“Show me everything. Let me walk in the footsteps of your life.”
A wry grin tipped up Harper’s lips. “Just a warning. There’s an awful lot of stumbling.”
Colson slipped his arms around Harper’s waist. “Good thing I’ll be there to catch you when you fall.”
Harper guided their lips together, and he fell into a kiss that tasted of hopes and dreams and the promise of forever.
“I’m not sure this is real. I didn’t think I’d ever find someone who understood.”
“I can’t promise I have all the answers, but I’m ready to try. All I know is, I want you by my side to help me figure it out.” He gazed into Harper’s eyes. “You and David. You see, I’ve never had a brother, and I always wanted one.”
Harper pulled him close, the kiss possessive and demanding, and Colson almost swooned from the heat pouring off Harper’s body.
“If David wasn’t waiting for us, I’d have you naked and be inside you in a minute.”
“All the better to wait until tonight.”
Harper gave his ass a squeeze and they headed to the kitchen, where Luis and David waited.
Luis grinned. “Get all settled in?”
Harper turned a cute shade of pink and grabbed the keys hanging on the pegboard. “Yeah, ready to go, David?”
Colson caught Luis’s eye and received a wink and a thumbs-up. Unsure what to do, he hung back, waiting. Harper handed him a cooler bag.
“This is David’s lunch and snacks. I always bring them because we never know if they’ll have what he can eat where we go.”
“Gotcha.” He hefted it to his shoulder.
Harper wheeled him down the special ramp, and Luis stayed behind. “He’s off on the weekends, if I don’t work, although half the time he’s around to help. His schedule is fluid to help me. There’s no one like him. Luis is a godsend.”
“And a great beta reader. He found some inconsistencies, and he’s really helped me with the book.”
They reached the van, and he watched as Harper made sure David’s chair was locked in place. Maybe one day, Harper would trust him to do this, and he’d make sure to be ready.
Colson settled into the passenger seat, Harper started the van, and they were off. He kept peeking over his shoulder at David, who stared out the window, the serene expression never leaving his lips.
“Stop worrying,” Harper murmured. “He loves going for car rides and seeing people.”
Colson put his hand on Harper’s thigh. “Was I that obvious?”
Harper took his hand and squeezed. “Yeah, but it’s sweet. You don’t have to worry about making a good impression.” He winked. “You already won me over.”
Relaxed for the first time that morning, Colson began to look forward to the day. “I haven’t been to the zoo in years.”
“We’ll be there in time for the seal feeding.”
They parked the van in a handicapped spot, and Colson stayed on one side of David, while Harper wheeled him. Theyfound a spot where David could see the seals. Colson noticed several people eyeing them, and when he caught them at it, they quickly looked away.
“See what I mean?” Harper murmured. “They don’t want to see you, but they can’t stop staring.”
“That’s their problem, not ours,” Colson stated firmly.
The handler came out with the buckets, and the seals slid off their rocks and swam about the pool, barking. David made the same noises, and this time people moved away. Colson took the opportunity to push David closer.
“Thanks,” he addressed a woman with a double stroller. “He loves to see them.”
“Oh, uh, sure. Yeah.” She darted a look at David, whose fingers twitched while his head moved side to side as he grunted. “What’s wrong with him?” she whispered.
