by Jaclyn Quinn
“Eli forgot his drawing and all his pencils here.”
Eli slapped a hand to his forehead. “Shit.” He held his breath.
“Oh, yeah, uh…he was really tired. I’ll bring everything with me to work tomorrow.”
Seemingly satisfied with that answer, Dylan said, “Okay,” again and the voices got further from the laundry room. Eli listened for footsteps on the stairs and through the ceiling above him. Slowly, he opened the door and quietly made his way across the kitchen. He had to leave his things since Dylan had already seen them on the counter.
He opened the front door as carefully as he could, making sure it locked behind him as he shut it. As he walked to his car, in the late-night chill, he felt lighter than he had in almost a year.
“Hey, Avery. What are you doing here?” Eli’s voice carried down the hall, and immediately, a wave of unease spread across Jake’s body. His lawyer coming into the shop probably wasn’t a good thing.
Jake put down the disinfectant and headed out to the front. Avery looked so out-of-place in his expensive gray suit, clean-shaven face, and not a strand of his dark blond hair out of place. He stood in front of the register, and it wasn’t the first time Jake saw Avery eyeing Ryder—but not in a rip-your-clothes-off-and-fuck-you way. No, he seemed annoyed. Let’s face it, Ryder had a knack for getting on people’s nerves sometimes, but for the most part he was a pretty laid-back guy.
As Jake got closer, he heard the conversation more clearly.
“There’s gotta be a time you don’t wear the monkey suit.” Ryder looked Avery up and down. “You don’t wear that shit to bed, do you? Or in the shower?” Avery’s eyes squinted for just a second, but Jake didn’t miss it. That last part pissed Avery off. “I wouldn’t mind finding out.”
Shit, Ryder. The guy had no fucking filter.
Avery opened his mouth, and Jake was sure what was to come out would not be an offer for Ryder to share a shower. No, Avery looked more like he wanted to drown Ryder in the ocean.
“Avery,” Jake said quickly before things could escalate. Once Avery looked away from Ryder at Jake, his whole demeanor changed.
“Hey, Jake. Sorry to drop in like this, but uh…” he glanced at Ryder, a flash of irritation crossing over his face again, “is there somewhere we can talk privately?”
Jake caught Eli out of the corner of his eye, walking a client back to his station. He gave Jake a worried look, as if to ask if he was okay. Jake smiled and nodded even though he had no idea what Avery wanted to talk about. “There’s a coffee shop two doors down, and I have thirty minutes before my next client. That enough time?”
“Yeah. That’s plenty of time.”
Jake turned to Ryder. “Hold the fort.”
Ryder saluted Jake, and just as Avery was opening the door, he said, “Don’t forget…whenever you need help with that suit, I’ll be here.”
Jake groaned and shook his head, giving his friend an incredulous look.
Avery stopped, held the door open, and looked back at Ryder. “My memory is long. Trust me.” Damn, if looks could kill, Jake would be down one tattoo artist.
As Jake followed Avery out the door, he heard Ryder say, “Hot damn.”
They each ordered a coffee and sat at a table in the corner of the small coffee shop. Jake nervously bounced his knee under the table and turned his coffee cup around and around.
Was Avery going to tell Jake he’d lost custody? Were his financials not enough? They didn’t even have the court hearing yet. Could they just do that?
“Hey.” Avery paused until Jake looked up at him. “I didn’t mean to make you so nervous. It’s not that bad, Jake, just something you’re not going to be happy about.”
Jake’s brows drew together. “What’s going on?”
“I heard from your parents’ lawyer.”
“Yeah? And?”
“They’re claiming you won’t allow them to see the boys.”
“What the fuck!” Jake’s voice echoed through the shop, but he didn’t give a shit. “They never fucking asked to!”
Avery glanced uncomfortably around at the people staring then back at Jake. “I know. Calm down.”
Jake sat back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest, and tried to rein his anger back in. “Sorry, I’m just—fuck. Are they fucking kidding me? Avery, I swear to you, they haven’t tried to reach out since the funeral. They threatened to call a lawyer which, as you know, they fucking did, but then it was like out of sight, out of mind. Fucking crickets.”
