Chapter 14
Ronan
“Merry Christmas, Ronan,” I heard Seth whisper into my ear. He was curled at my back and I could feel his lips press against my shoulder.
“It’s only Christmas eve,” I reminded him as I turned over to face him.
His fingers came up to play with my hair. “Every day has felt like Christmas,” he said softly.
I knew exactly what he meant. It had only been a few days since our lives had been irrevocably changed and we were still riding the high of the realization that we were fathers and that we finally had the family we’d always dreamed of.
Neither of us were foolish enough to believe things would be easy with suddenly taking in three very traumatized kids, but there’d been a moment last night where we’d both just known that things would be okay.
It hadn’t been some dramatic turn of events where all three kids were declaring their love for us and calling us Dad or anything… no, it had been much subtler than that.
Seth and I had made dinner and had set the table like we had all the previous nights, but instead of Willow and the younger kids appearing and taking their plates and going back to the single bedroom they’d insisted on sharing, they’d actually sat down at the table with us.
No, there hadn’t been a lot of conversation or anything, but when we’d finished, they’d helped us clear the table and they’d each said their thank yous to us.
When Seth had suggested we watch a movie together, the trio had “spoken” to one another using sign language and then Willow had said yes.
We’d ended up watching a family-friendly cartoon movie with the subtitles turned on together in the den.
Jamie had sat next to Seth and eventually fallen asleep against him.
And instead of picking any of the several pieces of furniture to sit on, Willow had sat down next to me with Nicole on her other side.
Bullet had ended up draped over Nicole’s lap.
And just like that with a shared meal and all of us piled onto one couch with bowls of popcorn between us, we’d become a family.
“It has,” I said as I leaned in to kiss him.
A glance at the clock showed we had a couple of hours before we needed to start getting ready to head to the island house for the wedding, but before I could even get up to lock the door so Seth and I could have some private time, I heard it swing open.
We’d been locking the door at night when we made love, but afterwards we unlocked and left it partially open so we could hear the kids if they needed something.
We’d also started wearing pajama bottoms which we’d both laughed about since that had been an adjustment in itself.
Seth and I both sat up to see Jamie standing in the doorway, Bullet by his side and his Spiderman doll dangling from his hand.
We hadn’t managed to get any of the kids’ stuff from Alana and Gene because we needed to wait for the custody case to be finalized so I was glad Matty had given him the doll, because it had clearly become a safety blanket to him in a way that none of the new toys we’d bought him could.
The pending custody fight was still a glaring concern, but Zane and Declan had both assured us the kids were ours.
Gene was being charged with assault and the incident when Willow had called the cops to seek help for Gene’s abuse was being re-opened.
And even if Alana hadn’t actually abused the kids herself, the fact that she’d stood by and let it happen left her without a leg to stand on.
Even if she claimed the man was abusing her as well, she was in no position to regain custody.
“Jamie, is everything okay?” Seth asked, but before he could get out of bed, Jamie was walking towards us.
He stopped by Seth’s side of the bed. “Willow’s snoring,” he muttered drowsily.
“She is?” Seth said with a chuckle as he glanced at me.
We had enough bedrooms for all three kids, but so far they’d all been sharing the room we’d set aside for Nicole.
Jamie nodded and then he was trying to climb up on the bed.
Seth lifted him up and we both watched in shock as he crawled between us.
He dropped his head on Seth’s pillow and clutched the doll to his chest and closed his eyes.
Bullet jumped on the bed and pressed between us so he could curl himself over Jamie’s legs.
Seth and I smiled at each other and then rearranged ourselves until we were all comfortable. Seth wrapped his arm around Jamie’s waist and I settled my hand on his arm. We didn’t speak again.
We didn’t need to.
“How are you holding up?” I asked Hawke as I entered the guest bedroom where he was getting ready.
He was sitting on the bay window still dressed in his street clothes.
His hands were pressed together and his elbows were resting on his knees.
Matty’s puppy, Storm, was lying at his feet, but as soon as she saw me she came loping over to greet me.
I hadn’t changed into my tux yet so I let her jump on me as I scratched her floppy ears.
“Good,” he said, though his voice was shaky. “Is he here yet?”
I hid the smile at how nervous my friend sounded and said, “He got here a few minutes ago.”
