“We don’t know. Lori asked Doc. Zander. Kind of roundabout, asking about hillbillies marrying their cousins and such.”
“Doc doesn’t know about the baby?”
“No!” Brian looked around fast. “No one else knows. You and me and Lori and Damon. Just us.”
“Okay. All right.” Nick lifted his hand and draped his arm over Brian’s shoulders, tugging him close to minimize their height difference. “What did Doc say?”
Brian’s rigidity softened under his hold. “He didn’t seem to think it was that big a deal. Unless something bad runs in the family.”
Nick tried to lighten his voice. “So no two-headed babies?” He grunted as Brian elbowed him and not gently. But he didn’t let go, and Brian leaned on his shoulder instead of pulling away.
Brian’s said hoarsely, “It might have my dyslexia, or my weirdness.”
“You’re not weird.”
“Or my Finding, or something worse. That was Marston’s plan.”
“Would that be so awful? You do all right.” That sounded too wishy-washy. “You’re awesome, one of the good guys.”
“I guess.” Brian slumped against him more heavily.
They sat silently for a few minutes. Nick’s mind raced between anger at Marston and worry for Brian and frustration because he couldn’t remember one fucking minute of that conversation. Did Damon kill Marston? If so, who killed Veronica? Do I even want to know? If Marston really treated the Kerrs like experimental animals, Nick might’ve helped Damon shoot the fucker, but Veronica was just a bystander. Probably. Presumably. I wish I could remember.
He hugged Brian, ignoring the headache building painfully between his eyes. Now what? “Are you going to act like the kid’s dad? For real?”
The silence stretched out long enough he thought Brian wouldn’t answer, but eventually Brian said, “Probably not. Lori doesn’t want me to. She’s leaving the birth certificate blank.”
“Might be for the best.”
“Yeah.”
A dozen questions battled for headspace inside Nick. Do you want to be a dad? Do I? How’s she going to raise the kid? Will it end up dumped on us? What if it’s defective? He flinched when that cruel word rose to the surface. Shit, no. What did they call kids like that? Challenged? What if it’s a baby version of an actual Bry, a tiny innocent blond kid with a simple mind and scary talent? A flash of protectiveness went through him and he clutched for it, finding comfort in its familiar simplicity. “We’ll keep the kid safe. No one messes with that kid while we’re around.”
“Right. We’ll be the kid’s uncles, since Lor’s my sister. Or, you know, uncle and uncle’s friend.”
“Sh.” Nick tugged at Brian’s hair, turning him for a hard kiss. “Uncles. You and me together.”
“And Charlie. Thank goodness for him. Charlie’s such a good guy.” Brian’s tone warmed.
Nick tugged his hair a bit harder. “What am I? Chopped liver?”
“Maybe.” Brian laughed, relaxing against him. “I’m not sure. You might have to show me.”
Nick kissed him again, then bit lightly at his chin. “What proof do you need? I’m all about the chain of evidence.”
“You could do as I tell you. Prove you’re willing to bend for me.”
“Oh, I’ll bend.” Nick shoved his feet against the carpet, though, tipping Brian back on the bed and landing on top of him. “After I bend you first. Taking turns like a good guy.”
“And your turn is first? Eeep!” Brian yelped as Nick found his dick through the denim of his jeans and squeezed hard.
“Yeah. Me first. Got complaints about that?” He shifted over to have better access to Brian’s button and zipper. The color had returned to Brian’s face and the shine to his eyes, and Nick figured even with a headache, he could keep Brian from thinking about that ex-rat-bastard Marston for at least half an hour.
Brian grabbed Nick’s hair and tugged him close for a kiss. Then he pushed him back a few inches. “No complaints. Get to work.”
That kind of order Nick could definitely take, and improvise on. The dregs of anger and worry and some of the pain slipped away on a tide of heat, at the feel of Brian eager and willing under him.
Chapter 5
It only took three days to get the key to their new house, since it was standing empty. Brian was really done with the motel by then. On Saturday night, when he and Nick had distracted each other, the people next door had banged on the wall and yelled at them to shut up.
Brian still felt a sick lurch of embarrassment, realizing that his sex noises had been heard by strangers. Nick had laughed, and Luger had growled from the bathroom, but Brian had to jump up and pretend he was settling Luger down behind the closed bathroom door to get past his shakes, before he could go back to Nick and finish what they’d started. He’d managed to have sex on Sunday night, but sex with his body tense and his hand ready to cover Nick’s mouth if he got loud was a different, less-satisfying thing. A space of their own with no one nearby was going to be so much better.
Brian glanced around the small front room, which they’d given a quick sweep and mopping. The place was still beat-up and in need of a bunch of repairs, but it was theirs now. He missed their cozy Minnesota house a lot, but, in time, maybe this could be just as good.
Lori and Charlie had come to help out, since their duplex wasn’t available yet. Lori knelt in the main room, opening boxes to sort through them. Nick had failed to mark half of them, and unpacking was a bit of a treasure hunt. “Here’s your tool kit, Nick. No wonder this one was heavy.”
“You’re not lifting stuff, right?” Charlie gave her a sharp glance. “You’re not allowed to go into labor until we’re moved in.”
Lori smirked at him. “Believe me, I’m not planning to. All I did was push it.”
Charlie bent stiffly to reach into the box, pulling out a large, heavy-looking tool chest. Brian thought Charlie probably shouldn’t be lifting that either, but knew not to offer to help.
Over by the windows, Nick said, “Bring me the power screwdriver? There should be a tin of odd screws in there too.”
“You are an odd screw,” Charlie quipped, digging back in the box to come up with a coffee can.
“And how would you know?” Nick took the can, searching through it. “Here, when I’m ready, hold this sill in place, wouldya?” He knelt and looked up at the bottom of the window. “Lori, is there a flashlight in there? I can’t see what the fuck I’m doing.”
Lori said, “I don’t see one.”
“Try the front pocket of my backpack.” Nick plugged in the cord and gave the tool a quick buzz.
“Sure.” Lori unzipped the pack and pulled out a Maglite, tossing it over. “Good catch, Charles.” Charlie knelt to hold the light for Nick to drive the screw, the tool whirring.
Lori turned to Brian. “Hey, you seen this? This is cool.” The object in her hands was a familiar decorative box, sides and top inlaid with strips of different colors of wood.
Brian shrugged. “It’s pretty. Nick keeps it to look at.” He probably wouldn’t want you messing with it. But he didn’t want to make a big deal of it. You never knew which way Lori would jump.