SafetyInNumbers-Final (29 page)

“You don’t know…” Liam started, but Billy wasn’t going to be deterred.

“I know what we’re looking for. Go sit by the window. If we have any questions, we’ll ask.” Billy looked from Liam to Chris, trying to convey their concerns and hoping Liam would get the message that Chris needed to distance himself. It took another second, but Liam eventually led Chris over to the windows on the far side of the room, leaving him with Owen to tackle the task of finding something worthwhile to bring their lovers.

The first four boxes contained clothes, shoes, and jewelry. Some of it looked expensive, but they couldn’t imagine the boys wanting it. “Would there be any jewelry that you want to keep?”

“You know I’m not here for jewelry, Billy.” Chris’s voice was thick with emotion, but at least he was still talking.

The fifth box was neatly organized with clearly marked file folders. Billy pulled out Chris and Liam’s files, then rifled through the rest just to make sure nothing was missed. It probably wasn’t a good idea to leave the other legal documents behind, even if Chris and Liam didn’t want or need them. “We’re keeping these two, but the rest of this box needs to be destroyed.”

Billy looked over at Chris to make sure he wasn’t overstepping and got a quick nod. If need be, copies of the most important documents could be ordered through state websites. Happy that they were in agreement, he set that box aside and looked to see how Owen was progressing with the last box on the floor. “What’d you find?”

Owen ignored him as he continued to sort through contents, only stopping to add to a growing pile at his side. When Chris and Liam tried to get closer, Billy planted himself squarely in their path. It took several minutes to get through it all, but finally Owen flashed them a triumphant smile.

“We heard all the stories of how scrawny Chris was, but I couldn’t imagine it. Now it’s going to be a long time before I get that image out of my head.” He took a second to put the lid back on the box, clearly stating that the rest was off limits, before holding his hand out so Billy could help him up. “That should probably be destroyed too.”

“You gonna share those?” Chris asked when Owen stuffed his find in his back pocket.

“Definitely, but not here.” Owen looked around the depressing space and shuddered. “Unless you absolutely can’t wait a few minutes, can we find a more uplifting venue? Preferably someplace with food. Someone likes when I eat regularly.”

Owen sauntered out the door without waiting for an answer and Chris took off after him, leaving Billy and Liam staring after them. “You know there’s gonna be a lot of ass grabbing until Chris gets what he wants.”

“I think that was the plan all along.” Billy thumbed his palm and felt the picture Owen slipped him. He wished he had a second to look so he could be sure before he showed it to Liam, but he knew Owen wouldn’t give it to him if it wasn’t right. “I hope you’re not mad that I took over.”

“You know I love when you go all Billy Bear.” Liam smiled for the first time since Chris told them the news. He sighed when Liam huddled close, needing the embrace just as much as his partner did. With one last prayer that Owen found the right one, Billy slipped the picture into Liam’s hand and waited. Instead of looking at it, Liam handed it back. “Can we look at it when we’re alone?”

Technically they were, but Billy knew where his lover felt safest. “Absolutely.”

He grabbed the two boxes that needed to be destroyed and followed Liam out the door. “We should invite your mom to dinner over the weekend.”

Billy was so grateful for the second chance he’d been given with his mother that he was happy to share her with Liam, Chris, and Owen. Hell, knowing her, she’d take their whole motley crew in her arms and make them love every minute of it. “I think she’d like that.”

“We would too.” Liam smiled over his shoulder, making everything right in his world again.
 

Chapter 25

Liam

“Thank you for helping me put this together.” Liam stepped back to look at his handiwork before glancing at Owen’s project. The kitchen wasn’t where either of them excelled, but after talking about their moms, they got the brainstorm to throw a retro potluck Halloween party. Though his fondest memories of his mother centered on their mutual love of football, once they started sharing stories they realized how many of them took place at the dinner table. Maddie had been thrilled to work with them, putting together recipes from their memories and organizing shopping lists.