Avery leaned forward, with his elbows on the table. “Jake, believe me, I know. That’s why I said as much to their lawyer. Unfortunately, though, I think we have to one-up them. Invite them over to see the boys on Sunday through their lawyer. Let the guy come too, if he wants. Hell, anyone can see how uncomfortable those boys are around your parents.” Avery took a sip of his coffee. “And I can be there too.” He looked down and sighed. “I haven’t really had a chance to see Kevin’s boys since the funeral.”
Jake felt like a complete asshole. He wasn’t close with Avery, so it never occurred to him how much Avery was hurting from all this. Jake lost a brother, but Kevin was Avery’s best friend. “Shit, Avery. Why didn’t you say anything? You know you’re always welcome to see the boys.”
Avery shrugged. “You’ve had a lot to deal with. So much has changed, and I’m not family. Guess I figured, as your lawyer, I’d focus on making sure they stayed with you. After that, I’d start coming around as a friend.”
“Fuck that,” Jake snapped, and Avery appeared surprised. “That’s gonna be a couple more weeks. I want you there Sunday, because I trust you to make sure things don’t crash and burn, but I want you there as a friend too.” Jake took a sip of his coffee before adding, “You should know, I want Eli there…and my parents are not going to be happy about that.”
Avery gave a small laugh. “No, they aren’t, but I get it. He’s your person.”
Jake thought about that for a second, picturing Eli’s face, and just the thought of him calmed Jake down. “Yeah. He is.”
“Dylan’s stomach’s been bothering him all morning. Nick’s closed himself off in his room. Tell me again why we’re doing this?” Jake paced the office at the house, a tense hand on his hip, and the other on the back of his head.
Eli stepped in front of him, stopping him with a hand on his chest. “Because you don’t want to give your parents the upper hand in anything. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that you are the person the boys belong with.” Eli stepped closer and made sure Jake was really listening. “Dylan’s stomach, Nick hiding out…those things are proof that these boys don’t have a good relationship with their grandparents. Like you’ve told me before, you never got a chance to see them together. But if you truly thought about it, how often did Kevin and Maggie even bring the kids there? Your parents never came here, right? Yeah, they’d go see them every now and then, but in the twelve years since Nick was born, it doesn’t seem like it was that much.”
“It really wasn’t that much, but I guess I never gave it much thought until now.” Jake moved his hand from the back of his head to Eli’s hip as Eli slid his hand from Jake’s chest to the back of his neck.
“They’re not even in any photos around the house. I’d bet money there’s a reason. The boys are smart. Nick is old enough to pick up on if there was any tension between your brother and your parents.” Eli traced his fingers back and forth across Jake’s hairline at the nape of his neck, feeling him loosen up.
Jake leaned his forehead down on Eli’s. “I’d lose my fucking mind if you weren’t here to calm me down. Hell, Eli there’s so many things I need to say to you, but—”
“Uncle J?” The office door flung open as Dylan walked in and then froze. Eli and Jake jumped apart, but by the confused look on Dylan’s face, he’d seen enough. “What are you guys doing?” The doorbell rang making Eli looked at the time on his phone. The timing couldn’t be worse, and by the stunned look on Jake’s fac
e, he had no idea what to say to Dylan.
“Your Uncle J just needed a pep talk. We’re a team, right?” Dylan nodded his head but still gave them a skeptical look. “You gotta go out there, Jake.” Eli looked at Dylan then back at Jake. “You guys go. I’ll be out in a minute.”
Jake nodded his head and put a hand on Dylan’s shoulder, guiding him out of the room. Eli took a couple deep breaths. He needed to know what Jake had been about to say, but now wasn’t the time to try and find out. Eli walked out of the office and down the hall, but luckily, it was Avery at the door, not Jake’s parents. Dylan was giving Avery a hug, and Avery hugged him back as he looked around the house. It had to be weird being here without his friends. Kevin and Maggie were everywhere you looked. Jake hadn’t started making any changes. Most likely because the whole situation still seemed so up in the air. From what Eli understood, the house had been left to Jake, with the decision being his as to whether to keep or sell it. That topic was just too big of a conversation for the boys right now. No matter when the decision was made, though, it wouldn’t be an easy one.
