Page 63 of Heal
Beau opened his eyes, staring at Faith. She was so much more mature than she should have been for her age. The thoughts she had should have never entered her mind. He hated that someone had hurt her enough that she thought of these things. "You know, I could use that same argument. Is my selfish want of a relationship worth putting the whole team at risk?"
Faith smacked his arm. "You know it is. You deserve to be happy, and Parson makes you happier than anyone I've ever seen you around. Except me, of course." She laughed.
He grabbed her in a headlock, giving her a noogie before releasing her. Faith was right, but Beau wasn't sure if he was ready to admit it yet. What he had with Parson was great, but was it enough to put everyone at risk? He just couldn’t make that decision. If he was wrong, the risk was too high. "You're a wise woman, you know that?"
"I've had good teachers." Faith reached for the TV remote. "Now hush and let me watch the movie.
Happy to end the conversation, Beau settled back to watch, but his mind wasn't on the movie. It was on Parson, and trying to figure out how they could be together and still have STK as part of his life.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Parson was just about to leave the office to meet Beau at the hospital when he paused, overhearing a conversation between his boss and one of his co-workers.
"It's not public. The police came to me this morning to find out more information about Albert and exactly why he was fired. I guess they think he might have been abusing kids while he worked here. I told them I only knew of the sexual harassment and blackmail. If he was abusing children, we obviously had no knowledge of it," his boss said.
Parson acted like he was reading a file while he listened more.
"The thing is, and this isn't to be made public. I guess whoever found out attacked him two nights ago. They castrated him." His boss shivered and made a face as if disgusted and repulsed by the knowledge. "The police don't know who did it, but said there was enough evidence left behind that Albert will be going away for a very long time if he recovers from his injuries."
Parson gripped the edge of his desk. Castrated? Who would do such a thing? Surely, the police wouldn't. Castrating someone was crazy. How did someone even live through something like that?
Parson's blood ran cold. The only way would be if a doctor did it.
There was no way. Beau would never….
"Due to their investigation, we are opening our own review. There will be inspections done on all homes over the next few months. Albert hasn't worked here in over a year, but I'd rather get ahead of this and keep any bad publicity out of the media if we can. As of now, the press hasn't gotten hold of the story, but I'm sure it's only time." His boss and the other employee wandered father away where Parson couldn't hear more.
Stunned by what he'd heard, he tried to put the facts together. Beau said his friend was with the police, but what if he'd been lying and was taking matters into his own hands. There was no denying how close Beau was to the kids. If Albert had hurt Lisa or Jeff, he wouldn't blame Beau for going after him, but castration? Who the fuck did that?
He slowly cleared off his desk, locking his computer and desk drawers before grabbing his briefcase and heading out the door.
Now that the thought was there, it wouldn't leave. But what was he supposed to do? Did he straight up ask Beau about it? It wasn't something he could ignore.
Even if he did agree that the punishment fit the crime, this was sounding like some vigilante attack, not a police investigation and arrest. He wanted Albert to pay for what he did, but at what cost, he just wasn't sure.
Could the man he was falling for be behind it all?
Parson tried to push it to the back of his mind, but couldn't. He needed to talk to Beau, but first, he had to focus on the kids. No matter what Beau might have done, he still wanted to see Lisa and Jeff happy, and even if Beau had attacked the man, he was sure that Beau would never harm the kids. He didn't question placing them in his home at all.
As he pulled into the hospital parking lot, he had no choice but to forget about it for the next few hours. He couldn't talk to Beau in front of the kids, and he really needed to focus on the children and making sure they were comfortable and happy at Beau's.
Even with the trust and friendship they had with Beau, moving into a new home wasn't easy, and Lisa and Jeff would remember the past, all the other times they went into new homes, and expect it to be the same. They would be scared to move around the house, scared to touch anything, scared to come out of their rooms. It would take time for them to settle in and act like normal children again.
Parson wasn't sure Beau completely understood that. He wanted to make everything okay so badly, that having the kids fear anything to do with the move would weigh on Beau's mind. This wasn't something a big house or money could cure. It was going to take time.
He made his way up to the kids' hospital room, determined to act natural. He'd have time later to speak with Beau about all this. Today was all about the children.
He knocked as he pushed the hospital door open. "I hear the two of you are leaving today." He smiled, seeing the kids dressed and packed.
"Beau says we can order pizza for lunch once we get to his house and settle in." Jeff smiled.
"Pizza sounds good. I didn't eat breakfast today, so I hope I get to join you." Parson walked over to where Beau was standing. "Hi." He stepped close enough he could caress Beau's hand with his own, but kept enough distance between them that it wasn't necessarily unprofessional.
"Hi, we were just trying to decide if they were going to share a room at first or if they wanted their own rooms. I told them they could do both. They each will have their own room, but if they want to stay in the same room for now, they can. It's up to them. I'm sure in time, they'll each want their own space." Beau leaned a little more toward Parson, causing their arms to brush.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out. It will take time to get comfortable in a new place, but I think you'll be happy with Beau," Parson told them.
"Faith is planning on coming over this weekend and we can go shopping. It will give you time to figure out how you want to decorate your rooms and for us to see what clothes and stuff you'll need." Beau looked excited as he told the kids about the house.
