Rougaroux Social Club 4: Bayou des Enfants

by LynnLorenz

  Scott growled and nipped at Ted’s lips. “Come here, mate.”

  Ted rolled over on top of Scott and gazed down into his eyes. “Love you, wolf.”

  “Love you, mate.” Scott humped up against Ted. The hard thickness of Scott’s cock pushed against Ted, letting him know Scott was hungry for him. He growled and nipped Ted on the neck and then moaned.

  Ted reached for the nightstand and yanked open the drawer, found the lube, and then squirted a glob onto his fingers. He spread it over Scott’s cock to ease the way. Scott moaned and thrust up into Ted’s tight grip, loving the way Ted jerked him off. His mate drove him wild, and he knew it.

  Rising to his knees, Ted positioned his ass directly over Scott’s dick. He closed his eyes, sighed, and lowered himself down on Scott’s aching cock.

  “Stroke me off.” Ted gritted his teeth as he settled on Scott’s hips.

  Damn. “So fucking hot, Ted. Tight. Gonna let you ride me until I blow.”

  “Gonna blow all over you, babe. Paint your chest with my cum.” Ted rose up and came down, set a quick pace. Scott wrapped his hand around Ted’s half-hard cock, twisting and sliding up and down, working him just like he knew Ted loved.

  Ted, hands on his thighs, rode Scott until they were both sweating and cursing under their breaths. With a final slam down the length of Scott’s dick, Ted wiggled, pushing every last inch of it deep inside, and it set Scott off.

  He blew, shooting into his lover and mate with a soft cry.

  Ted clenched his ass, trapping Scott inside. “Bastard.” Scott rubbed his thumb across the tip of Ted’s dick, playing with the slit, and then flicked it with his finger. He bounced Ted’s rigid dick against his belly, loving the sound of the slaps. With a final stroke, Ted groaned and spilled, cum bubbling and shooting over Scott’s hand.

  “Damn.” Ted shuddered, then slid off and fell to the side.

  Scott groaned. “I think you killed me that time.

  Ted slapped him on the belly. “No. You loved it.”

  After wiping up, they lay tangled up in each other. Scott dozed off, so Ted nudged him awake.

  “Hey. When are you going to talk to the boys about the Freemans?”

  Scott exhaled. “Never?” At Ted’s snort, he added, “How do we tell them someone wants Timothy but not Charles? They’ve lost so much, to lose each other just wouldn’t be good for either of them now.”

  “I think we should let them know about the offer. What if they hear it from someone else, like one of their friends? Being blindsided sucks.”

  “Ted?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I want to keep the boys.”

  “Me too.”

  They grew quiet, but Ted reached for Scott’s hand and laced their fingers together.

  “Okay. We tell the boys about the Freemans, and then see what they say. If they hate it, we tell Ginnie and the ladies we’re keeping them together with us.”

  “Are you sure, Ted? After all, you were the one who didn’t want kids. Didn’t want to be a Mr. Mom.”

  “I told you, this isn’t really about us. It’s about what’s best for the boys. Right now, keeping them together is best. No way can the Freemans be a better choice if they insist on separating them. No way.” Ted shook his head.

  “You are a good man, Ted Canedo.” Scott smiled, brought Ted’s hand to his lips, and kissed it.

  “And you are probably the best man I’ve ever met.”

  “Probably?” Scott nipped Ted’s finger.

  “Ouch, wolf! Okay, definitely the best.”

  “Better. Let’s get to sleep. I have work in the morning, and you have the kids.”

  Ted groaned. “I’m going to have to figure out what to do with them all day.”

  “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

  Scott gathered Ted in close and kissed his mate. “Night, babe.”

  “Night, wolf.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Scott pulled up to the house and parked. He released his tight grip on the steering wheel one finger at a time. He’d been dreading tonight all day. Ted and he had decided to talk to the boys after dinner about the offer from the Freemans, and Scott knew deep in his gut this wasn’t going to go well.

  He got out of the car and climbed the steps, dragging his feet each step of the way. Despite thinking about it all day, he still hadn’t convinced himself that he and Ted were the best choice for the boys.

