Falling Together (All That Remains #2) (26 page)

“Where
have you been?” I whisper.

“Talking
to Gary. Give me a minute to get ready for bed.” He kisses my cheek and pauses.
“You’ve been crying.”

I
look away and into Joseph’s face, so vulnerable in sleep. “I’ve never seen him
like this. He wouldn’t talk about it.”

“Give
him time, darlin’. He’s in shock.” After cleaning up, he slips in behind my
back, and I snuggle into him, drawing comfort from his warm arms around me.

“Gary
is staying at Julie’s tonight. He feels terrible for bringing them here. He
said he never imagined Joseph wouldn’t want to see them. He didn’t know their
story.”

“It’s
not his fault.”

“I
told him that. I also told him about our relationship.”

“How
did he react?”

Airen
laughs. “He called me a crazy white boy. He’s fine with it. I also made sure
everyone knows not to tell Joseph’s parents until he’s ready for them to know.
They think you and Joseph are a couple.”

“You
don’t have to do that,” Joseph interrupts, his voice flat. “I appreciate what
you’re willing to do, but it won’t matter. They couldn’t accept me before. They’ll
never accept this.”

Airen
props himself on one arm, and gazes at him. “I just want you to have the
opportunity to reconnect with them before they find out.”

“I
know, but you can’t pretend Abby isn’t your wife. It’s not right.”

“It’ll
just be for a day or two, until you get an opportunity to talk to them.” Airen
turns to me. “What do you think?”

“As
long as you remember you aren’t single.” I grin, squeezing his thigh.

“The
kids will give it away. Lane obviously belongs to you and Airen.”

“If
they figure it out, then we’ll tell them.” Airen shrugs.

“It’s
up to you. We’ll do whatever you want, Joseph,” I assure him.

He
nods, rubbing two fingers across his lips like he always does when he’s nervous.
“I’ll talk to them tomorrow.” By his tone, you’d think he’s been sentenced to
the electric chair.

Airen
hops over us and settles in on his other side. “Decide in the morning.” He
kisses him softly on the lips, and we cuddle him between us as if our bodies
can protect him from the pain and confusion the next few days are sure to
bring.

When
Gary arrives after breakfast, Joseph asks him to invite his parents for dinner.
Everyone but Joseph and I will be at Lexi’s house, including Walker. “There’s
no reason to subject him to their narrow world view,” he grumbles, growing more
and more agitated as dinner time approaches.

“Sit,”
I order, pulling him down beside me on the love seat. “Talk to me, Joseph. It
isn’t like you to bottle things up, that’s Airen’s department…and mine,” I
admit.

He
sighs and shakes his head. “I was past all of this. It took years of therapy
and…I’m afraid to face it again. I don’t want to understand. I don’t want to
forgive and hope they’ve changed. I just want to rewind to yesterday afternoon
and pretend I never saw them. Airen doesn’t understand.” His fingers pinch the
bridge of his nose, eyes closing for a moment before looking up at me and
asking, “But you do, don’t you? What if your mom showed up at the door?”

“I’d
hate it. I don’t know what I’d do. I do understand how you feel…a little
anyway. My mom was abusive from the beginning and never claimed to love me. I
know you were hurt far worse because they were loving parents before you came
out, weren’t they?” It’s always worse to have something and then lose it than
never have it at all.

He
nods. “I thought so, but…to do what they did to me, throw me away like a piece
of trash. I don’t think they ever loved me.” He pulls me closer, and I climb
into his lap, straddle his legs, and press my body against his chest, trying to
get as close to him as possible. He returns my fierce embrace.

“I’m
sorry, baby. If you want me to send them away, I will.”

“Fuck,
Abby, I don’t know what I want. I don’t know what to do.”

“I
can’t tell you what to do. That has to be your decision.” I sit back and gaze
into his troubled eyes. “I want to tell you two things, but I don’t want you to
imagine for one second that I’m trying to justify their behavior, or take their
side in any way.”

