Chapter Twenty-Nine
Miles
Lyric had to order a ton of supplies to fix their home up for the baby griffin, and since a lot of them needed to be delivered, we’d had to wait to help them. We were going over to their house after work a few days this week, and then we’d spend the entire weekend helping them.
Winter and I decided to have a lazy day on the couch for once—I couldn’t remember the last time we hadn’t had a jam-packed weekend schedule—so we picked a long TV series to binge, and I went to the kitchen to grab as many snacks as I could carry.
Win ran up to the bathroom while I rifled through the pantry.
I grabbed the bag of big marshmallows and froze. It felt… hard.
Fuuuck.
With a sigh, I examined the bag, and sure enough, there was a hole in it.
What. The. Actual. Hell.
Did Win really not know how to close up marshmallows correctly? I told him where all the chip clips were.
Ugh.
I really wanted a damn marshmallow.
After chucking the bag in the trash, I grabbed the rest of the snacks and headed to the living room.
Win was already sitting down. I opened my mouth to ask him about the damn marshmallows, but he was on the edge of the loveseat with a cat wand toy in his hand, making Odin run around in circles while he giggled.
Giggled.
That giggle made me stop in my tracks and stare.
It was adorable. Holy crap.
I set down my haul, covering the coffee table with snacks, and sat down for the long haul.
The second my butt hit the couch, Winter dropped the toy and moved over to sit beside me. He pulled me in close, and I settled into his side. I ended up with my back against his chest and side so I could lean my head against his shoulder and still watch the show without being at an awkward angle.
It was nice, this calm peacefulness I always felt when he touched me. This warmth inside my chest from the care and affection he showed.
We even had all three animals hanging out with us.
Goliath was on the couch on my other side, lying on my feet—something he did often and made Winter smile. The first few times, he’d tried to get the Great Dane off me, but once he realized I didn’t mind, he was amused.
Sola was on her perch, playing with a ball and bell concoction that was hanging from a string.
Winter had bought it for her last week, and it was now her favorite toy in the whole house.
I was pretty sure she only liked it that much because it was from her favorite person—well, second favorite if you counted me.
And Odin was in Winter’s lap, curled up in a ball, asleep but still purring. He’d also taken a liking to my boyfriend. Win had bought him some toys and treats over the past few months, so he was his new best friend.
Not to be outdone, I’d been buying Goliath things too, which was probably why the giant liked to lie on my feet all the time, or sit so he was leaning against me. It was super sweet, and I kinda loved it.
Sitting here with Win and the three of them felt like… home.
Yes, we were technically in my house, but having them here with me somehow made the place feel even homier.
I wasn’t sure how else to explain this feeling of contentment I felt down to my marrow.
A knock on the door interrupted our peacefulness, making me startle so bad that I scared Goliath, and he almost fell off the couch.
“Oh my god, sorry, Golly.” I hopped up, and Winter smacked my ass as he reached for the remote to pause our show.
When I peeked out the peephole, I was surprised to find Aeson standing there. “It’s Aeson,” I called over as I opened the door. “Hey, Ace, you okay?”
The kid was biting his lip as he looked at me, and I startled again, but this time for a different reason. His eyes were red-rimmed, like he’d been crying.
“Come on in, kiddo.” I waved him in, and once he passed me, I stuck my head out the door, looking for Chaos. “Where’s your brother?”
“He had to work today.”
I looked out the door again and didn’t see their car. “How’d you get here?”
“Walked.”
That was a pretty far walk, for crying out loud.
“Hey, Ace,” Winter said, joining us near the front door.
I waved Aeson toward the living room. “Come on in. Have a seat.”
He bit his lip again, glanced at the three animals that Winter had somehow convinced to stay in the living room rather than rush the teen, then looked at me and opened his coat. “Um… I’m not sure I should go in there with this?”
I glanced at his chest, and my eyes widened. Right in his palm was a ball of fur. It only took a few seconds for me to realize I was looking at a tiny kitten. A really, really young kitten, from the looks of it.
I glanced at the animals waiting patiently for us, then gestured toward the dining room. “Maybe we should sit in here for now.”
Both of them followed me, and we settled at the table with the kitten tucked tight to Aeson’s chest.
“What’s going on, Ace? What’s wrong?” I couldn’t pretend I didn’t know he’d been crying.
