Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
GABE
I put the finishing touches on the part of my living room I’d dubbed Cody’s corner. It was next to a semi-circular area created by the house’s three-story turret. The living room had lots of light from three large windows in the turret and one directly in front. I’d put a few area rugs down on the polished hardwood floor so it would be more comfortable. There was a fireplace that I’d carefully guarded with a heavy cast-iron screen that had a small lock on it to keep Cody out of trouble.
I hoped the little guy would like the play area. I’d gotten a bunch of things I knew he liked, including a Batman playset, a small TV with a DVD player, and a piano keyboard along with a kid-sized comfy chair. I already had all the streaming services a kid could ever want. Nico was probably going to kick my ass for spending so much money, but I wanted Cody to feel like he had a place here with his dad.
I saw Zach’s car pull up through the window in the alcove. I went to the front door and opened it just as Cody came racing up the stairs to the wrap-around front porch. “Mr. Gabe!”
I picked him up and set him on my shoulders while we waited for Nico, Zach, and Miguel to get Nico’s belongings out of the trunk of the car. I knew Nico didn’t have any furniture, just his clothes, toiletries, and some books, so there wasn’t much to carry. He did say his brother Damian was coming by later with some stuff he’d kept in storage for Nico.
Before they all even got in the door, Cody spotted the kid’s corner and demanded to get down so he could look at everything. The little boy chattered excitedly as he examined all the new toys. Nico came to stand beside me. “You got all this for Cody? That was really nice of you. You shouldn’t have spent all that money.”
I just shrugged. “I wanted Cody to feel comfortable here. It sucks when a place has nothing kid-friendly to play with.”
Zach came to stand on my other side. “Wow. This is a nice setup.”
Miguel snorted. “You’re going to get to know all the songs from Encanto .”
Right on cue, Cody asked, “Can I watch a movie, Daddy?”
Nico glanced over at Zach as if to get permission, and it pissed me off that he felt he had to do that. I kept my mouth shut, though, because they had to handle this their way without me interfering. Zach just shrugged and said, “Your call.” That made me feel better.
Nico knelt beside his son. “Sure, little man. What do you want to watch?”
To the surprise of no one, Cody yelled, “ Encanto !”
“Of course,” Miguel murmured.
Nico turned to me. “Do you have the Disney channel?”
I smirked. “I have all the channels.” I picked up the remote for the TV, turned it on, and found the right streaming service. I queued the movie while Cody sat in his new comfy chair, waiting for it to start.
We left him happily singing along while we brought Nico’s things up to his room. I’d put him in the second-largest bedroom, across the hall from my room. His room had a great view of my backyard with all the trees. It would look especially nice in the spring when everything started to bloom.
In addition to the queen-size bed already in the room, I’d added a pair of nightstands, a dresser, and a bookcase so he could have his books upstairs. The closet wasn’t quite a walk-in, but it was pretty big.
Miguel put his hands on his hips. “Wow. Nice room. You even have your own bathroom.”
“Yeah,” I said. “There were originally six smaller bedrooms up here. I had the whole floor plan reconfigured. The two larger bedrooms have their own en suites and the two smaller bedrooms share the common bathroom.”
“Nice,” Zach commented.
Nico was staring around silently. “This is great. I didn’t expect all this.” He met my gaze. “Thank you.”
For a second, I was lost in the aqua depths of his eyes. I internally shook myself. “I wanted you to feel like you really had your own space.”
“Where’s your room?” Miguel asked me.
I gestured toward the hallway. “Just across the hall.”
“Ah. Okay.” Miguel smirked, and he and Zach shared a look.
Oh no. They were not going there. I clapped my hands. “Let’s get this stuff put away.”
It didn’t take long to put Nico’s clothes away, make the bed, and set up his books. Then we all stood there awkwardly. I broke the silence by asking, “How did Cody take the news that you were moving out?”
Nico winced. “Not well. He had a huge meltdown. It took us a while to calm him down.” He shook his head, a wry smile on his lips. “The parenting classes covered stuff exactly like this. We were able to come up with a good solution.”
“That sucks,” I said. “He seems better today.”
Zach nodded. “He felt better after he found out Nico was moving in with you. He knows you live close.”
I did an internal fist pump for scoring a win for both Cody and Nico. “I’m glad I was able to help.”
Miguel chimed in. “We also got him a kid’s tablet he can use for video calls with Nico at bedtime.”
“That’s a great idea,” I said.
“And I’m going to start looking for a used car, so when I get my license back, I can pick him up at preschool sometimes when I’m not working,” Nico added.
“Didn’t you have a car before?” I asked.
A deep frown marred his features. “It got impounded.”
Zach headed toward the bedroom door. “We should probably go downstairs before Cody gets it in his head to start exploring.”
I imagined all the trouble Cody could get into down there, even with some of the things I’d already put in place. “Shit. Good idea.” I was going to have to do some more child-proofing.
Damian arrived around lunchtime with two large suitcases and a heavy-duty backpack. Nico looked like he was going to cry when he saw the backpack. “You saved my tools,” he said hoarsely.
