Chapter Fourteen
Taggart
The noise of scraping metal and crunching brought Taggart awake. His eyelids seemed to have gained thirty pounds, and he struggled to lift them to see what was going on. The second it took to register where he was, everything that had happened came crashing back down on him.
Panic made him freeze. The feathers under his fingers fluttered, and his chest expanded as he inhaled deeply, scenting lavender and something else. Relief came at how the air moved into his chest, although his body felt like he’d had a boxing match with a concrete slab.
Soren moved, and his beak pressed against his bounding pulse. The reassurance helped.
“It’s alright, darlin’, Daddy is here.”
He peeled his gritty eyes open looking into Arlo’s worried gaze. “Daddy,” he cried, carefully lifting an arm while holding Soren against him. He wasn’t sure how long he slept after purging whatever he’d swallowed, but he felt weaker than a new-born meerkat.
“I’m right here.” Arlo took his hand and interlaced their fingers. “You gave us a scare.”
“I gave myself a scare,” he rasped past his sore throat. Though he’d take that over the other alternative.
He glanced about and witnessed Cosmo and his daddies cleaning up. “Is it gone?”
Arlo gave him a look he couldn’t interpret as he glanced at the door leading outside, then back to Taggart. “You don’t need to worry about it. He won’t get another chance to hurt you.”
The coldness of his voice made Taggart shiver under the blanket. “Okay,” he murmured, trusting Arlo. He felt bad that folks were cleaning up while he was lying down, only Taggart wasn’t sure his legs would hold him right then.
Don’t worry, darlin’, no one is expectin’ you to do anything after everythin’.
Taggart was grateful for that, but it didn’t make him feel any less feeble as he slowly came up to sitting using Arlo’s hand to anchor himself while Soren tweeted as they moved. His tiny, clawed feet digging in to keep his purchase.
Sitting up, Taggart debated whether he needed to shift, eat or go back to sleep.
“Let me carry you both to the bedroom, and I’ll bring you a tray of goodies.” Arlo deciding allowed his stomach to stop quivering, and he did exactly that, carrying Taggart like he weighed nothing.
Ten minutes later, snuggled in the middle of the bed, Soren having shifted, sat cuddled into his side as Arlo lay a tray over their laps. There were sandwiches cut into squares, fruit chopped into small pieces, chips in a bowl and two sippy cups with juice in.
“Slowly does it, okay? Daddy doesn’t want you to get sick, and your tummy might rebel…”
He didn’t need to explain further when Taggart could recall vividly how awful his tummy had felt while he’d been sick.
He had no clue what they’d done to help make him sick and get the vile out of him, but the mask thing Soren had held close to his face when he’d vomited had worked.
“It’s better now after Soren fixed me.” The more he spoke, the easier it felt, which helped take away the fear of what could have happened to him without Soren’s help.
Death was something he’d given little thought to cocooned in his own little world, hiding behind his computers.
Today had taught him a valuable lesson: none of them were safe until they got the bad people.
“Herbal medicines, I learned about them…” Soren snuggled closer, his body trembling and sniffing. “It’s my fault that thing is here—”
“No, you are not to blame for that… that monstrosity! Those fuckers on the council are the ones to blame for all this.” Arlo kissed Soren and then kissed Taggart. “What happened today just means we have to work smarter to get the answers we need to end this. But my boys need to eat, heal and rest.”
“I’ll make sure Taggart doesn’t overdo it,” Soren murmured softly.
Arlo eyed Soren with a softness coming into his eyes that made Taggart cuddle closer to Soren. “You have to heal too, little bird. You can watch out for each other while Daddy finishes helping with the… clean up.”
The way he said it suggested he didn’t mean the mess the fighting had caused. Taggart’s stomach went back to quivering as he worked to swallow past the ball of fear. “Daddy, be careful. It’s icky and dangerous.”
The solemn look came with a nod. He stroked a hand over Taggart’s head before doing the same to Soren. “I’ll be careful, I promise.” Seconds later he left, closing the door too, but he didn’t shut it completely.
Taggart sagged back against the soft pile of pillows behind him, glancing at Soren. “Thank you for keeping me safe.”
Soren kissed him with a fierceness that left Taggart’s heart pounding, while gentle fingers stroked Taggart’s cheeks. “You did the same for me. We are family, and we have to take care of each other.”
He was right, and Taggart took solace from that as they snuggled and picked at the food slowly while his mind raced with ways to ‘work smarter’ like Arlo needed him to.
