10. Chapter 9
Chapter 9
A s always, I had one eye on my children while the rest of my brain paid attention to the adult present exchange. Not that it was necessary. The kids were enjoying their gifts, entertaining themselves just fine. Besides, there were tons of other people, most especially their mother, to watch out for them right now. But it was a habit I didn’t see breaking any time soon.
Not that I was actually paying that close attention to the gift exchange either. My mind was stuck on something else, which was ridiculous because it didn’t warrant the brain time. Except I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that if Felix said he was too old for Oak, then I was definitely too old, since I had at least five years on him. I knew Oak had celebrated his twenty-first birthday at the end of summer, which gave us a fourteen-year age gap. I was far too old for him.
Which really shouldn’t matter. I was barely out of a twelve-year relationship, had just moved across the country, and started a new job. More than that, I was barely bisexual, hardly ever attracted to men, and that in and of itself hadn’t happened since early college days. I wasn’t interested in any relationship right now. My focus should be entirely on my children and our new life.
And yet, I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Oak blushed or how he’d practically melted into my arms during the “mistletoe hug”.
“Law?”
I blinked and focused back on the table, seeing all the expectant eyes on me. “Yes? What?”
Charlie’s brows scrunched together. “Do you have Mary’s gift? You mind seemed to be wandering and no one—”
“Yes, sorry,” I answered hastily, glad I was past the days when my cheeks heated from embarrassment. I turned and grabbed the wrapped present I’d set on the table behind me. I made sure to hand it over with a flourish and staunchly ignored my brother’s questioning gaze. “Merry Christmas, Mary.”
She grinned as she took the package from me, opening it with precision so as not to tear the wrapping. When she lifted the lid, she teared up and placed a hand to her mouth. I knew the moment that Teague told me who I had in the gift exchange—he’d proxied for Caitlyn and I, since we’d still been in Arizona and he was organizing it—exactly what I wanted to get for her.
Mary lifted the sign I’d had customized, and turned it so everyone could see it as she read it out loud, “’My favorite people call me Grams.’ Oh, Law. This is lovely.”
I cleared my throat. “Well, we’re lucky to have Grams in our life.”
There was a round of “awws” and I couldn’t help but chuckle. When Mary interrupted the proceedings to scurry around the table, I met her with a tight hug. Then she patted my cheek and shooed me back into my seat. “Your turn.”
I looked around expectantly, but then my gaze landed on Teague. I didn’t know him well enough to know all his expressions yet, but the one he was wearing now was decidedly mischievous. I glared him down, but he didn’t relent. A moment later, smirk still in place, he handed over a brightly wrapped box. I eyed him suspiciously as I took it, but didn’t waste time in opening it.
I didn’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t what I got. A locally published history of Fairville sat on top, and a quick flip through showed pictures and lots of facts. Setting it aside, I was shocked to see a Victorinox Swiss Champ Swiss army knife. I didn’t know a lot about it, but it had every imaginable feature. I was impressed with the craftsmanship, and knew the multi-tool would come in handy. The last thing was a tiny plush Blue from Blue’s Clues. And it was the last thing that clued me in to the meaning of the whole present.
Teague was both welcoming me to town, hoping I would get to know it and love it as much as he did. He was equipping me with everything I needed to be successful. And he was also, albeit playfully, letting me know that the bond I had with my brother was special, and he understood it. It took me a second before I was able to speak.
I caught his gaze and held it. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Teague’s smile was huge; he knew I understood, and he nodded just once. Then he put his arm around Charlie and pulled my brother close. I got that too. Teague was the one who had assumed responsibility for Charlie's happiness. I was the backup now.
I was surprisingly okay with that.
The tension sat heavy for a few seconds, not bad, just thick, until Teague gave a little wiggle and held out his hand to Nic. “Gimme gimme!”
“Never gets,” she sassed back, but she stood to retrieve a large gift bag and handed it over. Teague made a show of pulling the tissue paper out, and then laughed a booming sound as he peered inside. Instead of pulling things out one at a time, he turned it over and dumped out the contents.
The way Charlie groaned while smiling while Teague pawed through the truly impressive pile of snack foods and chocolate, let me know that Teague probably did not need that much sugar. But Teague was absolutely thrilled, and Nic was just as pleased.
