Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
L eo grinned. “Yes, Vince, I meant what I said.” His brow furrowed. “Are you sure you want to get mixed up with me though, especially after what’s going on?” He asked just to make sure he couldn’t really blame the man if he wanted to push Leo off on someone else.
Torres nodded. “Yes, I’ve wanted you for a long time Leo. I just wanted to make sure I was in a position to give you what you need before I made a move.”
Leo swallowed hard. “Thank you. Most men would have just moved forward.”
Torres smiled ruefully. “Well, I did, and you turned me down, but I understand why. I would never hold that against you Leo, I may tease you about it, but I want to make it clear I’m not upset with you.”
Leo nodded, smiling. “I know. That’s not the kind of man you are.”
Torres smirked at him. “Thank you.”
The ride to the farm was easy and filled with laughter and memories, and awful karaoke. Torres demanded Leo tell him more about his new book.
“Hey, Mom,” Leo wheezed as he was immediately yanked into his mother’s arms on the front porch. Her hug was tight and just what he needed.
“Are you ok?” Sanem asked as she pushed him back to look him over.
“Yeah, Mom, I’m ok.” Leo sighed. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
“That’s where me and Kade come in. We’ll do what needs to be done to find out what the problem is.” Torres assured her, ruffling Leo’s hair. “Kade should be here shortly.”
“Good. The rest of the gang will be here in a few moments as well.” Sanem told them.
“Awesome.” Leo said he still had the hair sample he needed to give Saint.
“Go settle I’ll be making tacos for lunch.” Sanem shooed them off and headed to her safe place before she had a heart attack. Have sons they had told her yeah she was going to go crazy by the end of the month if they kept this up.
“Leo.” Bram said roughly.
“Hey, Dad.” Leo was wrapped in his father’s warm embrace and sighed. “I’m alright.”
Bram studied his son from his spot on his recliner. “You sure?”
Leo nodded. “Yeah, I don’t understand it, but I’m just going to let Torres handle it and ignore all my problems.” He grinned when Torres snorted.
“You’re such an adult.” Torres teased.
Leo rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”
Bram grinned. It seemed his son had decided to give Torres a shot.
“Howdy!” Saint called out as he came in and hugged Leo hard. “Glad you’re ok, bubba.”
“Thank you.” Leo said softly, holding him tight as he slid the strands of hair he had from Gabe into Saint’s back pocket. Pinching Saint on the hip, making him yelp as he let go.
“You sure you’re ok Leo?” Rafe asked as he joined them, drinking his second beer. His brother was going to give him a heart attack.
Leo nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be ok. I’m not even going to think about it, but if I get to the point where I’m having trouble, I’ll let you know.”
Rafe sighed in relief. “Thank you. Now sit down. Dad found this movie about ancient Egypt. I think you’ll love it.”
They were about halfway through the movie when Danno and Merrick arrived, followed closely by Kade.
“Give me that, baby!” Bram called out as he stood from his chair and made a beeline for the sleeping infant in Merrick’s arms. He gently took Daegan and went back to his chair, smirking when Merrick chuckled. He loved being a grandfather. His children had all been good kids. He loved to see them grow and was honored to be able to see the next generation. While the sleeping baby in his arms wasn’t his by blood, he’d do anything for him. He looked up at Sanem when she carded her fingers through his hair and smiled. He pulled her down next to him and handed over the baby while she cooed to him. He held her against him as she cuddled Daegan, content to sit back and watch his love do what she was made for.
“Hey, Leo…” Danno said softly, standing in front of his brother. He desperately wanted to hug him, but he hated when people did that to him, so he waited for Leo to make the first move.
Leo smiled at Danno and hugged him tight. “Hey Danno, I’m ok I promise.” He chuckled when Danno immediately relaxed in his arms.
“Oh thank god.” Danno muttered. He loved Leo. While he was closer to Saint than anyone, he adored all his brothers and the thought that he could lose them made him break out in a cold sweat. “If there is anything I can do, please tell me.”
“Seriously Leo, if you need us we’re here.” Merrick told him firmly as he rubbed Danno’s back.
Leo nodded. “Thank you, I promise if I need any more help I’ll ask. Kade’s on it right now, so I’m not really worried.”
“It’s a good thing he’s on it. He’ll get it figured out quickly, I’m sure.” Ram said as he joined them and ruffled Leo’s hair. “Glad you’re ok, kiddo.”
Leo smiled and poked Ram in the chest. “Getting soft on me Ram?”
Ram grinned and yanked Leo into a headlock. “Yeah, I’m so soft. Say uncle like a good boy.”
Leo struggled as he laughed. He couldn’t take his uncle seriously sometimes. The man was a certified dominant and was a badass in his own right, but his uncle had a soft spot for him and his brothers. “Uncle!” He called out and giggled when Ram tickled his ribs.
