Page 126 of His Boys to Protect

“I have enough,” Skylar blurted out. His eyes were wild. His cheeks, flushed. He kept pacing, moving faster with each pass across the room. “I can't believe it. I have enough!”

“Enough what, Sky?”

Skylar worked his mouth, but no words came out. Finally, he came to a stop and sank heavily onto the couch as though his legs had given out.

“Is it your test results?” Ward asked, cautiously perching on the coffee table in front of him.

Skylar shook his head. “Those were fine,” he said, sounding surprised. “I'm actually negative. I can't believe it.” The words came out distractedly, though. He clearly had something else on his mind.

“What's enough?” Ward prompted again.

Skylar let out a shuddering breath. “I talked to my doctor. I asked him about getting a referral for a surgeon down here, but that's going to mean a consultation and maybe having to go through all the hoops of a psych evaluation again and–” Skylar squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “But then my doctor suggested driving back up to see him for the surgery.”He swallowed hard. “He works mostly in San Francisco, but he apparently also operates out of a place in San Jose. And when I talked to their billing department, even without insurance, it'll be cheaper to do the surgery there than at the hospital up in the city, where I'd originally considered going.” Skylar paused, running his fingers back through his hair. “And I have enough for it. Oh holy fuck. Ward! This can actually happen.”

Ward grinned. “That's great, sweetheart.” He studied Skylar's face, expecting to see joy as the reality of the news set in, but all Ward saw there was worry. “What's wrong?”

Skylar's lip trembled. “I'm scared. It's so close to the city, and I don't want to feel like I'm going back–”

“Hey, easy,” Ward murmured. He grabbed Skylar's hands. “Tell you what. You set a date, I'll get the time off work. We'll drive up to San Jose and get a hotel for a couple days. You can have your surgery, and once the doctor releases you, I'll bring you right back here to recover.”

Skylar squirmed. “I don't want you missing more work because of me.”

“You let me worry about that,” Ward insisted, then paused. “Do you want this?”

The boy trembled all over. “Yeah. I do.” He swallowed hard. “He has an opening the first of September.”

Shit. September would put them right up against the start of harvest. But there was no way Ward could ask the boy to put this off. Poor Skylar would probably be a nervous wreck as it was, having to count down the days just for the next couple months.

“Schedule it,” Ward said, his tone gentle but nothing short of a command.

Skylar's eyes lit up. “Really?” When Ward nodded, Skylar threw his arms around him. “Fuck, I'm gonna owe you so much.”

“You don't owe me anything,” Ward insisted with a smile as he hugged Skylar back. The boy could have simply run off andfigured out how to make all this happen on his own, but instead, he'd stayed and asked for help. Not in so many words, but his body language spoke volumes.

Charlie tapped him on the shoulder.My Sky surgery?

“Yeah, little mouse.”

Charlie bounced in place and let out a long, joyfulsqueak, then pulled out his phone.I research!he signed as he started to run off. He barely got a few steps away when he spun right around and came back, dismissively signing,Later. Charlie put his phone down and grabbed Ward's hand instead, tugging insistently.Shower! Hurry! No condoms!

Ward chuckled even as his dick reacted to Charlie's excitement. “One second.” He turned to Skylar, rubbing the boy's back. “Sky?”

“Oh please,” Skylar gasped. “Daddy, please!”

“Hhnn!” Charlie tugged again.

Ward stood, pulling Skylar along with him. The boys rushed for the bathroom, so Ward quickly followed.

He might not know for sure if they were his, but they sure felt like it.

Chapter 45

________

CHARLIE

CHARLIE COULDN'T get naked fast enough.

He'd been on-edge all day, seeing his Sky so tense. It didn't help that he was anxious all on his own, being away from his familiar surroundings and routine. He wanted his laptop. And his books. He'd brought a couple, but he needed more. And his coffee mug! He wanted that, too, because he liked it better than the ones Ward had. Plus, Ward's neighborhood was noisy. And the bathroom had the wrong layout. And the kitchen! Everything in there was cramped, boxes and bags of junk food all jammed together and in the wrong spots. Charlie didn't like that. It all made him itchy and uncomfortable.

---