The Broken Road (6 page)

“Hey, princess. What was that all about?”

Emily didn’t look up. “I’m mad at you.”

“Well, that isn’t good.” Kason wheeled himself over to her. “Is there any way I can make it so you’re not mad?”

“Tell him to go away.”

“I’m sorry, honey, but I can’t do that.”

Sniffling Emily said, “Why?”

“Because Ryen is special to me and I don’t want him to go.”

“You don’t need him. You have me, Luke, and Mommy and Daddy too.”

“And I love you all very much. But I do need him. I need someone just like Mommy has Daddy. Do you understand?” Kason hoped she did, he didn’t want her upset. “It’s not going to change things, Ems. I’ll still visit lots, go to your swim meets and take you and Luke to the movies or whatever you want.”

“Nuh-uh.” Emily shook her head. “We won’t get to do that.”

Now Kason was confused. “Why?”

He saw tears in Emily’s eyes and all he wanted to do was take them away. He hated to be the reason for her crying. “When you were with Blake, you never came here. You stayed away until you got hurt real bad.” Her lip wobbled. “I was scared. I don’t want you to go away again or get hurt.”

His heart clenched and Kason felt terrible as he put his hands over Emily’s. He and Blake had often fought about Kason’s family—Blake knew Lexie hated him, refused to spend time with Kason’s family, and didn’t want to be involved with them. With everything else going on, Kason had stupidly neglected his family and regretted it.

“I promise you I’m not going anywhere. I messed up before and I’m sorry. So sorry, but I’m never going to do that again. Ryen knows how special you are to me. He has Jack and Ollie so we can all have fun together. I promise, okay?”

Emily lifted up her hand and held out her pinky. Kason linked it with his then she jumped up and threw her arms around him. He hugged her tightly, so grateful to have her in his life.

“I love you, Uncle Kason.”

“I love you, too, Ems.” Wiping away his niece’s tears, Kason kissed her temple. “So, we’re okay now?”

“Yep. I should go say sorry to Ryen, huh? I wasn’t very nice.”

“That would mean a lot to me.” Kason smiled when she did. “Let’s go have some fun, yeah?”

Nodding, Emily put her doll away then together they went back to the party. Ryen was laughing with Kason’s mom while cooking burgers on the grill. Emily went up to him and hugged his waist.

“I’m sorry, Ryen.”

“Hey, that’s okay, sweetie.” Ryen knelt down next to her. “I get that you like spending time with your uncle.”

Emily nodded. “I do. But now we can all do stuff, Jack and Ollie too. Do you like Disney World? Uncle Kason was gonna take us there ’cause I like
Brave
.”

“That sounds like fun,” Ryen said with a grin. “Jack and Ollie love
Cars
.”

“Luke does too.”

“Maybe we can all plan a trip next month, huh?” Kason added, happy to see things going so well.

“Yay!” Emily beamed then turned as Luke and Sarah called out for her to come play in the bouncy house. “I gotta go.” She leaned in and whispered something in Ryen’s ear then dashed off.

“What did she say?” Kason asked Ryen as he stood up and grabbed the spatula.

Ryen chuckled. “That we could share our time with you as long as I was nice to you.”

His mom said, “She gets that spunk from Lexie.”

“She sure does.”

“I know Lex already gave poor Ryen the third degree so since that’s been done I just want to get to know him,” his mom whispered to Kason as she hugged him. “It’s nice to see you happy, honey. I’ve been worried.”

“Nothing to worry about now. I promise.”

“I can see that.” His mom passed Ryen the seasoning from the nearby table when he started searching for it. “So, Ryen, Kason says you like to cook. I’ve got some recipes I think you might like to try out. I actually went to cooking school before I had my kids.”

“Really?” Ryen gestured her over, and Kason knew by the end of the day, his family was going to love Ryen as much as he did.

* * * *

After lunch and cake, Ryen had gone to chase after the kids when they pleaded for him to join them in the bouncy house. Joking that he could never be too old for it, Ryen had gone with Lexie to play with the kids.

Julie sat down next to Kason, who had been watching and wishing he could join them. “Thanks for inviting us. The kids are having a blast.”

“Well, it was Lexie’s idea, but I’ll take the credit, so you’re welcome.”

She laughed. “You know, Ryen hasn’t stopped talking about you. I can see why.”

Kason tried not to blush. “I hope he didn’t tell you about the stakeout I had going on in the coffee shop.”

