Always (With Bonus Material) (Always & Forever Book 1)

by Kindle Alexander

  "Yes!" Kane said immediately. "Do you? Please say yes." That drew a laugh because Avery had clearly just affirmed they wanted to know.

  "Of course I do," Avery agreed, and it took a few minutes more of the technician moving all around her belly. The electricity in the room was tangible. Everyone focused on the screen.

  "Right here. Do you see it?" the technician asked the doctor. "The first baby looks like a boy."

  "Do you see him?" Dr. Palmer asked, looking directly at Kane as he circled something on the screen. The room busted out in a cheer, that meant Avery was paying up. As much grief as he gave them about knowing he was having a little girl, they were all giving back to him now. Based on the screen, Kane just had to take the doctor's word on it; he saw nothing that looked like anything distinguishable, let alone boy parts.

  "It's a boy? You're sure?" Avery questioned back loudly over the whooping and hollering. This Avery was the attorney, challenging the doctor's observation. He had been so certain he was having a little girl.

  There had never been an option of anything else.

  "Pretty sure. He's hiding the other one… Protecting the other baby. He's facing the world," the technician said.

  "Then he's got Avery's personality," Kane said, and Kennedy beamed up at him. That seemed to settle Avery down, he took pride in that and kissed Kane, clearly pleased Kane thought such a thing about him.

  "Try on this side," Sophia suggested patting her left side, back around her hips. She tried to turn over, angle her oversized belly better, and Avery was right there, helping her turn.

  "Hang on, grip onto my hand, I'll turn you," he said. The technician stayed on her, moving the wand, adding more gel.

  "Wait, turn for me a bit… Right here. Do you see anything?" the technician asked, who knew who he spoke to. "Yes! Right there. Do you see?"

  "I think we may have a girl," Sophia said, beaming back at Avery.

  "I believe you're right," Dr. Palmer seconded.

  "Yes!" Avery exclaimed, and Kane went numb again for the second time in a matter of a few minutes. They were having a boy and a girl. Avery was so excited, beaming from ear to ear as he drew Kane up and hugged him tight, actually lifting him off his feet.

  "Two, babies. We're having two," Avery said. Kennedy and Paulie were gathered in the hug. Hugs were again shared by everyone. Avery couldn't hide his enthusiasm as he made sure everyone knew his little girl was in there too. The small, confined exam room overflowed with joy and laughter. It seemed their family had just grown to include everyone in that room.

  "Are they healthy?" Kane quietly asked Dr. Palmer as they stood in the center of all the commotion.

  "From what I'm seeing right now, I'd say yes. We need to run some tests. They're small, but that's expected with twins and explains a lot. Let me get my hands on these reports, but they seem good, Kane. Celebrate this, Son. It's a good day for you," Dr. Palmer said, breaking out of his normal stone-face to give him a grin and handshake across Sophia's belly.

  Kane let a breath out, shook the doctor's hand, and the tears he'd been trying so hard to hold back welled in his eyes. He'd never expected twins. This just seemed too good to be true. Not one baby, but two. He and Avery were having twins. Surely, God wouldn't bless them like this if they weren't suited to be parents. Kane watched Avery celebrating out of the corner of his eye. He was so excited, so animated in his actions. The feeling was starting to settle into his soul, they were going to be fathers, and the emotions were overwhelming. The tears spilled down his cheeks, clouding his vision. Even if they were tears of happiness, he didn't want anyone to see him cry. He excused himself to the restroom. He needed to pull himself together. He barely made it out the exam room door before he heard Avery behind him.

  "Wait, Kane. Baby, you're crying," Avery said behind him, stopping him before he could get to the restroom and clean himself up.

  "I'm not crying," Kane said, turning his tearful eyes to Avery.

  "You are! Baby…" Avery said, drawing Kane up against him and gently brushing at the wetness on his cheeks.

  "I'm just happy," Kane confessed, the tears now spilling onto Avery's dress shirt. "You stay in there with everyone. I'm going to the bathroom to clean up." When it looked like Avery was going to argue, Kane stopped him, lifting a finger to Avery's lips. "Stay here with Sophia and our babies. I'll be right back." Those were effective words. Kane pulled free of the hold and was down the hall before the hiccups started. He couldn't even take a full breath. This was even more than he'd ever hoped for. They were going to have a family, he couldn't believe it.

