He shook himself out of his internal musing to see Reed smiling at him from across the table.
“Hey yourself.”
“That was pretty special.”
“You’re pretty special. And now Jacks sees it as well.” He picked up his glass. “So do you really like French toast?”
Reed clinked his glass to his. “I do now. I can’t believe he asked me to stay.”
If Carter had his way, he’d never let Reed go.
Epilogue
‡
One year later
“Walter, how’re thoseburgers coming?”
Carter pushed open the sliding door to the back yard and handed Reed’s father a beer.
“All done. I was just getting ready to plate them and bring everything to the table.”
Jacks came running from inside the house. “I can help.” He took the plate and brought it to the redwood table where Helen, Ariel, Dr. Childs, (who insisted they call her Elizabeth) and Vernon sat, enjoying the late May sunshine.
Today was Reed’s graduation party; he’d graduated with honors and had accepted a job as manager with one of Carter’s clients who’d recently opened a boutique hotel in SoHo. It wasn’t your usual job for a graduate, but Carter had called in a favor. He didn’t want Reed to work nights and spend less time with him and Jacks.
“You’ve raised a great boy there, Carter. You should be proud of yourself.”
“I only got him the help he needed.” He took a long drink from his bottle of beer and watched Jacks throw a ball for the puppy they’d adopted last week. The two, boy and puppy, then ran into the house, and Carter could only shake his head and laugh. Since they’d brought the dog home, he and Jacks had been inseparable, and Carter discovered the puppy had set up his sleeping residence at the foot of Jacks’s bed.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I know what you did; Reed told me everything. Many parents don’t do for their children what you did for your brother. I know it’s been a long, hard road.”
It had been. And Carter knew he was lucky as hell to have the resources needed for Jacks’s continuing care. There was no magic wand to be waved which could make his problems disappear. He continued to see the psychiatrist for his anxiety and his physician remained concerned about his growth. But Carter didn’t care how tall or short Jack was as long as he remained happy. Seeing him video chatting with his friends on the computer, his face alive with laughter, or snuggled in bed with his puppy gave Carter the peace he never thought he’d have. He planned to set up a foundation to help parents with expenses for children with learning disabilities and mental health issues. Every child should have the chance Jacks had to grow and thrive.
“Carter.”
He spun around to see Reed motioning to him from inside the house.
“Can you come inside? I need to ask you something.”
He set his bottle down on the deck railing and walked inside.
“What’s up?”
To Carter’s surprise, Reed backed him up against the wall and kissed him, lightly at first, then with a deepening hunger. Carter slid his arms around Reed’s neck, his hands sliding into the silk of Reed’s hair. He molded his body to fit Reed’s, and his tongue swept lazily through Reed’s mouth, then took control to nibble along Reed’s jawline and lick a path down the straining cords of his throat. The friction of Reed’s erection pressing against Carter’s through their jeans drove him wild, his nerve ends sparking a fire through his blood. Carter twisted them around so that he now pinned Reed to the wall.
Reed’s head fell back. “Fuck, Carter. Don’t start what you can’t finish.”
With a groan of annoyance, Carter continued to kiss Reed for several more minutes before pulling away, but only far enough to lean his forehead against Reed’s. Even in their bedroom, he found himself unabashedly spooning against Reed. On one of the occasions he joined Reed at his sessions with Elizabeth, he’d jokingly mentioned it, but she took it seriously and explained it could be his fear of abandonment that made him want to hold on to Reed. Maybe. It made sense to him. All Carter knew was that for the first time in his life he slept through the night, and if holding on to Reed was the cause, so be it.
The day after Reed officially moved in, he and Elizabeth sat Reed down and lectured him about the seriousness of him taking his medication properly. With Elizabeth’s approval, he used a secret weapon against Reed—Jacks.
“How would you feel if you had a bad reaction from not taking the meds and now that you’re living with us, Jacks found out? What’s stopping him from following your lead and refusing to take his meds, using you as an example? Would you want that?”
Reed paled and Carter knew he’d made his point. Several moments passed and Carter empathized with Reed’s internal struggle, but knew if he didn’t conquer his demons now, the road ahead would be almost impossible to travel.
“I—you’re right,” Reed said, chewing his lip and gazing down at his lap. “I’d rather be an example of how to live with my anxiety and ADHD than wind up hospitalized from taking too many chances. After hearing Jacks’s story I realize he needs to see a positive role model with mental illness.” Sounding more determined than Carter had ever heard, Reed looked directly at him with a fiery glint in his eyes. “I’m ready to take on that position.”