“Do I even want to know?” Kade asked calmly from the doorway, one dark brow raised over his dark shades. Valk sat at Kade’s side, his tail wagging as he spotted Ram. Kade rolled his eyes, knowing they couldn’t see them. “Break.” Valk bolted towards Ram, who easily caught hold of him and laughed.
“Probably not.” Merrick answered cheerfully.
“Cowboy should be here soon.” Kade said as he moved further into the room.
“Will you guys give me a few moments to talk to Kade, please? I want to talk about the service dog for Levi.” Ram asked.
“Yeah.” Leo nodded and herded the others away to the other side of the open-concept living room and kitchen area.
“Levi doing ok?” Kade asked worriedly.
“Yes, he’s fine. He did have a rough night, so he’s currently taking a nap. I think Sheriff would be a good fit for him.” Ram said as he pulled out a chair for Kade at the dining room table. “Chair at your one.”
Kade grunted as he sat. He was sore as fuck. “Thank you, and I agree he seems to really mesh well with Sheriff. He wants to stay here for now so as long as it’s ok with Sanem and Bram, I would like to move forward with it.”
“Yes, they are ok with it, I’ve already drawn up the paperwork and everything for Levi to sign, and I’ll go over it with him. I just wanted to check in with you first and make sure you agreed that it was a good fit.” Ram set a glass of water in front of Kade. “Water, at your twelve in a glass if you want it.”
Kade took a grateful sip. “Thank you.” He cleared his throat. “I wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday as well, for patching me and Valk up as well as describing my sister. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.” He had to stop talking and take a deep gulp of water.
Ram hummed as he studied Kade. He and Valk had been attacked by an aggressive dog at the diner the day before, and while Valk seemed no worse for wear except for the bandage on his foot, Kade was another story. The man had dark circles under his eyes and when the light hit the lenses just right, he could see how bloodshot his eyes were. “You’re welcome. I’m still amazed by you Kade. The strength you show is amazing, but I know you’re struggling, so after this please go home and get some sleep. I know you didn’t get any last night.”
Kade just raised a brow. He was used to Ram’s highhandedness at this point but he couldn’t really say the man was wrong. He was exhausted, and no he hadn’t been able to sleep the night before. He tried to keep the sneer off his face as he grunted for his reply.
Ram chuckled. “I know you want to tell me to fuck off, but I’m just trying to look out for you Kade there’s a lot of people who want you around for a long time and for that to happen you need to take care of yourself. You also need to grieve, so if you need someone to provide the alcohol, just say so and I got you.”
Kade scoffed. “Thanks…I think.”
Ram chuckled. “You’re welcome. Did Valk do ok last night?”
Kade sighed. “Yeah, he slept through most of it. He was excited because he got to sleep in my bed.”
Ram chuckled. “Lucky dog.” He grinned when he noticed the ruddiness of Kade’s cheeks under his glasses. “He’s not limping today, so I don’t think the bite hurt him as much as we thought. I'll still change his bandage and check if you would like?”
Kade cleared his throat. He could never tell if Ram was flirting with him or just being nice. He had little to no experience with men so he didn’t want to make an assumption. “Yes, if you would please.”
“Absolutely. Just let me grab my bag real quick.” Ram rushed to one of the spare bedrooms which he had been using as he got Levi acclimated to Sheriff and grabbed his bag. “Valk buddy, can I see your paw?” Ram asked as he came back into the kitchen. Valk had his big head resting on Kade’s knee and he enjoyed some ear scratches. Ram chuckled as he gently grabbed Valk’s foot and slowly took off the bandage, making sure he didn’t pull any skin or hair off with it. The small little puncture was scabbed over and didn’t have any redness or inflammation around it, so he added some more wound care cream and re-bandaged it. “I don’t see any new blood or swelling. The wound is clean and showing no signs of infection, so that’s good. We’ll leave the bandage on for a few more days just so he doesn’t lick it, and then he’ll be as good as new.”
Kade’s shoulders slumped in relief. He had no idea how worried he was about his baby until Ram said he’d be ok. Tears burned his eyes as they filled. His head still felt like it was stuck full of cotton, but he was so damn grateful to Ram for everything he’d ever done for him.
Ram could see Kade fighting the tears and gently touched the man’s shoulder. “He’ll be ok Kade.” He desperately wanted to hug the man. Kade had lost so much in his life that he was amazed by the man standing in front of him. “I want to hug you, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
Kade snorted. “It’s ok.”
Ram took that as the green light and hugged the man tight, just letting Kade lean on him for a minute to catch his breath.
“Thank you so much Ram, I have no idea how to repay the kindness you’ve shown me.” Kade said roughly, the tears winning the fight.
Let me love you . “No, thanks needed, Kade. You mean so much to my nephew, therefore this family will do whatever we can to help. Just like you’ve done for us.”