  Twins!

  Chapter 18

  March 1980 ~ Stillwater, Minnesota

  Avery swirled the Chivas and water, letting the ice clink in the small cocktail glass before he downed the contents in one large swallow. The sound of laughter filled the living room as he stopped by the wet bar, pouring himself another drink. Kane caught his eye. It was funny how in tune they were with each other, and Avery turned in his direction. The look Kane gave made it clear he was keeping an eye on Avery, even though he was occupied with a house full of guests. Avery grinned and lifted two fingers, wiggling his eyebrows. He'd been placed on a strict, love-filled health regime, and Kane watched him like a hawk, because without question, Avery would cheat on his diet given the opportunity.

  Today, Kane allowed him two alcoholic drinks, and out of nothing more than teasing Kane, he reached up and pulled another taller glass from the rack, pouring himself a double. That would earn him a lecture later, and he'd play dumb, saying he'd only had two drinks, but Kane had never said a thing about what glass he could use. Avery would go round and round with Kane, and by the end of the discussion, Kane would feel guilty for reprimanding Avery so solidly. He was certain to get one of those Kane Dalton Adams fan-fuckingtastic blow jobs to help ease his pain and hurt feelings. Avery's smile grew and his body stirred, thinking over the possibilities. God, Kane still had him completely under his spell.

  It was only another solid round of laughter that had Avery leaving those thoughts and schooling his body's reaction. They had a house full of guests, and it wouldn't do to have a hard-on tenting his slacks for the next few hours until he could finally get Kane alone.

  Avery had thrown Kane a baby shower, inviting just about everyone in their day to day lives. The whole thing was really more a party. Everyone invited brought a guest, which allowed for a solid mix of both men and women to celebrate the twins who were soon to arrive.

  They were still approximately six weeks from the delivery date, but Kane had spent so much time and energy creating the perfect nursery, Avery felt compelled to show off his handiwork. Kane had worked meticulously, trying to create the perfect design for their children. After much debate, he chose Mickey and Minnie Mouse, having matching layettes made for each child. Kane agonized over the decision. He spent hours and hours going over materials and designs. Many of their nights were spent lying in bed well into the morning hours, talking about nothing more than drapes, colors, polka dots, and accessories for the twins' room. Finally, after weeks of contemplation, Avery gently nudged Kane into a decision, hoping bedtime could be more than nursery talk again.

  Funny though, once the nursery was complete, Kane's attention turned to the all-consuming project of choosing the safest car seats for the road. After another few weeks of agonizing, Paulie stepped in and made the decision for Kane. He bought the latest in car safety and made a show of dropping the car seats at the house then leaving in a disgruntled huff. Avery guessed Paulie must have heard it all day at the restaurant, like he'd heard it all night at home. Kane didn't even seem fazed. Instead, he spent the remainder of the day installing the car seats in the vehicle, making sure they were a secure fit. Avery grinned, taking a small sip to hide his smile. God, his mister was going to make a wonderful father to those children, just like Avery had always known he would.

  Avery wound his way through the living room, taking a seat closest to Sophia. She was thirty-four w
eeks along, with her belly growing bigger by the day. She made good progress, which they considered nothing but good news, and they were hopeful she would remain pregnant another few weeks. The babies were a nice size and by all accounts seemed healthy. Avery could easily see they were a load on her slender frame. As a testimony to the thought, she'd just announced that she had quit seeing patients until after delivery. She stopped short of saying she was on bed rest, but she was going to be taking it easy in an effort to draw the pregnancy out.

  Another huge turn of events had happened over the last few months; they had finally made the headlines. However, two close to full gestation in vitro babies seemed less important than the fact he and Kane were the first gay couple to get this far in the game. Avery doubted either guaranteed a headline. He suspected it was more the tie to his heritage that kept them front page news across the country, but regardless, they were heavily debated on the national news and hands down their decision was widely criticized, especially in the Deep South. Yet, here in Minnesota, the community seemed to protect them. No one cared anything more than that an Adams was back to having babies and that excitement superseded anything else that could matter.

