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She wasn’t fine.
She buried her husband yesterday.
And there was nothing he could do to take away her pain. He should know. Eighteen years later, his chest still ached at the thought of him.
But isn’t that the inevitable consequence of loving someone?
While it wasn’t within his power to free Linnea of all this suffering, Kodiak could see her through it. Love her through it. Be whatever she needed him to be.
Maybe what she needed right then was some time by herself. To mourn Kyan on her own. To weep without an audience. He could understand that. He’d give Linnea some space and check in on her again later. No doubt, Dillon would be over there as soon as he showered the stench of whiskey from his pores anyway.
Though he didn’t have a particular destination in mind, he didn’t want to go back to the empty row house on Oak Street. He should probably check in on Bo too, being he was pretty fucked up when they parted ways at Dillon’s last night. So, with the precipitous mist soaking through to his skin, Kodiak walked to the end of the block and softly knocked upon his door.
In better shape than he thought he’d find him, Bo opened it, and gathering Kodiak to his chest, they embraced. “Hey, man.”
“Glad to see you didn’t choke on your own vomit.” Patting each other’s back, they pulled apart.
“Heh.” Bo hooked an arm around his neck, leading him toward the family room. “It was a close one, trust me. Been to Linn’s yet?”
“Yeah, just left there.”
“How’s she doing? I wanna pop over and see her.”
“Today’s probably not a good day. She’s…” With an exhale, Kodiak shrugged. “She wants to be alone right now.”
Bo nodded, taking a seat on the sofa. “And Dill?”
“I’m glad I can report he didn’t choke on his vomit, either.”
The pretty blonde Bo took on tour to care for his two-year-old daughter, came into the room balancing Emery on her hip. “Oh, um…hi, Kodiak.”
“Hello, Ava.”
Placing the child in Bo’s lap, she asked, “Want some coffee? I can make some.”
“No, I’m not staying. Thanks, though.”
“Coffee’d be great.” Tugging on her arm, Bo pulled her in for a kiss. “Thanks, Avie.”
His brow shot up watching Ava retreat into the kitchen. “You two?”
“Yeah.” Bo couldn’t contain his grin.
“Had a feeling that might happen.” Teeth grazing over his lip, Kodiak nodded. “I’m happy for you, brother.”
He meant it too. If anyone deserved that storybook happily ever after, it was Bo. And some good news was welcome in the midst of all this mind-numbing tragedy.
Studying him, his one-time lover tipped his head to the side. “You holding up okay?”
“I’m okay. It’s just…”
“I know, man. I get it.”
Bo was the only person on Earth who did.
Ava returned with the coffee and ruffling Emery’s hair, Kodiak stood. “I need to get going.”
“No, you don’t.” Bo held onto his wrist. “Stay.”
