Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
LUCAS
He was so nervous he thought he might throw up.
The dinner had gone from a nice, quiet, intimate thing at his apartment to a big dinner over at Adele and Kash’s place.
He had half a mind to say no, but he couldn’t do it without looking suspicious, and he realized this would be the best time to just… rip the Band-Aid off.
Frankie, out of the kindness of his heart, fucked the nerves out of him in the hour before he had to pick up Elodie, and then Lucas was left to his own devices in his kitchen, preparing several trays of enchiladas for everyone.
He knew in his heart that no matter how worried his family might be over him and his choices, ultimately, they would respect him.
They loved him. They trusted him. And he was far from the only person to fall for a man much older than he was.
Maybe he had the biggest age gap of them all, but he was never the sort of man who did things by the book. He was born different from all of them, and he planned to keep it that way. It was his thing.
By the time he was finished getting everything into travel containers, Frankie was knocking at the door. He came in, and Lucas could hear the little noises that Elodie’s walker made as she crossed over the threshold and made her way to the low coffee table Lucas had picked up.
He’d taken to leaving out containers of floam and kinetic sand. They had been an amazing way to keep his own hands occupied when he was little, and he was glad to know the same tricks worked on Elodie, so he had time to kiss his boyfriend while she was distracted.
“You look amazing, princess,” Frankie said, running his hand down the front of Lucas’s shirt.
He’d taken care with getting ready. He’d even combed his hair before twisting it into his bun, and he was wearing his softest pair of jeans. “What color is my shirt?”
“You don’t know?”
“Meh. A lot of people have a system, but it involves safety pins and buttons and other shit. I cannot be assed,” Lucas confessed.
Frankie laughed softly and kissed the side of his neck as he toyed with the cuff on the rolled-up sleeve. “It’s green. Like fresh shoots from a jungle floor.”
He liked that description. “And you?”
“We don’t match. I’m in jeans and a black shirt.”
Lucas ran his hands over it. It was short-sleeved with a collar, and it was very, very soft. “You look hot.”
“Thank you,” Frankie murmured. “Now, let me get everything loaded in the car while you keep Elodie distracted. She’s been kind of in a mood today. I’m a little worried about how everything’s going to go.”
Lucas scoffed. “Trust me, there’s going to be kids there to distract her, and everyone is a dad so if she’s feeling pissy, they’ll get it.
” He almost said except Gage, only that might not be true.
He hadn’t done the paternity thing yet—he was still weighing his options—but Lucas couldn’t call that the truth any longer.
Frankie let out a breath. “Can I…” He trailed off for a beat. “The kids, will they be weird with her? I know you came here when you were older, so—”
“Hey, my poet,” Lucas murmured.
He didn’t call Frankie that often, but his face always warmed under Lucas’s hands when he did. “Mm?”
“You can breathe. My family is different. One of my uncles is an amputee, one of them has a muscle disorder and uses a wheelchair half the time, one of my new adopted-in uncles is Deaf. My new dad has a nervous system disorder that gives him cataplexy—which, by the way, if he slumps over, don’t panic. He comes out of it pretty quick.”
“Oh,” Frankie said.
Lucas realized he hadn’t talked about his family enough. “One of the kids—Rex. He’s Deaf too. He’s why I know how to tactile sign. They’re the reason I felt so safe when I got here. Like I wasn’t the only one who didn’t always fit out in the real world.”
“That’s,” Frankie said slowly, but he didn’t finish his sentence.
Lucas didn’t need him to though. He knew how he felt. It was the same feelings he’d gotten when his dad brought him around and he realized that he wasn’t the odd one out anymore. That none of them were the same, but they understood why and how the world could be total shit.
And he could only hope that Elodie could find peace growing up with them too.
“Kiss me,” Frankie said. “Every time I think being with you can’t get more perfect, it does.”
Lucas obeyed, keeping it soft and mostly chaste, but a promise of what was to come later. “I’m so in love with you.”
“Do you think they’ll accept it?”
Lucas pulled back. “I don’t know. But I want to have faith because so far, they haven’t let me down.”
Lucas braced himself when he recognized his dad’s heavy footfalls. Bronx tugged him into a fierce hug, then murmured against his ear, “Tell me you didn’t bring a child as a shield to keep me from grilling your new…boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend,” Lucas confirmed. He pulled back. “I’m hurt you think I’d do such a thing.”
“I’m insulted you think you could pull one over on me,” Bronx fired back.
Lucas grinned, but it felt cheap on his face. Fake. He was nervous. “Please don’t freak out. I really like him, and I promise it’s not weird.”
