by J. M. Dabney
“Why do you—”
“Sit down with me for a minute,” He led her to the bed and helped her up, then he climbed up to sit beside her. The bed was too big for ordinary people.
“I’m going to tell you a story, Brody found this great guy. I was a little skeptical about him dating Trouble, but then I met Trouble’s friends and they were like this amazing little family. I was jealous.”
“Why?”
“I raised Brody. When our parents died they left me in charge of him. It was the two of us against the world and suddenly I was on the outside.”
“You didn’t belong. I don’t—”
“You belong, don’t think otherwise,” He gave her a quick hug. “Now, when I met the friends there was this huge, grumpy bear. All growl and mean looks, but I liked him, instantly felt safe. It just wasn’t supposed to be. Then almost a year later I meet another guy. He was sweet, maybe a little scary looking and again I felt safe. Security is a big thing when you don’t have it for a long time or even ever. Do you understand that?” He asked the question even knowing the answer.
“Yea.”
“Well, I fell in love with both of them. It’s not right for everyone, but it is for me, well, not at first, it was weird. It doesn’t change how I feel though. Do you find it uncomfortable that I have two partners?”
“No, but—”
“But what?”
“You won’t be mad if I tell you something.”
“Of course I won’t be mad.”
“I like this girl at school.”
Oh man, girl problems, he so wasn’t equipped for this. “And? Have you talked to Kam or Megan?”
She shook her head.
Why did she think he’d be mad if she told him she was lesbian. Kam and Megan were her foster parents, well, Kam, was, everyone in his family was gay or bisexual or allies. Maybe she just didn’t understand all of it yet. He was extremely flattered she talked to him first.
“When did you know you liked—” she paused and looked down at her hands.
“When did I know I was gay,” she nodded. “A part of me thinks I always knew, but I had my first crush on a boy when I was your age. Does this girl know?”
“Everyone thinks I’m weird and they don’t talk to me.”
“Well, they don’t know what they’re missing. Beneath all the attitude and snark I think you’re great. Okay, not true, I like the attitude and snark too. You’ve met the family.”
She laughed, a real one and a smile lit up her beautiful, heart-shaped face.
“I never claimed to be normal, I just look that way. Want to have some dinner and talk about this girl you like? It’s been awhile since I talked about girl problems. Brody only dated one girl through high school, but I’ve been through him having crushes on boys and girls since he was ten.”
They got through making dinner without burning down the house. He was an okay cook, but not the best. He’d lived on takeout and restaurant food for the last decade if he wasn’t eating at Brody’s or with the guys. There were more laughs and smiles, they watched some action movie and Juvie apparently loved explosions and fight scenes. He saw a lot of action movies in his future, maybe he could pass that off to Scary or Tank.
He was already planning ahead with the four of them. All he knew even if he was jumping the gun he already knew what he wanted. Her head fell to his shoulder and he looked down to find her almost asleep.
“Off to bed with you.”
“Can I stay up and wait for Tank and Scary.”
“No, they won’t be home until probably three or four depending on paperwork.”
“Fine,” She pouted and got to her feet.
“Are you too old and wise to be tucked in?”
“Yes, but I’ll let you do it this once.”
“Yes,” He fist pumped and jumped off the couch. “Can I read you a bedtime story?” He hit the power button on the remote and followed her.
She rolled her eyes as at him and took off mumbling to herself.
Oh, the life of an embarrassing parent, he was looking forward to this. He walked into the bedroom just as she crawled under the covers. He leaned over and looked at her.
“I’m ecstatic you came to visit this weekend.”
“I wish I could stay here all the time.”
“We’ll see what we can do about you spending more time with us okay?”
She nodded, and he tucked the covers under her chin.
“Get some sleep and we’ll pick some stuff to do tomorrow morning while Scary and Tank sleep. They took off tomorrow night so we could all do something.” They also had a huge surprise for her the next afternoon. He’d talked it over with Kam and she’d agreed without question.