“Oh, he did.” She watched the kids for a moment. “You’re the first guy he’s ever had the boys meet.”

Kason wasn’t really surprised, but he was touched. “Really?”

“Mm, the first I’ve ever heard him mention more than in passing too.” Julie paused and took a deep breath. “I met Logan and Ryen right before they did their first tour. With that whole ridiculous ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’, Ryen wasn’t involved with anyone, and then after the second tour… He was injured, but he came home and helped me put the pieces back together.” Her voice hitched. “I don’t know what the boys and I would’ve done without him.”

“I’m sorry about what happened. Ryen told me about Logan that first night he invited me over. He really loves you guys and I’ll never take him away from that,” Kason told her. That would be the last thing he’d ever do, knowing how much Ryen loved them. “My family is special to me too, like I was telling my niece earlier.”

“That’s really great.” Julie’s eyes were filled with sadness. “It’s nice to see Ryen with you. He’s put his life on hold for so long for us and Logan wouldn’t want that. I don’t want that either.”

“I want to try and get him in cooking school. But he doesn’t want to lose the coffee shop.”

“His dad would understand if he sold it, but I think he’s holding onto memories.” Julie sighed and brushed her hair back behind her ear. “I think he should though. He has a real talent and Logan would want him to go after his dream.”

“I’ll have to figure out a way for it to happen then.”

Julie regarded him for a long moment. “You really care for him, don’t you?”

“I do.” Kason felt nervous as he admitted, “I’ve never felt like this before.”

“Yeah, I’ve been there.” Julie was on the verge of tears and Kason could see that she was not over the loss of Logan and probably never would be. “I know what you’re going to say. But I can’t move on. He left me without telling me how to live without him.”

Kason put his hand over hers. “I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through… Logan would want you to be happy though.”

“I am.” Julie gave him a watery smile. “I have my boys and my family.”

“And mine now too. They’re a crazy bunch, but they’re always there when I need them.”

“Thanks, Kason.” Julie hugged him. “You’re not going anywhere, are you?”

Kason shook his head. Maybe it was crazy after so little time had passed, but he knew in his heart he belonged with Ryen. Something had simply clicked when they met and now he needed Ryen in his life.

“I know it’s only been a few weeks, but I’m afraid Ryen is stuck with me now.”

She laughed as Ryen climbed out of the bouncy house. He gestured for Kason. “Hey, Hot Wheels, get over here and have some fun.”

“I can’t get in there,” Kason said even as he wheeled toward him.

“Can’t and won’t are two different things, baby.” Ryen held out his hands. “Like I said, you’re never too old to have fun with kids.”

Taking Ryen’s hands, Kason nodded, trusting him enough to go with it and have fun.

Chapter Five

Kason was having a good time with Ryen until he happened to glance around the restaurant for a waiter only to be shocked by the couple he saw being seated a few seats away.
Of all the luck.

He stiffened as anger rolled through him when he saw who Blake was with. “That son of a bitch,” he muttered and Ryen gave him a puzzled look.

“Kas, what’s wrong?”

“Blake’s here
with
Milo.”

Ryen whipped his head around. He practically growled, “Where is he?” He paused. “Wait, did you say Milo? As in the friend you went to pick up that night?”

“Ex-friend as of now, but yeah.” Kason put his napkin next to his plate and pushed it away, his appetite gone. “Babe, I’m sorry, but can we go?”

“I’ll pay.” Ryen dug his keys out of his pocket. “You wanna go wait for me?”

Kason was grateful he understood. He squeezed Ryen’s hand as he took the keys. He saw Ryen casting glances at Blake—if looks could kill his ex would be dead. Hell, Kason wanted to strangle Milo and Blake. How could Milo do this to him? He was nearly sick when he wondered how long they’d been together. He didn’t put it past Blake to be a cheater, it’d be just another thing on his list of lies. “Just…he’s not worth any trouble, Ry.”

“You’re worth it. I’d like to give him a piece of my mind.” Ryen signaled to the waiter and asked for the check. “Don’t worry, I don’t like causing a scene.”

“Me either.” Kason leaned over for a quick peck then wheeled past the tables to the front entrance. A hostess opened the door for him, but he heard Milo’s voice. “I thought that was you, Kason.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you, Milo,” he said between gritted teeth.

