Rising, Reif pulled Nessie up next to him, and said, “Well, we’ll be on our way. Thanks for everything tonight.”
“Wait,” Logan said, “I think it’d be better if you stayed here tonight. That way we can get an early start in the morning and start searching for the green diamond right away.”
Glancing at his mate, Reif caught the imperceptible nod Nessie gave him. “Okay, but all my research is back at my cottage in Inverness.”
“We’ll get it tomorrow. Do you need anything before Groose shows you to your rooms?” asked Logan.
“Naw, we’ll be fine,” Brian replied. “Thank ye for helping.”
“No problemo, Captain,” said Kieran. “C’mon, Groose is waiting for you,”
~/~/~/~/~
Reading the response from the lawyer representing Fionn’s uncle, Penn wasn’t surprised at the objections to his motion.Douchbag!Normally, he’d have called the attorney before he asked the court’s permission for video testimony, but the dickhead would’ve played games so he just filed it for the judge to decide.Fucking asshole!He knew lawyers like this, always fighting everything just to rack up more fees for their clients to pay.Fuck ‘em all!
Then clicking on the email from the court, Penn smiled. The court had seen through the lawyer’s bullshit and granted his motion. After dashing off a quick email to Fionn to let him know the results, Penn looked up, staring out at the San Francisco skyline, his mind now back on Fionn’s white dragon and the Alpha who would control him.
~/~/~/~/~
After locking the door to their suite, Reif leaned against it, his eyes roaming until they landed on Nessie. “You know, I never did ask how you feel about having five babies. I know you said you were freaked out too, but…”
Brian turned, studying his mate and saw the worry in his face. Walking over to him, he grabbed his hips, pulling his mate to him. Looking him in the eye, Brian replied, “We need a house. My boat’s nae meant for wee ones…better to find a place near some loch. I have some money saved up that’ll cover it, but I’m nae sure aboot all the baby stuff.”
Blinking at his mate’s comment, Reif finally chuckled. “I take it you’re okay with it?”
“I left home for good, after I came out of the closet when I turned 50, telling my parents I was attracted to men. Back then, ‘gay’ or ‘coming out of the closet’ wasn’t used but that was what I was and did. Ye know why it took so long? Because all my life, I was told the gods did nae make shifters like me…only Satan did…so I hid who I was from my family, my friends, my community. I spent years prayin’ to the gods to save me from the evil that had taken control of my body, making me into somethin’ I was ashamed of. During all that time, do ye know what I wanted most?”
Holding his breath, Reif shook his head. He wanted to hear more about his mate but was afraid of interrupting his mate’s story with words; instead he wrapped his mate in his arms.
“A mate…a Fated Mate…someone who would love me…someone I would love…someone who I could count on nae matter how tough life was. So I did everything I could to be straight…tried my damnedest to act straight…surely, I thought, if I did it enough I’d become straight and the gods would give me what I wanted more than anything else in the world…a mate.
“One day, I got a note from the mother of one of my friends. She told me Tommy had died…committed suicide, actually…and she asked if I’d come to the funeral. I said ‘yes’ and wrote down the time and place. I left work early that day and rode to the next town; it wasn’t far—back then sea serpent shifters lived close to one another. When I arrived at the graveyard, next to the church, I looked aboot, wondering was I at the wrong place—there was only an auld horse-drawn cart out front.
“But then, I saw the open grave and my friend’s mother sittin’ by herself in front of the coffin, so I knew twas the right place. After climbing off my horse, I slowly walked over to her, each step a chore, regretting my decision to come. If ye haven’t figured it out, I’m nae good expressing my feelings; the only reason I agreed to her request in the first place, was I thought I’d be lost in the crowd of mourners.
“I swear if she hadn’t seen me when I arrived, I’d have ridden away, but she had, so I stayed. I sat in a chair next to her, starin’ at the coffin in front of me, tryin’ to remember the last time I’d seen my friend. And ye know what? I couldn’t fuckin’ remember. How did that happen? We were close for so many years, but then he drifted away aboot five years afore he took his life. Why did I let that happen? And why did my friend, who had so much goin’ for him, decide to kill himself?
