Alistaire looked back at his brother, pulling him into a one-arm hug. “It was nice knowing you, baby brother. I’ll tell the dads your last wishes.”
“Shut up. I don’t need you to rub it in. I f...messed up,” Alphonso grumbled.
Alistaire chuckled, loving the scared look on Alphonso’s face. To his own fault, he’d missed everything about his brother when he’d been growing up. However, they’d developed a brotherly love and friendship through letters, emails, and phone calls.
Alistaire had been halfway across the world when Alphonso was born and decided to stay away to give the small family time together. He’d felt a bit jealous Alphonso had been the son to Synder he could never be. When Synder had found Kayne, he felt as if he’d lost his parents all over again and felt he no longer had a place to be by the man’s side.
However, Synder, Kayne, and even Alphonso had refused to let him hide away from them. He’d get a phone call from one of them every week. Alistaire also hadn’t expected to show up in Vale Valley or try to get to know his adopted family. He’d been settled with being the estranged child or a ghost, but it had all changed after he’d lost the man he’d wanted to spend eternity with.
In his grief addled mind, Alistaire realized he had closed his life off from everyone who cared about him. It had taken a lot of convincing from Alphonso for him to show up in Vale Valley, but when he did, the entire Vale family embraced him and wouldn’t let him go.
“You and Jacqui’s did this to me on purpose.” Sirius's clipped tones pulled Alistaire from his thoughts.
“We...I didn’t, I swear,” Alphonso defended.
“Daddy Siri, can I get a dog now cause unca Kissy said I’m going to have a dog on T.V.”
“A dog? Do you think you’re ready for a dog? How are you going to clean up after a dog when you hate cleaning up your room?”
“That’s different,” Tamia pouted. “I like it messy.”
“For crying out loud,” Sirius griped. “Until you can put away your toys without me having to tell you, no dog.”
“But can I be on T.V. with unca Kissy?”
“Are you sure you want to be an actress and not a lawyer like Daddy?”
“I’m sure.”
“Did she just play him?” Alistaire whispered to his brother.
“Like a fiddle.”
“I can hear you both, you know,” Sirius said, throwing daggers at both of them. “Listen, my sweets, let me talk to your daddy about you being on T.V. with your uncle Jacqui’s.” The unspoken “like your daddy should have done” hung loudly in the air.
Alphonso sighed and took the short steps over to Sirius and Tamia, leaning down to kiss his mate.
“Your daddy is whipped, little Bri.” Alistaire smiled, hugging his niece close.
A bit of sadness was hidden behind Alistaire’s smile. The first and only kiss he’d shared with his mate was seconds before Fox died. Alistaire licked his lips, recalling the taste of blood and tears as he took his last breath. Watching Alphonso and Sirius, he realized how much time he’d wasted not telling Fox they were mates and belonged together.
“You’re right,” Alphonso said to his mate. “I should have spoken to you first.”
“But...” Sirius added.
“But nothing. We make decisions when it comes to our family together.”
Sirius nodded. “You’re forgiven now. We’ll talk about it later.”
“All right,” Alphonso whispered. “I love you.”
“Love you, too.” Sirius leaned up and kissed Alphonso once more.
Alistaire turned away, giving them some privacy. He looked down when he felt a tug on his pants leg to see Tamia smiling up at him. “Come on, let’s go to the other room and give your dads some time alone.”
Just as he entered the foyer with the kids, the front door opened, letting in a gust of cold air with Grayson and the triplets who excitedly ran into the house. Tamia ran over to greet them while Grayson tried to take off their jackets.
Brigid, seeing her older sister and cousins having too much fun without her, started pushing away from him, wanting to get down. Always ready to spoil her, Alistaire let her down, watching her crawl over to the bigger kids.