The teen wiped his eye with the back of one hand. “I, um… I was wondering if you… do you think… um…” He took a deep breath, clearly centering himself, then glanced down at the kitten and kissed its little head before glancing at me and away again as he spoke.
“Do you think you could maybe… take care of Confetti for me? She’s really sweet and well-behaved, and I took her to the vet last week to get dewormed and the shots she was old enough for.
But she… she’s still a baby and still needs a bottle, and I just…
I don’t think I… I can’t… I don’t… have the money to…
” He took a shuddering breath. “I can’t take care of her the way she deserves.
She needs a good home. And you’re so good with your pets, so I thought maybe… ”
Even though I didn’t want to read his emotions, I knew the kid needed some comfort, so I reached over and gave his forearm a squeeze.
Despair. Grief. Dread.
Stress. Anxiety. Worry.
Hopefulness.
I pushed past his overwhelming emotions and tried my best to focus on what was right in front of me. “Hey, it’s okay, Ace.” I glanced at Winter, and he gave me a nod before I refocused on the kid. “We can help.”
Tears spilled over onto his cheeks, and his wet eyes finally met mine. “Really?”
The hope in him grew, almost taking over all the sad and grief-stricken emotions.
I nodded. “Yeah, of course we’ll help. I’ve been thinking about getting another cat anyway.”
Winter added, “I’ve been talking about it too, honestly. I think Goliath and Odin will both like having a new member of the family.”
My eyes widened and shot over to Winter, but he was staring at the teenager, so I looked away.
A new member of the family?
As in, Goliath and Odin were a family?
As in… we were a family?
It wasn’t like we were living together.
I mean, yeah, he—and Goliath—were here all the time, they slept over more than not, and sometimes, even when they hadn’t slept over, Goliath came to spend the day with Odin while we were at work.
But family?
Family?
Were we a family?
I…
My heart clenched at the idea, yet a part of me grasped onto it with every fiber of my being.
A family.
I’d always wanted a family.
I’d never had one. Not a real one.
Not one that supported each other. Not one that loved each other.
I’d almost had one, five years ago, with Laney. But that’d been taken away from me in the blink of an eye.
Did I… did I really want to try again?
If not, then what the hell was I even doing with Winter to begin with? He’d been very clear from the beginning that this was serious for him, that he was all in.
And he clearly still felt that way or he never would’ve called us a family.
“Miles?”
I blinked and turned my head to Winter, who was looking at me with a worried expression.
“You alright?”
I nodded automatically, then shook myself out and looked at the teen, whose forearm I still held.
I gave it a squeeze and let go, sitting back.
“I’ll be happy to keep Confetti, and you’re welcome to come visit anytime you want, yeah?
As much as you want. You can come over every day if you want to, okay? ”
Hell, if he did that, I could feed him more.
A few more tears leaked down his cheeks. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, of course. We’d love to have her here. And you know, even before this, you and your brother were welcome anytime. In fact, why don’t you stay for dinner?”
His eyes widened. “It’s only three o’clock.”
I snorted. “Hey, we’re not that old. I meant, stay for the rest of the day.
You can help me set things up for Confetti and let her get settled since she’s clearly attached to you.
Actually, maybe we should run to the pet store to pick some things up for her.
And then we can come back, set everything up, introduce her to Odin and Goliath—did the vet say she’s allowed around other cats yet? ”
He nodded.
“Great. I’ll call my vet friend to see if we can get her in. I know you already had her checked, but my friend is the best vet I’ve ever met, and I think it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“I think that’s a good idea. I want her as healthy as possible.”
I sent him a smile. “Cool. After that, you can stay for dinner, and if Chaos wants to come over after work, he can eat with us too. What time does he get off?”
“Uh, the museum closes at six on Saturdays.”
“Alright, perfect. He can come here for dinner, then. You wanna text him to check? Does he need a ride?”
Aeson shook his head. “No. He has the car.”
“Awesome. Text him and then let’s get your kitten some supplies.”
That made Aeson blink back more tears, but he pulled out his phone and texted his brother.
Aeson kept the kitten curled up against his chest almost the entire time we were together. My vet friend gave her a checkup, told me what kitten formula she needed as we taught her how to eat wet food, and gave the okay for her to be around the other animals as long as we introduced them slowly.
I figured she was fine since Aeson said so, but I wanted to double-check before she was in close quarters with Odin, Goliath, and Sola.