  Those kids needed parents who would be there for them the rest of their lives. Scott and Ted would be in their fifties when the boys finished college.

  There would be girls, dates, sports, homework, and tests. Heartbreak and laughter. Financial responsibilities. How would they pay for college for two kids? They could dedicate the funds from the sale of the house to a college fund. Scott reached the porch and looked out over their woods.

  With another punch to his gut, he realized his house wasn’t big enough for all of them. It barely fit him and Ted, and he’d had to add the studio underneath the house to make it work.

  Sell? Add on? Tear it all down and rebuild?

  He slumped into the chair and put his hands in his head as reality slammed him in the belly. He’d thought of the fun, the good times of having kids, never the facts. Having kids took a lot of sacrifice. Were he and Ted willing to make those hard choices?

  Maybe Ted was right. Maybe they weren’t ready yet. Maybe they never would be ready. It meant giving up his dream of a family. It meant forcing Ted into a role he didn’t want to play.

  What if they did this and later on Ted decided he’d had enough? What if he left?

  Scott’s heart staggered. Ted couldn’t leave; he was Scott’s mate. They were bound together, forever. But Ted miserable for the rest of his life? How could he damn Ted to that fate?

  He would tell Ted they shouldn’t fight for the boys. Let the Freemans take Timothy and find someone else to take Charles.

  In his head, Scott knew it might be the smart thing to do, but every inch of him hated it.

  Hated the thought of splitting them up or of anyone else raising those boys.

  Merde.

  Scott rose and went inside.

  Time to take a hard, cold bath in the reality pool.

  Ted looked up from prepping for dinner as Scott walked through the door.

  Not good.

  His mate’s expression was, pun intended, hangdog. Either something had happened at work or Scott had come to some decision he wasn’t happy with making.

  And that could only mean the boys.

  Either way, Ted didn’t want to deal with it. The day had been great. Sort of. It’d started off great. He’d taken the boys to the local bayou museum in town and then they’d had lunch at the diner, even found a snowball stand for dessert.

  But then Timmy fell apart on the ride home. He wanted to paint his fingernails, of all things. They’d passed a nail salon, and Timmy begged Ted to stop and let him get them done, just like his mom had done for him. They’d argued almost all the way home. Ted tried to reason with the little boy; he didn’t have nail polish, didn’t know how to put it on or take it off.

  Timmy’s cries soon turned to “I want my mommy!”

  Ted’s head threatened to detonate, and he gave in. Just to shut Timmy up. If that made him a bad parent, so be it. He turned the car around, went to the salon, and they all trooped inside and waited as Timmy picked out a light-blue polish and one of the ladies painted his nails, then covered them with a clear silver glitter polish.

  Timmy was so happy sitting with his hands stuck out for the lady to apply the polish. Had it been so bad Ted had given in? Such a simple thing to make this kid happy, who’d lost his mom and dad, had buried them just days ago?

  The ladies at the salon made Timothy feel so good, cooing over him, almost smothering him with attention. More than he’d been able to do, for sure.

  Charles grumbled and sat on the chair next to the door, ready to make an escape. And Ted couldn’t blame hi
m one bit; he felt the same way. Ted had never been in one of these bastions of womanhood, and it made him uncomfortable, to say the least. He and Charles shared so many looks of “what the hell” that he almost laughed.

  Finally, ending his and Charles’s torture, one of the ladies declared Timmy nails dry. They could leave. Ted paid ten dollars, and they got out of there so fast they practically raced to the car.

  Ten bucks? Okay, if Timmy made a habit of this, they’d have to buy their own polish, and Ted would have to learn to put it on. How hard could it be? He was a painter after all, and polish had a tiny little brush.

  Once home, they headed straight to the studio, and the boys put on their aprons.

  Painting had become the boys’ new hobby. Both loved it. And to his surprise, he loved teaching them. In fact, as he worked with them, he realized he could turn this into another job. Teaching art to the kids of St. Jerome. Private art lessons. He’d thought all afternoon about it and planned to research the cost for lessons.

  He’d wanted to discuss it with Scott, since he’d be using the studio downstairs, but if it went well, maybe he could rent a shop in town.