“I wanted to ask his mother these questions but did nae. It was obvious she’d suffered enough and I’d be damned if I was goin’ to cause any more pain. So I sat there, my misery buildin’ along with my anger at Tommy for doin’ this to his mother. And out of that anger grew more anger…at everyone who decided Tommy wasn’t worth payin’ their respects to, leaving me, alone, to face his mother and her grief. Lookin’ around at all the empty chairs at the gravesite finally caused me to open my mouth, giving voice to my anger.
“Instead of offering my condolences or telling my friend’s mother how much I’d miss him, I said, ‘where the hell is everyone?’ Can ye fuckin’ imagine that? What an asshole I was! To this day, I can still see her tear-filled eyes lookin’ up at me as she told me Tommy’d been rejected by everyone because he loved men. I never knew any of this! And five years to the date he decided to be true to who he was, he killed himself because, his mother said, Tommy was ashamed of who he was.
“It was at that moment, I faced the truth about who I was and decided to honor my friend by being true to myself. I vowed to make Tommy’s life mean somethin’ by rejectin’ all the bullshit I was taught growin’ up…even if it meant leavin’ my home to find a place on earth where I could live without hatred.
“When it was time to say good bye, I helped her over to where Tommy was, listening as she told her son how much she loved him and would miss his sunny smile. My tears fell, my mind seeing Tommy so clearly now, and I knew I would never forget him…my friend who gave me my freedom at the expense of his own.
“We put wildflowers on his coffin, then watched as he was lowered into the ground, finally covered with earth. By this time I was a sobbin’ mess, but she hugged me, tellin’ me how happy Tommy was now in the presence of the gods and how they would take care of him until she could join him. Then she told me Tommy had left somethin’ for me and I should follow her home.
“When we arrived, she invited me in and told me she’d be right back with it. I sat down, rememberin’ the timesTommy and I had spent in that very room. It was strange…almost like he was sittin’ next to me…yet I never felt more alone in my life. When his mother handed me a wooden box, I remember looking at it, fearful of what I might find inside. I thanked her, then left, but not afore she hugged me one more time and told me if I ever needed anythin’, to let her know. Noddin’, I told her again how sorry I was, and then fled.
“Without a backward glance, I got on my horse and galloped away as fast as I could. I rode for hours, tryin’ to make peace with who I was and finally, when night had fallen, I found myself at a beach, the ocean callin’ me, the moon lightin’ a path for me to follow to the water. I sat down on the wet sand, clutchin’ the only thing I had left of my friend.
“It was there, as the waves gently broke upon the shore, that I finally could remember my friend, Tommy, as he was when he was alive…before hatred stole his life away. I began to talk, first to myself, then to Tommy…jokin’ with him…teasin’ him aboot his stunnin’ looks…tellin’ him how much he meant to me…and how much I would miss him. That night was a turnin’ point in my life.
“For the first time ever, I said the words out loud. ‘I love men.’ It was scary. I remember waitin’ for the gods to strike me dead, because I truly believed I was an instrument of Satan. But nae a thing happened. Tommy urged me on and I said it louder; each time I was sure would be my last moment on earth. Finally I was shoutin’ it over and over. The freedom was overwhelmin’!
“After fifty years of hidin’ the real me from the world, here I was, shoutin’ at the top of my lungs aboot who I was. I know it sounds crazy, but Tommy was with me on the beach that night, givin’ me strength to accept myselfand to help me decide who I wanted to be. Naw more hidin’…naw more fakin’ interest in women…naw more worries about Satan controllin’ my body…naw more shame for who I was.
“The sun was risin’ when I got around to opening the box and readin’ the note Tommy left for me. I found out he was in love with me…not as a friend but as a mate. Ye know what? Twasn’t news to me. Somewhere in my heart, I always knew Tommy loved me, but I was so determined to be straight, I couldn’t allow myself to admit I loved him, too.
