Unable to control his pacing, Carter continued to walk up and down the hallway, waiting for Reed to show. Luckily Jacks didn’t have school tomorrow because it was some administrative day, so Carter had planned a surprise for when Reed came over. Knowing how much Jacks loved art and that his doctors and aides used it as therapy over the years, Carter signed them all up for a pottery painting class tonight. They served pizza and juice to the kids and wine to the adults if they wanted.
“Yeah? I hope so.” He stopped for a moment and scrubbed his hands over his face. “You think I’m doing the right thing, don’t you? What’s best for him, I mean.”
Among the myriad of other reasons why Helen had become almost like a surrogate mother to both him and Jacks was her unshakable honesty. If she thought he wasn’t proceeding on a course that best worked for Jacks, she told him so.
“Absolutely. And it’s not only Jacks I’m thinking of.” She crossed the room to put a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve become like the son I never had. You think I’m helping you, but you have no idea how much you’ve helped me these years. After Marty died so suddenly, I was lost; I had no clue what to do with myself. We were never able to have children, but it almost didn’t matter; being a teacher gave me a new family to love every year. All that was lost to me when I retired. Finding you and Jackson gave me a purpose and a reason to get up every morning once again.”
Life could be so fucking unfair. Here was Helen, the best person he’d ever known who, though she lost her husband young and wasn’t able to have children of her own, never held a grudge or became bitter. Instead she focused on the positive and helping others. Unlike his own mother who considered her children burdens and couldn’t wait to dump her responsibility for them on someone else.
“Neither one of us would be at this point without you. Jacks and I owe you more than we can ever hope to repay. And I know I haven’t said it enough, because I’m a thoughtless bastard, so thank you.”
Her blue eyes shone with good humor. “Not completely, at least not anymore. I noticed the change about three or four months ago.”
When he began to fall for Reed. Had he known back then how much Reed would come to mean to him, Carter might never have continued with the relationship; he’d have done what he did best and shut it down by running away. Running away before he allowed himself to feel and care. Running away from the best thing he’d ever found.
The bell rang.
“Is that Reed? Go on, let him in.” Helen wiped her eyes, smoothed her hair and straightened her blouse. Carter watched, amused and touched by her caring.
Surprising both Helen and himself, Carter leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Oh, he’s going to love you, don’t worry.”
“Let your boyfriend in.” She snapped a dishtowel at him, grazing his ass.
Boyfriend. He shook his head. Who the hell would have ever thought that? Chuckling, he walked down the hallway and opened the door. Reed stood on the stoop, his backpack over his shoulder. He gave Carter a slightly tense smile.
“Hi.”
“Hi yourself.” He leaned against the doorframe, wanting a few moments alone together before Helen and Jacks joined them. “How was your day?”
“Uh, good, thanks. Listen.” Reed’s gaze darted over his shoulder, then focused back on Carter. “Are you sure this is the right thing? I don’t want to push Jacks.”
Carter moved close enough to feel Reed’s breath upon his cheek. “Last night you thought it was. What changed your mind?”
Golden heat rose in Reed’s eyes. “Last night you could’ve gotten me to agree to almost anything. In case you haven’t noticed, you’re very persuasive.”
“I like persuading you.” Carter slid his hand around Reed’s neck, enjoying the hitch in Reed’s breathing. His fingers skimmed light and teasing along his shoulder, drawing him close. “It’s one of my favorite things to do. Now be quiet while I persuade you some more.”
He kissed Reed, their lips softening against one another, and immediately Carter felt the beginning of that familiar buildup of want and need that always occurred whenever he touched Reed. He pushed his tongue into Reed’s mouth, tangling with Reed’s, fighting the urge to crush their mouths together. The small, distinct sounds of desire from Reed didn’t make it any easier for Carter to slow down and taste Reed, drinking in his sweetness and passion.
They stayed that way on his stoop, holding each other, Carter’s kisses replacing the words he sometimes felt too overwhelmed to speak out loud. Several moments passed until his muddled brain began to work, and he realized it might be time to bring the public display inside. With regret, Carter pulled away from Reed, who stood, lips dark and swollen and gasping for breath. The naked hunger in his eyes had Carter reaching for him again until a voice behind him called out.
“Carter? Where are you?”
He stiffened and pulled back from Reed at the sound of Jacks’s voice. He’d had a little resistance this morning convincing Jacks that having Reed join them would be fun; the last thing he wanted was to push his relationship with Reed in Jacks’s face. Slow and easy was the right way to go. Carter knew it would take some time for Jacks to warm up to Reed. It had taken him almost a year before that one special night when he gave Carter a hug and told him he loved him, and they were brothers. Jacks’s reticence, and holding back wasn’t disapproval. For throwaway kids like them, it was called survival. If he didn’t get close to people, he couldn’t miss them when they eventually left. Because before Reed, the one thing Carter knew, was everyone left in the end. They only pretended to care.
“Come on in. And yes, I’m sure. It will work out.” He opened the door wide, and Reed, tense once again, walked past him into the house. He set his backpack on the stairs’ landing and followed him down the hall.
Jacks stood at the kitchen entrance at the end of the hallway with Helen. Her hands rested on his shoulders, and Carter wondered if she did it deliberately for comfort and to keep him centered. Jacks’s gaze honed in on Reed behind him, and if his face didn’t register outright hostility, neither did it radiate friendliness.
“Helen, this is Reed. Reed, Helen saves my life every day.”
“Don’t be silly.” She held out her hand to Reed. They exchanged smiles. “It’s lovely to finally meet you.”
“Jacks, remember Reed from the weekend?” At his nod, Carter continued. “I invited him to come to pizza and painting with us.”
“Okay.” Jacks shrugged, and Helen whispered something to him. “Thanks for coming.”
“Oh, wait.” Reed ran back to the stairs where he’d left his backpack and came back with a bag in his hand. “I got you a present, Jacks. I hope you like it.”
