Epilogue Two
SIX MONTHS LATER
“Kade, baby. Are you ready?” Ram asked as he yawned so big his jaw popped. Last night hadn’t been a good one. Nightmares and pain had plagued Kade, making it almost impossible for him to settle down. He’d hated to see his boy in so much pain. The nerve damage in Kade’s body rendered most medications ineffective once he reached a certain point.
“Yeah,” Kade mumbled, shuffling out of the bedroom.
Ram winced. His boy looked rough as hell. White eyes bloodshot, his tanned skin pale and sallow. Even his hair was limp and rough. “We can reschedule if needed, baby. I don’t want you pushing yourself.”
Kade shook his head and then grimaced and rubbed his fingers over his temples. “No, I just want to get this done and then I won’t have to worry about it anymore.” Valk chose that moment to hobble up to Kade and press his ample girth against Kade’s leg.
Ram rolled his eyes. He really needed to talk to Sanem about over feeding Valk. He was getting way too chunky for only three legs. “Kade, baby. We’re going to get a new puppy. Do you think that’s the best thing to do right now?” He’d finally been able to talk Kade into being paired with another service dog. He’d assured his boy, as Kade had sobbed into his chest, that he could keep Valk and that the big baby wasn’t going anywhere.
Kade sighed and rubbed at his eyes. “I just wanna get it over with.”
Ram could hear the hitch in Kade’s voice and gently pulled him close. “I know you do, baby, but not at the expense of your health. I can always ask Owen if he can bring the pup by.” Kade nodded. That made the decision. “I’m going to go run you a hot bath and then I want you to soak for a while to see if that will help while I call Owen.”
Kade lifted his head from Ram’s chest. “But…”
“Mercy…” Ram grumbled before he bent his knees a little so he could speak directly into Kade’s ear. “You’re gonna be a good boy for me and go get ready for your bath. When you’re done, you’ll get a reward.” He tried to let Kade know the picture when he asked him to do something and he was in so much pain.
“Do I get to choose?” Kade asked softly.
Ram gently ran his hand through Kade’s hair as he tilted his head back to kiss those gorgeous lips. “Yes, you’ll get to choose what you want for your reward. Now go get ready.” He gently nudged Kade in the direction of the bedroom as he followed to start the bath. Once he had Kade soaking, he quietly left the room to call Owen.
“Everything okay, Ram?” Owen asked instead of a greeting.
“Kade’s having a rough go of things. I was wondering if you’d be able to bring the pup to us so I don’t have to get him out of the house.”
“Of course,” Owen answered immediately. “Just give me about an hour and I’ll be by.”
Ram breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Owen. I really appreciate this.”
“Not a problem. Take care of your man, and I’ll send you a text when I’m on my way.”
“Sounds good. Thanks, Owen.” He hung up and headed to check on Kade. While his boy’s coloring looked better, he still looked exhausted. He gently ran his fingers through Kade’s hair before bending to kiss his forehead. His boy had relaxed more in the months since he’d officially taken a step back from his business. His hair was longer, and his beard thicker, but most of all, his eyes were happier. He couldn’t express the amount of joy he felt seeing Kade flourish now that he had his brothers back and he wasn’t working himself into the ground. Thankfully, days like today where Kade was in so much pain were few and far in between, but it always made his heart hurt when the day came. Ram let Kade soak for a bit, refilling the hot water when it became too cold. He helped Kade out of the bath, glad to see that some of the stiffness was now gone, but he could still see his boy was exhausted. He helped Kade dress in some sweatpants and a hoodie before leading him to the couch. While Kade laid on the couch and got comfortable, he got out the migraine hat and a few ice packs to wrap up. Ram got Kade settled with the ice packs and turned the TV on low and then went to make them some breakfast. He kept it light, making them some bagels smothered in cream cheese, when he got the text from Owen letting him know he was on his way. He was excited for Kade. Neither of them had met the new pup. The pup, a year old Cane Corso, had been taken in by Owen after the passing of the veteran who had been paired with him. He settled in next to Kade and handed over his breakfast. “Owen’s on his way to drop off the pup,” he said through a mouthful of food.