  Avery tried to keep all the negative national media from touching his husband. Paulie seemed as determined to shield Kane as well. Together they made a pretty impressive team, but for the most part, Kane seemed immune to it all. They had made the decision not to watch television, which was paying off. Kane's only focus was preparing their home for the twins' arrival. Avery loved how resilient his honey had become. He was accepting who they were as individuals and who they were as a couple. That pleased Avery most of all.

  "No, I hired a registered nurse to come over this week and make sure we're set and ready to go. She's going to work with us on the care of the twins. They have these life-like dolls now. They called them interactive, and we'll practice everything with them," Kane said, telling Avery's mom all about the dolls he'd found and the classes he had arranged for them. She sat right next to him as he opened the presents the guests brought. Kane's comments caught Avery's attention, just as Sophia's hand came to rest on his thigh.

  "He's doing so well. He's so excited," she said quietly. Avery didn't miss the amusement in her eyes, and he gave her a showy eye roll.

  "The nurse and classes are news to me," Avery said back in little more than a whisper. He didn't want to squelch Kane's enthusiasm.

  "It's admirable. He's determined to care for these two without any help. He's trying, you have to give him credit for that," Sophia said, patting her round belly. Avery couldn't help the laugh that slipped out at that thought. He was absolutely certain Kane would pull off taking care of the two babies, but as someone born with a nanny waiting in the wings, he was breaking all sorts of new ground for himself.

  "Things have changed so much since Avery was a baby. Pampers are from God. I remember the days of cleaning those cloth diapers," Kennedy said as Kane unwrapped a box of disposable diapers.

  "I think we're going to give cloth diapers a try," Kane said and immediately looked down at the gift in his lap. He was too much of a gentleman to not try and make that right. "But we've decided to use disposable diapers when we go out. We think that will be the simplest way to care for them." Avery chuckled at Kane's expression as he tried to reassure their guest that he loved their gift.

  "Is that true?" Sophia leaned in, whispering to Avery after he hid a more serious laugh by taking another sip.

  "Hell no! Kane is earth friendly, environmentally aware, and ecologically safe all the way now," Avery whispered back, hoping no one heard him.

  "That's the impression I got," Sophia quietly said.

  As fun as sitting in the living room, opening all these gifts and listening to the hundreds of stories about raising children was, Avery couldn't help but give in to curiosity and take a peek at what was going on in other rooms in his house. He slanted his head to the right to see if he could get a good look inside the game room.

  From this angle, he could see some of the men shooting pool. For the most part, the men had gone straight to the game room when they'd arrived, while the women stationed themselves inside the living room. Paulie was the last stray to hang on, and without question, it was only to show support for Kane, but after so much "women talk" Paulie finally bailed. Avery was left all alone, listening to the Pac-Man arcade game ding in the background, calling his name to join them.

  Both groups seemed to be having a great time. He kept telling himself that was all that mattered.

  Avery sat on their blue velvet sofa and watched as Kane opened the gift from his mother. He was as surprised as Kane, and cut his eyes to her, a little stunned and completely uncertain as to how she accomplished such a feat. She had baby pictures of both Kane and Avery framed together.

  To Avery's knowledge, Kane had nothing of his past, and the moment Kane's eyes landed on the photo, they shot back up to meet his. The same shock pooled in Kane's eyes as he turned the framed photos toward Avery. Kane was the happiest he'd ever remembered seeing him.

  In that moment, Kane's emotion took his breath away. He could do nothing more than stare. He had become so lost in the happenings of day to day life, he'd taken for granted he'd married the most handsome, kind, gentle man he'd ever met. Kane's soul whispered and reached out to embrace his. Good God, he loved that man. Their connection was so strong, he didn't want to take his eyes from Kane.

  "Oh no!" All the heads in the room whipped around to Sophia, who sat on the edge of the couch clutching her stomach. The bewilderment left most of their faces, kicking everyone into action as it became clear the spot where Sophia sat was saturated. She struggled to stand. Her pants were soaked, and the liquid pooled on the hardwood floor beneath her feet.

