Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 103819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Now he'd ruined that perfect dream.
Moments later, two lights shone through the front window blinds and tracked the back wall of the kitchen. Kane held his breath until he heard the garage door opening. Relief hit hard. Right then, he decided to hold his ground. If Avery wanted out, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't go easy. He'd fight to keep them intact, he'd fight for Avery. They were good together. He went back to his spot on the sofa, pushing all those desperate thoughts aside as he heard the kitchen door open. Kane steeled his spine and let resolve blanket his soul.
* * * *
Avery entered the house through the garage, as he always did, but for some reason it felt wrong that night. Maybe it was the guilt he carried playing tricks on him. He saw the house was dark as he drove up the driveway. That wasn't abnormal for this time of night, but still felt wrong. He had to remind himself Kane's car was parked in the garage. He had to be in this house somewhere. That should have given him peace, so he tried hard and worked at pushing the bad vibes away. They spent most of their time in their bedroom when they were home alone. The darkness shouldn't have intensified his gloom, but dammit, he felt like such a heel for starting their fight.
Avery kept the lights off and walked through the kitchen. He was almost through the living room when a lamp light clicked on. He had a small heart attack right there, as he whipped his body toward the sofa. Kane sat only a few feet from him. The file folder of information spread out around him.
"You scared me to death," Avery said, taking the minute to catch his breath and calm his pounding heart.
"It's late," Kane responded. His face calm and passive, giving Avery all the information he needed to know that things were still bad between them.
"I'm sorry," Avery immediately said and moved toward the sofa. Kane's face tightened as Avery stepped forward.
"For what?" Kane finally asked, and that made Avery give a small smile. It was just like his mister to need clarification before he gave in. God, he loved this man.
"For flying off the handle earlier," Avery replied, now standing directly in front of Kane. He prepared to drop to his knees to beg for forgiveness. Kane paused again, but his stare never faltered. Avery held his ground, waiting.
"We can go talk to this doctor you found. I also want to talk to a psychologist about the effects on a child being raised by two fathers. If we move forward with this, I want you to go first. I want our children to look like you and I want to pick the mother carefully. She has to be smart and well-rounded, not just anyone will do. I want nothing left to chance," Kane finally said.
Avery let out the breath he'd been holding. Relief poured through him and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips as he dropped to his knees in front of Kane. He reached out for Kane's hands, grabbing them, trying to thread their fingers together. Kane didn't return the hold. Kane always took his hand; that wasn't a good sign, but he held on to the hope Kane's words gave him. Avery kept eye contact and tightened his grip. He'd hold Kane's hand tight enough for them both.
"Thank you. I was so worried you wouldn't want this for us. I agree with everything you said, but I wanted you to go first. I want your baby," Avery replied, resting back on his heels. Thank God! This so wasn't what he'd expected to walk into. His Kane was always so full of surprises.
"No. I want you to go first. And I want to know the legal side of things before we make a firm decision. I don't want either of us left unprotected. If we do this, we're a family through and through," Kane stated firmly.
"All right, that's fine," Avery answered. Kane rose from the couch with Avery still kneeling in front of him. He stepped away, leaving Avery alone on the floor. Kane never reached out to touch him before making his way to the stairs. Avery slowly stood, watching him go. He'd gotten his agreement, and that was halleluiah good, but the tension between them was thick enough that he could almost reach out and touch it. What did that mean? They should be celebrating now. Yet Kane was walking up those stairs by himself and didn't show any signs he wanted Avery to follow. He was uncertain about what to do in his own home. Once Kane got to the top of the stairs, Avery decided, "fuck the tension," and started to move forward, but stopped as Kane spoke.
"You're wrong, Avery. I don't doubt us. I'm proud of us. I never pray for anything but for you to stay in my life. I'm just worried about the science of it all, and I never thought about us having children because it wasn't an option, until today. You should have given me a minute to catch up. You're so wrong in what you think about me." Kane's voice lowered on the last few words as he disappeared inside their bedroom. Avery heard their bedroom door shut firmly, closing him completely out. He supposed he deserved that, but did this mean he'd been relegated to the sofa?
As if Kane had read his thoughts, he opened the door and yelled out, "Yes, you're on the sofa. You should've called to let me know you were okay, but you didn't, you stayed gone and that's not right." The bedroom door shut again, and Avery smiled, running his fingers through his hair. Kane knew him too well and they had finally had their first big fight. He was sleeping on the sofa tonight. He guessed it was better than a hotel. He could use the guest bedroom, but he looked around and, though he hadn't noticed them before, saw his pillow and blanket on the sofa. The sheet was already tucked across the seat cushion where Kane had been sitting when he came in.