The whoosh of air that left Hawke’s body was a surprise. Did the man even think for a second that Tate would get cold feet?
I knew the couple had decided to honor tradition and spend the evening before their wedding apart.
Tate and Matty had gone to stay with Tate’s mom and her family at a bed and breakfast a few miles away and Hawke had gone to dinner with Magnus, Zane and Connor before returning to his home to spend the night by himself with just Storm to keep him company.
I went to sit on the bed across from Hawke and said, “Hey, I’m sorry Seth and I haven’t been there for you guys-”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Hawke interrupted. He motioned around him. “All of this…the fact that we’re even here today is because of you and Seth.” He clutched his hands together again before saying, “If you hadn’t brought him back to me…”
Hawke’s voice dropped off, but I knew he was thinking about the day Seth and I had taken Matty and Tate to Hawke’s house in Wyoming a month after they’d ended their tenuous relationship.
“How are the kids doing?” Hawke asked.
“Good,” I said. “Better than expected, actually,” and I couldn’t help the grin that split my lips.
Before I could say anything else, I heard a quiet knock on the door.
“I got it,” I said to Hawke and then I went to answer it.
Matty entered followed by Jamie and Leo.
Matty was holding one of Jamie’s hands and Leo was holding the other.
Matty was wearing the tux that matched his fathers’ so I grabbed Storm by the collar when she made a beeline for him and held her back.
“Hi, Papa,” Matty said as he hurried to Hawke and he dropped Jamie’s hand so he could wrap his arms around his father.
“Hi, buddy,” Hawke said with a sigh and he scooped the little boy up and held him in what I knew had to be a pretty tight embrace.
“Papa, Daddy said to tell you something.”
“Okay, what is it?” Hawke asked as he pulled back a little from Matty.
“He said to tell you he missed you last night…” Matty paused as he seemed to need a minute to try to remember the rest of the message. “Oh yeah, and he never wants to do it again.”
“Do what again?” Hawke asked in confusion.
Matty seemed stricken and then he glanced over his shoulder at me and curled his finger to motion me over.
I held onto Storm as I leaned down to Matty’s level and he reached into the small pocket on his vest and pulled out a scrap of paper.
I read the note and smiled as I realized Tate had suspected his son might have trouble remembering the whole message.
I put my mouth against Matty’s ear and whispered the rest of the message. Matty nodded and then turned back to Hawke.
“He doesn’t want to spend a night apart from you ever again,” Matty said proudly. “And he’ll see you soon.”
I saw Hawke’s eyes darken with emotion and he clutched his son to him. I used their intimate moment to crouch down next to Jamie and Leo.
“Are you doing okay, Jamie?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Matty and I are watching out for him,” Leo declared. I was glad to see the little boy was still wearing his pants, but from the way he was scratching at the waistband, I had to wonder how long it would last.
“You are?” I asked.
Leo nodded enthusiastically. “He’s gonna sit with me while Matty helps his daddies get married.”
I smiled at that and couldn’t stop myself from running my hand over Jamie’s hair. The little boy hadn’t been talking to me as much as he did Seth, but I knew it was just a matter of time. The fact that he didn’t pull away from me was progress as far as I was concerned.
“Thank you for taking care of him, Leo,” I said and I dropped my hand on the beaming boy’s shoulder.
I heard a knock on the door and saw Magnus waiting in the entry way. The older man looked distinguished in his dark suit.
“Just came to see how things are going in here,” he said as he walked into the room.
“Good, Pop-pop,” Matty said. He gave Hawke a quick kiss on the cheek and whispered, “See you soon, Papa.”
“Yeah, buddy,” Hawke said, his voice sounding gravelly.
Matty ran up to his grandfather to give him a hug and then went back to Jamie and Leo and grabbed Jamie’s hand .
“Matty,” Hawke called and Matty turned around. When Hawke motioned him over, Matty eagerly ran to him and I watched as Hawke leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Matty listened attentively and then nodded.
“I’ll tell him, Papa,” he said softly and then he hugged Hawke again before he collected Jamie and Leo and left the room.
“I was hoping I could have a word with you,” Magnus said to Hawke.
“Of course,” Hawke replied.
“I’m going to take Storm to the study,” I said as I straightened as best I could while still maintaining my hold on the dog’s collar.
“Thanks, Ronan,” Hawke said softly.