Page 100 of His Boys to Protect

“Oh.” Skylar chuckled, and the sound filled Ward with relief. “Hungry soup has to have its own spot in the cupboards. Everything does, really. He doesn't like having things just crammed in at random. Everything has to be in neat rows with gaps in between. And your kitchen is very small. If the cupboards are full, there's no room for it.”

“Ah.” Ward nodded to himself. Maybe they could rearrange a few things to make space. But that would have to wait. First and foremost, he needed to get the boys fed, settled, and comfortable.

Charlie had the groceries put away, and he was setting their lunch out on the coffee table. He pointed for Ward and Skylar to sit, then came back with glasses of water for all three of them.

Skylar started out picking at his food, but hunger must have eventually caught up with him because he wound up eating every bite, including a few of the cookies Charlie had gotten at the store.

Once they were done, Charlie jumped up and started clearing away their trash.

Skylar sat quietly, his eyelids drooping.

“Come here, kitten,” Ward murmured. He turned and stretched out on his back on the couch, holding out his arms.

Skylar hesitated only a second before he dove on top of Ward, cradled between Ward's thighs, his head resting on Ward's chest.

“That's it, baby,” Ward murmured, rubbing his back. “Just relax.”

Charlie came back into the living room and stopped beside the couch. He rocked on his feet, eyeing the two of them. After a moment, he carefully stepped up onto the couch between their tangled legs, moving with a dramatic slowness, almost like a cat picking its way carefully through a series of obstacles. It took a while, but Charlie managed to settle himself down betweenWard and the back of the couch, wedged in on his side. He put his head on Ward's shoulder, then curled an arm around Skylar's waist.

Ward smiled. “You got your Sky?”

Charlie nodded.

“Good.” Ward looked from Skylar to Charlie and back. Charlie hardly blinked, watching Skylar with a protective intensity. As for Skylar, the boy lay there with his eyes closed, his little body slowly but surely relaxing.

Within moments, Skylar was asleep.

Ward carefully released a sigh of relief. It was about time the poor boy got some rest.

He no sooner thought that than he heard the knob rattle on the security door.Shit!He couldn't get up. Not without disturbing Skylar. But he needed to stop his brother from bursting in and startling the boys.

The security door squeaked. A key slid into the deadbolt on the main door, then the knob twisted, and the door nearly flew open.

Vaughn stepped inside and opened his mouth.

Ward swung out an arm, waving to get his brother's attention. When Vaughn looked at him, Ward made a cutting motion across his throat before holding up a finger over his lips.

Vaughn snapped his mouth shut, his eyes going wide as he took in the scene. “What the–” he gasped.

“He just fell asleep,” Ward murmured. “So help me, if you wake him…”

Vaughn held up his hands. He turned and quietly shut the door, then took a step towards them.

“Shoes off,” Ward said. When Vaughn paused, cocking an eyebrow at him, Ward said, “New house rule.”

“Okay,” Vaughn said slowly. Still, he took off his boots and left them by the door before padding quietly across the living room. He stopped beside the couch, looking down at them.

Ward felt his cheeks go hot under Vaughn's scrutiny, but there was no way he was going to disturb the boys by getting up and pretending this wasn't happening. Their comfort was too important. Especially now that Skylar was actually resting. Still…

What was his brother thinking as he looked at them?

“So this is new,” Vaughn finally whispered.

Charlie fidgeted. “Hhnn?”

“Hey,shhh,” Ward murmured. “It's okay. This is my brother, Vaughn. Vaughn, this is Charlie. And that's Sky.”

“Hey, Charlie,” Vaughn replied.

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