“Hey, Eli.” Avery reached a hand out and Eli shook it.
“How’ve you been, Avery?”
“As well as can be expected, I guess.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his black pants and rocked back on his heels.
At the sound of another car pulling up, Avery looked to Jake. “Where’s Nick?”
Jake pointed to the ceiling. “Since this morning.”
When the doorbell rang, Avery turned to Jake. “Better go and get him.”
“Want me to go? It might be better if you’re down here from the start,” Eli offered.
When the damn doorbell rang for the second time, Jake sighed. “Yeah, thanks.”
Eli took the stairs two at a time and knocked on Nick’s door. “Yeah?”
“Nick, it’s Eli. Can I come in?” Eli held his breath. Nick’s room had been like his sanctuary since his parents died. He had no idea how Nick would feel about him being in his space. To his surprise, the door slowly opened, and Nick stepped aside for Eli to enter. “Thanks. Wow. I’ve never seen this room before. It’s pretty cool. You a big Yankees fan?”
Nick looked around the room and shrugged. “I used to be.”
“You’re not anymore?” When sadness crossed Nick’s face, Eli realized his mistake in asking about the sport. “You know, your Uncle J is a pretty big fan too. Bet he’d go to a game with you sometime.”
The boy shrugged his shoulders again, not meeting Eli’s eyes which was more often than not the case lately. So, it shocked the hell out of Eli when Nick muttered, “Well, I mean…if he doesn’t have anyone else to go with, maybe I could…if I’m not in stupid Connecticut.”
Damn, he felt bad for the kid. He wished he could guarantee that it wouldn’t happen, but that was something he had no right promising. “You’re a smart kid, Nick. Just keep in mind, through this whole thing, your voice matters. Sometimes it can be your strongest weapon, but you’ve got to let it be heard.” Eli turned toward the door. “Your grandparents are downstairs, so your uncle wanted me to come get you. Hopefully, this thing will be over quickly.”
“Are you Uncle J’s boyfriend?”
Eli stopped abruptly and turned back around. “What makes you ask that?”
Nick thought for a minute. “Well, you’re always over here, more than his other friends. And, I don’t know, sometimes Uncle J seems relieved to see you or just really happy.” Well, shit. Nick smirked, and it still took Eli by surprise every time. He couldn’t wait for the day when Nick’s smile was something he saw every day, just because. “I also saw you sneak out the other night.”
Eli huffed out a laugh. “Who says I was sneakin’?” Eli raised an eyebrow at the kid and crossed his arms.
“Dylan told me when he went down to get water that night, you were already gone and forgot your stuff, but I saw you leave after he came back up.”
Eli hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. How was he supposed to get out of this one? He looked back up and saw Nick waiting for an answer. “Like I said, you’re a smart kid. I don’t know what your Uncle J and I are.” Then he took a chance and asked, “If he did have a boyfriend, would you be okay with that?”
Nick immediately straightened his back. “Yeah. Me and Dylan know Uncle J likes guys. Uncle Avery does too. That’s why dad never wanted to visit Grandma and Grandpa.”
“You guys coming down?” Jake yelled up the stairs. Shit. Bad timing again.
Nick walked past Eli to the door. “I better go down. Are you coming?”
“Yeah.” As Eli walked down the steps, he wondered what Nick meant when he said Kevin never wanted to see Evelyn and Arthur.
“There he is. Nicky, come give your grandma a big hug.” Jake’s mom held her arms out, with a fake fucking smile on her face, and Nick reluctantly hugged her back. “Here, Nicky. We brought you something.”
“My name’s not Nicky. It’s Nick,” he grumbled, shooting Evelyn a dirty look, but his grandma just kept going.
She handed him a package wrapped in gold paper. “Well, go ahead and open it, Nicky.”
Nick gave Jake a look as if to ask if he really had to. Jake nodded even though he wanted to tell his mom to back the fuck off. Nick ripped the paper off and opened the box. “An Incredibles coloring book and crayons. Gee, thanks.”
Dylan rolled his eyes and huffed. “I got Thomas the Train.” Damn, Jake loved those kids.
