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That set off a million more questions and comments. They flew by so fast it was nearly impossible to read them all. I did catch few that included
“Show us Matthias!” and “How’s Archer?” but it was moving too quickly to respond to them all.
Killian held up his middle finger without turning around, his mouth still glued to Matty. I felt Tommy’s eyes burning a hole in me, and when I met them, he raised his hand to beckon me over. I nearly tripped over my own feet to get to him, landing in his lap.
“Hi.” He pushed the hair out of his face. “We didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Jax huffed next to me. “We totally did. Sweetheart, come over here.” The sound of Maverick’s happy giggle filled the room and then he was on the couch next to me, kissing his husband like his life depended on it.
“Beau!” Dean squealed. “Well, I guess we’re done. Thanks for watching. Until next time.” I knew he was throwing up his usual peace sign as he turned off the camera. Or maybe just kissing the heck out of his boyfriend.
I leaned into my fiancé. “I’m glad you’re home. I hate those road trips.”
“Me, too, Bug. They’re not so bad when you come with me.” He pulled me against him so that my head was on his shoulder.
Tommy’s fingers combed through my hair as we sat there. I listened to the sounds of my friends as they spoke to their significant others, the soft laughs, and murmured noise that filtered over me like a blanket. I had never been happier in my life, and I wouldn’t take this for granted.
“Selfie time!” Dean announced.
It had become sort of a tradition since we started our weekly lives on IG. We would all crowd together to take a picture together, and he would post it. It was kind of fun, even if Killian sighed and grumbled about how stupid he thought it was.
Spoiler alert. He didn’t really feel that way. He always wore the biggest smile in the group.
I kissed Tommy again and then made my way over to my friends. We squeezed Maverick into the middle, since he was the smallest, and wrapped our arms around one another. Dean handed his brother his phone, and he snapped off a few pictures before we broke apart. Then Tommy grabbed me so he could yank me against his hard body.
“Let’s go home, Blake. I miss you.”
I knew exactly what he meant.
“Don’t forget! Dinner tomorrow night at six,” Maverick reminded us as Tommy nearly dragged me from the house. Another tradition.
With my family.
Tommy
I gripped Blake’s hand in mine and watched the way the wind whipped through his hair. He glanced up at me, his eyes shimmering with tears, and gave me a weak smile. This wasn’t how we wanted to be celebrating our first wedding anniversary. We thought we’d had more time. But everyone thinks that when a loved one gets sick. We had just buried Blake’s mom, who had died three days ago. The cancer had come quickly, and even though she’d fought hard, it was too much and too fast. Even before Blake could ask, I told him she could move in with us, so he could be by her side and take care of her until she got better. Which never happened. At her request, we buried her in Canfield. Home, as she’d called it. We still had the house, although it mostly sat empty these days, and I was glad Blake hadn’t let me convince him to sell it.
“I love you,” I reminded him, even though he knew.
I made sure I told him more than once a day. Probably too many times a day, but I was obsessed with my husband. And now I completely understood why Killian was the way he was about Matty.
Tears slipped down his cheeks. “I love you, too, Tommy.” He stopped and pressed his head against my shoulder. “Thank you.”
“I’m here for you, Blake, always,” I reminded him and hooked my arm around his body to pull him closer.
I tilted Blake’s face up so I could press my lips to his forehead and felt him tremble against me. I knew he still felt guilty. About the years she drank, how he’d kept it hidden instead of asking for or getting help. He was just a boy who loved his mom and wanted to make sure she lived. His mother forgave him. Just like Blake forgave me. He would be okay in time, but right now, I would give him everything he needed. No matter what.
Blake clung to me as we walked back to the car. He whined and cried when I tried to get him inside, his hands digging into my suit jacket.He had been more than clingy since she’d gotten sick, but for the past few days, he couldn’t stand to be alone. Not that I could blame him.
“Baby, I have to drive us to the house,” I reminded him and managed to get him to sit down.
I tugged the seatbelt across his chest and made sure he was safe before I moved to climb inside. I turned to look at him. His sadness filled the vehicle like a lead balloon. I hated seeing him like this. It broke my heart. I wanted to take his pain away, so he never had to feel this way again.
Blake grabbed my hand so he could pull it into his lap. “Tommy.” The way he said my name was heartbreaking.
“I’m here, baby,” I reminded him as I squeezed his fingers. “Always.”
We drove back to the house in silence, the road already beginning to fill with family and friends. My parents had said they would host the funeral reception to try to help Blake and for his mom. Our parents had becomeclose, and I knew they were grieving, too.But no one was grieving harder than my husband. He had done everything he could to save his mother, but the cancer spread so fast there was nothing anyone could do.