“Thanks for you know?”
He nodded and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. “Good night, Juvie, if you need anything in the night I showed you where we’d be.” He straightened as she rolled away from him covering her head with the covers.
Reluctantly he stepped away from the bed and headed for the bedroom to shower, then get some sleep. He wanted a few minutes with his men before they had to get some rest. They tended to put off sleep to spend time with him and he hated for them to go to work exhausted, it didn’t help them stay on guard at Brawlers.
Anything happening to them wasn’t an option. He didn’t know what he’d do if he lost one or both of them. Elijah pushed away the depressing direction of his thoughts were, grabbed pajama bottoms and headed to take a shower. They’d be home before he knew it.
18 HE IS CRAZY ENOUGH TO THINK HE GETS A SECOND CHANCE
They’d reached capacity an hour before and he’d left Crave to man the door. He didn’t like Ian being in his damn bar, but he wanted to be the bigger man. Ian had no power over him. That shit ended two decades ago. Why the fuck is Ian back now still a mystery? Ian looked nearly the same, his blond hair was streaked with silver and he had deep lines beside his eyes. At one time he could’ve seen himself falling for Ian, but that ended before the man ever took a knife to his throat.
“Another pint, Tank,” Twitch’s sweet voice pulled him from his thoughts.
The pretty man didn’t exactly fit with the rest of the Brawler Crew, but they did one hell of a job when they hired him. The man proved useless in a physical fight, although Twitch had a way with talking the mean drunks down.
He shook his head. Twitch knew most of the basic signs and letters yet not enough to carry on a full conversation.
What he wanted was to go home to Elijah and Juvie, he knew both were probably asleep, but he could curl up with his man. Unfortunately a crowd this size it required all hands.
Scanning the crowd he was thankful everyone seemed more intent on drinking and finding a fuck for the night than fighting. Ian and his crew were in the far corner booth except for the quiet one who’d taken a place at the other end of the bar with his back to the wall. The man’s body language broadcasted he was always ready for a fight. His fists clenched and his eyes constantly searched the room. He didn’t sense trouble though. For a minute he pondered why the guy rode with Ian. He’d bet his half of the bar the guy was gay. The stranger’s eyes stopped here and there on certain men—ones that looked exactly like him.
“Your sixth sense zeroing in on trouble,” Scary appeared on his right and leaned forward to rest his forearms on the bar.
Calm before the storm—he signed quickly. He was damn good at his job.
They wouldn’t have kept this place in one piece if he didn’t maintain the peace. Yea, the law loved to give them shit, but with a bar like theirs drew a lot of attention.
“Ian needs to move his ass on out of town.”
He nodded in agreement. They were both on the same page with that one.
“Ya wanna head out early and curl up with Elijah?”
You need me here—he’d jump at the chance to spend a night sleeping with their man. Elijah spent three days away. The time apart getting to be too much to handle. He knew the situation wasn�
�t permanent, but it didn’t make it any less frustrating.
“Man, go home, a few more hours until last call then I’ll be home myself.”
He gave Scary a look that asked was he sure.
“I’m sure, get out.”
Thank you—he didn’t wait as he spun and headed for the office to grab his pack and helmet. Twenty minutes he could be home, jump in the shower and hold Elijah until Scary came in.
He walked into the office and didn’t bother closing the door behind him. He didn’t grab his laptop, he’d do tonight and tomorrow’s accounting adding it to Monday's paperwork.
Tank sensed someone enter the room and he spun in time to see Ian stop just inside. He opened his mouth to tell the fucker to get out, but then he remembered.
“Finally got you alone, did you—”
He growled and the bastard had the nerve to smile. Ian’s advanced his mouth pushing brutally to his. Rage and guilt exploded in his chest and he placed his hands on Ian’s chest and pushed.
Ian recovered and kept coming. “You remember how I like it rough. A good fight leads to better fucking. I missed that tight—”
The fucker didn’t have a chance to finish because he swung and connected hard with his jaw. He hadn’t regretted his silence much over the years except with Elijah and right now.
