“So, ready for breakfast?”
“Can we go back to bed after?” Brad sighed and inhaled Patrick’s scent. “I just want to not think about anything until I hear from my parents.”
“I think I can manage that, Angel.” Patrick pressed a kiss to his head, then gently pushed him out of his arms. “One omelet coming right up.”
Brad smiled at his lover before sitting at his kitchen table. He watched as Patrick started to pull things out of the fridge. Patrick had just turned on the stove when the phone started to ring. Brad lurched to his feet and grabbed the phone. “Hello?”
“Brad? I just got your message. Are you okay?” The questions were asked at such a fast speed that the words nearly turned into one.
“Graham?”
“Yeah. Do you need me to come home? I wasn’t supposed to come home until tomorrow, but I can ditch Russ and come home now if you need me to.”
“I’m doing okay. Patrick’s here, so you don’t need to come home early.”
“The boyfriend came? How long is he going to be in town?”
“I don’t know. Hang on.” Brad covered the mouthpiece and turned his attention to Patrick. “Graham wants to know how long you’re staying.” Brad was slightly surprised that he hadn’t thought to ask that himself.
Patrick shot him a smile as he started cracking eggs. “At least until after the funeral.”
“He says ‘until after the funeral’.”
“When is the funeral?”
“I don’t know. My parents won’t be here for another couple of days.”
“I’ll be home tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Graham.”
“I’ll head straight over when I get home.”
“Okay.”
“Call me if you need anything.”
“I will.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Graham,” Brad replied. He waited for Graham to say goodbye before he hung up the phone. Brad turned back to the table just in time to see Patrick slide a plate with his omelet in front of him. “Thanks, sugar.”
“Not a problem.” Patrick pressed a kiss to the top of his head before he sat down with his own breakfast. “Now, I want you to eat all of that.”
“And then we can go back to bed?”
“We can do anything that you want, Angel.”
“Good.” Brad picked up his fork and brought a piece of omelet to his mouth. He moaned in pleasure as the taste exploded across his tongue. “This is amazing.”
“Glad you like it. Now, eat all of it,” Patrick instructed. Brad gave his lover a quick smile before turning back to his breakfast. He was surprised to find that he was actually hungry. Of course, he couldn’t remember if he had eaten anything the day before. Brad practically inhaled the omelet. He was about to sheepishly ask Patrick if there was anything else to eat when a plate of bacon and toast appeared in front of him.
“I didn’t know I had bacon.”
“You don’t anymore. Now eat.”
“Yes, boss.” Brad laughed lightly as Patrick growled at him. He ate until he felt stuffed. When he was done, he leaned back in his chair and looked over at his lover. Patrick was sipping from a cup of coffee and looking at him. “What?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re staring at me.”
“You’re gorgeous. I like to look at you.”
Brad felt his face heat with a blush. “I don’t know what to say to that.” He gave Patrick a smile before he looked down at his hands. One of Patrick’s hands appeared in his field of vision as it settled over his.
“You don’t have to say anything. Do you want more food?”
“I don’t think I can eat anything else.”
“So, ready for the relaxing part of the day?”
“More than ready.” Brad got to his feet, walked around the table, and pulled his lover to his feet. He gave Patrick a brief kiss, linked their hands together and began to tug him out of the kitchen. Brad was going to spend the rest of the day wrapped in Patrick’s arms. He couldn’t think of a better thing to do while waiting for his parents to call.
PATRICK looked down at the sleeping head in his lap and smiled. Brad’s parents had finally called. They were going to be arriving the next day and—from what Patrick had heard of the conversation—Brad’s brother was going to be with them. The moment he had hung up with them, Brad had fallen into an exhausted sleep in Patrick’s lap.
Patrick could still see dark circles under his lover’s eyes. He was hoping that Brad would rest easier now that he had heard from his parents. Brad murmured in his sleep and shifted slightly, prompting Patrick to tuck a blanket around his shoulders. Patrick was hoping that Brad wouldn’t shift right off the couch.
Brad had wanted to spend the day in bed—which Patrick had been willing to do—but that hadn’t happened. Patrick had tugged Brad into his arms, only to have his suddenly restless lover elbow him in the stomach. They had ended up on the couch watching movies. Now that Brad was sleeping again, Patrick didn’t want to wake him. Unfortunately, Brad was using him as a pillow and he was starting to lose feeling in his legs. That was when someone knocked on the door.
“Of course someone would pick now to knock on the door,” Patrick muttered. He slowly and carefully lifted Brad’s head out of his lap. Hoping that his numb legs would support his weight, Patrick slowly got to his feet before placing a pillow under Brad’s head. Brad gave an unhappy-sounding murmur, but didn’t wake. Patrick bit back a groan as he straightened. His legs weren’t happy with him.
The knock on the door sounded again. Thankfully, the knocking was nowhere near as loud and annoying as Dwight’s knocking had been. “I’m coming,” Patrick muttered. “Stop with the damn knocking.” Patrick reached the door and pulled it open. Standing on the front porch was a rather dumbstruck-looking Julian. “Hey, Ace.”
“Patrick?” Julian blinked at him. “What are you doing here?”