“It was fun.” Owen stepped back a few paces, tilted his head back and forth, and shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s any good, but it definitely looks pretty close.”

“It
was
fun and I can’t believe how into it everyone got. This kitchen has never seen so many wannabe chefs as it had this week.” When they proposed their idea, the entire household threw down a recipe and they had to draft up a kitchen schedule to get all the cooking done. Then they upped the ante by calling in the rest of their friends and, other than Ty grumbling about burnt chicken fingers, everyone had seemed excited. They even had a few real mothers on the guest list in addition to Maddie, which was a whole new experience for their crew. Carol Mason was due shortly, Kyle’s parents had flown down that morning, and they were finally going to meet the elusive Claire Bennett.

“Do you notice how no one ever turns down an invitation? They’re never too busy, never have any other plans. Even the most well-meaning friends and family have scheduling conflicts.” Owen set his platter on the staging table that was already overflowing with dishes and smiled a little in wonder. “I watched you all welcome and accept each other, and never believed I could be part of it.”

“Not for lack of trying on our part.” Liam nudged him gently. Owen was slowly learning to take a joke and wasn’t as quick to get defensive, as long as he didn’t feel ganged up on. They’d been working together companionably for a couple of hours, so Liam hoped he wasn’t pushing.

“You were persistent. Like dog-with-a-bone persistent.” Where Bull’s laughter was deep and rumbling, Owen’s was much softer but no less powerful and it was wonderful to hear. “I used to think that if I were anyone other than Bull’s brother that you would have given up on me a long time ago.”

“Do you still think that?” It was a valid concern because Bull was the one who brought them all together and in the beginning they were trying out of a courtesy to him. But that wasn’t just with Owen, it was with each other. Sure, they had welcomed and accepted each other, but it hadn’t been instantaneous. They had to learn how to live together and decide if they actually liked one another before that acceptance was possible. Bull may have been their catalyst, but he hadn’t pushed them into friendship or even family, he had simply given them a safe place to find it. “You weren’t forced on us, Owen, and there was no obligation for us to like each other. Truth is, while I think of Maddie and Bella as Bull’s sisters, or Rory as Bull’s niece, I just think of you as Owen. You may be a prickly little porcupine at times, but we kind of like you that way.”

“I’m learning that.” Owen busied himself cleaning the counters, but Liam could see his mind racing and didn’t know if his explanation was enough. There were so many connections now that it felt impossible to convince him that they loved him for him, not just because he was Bull’s brother or Chris’s partner. “My brain twists things around sometimes. I could see that you guys were trying, but my brain was telling me I had to change in order to have what you were offering. The flip side of course is that if I didn’t change, it would be taken away. Those weren’t qualifications any of you set. It was completely in my head. Chris says it was lack of sleep—I called it brain damage—either way that was the thing I needed to change. Not me, exactly, but that line of thinking.”

“I’m pretty sure my brain turned off when I was nineteen.” It was gradually getting easier to reference that night and the years that followed, but usually he only did it if Billy was around. Right now his bear was off picking up their Halloween costumes with Chris, so there was no safe haven for him to run too. Maybe it was the companionable way they had been working together or Owen’s ability to open up, but Liam didn’t feel as frightened as he normally would without that security. “Like a switch, you know? One second I was a fully functioning human being with goals and dreams, school and work, and a future. Then it was all gone and the only way I could put one foot in front of the other was if I was following Chris. It was so unfair of me, Owen. I was the big brother. You’ve seen the pictures—I was literally the bigger brother. Seeing him like that…I should have stepped up, but my brain just flipped off and he knew it.”

A strong arm slipped around his shoulders when he trailed off and Owen, the one who always believed he was the weakest, offered strength. “He was, is, and always will be your rock.”

“Yes, he is definitely that.” Liam soaked up the comfort Owen provided and knew they would be here again. They shared a love for the same men, as well as each other, and that was a strength all its own. “Thank you for loving him.”