Ian fell as the door flew open and banged against the wall. Scary stood framed in the doorway, a question in Scary’s gaze and he nodded to let his best friend know he was okay.
“I think you’ve worn out your welcome, Ian, get your ass and crew, get the fuck out of our bar. Tank, ya wanna take out the trash?”
He nodded as he bent down and grabbed Ian by the scruff of his shirt, jerked him to his feet and tiptoed his ass to the front door. A few signals and Bull headed towards Ian’s crew. Ian was calling him every name in the book and throwing out threats he’d never be able to back up. Crave opened the door, slightly bowing as he motioned towards the open door with a flourish with an impish grin on his face. That should have looked weird on a man of his bulk but it was so Crave.
With one hard push he sent Ian stumbling out the door. His crew wasn’t far behind him. A few slurs and even more threats, the last member of the crew walked out without a word. A weight seemed to lift having rid his turf of those bastards.
“You okay, man,” Scary asked.
He turned to find Scary with an actual concerned expression. They’d known each other decades and he’d never seen that before. It was odd and he didn’t know what to make of it.
The only answer he gave was a nod.
“Let’s get your shit and send you home.”
Will Elijah—a growl stopped him and he dropped his hands.
“Elijah won’t think shit and don’t start getting stupid on me. But I know you, and you’ll feel better after you tell him. That was Ian’s bullshit, had nothing to do with you.”
He swallowed hard, he did feel guilty and he didn’t understand why. Ian’s insane if he thought that shit was going to work, he had Elijah and a chance for a real family. The three of them, and hopefully Sophie. He wouldn’t screw it up for anything.
Scary watched his back and stayed close the whole time until he was on his way toward home.
# # #
Fifteen minutes later he rode along his curving drive and hit the button for his garage. He drove inside, turned off his bike and kicked the stand down. Playing the last part of the night through his head wasn’t getting him anywhere. Ian trying to pick up where they left off, Scary’s odd behavior and it was screwing his head up.
He lowered the garage door, exited through the side door and strode toward the house. It was only a little after midnight, but his house was dark. He made his way inside and reset the alarm before heading for his bedroom, but stopped at the room he knew Sophie was sleeping. Nudging the door open, he peeked inside and only found a tiny mound curled up dead center of the bed. Walking softly into the room, he eased towards the bed and lifted the covers, he heard soft little snores and figured she was okay under there.
Lowering the blanket, he left the room and headed for his. The door stood open and a dim light from the bathroom door illuminated the bed. Elijah was curled on his side, a pillow behind him and another wrapped in his arms. He smiled as he headed for the bathroom to shower off Brawlers, Bull loved his cigars, but Elijah hated the smell.
A quick scrub and a search for sleep pants, he preferred to sleep naked, but if Sophie needed them in the night he’d suffer through wearing pajama bottoms. He approached the bed, removed the pillow from behind Elijah and took its place.
“Tank—” Elijah sleepily sighed as he snuggled back into his body. “You’re home early, you okay?”
He tapped Elijah’s hip and the man didn’t hesitate to turn towards him.
Ian followed me to the office and kissed me—he signed without hesitation wanting to get it out.
“Are you okay, I hope you knocked him on his ass.”
He nodded.
“Good, you’re mine and I’m not all that great at sharing.”
Soft lips conformed to his, the action slow and gentle. It still amazed him a man like Elijah would treat him with tenderness. It shouldn’t though because it was Elijah’s way he showed people he cared. Elijah’s slender arms curled around his neck.
“Scary staying until last call, he isn’t doing the paperwork is he?”
He snorted at the horror in Elijah’s voice. Elijah had to deal with a call from the accountant after their solo date and Scary handled the deposit and receipts. He shook his head.
“Oh good, I don’t think Bruno has any hair left to pull out.”
He sighed and buried his face in the crook of Elijah’s shoulder.