“Come inside. You’re letting the cold air in.” Patrick moved to one side to let Julian into the house. When Julian continued to stare at him in surprise, Patrick reached out and grabbed his arm, forcibly pulling him into the house. He closed the door behind Julian as his friend automatically began removing his coat. “Here, I’ll take that for you.”
“Thanks,” Julian replied. He handed Patrick his coat and slipped off his shoes before his control snapped. “What are you doing here!?”
“Shh! You’ll wake Brad.” Patrick grabbed Julian by the elbow and propelled him into the kitchen. He took a moment to glance at his sleeping lover before he closed the pocket door that led to the kitchen. A smack to the back of the head knocked him slightly off balance as he turned around. “Ow! What the fuck, Ace?”
“What are you doing here? Brad’s grandmother just died. He doesn’t need this.”
“I know his grandmother died. He called me. And what exactly doesn’t he need, Julian?”
“He doesn’t need you coming here and tearing his heart out all over again! It hurt him enough the first time!” Julian stepped forward and poked him in the chest. Hard. “I can’t believe that you can be this selfish.”
Patrick was starting to get angry. “Selfish? The guy I’m dating calls to tell me that he needs me because his grandmother died and I fly out immediately to be with him. How does that make me selfish?”
“It’s selfish because you know how—wait, did you say dating?”
“Yes.”
“You and Brad are dating?”
“Yes.”
“Since when?”
“I don’t know. It’s been like a month. He flew out to Ontario three weeks ago and we started talking again two weeks before that, so, yeah, a little over a month.”
“Is there a reason I didn’t know about this?”
Patrick’s anger dissipated in a small rush of fear. “I didn’t tell you?”
“No,” Julian replied, crossing his arms over his
chest. “You didn’t tell me.”
“Are you sure?”
“I think I would have remembered something like that, Patrick.”
“Maybe you forgot in your old age?”
“I’m only a month older than you.”
“But your brain is all full of medical stuff. It makes your brain older.”
“This conversation has suddenly become ridiculous.”
“Does that mean you’re not angry anymore?”
Julian moved closer, gave him a peck on the cheek, which he followed with a punch to Patrick’s shoulder. “You’re still an idiot.”
“You’re mean.” Patrick wrapped his arms around Julian and pulled him into a hug, placing a kiss to the top of his head. “Missed you, Ace.”
“Then you should have used the phone to call.”
“Phone works from both ends.”
“Like I was going to call after Cam told me that you were starting fights at work.” Julian brushed his hands against Patrick’s stomach as he pulled out of the hug. “And what is with these muscles? Have you done anything but work out since you got home?”
“I got a new tat and got my other nipple pierced.”
“I really don’t know what to say to that.”
“Wanna see?” Patrick asked with a smirk. He grunted in pained annoyance as Julian hit him again.
“Stop leering at me.”
“I’m not leering.”
“Of course you are. Your eyes are open.”
“Ouch. What’s with the mean, Ace?” Patrick frowned at his friend as he made his way over to the coffee maker. He dumped the old coffee and started a fresh pot.
“Sorry,” Julian replied. Patrick heard a sigh as Julian sat at the table. “I just wasn’t expecting you to be here.” Julian caught Patrick’s gaze as Patrick sat at the table. “Does anyone know that you’re here?”
“Justine does. I needed someone to watch my dog. Plus, she let my boss know that I wasn’t going to be there.”
“You’ve got a dog? When did you get a dog?”
“The day after I got back. Bryce—one of the K-9 officers—needed someone to give his dog a home. She got hurt and he can’t use her as a police dog anymore.”
“So you’re living with a retired police dog?”
“Yep. And she’s running the house.” The coffee maker beeped, so Patrick got up and fixed them both a cup. He placed a mug in front of Julian before retaking his seat.
“Thanks.” Julian took a sip from his coffee. “How’s Brad doing?”
“Better than I did when my grandmother died.”
“Really?”
“Come on, Ace. I showed up at your place in Toronto and sobbed in your arms. Then I went home, flew to the funeral, then spent a week hiding out with Asher in Calgary signing papers and learning how to run my grandmother’s business.”
“That sounds to me like you dealt pretty well.”
“Asher had to clean me up after a two-day bender.”
Julian wrinkled his nose. “Ew.”
“Yeah. I’m a gross drunk.”
“I remember,” Julian replied with a laugh.
Patrick couldn’t work up the energy to glower. Now that he was away from his sleeping lover, he realized that the coffee was the only thing keeping him going.
“Patrick, are you okay?”
“I’m just tired.” Patrick flashed Julian a small smile. “How’s Jack?”
“He’s good. I can’t wait to tell him that you’re here.”
“Is he going to come and yell at me too?”
“No, he won’t yell at you, but Roz might.”
Patrick groaned and dropped his head to the table. “You’re going to tell Roz I’m here?”
“Yep. And I’m going to tell her that you and Brad got back together and you didn’t tell us.”
“You’re mean.”
“Who’s mean?” a sleepy voice asked. Patrick turned to see his lover standing in the doorway and rubbing his eyes.
