“Sorry it’s not fancy, but I don’t have tons of groceries on hand.”
“It looks great,” Aengus beamed.
“I’ll be right back with plates and syrup.” Will dashed back to the kitchen.
Brian eyed Lindi with an unfriendly look. “So you just sit here while he does all the work like a lord at the manor? Just because you bring in the money is no reason to treat Will like crap.”
Lindi held onto his temper by a single frayed thread. “Will hates it if I try to help. He says I’m interfering.” Lindi set Will’s cup of coffee to his left. One of the best parts of having a round table was there wasn’t any proper place to sit people. You couldn’t take offense not being head of the table if there wasn’t one.
“So Will’s like the little woman in your relationship?” Cain asked.
“No, he’s my partner who likes to be in charge of the household. Will takes care of me, and I take care of him. Now that I know about his family and Mr. Finn has assured me Will is safe, maybe he can go out more. We’ve talked about him seeking a career of his own, but right now, he’s happy taking care of me.” Lindi couldn’t express how happy having Will at home at the end of the day made him.
“Will is safe. I put the word out that any violence against my son or his lover will have deadly consequences. After our raid on the art forgery ring, I’m sure they will take our warning to heart. Unless you feel the need to hunt down any more forgers?”
“No, and that particular problem is closed. The agent in charge of my case just told me the forgery ring has been annihilated. I don’t even have to testify.”
Brian grinned. “Good. Amateurs like that give everyone a bad name.”
Lindi refused to ask. He didn’t want to know what a professional would’ve done.
“We’ll be expecting you both for the holidays,” Aengus announced. “Understand?”
“Yes, Da,” Will said over Lindi’s shoulder.
Lindi nodded. “We’ll try.”
“See that you do. We can’t keep flying in and out of town. It’ll make the locals nervous since we don’t have any legitimate business here.” Aengus scowled. “Don’t make us come here and get you.”
Put that way, they couldn’t exactly argue. Lindi nodded. “We’ll be there.”
“Good.”
Breakfast was eaten with stories of Will’s childhood interspersed between bites of food. Lindi discovered that he enjoyed his lover’s family after all. They might be a bit unhinged, but they loved Will almost as much as Lindi did. When Will’s brothers and father left with much back-slapping and promises of a holiday visit, Lindi was certain things would be fine. His pet would have the family he missed and be free to go wherever he wanted without fear.
Lindi propped his chin on the heel of his hand and watched his pet move around the kitchen. When Will finished in the cleaning, he climbed up on Lindi’s lap. “They’re all gone. Alone at last.”
“Why is it your brothers are such big strapping fellows?”
“And I’m not?” Will asked. The smile on his lips took away the sting of his words.
“Yes.”
“We have different mothers. I was from Da’s second wife. Technically, they are my half-brothers.”
“What happened to his first wife?”
“She’s in jail. She’s the one who put the hit out on my mom.”
“Wow! I can see why you wanted to get away from that life.”
“Funny thing is she was always really nice to me.” Will gave a broken laugh. “She even offered to adopt me. She said the sins of the mother shouldn’t be reflected on the child.”
Lindi held Will close. “I’m glad you’re out of that.”
“My family really loves me. I just can’t be with them.” Will shrugged. “Sometimes, love isn’t enough.”
Lindi kissed Will, cupping his face to hold him still as he ravaged Will’s mouth.
“Trust me. Sometimes, love is more than enough.”
Will smiled. “With us, it is.”
Lindi stood. Will immediately wrapped his legs around Lindi’s waist. “Let’s go explore our bonds. Maybe use some ropes to make sure they are really tight.”
“Good idea, Master.”
“Yes, yes, it is,” Lindi agreed.
Will laughed as Lindi carried him off to the playroom.