Page 87 of Trained Royal
“Good point,” Douglas said. “All right. At leastweknow. We can support him however he needs it whenever he needs it. Them. Support them.” He paused. “I’ve just realised. Damon is already part of the group, so the name George coined is our final one—Thirsty Thirteen.”
They groaned. “Could’ve been worse, I suppose,” Christian said. “Just don’t mention anything to him about it being our final name because he might just come up with something different.”
“Why we need a name, I do not know,” Douglas said. “But that’s my little brother for you.”
He didn’t sound a bit put out about the name, in Kieren’s opinion. In fact, he sounded proud.
By the time Patrick and he decided to go home, it was getting late, and the rest of the group had joined them. When Freddie offered them a room at Windsor, Patrick raised his eyebrows, and Kieren nodded, knowing his boyfriend wanted more time with his family, and it would give Kieren some more time to get to know them outside of guarding them.
After devouring several drinks and a table full of food, Kieren had found something he hadn’t realised he’d been missing—close friends. In the physical and emotional sense.
****
Chapter 26
Patrick
“Happy birthday, Kendal,” Patrick said. He leaned in slowly for a hug, ready to back away if Kendal wasn’t ready for contact, but they smiled and returned the hug.
“Thank you,” they said, accepting the gold-wrapped present. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“I wanted to.” Patrick glanced across at Kieren. “Kendal, this is Kieren, my boyfriend.”
Kendal’s smile grew. “Nice to meet you, Kieren.” They turned to Patrick. “I’m glad you found someone.”
“Thank you. You will, too. When you’re ready.” Kendal ducked their head, fiddling with the bow on the present. Patrick changed the subject. “How are you enjoying the party?”
Kendal peered at him. “It’s good. It’s nice to see everyone. I don’t socialise as much as I used to.”
“Well, you’re always welcome at ours. Whenever you want or need some company, just let us know.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
Patrick saw Douglas enter, and he made his excuses, knowing his cousin wanted to check in with Kendal. He grabbed Kieren’s hand and dragged him across the room to where the drinks were, but Patrick rested against the wall, watching Douglas interact with Kendal. Douglas held Kendal’s hands, rubbing his thumbs over their knuckles, then cupped their face and pressed a kiss to their forehead. Kendal didn’t hesitate and wrapped their arms around Douglas.
“They seem to have a good relationship,” Kieren said.
“Douglas was the one to save Kendal from Talon last year. They’ve always been closer than Kendal has to the rest of us, although Uncle Andrew is still in contact with them, too.” At Kieren’s questioning look, he added, “Uncle Andrew was also there to help. He took over Kendal’s care when Douglas left that night.”
Kieren passed him a drink, and he absentmindedly sipped it. Could his music help people like Kendal? He’d researched music therapy when he’d begun thinking about a different career avenue, but he wasn’t sure about the complexities of it. Is it for people who want to play, or can people just be interested in listening to it? It might be something he could help provide as well as for the youth centre.
“Penny for them?”
Patrick blinked, focusing on Kieren. “Huh?”
Kieren smiled. “What’s got you thinking?”
Patrick surveyed the room, noticing the huddles of subs and furtive looks, some interested in the goings-on around them, some unsure. “I was wondering if music therapy would help anyone.”
“It might. Is that something that would interest you?” Kieren asked.
“It would, just like conducting does, but I don’t think people would really want me to be their music therapist.” Patrick scoffed.
“Why not?”
“Can you imagine anyone wanting to open up to me? The first thing they’ll see is someone who has anything they want at the tips of their fingers. They won’t see someone who they could speak to unfiltered.” Patrick shook his head. “I love the idea of it and would love to do it, but I couldn’t be the one who ran the sessions. I could maybe help provide ideas for the music used, but it couldn’t be me.”
Kieren nodded. “Yeah, I can understand what you’re saying.”