“Julian’s mean.” Patrick held out his hand. “Come here, Brad.”
Brad yawned before shuffling over and taking Patrick’s hand. Patrick pulled Brad into his lap and wrapped his arms around Brad’s waist. Brad yawned and rested against Patrick. “Hey, Julian.”
“Hi. How are you?”
“Better.”
“I was going to ask you if you want to stay with Jack and me, but I see that you’re not alone.”
“Thanks, Julian. That’s really nice of you.”
“It’s not a problem. Is there anything we can do?”
“It means a lot to me that you came over.”
“Do you guys need food?”
“Ace, are you offering to make us dinner?” Patrick asked. He gave Brad’s waist a squeeze and pressed a kiss to his neck.
Julian laughed. “I guess I am. Are you guys up for it?”
“What do you think, Brad?”
“Sounds good to me. I’m not sure how much food I have left in the fridge.”
“Great. I’ll see the two of you at seven. That work for you?”
“That’s great, Ace. Thanks.” Patrick gave Brad’s neck another kiss. “Why don’t you go and have a shower while I walk Julian out?”
“Okay.” Brad climbed out of Patrick’s lap and stretched before he padded out of the kitchen. Patrick watched him go before he got to his feet. He wrapped an arm around Julian’s waist and pulled his ex-lover close to his side. When they got to the door, Patrick pulled Julian close and gave him a quick kiss.
“Thanks for this, Ace.”
“It’s not a problem. If there’s anything else that Jack and I can do, just let me know.”
“I will.” Patrick helped Julian into his jacket. “You gonna warn Jack that I’m in town? ’Cause if his reaction to seeing me is going to include violence, I want you to tell him that I’m here.”
Julian laughed. “I’ll tell him. See you and Brad at seven.”
“Bye.” Patrick closed the door behind Julian and locked it. He grinned as he heard the water turn on upstairs. It sounded like he was just in time to help Brad wash his back.
Chapter 12
STANDING in front of his grandmother’s house, Brad felt his heart lodge in his throat. He still couldn’t believe that his grandmother was dead. He kept expecting her to open the door and smile at him. Brad raised a hand and wiped at his dripping eyes.
“We don’t have to go inside if you don’t want to,” Patrick announced. “We could just wait out here for your family.”
“No. I can do this.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.” Brad turned and gave his lover a small smile. “Plus, it’s cold out here.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything.”
“I can practically see your Ontario blood freezing in your veins.” Brad grasped Patrick’s hand and pulled him up the walk. Brad attempted to ignore the way his hand started to shake as he tried to put the key in the lock. He felt a strong hand rest on his back and soaked up the strength that his lover offered. He could do this.
Brad opened the door and stepped inside. The house still smelled like his grandmother. He took off his jacket and just breathed it in. “I can still smell her.”
“Here, let me take that.” Patrick pulled his jacket out of his hands. “Why don’t you go and sit down?”
“Thanks.” Brad gave Patrick a weak smile, slipped off his shoes, and headed into the living room. He looked at the couch, but couldn’t bring himself to sit down. Instead, he wandered over to the mantel to look at the family photos. The one of his grandparents’ wedding made him smile. Annabelle Wilde had been a beautiful bride.
Brad was still wrapping his head around the fact that he would never see her again, but he didn’t feel as devastated as he had before. Patrick was a big part of that. The night before, Patrick had joined him in the shower and used his hands and mouth to bring him to the gentlest orgasm he had ever experienced. Having dinner with Julian and Jack after had been nice.
Brad had almost felt normal.
“Nice piano,” Patrick stated. Brad watched him walk over to the upright piano that his grandmother had against one wall. Patrick sat down and lifted the lid off of the keys.
“My grandmother played. She tried to teach me once.”
“Tried?” Patrick looked over at him with a grin.
“Yeah, tried. I was very bad.” Brad sat next to Patrick on the piano bench. As his lover began to play, Brad rested his head on Patrick’s shoulder and closed his eyes. The sound of “The Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the Opera filled the room. It had been his grandmother’s favorite song. She must have left the sheet music on the piano. Either that or Patrick had some psychic abilities that he had been hiding. By the time the song finished, Brad could feel a small smile on his face.
“You’re pretty good,” a voice commented. Brad opened his eyes, turned, and spotted his brother standing by the couch.
“Isaac.” Brad got up and moved into his older brother’s arms. When strong arms wrapped around him and pulled him close, Brad buried his face in his brother’s shoulder and tried not to cry. He didn’t pull away until he had himself under control. Wiping at his eyes, Brad took a good look at his big brother.
Isaac was a couple of inches taller than Brad, making him Patrick’s height, and he was broader across the shoulders. His hair was brown, as were his eyes, and he seemed to have a permanent stubble on his jaw. There were lines at the corner of his eyes that Brad didn’t remember being there before. Of course, Isaac was in the middle of getting a divorce and their grandmother had just died, both of which could be the cause.
“You didn’t bring the bitch with you, did you?”
Isaac actually choked out a laugh. “No. I didn’t bring her. Gran didn’t like her, so why would I bring her? Plus, that would mean talking to her and I really don’t want to do that.”
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