Chapter Nineteen
Cody
Cody followed TJ inside Toni and Carter’s house, and winced when he heard a girl scream “Papa!” Quickly followed by one of the boys shouting, “Dad’s here!” A girl with tumbling dark locks came running at TJ and threw herself into his arms, squealing, “Papa,” again. So this was Macy.
A lanky blond-haired boy, no, not a boy, teenager, walked around the corner and smiled at TJ, then stared at Cody.
Cody saw the frown, the way he looked like he knew Cody but couldn’t quite place him.
He wouldn’t, really. He’d been a kid when he last saw Cody, and Cody had looked far different then.
“Arthur, right? You’ve shot up since I last saw you.”
Arthur continued to stare at him, then mumbled, “Cody?”
“Yeah and I’ve grown too. I’m taller than your dad now.”
“When did you get back? Have you seen the new Zombie game? Mom won’t let me have it because I’m not old enough.” Arthur rolled his eyes. “Have you played it?”
Cody grinned at TJ, who stood shaking his head at Arthur. “Arthur! Is that it?”
“Well, he’s here, so he’s alive and he looks okay, so zombies or military?”
“Isn’t there a game with both?” Cody followed Arthur into the living room, waved at Toni, who was struggling to stand, then went into the family room. “I haven’t played on a console in years.”
“What have you been doing?” Arthur sat and picked up the controller, then shouted, “Lincoln! Cody’s here.
He’s back from the dead!” Cody burst out laughing.
They didn’t care that he’d been gone for four years.
“You can watch me if you haven’t played in a while.
Don’t want you to get me killed. I spent hours getting this far in the game. ”
TJ walked in with Macy balanced on his hip and Toni next to him. “Hey Toni. Hi Macy! You were a baby when I last saw you and your mom and dad hadn’t picked a name yet.”
Macy stuck her thumb in her mouth, her dark hair curling over her shoulders.
Cody noticed they had the same shape eyes, similar color, too.
The Paarman genes running through them, only he wasn’t a Paarman anymore, and he had no regrets changing his name.
When he’d made the decision to come back for TJ he’d known who he wanted to share a name with.
Carter came in from the kitchen and Lincoln pushed past everyone. He stood next to Cody, looked him up and down, then looked at the monitor and shouted, “Behind you! Shoot him!” Jumping up and down, he pointed to the monitor. “He’s going to kill you!”
Cody grinned. “It’s great to be here.”
“They’re not usually so rude when we have guests.” Carter gave the boys a stern look.
“He’s family.” Arthur shot something on the game, then fist bumped his brother. “Take that, you piece of…poop.”
“Oh, good catch,” Cody murmured.
Arthur grinned. “I’ve had to change them all. Like they don’t swear around us, but we’re not allowed to swear around them because we’re kids.” He rolled his eyes again, then hit Lincoln when he tried to take his controller. “Get lost. You’ve got your own.”
Toni sighed. “Want a drink, Cody?”
“Water, please.” Cody stood and walked over to TJ, smiling at Macy. “Hey Macy. I like your hair. It looks like mine and we have the same eyes too. Look.” Cody pointed to his eyes. “Your dad and Cass are brothers.”
“Unc Cass your daddy?”
“Hmm.” Cody gave her a closed lip smile. “Yeah. Something like that.”
“Come through to the kitchen.” Arthur and Lincoln screamed at the monitor. Carter stared at them, sighed, and shook his head. “We’ll be able to talk in there because these two don’t know how to behave in front of guests.”
“They’re family, so we don’t have—Kill it! Shoot it more!”
Cody tickled Macy, earning a small giggle, and then she held her arms out and next thing he knew, he was holding her. So small and light, but she stared up at him with wide blue eyes and Cody couldn’t help but smile at her. “What do you like to drink?”
“Choccy milk.”
“Oh, the good stuff. I like vanilla milkshakes best.”
Macy shook her head, her curls bouncing around her shoulders. “Choccy milk is best.”
“Macy, get off him. Let Cody sit down.” Macy stuck her thumb in her mouth, looked at Cody, then nestled her head on his chest. At that moment, Cody had a vision of him and TJ with a little girl of their own, and quickly shoved it away. No chance that was happening. Well, not for a very long time.
Sitting where Toni indicated, Cody juggled Macy until he found a comfortable position to hold her.
Placing his water in front of him, Toni stroked his hair, then Macy’s.
“Child friendly words, please.” Pulling the chair out for her, Carter waited until she sat and rested a hand on her extended stomach.
“How are you feeling?” TJ asked.
“Much better than I was. Thanks for helping out. I know you’ve had a lot going on with work.” Toni sighed and ran a hand over her belly. “I’ll be glad when I give birth, and we are absolutely not having any more. I am done.”
“Want me to have the kids this weekend? I know things got all mixed up.”
“You had what, two weekends off in how long? And you had the three of them and you were working all those hours as well. At least things have slowed down a little.”
“I’m here now.” Cody moved Macy slightly, but she didn’t react. “I don’t mind having the kids when TJ is working.”
“I look at you and remember the surly teenager, then you say something like that, and it reminds me you’ve grown up.” Toni smiled. “I’m glad you came back. I might have said that once or twice.”
Carter leaned his forearms on the table. “What we discussed the other night? I spoke to him, and he didn’t deny it.”
