30. ANGUS
Chapter thirty
ANGUS
After the conversation with West, I felt terrible.
One of the kids from the advocacy center he and Tyler ran had been working security at The Dapper Duck.
The state required a license, and until he had that, he would need to be let go.
The state allowed a six-week leeway, but that time was up.
His training was incomplete, and I couldn’t risk the bar and the fines we would face if we were inspected and he wasn’t licensed.
Hopefully, they would get his GED sorted out, and then he could get his paperwork.
He had done a great job, and I would love to have him on my team.
I told West I would hold the job for six more weeks, then I would have to fill the position.
“Thanks for everything, though. Enough business talk, let’s enjoy our families.”
I gave West a stupid smile. “I am so insanely in love with him, West. He’s the one. I can’t imagine my life without him.”
“Dude, you completely deserve it. We like him too. When you are out of that honeymoon phase, I hope we get to see you both more. I miss our weekly dinners. We are really glad you came over tonight.”
I blushed. “Yeah. He gets all my time, day or night. I bought a fifth-wheel so we were a little more comfortable on the property, but I have a big surprise for him next week.” I waggled my eyebrows.
“Are you going to keep working for me?” He hit on something that had been on my mind lately.
“I might cut my hours back. The Sanctuary really takes a lot of my energy, but I want to talk to Eion about it. He might prefer that I be gone several nights a week.” I really hoped not.
“I suspect he wants you around as much as possible if the way he looks at you is a sign.” West chuckled and gave me a hug. “Go find your man. Dinner will be ready soon.”
I walked into the living room where Allison slept on the chair.
On the back patio, East and Tyler were talking.
West joined them in the yard, which made me wonder where Eion was.
Maybe he was overwhelmed and took a break out front.
There were some chairs out there, and it would be quiet.
Barnaby was also missing, which made me more sure of my assumption.
I walked out the front door. “Hey, Babe, dinner is ready.” The chairs were empty, and my car was still in the driveway, so he had to be at the house somewhere.
Going back inside, he still wasn’t in the backyard.
“You guys know where Eion is?” They all looked at me, shaking their heads.
“He took Barnaby outside,” Allison said.
I squatted down so I could talk to her more directly.
“He did. When did he do that?” She shrugged.
“Which door did he go out of?” She pointed at the front door.
I kissed the top of her head. “Thank you.” The fact that she saw him leave through the front door was odd.
He did have a tendency to walk away when he struggled or was frustrated. I joined my friends in the backyard.
ANGUS
Dinner is almost ready. Come on back, Baby!
Twenty minutes later, Eion still hadn’t come back to the house or returned my text message. This wasn’t normal for him. Even when he was most stressed, he wouldn’t hold others up. He’d at least text.
ANGUS
I am worried. Where are you?
We ate without him, and I officially started to panic. I put a serving in a plastic container for Eion. East took Allison upstairs to bed while we cleaned up the kitchen. “Still no response?” West asked me after I put the last bowl in the dishwasher.
“No. Nothing.”
“I’ll drive around the area to see if I can find him,” Tyler said as he walked out the front door.
“It’s been more than an hour, West. When should I call the police?” I was sick to my stomach, worried something terrible had happened to him. I called his phone, and it went to voicemail, but the text messages were showing as delivered. Okay, that was something at least.
ANGUS
I am about to call the jails and hospitals. If you are okay, please tell me.
I’m not mad.
West looked at me with sympathy. I had no idea what was going on, but my body started to shake.
I knew that this was bad, but I didn’t know what had happened.
The three text dots appeared on my phone, then disappeared.
A minute or two later, they showed up again, which meant he was typing—or someone was typing—a message.
EION
I’m at my sanctuary. Not in the hospital or jail.
For a moment, I was relieved that he wasn’t injured, but I didn’t understand why he had left.
Either way, I needed to go home. It hit me like a ton of bricks as I drove.
He hadn’t said he went home or that he was at the Sanctuary.
Eion had very specifically stated ‘my sanctuary,’ which meant he was making a point. He intentionally excluded me.
Expecting to find my boyfriend in the trailer, I was surprised to find it empty.
I headed toward the other buildings and saw a light on in the medical suite attached to the nursery.
That made sense. Someone must have needed him for an animal emergency.
Knowing I might find him performing surgery, I looked into the surgery room, but it was empty.
It was obviously unused tonight. “Eion?”
I heard the raccoons shuffling around, so I stuck my head in to see that everyone was doing well.
Zach took good care of our residents, but I still loved North and South as if they were my own children.
I looked forward to when they had their own space to run around more freely.
That was one of the first things I hoped to build.
West might have been on to something with me no longer working for The Dapper Duck, because there were plenty of projects for me to do around my home.
When I looked in, I found Eion in a sleeping bag on the couch. This wasn’t completely abnormal if an animal came in and he wanted to watch it overnight. “Hey,” I said quietly, not wanting to startle whomever our new guest was. “I’ll get the air mattress and bunk out here with you.”
I didn’t see anybody new, but it was pretty dark, and they could be in the back. I wasn’t going to turn on the lights and poke around. “No. I want you out. Get off my land.”
“What?”
Louder than I had ever heard him, he screamed at me. “GET THE FUCK OFF MY PROPERTY.”
I stepped back like I had been slapped. “Eion?”
“I swear to god I will call the police and have you removed as a trespasser.”
“What? Why? Babe—“
“Don’t you fucking dare. I said leave.” I wasn’t sure what to do, but obviously, being here wasn’t helping.
Calling Ramsey, we got in the car and went to my mom’s house.
