"Because you're not used to things being really good," she said finally. "And that scares you more than any of the hard stuff ever did."
Koa stared at her. His throat felt tight.
"You've been white-knuckling this place for days," she continued, her voice losing the last of its business edge. "Koa. You built something here. It's not going anywhere. And neither is he." She tilted her head slightly. "You're allowed to put the work down and just be happy."
He didn't trust himself to speak for a moment. He looked down at the contract in front of him, the words still blurring together.
"I know," he murmured.
"Do you?" She raised an eyebrow.
He let out a breath that was almost a laugh. "I'm working on it."
Briar stood, smoothing her jacket with the same efficient motion she used to close every conversation. But before she turned to leave, she reached across the desk and squeezed his hand once, firm and brief.
"Go home on time tonight," she said. "That's not a suggestion."
She was already out the door before he could respond.
Later that day Koa was in his office staring at spreadsheets but not really seeing them when there was a knock at the door.
He looked up to find the man he'd been thinking of all day there. His Daddy held a container and had a large blanket draped over his arm.
"Hey sweetheart," he said softly.
"Daddy," Koa whispered. He pushed away from the desk and rose, moving across the room before he truly knew what he was doing.
He wrapped Manny in a hug, squeezing tight. Like he was afraid this was just a dream, and he'd wake up still buried under paperwork.
But the feel of his Daddy's heart beating beneath his ear and his strong hand pressed against Koa's back was enough to let him know this wasn't another one of his vivid daydreams.
This was real. He pulled back to look up at the other man.
"What are you doing here?"
His Daddy smiled. "I know you've been busy with work. The rumor mill is that someone decided to mess with the planets or something. Anyway, I figured you needed to eat and could maybe use a cuddle?"
The last part was said as a question. Not that he was unsure about it more like he wanted to get consent.
Koa smiled widely and he realized as his cheeks ached with the movement that it was the first time he'd done so in a while. Probably since he'd last seen his Daddy.
He hadn't even been able to attend any of the mixers and events at the club. Those had always been something he prided himself in experiencing.
He liked connecting with people, liked having time with them to get to know everyone and make sure the experience was enjoyable.
He never wanted anyone to come to the club and feel like they didn't have a place where they belonged.
Thinking about how little he'd been able to keep up, his normal routine made him frown for a moment. His Daddy chuckled and kissed his forehead and pushed him back into the room.
He closed the door behind them, then moved around the desk until he was seated in Koa's chair. The food was placed on the table along with a blanket.
Then his Daddy patted his lap. "Come have a seat, sweetheart. I'm going to feed you and wrap you up in this wonderfully soft blanket. Then afterwards we're going to sit for a little bit and do nothing but enjoy each other's company. Afterwards you can go back to work if you need to. But for now, this is what’s most important. I won’t have you burning out.”
Tears welled in Koa’s eyes, because that was exactly what he needed. He needed a firm hand to step in and tell him that it was time for him to take it easy, to sit down and relax.
He pushed himself too hard.
Doing as his Daddy asked, he dropped into Manny's lap.
