26. ANGUS
Chapter twenty-six
ANGUS
“He’s mine.” I recognized that I said it a little too harshly. “Sorry.”
“I get it, man. I’d be possessive of him, too.”
I didn’t say anything further. Justifying my need to be possessive wasn’t something I planned to do. When I got back to Eion, he gave me a sweet kiss in front of my mother, and I handed them their drinks. “Are you two ready for this?”
My mom laughed. “All my work is done here tonight. Now, I get to enjoy it. Did you look at the silent auctions?”
“I did. Some of them are up to one hundred thousand already.”
Eion’s head turned quickly. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. We are going to make a lot of money tonight, sweetie.” My mom put her hand on his forearm. “You should have let me have a big event. I’ll meet you at the table in a few minutes.”
“She really thinks this is a small event?” He said to me quietly.
“Yeah. Don’t be surprised if this becomes an annual, or maybe even a bi-annual thing. She probably has it on the calendar already.”
“You all live in a whole different world.”
At our table, my mom had included my work family: West, Tyler, East, and Spark. West leaned over, “Holy shit, Angus. This is quite the event.”
Then he turned to Eion. “Hey, Eion, I wanted you to know that The Dapper Duck now has the Flaming Giraffe and Orlando’s Caramel Cheesecake on our menu.
All profits from those will go to the Sanctuary.
Plus a monthly donation.” West darted his eyes over to me, looking for confirmation that what he was doing was okay.
“It’s.” Eion blinked at him. Barnaby put his head in Eion’s lap under the table, and I took his hand.
I felt like I should run a little interference. “West wouldn’t do any of this if he didn’t genuinely believe in the cause. I promise it isn’t simply because of our friendship. He is very serious about money, and doesn’t part with it unless he genuinely feels it’s worth it.”
“If you are doing it for the animals. I can only thank you. It will make a difference.”
Tyler leaned around his man, “There is a movie premiere weekend in New York on the auction table. I’m hoping to win it. Then my lover can take me for a long weekend.” He waggled his eyebrows at West.
West looked at his husband. “Do I know this lover of yours?”
“Perhaps.” Tyler kissed West.
Eion laughed. “Oh, I saw that. Good luck.” I could tell my boyfriend was getting overwhelmed. It was clear when I looked at him; he was pale, and his palms were getting clammy. I tried to calm him by squeezing his hand. Barnaby whined quietly, head on Eion’s thigh, wanting to calm his charge.
“I’m right here with you. These are our friends.” I said quietly. He didn’t turn his head toward me, but his hand tightened. Our friends looked at both of us, and I could tell they were prepared to throw down if Eion was upset. They hadn’t missed the look of distress.
“What can we do to help?” West was the first to ask, but everyone nodded.
Tyler started talking. “Have you seen Angus? Of course, you have. You’ve probably been naked with him many times.
” He stopped. Tyler was usually the one to calm a situation.
I am sure it had something to do with the fact that he spent a lot of time with kids who had trauma, and he needed to defuse tense situations.
“Angus is jacked. He will kick someone’s ass for you.
You should see him at the bar.” I wasn’t even sure what Tyler was trying to say, but Eion had started to relax.
Our bar rarely needed an actual bouncer, since we were high-end and very exclusive.
Tyler was trying to get Eion to think about something else, and, based on his chuckle, it worked.
Finally, he looked at me and gave me a tiny smile.
I wanted to take the worry from him. This whole event was a lot for me; I couldn’t imagine how he was feeling.
I thought back to the guy who would give me one-word answers a few months ago; now he was in a room with thousands of people, all of whom were looking at him.
Dinner was served, and our people kept him focused on anything other than the crowd around us.
My friends understood the assignment and were there for us.
Barnaby kept watch, staying pressed against Eion as much as possible.
While they served dessert, a lovely young woman stepped up to the microphone.
This was our cue to get on the stage. Eion would be introduced and start the presentation.
Once it was over, he would say a few words, introduce my mother, and thank her.
Then he would be free to mingle, which meant having a few drinks and hopefully avoiding large groups of people.