I didn’t even know when I started referring to it that way, but for the last several months, the Sanctuary had been my home.
Now I was being told to leave, and I had no idea why.
“Mom,” I called as I opened the front door.
“Angus? Eion? What are you guys doing here?” She looked behind me for my boyfriend.
“He’s not here, Mom. I am not sure what happened, but he threatened me with the police if I didn’t go.”
“What in the world?”
“I don’t know.” Then she opened her arms, and I went to my mom. This couldn’t be happening. We moved to the couch, where I curled up in the corner and sat quietly. My mom didn’t try to talk. She sat there next to me with a hand on my knee, patting it every so often.
“I don’t know why he is so mad.” I kept saying the same thing.
I went through the entire night wondering when something had happened.
Did Tyler tell him something? I only had a few hookups over the last few years.
Was one of them claiming something more?
The way he had yelled at me was a pain I had never experienced before.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if I looked down and my heart had literally been torn from me.
As soon as the clock hit 5:00 a.m., my mom gave me coffee.
Eion was everything to me, and I was willing to do whatever was necessary to fix this.
I had a huge surprise for him on Friday, and I had been so excited about it.
Now I was terrified that I had lost him.
After I finished my first cup, I felt a tiny bit more alive. I hadn’t slept, but it didn’t matter. Mom armed me with a thermos of coffee and a Danish.
“You go get your man.”
“I will. Mom, I can’t live without him.”
She hugged me tight. “You’ll figure it out, son. It might take a minute, but you will.”
When I pulled up to the Sanctuary, my stomach swooped.
I would get the chance to talk to Eion, figure out what happened, and set everything straight.
Zach was scheduled to feed this morning, so I doubted I needed to help.
As I entered the main pathways, I saw someone with the alpaca and didn’t need to ask who it was.
I went to the fifth wheel and hoped Eion had slept in since someone was already set to feed.
We were supposed to be together this morning, having a late breakfast of waffles and bacon.
When I opened the door, there were two boxes a few steps inside.
On top of the box was a check for $80,000.
This is your shit. Get it out. There is a check for the fifth wheel. I don’t want Zach to lose his home.
That was it. I flipped the note over, hoping there was something more on the back, some sort of specifics.
There was nothing more, which meant I still didn’t know what had happened.
I wasn’t going to walk away from the Sanctuary, or from him.
I left the boxes and the check where I found them and headed toward the buildings.
“Get off my property,” came over the speakers.
“No.” I walked toward the nursery where I could talk to North and South. It also meant I didn’t hear anything else Eion had to say. If he wanted to yell at me, he had to come and find me. Plus, he wasn’t going to keep me from my boys.
I could hear the stomping through gravel before he got to the doorway. “I said, get off my property.”
“And I said no,” I growled back. Then I took a deep breath and quieted my voice. “Eion, I love you. What is going on?”
“You lie. You are lying to me.”
My heart stopped. “What?”
“You know damn well what I am saying is true. Now get your shit and leave.” His voice cracked.
“Eion, are you saying you don’t care anymore? You no longer love me? I’m not worth a conversation.” I looked at him. I was broken, and I wasn’t ready to accept that this was real.
“I’ll arrange to make an appropriate enclosure at your house for North and South. Now get out.” He walked away.
Holding the boys, I stood up and followed him. “Eion.”
“Don’t. Please, leave.” He continued toward the barn, and I watched him go.
I was really at a loss on how to handle this situation.
At least I knew he thought I was lying about something, but I genuinely had no idea what it would be.
I walked back to the nursery; my chest hurt, and it was hard to breathe.
I would fix this somehow because I was in love with him, and I didn’t miss that he never answered my questions.
He couldn’t tell me that he didn’t love me, which meant there was a sliver of hope.
I sat there for a long time and petted the boys.
“I’ll fix it, guys, I promise.” I put them away and headed back to my vehicle.
It was strange to be off for the rest of the day with nothing to do.
For the last few months, all my free time was spent with Eion.
Right now, I was hurting, and I was giving serious thought to going to the liquor store, but nothing good would come of that, plus it was barely 6:00 a.m., so I did the next best thing.
ANGUS
I’m on my way over.
WEST
What? Tyler and I are busy.
ANGUS
Then it’s going to be a threesome.
WEST
So it’s serious then?
ANGUS
Yeah, I need my friends.
WEST
Alright, we are getting up. Grab some breakfast tacos at the Taco Shop.
ANGUS
Done.
With a bag full of tacos, I walked up to my best friend’s front door. Two things were about to happen. As a group, we were going to figure out what was going on and then come up with a way to fix it. The other thing was me crying it out, and my friends would comfort me.
Tyler opened the door. “By the way you look, I forgive you for giving West blue balls.”
I gave him a hard hug, and it helped. This situation sucked.
It wasn’t even twenty-four hours ago, and I could see Eion and me ending up like Tyler and West. Now I couldn’t get through the morning without feeling like I would fall apart.
West walked up and kissed the side of his husband’s head, then took the food and handed it off. “Is this about Eion?”
That was all it took. The tears started again, and I hated myself, but this was a disaster.
I managed to nod my head. West put his arm around my shoulder and guided me inside until I was next to him on the couch.
“Tell me what’s going on.” Tyler joined us with coffee.
I took a deep breath and told them everything I knew.
The look on their faces was equal parts confusion and sympathy.
“And that’s where we are.” I sniffled and looked at the pile of dirty tissues around me.
“I’m sorry, man. You can tell how much he loves you. We’ll figure it out.” I desperately hoped he was right.