Page 33 of A Stable Daddy

“He’s not. You’ve got witnesses. I’m a witness—”

“You’re also my boyfriend, so a lawyer would argue…something. Spousal privilege? I don’t know, I didn’t study law.”

“Okay, but I wasn’t dating you when we met, and even so, there’s the security guy—”

“Who didn’tseeanything.” His voice breaks and my heart goes with it. “It’s just my word against his.”

I want to climb into my truck and drive to him, to comfort him and reassure him that the asshole who assaulted him isn’t going to win here. But I can’t. He’s three hours away and I have to work. Then again, I’m sure Rob would give me some time off if I explained the situation to him. Even if he hasn’t seen Ryan since the night that he helped Dusty over the phone, he’s got a soft spot for my Boy, too, as anyone with half a brain should.

“Darlin’, breathe for me,” I try to soothe him over the line, my heart squeezing painfully again as he sniffles.

“Daddy,” he says plaintively, “I can’t deal with this.”

“Yes, you can, baby. But I’m here and I’ll help however I can.”

* * *

After getting off the call, having been able to calm Ryan down enough to put off my instinct to run to his side, I start scrolling through my phone for contacts I never thought I’d have to use. My thumb hovers over the name Trevor Hatton for half a second before I press the call button and bring my phone to my ear.

When Ryan gave me his kids’ numbers, it was with the understanding that I’d only ever contact them in case of an emergency, like if something happened to my Boy.

This counts, right?

Ryan’s sniffles echo in my brain, and I set my jaw. It counts, all right.

The line rings a couple of times before a pleasant voice answers, “Trevor speaking.”

“Hi,” I start, “my name’s Oscar Williams. I’m—”

“Papa’s boyfriend,” he finishes for me. His tone turns sharper. “What’s happened? You wouldn’t be calling me out of the blue in the middle of a workday just to introduce yourself.”

Smart guy,I think to myself, nodding. “Rye’s fine. Well, physically speaking,” I assure him. “But he’s being sued for defamation by…” I trail off, suddenly unsure of myself and this decision I’ve made to enlist Ryan’s stepson’s help. Because the guy might be a lawyer, but he works in criminal law and, by doing this, there’s a possibility I’m going to give away information Ryan might have been keeping to himself.

“Defamation?” Trevor sounds as bewildered as I felt, but after a beat he says, “Don’t tell me it’s got something to do with the lowlife he reported to the police before he left Brissie. I know Papa doesn’t tell us everything, but that’s the only thing I can think of…”

I knew that Ryan was close to the kids he’d helped raise —close enough that they call him ‘Papa’, even as adults— but I didn’t realise they shared quite so much information with each other. But it’s a relief to learn as much, because it means my fearof accidentally outing Ryan’s kinkier side to his kids has been allayed.

“Yeah, you got it in one,” I tell him. “Rye’s beside himself, and I’m pissed that this guy even thinks he has a case. I mean, as far as we knew, he hasn’t even gone to trial or anythin’ for the charges yet, assuming he’s even been charged at all.”

In fact, I only suggested the other day that Ryan should reach out to the police back in Brisbane to see what had happened with the report he’d filed. He just assumed that there hadn’t been enough evidence, despite our witness statements, and that was that. At least filing a report means that there will be evidence of the guy’s behaviour if someone else steps forward in the future, but I was secretly hoping the guy would pay for what he’d done to my Boy.

“Well,thatis a criminal issue I can help with, but the defamation suit is a civil matter,” he replies after a moment of contemplation. “Hold on a tic,” I hear the distinct sound of typing and then he says, “Okay, so, I can’t help with a civil suit, but I’m sending a friend from uni an email. Henry specialises in family law now, but this will still be in his wheelhouse. He’s based on the Gold Coast, but he’ll take meetings via Facetime and will happily travel when need be. Can I give him your number in case Papa’s in surgery or can’t get reception?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Excellent.” There’s more tip-tapping of keys in the background of the call, before Trevor says, “Okay, sent. And I’ll call Papa later to let him know, too. I’m pretty sure Old Mate hasn’t got a leg to stand on —Papa’s got a defence under the argument of fair reporting at the very least— but Henry will be better equipped to go through it all with you guys.”

I’m relieved to hear it, and I thank him profusely, adding, “I’m sorry that this is our first time talking. I really, uh, care about Ryan,” I love him, actually, but I haven’t told him yet, so itfeels wrong to say it to anyone else first, “and you and your sister mean the world to him. And I’m sorry for your loss, too. Your dad sounds like he was a great man.”

There’s another extended moment of silence before Trevor says, “He was. And thank you. It sounds like you’re a good guy, too.” He pauses, and even on the other end of the line I can feel a subtle change of tension in our conversation. I guess what’s coming next before he adds, “I hope you’re not all talk, Oscar. You’d better be treating my Papa right.”

“I promise I am.”

“Good.” A smile seems to lift his voice. “Thank you for calling me. I appreciate it.”

Winding up the call, I debate texting Ryan to let him know what I’ve done, but then I decide to call him back instead, just in case I’ve overstepped. I’m his Daddy, and I promised him that I’d try to take on a lot of his stresses and hard decisions as part of that, but this is his first time being someone’s Boy, and communication is still key to making this work.

“You really called Trev?” he asks me after I’ve given him the update, and I can’t quite read his tone. He doesn’t sound upset, but he does sound a bit wobbly.

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