“You felt all guilty, didn’t you?”
Another nod, because he couldn’t deny it. He didn’t want another man in his bed, well, there was Scary, but they both like sleeping beside Elijah. It was the best sleep they’d gotten in years.
“I know you wouldn’t cheat, like I know Scary wouldn’t. I trust both of you without question, but I also know you own a bar, sexy men everywhere. Who could resist trying to get my sexy men in bed?” Hands caught his cheeks and pulled his head back to look at Elijah.
Crazy—he gruffly laughed.
“No, I’m not. I love you both and you two know it. So I don’t want to hear your bullshit—”
His eyes went wide at the I love you, but even wider at Elijah cussing.
“I wanted to tell you both at the same time, didn’t quite happen. My brain is still asleep.”
He cuddled Elijah close to his chest.
“Okay, we’ll sleep until Scary gets home.”
Elijah’s warm breath fanned his chest as he spoke. He’d never thought he’d be much of a cuddler, but it was just natural with Elijah. There was no way he could resist holding his man close. He listened to Elijah’s breaths evening out and the man relaxed completely in his arms. He’d worried for nothing, he should have known Elijah trusted him. Elijah wouldn't have agreed to be theirs if he didn’t. That took a lot of faith, something he hadn’t thought he possessed until Elijah came into his life.
He let his eyes close, but doubted he’d sleep, it was a still a little early for him. He’d watch over Elijah until Scary came in, then they’d have a little alone time with Elijah before they slept while Elijah spent the morning with Sophie.
19 A DAY WITH THE FAMILY AND OTHER SURREAL SHIT
Sitting back on the bank of the lake, he bent his legs and rested his forearms on his knees as he watched Tank, Elijah and Juvie walking along the shore. Things were fucked up in his head. It was like a sledgehammer to the gut. His gaze lingered on Elijah, then Tank. The man was his best friend and they’d gone through Hell together over the years. They always had each other’s backs no matter what.
This was different, a disturbing and surreal different. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t noticed his best friend over the years. Maybe back when he first realized he was gay he’
d had a thing for Tank. What he thought about now wasn’t about some teenage crush. He could keep it to his damn self, never act on it, but it would be—dammit, he scrubbed his hands over his face.
He didn’t need any more complications in his life. The only natural thing he had was their relationship with Elijah. He removed his face from his hands as he sensed someone sit down beside him.
“Are you mad,” Juvie asked.
The tone of her voice became all too familiar. She used it when she felt insecure.
“Naw, just thinking.”
“Sorry I got you up early.”
“No big deal, I’ve gone days on less sleep. We don’t exactly get to spend much time with Elijah lately.”
“Because he’s been visiting me?”
“Whatever bullshit is going on in your head, knock it off.” He slung an arm around her and pulled her into his side. “We’re good, okay?”
She only nodded.
“Elijah’s still getting used to his new job. He does days and we do nights, we’ll work it out.” He made it sound so fucking easy, but it wasn’t.
“Okay.”
They fell into silence as they looked out over the lake. He glanced out the corner of his eye as he watched Tank and Elijah together. A sharp slash of envy sent a painful slice through his chest. His head was all fucked up.
Waking up earlier he’d found himself face to face with Tank with their chest pressed together and his hand on Tank’s hip. The man’s mouth close to his and for a second he’d almost leaned in. He’d rolled from the bed as quick as possible before he’d done something stupid—something he couldn’t take back.
“Come on, kid, let’s get moving. Tank, Elijah, we gotta go,” He hollered as he pushed Juvie and himself to their feet.
Elijah and Tank looked so happy as they closed the distance and he felt like such a bastard. He drew Elijah into his arms and kissed him. He almost reached out to bring Tank closer, but Tank walked off with Juvie.
“You okay,” Elijah leaned back to look up at him with a concerned expression.
“Yea, I’m good. I just know Trouble has an appointment and I don’t want her surprise to wait.”
