But Brody was all smiles. “That sounds great! I’ll have to take the boys out of school for a day, but that shouldn’t be a problem.”
Another quick look passed between Audra and Aaron before Audra spoke. “There might be a complication. You know we’ve been looking into in-vitro?”
Brody nodded. His friends had shared their struggle with getting pregnant with him.
Audra continued. “I’ve made an appointment with a fertility specialist in San Antonio for this Friday, and I’d hate to reschedule. It took me three months just to line up this appointment.”
“And I’d really like to go with her… so we thought maybe you could take this meeting,” Aaron continued. “I hate asking you to go alone, but—”
“No, it’s fine. Don’t cancel that appointment.” Brody knew how long they’d been trying for a child. There was no way he’d let them miss this appointment. “I can do this.”
“We can pick up the boys after school and take care of them until you get home,” Aaron said.
Audra leaned into her husband’s side. “Or we could come over here and watch them and the puppies if, you know… if you needed to stay overnight. For any reason,” she added with a knowing smirk.
Diego. On the one hand, Brody had thought about him ever since he’d returned home, going over their dinner, each word they said, and how relieved Diego looked when he realized Aaron wasn’t his ‘partner.’ But with this new lawsuit looming over his head—this was the absolute wrong time to start up any relationship; particularly with the person who got him run out-of-town ten years ago. “I’ll go, but I’m sure I’ll be back that evening.”
Audra reached for his arm, her voice gentle and persuasive. “Make a hotel reservation just in case. It gets dark so early now, and there's no rush to get back home. Better to be safe than sorry.”
Chapter Twelve
Diegohadjustsatdown with his morning cereal when his phone chirped.
Brody: Good news! We got the grant.
Brody: I’m coming in on Friday to sign the paperwork. Thanks again. Couldn’t have done it without you.
Diego: No worries. It’s all for a good cause.
Diego: You guys and Chance, you’re the heroes here.
Brody: None of this would have happened without you.
Diego stared at those last words and exhaled slowly, all the breath leaving his body. How long had he thought about Brody? How long had he wondered what happened to that boy that he’d loved with all his heart and soul?
But that boy was now a man, handsome and strong and broken, just as Diego was—two grown men with jobs and responsibilities and commitments and they’d dealt with their past troubles the best they knew how.
Then again, in this age of computers and the internet—if Diego had wanted to know, wouldn’t he have gone looking for Brody? No, Diego was honest enough to admit that it shamed him to imagine Brody finding out what a mess Diego made of his life. Brody belonged to those sweet, tender days when Diego was a straight-A honor student, college-bound with his full scholarship and whole life before him.
Brody was part of that past that Diego would keep in his heart forever.
He finished his cereal and was washing it in the kitchen sink when he heard his phone chime again.
Brody: Any chance we could meet for dinner so I can thank you one more time for all that you’ve done for us?
Diego started to type. I’d like that, but his finger hovered above the little SEND arrow. What are you doing? he asked himself, then pressed the arrow and watched his text show up on the screen.
Diego: I’d like that.
Brody: Great. I’ll call you on Friday.
Shit.
He started back toward his bedroom when he heard rumblings from Ash’s room as he passed by. Diego grinned and turned around, heading back to the kitchen. He pulled out a bag of cat food and poured it into a large bowl just as Ash’s bedroom door cracked opened, wide enough for three kittens squeeze through.
They tramped as fast as their tiny legs could go, stopping to rub against Diego’s legs on their way to breakfast. He reached down to pet them, two orange boys and a tabby girl, before heading back to his bedroom.
Having cats around wasn’t that bad, he decided, as he picked up his acoustic guitar and began to strum and sing.
