“Must you?”
Adele grinned at him. “Yes, son. I’m afraid I must.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
FALLON
It tookhim exactly four weeks to try to enact his secret plan to help Gage.
Unfortunately, it came on the heels of his next doctor’s appointment, which was also the time they were going to see Mango on the ultrasound screen. Fallon was dealing with it all well enough, but he wasn’t sure he was ready for it to be that real.
It was harder and harder to disconnect from the reality of his situation, but as that happened, he’d started to realize he didn’t feel less like himself. It was what it was. He was going to be a dad, and each week that passed, the ticking clock got louder and louder.
He probably would have been more terrified, except he had Gage, and that made a difference. Gage was there for him, but more than that, he was there for Gage. He was allowed to be the strong, silent protector type at home whenever Gage was feeling low or unsure.
He turned to Fallon any and every time he was feeling small.
And that was something he never thought he was going to have in a relationship.
“Well,” Gage said, watching Fallon scrape all the goo off his stomach with a wet wipe. The sensation was almost unbearable, but the stuff the doctor had in his office to get it off his skin worked miracles. “Is there anything else you wanted to do today?”
“Actually, yes.” Fallon straightened his shirt and hopped off the table. Gage was holding the folder with the blobby photos of Mango, who was a lot bigger than a mango now, but he was attached to the name. “I have a surprise for you. Are you busy this afternoon?”
Gage shook his head. “Just with whatever you have planned.”
A little thrill shot up his spine, and he took Gage’s hand as they passed through the lobby to pick up his next appointment card. Tucking it away in his wallet, he led the way to the car and hunkered down in the passenger seat as Gage put all the papers in the glove compartment and then started the car.
“Okay, I’m all for surprises, but you have to tell me where we’re going.”
Fallon slapped himself on the forehead. “Shit. Right. Uh, so we’re going to the zoo.”
Gage frowned but didn’t argue. He just popped it into the GPS, then headed out onto the road. The silence in the car was fine at first. It was normal, which Fallon liked. Appointments were always a struggle for him, so he liked to decompress, but he noticed that Gage was getting tense.
“We don’t have to go.”
“What?” Gage stole a glance at him.
Fallon chewed on the inside of his cheek as he considered his words. “You seem upset. We don’t have to do the zoo.”
“No, I—that’s not…” Gage trailed off, and he flicked on the blinker, ignoring the GPS directions, and turned down a neighborhood street. “Shit.”
Fallon sat up straighter. “What’s wrong?”
“We’re being followed.” Gage took a slightly sharp right with no blinker, then swore again. “I noticed him on the drive to the clinic. But he didn’t come inside, and I didn’t see the car as we were pulling out, so I figured it was just a coincidence. But he’s right behind us.”
Fallon’s hackles rose, and he turned in his seat. He couldn’t see well enough even with his glasses to make out who was in the driver’s seat, and he didn’t recognize the car. “Should we call someone?”
“Mm…I think I’m gonna hit the station,” Gage said. “My dad’s there. If someone wants to fuck around, they’re also gonna find out.”
Fallon didn’t like that at all, but he also trusted Gage to keep him safe. Mango started to jump around on his bladder, and he felt a sudden wave of nausea. “I might need to throw up.”
“Hang tight, okay? We’re nearly there.”
Gage wasn’t kidding. They reached the station parking lot in two minutes, and Gage pulled up right next to the truck Fallon recognized as Adele’s.
“Call my dad, will you?” Gage said as he reached for his door handle. “I’m going to go see what the fuck this guy wants.”
“I don’t want to be in here alone,” Fallon said. “I don’t like this.”
