Chapter Thirty-Six
“You are the most stubborn man in the world,” I shout at him from the back door of the house. “What part of no heavy lifting didn’t you understand?” While Merlin took everything carefully to begin with, boredom and desire to get back to work won, and now he’s out in the nursery.
Merlin grins and flexes his biceps. “Looking good, hot stuff.” His gaze roams over my bare chest and the low-hanging sleep shorts.
“Sweet talking won’t work with me.” Which is a total lie. He’d only have to stalk over to me, and I’d beg him to fuck me.
He laughs, a good belly laugh that makes my heart swell with love for him. The last three months since the show and his injury have been a whirlwind. The show was a massive success. Most of the paintings were sold, and I have a full diary of commissions.
Marc’s sentencing is still to happen, but that should be any day now.
There was too much evidence against him to claim self-defence, and he’s charged with grievous bodily harm with intent.
It means he could be looking at a long time in prison.
He finally admitted his intent and pleaded guilty.
All we need to do is put this behind us and never talk about him again.
But right now, I need to stop Merlin from overworking his arm and shoulder. Ivan is here, and he promised to keep Merlin away from all the heavy work. For some reason, he’s now letting him do as he wishes. “Ivan, do I have to phone Brodie?”
The nursery is going to be open in just a few months.
We’re planning on Easter weekend. Which is why Merlin is working way harder than he should be.
He drops the bag of compost or whatever it is and strides up to me.
“You know I’m more than capable of throwing you over my shoulder and spanking your arse. ”
As much as I like the idea, now is not the time. “I don’t think Ivan would want to watch that.” I roll my eyes. “But please, love, cut down on the heavy work.”
Merlin’s phone rings, halting any further conversation. As he pulls his phone from his back pocket, I step back. I’m dreading who’s on the line.
“Hello.” Merlin’s face rigid, and his eyes are fixed on me.
“Thank you, thanks for letting me know. Yes, you’re right. It’s good news.”
Memories of the past and the way Marc behaved and acted towards me come rushing back to me. If I’d left him but never come here, would he still have acted so obsessively, or was it the fact that I don’t need or want him because I have Merlin? It’s something I’ll never have the answer to.
“Trent,” Merlin says, and by the sound of it, he’s been trying to catch my attention for a couple of seconds.
“Sorry, what did I miss?”
“He got five years. He could be out earlier, after three years, but he’s gone, baby. He’s never coming back.”
All the air rushes from my lungs in a whoosh. That’s a long time in prison, even if he only does three. It’s enough to have an impact on the rest of his life. He’s lost everything, and honestly, I can’t find a shred of sympathy for him. He could easily have killed Merlin or me.
Tears cluster in the corners of my eyes, threatening to spill over. “That’s good, really good. Are you happy with that?”
“I am, but please don’t cry. It’s all good news.” He wipes under my eyes, catching any tears before they tip over the brim. “We need to celebrate.” He kisses me softly, but it quickly turns into more, and our tongues tangle as they stroke against each other.
“Hey! You two, pack it in. There’s work to be done,” Ivan shouts.
Our kisses turn into smiles, even with our lips pressed together. “You’d better go, but please, no heavy lifting.”
“You phone around and get the celebrations going.” He kisses me once more.
“What about your parents?” I ask. “They’re going to want to know what happened.”
“You call them. I think they love you more than me.” He grins and jogs to Ivan to finish the work.
His parents are awesome and treat me like another son.
I think the time we spent at the hospital helped us get to know each other.
I’m not sure what Merlin told them about me and my family, but they welcomed me with open arms. Literally.
When I freaked out over Merlin being attacked, his mum held me, comforting me in a way my mother had never done.
She even calls just to speak to me sometimes, something Merlin finds hysterical.
It gets him off the hook, he says. Now it's my turn to be interrogated. I don’t mind.
It’s been a long time since anyone has been interested in me and what I’m doing.
I open my phone and bring up her number, then walk over to the kettle and flick the switch to turn it on. One of the kittens curls around my ankles, weaving between my legs. He doesn’t fool me, though. He’s been fed and is just a scrounger.
The call connects, and a cheery voice greets me. “Trent, how lovely to hear from you. Is Merlin behaving himself?”
“Hi, Jenny, and what do you think? I’ve just caught him shifting twenty-kilo bags of compost. You need to have a word with him because he isn’t listening to me.
I’ve got some news. We’ve just heard from Merlin’s solicitor with the verdict.
Marc got a five-year sentence. He’ll probably be out in three, but it’s the best result we could hope for. ”
“Oh, Trent, that is good news. How are you feeling about it?”
I let out a shuddering breath. “I’m okay, a bit numb. I don’t think it will sink in for a while, but I’m relieved it’s all over and done with. Merlin wants to celebrate, so I’m going to try to get something organised with everyone either tonight or tomorrow.”
“You’re allowed to have mixed feelings, sweetheart. He was in your life for a long time.”
“I only feel angry. Angry at him for what he did to Merlin, angry at how he treated me. But mostly I’m angry at myself for letting it happen for so long. If I’d been stronger and left him years ago, I wouldn’t have put Merlin in such danger. I don’t know what I would’ve done if he’d died.”
“Trent, sweet boy, don’t dwell on what didn’t happen. Be happy that he’s here, and he loves you. Go spend the night with your friends and enjoy your life.”
“I know you’re right, but tell that to my brain when the nightmares kick in.”
“You have nightmares?” a voice from behind me asks.
Merlin walks to me and takes the phone from my hand. “Mum, I’ll call you back later.”
Jenny says something, but I can’t hear what, but Merlin replies, “I know that, Mum. Yes, I will. Okay, bye.”
He hands me back my phone and pulls me in for a hug. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you’ve been through enough. You don’t need my shit added on to it. They’ll go away.” I lean back to look at his face.
“I’m not going anywhere, you know that, right? We’re going to get old and grey together. Nothing is going to happen to me or you.”
That’s easy for him to say, but then he’s never had to watch his brother waste away and die at the same age I am now. Not that I’m going to burden him with my thoughts, so I smile and press a kiss to his neck, then more up his throat to his jawline.
“I can think of something you can do to take my mind off everything,” I murmur and scrape my teeth over the stubble on his chin.
“It’s a good job I told Ivan that we’re finished for the day.”