EPILOGUE
March
“Soooo, don’t be mad.”
Thad turned away from his computer where he’d been editing photos and swiveled his desk chair to see Graham peering around Thad’s cubicle wall, his hands behind his back.
Thad raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s not concerning at all,” he said drily.
“I, uh, did something today.”
Thad lifted an eyebrow. “What kind of something?”
“I got you a friend.” Graham thrust something small in his direction.
Thad automatically reached for it, nearly dropping it when he realized it was fluffy and mewing.
“What the fuck?” he said, looking at the small tortoiseshell kitten in his hands.
“Okay, so she was the only one who hadn’t been adopted today, and I felt bad for her.”
They’d done a charity photoshoot today, featuring pets from a local shelter. They’d been cute, but more difficult to wrangle than hockey players. And that was saying something.
Combining Tanner and cats had been a nightmare. Thad definitely wasn’t getting paid enough to deal with that shit more than once a year.
The kitten he currently held had been one of the hellions in question.
“And you got her for me?” Thad asked dubiously as he set her on his knee. She immediately dug in with her needle-sharp claws, and he yelped.
“Shit, sorry. They said she needed a trim.”
“You got me a cat?” Thad prompted because he still wasn’t entirely clear on this situation. What the fuck, Graham?
“Uhh, yeah. So, technically, I adopted her. Actually, technically, neither of us have adopted her yet. Paperwork has to be approved and all that. She’s going back to the shelter in like half an hour and if we—if I’m—approved, we can take her home in a couple of days.”
She clawed her way up Thad’s chest and bumped the top of her head against his chin, demanding attention.
“Why exactly did you do this?” Thad asked, although he was already smoothing a hand down her back. Damn it, he could feel himself weakening.
“Because I thought … I dunno. She reminded me of you, I guess?”
Thad looked her over. “I mean, she’s gorgeous, so I get that part but …”
Graham rolled his eyes. “I meant the attitude. The shelter person called it tortitude. And that made me think Thadditude and …”
Thad snorted.
“So, you got me a cat who reminds you of me,” Thad repeated with a lift of his eyebrow.
“Uhh yeah?” Graham suddenly looked uneasy.
Thad cradled the kitten against his chest and rose to his feet, deciding to put his boyfriend out of his misery. He carried her over to Graham, then pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thanks.”
Graham blinked. “You’re … okay with it? Because if you’re not, she can live with me, and you can have visitation. I wasn’t sure if you could have pets at your place or not.”
“I’m never at my place anymore anyway,” Thad reminded him.
Graham swallowed. “Yeah, about that?”
“What about it?” Thad lifted his eyebrows.
“I was thinkingyouandthecatcouldmoveinwithme.”
Thad blinked. “Try again but slower. I would swear you said I could move in with you.”
“And the cat,” Graham offered, reaching out to pet her.
“Can’t forget the cat,” Thad muttered, briefly glancing down.
She meowed. Loudly.
Graham’s expression turned uneasy.
“Sorry. This is probably a lot. I probably fucked this up big time. I’ve …
I’ve never wanted anyone to move in with me, and I thought about getting her, then I thought about you and me and the cat and Murphy and …
” He took a deep breath. “I want that. And if it’s too soon or you’re not ready, that’s fine.
I know you—you might need some time to adjust to the idea.
But if you want it, the offer’s open whenever you’re ready.
And if you aren’t ever ready for it, we can talk about that too. ”
Thad thought about all the reasons why it probably was too soon and why he wasn’t the easiest guy to live with and that he’d probably fuck this all up somehow, then he thought about how far he’d come in the past year and a half since he got hired by the Harriers.
And frankly, he wanted it anyway, because he could picture that life.
He could see Graham sitting cross-legged on the couch wrapped up in a throw blanket with Murphy perched next to him as they watched TV. Thad sprawled out nearby with the cat draped over his chest.
He could see Graham setting out plates while Thad cooked and the dog barked and the cat tried to climb up Thad’s leg like she’d done during the photoshoot earlier.
He could picture the four of them sprawled on the bed taking a nap.
And it was … fuck, it was tempting.
The thought scared Thad shitless for a moment because what if he did fuck it up? What if he wasn’t ready for it? Even though he was forty-two and still didn’t have his shit together.
But … maybe he did now? Maybe this was the start of him having his shit together. A great job, a boyfriend he lived with, a cat … maybe a real fucking life wasn’t so far out of reach.
Maybe this was Thad’s shot at finally having the kind of comfortable life he’d thought had passed him by.
He’d never be an NHL player. He couldn’t erase the years in prison.
But he did belong here in Boston.
Belonged here with his brother’s organization.
With Graham and his stupid dog and a cat who’d probably never give Thad a day’s peace in his life. Maybe he could wake up to them every day and it would be enough.
It would be good. He could be happy.
“Yeah,” Thad said roughly, cutting off whatever Graham was still rambling about. “Yeah. Let’s do it. Let’s adopt this little shit and live together.”
“Yeah?” Graham’s face lit up. “You mean it?”
“I mean it.” Thad reached out and squeezed his hand. “Why not?”
What did he have to lose?
And more importantly, what could he gain?
Peace. Stability. Happiness.
Those were worth fighting for. Only this time it didn’t feel so much like fighting.
It felt like letting out a tightly held breath and allowing the fight to drain out of him. It felt like comfort and ease.
It felt like he was finally free.
Thank you so much for reading Delayed Penalty! I hope you enjoyed Graham & Thad’s story.