“You should try living it,” Cody stated flatly. “He has perfected the image so well no one can see what he’s really like underneath. Cassie seemed unhappy.”
“They want the best for her and have decided what she should do when she graduates high school.”
“Because that worked so well with me.” Cody winced as he moved Macy. When she didn’t react, he looked down at her, seeing her sleeping face. “She is a cute little girl.”
“Here. I’ll put her down for a short nap, then we can really talk.” Carter took her and carefully placed her head on his shoulder. TJ opened the door and then closed it once Carter had gone through.
“We’ll wait for Carter before we discuss anything, but how is it between the two of you?” Toni grinned. “You look good together.”
“I think TJ is still adapting to the fact that I’m not a child and we have sex.”
“Cody!” TJ snapped, then dropped his head into his hand when Cody winked at him. “Why?”
“We share a bed, and we won’t be able to hide it when the kids are over. Children grow up faster nowadays, or so I’m told. Mama thinks kids should be kids, but the internet.” Cody shrugged.
“I can’t wait to meet this Mama and Jed. They sound like such nice people, and they looked after you.” Toni giggled at TJ, who mumbled something at the table.
Carter came in and put a monitor on the table, then sat next to Toni. Cody glanced at TJ, who had now lifted his head and sat watching him. “It’s your life, so it’s your decision.”
Cody nodded. “I’m going to tell you some things, and you need to let me get through it all before you say anything.”
“It’s bad, isn’t it?” Toni whispered. “That’s why you wouldn’t go into details when we had tea.”
“Fuck, Cody.” Carter leaned back in his chair, eyes closed. Opening them, he nodded. “Okay.”
Cody glanced at TJ, who reached out and took his hand.
A few deep breaths and he gave them the glossed-over version.
The detailed one was for TJ only, but he told them enough, so they knew what he’d gone through.
When he’d finished, Toni was holding back tears and Carter’s hands were curled into fists.
“I want to see them,” Toni whispered, her voice wavering. “I want to see what they did to you.”
Cody swallowed, nodded, then stood. Turning around, he pulled his T-shirt up, heard the gasps, then let it fall back down.
Sitting down, he gave them a small smile.
“I told TJ I had to go through it to find me, and I mean it. I wouldn’t be alive if this hadn’t happened.
I would be dead. I almost did die, but I had something to live for. ”
“I wish you’d come to us and told us what Cass was doing.” Toni shook her head, wiped her cheeks, then exhaled. “You’re here now and staying. You’re not leaving again.”
“I’m here for good. I had a reason to come back.”
Carter glanced at TJ, who fidgeted in his chair.
“And you got him.” Carter paused, and Cody knew him well enough to know he was deciding what to say and how to say it.
“We can’t change the past, but know regardless of how you see Cass, I—we consider you family.
You’re welcome here anytime you want. You’ll always have a place here if you need it. ”
“I don’t think Cody wants to leave TJ.”
“And I don’t feel awkward at all with this conversation.” TJ looked at the three of them, then away. “Need any help with the cooking? Cleaning? Anything?”
“Nice attempt to change the subject, but it’s not going to work.” Toni squeezed TJ’s hand. “I’m happy for you, and if anyone mentions the age of Cody, they can go fuck themselves.”
Cody laughed. “I think the same way.”
“I’m so glad you’re all in agreement,” TJ muttered. “I’m…” TJ shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t worry about it. Sure, they’ll talk, then something else will happen and they’ll gossip about that. If you do it now, then when I have the baby, we can talk about my horrific birth. They’ll stop then.”
“Is this something I should know?” Carter mused. “Should we plan it all out, so we’ll have our stories straight?” He kissed Toni, who beamed up at him. “Do I faint, and you had to hop off the table to help me recover?”
Toni’s eyes widened. “Or you hit your head and had a concussion and almost missed the birth?”
“I’m so glad this amuses you,” TJ grumbled. “Not like they’ll be saying, ‘Oh, look at him with that young man. Aren’t they related? Do you think he groomed Cody?’”
“I’ll tell them to get stuffed,” Toni muttered. “You know this place. Give them a couple of weeks and they’ll be talking about someone else.” Toni stood and rubbed her lower back. “Carter cooked, so if you get food poisoning, blame him.”
“Thanks love.” Carter stood behind her and rubbed her shoulders. “Sit. We’ll deal with it.”
Carter looked at both Cody and TJ. “We’ll bring everything in, then call the kids. We can save some for Macy. She’s still recovering from that cold.”
Toni grunted. “Yeah, we’ve not had it easy here, but I’m almost back to normal. And Carter is having the snip.” Cody laughed while Carter groaned. “I am not going through this again, and by the time I give birth, it will have been the fourth time. No more.”
“I’m more than happy with our extended family.” Carter kissed Toni. “Relax. We’ve got this.”
Cody jumped up and helped carry the food in, then called the boys.
They all sat at the table and talked about what was happening, and Cody had missed this.
Being around Toni and Carter, lusting after TJ—not that he had to do that anymore, but to him, this was how a family should be. This was what he had with Mama and Jed.
They left later than planned, and Cody spent the rest of the night showing TJ why having a younger man was so beneficial. TJ had no complaints by the time sleep took over, and neither did Cody, because he finally had TJ.