“Give him some space and let him cool down.” Bo seemed awfully calm. Oh. He’d had an abusive father, putting a unique spin on his parenting technique. “New home, new school, new friends. He’s going through a lot of changes right now.”
Lucky rarely felt blessed, but compared to Bo, he’d hit the parental jackpot, even if his folks weren’t doing so great now in their relationship. They still lived in the same house—mostly. And Dad’s health improved after Lucky donated a chunk of liver, so hope survived, right?
Todd looked up from his spot on the floor, where he’d been giving a happy Moose a belly rub. “He’s such a drama queen sometimes.” The Great Pyrenees nudged Todd’s hand, prompting Todd to go back to rubbing.
Lucky did his best, but finally couldn’t take any more. While Todd and Bo played video games, he snuck down the hall and knocked. Nothing. Easing the door open, he peered inside. Ty lay on the bed, eyes closed. “Ty?”
No answer.
Ty’s closed lids showed no movement, and his breath came a bit choppy. Not asleep, then, just playing possum.
When Lucky thought of parenthood, he pictured his nephew young enough to toss in the air and catch, or the baby he hoped to tuck into the nursery one day, courtesy of his sister, a turkey baster, and Bo’s sperm. Babies didn’t stay small, and if he wanted to be a father, he’d have to learn to handle kids at all ages.
If only he hadn’t gone to prison, and the boys had grown up with him in their lives, things might be different.
He sighed and closed the door.
Maybe he wasn’t ready after all.
***
The glow of a security light shone through the window blinds, painting stripes across the room. Above the bed, a ceiling fan turned in lazy circles. Cat Lucky sat on the windowsill, staring out at the night, while Moose softly snored at the foot of the bed.
Human Lucky lay on his back next to Bo, hands behind his head. Would the god-awful music keep him awake all night?
The throbbing bass beat cut off, plunging the night into quiet but leaving Lucky’s ears ringing. How did his nephews even listen to that crap?
Bo rolled over and ran his lips along Lucky’s jaw, sliding his hand down Lucky’s chest to his groin.
“We can’t,” Lucky said, grasping Bo’s wrist and biting down on the “fuck me!” he really wanted to say. After all the adrenaline he’d pumped into his system today, he needed physical release. But…
“Why not?” Bo asked, nuzzling Lucky’s neck and inching his fingers lower.
Lucky tightened his grip on Bo’s wrist, caught himself, and let Bo go. Restraining Bo wouldn’t end well. His therapy might be helping, but being tied to a bed by an alcoholic father and thinking the house was on fire left a lasting impression. “Because the boys might hear.”
How embarrassing would that be, if they smirked at him over breakfast. Or worse, if he grossed them out.
“Have you considered that might have been why they played the music so loud?”
No. Lucky hadn’t. Damn. What a perfectly wasted opportunity.
“It’s not like we’d be swinging from chandeliers or anything,” Bo continued. “Us living together and sharing a bed is kinda hard to ignore, and they’re old enough to know what people who live together do.”
“We don’t have a chandelier.” And didn’t the mental image of sexual acrobatics put ideas in Lucky’s head that’d keep him up all night, in more ways than one?
“Details.” Bo planted a kiss on top of Lucky’s head and didn’t push on the other issue. “We’re more the ‘fuck on a motorcycle’ type anyway.”
Even as tired as he was, Lucky’s cock tried to rise. Oh, to lean Bo over the Harley.
And risk the boys coming out to the garage to investigate the noise.
Nope. Not happening. Other matters pushed aside thoughts of sex. “Do you reckon Ty’s gonna be okay? He seems pretty upset about moving.”
Bo nodded. “He’s leaving friends, scared he won’t make new ones, and he seems really close to Todd. Having his brother go off to college, even if the campus is nearby, is going to take time to adjust to. Us getting up in his face about his moods won’t help anything. Don’t you remember how you were at that age?”
Sixteen. So full of himself, Lucky thought he’d known everything, and what he didn’t wasn’t worth knowing. “I was a first-class asshole.” And well on his way to a prison sentence. Also, he’d sprung wood at the damnedest moments.
“Nice to know some things never change.” Even in the dark Lucky felt the curve of Bo’s smile against his skin.