“Okay, Baby, you are up.” He turned and looked at me. It was obvious we were in trouble. Eion was ghost-white and sweating. “You got this.” His eyes looked through me. I kissed the side of his head—this I could fix for him.
“It’s okay, I got you.” With his hand in mine, I stood up, and he bravely followed.
“I can’t do this, Angus.”
“I know. Trust me?” He nodded. We walked up to the stage. Barnaby was dancing under our feet, doing everything he could to calm Eion.
I nodded at the nice woman who had opened this section of the event. “I am happy to introduce you to Eion Foster, Proprietor of Second Chances Sanctuary and Rehabilitation.”
She looked at me, slightly panicked. I swallowed hard, looked at the man I loved, and took a deep breath. My corset held me tight. “Thank you,” I said as I leaned toward the mic. She gave me another questioning look as she handed me the microphone over to me.
“Hi. First, I want to make it clear that I am not Eion Foster. I am actually Angus MacGregor. Yes, one of those MacGregors. Even though it wouldn’t be surprising, I didn’t hijack this event.
I am up here with Mr. Foster because Eion is my partner.
Needless to say, this dinner tonight has been beyond what we hoped for.
Having all of you here to support our animals will make a huge difference to what Eion and I can do in the future.
I know you have learned a little about what we do, but let’s take a moment to look at the big picture, and then you will have an even better reason to give us your money.
So without any further delay, let’s learn about Second Chances Sanctuary and Rehabilitation. ”
The presentation started, and with Eion’s hand in mine, I was given the most gorgeous smile. “You are amazing. You are my hero.” He pulled me close and hugged me tight. “I’m so sorry.”
I put my fingers over his lips so he would stop. I was glad his panic seemed to have passed and that I had my sweet man back. “Do you think you can introduce my mom?”
He swallowed hard. “Will you go out there with me?”
“Of course.” I kissed him gently. At that moment, I could see a lifetime of making things better for him.
When things were hard, I would fix them.
Would that be okay with him? Was I his forever?
Was it too soon for me to think those things?
Should I tell him? What if I told him and he didn’t feel the same way?
Could we be lucky enough to have found our person?
“Angus?”
“What?” I looked up.
“It’s almost time to go introduce your mother. I think I can do it if you are with me.” I realized I had been spiraling in my own head, which wasn’t good. I smiled and nodded. Hand in hand, we walked to the stage.
This time he took the microphone. “I’m Eion Foster. Thanks. You all. For coming. Support. For supporting the Sanctuary. I’ll be around. Any questions. Introduce the woman. The amazing woman. She did this. Ms. Amelia MacGregor. Yes. Those MacGregors.”
It wasn’t the smoothest introduction, but it got the job done, and hopefully, we could handle any individuals who approached us during the last few hours of the event.
After my mom gave her speech, the silent auctions would be closed, and nightcaps would be served.
There would be a tally of what we had made tomorrow afternoon.
Undoubtedly, donations would be made over the next few days.
It felt like this had been a huge success.
I knew we would be able to build the large animal nursery and start making changes to the existing buildings.
For the remainder of the evening, we hung out with my friends, drank good whiskey, and talked to attendees.
A lot of people asked if Orlando was real, and Eion was more than happy to tell them stories and show pictures from his phone of his friend.
He was much more relaxed when there were only a few people at a time.
When he stumbled over his words in conversation, one of the group stepped up and filled in the details.
It did my heart good to know that the people I loved the most all learned everything they could about our Sanctuary.
They were able to answer questions intelligently, which made the guests happy and, hopefully, led them to donate.
When the auctions closed, Tyler did a happy dance because he won the movie premiere trip, which included a sit-down dinner with the actors.
I knew that was not cheap. If it was important to one of us, he would research it, and if he found it worthy, there was no limit.
He was the best, best friend. He was also very aware of how I felt about Eion, and because of that, he would go to war for either of us.
My mom wandered over to our little group. She still looked elegant after hours of socializing. She was smart and charming, and showed grace to the grouchiest person. Nobody got the upper hand on Amelia MacGregor.
“Hello, beautiful people.” Everyone greeted her enthusiastically.
The woman ran a multi-billion-dollar corporation, yet was the best mom ever.