  Now, after seeing Scott, he knew he’d have to put it on the back burner.

  “What’s up?”

  “Where are the boys?” Scott came to the counter, pulled out a stool, and sat.

  “Quiet time in their room.” Ted wiped the counter in front of Scott, threw his towel over his shoulder, and asked, “What’re you drinking, cher?”

  “Whiskey. Neat.” Scott sighed.

  They’d promised not to drink in front of the boys, but the boys weren’t around. Ted went to the upper cabinet where they’d moved the alcohol out of reach of the boys and got a bottle down. He poured a finger into a glass and placed it in front of Scott.

  “Thank God you didn’t get rid of all the booze.” Scott slammed back the drink.

  “Well, this is strictly medicinal.”

  “Thank God.”

  “Work?” Ted cocked up his eyebrow.

  “No.”

  “Boys?”

  Scott nodded. He glanced to the kids’ room. The door was closed.

  “Having doubts?” Ted smiled and leaned on the counter. He knew his man, his mate, his wolf. Scott was torn up about something, and it had to be deciding not to take the boys, because he’d left in a different frame of mind this morning.

  “Yeah. Big time.” He looked up into Ted’s eyes with such sorrow.

  “Let’s talk about it. Come on. Our room.” Ted put away the bottle and rinsed out Scott’s glass, then led the way to their bedroom for privacy. Scott slid off the stool and followed.

  Ted shut the door and leaned against it. “Tell me.”

  “This is a really big thing.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “You understand this is forever? Not just a few months or a year, but like fucking lifetime.” Scott fell onto the bed and lay back.

  “I do. Raising kids usually means a long time.”

  “How can we afford it? All the kid stuff? And college?” Scott groaned.

  “We bust our asses to get the money, just like everyone else. There’s student loans, scholarships too.”

  “But what if you hate it? What if you decide this isn’t what your life was supposed to be?” Scott ran his hands through his hair. “I couldn’t bear to make you miserable that way.”

  “Hey, no one is forcing me to do anything I don’t want to do. Sure, I never planned for this, we both know that. But the future is never certain. Just ask Wyatt and Marie. I’m sure they didn’t plan on dying and leaving the kids.”

  Ted walked over and sat next to Scott. He stroked Scott’s back. “I’m good.”

  “Really?” Scott gazed into Ted’s eyes.

  “Really. It’s like the first time someone says, man, you should try raw oysters! And you think, hell no. They’re gross. And you say the same thing for years until you finally say, what the hell or you try them on a dare. And holy fuck! You like them.” Ted shrugged. “For me, it was like that. I liked it.”

  Scott laughed. “Merde. You’re nuts.”

  “Bottom line is, these kids need us. We need them too, I suppose. Let’s give it a try, okay? If the kids say they want to go with someone else, fine. But if they want us, I say we fight for them.”

  “Someone has to.” Scott reached up and wrapped his hand around Ted’s neck. “Kiss me.”

  “Wolf.” Ted leaned down and kissed his man, and then broke the kiss. “I have had a hell of a day. Dinner’s in the oven, and the sides aren’t fixed.” He stood and pulled Scott to his feet.

  They went out and finished the dinner prep, called the boys to set the table, and then ate. The boys were full of talk about their day and even grumbled when they discovered no dessert, since they’d had snowballs.

  Timmy stuck out his hands to show Scott his nails. Scott shot a look at Ted, who shrugged, and then Scott told the boy they were pretty. Timmy looked happy. He’d been looking happier each day. Scott wished he could say the same for Charles, but he knew what preyed on the older boy’s mind.

  “See. I really did have a day.” Ted grinned at his mate.

  SCOTT KNEW THIS was it; after they cleaned the table and started the dishwasher, it would be time for the talk. They all settled in the living room to watch a video, but before they picked one out, he called out to them, “Hey, guys! Wait a minute. Come sit back down.”

  They came over, each with the selected video they wanted to watch in their hand.

  “Ted and I want to talk to you. Remember the day Miss Ginnie came over? Well, she had some news, and we want to discuss it with you.”

  “Like adults,” Ted added. “Because this is really all about you and what you want.”