“That is definitely my pleasure.” They stood there for a while, just drawing strength from each other, before Liam realized how very different that response was from what they’d come to expect from Owen. Normally he would stammer and deflect, and find ways to belittle himself. This response was all confidence and he couldn’t be happier to hear it. “Did you flip the switch back?”

“It’s like one of those dimmer switches you installed in the office. I think I’m about three quarters of the way to full brightness.” He no longer needed to follow Chris’s lead and he hadn’t transferred that mindset to Billy—in fact, he loved being the bossy one in that relationship—but he didn’t feel a hundred percent yet. “I need a goal. Billy’s managing the bike shop and I could see him angling for a partnership one day. You have the construction company and Chris is going back to school. I have no future goal beyond marrying Billy and having a family.”

“I’ve been thinking about that actually.” There was a little of the signature Owen self-deprecation in that statement, but it had Liam perking up. He certainly hadn’t been able to figure it out and was open to any suggestions. “You told us all these stories of your mom—how she was the class mom, the football mom, the mom that was always there for you and your friends—it sounded like she didn’t have a job outside the home. Is that right?”

“That’s right. She wasn’t going to let anyone else raise her son and, trust me, I was a job and a half.” They were truly the best years of his life and it was all because he was lucky to have her as his mother. “She worked before me and it’s entirely possible she would have gone to work again after I was grown, but she saw her parental role as her most important job.”

“And you? Is someone else going to raise those little Masons?” Owen’s knowing smile was also a new experience, but Liam was too dumbfounded by the revelation to fully appreciate it. “I went into construction because building makes me feel like I’m doing something good. Creating the idea, watching it come to life, and seeing the enjoyment others get is…they’re the most positive things I could imagine before I met Chris. Now, I can’t think of anything more positive than building that house I drafted for the four of us and then seeing it filled with little Bishops and Masons. When that happens, I fully intend to be the class dad, the sports dad, the ballet dad, and whatever other dad my kids need me to be.”

Liam felt a rush of excitement at the idea of being the type of parent Owen was describing, the type of parent his mother had been, but there was a big difference between him and Owen that couldn’t be ignored. “That’s great, but you’d still have the construction business. Even if you took a hiatus or sold your share to Colin, you have the drafting to fall back on when the kids get older.”

“Yes, that’s true.” Owen’s confidence in his suggestion deflated a little at the reminder that he would always have some sort of career in his back pocket if he wanted it. “It was just an idea.”

It was more than just an idea, it was a good idea. Liam just needed to refine it. “You’re not very far off, Owen. When I told Billy I wanted it all that’s exactly what I envisioned. To be his husband, to have the home, and to have children. That’s where the vision stops and maybe it isn’t because I don’t have a goal, maybe it’s because that’s the worthwhile part. I already have a job, a good one that I really enjoy, and Saul would work with me if I stepped back for a while. When the kids were old enough, I could do it part-time and still get the same enjoyment out of it.”

“Will that be enough for you?” Owen didn’t look convinced, but Liam knew he was onto something. This felt right and gave him the goal he’d been missing. “I know you and Chris saw the garage as a temporary solution and you were thinking law school once upon a time.”

“Right, right.” Liam eased away to pace, moving made his brain work faster and he could feel the dimmer switch moving up rapidly. “I could take Red’s job. He didn’t have the first clue how to manage the business side of a garage or how to do the books when he first came in. Everything he learned is self-taught. I was fucking valedictorian, why can’t I learn it? Why should some stranger come in and do what I’m perfectly capable of doing? We already have a new face in the garage. That’s all the change I can handle right now.”

The excitement had taken full hold and had him bouncing around the kitchen, unable to stay still. He had goals, real worthwhile goals for his future, and they all included family. He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of it himself, and was kind of surprised it came from Owen, but that didn’t diminish his brightness at all. Fuck that dimmer switch, his was completely flipped on.