  "Get Thomas," she said urgently and gripped her stomach. Avery was up, holding on to her as she doubled over in pain.

  "We need to get you to the hospital," Thomas said, appearing by Sophia's side, taking Avery's place.

  "I'll call Dr. Palmer," Paulie said, moving faster than Avery had ever seen him move.

  "The contractions are coming fast. We must hurry," Sophia said, looking straight at Thomas, already walking toward the front door. The living room filled as their guests crowded in to offer their support and advice. Everyone rushed about, but no one could actually do anything to help. For the first time since Sophia's water broke, Avery looked around for Kane. He was nowhere to be found.

  "Mother, where's Kane?" Avery asked, sure she could hear the panic in his voice. This wasn't the time for disappearing; they needed to get to the hospital.

  "The answering service is getting the doctor to the hospital," Paulie bellowed from the kitchen door. Avery fished around inside his pockets for his keys. By this point, everyone from the party was in full panic mode. Chaos ensued, if nothing more than in Avery's head, and he needed Kane. They needed to follow Sophia to the hospital.

  "I've got the car out front, ready to go," Kane shouted, busting through the front door. "I packed a second hospital bag, just in case you needed it! I'm glad I did," Kane stated matter-of-factly, calmly moving to Sophia's other side, and carefully, but quickly escorting her across the porch and down the stairs to their new, baby-safe Volvo.

  Avery made it to the front door, as Kane closed the passenger side door. Thomas slid in the backseat.

  "Come on!" Kane yelled at Avery. There was even a moment of clear frustration on his face when he spotted Avery still at the front door. Through all the confusion, Avery realized that Kane must have planned for this too. The just in case. He couldn't have been more proud.

  "Avery, go. I'll make sure we get everything closed up. Paulie and I can ride to the hospital together," Kennedy said. Kane honked, waving his hand, yelling out the window for him. The sound of the car being put in drive gave Avery the distinct impression he'd be left behind if he wasn't in that car in a matter of seconds. He took off down the steps, running, and jumped in next to Thomas. Kane was already speeding down the
drive before he even shut the car door.

  "You were spectacular getting us here," Avery said, carrying Kane's backup overnight bag through the hospital halls. Kane seemed to innately know his way, and Avery followed a step behind, just trying to keep up and stay out of Kane's way as he turned corners here and there, never stopping to ask his way. Sophia had agreed Kane could be her labor coach for the birth, and his mister wasn't wasting one minute. No one else would be in the room, just her and Kane and the medical staff. He had even attended Lamaze classes with her.

  "I practiced driving here just in case. From both the house and the restaurant," Kane said. He must have realized what he'd just revealed, because for the first time since entering the hospital, he cut his eyes to Avery. "Don't laugh!"

  "You saved the day. I'm not going to laugh," Avery said, a huge smile on his face. Of course, Kane would have done something like that. Since they started this whole birthing thing, everything he knew about Kane had flown out the window. His ultra conservative, very reserved husband was a ball of nerves that'd evidently left very little to chance. What he couldn't work through, he learned about until he knew every single detail there was to know.

  They had made it to Sophia's hospital room, and Avery grabbed Kane's arm before he entered. "Keep me posted. I'll be in the waiting room. Take care of them, Kane," Avery said, leaning in for a quick kiss.

  Kane gave him a quick peck before pushing through the swinging metal doors. The door closed, only to reopen before Avery had a chance to even turn away. Kane reached for the bag. "Stay close." And with that Kane was gone again.

  He and Thomas were relegated to the waiting room two doors down the hall. Minutes felt like hours. Slowly, members of the baby shower began to trickle in. It wasn't too much longer before he heard Paulie's booming voice asking about the babies at the nurses' station. He sounded as impatient as ever, but that was Paulie's manner. Avery spotted him and his mother about the same time Sophia's hospital room door opened unexpectedly. Sophia lay on a gurney and was being pushed out of the room. Kane followed behind the doctor and nurses solemn-faced and resigned. Resigned to what?