Page 150 of Cohesion

Jericho opened his mouth to protest that bullshit when Jasper lifted a hand, silencing him.

Jasper pointed at Xena. “She’s the favour. Job offer’s all mine. Working with animals is one of the most rewarding jobs out there, and one of the hardest. It’s not gonna be a cruisy job. If you think you can’t hack it…” He trailed off and shrugged. “Well, it’s not for everybody.”

Peyton flicked his gaze from Xena—who was staring up at him with infinite patience—to Will, Jericho, and over the landscape in the direction where the outside range was a mere dot in the distance. He crouched in front of Xena, ruffling the fluffy fur of her neck. She leaned into it, eyes bright and alert.

“Hi Xena, I’m Peyton.”

She nuzzled his hand, and he melted, burying his face in the thick fur on her neck. Her tail flicked, and she sat patiently.

She was a beautiful animal, and the companionship she offered Peyton would go a long way to helping the hurts that he suffered from. Animals were the greatest gift on earth.

“Three-month trial?” Peyton asked, looking up.

“For you, and for me. These animals are my life. I won’t allow anyone near them that I don’t trust, or that can’t earntheirtrust.”

Peyton leaned his forehead against Xena’s. She closed her eyes and remained still, soaking up his presence just as much as he was soaking up hers. “When do I start?”

Jasper beamed, eyes lighting up. It was more a favour forhimthan anything. He’d been overworked for months now and trying to do it alone. It would be good for both of them, in different ways. “Next week work for you?”

Peyton smiled, and it was the first real smile that Jericho had seen from him. Pure, unadulteratedhopein every curve of his lips. “Sounds perfect.” He stood and shook Jasper’s hand.

“Welcome aboard. Let’s go inside, do some paperwork for your new lady, and go over a few work-related things. It’s not my favourite, but it has to be done.”

“Yeah, I’m familiar with that,” Peyton said, smirking.

Jasper moved toward the building, Ren right behind him. Xena stayed beside Peyton diligently; she already knew where she needed to be. Clever girl.

“You’re sneaky,” Peyton said, eyeing Jericho with a narrowed gaze.

“You knew that already.”

“Thank you.”

Jericho brushed strands of hair from Peyton’s forehead. “I’d do anything for you. This? This will be good for you. Animals have a way of healing even the most torn-up parts of us.” He kissed Peyton softly and took Will’s hand. “Let’s deal with the fun part that involves an entire tree worth of paper and then go home.”

A strange sentence to utter. It felt right. Not even a twinge of panic.

Okay, a small one. That was normal and to be expected. It was a big decision, a lot of changes.

He was still ready for the next step.

Epilogue

Quinn spread out thelast layer of béchamel sauce before putting the fresh lasagne sheets over the top. The first one he’d made was ready to come out, and with this second one, they should have enough to feed the horde. Hopefully.

He bit back his smile as he waited for Will to eat one more handful of grated cheese and hand over the packet so that he could finish it off and get it in the oven.

“Try this,” Jericho said, holding up a spoon for Will to taste. Will happily leaned across and took the offering. Jericho stroked his hair while he ate as if praising him for being so accommodating.

Quinn pulled the first lasagne out with oven mitts, placing it on a thick wooden chopping board and putting the second in its place. He turned the timer on so that no one forgot when they’d put it in. Will had a habit of putting something on the stove and then wandering off and getting distracted. So did Peyton, which Quinn hadn’t expected.

“Little bit more mustard?” Will said thoughtfully. “The Dijon, not the seeded.”

Jericho thumbed a drop of the dressing from Will’s bottom lip and sucked it into his mouth. “I agree.”

“Did someone remember to pick up bread rolls on their way home?” Peyton asked from where he was setting the table. Persephone and Xena, who had fallen in love the second they’d met, were trailing behind him, “helping.” Persephone kept climbing onto Xena’s back when they were lying down and sleeping on top of her like that. He’d witnessed Persephone attempting to climb her while standing up so she could get on the table yesterday. Something to keep an eye on. She didn’t need help to be a menace that got into everything.

Along with getting Xena—which they’d all agreed was the best idea for Peyton—they were all booked in for sessions with a psychologist the following week, both together and individually. Quinn hoped that it helped them and eased the trauma he doubted they even realised they had after everything that had happened.

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