Kade grunted in acknowledgement as he shoved half the bagel in his mouth.
They sat in silence after they finished eating until there was a knock on the door.
“Hey, Owen.” He greeted, grinning as he knelt to say hello to the newest member of his family. “And hello to you too, gorgeous.” He let the pup sniff him a little before he petted him. He was gorgeous, all legs in his young puppy stage but he’d fill out as he got older. His beautiful gray coat was soft and shiny and his intelligent blue eyes seemed to smile at him. “Baby, come say hi.” He held his hand out for Kade, snapping his fingers so Kade could find him.
Kade sighed, but knelt down next to Ram and was immediately greeted by warm puppy breath as a grossly wet tongue licked his face. “Gross,” he grumbled, ruffling the pup’s cropped ears. “He’s cropped and docked?”
Owen nodded. “Yeah, the original owner was going to put him in sports and service work. It’s always good to have the ears and tail professionally picked beforehand. A lot of dogs get their ears and tail ripped off by accident and that’s a pain to get fixed.” He patted the pup’s side as he came back to say hi. “I don’t recommend it for just a regular pet but for a working dog I do believe in professionally getting them cropped and docked. It can save the dog a lot of pain in the future.”
Kade nodded. “What’s his name?”
Owen chuckled. “The older owner just called him baby, so he doesn’t have a name. Do you have one picked out?”
Kade ran his hands over the pup’s body, doing his best to try and picture him in his mind.
“He’s a solid blue gray, with blue eyes,” Owen told him softly.
“Valor,” Kade said immediately and was instantly covered in doggy kisses.
Ram chuckled as Valor tackled his boy to the ground to lick him. His heart warmed when he heard Kade’s giggle. “I think he likes that name.”
After a bit, Ram led Owen to the door. “Thanks again for bringing him.”
Owen grinned at him. “You’re welcome. Tell Kade I hope he feels better, and just let me know when you’re ready to start training.”
Ram nodded and hugged Owen as he left. “Will do.” Ram sat back on the couch and watched as Kade introduced Valk and Valor and it was like they’d been friends their whole lives.
Kade joined Ram on the couch and soon heard a pair of snores coming from the corner. “Did they fall asleep together?”
Ram chuckled. “Yeah, they did. Valor is using Valk as a pillow.”
Kade scoffed. “Of course he is.” He sighed deeply and leaned into Ram.
Ram threw an arm over Kade’s shoulders. “Are you feeling better?”
Kade hummed and nuzzled his face into Ram’s chest. “A little. I’m still sore, but it’s not as bad as it was this morning.”
Ram nodded and took a deep breath before he spoke. “I wanted to ask you a question… well two, actually.”
Kade smacked his lips as he yawned. “Shoot,” he mumbled.
Ram was sure Kade could feel his heartbeat pick up as he swallowed hard. “Well… you know that I love you very much.”
Kade hummed in agreement. “I love you too.”
Ram smiled widely. He’d never get over hearing those words out of his boy’s mouth. He pulled Kade closer to him. “Will you marry me?”
Kade’s head shot up, his brows furrowing. “Is that one of the questions or just a random thought?”
Ram cleared his throat. “One of the questions… the other is, will you move in with me? We can add on to the cottage if you want more space.”
Kade grinned at him. “That’s a little backward, don’t you think?”
Ram grunted and pinched Kade’s ass for his sass.
“Ow!” Kade yelped through his laughter.
“I was trying to be all romantic and shit… but nooo,” Ram said, dragging out the last syllable, “You just had to be a dick about it.”
Kade snorted into Ram’s neck as he settled back into his arms. He sighed deeply and relaxed, giving Ram all his weight as he yawned. “The answer is yes.”