Chapter 3 #2
“We know Lachlan didn’t get you pregnant. Lachlan had been here for three years when you showed up, and little Micah was brand new.”
Kieran shook his head. “I’ve never had sex with Lachlan.”
Lachlan chuckled. “Kieran, I would remember. Trust me, I would remember.”
Kieran’s cheeks went hot, and he looked down. He would too.
He couldn’t tell. He couldn’t tell what had really happened. At least not all of it.
It would bring the world to a screaming end here in this wing.
“I swear to you, I had no idea that all of this was going to happen. Two years ago I was just a college student.” That was it. He’d been studying, he’d been young and happy, and he thought he’d been in love.
That part had been absolutely wrong.
He didn’t even know what love meant at that point. He had Micah now, and he knew what love was.
“Oh, that’s terrible. Absolutely awful.” Lars reached out and patted Kieran’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”
“I…I’m not.” He lifted his chin, refusing to be ashamed. “I have Micah. He’s worth going through anything.”
Lachlan nodded, and he reached out, daring to twine their fingers together.
Smiling, Lachlan squeezed his hand gently. “I hate the circumstances, but I’m glad you and Micah are here. And look how happy he seems today.”
The babies were cuddled together, both of them dozing now. Lars stood and covered them with a blanket, his smile adoring and warm.
Kieran had a moment of wistful fondness. He felt a part of something for a moment, and he thought of what a good dad Lachlan would be, how he and Lachlan could be like Bryant and Lars, and how amazing it would be.
But it wasn’t his to have.
“I don’t suppose you like to play cards?” Bryant asked, and Lachlan grinned at him.
He and Lachlan played cards together for hours at a time.
“Yes. Yes, I do.” Kieran smiled. “Do we need to get some drinks and snacks?”
Lars sprang to his feet. “I’ll help. Come to the kitchen with me. I brought a few things and we can make some yummy drinks.”
He glanced at Lachlan, who nodded. “We’ll watch the wee ones.”
He followed Lars, half expecting to get lectured, but instead he got a warm, happy smile. “I love snacks. I think they’re so important, and I like to make weird drinks, not alcoholic necessarily because not everybody loves that, but just weird mixes of juice and ice and sodas and fizzy things.”
Lars chattered on pulling out glasses and plates.
“Wh—what are your favorites?”
Lars grinned. “Anything with pineapple. Anything at all. I like strawberries too, but pineapple is my absolute favorite. What about you?”
His eyes went wide, and he blinked. “Me?”
“Yes. What do you like?” Lars beamed at him, getting out an ice bucket.
“I like…I used to love lemonade. I would drink it all summer long.” In fact, all of the sudden, he really missed the sweet silkiness of lemonade over ice.
“Well, we’ll have to make some soon! I love pineapple lemonade. We can all add what we want to it.”
“There’s pineapple lemonade? Really?” He forgot to be nervous. “Are you sure?”
That was wild and a wonderful thought.
“Yep. I love it. I think pineapple has enough sugar that you don’t have to add as much to the lemonade.” Lars waved the ice bucket. “Can you fill this?”
“Of course. So, did you grow up here?”
“I did. This has always been our home. Logan has done a lot to make it a wonderful place to live.”
“He really sounds like a great guardian.” He didn’t have the best experiences with guardians. Or wings. Or alphas.
“I think so. Of course, he’s my brother, so I sort of love him…” Lars shot him a wink. “Are you an only child? Do you have a family who are worried about you?”
“I don’t.” His shoulders slumped. “It never bothered me before I hooked up with the asshole and then had nowhere to go once I was pregnant. Who does that? Who uses someone else’s name?”
“Someone who has something to hide? Someone who’s a prick? We never worry about it, because we’d never do it.”
“No. No, I know you never would. You’re good dragons. Not like— Not bad.” There. That was enough of a statement, right?
He kind of waited while Lars created a tray with meat and cheese and chips and dips and drinks and ice…
“You’re really good at that.”
Lars grinned at him and shrugged, cheeks warming. “I’m not sure why. I do try. It’s fun. I like it. What do you do for fun?”
Kieran shrugged, “I don’t know that I do anything for fun.”
“Oh, come on. I mean, trust me, I know — babies, teething, no fun. You had to have done something before you got pregnant that was fun. We all did.”
“I was in healer school. We didn’t have a whole lot of time, but obviously I’m a knitter.”
Lars’s eyes lit up. “I do remember that. We got you lots of different wool. That’s exciting. How did you learn to knit?”
“My grandmother loved it. She was into all sorts of fiber arts.” Before everything had gone to hell, he and his grandmother had made socks, scarves, sweaters, and whatever he could imagine. He guessed he was back to that now.
“That’s so neat. I’m not sure I would have the patience. I do like to make things with glitter.”
He tilted his head at Lars. “Like what?”
“Oh, posters. Christmas ornaments. I love glitter.”
Kieran snorted. “It’s a plague.”
“I know!” Lars was absolutely unrepentant, eyes laughing at him. “I have a craft room, and it’s like a magical, shimmering space.”
“Oh I would like to see that.” Kieran could picture himself with a craft room. It would be mostly yarn, but some fabric and thread, and a place for his good scissors and all of his knitting needles. Yeah, he could love that.
Lars gave him sideways kind of look as he picked up the tray to carry it to the main room. “I bet if you asked Lachlan, he would make you a craft room. There’s plenty of space in this house.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”
“I bet it wouldn’t be a bother at all. Lachlan would love to do something for you. And just think how much more yarn you can store that way.”
“It is a lovely idea, isn’t it?” He could imagine a little space just to create in.
“What’s a lovely idea?” Lachlan asked as they walked in.
“Oh, nothing.”
“Kieran needs a craft room, brother. Something wonderful and cozy.”
“We can do that.” Lachlan gave him a smile that was warm and genuine. “You’ll need yarn shelves, hmm? I bet with room for airtight boxes to keep out moths?”
His cheeks heated and so did his ears. “Ideally, yes.”
“I can totally make you a space. We’ll plan it — colors and furniture and everything.” Lachlan beamed at him. “I would be honored to make you a craft room.”
“Thank you.” Kieran swallowed around the lump in his throat. “You’ve been so kind.”
“You inspire it me, sweet one.”
Lars made an awwww sort of noise.
His cheeks went hot, but Lachlan just smiled at him, so easy, so warm. “It’s going to be fine, Kieran. Don’t worry. We’ll work it out. Lars, the food looks amazing.”
“Doesn’t it? You have some wondrous food to work with.”
“I just like finger food.” Micah began to fuss, but before Kieran could stir, Lachlan had picked up both Micah and Kaden, cradling one in each arm.
“He does like the babies.” Bryant smiled, and Kieran just sat there feeling completely out of place and half-uncomfortable, half-confused.
He didn’t understand why anyone would be so nice to him. He was going to take it, though, for Micah if no one else.
Micah deserved… a family.