Page 69 of Carver’s Craving

Cody tipped his head in acknowledgement, then turned my way. “This is also assuming you’re not allergic to fur. We’ve got Mei and Trifle as well as three foster cats. We’ll probably hide them away, as they’re a little shy. That said, if someone wants to escape the merriment, it would probably be fine for them to hang in the cat room.”

“I’m not allergic. I love Carver’s dogs. Have you met Walter and Poppin?” Shit. He’s never had anyone over.

Lorcan shook his head. “Although we’d love to. Maybe you could bring them over for a playdate? Mei adores other dogs. If it wouldn’t be too chaotic, we’d have everyone bring their dogs.”

“Who else is coming?” This time, Carver asked the question.

“Well, Foster and Arnav said they’ll drop in with the kids before they head to Arnav’s parents’ for Christmas afternoon. Our friends Zahir and Andre are coming over. Oh, and Andre’s brother Demetrius, his husband Jai, and their two kids. Jai is old friends with Arnav.” Lorcan grinned.

“And he works with me at Pride Camp.” Cody noted.

Lorcan smacked his forehead. “How could I forget? I’m getting old.”

Cody snorted. “Not hardly.” Then he pivoted his attention back to me. “We’ve invited Riley. She’s one of Foster’s construction forepersons. Obviously Agatha, Aimee, Stella, their families and partners. Plus all the guys you met tonight.”

I blinked. “I met a lot of guys tonight.”

“There’re more.” Lorcan shrugged. “We have a big house, thanks to Genessa’s kindness.”

“She gave us the down payment.” Cody grinned. “I am her favorite nephew. And my husband is her favorite nephew-in-law.”

Lorcan chuckled. “We’re lucky that way.”

“That sounds lovely.” I leaned against Carver—who had again put his arm on the back of my chair.

“Oh?” Cody cocked his head.

“No supportive parents in my family.” I shrugged.

“Same here.” Cody offered an empathetic smile. “Genessa gave me a great start in my schooling, then my career, and now my home. I can’t necessarily support people financially—although I do donate to various charities. My contribution is working at the LGBTQ drop-in center in Mission City. As well as my work in counseling up at the ranch and Pride Camp, of course.”

“Yeah, Pride Camp sounds so cool. I wish I could’ve done something like that when I was younger.” Although Cody listed his endeavors, I didn’t get a sense of superiority or bragging. Just statements of fact. “I used to teach guitar at a drop-in center in Oshawa.”

Cody sat a little straighter.

Lorcan chuckled and met my gaze. “You asked for this.”

“I didn’t—” Cody winced. “Okay, I totally was going to.”

“Ask me if I could do something?” This time, I sat a little straighter. “What do you have in mind?”

He tried to wave me off.

“Nope. You have to say whatever you were going to say.” I wasn’t going to let him off the hook.

Cody took a deep breath. “I work with a young woman, Zia. Rough home life. She’ll be the first one to admit that. She’s so amazing at music. She plays piano, but she expressed an interest in learning guitar. The center doesn’t have the funds, and I haven’t had any luck after I put out feelers…”

“Sure. Except I don’t have a guitar right now. It’s a long story, but—” Carver squeezing my shoulder had me stopping and turning to him. “What?”

He pursed his lips. “I might have two guitars in the back of the SUV. One electric and one acoustic.”

My jaw dropped. “You didn’t. Did Spike—”

He shook his head. “No. God only knows when Baxter’s going to come back. I mean, it’s been a week. And that’s too long for you to be without your other half. And I don’t mean Baxter.”

No. He means a guitar. I blinked. “You shouldn’t have.” Even if he’d bought used, that would’ve cost him a fortune.

“Merry Christmas?” His voice went up at the end of those words.