“You need to watch out for him,” Jayne said, gesturing at Caleb’s dad. “Not only is his mouth trouble, but I know that elsewhere in the house, he’s got a big, sharp stick waiting. You probably don’t want to mess with that.”
“You’re right.” Caleb’s father stepped into the room, revealing Caleb’s brother, Aaron, and Everett’s brother, Gage, who stood in the hall behind him. “But I don’t think there’ll be reason for him to get upset. Everett—” Upon mention of his name, Everett lifted his chin and stood a little taller than before, “—you’ve always been a member of this family, and as far as I’m concerned, you will always be. Whether official or unofficial, you are loved, and you are always welcome here.”
“Thank you, sir,” Everett said with a slight bow of his head.
Caleb’s dad went red. “None of that ‘sir’ business, okay?”
“Right.” Everett scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Sorry.”
Unaffected by Everett’s show of respect, Caleb’s father continued with his train of thought, turning away from Everett to face Jayne. “And Jayne?”
Caleb’s chest constricted, and he found himself tensing in anticipation of what was to be said. A million worst-case scenarios ran through his head. There were people in the world who didn’t understand the kind of love Caleb, Everett, and Jayne shared—people who believed that any experience outside their own was wrong, or somehow defective. In his heart, Caleb knew that his father was an advocate for love of all kinds, but it didn’t stop the irrational part of his brain from worrying.
If he had to walk away from his parents again, it would break him, but if that was what it took to keep Everett and Jayne safe and happy, Caleb would do it.
He’d give everything for them.
Anything, for them.
Everett slipped his hand into Caleb’s and squeezed, then leaned close to him. His presence alone soothed some of Caleb’s fears. No matter what happened, they would be fine. Life would move on. Everett and Jayne would help him pick up the pieces of his life and slot them back together. In the end, as long as he had them, Caleb would always be whole.
At last, Caleb’s father spoke, ending Caleb’s torment. “It’s an honor to meet one of the men who’s stolen my son’s heart.” Caleb’s father strode across the room and held out his hand to Jayne, who stood and shook it. “If Caleb or Everett give you any trouble, you come to me and Oli, and we’ll take care of it for you.”
The unreasonable fear Caleb had been holding on to burst, and its remnants turned to laughter that Caleb could barely hold back.
Everything was going to be fine.
With a knowing look, Jayne glanced over Caleb’s father’s shoulder at Caleb. Wickedness flickered in his eyes. “I like your other dad, too.”
54
Everett
That evening, the Alcrests, the Langstons, and one of the Biernackis gathered around an old oak dining table. Everett, Jayne, Caleb, and Gage sat on one side of the table, and Marshall, Oli, Aaron, and Bo sat on the other. Penelope, who was still too little for a regular chair, was secured in her high chair and positioned beside Gage, effectively putting her at the head of the table. Every now and then, she’d kick her small, socked feet and call out for Gage with an adorable cry of, “Dada!” Gage, smitten with his daughter, responded each time by grabbing her feet and playing with them, causing Penelope to squeal in delight.
In her cute canary-yellow skirt with the big bow at the waist and her white shirt with black polka dots, she was the evening’s most adorable dinner guest, followed by Bo, who looked dapper in his three-quarters length sleeved shirt accentuated with a fake tie and a vest. His hair appeared to have once been gelled in place, but over the course of the last hour, it had become disheveled. Still, Everett couldn’t help but smile. He’d always had a soft spot for his niece and nephew, but with Parker in his life, his appreciation for them had renewed. At one point, Everett had thought that being the cool uncle was as close as he’d get to being a father, but now, having loved Bo and Penelope with all his heart, he felt better equipped to step up to the plate for Parker. Whatever it took, he’d make sure that little boy had a happy life.
“You know,” Gage said as he sipped his third glass of wine. “I’m just… I’m just so amazed that I didn’t figure it out sooner.” He set his glass down a little harder than he should have, causing the base of the glass to clink loudly on the tabletop. Everett was sure that it had to have broken, but when Gage carefully lifted it to inspect for damages, it stayed in one piece. “Sorry, Uncle Oli. It’s not broken, I promise.”
“You’re fine,” Oli said. There was a chance he hadn’t noticed. He was on his third glass of wine as well, and for the last ten minutes, he’d been making eyes at Marshall, who humored him with sly smirks and fleeting looks. Much like Everett’s parents, Caleb’s parents remained disgustingly in love. “Do you need more wine?”
“Soon, yeah, maybe.” Gage looked into his partially depleted glass, then sighed and slumped back into his chair. His movements were exaggerated, and while he didn’t slur his words, he spoke with enthusiasm that was unusual even for a young man as chipper as he was. “But right now I need to talk, because I am just so blown away. Glit, you never told me you were dating them! I’m your friend! Why didn’t you say something?”
“You can’t tell your friends everything, Gage,” Oli replied, tearing his attention away from Marshall long enough to look at his future son-in-law. “I mean, if I told your dad everything, we probably wouldn’t be friends anymore. You have to usediscretion.”
“Grandpa Oli,” Bo said uncertainly. “What’s discrayshun?”
“Discretion,” Oli replied. “It’s hard to do when you’re little, because you haven’t lived long enough to get a feel for life, but basically, it means relying on past experiences and understanding nuance so you don’t make the same mistake twice.”
“Oh.” Bo hesitated, then asked, “What’s nuance?”
“Grandpa Oli isbadat this game,” Oli said with a laugh. He took a sip from his wineglass. “Nuance means tiny little details you might not notice if you don’t look hard enough.”
“Like aWhere’s Waldo?” Bo asked.
Oli almost choked. He set his glass down, cleared his throat several times, and thumped his chest before replying. “Yeah, let’s run with that. Nuance is exactly like aWhere’s Waldo.”
While Oli and Bo discussed the significance of where Waldo really was, Jayne leaned forward to look around Everett at Gage and offered him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, TD. There’s been a lot going on, and I’m kind of the new guy in the group, so I wasn’t sure where I stood. For one, I’m not naive enough to believe that everyone out there is going to be as supportive as you and the Alcrest family have been about our unconventional relationship, and two… well.” Jayne scrunched his nose. “If I came out and told the Single Dads that I’d found love before Knot, I’m pretty sure Knot would have crawled into the same sad little cave of misery and despair he retreated into after Harlow took Simon away to California.”