Jake’s parents either completely missed the sarcasm or just didn’t give a shit. Jake was betting on the latter. “Come on, boys. Let’s go sit in the family room.” Arthur tried to usher the boys in the other room, but when Jake went to walk in first, his father grabbed his arm. “We want time alone with our grandchildren.”
Jake shook the man’s hand off his arm. “Too bad. We all go, or you can leave.”
“Do you see, Mr. Prescott?” Evelyn turned to their lawyer, who was a stiff-looking old man. “He won’t even let us see them.”
“Mrs. Novak, no objection has been made to you spending time with the boys today, but you were well aware of the arrangements before you came over here,” Avery reminded her. “Now, it seems to me that you’re wasting time you could be spending with your grandchildren.”
With an indignant huff, she walked into the family room, with everyone else following. She sat down on the couch with Jake’s father next to her. Avery and the other lawyer sat down in the chairs across from the couch, and Jake sat on the loveseat with Eli.
“Nicky, Dylan, come sit with us.” She patted the empty cushion next to her. The boys hesitated for a minute, and Jake had to bite his fucking tongue to keep from influencing their decision at all. “Boys,” she said in a warning tone Jake hadn’t heard since he was little.
Nick looked over at her, raised his chin, and instead, squeezed himself between Jake and Eli. It took seconds for Dylan to follow suit. They were completely squished on the smaller loveseat, and Dylan was half on Jake’s lap, but Jake wanted to shout for fucking joy and rub it in his parents’ faces. He looked at Eli out of the corner of his eye and could see the same smugness he was feeling. Glancing at his parents, Jake almost laughed at the bitter scowls they both were wearing.
She cleared her throat and smoothed out her dressy pants, acting as if it didn’t piss her off to see the boys choose Jake over her. Arthur crossed one leg over the other and clasped his hands in his lap. “So, boys, what have you been up to lately?”
“Nothing,” Dylan mumbled.
“You have to be doing something. Nicky, what about basketball? How’s your team this year?” Evelyn asked.
“I stopped playing basketball years ago.” Nick gave his grandmother a look like she’d lost her mind.
She looked annoyed for a second and then, most likely remembering there was an audience, plastered a fake smile back on her face. “What are you going to be for Halloween this year? No wait…let me guess. Dylan, you’re going to be a train conductor
.” She smiled self-assuredly. “I know how much you love trains. And Nick, you’re going to be…” she tapped her finger on her lip, “hmm…what do eleven-year-old boys like nowadays?”
“I don’t know. I’m not eleven. I’m twelve,” Nick said in irritation.
“Yeah, and I don’t like trains anymore. I liked ‘em when I was five,” Dylan told them, echoing his brother’s frustration.
“How’s school?” Arthur blurted, as if that would cover up the blunder Evelyn had just made.
Nick looked up at Jake and bit his lip. Things at school were gradually getting better, but they still had rough days. He turned his attention back to his grandparents and shrugged his shoulders. “School’s okay, I guess.”
“Are you staying out of trouble?” Arthur asked. Immediately, Nick tensed up next to Jake and looked back up at him with worried eyes. Of course, the bastard didn’t miss a thing. “Nicholas, you are staying out of trouble, aren’t you?”
“He is now—Ow!” Dylan yelled with a scowl, rubbing his arm where Nick elbowed him. “What was that for?”
“Shut up,” Nick hissed.
Arthur sat forward on the couch and stared at Jake. “I think we deserve to know if Nick’s been getting into trouble in school.”
“It was just a fight. It’s no big deal,” Nick muttered.
“No big deal?” Arthur’s voice boomed and both boys flinched. Then he looked at his lawyer. “Are you getting all this? If he’s raised by this reckless, irresponsible delinquent, he’s going to become a reckless, irresponsible delinquent! It’s already happening, for Christ’s sake!”
“Don’t talk about him that way,” Jake said through clenched teeth.
“It’s the same stunts he pulled when he was younger. He obviously hasn’t changed.”
What? Yeah, Jake could be a little sarcastic when he was a kid, but who wasn’t? He’d never been in fights, though. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Jake yelled back.
“No, it’s not like that!” Nick shouted.