The noise drew the attention of the kids, and all three ran over to see what was going on. This set off a round of show and tell. Dana showed off the set of Mason Cash mixing bowls she’d gotten from Mary, Sean had to admonish Tristan not to touch the whittling set from Caitlyn, while Marlie was intrigued by the pink Littman stethoscope Uncle Charlie had gotten her mother. Harper of course, gravitated toward Charlie, and was leaning against his side, admiring the faux leather duster Dana had given him.
I should have been absorbed in the happy chaos around me, but instead, my gaze was drawn time and again to Oak. He was fidgeting and he opened his mouth several times but closed it before speaking. Since he was sitting on the other side of Caitlyn, who was next to me, I leaned back in my chair, waited for him to glance my way, and raised my brows.
“You okay?” I murmured.
Oak’s eyes went wide, and after a second, he nodded. I kept staring and a moment later, he said, almost in a whisper, “I need to make an announcement.”
I didn’t hesitate, sitting straight again and letting out a whistle. The kids knew that sound and went still, Caitlyn chuckled, but everyone else stared at me. I grinned. “The floor’s yours, Oak.”
As one, all attention turned to Oak, and heat blazed up his cheeks. He licked his lips and then rocked onto one hip, not quite able to meet anyone’s gaze, as he dug his wallet out of his back pocket. I slid my chair back an inch, ready to stand, unsure of where the urge to comfort him came from.
“I, uh. I have one more present.” Oak’s gaze was solidly on his wallet as he flipped it open. He stared at it for a long moment, then slid something out and handed it to his grandmother. Mary’s brows scrunched together for a second, then her eyes went wide.
“Oak! Oh, honey. This is wonderful!” She shoved whatever it was at Sean, and then scampered around the table to envelope her oldest grandkid in the tightest of hugs.
I watched Sean, saw his eyes go misty, and then he handed the thing to Teague to go join in the hug. Teague crowed when he saw it. “Hell yeah! You’re a Mulligan now!”
Teague passed it on to Charlie, which I now guessed was Oak’s license, and Charlie cradled it in reverently his hands. “Just Oak now?”
It took a few minutes before Oak could answer, being swallowed in hugs as he was. When he managed to extricate himself from his uncle’s embrace, he nodded, that blush still present. “Oakley Young was…someone else. Oak Mulligan is who I am, and who I want to be.”
More congratulations went around, and I got distracted having to explain to Marlie and Tristan what exactly was going on. Harper understood it well enough. Regan scraped their chair back as they stood, hustling toward the dessert table, muttering something about how they wished they would have known so they could have made a proper celebratory dessert. It took a while for the new chaos to die down but once I got the kids settled with Uncle Charlie and Aunt Regan, eating their desserts, I looked around.
I was filled with absolute joy, knowing that this was our family by choice. People like the Mulligans were rare, at least in my life. But they’d taken us in with open arms, claiming us as our own. Charlie was that connection point, but now the Caldwells and the Mulligans, as well as Dana and Nic, were thoroughly enmeshed in love and support. As I took it all in, my heart was simply brimming over.
And that’s when I noticed Oak was absent.
I made a circuit, just to make sure I wasn’t missing him somehow. But he definitely wasn’t in the dining room, which was a large enough space, but was only filled with fifteen people. He wasn’t in the kitchen either. I checked to make sure the children were still good, and then I moseyed out of the dining room and into the lobby, carefully side stepping the mistletoe that hung there.
I didn’t see him in the lobby either, and was beginning to wonder if he’d escaped back to his cabin. But then I heard the tiniest noise. At first I thought it was Salem, who I knew was in his office crate as there was enough chaos without the little void demon running around. But then I realized it was murmured words, which I knew couldn’t be the cat.
As I neared the office, I saw the top of Oak’s head through the window. He was sitting on the floor, Salem’s crate door was open, and the cat was purring on Oak’s lap. I rapped gently on the window, not wanting to startle him, but Oak jumped anyway. Using the tips of my fingers, I was able to crack the sliding glass open a bit.
“You all right?”
“Sure.”
