Page 29 of Axel

The night had drawn in and quite the gale had picked up outside. But fortunately for Axel and Arlo, the pair of them were all snug in bed. Laser was fast asleep downstairs in the kitchen and aside from the creaking of the occasional floorboard, there was quiet across the ranch house.

After the work on Kipp’s orchard took longer than expected, Axel had to head into town to pick up some equipment. It was no big deal, although it did mean that he was able to stop at one of his regular clients’ houses to finish off a job from earlier in the week.

All of this meant that by the time bedtime rolled around, Axel was beat.

Having decided to stay with Arlo at the ranch once more, Axel was gradually drifting off to sleep with a full belly when he became aware that Arlo wasn’t as close to sleep as he was. Far from it, in fact.

‘Everything okay?’ Axel asked a little drowsily as Arlo shifted from one side to another and kicked his feet. ‘You should be asleep by now baby boy.’

‘Urgh. I can’t sleep,’ Arlo replied, his voice full of frustration.

Axel could tell that even though he might have been more than ready to jump on board the snooze train, Arlo was about as far away as it was possible to be – and unless Axel gave Arlo a helping hand, the pair of them might be up for hours.

‘Okay, so talk to Daddy,’ Axel said, turning on the small bedside light and providing a warm glow onto Arlo’s sweet face. ‘If there’s something on your mind, tell me and I’m sure it’ll make it much better.’

‘I don’t know… it’s silly,’ Arlo replied, his voice shy and a hint of pride in it too. ‘I’m fine. I really am fine.’

Axel reached out and brought Arlo in close. Axel could tell that his baby boy had something on his mind and wasn’t going to allow him to bury his emotions like this. That wouldn’t be good for anyone in the long run.

‘Talk,’ Axel said, stroking Arlo’s hair. ‘And that’s Daddy’s orders.’

As Axel waited for Arlo to respond, he could tell that there was something swirling around his darling boy’s mind. Suddenly, Axel was sensing that whatever it was that was keeping Arlo up late into the night might actually be something way more important than he’d imagined.

‘It’s just…’ Arlo said, clearly now wanting to open up to his Daddy but still not quite sure how to say it.

‘Darling boy, you don’t need to worry, just talk,’ Axel said reassuringly. ‘You’re in bed with your Daddy. No one can hurt you. Nothing you say can scare me. You’re safe.’

Arlo smiled sweetly and began to talk.

And from the moment he opened his mouth to reveal what had been bugging him, Axel could see that this conversation had long been overdue…

‘I think that I might want to walk away from my appeal,’ Arlo said, having explained everything about his scare in the barn and how it had brought up so many old feelings and memories from the military. ‘I think m-m-m-maybe trying to win my unfair dismissal case is keeping me stuck in the past. But then I think that I don’t want them to just get away with treating me like that. What if someone else like me wants to serve? They should be able to without fear of being bullied. I don’t know what to do.Argh. I hate feeling like this.’

Axel ran his fingers down Arlo’s arms. The young man was clearly stressed about the ongoing appeal process, and there was the baggage he was still carrying from how he had been treated too. It wasn’t easy for the boy, that much was evident.

But while Axel might have had his own opinions on what Arlo should do, he knew that the choice had to be his. Axel might have been a Daddy but in this situation, it was the Little who needed to take the lead…

‘My boy, I’ll support you in whatever you decide to do,’ Axel said, his voice soft and full of love. ‘It’s good that you’re talking to me about it, and I’m always here for you to listen, talk, and discuss options. But this is a big deal for you, and the choice has to come from your heart. Sure, I could tell youwhat to do. But that wouldn’t be right. And I don’t think you’d thank me for that in the long run either. I’ll be standing next to you whatever you choose though. I’ll pick you up when you fall or when times get tough and make it all right. Whatever you decide, I’ve got your back.’

Axel could see that Arlo was taking in what he was saying.

‘Thank you, Daddy,’ Arlo said, suddenly looking and sounding like a wave of tension had been lifted from him. ‘You’re pretty cool, you know?’

‘I don’t know about that,’ Axel said, chuckling softly. ‘But I do know that the pair of us need to close our eyes and go to sleep. And Sass too. If that little strawberry dude doesn’t get his full eight hours of sleep, we all know he’s going to be cranky over breakfast.’

‘Daddy!’ Arlo said, rolling his eyes. ‘Sassnevergets cranky. That’s why he’s the best!’

Axel smiled and kissed Arlo on his lips.

And before the pair of them knew it, they gently dozed off to sleep as the wind outside rattled their windows.

But just before Axel fully drifted off, he took a moment to consider what he’d just heard.

The military don’t fool around.

They won’t want to look foolish.

And if Arlo keeps this appeal up, they might resort to underhand tactics.

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