Page 64 of A Simple Mistake
Nico didn’t argue, and when Jack returned from the washroom, Gareth was setting a stack of sandwiches next to his largest coffee mug.Jack smiled at his lover.“You know me too well.”
Gareth moved in for a hug, his clutch tighter than it usually was.“Hey.”
“Hey yourself.What’s with the treats?They fed us on the flight.”
“Airplane food.”
“It wasn’t half bad.I liked the wine.”He winked.
“Well, that was lunch.Now it’s almost dinnertime, and you’re about to nod off.I don’t want you waking with a headache.”
“I appreciate that.”Jack bit into a roast beef sandwich, grateful for the kick of the horseradish.
“I’m sorry we weren’t there to get you.”
“You had more important things to do.And you sent Raf.Though the police boarding the plane gave me a moment’s pause.”He met Gareth’s gaze, the memories of their trip to Sweden right there.
“He broke Pavel’s nose.”Daniel had wedged himself into the farthest corner of their dining nook, back against the wall, the table in front of him like a barricade.Jack didn’t try to coax him out.
“I keep telling you, that was Conrad.”
“He wasn’t all bloody,” Nico objected.“There wasn’t a speck of blood on him when you looked like…” He shot Daniel a quick look.“Well…”
“It was still Conrad who broke Pavel’s nose.I’ll get a mop out once the crime scene people are finished.”
Jack nodded, no stranger to the mess a broken nose could cause.The crime scene techs with their charcoal and chalk weren’t any better, and both those stained.Add in the psychological effects, and Jack wondered if it’d be wise to repaint the hallway and all rooms leading off it in a different colour.
“You’re asleep on your feet.You didn’t close your eyes on the flight, did you?”
“Not at all, but that’s nothing new.”
“Fancy a nap?”Gareth’s expression said he should fancy that very much.“Daniel and Nico could keep you company, while I’ll look after the police.”
Gareth’s voice was tight with stress, hinting that he had a few too many plates spinning in the air.Despite that, he remembered how hard Jack crashed after a flight across time-zones, and only asked Jack to anchor Daniel and Nico?There was a reason Jack loved that man.
“A nap sounds lovely.”He pushed himself back from the table and held out a hand to the two boys.“Are you coming with me?You can tell me what else has been happening.”
“You won’t be awake to hear it,” Daniel whispered, but he uncurled himself from his huddle and came to Jack’s side.
“I would like to debate that, but you’re probably right.”Jack hugged him.“Come snooze with me anyway.”He held his other hand out to Nico, wishing he could entice Gareth upstairs, too.Gareth didn’t turn his way, though, too spun into whatever he had on his mind.
Jack couldn’t fathom it right then, but he determined to work it out once he’d slept.
“Yes, they’re gone.”Gareth slumped at the kitchen table, head propped on his hand and phone in front of him.He was too tired to bother with proper posture.Too tired, even, to keep his eyes open.He’d looked forward to this day, to Julian sticking it to his family, to picking up Jack from the airport and welcoming him home.How had all this positivity devolved into a nightmare?“Why are you awake at two in the morning?”
“I was staying up in case you needed me to represent you,” Aidan said in a soft, matter-of-fact tone.“Though in that case, they’d have knocked on my door, too.How are Nico and Daniel?And how’s Jack?This wasn’t quite the return he expected.”
“Jack doesn’t sleep on planes and he didn’t say how long he’d been awake before he boarded.He was crashing when he got here.Nico bounced around like peas on a hot shovel, and Daniel huddled in a corner, not talking.”
“Very much like when you got them.”
“Yeah.I sent the two upstairs with Jack, hoping he’ll settle them.Especially since he wasn’t here.When I looked in on them at midnight, they were all three dozing rather than asleep.I guess Daniel’s having nightmares.”Nico and Daniel’s sudden alarm when they’d seen him had indeed reminded him of their early days.He wasn’t one for praying, but he hoped with all he had that this attack didn’t take Daniel and Nico right back to where they’d been.They’d come such a long way, all four of them.
“How about I invite the boys over for a couple of days?”Aidan suggested.“Until the backdoor no longer looks as if just anyone can walk in.”
Gareth’s chest constricted.For a moment, the pain was so sharp he couldn’t draw breath.Nico and Daniel, he reminded himself.Do what’s right for Nico and Daniel.He still struggled to keep the bitterness out of his voice.“At least you’re not telling me to put the house on the market.”
“Who… oh.Your mum?”
