“Isn’t that a scary thought?” he replied.
“You’ll be the cool uncle, who can teach them coding, not to mention how to make really great coffee,” Sam joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Drew got to his feet, feeling the situation needed more than words. Stepping towards Logan, he hesitated.
“Congratulations, the engagement, the baby, it’s really great to see things come together for you.”
Logan stood and closed the gap he was afraid to, pulling Drew into an embrace.
“It’s so good to see you looking well, and happy.” Logan pulled back, his gaze straying to Sam. “You are happy?”
“More than I’ve ever been.”
It wasn’t perfect. He and Sam were still working out the finer points of the give and take of their relationship, but they were getting there.
He found Haley at his elbow and turned, surprised when she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tightly.
“I’m so happy we’re here and that the two of you are talking, really talking.”
Tears welled in her eyes and she wiped them away. “Sorry, it’s the pregnancy hormones. I cry at everything.”
Laughing, Logan slung an arm around her shoulders.
“And she means everything. You know that ad with the puppies with the mohawk hair…”
Drew slipped back into his seat next to Sam as the conversation moved onto more general things. It gave him a minute to catch his breath, leaning against Sam, a hand on his knee and Sam’s arm around his shoulders.
Later, as they were seeing everyone out, he pulled Logan to one side.
“Have you talked to Dad?”
Logan looked uncomfortable. “We don’t talk much anymore. A phone call now and then. I haven’t told him anything about what you told me. That’s for you to tell, if you choose to. He’s not going to be around forever, especially with the way he lives these days. It’s tough to know how to handle things, especially now, with a grandchild on the way. What do you think?”
“I think it has to be your choice.” Drew wasn’t about to dictate terms on that. “Your relationship with Dad isn’t my relationship with Dad. And I hear that sometimes people who were awful parents make better grandparents. I guess some people mellow in old age.”
“And some get more cantankerous, like my great aunt,” Haley said, slipping a hand into Logan’s.
“We had better get going,” Logan said. “Happy birthday, Drew. I’m really glad we got to celebrate it with you.”
Matt walked out with them, promising to call by at the weekend to catch up. He was looking better and better these days and while Drew knew Sam still worried about him, it wasn’t the same worry as before.
Drew was sad to see them all go but happy to have some peace and quiet for himself and Sam.
Sam slipped an arm around his waist. “Time for bed. Long day, huh?”
“Yeah. But good, all the same.”
“It’s okay if it wasn’t. Seeing your brother like that…”
“He looked good. He and Haley seem really happy.”
“They do. But so do you. I know it’s early days, with your consulting business, and putting your life back together…”
Drew turned so he and Sam were face to face. “I am happy. Right here, right now, with you.”
Sam smiled, leaning forward to rest their foreheads together. “Let’s go get some sleep.”
Sam’s phone buzzed at four am and he glanced at the screen, groaning as he sat and threw back the covers. Drew stirred, lifting his head from the pillow.
“Team’s been called in early. Go back to sleep.”
Blearily, he stumbled to the bathroom, washing briskly, a few splashes of cold water on his face waking him.
Returning to the bedroom, he blinked at the empty bed as he busied himself getting dressed. When he got to the kitchen, he found Drew waiting with an open flask of coffee. Sam took it with a smile, swallowing a few mouthfuls before sealing it and tucking it into his gym bag.
“You didn’t have to get up.”
“Hey, if you’re going out to save the world, the least a boyfriend can do is see you off.”
“The guys will be jealous. They love your coffee.”
“They’ll have to get their own live-in barista,” Drew said, wrapping arms around Sam. They kissed, shorter and sweeter than Sam would have liked, but there wasn’t time for more.
“Be safe,” Drew said as they pulled apart.
“Always,” he promised. “See you this evening.”
“Love you,” Drew called as he got to the door.
“Love you too,” he called back, glancing over his shoulder to see Drew leaning against the wall with a tired smile on his face.
Give and take, right? This was what it meant; someone there for him when his day started in the middle of the night, someone who didn’t blink an eye when he needed to spend time with his team, or when he just needed to sit on the couch and process the events of the day.
It had never been like that before. He’d given everything, and when the tables turned, and he needed something, it was always too much. But not for Drew, who seemed to crave Sam needing him as much as he needed Sam. That was love.
The End
Author's Note
Thank you for reading Give and Take, the first book of the Ties that Bind Series. If you have a moment to spare, please consider leaving a review.
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Copyright © 2017 by Claire Cullen
All Rights Reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincident
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Give and Take (Ties That Bind Book 1) Page 22