Bronx was quiet for a long beat, and then he said, “If I can trust anyone to know when something is good, it’s you. You’ve saved more people than you know, Luke.”
He had no idea how to take that, but he had never loved his dad more. “Promise you won’t make any weird age jokes. He’s super stressed about meeting you, and he has a lot going on.”
Bronx sighed loudly. “That is a big ask, son. A big, big ask. But if this means I can be a step-grandpa, I’ll take it.”
Lucas hadn’t realized what bringing Elodie into the family might mean, but it hit him. Hard. Elodie was going to be Frankie’s adopted daughter. Which would eventually—hopefully—make Lucas her stepdad. Which would then make Bronx and Monty…
“Won’t it make you feel old?”
“You have been making me feel old since you were born,” Bronx said flatly. He wrapped an arm around his shoulder, taking care not to knock his cane around. “She’s adorable, by the way.”
“I know. She’s blind. CVI and cerebral palsy. She sees some stuff, but she won’t recognize you for a while. She’s still working on me.”
“I can be patient,” Bronx said. He sounded thrilled, and Lucas realized then it actually was going to be okay.
“Where’s my other dad?” Lucas asked.
It took Monty a beat to answer. “Here. I want a hug. And an explanation.”
Lucas allowed himself to be tugged close. “Is Frankie nearby? Is he freaking out?”
“Nope. He’s talking to Lane and Adele. I think he knows them both. They hugged,” Monty told him.
That could be a good or bad sign. Lucas wasn’t sure yet. But he wasn’t going to give up Frankie, no matter what.
“And Elodie?”
“Briar already has her. This could be a problem. She’s going to teach her all her thieving ways,” Lucas heard Bowen say, walking up to hug him too.
Lucas squeezed him tight. “Look, I’m the bard, Gage is the Barbarian. Our party could always use a new thief or two.”
“I am so annoyed I know what that shit means now,” Bowen said, knocking his side gently. “Also, I think your boyfriend is one of us already. Adele just gave me a thumbs-up.”
Lucas felt something unknot in his chest. “And no one is going to give him shit about his age?”
“I wouldn’t put it past Frey,” Bowen said. “But I think…Frankie, right?” Lucas nodded. “I think Frankie can take it. Besides, Frey’s excited about having another little one around.”
Lucas grinned, and then he heard more familiar footsteps on the deck. “Would you all quit hogging my best friend? I already have to share his time with his new boyfriend. I put in all the work on him, so I should be reaping these rewards. All of you, fucking shoo!”
Lucas burst into laughter as Gage wrapped around him. He was hugging him a little tighter than normal, and Lucas knew in that moment something was wrong. He turned his head. “Frankie?”
“Here, p—uh. To your left.” Lucas knew he had almost stumbled over the nickname they’d both agreed not to use tonight. He’d let that one slide.
“I’m going inside with Gage for a bit. All of you, if you aren’t really fucking nice to him and make him feel like he’s a king in this castle, I will never cook for you again.”
Everyone burst into laughter, but Lucas knew it was a heavy threat. They all loved his cooking a little too much. He turned back to Gage.
“Let’s go to your old room. You sound like you need to talk.”
Gage let out a trembling breath. “It’s bad.”
“Okay. Lead the way.”
Lucas wasn’t as familiar with the inside of this house as he had been with the one that had burnt down, but the layout wasn’t entirely different.
And Gage’s old room hadn’t been changed much, so Lucas was able to find his old spot on the bed by the L shape in the wall and settle in as Gage flopped beside him.
The room was quiet for a long, long while.
“I’ve been getting texts,” he finally said.
“Okay…”
“I think they’re from…from them.” It was obvious he didn’t want to say their names. “I’m not sure which one. But they have…they have video of me. They sent me a clip.”
Lucas felt a new emotion in his body—white-hot and overwhelming. It raced up his spine, and for the first time in his life, he understood how someone could commit actual murder. “What’s on the video?”
“Me. Passed out. They’re making me drink something. Um. They…” He let out a rough breath. “They said they’ll post all of it if I don’t agree to the paternity thing so they can get benefits. And they said she’s going to sue me for child support.”
Lucas took a fortifying breath, his brain switching into logic, problem-solving mode because it was the only thing that saved him from losing control of his emotions. His brain filtered through all the information it had.
“Tell them you want proof of what they did. The video of it. Tell them you don’t believe them.”
“What?” Gage whispered, sounding shattered. “I don’t want to see that.”