A
sad smile accompanies his reply. “I know better than that.”

“When
things went to hell, you’re the person they wanted. You don’t spend two years
searching for someone that isn’t important to you. I think they love you in
their own way, if not the way you need, and definitely not the way you deserve.”

Chest
hitching, he swallows hard. “And the second thing?”

“If
they hurt you again, you aren’t alone. You aren’t a terrified kid tossed into
the foster care system. You’re surrounded by people who love you
unconditionally, who will turn on them like rabid dogs to protect you. You’re
strong, confident, and proud of who you are…and so incredibly brave. This time
you know the fault lies with them so they can’t get into your head and make you
doubt yourself. If you want to hear them out, you can handle whatever they have
to say, and you’ll have me and Airen to love you through it.”

Wrapped
in my embrace, the words mumbled against my neck are barely intelligible, but
they tug at my heart all the same. “Don’t leave me alone with them.”

Joseph,
always my level headed rock, my comfort, needs me to protect him, to guard his
heart from those who never should have broken it in the first place. He’s right.
I can relate. I understand the fear of letting down your guard, of caring, just
to have it thrown back in your face when they turn on you again. “Not for a
second,” I swear, weaving my fingers through his hair.

“Okay.”
He takes a deep breath. “Let’s do it.”

Climbing
off his lap, I tug him to his feet. “You know, I sort of wish my mom could show
up at the door. So I could see her face when she realizes she was wrong. So she
could see I have the love of two amazing, beautiful men.”

A
soft kiss lands on my forehead. “Her loss, ladybug.”

* * * *

When
we hear a knock at the door, Joseph takes a deep breath and steadies himself,
dragging his fingers through his hair in a very Airen-ish gesture. He takes a
seat on the couch before jumping quickly to his feet again, a ball of nervous
energy.

“Relax,
everything will be okay,” I whisper, giving his hand a quick squeeze.

“Thank
you for inviting us,” his mother chirps, handing me a bottle of wine.

“You’re
welcome, Mrs. Strecker, please come in and make yourselves comfortable. Dinner’s
nearly ready.”

“Call
me Connie.” She smiles, and tiny wrinkles appear around her mouth and eyes.

“Joe.”
His father nods curtly, introducing himself.

“Nice
to meet you,” I murmur as I size up the man Joseph was named after. He has the
same piercing green eyes and lean build, but that’s where the similarities end.
While Joseph’s face expresses his warmth and kindness, Joe’s is cold and rigid
when he flashes a forced smile in my direction, moving stiffly to sit on the
edge of the sofa.

“Can
I get you both a drink? We have tea and lemonade, or I can open the wine.”

“Tea
would be lovely,” Connie replies, and Joe nods his agreement.

“Let
me get it, sweetheart,” Joseph volunteers, dropping a quick kiss on my lips
before escaping to the kitchen.

Connie
beams from ear to ear. “How long have you been together?” she asks when Joseph
returns with a pitcher of tea and four glasses of ice.

“We
met almost a year after the plague. I found him unconscious in the yard with an
infected cut that caused him to run a very high fever and become dehydrated.”

“Abby
saved my life,” Joseph interjects, catching my eye and smiling softly, “and
probably my son’s as well.”

“So
the boy’s yours?” Joe asks.

“Yes,
his name is Walker. He’ll be eight years old in May.”

“And
his mother?”

“Abby’s
his mother now. She’s a mother to all the kids here, and a wonderful one.” His
arm slides around my waist.

“He’s
a beautiful child. He looks so much like you. I’m so happy for you, sugar.”
Connie smiles.

The
oven timer buzzes. “Shall we move to the dining room?” I suggest. Joseph
relaxes a little at dinner and even manages to laugh when his mother fills me
in on some of his childhood antics.

“He
kept the poor cat hidden in his room for weeks! I’d let it out to run during
the day while he was in school, but I didn’t let on I knew what he was up to. I
wanted to see how long he’d keep the charade going.”