Liar. I didn’t have to know him well to know that was a baldfaced lie. I contemplated letting him have it though, knowing it wasn’t my place to push or intrude. But I couldn’t just let it go. Something in his eyes called to me, and I had to make sure he was okay.
“Can I come in?”
Oak stared at me for a second, then shrugged one shoulder and dropped his gaze to the cat. I took that as permission enough and opened the office door, squeezing through the gap and closing it quickly behind me. Salem looked content enough where he was, but I wouldn’t put it past him to try to sneak out. And there was far too much open food for the kitten to be wandering around.
I nearly tripped over Steve, who did little more than lift his massive head before laying down again with a sigh. He was up against the side of the crate, and his movement drew Salem’s attention. The kitten stood, stretched, and then hopped off to pounce on the dog. Steve didn’t even stir.
“Overwhelmed?”
Oak glanced at me from the corner of his eye, then started picking at the frayed cuff of his jeans. It looked like they were baggy on purpose, and the cuffs had drag wear on them. “I’m fine.”
Again, I almost accused him of lying. But instead I decided to just go with the fact that we both knew it wasn’t the truth. I grabbed Charlie’s chair, slid it over so I still kept a respectable distance between us, and sat.
“What can I do to help?”
“Nothing.” The petulance in his tone was a little irritating, but I had to remind myself he was only twenty-one and had a lot going on, especially in the past few years.
“Hey.” I waited until he looked up at me before continuing. “I’m a good listener. No judgment. Maybe I can help.”
It took him a few minutes, but he didn’t drop his gaze, and finally he sighed like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. “I love everyone in that room. To the moon and back. Hell, I changed my name because I wanted theirs instead of the one I was born with.”
I was starting to get an idea of what this was about. “I know. They do, too.”
“But my parents are shitheads, and I miss my brothers and sisters. Even fucking Rudy, the little snitch.” There was a world of pain in those words, and it was all I could do not to reach out and pull him into my arms, hugging him for all I was worth to try to soothe that. He chuckled, but it lacked all mirth. “You know something about shitty parents, huh?”
“Yeah.” I slid a little closer, unable to stop myself, the wheels making it easy.
“It’s weird,” Oak continued, sounding like he was mostly talking to himself. “I’m super happy about my life now. But I’m also super sad.”
Somehow I’d gotten close enough to nudge him with my foot. I wasn’t sure how that happened. “Beauty of complex human emotions.”
Oak snorted. “Uncle Teague said something like that to me before.”
“Yeah, well. I guess he has his moments.” I smiled at that. I liked Charlie’s boyfriend, and I couldn’t wait to get to know him better. I had a feeling he was Charlie’s true love, and Teague wouldn’t be going anywhere for a long while. If ever. “For what it's worth, I’m sorry your parents treated you like they did. And I’m happy you’re here now, kid.”
Oak snapped his head up, his eyes blazing. “I’m not a kid.”
I held up my hands in surrender. “You’re right. You’re not. I’m sorry.”
“What are you even doing here?” he grumbled, gaze skittering from mine.
“Here in town? Or in this office?” I chuckled, even though it wasn’t that funny. “Look, I saw you were missing and thought you might need a friend to check on you. That’s all.”
“I said I’m fine.”
And that’s when I hit the breaking point. I could understand his snarly attitude, but that didn’t give him the right to take it out on me. I stood, ready to leave him to his moping when he clearly didn’t want help. But as I did, something flashed across his face, just a split second of worry or fear, and my resolve disappeared.
“You want a hug?” I asked and his mouth dropped open, surprise all over his face. “Sometimes a good hug fixes what ails us. At least for a moment.”
He was going to say no, it was clear. And I resolved myself to walking out of the office and letting him be, even though everything in me screamed to fix it. I couldn’t. No one could. So I would just have to resign myself to that fact. But then Oak jumped to his feet and nodded, and I immediately wrapped him into my arms, hugging him tightly, squeezing him with the deep pressure I knew helped Charlie.
It took a few seconds, but then he relaxed into my hold, giving me his weight, clinging on like I was a life line. I held him, letting him take what he needed, and staunchly ignoring how good he felt in my arms.