“I didn’t want you to find out this way.” Milo twisted his small hands together. He was shorter than Kason, thinner too. He had an elfin beauty with bright green eyes and copper red hair. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry. You’re an idiot. Blake’s a bastard and he’s only going to hurt you.” Kason shook his head. “You saw what he did. And yet you’re with him? For how long?”

“It just happened,” Milo whispered. “Blake and I both felt so guilty about your accident and that we couldn’t—”

A bitter laugh escaped. “Oh that’s rich! You hooked up while I was struggling to heal. Real nice, Mil. You know all he wanted was a piece of ass. He didn’t feel guilty!”

“He did,” Milo argued. “You pushed him away.”

“After I heard him tell my sister he was glad he hadn’t decided to go with me in the car that night. And PS, he didn’t give a damn that you were stranded and scared then. He wanted me to just leave you.”

Milo practically gaped at him. “He told me you didn’t wake him up.”

“Yeah, pathological liar. Good luck with that.” Kason pushed open the door himself and wheeled outside. He rolled his eyes when Milo followed. He spun around. “Leave me alone!”

“Is it really true?”

Kason threw his hands up. “Why would I lie? He put me through hell, Mil. Tossed me aside like our years meant nothing. Now I find out he was cheating on me to boot. But yeah, ignore me, your friend since high school, who’s never lied to you.”

Milo bit his lip then said, “You’re right, I should’ve talked to you.”

“Instead you stabbed me in the back.” Kason felt shaky, ill. He thought he might be having a panic attack until Ryen appeared, rushing over to his side. He knelt next to him and put an arm around Kason. The world slotted back into place. Yes, he was hurt and rocked by the betrayal, but he’d been through worse and come out stronger. He wouldn’t let this ruin the good thing he was building with Ryen.

“I’m okay,” he assured Ryen then he glanced at Milo. “Go, please. I don’t want to see you or Blake and he’ll be wondering where you went.”

Blake sauntered out of the restaurant as if Milo had summoned a demon. His hazel eyes were unreadable, his blond hair gelled back, and he was dressed as he always had been, board shorts and an athletic T-shirt with sneakers. “There you are, stud.” His eyes widened as he saw Kason. “Oh, I see. It’s trouble on wheels. You putting lies in my boy’s head?”

“Truths,” Kason countered. “What did you say that night about Milo? ‘His pathetic, whiny ass needs to get a clue and stop having others come to his rescue’?”

Milo looked like he’d been slapped. Kason felt a little bad about it, but his once friend needed to know what Blake was really after and how he saw him.

Blake pointed a finger at him. “Shut up!”

Ryen stood but kept an arm around him. “Watch yourself.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“Ryen. Kason’s boyfriend,” Ryen answered Blake.

Kason’s heart did a flip at those words.

“You gotta be kidding,” Blake scoffed. “You paying him?”

Kason had to grab Ryen as he tried to lunge forward. “You son of a bitch!” Ryen snarled.

Kason held onto Ryen’s arm. “You see, Milo?” He glared at Blake. “You stay away from us. I regret ever knowing you. I only hope Milo figures it out before he wastes anymore time.”

“I think I have, I’m done,” Milo whispered, tears in his eyes as he ran off.

“Wait!” Blake called out. He pointed at Kason again. “This isn’t over.”

Kason couldn’t keep his hand on Ryen as he grabbed Blake by his shirt. “You threaten him again, you won’t see me coming.”

Blake tried to push him off but when he couldn’t, he held up his hands. “Fine, I got it. You want the cripple, he’s all yours. Let me go.”

Ryen shoved him away. He made as if he was going to hit Blake for the comment, but he ducked then ran off after Milo.

Kason just nodded when Ryen pulled him into a hug and said, “Let’s go home.”

* * * *

The ride back to Ryen’s was quiet, though Kason was relieved that was where they ended up as he was uncertain once again. His confidence had been built up because of Ryen this past week but with a few cruel words, his insecurities and fears were resurfacing. It was like a poison, he realized. Blake was a manipulative bastard and he was finally seeing what he had been blind to before. Though it hurt and didn’t stop the doubt. Why was Ryen with him? He reminded himself of how sweet Ryen was and how he truly didn’t care about the wheelchair. But still, Ryen was amazing. Maybe he deserved better than the damaged man he was.

Kason followed Ryen inside. He could feel the tears threatening to fall. What was Ryen going to say to him? Secretly, he wanted Ryen to just lift him up and hold him tight, give him the comfort he desperately needed. He rolled over to the couch, stopping when Ryen cupped his cheek and tilted his face up.