“How
did he find out?” I ask with a giggle.

“He
never suspected, although I was the one cleaning the litter box and feeding the
poor thing.”

I
laugh and poke Joseph. “Did you think the cat poop just disappeared?”

“I
was seven.” He grins.

“That
isn’t the best part of the story,” Connie says.

Joe
cracks a grin for the first time all evening when Joseph groans and covers his
face with his hands, knowing what’s coming. “I mentioned at lunch that my
allergies were acting up and how strange that was since I’m only allergic to
cat hair. I thought maybe he’d confess. Oh, I never should have said it!” She
laughs, a hand over mouth.

“What
did he do?”

“He
sneaked his father’s clippers and shaved the poor thing!”

“You
didn’t.” I shove Joseph’s arm playfully. “You shaved a cat?”

“You
can imagine my face when I let the ugly little thing out the next morning. It
looked like a pink rat. It took months for the fur to grow back.”

We
all laugh and I lean to kiss Joseph on the cheek. “That’s priceless.”

“Thank
you, mom,” Joseph remarks good naturedly.

“Oh
relax, sugar. It’s not like I told her about the time you ended up with
salmonella poisoning from trying to bulk up by drinking raw eggs.”

“Oh
God.” My side hurts from laughing. “If you tell me you did it because you
watched Rocky, I’m going to lose it.”

His
head jerks up and he stares at me in amazement. “How did you know that?” The
room fills with laughter at his stunned face.

“In
his defense, he was as skinny as a rail.” Connie says with a grin.

I
can’t believe how well the evening has played out. Joseph is actually enjoying
himself, and we’ve managed to avoid the sensitive issues for now. He leans to
whisper in my ear. “If you speak a word of this to Airen…”

“But
he’ll love the antics of little Joseph,” I tease. I’m going to have such fun
with this.

Leaning
forward on his elbows, he regards his mother. “We were thinking of taking a
pontoon boat out on the lake tomorrow. Would you like to come along? You could
get to know everyone.” Watching him reach out, and give them a chance has my
chest tight with anticipation. If they refuse, I’ll throw them in the lake
myself.

“That
sounds wonderful,” Connie replies, and Joe nods his agreement. Christ, does the
man ever talk? “Will you bring Walker?” she asks tentatively.

“Of
course, but be warned, he’ll talk your ear off.”

“Can’t
imagine where he got that from.” She smiles at Joseph fondly. He hugs her and
shakes his father’s hand before they leave with the promise to meet us after
breakfast.

Joseph
fills Airen in on the dinner and the plans for the following day while I finish
preparing for bed.

Airen
hugs him. “I’m glad it went so well.”

“Yeah,
well, they were watching their good little heterosexual and his girlfriend.
It’s easy to be happy when you think you’ve gotten your way. It won’t last.”

“Maybe
not, but give it a chance.”

“Do
you mind if we don’t alternate nights for a few days?” he asks, crawling into
bed beside Airen. This has been so hard on him, and he needs us both with him
now.

“Whatever
you need, Joey.” Airen kisses him, and Joseph slides his hand between his legs,
eliciting a low growl.

“Hmm,
whatever?”

“You
better get your ass over here, darlin’,” Airen warns. “We’re going to start
without you.” Like hell. We’re all naked and sweaty when Airen grabs Joseph’s
hand and rubs it between my legs. “Doesn’t she feel good?” he purrs.

“Always.”
He catches my earlobe between those amazing lips.

“You’re
so smooth, darlin’, but I think you missed a spot,” Airen says, his hand
joining Joseph’s. I’m torn between giggling at what I know Airen is doing, and
moaning at the sensation of their fingers stroking me. “Next time let Joseph
help. He’s good at shaving pussies.”

Airen
smirks, a gleam in his eye, and I laugh at Joseph’s groaned response. “Abby, you
couldn’t resist, could you?”

“Sorry.”
I giggle, bringing my lips to his.