There was nothing she wasn’t willing to support me in while still being a mama bear.
I remember when the first boy I kissed called me a slur.
The following day, my mom made the kids’ dad cry.
“This was amazing,” West said as he leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“Thank you. Enough of that, though. Why don’t I see you at the house more often? You all need to come over, and I will make a lasagna.”
Tyler giggled. “Count me in. I love everything you cook.”
I realized that since I started dating Eion, I hadn’t spent time with my friends, and tonight reminded me of that.
I thought about when West first started to see Tyler.
We didn’t see much of him for a few months, but he did come back to us.
Eion was clearly comfortable with them, and I hoped that would lead to us doing more group activities.
Plus, we now had Zachary, who could help with the animals, giving us the chance to go out without worrying about rushing back to the Sanctuary.
“Mom, why don’t you pick a weekend in the next few weeks, and I will round up everyone? ”
She grinned so big. “You’ll bring the little one, too?” Her question was directed at West.
“She wouldn’t forgive me if she found out I saw you without taking her.
Nana Mella is one of her favorite people.
” West said. His brother and niece were part of this little family we had created.
Everyone excused themselves and headed home for the evening.
I was glad we were staying at the hotel, which allowed us to drag our tired bodies upstairs as soon as we wrapped up.
“You two look exhausted.” She gave Eion a little side hug.
“I am. But it was amazing. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for this.”
She laughed a little. “It was fun. Next year will be better. I had to throw this one together.”
He looked at her, surprised, and I couldn’t help but smile at him since I had mentioned she would make this an annual thing.
“I can’t wait,” Eion said, clearly tired.
He knew he had been beaten by the best, and arguing with my mom would be useless.
The best part was that she would continue these events whether we were together or not, because she did this for the Sanctuary and Eion, not for me.
“I know we planned brunch, but I don’t think I will be able to make it.” She glanced across the room where Tom waited for her. This was an image I really didn’t need in my head.
“Oh. Ok. Gah, Mom.”
She smiled at me. “By the way, I only have preliminary numbers from the checks that were pulled out of the box, but we are looking at more than enough money for your nursery, and all the other planned upgrades you want to make to the Sanctuary, plus a whole lot more money for things you didn’t propose. ”
“Seriously?” Eion looked at her, shock all over his face.
“Yes. I’ll give you actual numbers later in the week. Anyhow, Tom is waiting for me. Call me Monday. I plan to be busy until then.” She kissed my cheek, and did the same to Eion. We watched her walk over to her date and take his arm.
“She’s going to eat him up and spit him out,” Eion said quietly.
“Yup.” I took his hand and headed toward the elevator. I am ready to get you in bed.
“Baby, I have exactly enough energy to get upstairs. No hanky panky tonight.”
“You, sir, have a dirty mind. I literally meant tucking you into bed.” Eion rested his head on my shoulder, and I petted him gently.
Barnaby made a quiet woof, having worked hard all evening.
We were a tired family; it did feel good not to have to rush home to the animals, but it felt weird, too. Centaur
In our room, Eion went to the bathroom, and I grabbed my phone.
ANGUS
Everything good there?
ZACHARY
We are all fine.
He sent a picture of himself and Walter. His laptop was playing Zootopia.
ANGUS
Are you watching movies with Walter?
ZACHARY
Yes?! Is that okay?
ANGUS
It is more than okay. See you tomorrow.
I smiled. Zachary wanted to be with the animals.
He was exactly the type of person we needed to take care of the place when we weren’t there.
This was the life I had always wanted, and I never even knew it.
Maybe it was time to make our living situation more official.
I happened to know the man who owned the land across from the Sanctuary.
It wasn’t for sale, but I knew he would sell it to me.
It would be a great place to build a house.
There was one more piece of land a few miles up the road, and I had heard it had been sold to a couple from the city.
Rumor was that both men wanted to get away from their old lives and live quietly.
Relief that we wouldn’t have to worry about homophobia from the new neighbors was nice.
They were going to have a small ranch with sheep and alpacas, selling the wool they produced.
This meant that with them and our land, we would have miles between us and anybody else.
I decided right then that I needed to make some phone calls.