Page 100 of Grounding the Baker

“What time do you need to be on the road, Austin?” asked Michael.

“In an hour,” he replied, looking at his watch.

“I’ll get us another round,” he said, standing up and walking to the bar.

“I still find it bizarre,” said Tony. “Michael was basically Mr Heartwood, and now we’re lucky if we see him twice a year.”

“We see him more than that,” said Austin.

“I know, but I mean, see him in the village.”

Austin nodded, agreeing with his friend. Michael leaving the village shocked them all, but Austin had never seen him so happy. It looked good on him, and people thought he was still in his thirties. Tony was convinced he’d had work done, and they were always ribbing each other. That hadn’t changed, even with them both being happily married and settled in their domesticated lives.

When Austin had moved back to the village ten years ago, he’d been a bereaved widower and single dad. Except for Gerard and Kevin, they’d all been single, and now they were all married to amazing men.

“Dad, Pops is crying again,”said Maisie.

Austin turned towards his daughter and couldn’t believe she was already leaving for university.

“Not you as well,” she said with a smile.

Austin wiped his eyes. She was only studying in London, so it wasn’t like they’d never see her. Maisie had wanted the full university experience, given she wasstudying medicine. The time in the halls of residence would be where she’d make lifelong friendships, and you never knew if the person you chatted to over cornflakes could one day be the top oncologist in the country.

He looked at his husband, who didn’t even try to hide that he was crying. This was a big moment for their family. They’d gotten married after two years together. Austin had proposed on their one-year anniversary, and their wedding was a year later. It had been in the village, and everyone had turned out. When they got engaged was when Maisie asked if she could call Liam, Pops, and he’d burst into tears... again.

Maisie hugged her two brothers, Harry and Paul. He and Liam had both wanted to have a bigger family, and they’d discussed surrogacy, but were both in agreement that adoption was best for them. They wanted to give a second chance to a child who hadn’t had the best start in life. Both of them had been raised in loving homes, and they’d wanted to do that for someone else. Liam was also keen to avoid the baby and toddler stage if he could, so they ended up adopting two brothers when they were four and six. That had been five years ago. Harry had just started high school now, which would separate the two of them for a couple of years, but so far there’d been no concerns. They’d clung to each other when they’d first arrived, though. Harry had leaned into the big brother role, which he still did now, but Maisie had worn them down and wormed her way into their hearts, quicker than Liam and Austin had.

They hadn’t planned to adopt two children, but when they’d learned that after the age of four it was common for sibling groups to be split up, it had been decided for them. Liam was the perfect father too, as Austin knew he would be. He could be strict when he needed to be, and they’dlearned not to let the kids play them off against each other. They had a specific group chat for the kids’ latest games, so they were always fully updated on what was happening. It was something the kids didn’t know about. They were convinced their dads could speak to each other telepathically.

“I’ll see you in a few weeks,” said Maisie, hugging Austin. “Make sure he doesn’t go too crazy with the baking,” she whispered in his ear.

Austin chuckled. Sylvie’s Slice was thriving, and was still the heart of the village, but Liam had a good team running the place, and he only did a few mornings each week now as he wanted to be home for the kids. Given he didn’t bake as much at work, that was what he did at home when he was stressed or upset about something. Austin had to work extra hard at the gym now he was in his fifties, because he could never say no to his husband’s delicious baked goods.

They waved Maisie off and watched her go back into halls. They’d seen her room, and it had passed the Liam inspection. He had been insistent they pay the extra for her to have her own en-suite room, and for it to be a double. Austin’s business was also booming, so there was no issue with them covering everything. They wanted her to graduate with no debt.

“Let’s drop these two off with their granddad,” said Austin.

“Then we can go to bed,” said Liam, with one of his flirty grins.

“Of course, but remember we have to be up early tomorrow.”

“Ugh. Why couldn’t they do this in Heartwood? Then we wouldn’t have to be up at stupid o’clock”

“Is that any way to talk about our friends?”

Liam laughed. “I know it’ll be worth it, but it’s not often we get the house to ourselves and don’t need to be quiet,” he whispered so the boys didn’t hear them.

“When are you ever quiet?” said Austin with a grin.

Liam blushed. Austin loved that even after ten years he could make his husband do that. He had a point, though; when there was no chance of anyone hearing them, Liam really let go. His husband had a filthy mouth that could even make Austin blush.

“How about I keep fucking you until you pass out?” Austin whispered in his ear.

Liam flushed again before grabbing the boys’ hands and practically carrying them to the truck. Austin laughed and followed them. He loved that they still couldn’t keep their hands off each other, even after a decade and having three kids and two businesses to keep them busy. Austin intended to deliver on his promise later.

Moving back to Heartwood was the best decision he ever made, because it gave him Liam, and then this amazing family. He caught up with Liam and put his arm around his husband, kissing him on the temple. Liam gave one of his flirty smiles, and even after all these years, it still made Austin’s heart flutter. He loved this man more than anything, and couldn’t wait to see what the next ten years would bring. No matter what life threw at them, Austin knew he and Liam would do what they’d done for the last decade, and conquer it together.