Page 3 of Fated Redemption
Here we go.
“Just pie and coffee?” Moe asked.
“Yes, umm maybe, maybe a sandwich too?”
“So pie, coffee and a sandwich. What kind of sandwich?”
Peyton’s face started to get a panicked expression. “Umm turkey. No wait, ham.”
“Pie, coffee and a ham sandwich. Fries or chips?”
Peyton’s eyes began to bug out and he shifted nervously from foot to foot.
Moe had been working everyday with Peyton to get the small man to think for himself and to ask for what he wanted. Ordering a lunch would have been beyond him months ago. He was proud of his little buddy.
“Fries. No. Chips. Wait. Do they have meatloaf today?”
Moe nodded patiently and slowly. “I imagine they might.”
“Okay, a meatloaf lunch with mashed potatoes and extra gravy. With pie and coffee.” Peyton heaved a huge breath and then looked up at Moe, beaming. He was so proud of himself.
“You got it, buddy.” Moe turned and walked over to Rhys who was gazing at him with a soft, yet gentle look on his face. He reached out and took Moe’s hand as they walked to the diner.
“You’re really good with him. He’s overcome so much. His abuse went on for years. Mine was just a couple months.” Rhys sighed.
“You are both different people with different circumstances. He can handle more physical pain than anyone I’ve ever known, but when he arrived in Arkadia his mind and spirit were broken. He never spoke up, never made any decisions for himself. He is still afraid to leave the bar. So, in that respect you are much stronger.” Moe ran his thumb over Rhys’s hand.
A slow smiled formed in his mate’s lips. “I can’t wait to get to know him better.”
“I think having you at the bar will be good for him. Get him to open up more.”
“Did you see his face when David and Daniel were goofing off?”
Moe let out a booming laugh. “That was more excitement than he’s had in a while. I hope they visit more with you here. If anyone can bring that kid out of his shell it would be those two.”
“I’ll let them know.”
Moe swung their hands back and forth. He couldn’t keep the goofy grin off his face if he tried. He had waited weeks to be with his mate like this.
“You’re excited just to be holding hands aren’t you?” Rhys asked, looking up at him.
“I’ve been alone for so long now, that this simple pleasure means a lot to me.”
“Then we’ll have to make sure that we do it a lot.” Rhys flushed. “I mean.” Rhys stuttered, embarrassed at what his comment implied.
Moe smiled. “I know what you meant. I’ve told you this before, we’ll take this mating at your pace. You let me know what you’re ready for.”
Rhys breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. It’s not that I don’t want you, I wake up so damn hard some mornings, dreaming about running my tongue over your tattoos, I think my dick will fall off.”
Moe stumbled over his own feet and looked down at his mate.
Rhys grinned at him wickedly for a moment before the light faded from his eyes. “I’m afraid of what might happen in the heat of the moment. I don’t know if I trust myself yet.” Rhys sounded so sad.
“There are other things we can do,” Moe said simply, and smiled at the surprised look on his mate’s face.
Without any further explanation he held the diner door open and they walked inside. They hadn’t taken a couple steps when a small body launched itself at Rhys.
Moe smiled at his bewildered mate as he was strangled by their Alpha Mother. He looked around the diner to see that Rebecca, Sebastian and Ashby had pushed three tables together to hold the car seats with their sons nestled inside, and they sat at the table between the room and their children.
