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“I can see some things never change.” Dad stood in the doorway, shaking his silver head, eyeing the tableau with just as much amusement as Popi.

Popi raised his wine glass. “In a house with eight boys? Never.” He drained the glass. “That’s what wine was made for.”

Kodi managed to hold back his laughter for about three seconds as the kitchen filled with it when Dad and Booker didn’t hold back their amusement, then gave in. The motto ‘if you can’t beat them, then join them’ was made for his family.

This was what he needed…for now.

Chapter Eleven

Lane

Lane understood his son and the misery Kodi could not hide from him. He was standing at the window when Kodi had pulled into the drive. The interior light had illuminated the defeated expression the mask of anger couldn’t disguise.

He had bided his time to make sure it looked like a coincidence when he stepped into the hall. Pretending, initially, not to notice Kodi’s sullen mood. Kodi never did well when forced into a corner, and Lane suspected that Lennon had done that, knowing his son as he did.

Something over the past few weeks had changed in Kodi. It was as if he’d found his center. He was happier and the outbursts fewer, making it noticeable to Lane and Derick. At the weekend, the restlessness had reappeared, though to a lesser degree.

It gave Lane some cause for concern, which was why he’d been waiting around for Kodi to appear, to see if it had disappeared. Something had clearly happened between Lennon and him when the restlessness was worse.

The conversation with Lennon months earlier had proven to Lane that Lennon was the man for his son. Yet, with how miserable Kodi was tonight, he was second guessing himself.

“Why are you biting your thumbnail?”

Arm’s slipped around his waist from behind and Lane rested back against the solid chest, his head tilting up to look at Derick, realising he’d fallen into the old habit without noticing.

“I’m worried about Kodi,” he confessed, releasing his wet thumb.

“He seemed okay in the kitchen.” Derick pressed a kiss to his temple, breathing him in. “You fret over him too much.”

“Kodi has always been the sensitive twin, though he would probably argue about that. He seldom sees himself the way I do. For a time there, I worried he wouldn’t find his way when the drugs they gave him turned him into a zombie.” Lane’s sigh held the weight of the world in it, and he twisted in Derick’s arms. “I’ve watched him turn from an uncertain boy into a confident young man, overcoming his struggles with a brain wired differently to Kari. Then these past weeks he’s looked—”

“Happy.”

Lane nodded. “And content. Calmer. Did you notice his restlessness this weekend?”

“Yes. That doesn’t mean something is wrong with your scheming,” Derick said, his tone holding a hint of censure.

Lane slapped at his chest lightly. “Give over, you are just as invested in the boys finding happiness. Lennon is perfect for Kodi. He’s the first person to ever ask about Kodi’s behavior and relate it to something more than him being an asshole.”

Derick’s body shook with silent laughter at him using a swear word. Lane seldom used foul language unless he was at a loss to express himself differently. “That might be so, but you need to leave them to it. I know that look in your eyes, my love. Be satisfied with how things are for Silas, Taylin, Booker, Rue and Kari.”

“Don’t forget Laken,” Lane cooed in delight.

Derick shook his silver head, the light catching on the glinting strands. “And Laken. Let Kodi be, that boy will find his way in the right direction without your nudging. He always has.” He kissed Lane’s upturned lips, his hand sliding down over the silk pyjama bottoms to cup his ass and bring him closer.

“I can think of several other ways to occupy your thoughts,” Derick breathed against Lane’s mouth.

Lane’s eyes lit with desire. “Several? Why, I do believe I might be up for that challenge.”

His laughter got drowned out as Derick claimed his mouth in a hungry kiss, lifting Lane clear off the floor, making his heart pound with the exact same excitement it had the very first time he’d done it forty years ago.

How did I get so lucky?

We’re excellent pickers of partners, his animal supplied.

And wasn’t that the truth.

Chapter Twelve