“I saved as much as I could. Mom and Dad tried to get me to let them in, but I wouldn’t give them a key.” He pulled a small box out of his jacket pocket. “I think they were looking for this.” He opened the box to reveal a gold ring with a large square onyx. The sides of the ring were decorated with elaborate scrollwork.
Nico put a hand over his mouth, his eyes shiny with tears. “Papou’s ring.” He pulled his brother into a tight hug and held him for a long time. Both of them were wiping their eyes when they finally separated.
Zach leaned over and asked quietly, “Papou? Is that like grandpa or something?”
I nodded. “That’s exactly right.”
Nico was still choked up when he asked. “What’s in the suitcases?”
Damian took off his coat. “Your clothes and shoes. Your motorcycle boots are in one of them.”
“You have a motorcycle?” Zach and I asked simultaneously.
Nico’s mouth turned down in a frown. “Nah. I sold it to give Allie some money for the baby.”
Zach’s eyes softened and got a little shiny.
“We’ll have to work on getting you another one,” I said.
He shook his head. “Not a priority. I need a car more than a motorcycle. Someday, maybe.”
Zach and I exchanged a look. We’d find a way to get Nico a bike. Between his work as a Harley mechanic and my connections to our veteran’s motorcycle club, we could definitely find a decent bike for Nico. I gestured toward the kitchen. “Damian, join us for lunch? We got a bunch of pizzas.”
“Sounds good to me,” he replied.
We brought the pizza boxes into the living room and lounged around shooting the shit and listening to music. Cody ate his fill of pizza and ended up falling asleep on Nico’s lap. The smile of contentment on Nico’s face touched me in a way I couldn’t describe. I discreetly took a picture and sent it to Marco.
This is what we fight for.
Damn straight.
He’s all moved in.
That was fast.
He doesn’t have much. No furniture, just clothes and books. His brother brought down more clothes and his electrician’s tool bag. You and Liam should stop by if you’re around.
We should be able to do that. I’ll ask Liam. How about I reach out to the rest of the team? We could do a whole welcome party.
Sounds good.
I’ll let you know who’ll be showing up.
Bring beer and snacks.
I looked up from my phone. “Marco and the rest of the team might be stopping by.”
“Nice,” Zach said. “I haven’t seen them in a while.”
Nico glanced over at me with a small smile. “Sounds good.”
We consolidated the leftover pizza into two boxes. I left them on the kitchen table because I knew my teammates would finish it off. Marco and Liam showed up about half an hour after our text conversation. They brought beer and a huge bag of every snack imaginable. Nico, Zach, and Miguel all groaned when Cody caught sight of the brightly colored packages.
Liam realized their error and got one package out to give to Cody and then put the rest out of his reach in the kitchen. Before Cody had time to get upset, Dante came strolling into the living room. It was enough to distract the little boy from his meltdown. I introduced my teammates to Damian, who gave them all a charming smile. I thought I noticed Dante’s gaze linger slightly longer than necessary on Nico’s brother.
I pulled chairs into the living room so everyone had a place to sit. “Are Pete and Andrea coming?” I asked.
Marco shook his head. “They’re away for the weekend.”
We all settled down to chat, eat more pizza, and drink beer. I noticed Nico had turned down a beer and was just sitting quietly, watching everyone else interact. He had moved to the corner of the sofa and his body posture was watchful.
“Dammit,” I murmured to myself. I’d forgotten how Nico felt about crowds. Plus, he was in a new place and hadn’t had time to get used to it. To make it feel like home. At least these were all people he knew.
Thankfully, things wound down pretty early. Marco and Liam left, no doubt to get busy in the bedroom. Dante and Damian left at the same time, and I heard them planning to get a drink somewhere so they could talk more about a place overseas where they’d both spent time. Cody got cranky and remembered Nico wasn’t coming back to Zach and Miguel’s apartment with him. That turned into an epic meltdown that lasted half an hour. They were finally able to remind the little boy about the tablet he could use to video call Nico.
When the front door finally closed, I let out a whoosh of air. Nico had resumed his seat on the sofa, so I went over and sat on the coffee table in front of him. He frowned in confusion, seeing me sitting so close. “I want to apologize,” I began.
The creases in his brow grew deeper. “What for?”
I gestured to the now-empty living room. “I invited a whole bunch of people over without asking you.”
He shrugged. “Oh. Well, it’s your house.”
I shook my head. “It’s your house too.”
“Yeah, okay,” he said, rolling his eyes. “The rent I’m paying you won’t even cover the electric bill.”
“Hey,” I admonished. “That shit doesn’t matter. I offered you a home here. That means you get a say in what goes on. Okay?”
His lips twitched into a smile. “Okay. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I replied. “But you also have to speak up. Let me know if something is making you uncomfortable.”
He nodded. “I’ll try.”
“That’s all I can ask.”
He checked the time on his phone. “I have to go get ready for Cody’s call.”
I rose to get out of his way. “If you want, we can hang out and watch a movie after you’re done with your call.”
His lips curved up in a slow smile. “I’d like that.”