Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ben
There was a strange car parked in front of the house when Ben pulled up and took off his helmet. The rain in the forecast hadn’t shown up yet, but the clouds over his head were thick, heavy, waiting to dump their autumn offering. He was almost afraid to think about it, but things had been going well lately. Baby James was only up a couple of times a night, could hold his head up and look around, reach for things. Tina had made more friends and had settled in. She was earning her own money through tutoring and babysitting and had been looking at college courses. He and Gavin had even set a wedding date for June, one week before Gavin’s birthday, one week before their anniversary. Gavin would start his new culinary program in less than a year.
Yeah, things were going okay.
Gavin pulled up next to Ben. “Who’s here?” he asked as he got out of his car.
Ben got off his bike and went around to help unload the groceries from the trunk. “No clue. Maybe Tina has a job interview?” It wouldn’t be the first time. The families she worked for would often come to her rather than make her go to them, at least for the initial interview. She always told them upfront that she had a baby and that he would be coming along with her, if they hired her.
“Maybe they’re visiting the neighbors.” Gavin shrugged and passed Ben the heavier bags. “Beef stew for dinner sound okay?”
“Whatever I don’t have to cook sounds okay for dinner.”
“You say that, but then you thumb your nose at whatever I put in front of you.”
Ben laughed. “One time. It’s not my fault you made tofurkey. No normal human would eat that.”
“Lots of people eat that,” Gavin said as he got to the front door. He added over his shoulder, “And since when are you normal?”
Ben wanted to argue, but he couldn’t. They laughed on their way inside, Ben pausing to close the door behind them. He turned and barreled into Gavin, who had stopped dead in his tracks.
Sitting on their sofa was an older man and woman Ben didn’t recognize. The woman held Baby James on her lap. Tina sat across from them, looking unbelievably uncomfortable, something close to shame written all over her features.
Ben didn’t know who those people were, but he wanted to throw them out into the gutter, wanted to shake them both, make them wish they’d never darkened his front steps.
And then it dawned on him.
“Ben, this is our mom and dad,” Tina said as she hopped up from the chair. “Patricia and Carter Van Loen.”
He didn’t need to be told. The instant sense of repulsion had given him enough warning. He glanced at Gavin, trying to decide what to do. Everything in him told him to toss them out on their asses, snatch the baby back from them and lock the doors. But Gavin only stared at them, his face frozen in shock.
How long had this been going on? Had these assholes been in their home before? Or was this the first time? Ben didn’t like it either way, but Jesus, he needed to know who to yell at first.
For a long moment—a moment that felt like a year or two—no one said anything.
Gavin nudged him. “Could you take the groceries into the kitchen?” he asked, passing the rest of the shopping bags to Ben.
Ben didn’t breathe a word, but the look on his face must’ve been murderous because Gavin whispered, “Don’t.”
Don’t what? Don’t make them bleed for all they’d done to Gavin? To Tina too, really. Don’t let every jumbled, hateful thought running through Ben’s mind out in a litany of curses and threats? Don’t grab Gavin and run out the door? Don’t take James back from them as if he had any say in that kid’s life, as if he were anything to them?
As he stormed into the kitchen, Ben figured don’t covered everything, and he hated it.
He set the groceries down on the counter and counted to ten in his head. It only made things worse. He shoved the perishables into the fridge without even taking them out of the bags and then turned for the kitchen door again. He pushed it so hard, it swung out and hit the wall with a clatter, making everyone jump. Well, everyone but Gavin. He looked like he’d been waiting for a crash, waiting for a bomb to drop.
“Can I get you guys anything?” Gavin asked, as if these people were guests in their home, neighbors dropping by for a visit.
Carter didn’t look up, didn’t meet Gavin’s eye. “No. We’re fine, thank you.”
Ben clamped his jaw shut and grit his teeth so hard, he thought they’d crack.
Something in Gavin shifted. The shock had apparently worn off, and Gavin settled on the arm of the chair Tina sat in. “What brings you two by?” he asked, his tone light and casual on the surface, but Ben could hear the strain there too.
Still not looking at him, Carter said, “We wanted to meet our grandson.” He reached over and took Baby James’s hand.
Ben hadn’t thought it was possible, but he liked the baby a little less when James smiled at the asshole. Shouldn’t the kid have some kind of instinct? Some sense that he was flirting with the devil himself? He shook the thought off and tried not to remind them that they had no right to meet him, all things considered. “Well, you’ve met him.” He hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
Gavin shot him a look Ben couldn’t read.
“He’s a great baby,” Gavin said, as if trying to smooth things over. Ben couldn’t figure out why, though. They’d made it clear to Gavin a long time ago that they wanted nothing to do with him. Why be polite to them? “And he’s really smart, ahead of everything on his milestones and stuff.”
Patricia picked James up from her lap and turned him to face her. “That doesn’t surprise me,” she said. “You can see it in his eyes, how inquisitive he is.”
Seriously? She wanted to play doting grandmother when she’d kicked two of her own children out? One of whom was the mother of said grandkid. If the evening didn’t end in bloodshed, if Ben didn’t get hauled away by the cops, it would be a miracle.
Gavin nodded in agreement. “Tina too,” he said. “Did she tell you she graduated?”
Carter still hadn’t looked at Gavin, but he said, “Yes. She mentioned that.” He looked at Tina and then at James. “We’re here to bring her home so we can get this mess sorted out.”
And wasn’t this exactly what Ben had worried about from the start? He wanted to shout called it! But the look on Gavin’s face stopped him.
Carter went on. “We’ve spoken to Brian and his parents. He’s ready to do the right thing.”
Patricia set James back down on her lap then and said to Gavin, “It’s not too late for you, Gavin.” She made his name sound like an insult, though, as if she had a hard time getting it out of her mouth. “There’s a camp in Montana and it… well, it helps with…”
That was it. Ben was done. He didn’t know when he walked closer to Gavin, when he’d put himself between Gavin and his parents, but there he was. “It’s time for you to go,” he said, his voice calm, deadly quiet.
Gavin put his hand on Ben’s arm but didn’t say anything.
Carter spoke, though, as if he hadn’t heard Ben. “You’ve got the devil in you, son. We don’t know how or why, but that’s the truth and deep down, you know it too.”
The asshole still hadn’t looked at Gavin, but he had the nerve to call him son.
Gavin’s grip on Ben’s arm got tighter. Ben nearly shook him off.
“This lifestyle you’ve chosen for yourself…” Carter paused, as if he weren’t sure where to start. “It’s filthy. This kind of sin is an abomination, ugly in the eyes of God.”
“One more word,” Ben said. He couldn’t stop himself, couldn’t stand there and listen to this guy—Gavin’s father—talk to him like that. “One more word and I’ll beat you to death with your own arm.”
Carter heard that. “I’ve got God on my side. I’m not afraid of you.”
“Yeah, well, you should be.” Ben took a step closer, but Gavin was on his feet, holding him back.
“It’s okay, Ben.”
“It’s so not okay, Gav.”
Gavin shook his head. “I’m okay.”