas, editors, proofreaders, and ARC readers! Your eyes and input are beyond important to me.

  Brett and Gage- as usual, I doubt you even grasp how much your support, input, and friendship mean to me. This author journey has brought many wonderful things into my life, and you both are two of the BEST! I’m blessed to call you friends.

  My family and friends- thank you for your love and support, always.

  About the Author

  A.D. Ellis is an Indiana girl, born and raised. She spends much of her time in central Indiana as an instructional coach/teacher in the inner city of Indianapolis, being a mom to two amazing school-aged children, and wondering how she and her husband of almost two decades have managed to not drive each other insane. A lot of her time is also devoted to phone call avoidance and her hatred of cooking.

  She loves chocolate, wine, pizza, and naps along with reading and writing romance. These loves don’t leave much time for housework, much to the chagrin of her husband. Who would pick cleaning the house over a nap or a good book? She uses any extra time to increase her fluency in sarcasm.

  Find all of Ellis’ contemporary romance and male/male romance at www.adellisauthor.com

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  Also by A.D. ELLIS

  Forever Better Together (coming soon to audio!)

  His Reluctant Cowboy (also on audio!)

  Something About Him (6-book box set)

  What Blooms Beneath (also on audio!)

  The BJ Boys 3-book box set (soon all three to be on audio!)

  Find all of A.D. ELLIS’ books on Amazon (most also on KU) author.to/ADEllisAmazon

  Copyright © 2020 by A.D. ELLIS

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.