He wasn’t sure how much damage had been done to his equipment, but it didn’t matter because one visit to his storage container, where he kept a supply of electronics in case something happened, would fix that.
Thinking smarter, yeah, he could do that. He had to, lives depended on it.
Soren
He could feel his mate sinking into his thoughts, and decided the best thing he could do was distract him.
Arlington’s words, about working smarter and putting an end to the council for good, had no doubt sent his mate’s mind whirling as it filled with ideas and possibilities.
That was okay for tomorrow, but not for today.
Today, Soren wanted to think about a future where there were no icky things coming for them when they were just trying to live their lives.
And speaking of life.
Soren pressed his cheek against Taggart’s shoulder, nuzzled and hugged him a little tighter.
“When I was in the kitchen cooking, I started thinking about the backyard, our wallow and the little garden patch I’m planning to put in.
” Soren lightly stroked his mate’s side as he spoke.
“It’ll be awesome to cook with fresh herbs, especially when I make cheesy stuffed shells and meatballs.
I love the smell of fresh basil and rosemary. ”
“Mmm, cheese stuffed shells and meatballs sound wonderful,” Taggart murmured, licking his lips.
“I’ll make some as soon as I get the kitchen back in working order,” Soren promised. “I’ll even make a loaf of garlic bread to go with it.”
“Yummy.”
“There was something else I was thinking about, for outside,” Soren admitted, holding Taggart’s gaze.
“What’s that?”
“A bird bath fountain big enough that a meerkat could fit too.” Soren grinned widely. “With sweet-smelling flowers all around the base. We can nap in between them and feel the sun warm us while we listen to the wind chimes.”
“There aren’t any wind chimes,” Taggart said with a heavy sigh. “I kept meaning to pick some up, but when I remembered, I couldn’t find any I liked the sound of, then I’d forget about wanting them until I was sitting back there alone, listening to the crickets.”
“Why don’t we pick some out together the next time we pick up supplies,” Soren suggested. “And I’d bet we could make some suncatchers too, if we picked up some things from the craft shop. That way we can watch the colorful light slash across the ground while we sunbathe.”
Taggart’s eyes grew bright and sparkly. “Sounds wonderful.”
The whole time they talked, Soren kept caressing him, wanting to keep his mind on the moment and the outdoor oasis they were planning.
“How hard would it be to plant berry bushes along the fence line, so we’d always have plenty for jam or jelly, or just to snack on?” Taggart asked eagerly.
“Easy, we’d just need to figure out which ones grow the best in this region,” Soren explained. “Then we can pick from there. I can make syrup from them too. And muffins. And cobbler. Lots of yummies, really, especially in the fall. Fresh baked pies, breakfast tarts and Danishes.”
“Stop, stop, stop, you’re makin’ me hungry.”
“I’m making myself hungry, too,” Soren admitted, giggling.
“The best part will be just eating berries fresh off the bush, sun-warmed. You in your meerkat form standing on your hind legs to grab all the ones you can reach. Me perched on a branch, deep in the bush, pecking away at them in between tweets.”
“I’m going to love listening to you sing for me.”
“And I’m going to love tweeting away happily while we enjoy our time out there,” Soren declared.
“It’s gonna happen. Today might have delayed things a little, but we’ll have all of that and more.
I can’t wait to tend to the bushes and flowers and start pruning the herbs in the garden.
It’ll be peaceful being among the plants in any form. ”
“Will you teach me how to care for them, too?” Taggart asked, his brows merging in concentration.
Soren nodded excitedly. “Of course. We can do it together when you’re not busy working.”
“I-I think I might need you to come and find me when you are ready to do it, so I won’t lose whole days in my office, staring at screens. I can’t remember the last time I went outside in the middle of the afternoon just to enjoy the sunshine.”
“Is it because you were lonely and it was easier to get lost in your work than to think about the things you didn’t have?” Soren asked, trying to be both blunt and gentle.
“Definitely. I love my home, but sometimes it was hard to enjoy it when I was by myself.”
“When I came out of the wallow after the attack, the first thing that struck me was the silence,” Soren explained, blowing out a long, slow breath as he continued to snuggle with his mate, soaking up his warmth when the chill wanted to invade with the memory.
“It was never silent there. Kids were always playing along the banks of the wallow, or in it. Laughing, splashing with their little rhino friends or running in and out of the house, tracking footprints everywhere.”