Page 65 of Abel's Omega
I checked out my little boy’s expression, but he’d hidden his face in the side of my neck. “Maybe not. I don’t know…”
“It’s my old Legos,” Abel explained.
Fan lifted his head. “You have Legos?”
Abel nodded. “They’re all in the basement here. Come with me to get them?”
Fan’s internal conflict was obvious—he really wanted to see the other Legos, but he was still a little angry with Abel for not being Pappuh.
“You can push the buttons in the elevator,” I suggested. He needed to see Abel in a positive light again, to do something fun and special with him. I didn’t think it would fix everything, but it would be a start.
“Okay,” he said, in that singsong voice pups use to indicate that they’re not doing it because they want to, but because it will make their parents happy. He squirmed to get down, but refused to take Abel’s hand, marching over to the door and waiting impatiently.
Abel squeezed my hand briefly and my two boys left.
They came back about fifteen minutes later, carting a large plastic tub between them. I was just piling the last of the pancakes—only slightly singed—onto plates, and setting out syrup and margarine and cutlery. They dumped the bin out by the tree, the bricks scattering over the floor with a thousand tiny clicks.
A collective “Oooh!” went up from the rest of the pups, and I hurried into the living room to keep Noah from grabbing any of them.
Fan was already chattering about what he wanted to build with all the Lego, Abel restricting his comments to agreeing with Fan’s plans.
“Pancakes, everyone,” I called.
“But I want to play!” Fan cried.
“We can play after,” Abel said, sweeping the tiny blocks into a pile. “You know, when I was planning this place, I built a model with these Legos?”
“Really?”
Abel nodded solemnly. “But let’s eat first. I’m starving and it smells yummy.”
I hid a smile—Abel was picking up my speech patterns with the pup.
“Dabi makes good pancakes. He puts berries in them.”
“Delicious!” Abel stood and held out his hand. “Let’s go eat.”
I held my breath. But after a moment’s hesitation, Fan reached up and took Abel’s hand.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Abel pulled Bax’s old van up in front of Roland’s house. One more tie to Bax’s old life snapped, now that this clunker was back. He’d like to take a hatchet to them all, but the last ones would have to wait until April and their official mating ceremony. He put the van in Park and turned it off. “We’re here.” Duke pulled up behind him in the pack’s smaller van.
Bax looked pensively out the window. He’d been quiet during the drive, and Abel was well aware of his worries. They’d talked about it, but Abel hadn’t managed to convince him that there was no chance Jackson-Jellystone would keep him. Only time would convince him, Abel supposed. He reached across and patted Bax’s hand. “Come on. You can look down your nose at them.” Abel had given Bax a budget to spend on clothing for this trip. Bax had understood immediately, and he’d had an amused glint in his eyes when he took the credit card Abel offered him.
The two pups were asleep in the back seat. They’d only brought Noah and Fan with them this trip. Noah was still nursing, so he’d had to come, and at the last minute Fan had insisted on coming too. Teca had gone to stay with a friend from daycare, Beatrice to Jason and Mac. It had made organizing the trip easier for Abel, and had taken some of the stress of Bax’s shoulders as well. Even though his future mate wouldn’t come out and say it, the way he talked around the subject made it plain to Abel that he was worried about the pups being shoved out into the porch to sleep again, and what effect that would have on them. Better that they get the treat of visiting elsewhere. With only two, they could all cram themselves into one room with little difficulty.
Abel unbuckled Fan and picked him up, dead weight on his shoulder. Bax met him in front of the van with Noah already in his sling—a new one, his Christmas gift from Jason.
Duke strolled up to them, trailing their suitcase, a bag over his shoulder, and a clothes basket full of the pups’ things on one hip. “We good?”
Abel nodded, and then Roland came out the door to greet them. “Welcome, Mercy Hills,” he said.
“Jackson-Jellystone,” Abel returned.
“Come in,” Roland said, and stepped aside.
Abel walked in, Bax behind him, and Duke bringing up the rear. He remembered where the guest rooms were and took the hallway to the left, down to a small suite. Two bedrooms, a bath, and a sitting room—enough that he could conduct business on his own if he wanted to. Abel took the larger of the two rooms, leaving the smaller one for Duke.