  Timothy nodded. Charles crossed his arms and melted into the sofa.

  Ted gave Scott a nod. “So there is a family called the Freemans. They’re interested in taking Timothy.” Scott figured no reason to beat around the bush. There was no way to sugarcoat this to Charles.

  “I knew it!” Charles frowned as fierce as any wolf. “No one wants me.”

  Timothy looked from Scott to his brother. “I want to stay with Charles.” His bottom lip quivered as tears welled in his eyes.

  Charles growled. “No, Timothy. You go to the nice family. Have a good life. Save yourself.” He pushed his brother’s shoulder. “Go on. You don’t need me.”

  Timothy stared at Charles. “But I don’t want a nice family. I want you!”

  “Well, you’re stupid! Take it and go!”

  “Noooo!” Timothy wailed.

  “I’d do it. I’d be out of here so fast, your eyes would pop outta your head!” Charles jumped off the sofa and stood in front of Timothy.

  Ted frowned. “Boys! Calm down. It’s not a done deal.”

  Timothy sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. “It’s not?”

  “No. We should discuss it, though, because even if it’s not ideal, it’s one solution.”

  Charles turned on Scott. “You promised you’d help me with my change. Is that the truth, or were you just saying it? I thought we couldn’t go into foster care because I’m a wolf, that’s what you said.” He jabbed his finger at Scott.

  “That’s right. And you’re not going into foster care, son.”

  “I’m not—” Charles clamped his mouth shut, but his eyes glistened. His body trembled. Scott wanted to pull him in for a hard hug, but he didn’t.

  “Look. All I’m saying is that Timothy has an offer of a good home. It should be his decision. As for you, if you want, you can stay here with us. They’re offering sort of a partial shared custody, where you could stay together on weekends and during the summer.”

  Charles’s shoulders slumped, and he blinked. Faced Timothy and sighed.

  “What do you want to do, Timothy? Go or stay?” Scott asked. “Whichever you choose, it’s okay. The Freemans are nice. You’d have a mom and a dad.”

  Timothy bit his bo
ttom lip as his gaze darted back and forth between them all.

  “It’s hard. I don’t know how to figure it out.” He twisted his fingers into tight knots.

  “I know, honey.” Ted smiled at the boy. “But look into your heart. What does it tell you?”

  “It tells me to stay with Charles. We’re all we’ve got left of our family” He inhaled. “And it tells me I want to stay with you and Ted. Forever.” He looked into Scott’s eyes, and Scott’s heart melted into a puddle of goo.

  “Well, Ted and I have to discuss this with the pack, but if you boys want to stay with us, have us as your new parents, then we’re good with it too.”

  “Are you gonna adopt us?” Charles kicked at the floor with the toe of his shoe. “Permanent? For real? You can’t give us back, right?”

  “Well, we’d sort of have to for it to be legal. And we’d never give you back.”

  Charles jerked his head to Timothy. “Powwow.”

  Timothy nodded and got off the couch, and the boys walked over to a corner of the room. Backs to Scott and Ted, they spoke in low, urgent whispers.

  Ted shrugged and winked. “Powwow. Big talk.”

  Scott nodded as he watched the boys. “Big talk.”

  Finally the boys broke apart and returned.

  “So here’s what we decided.” Charles gave Timothy a glance, and the little boy nodded. “We’re staying here. We want you to be our new…dads.”

  “Charles, I thought you had a problem with Ted and me being gay. It’s not going to change. We’re mated, and that’s forever, just like your mom and dad were mated. Is that still an issue? If it is, you need to tell us right now before we go any further.”

  Charles shrugged. “It’s gross to see you guys kissing, but it was yucky when Dad kissed Mom.” He twisted his lips in thought. “What if the other kids talk about it?”

  “Like bully you?” Ted lowered his voice. “They might. I won’t lie to you and say everyone will think our family is great. But we’ll know the truth, won’t we?”

  Charles nodded. “I guess.” But he didn’t sound convinced.

  Timothy giggled and clapped his hands. “Two dads. Our forever dads.”

  “So you want us?” Charles stuck out his chin, daring Scott to speak.