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“Well, that’s a relief,” Richard agreed. “I’m kind of fond of my soon to be brother-in-law.” He glanced over at Matthew, wondering—as the boy’s official foster-father—if he was going to chip in any time soon, but Matthew just sipped his coffee and looked unconcerned.
“Will I be punished?”
Richard thought about that. “Have you heard of something called PTSD?”
Kai frowned at what he thought was an odd question. “Is it a disease?”
Richard sighed. He knew a lot of people who thought so. “It’s a response people have to a really bad situation. Most people have heard it happens to soldiers who return from war. They experienced things in battle that made it so every time they hear a loud bang it reminds them of an explosion or a gunshot. They could associate that sound with people dying, often their friends.” It was so much more complicated, but for Kai he had to keep it simple.
“That’s why some people don’t like fireworks,” Kai said slowly as if figuring it out.
Richard nodded. “Not that fireworks aren’t cool, I’m just saying they have to be safe as well. I’m pretty sure you realize that, but you also need to be aware of your audience. If there had been someone at the barbeque like that, it could have really upset them, so putting someone in that sort of situation might have caused serious problems. I hate fireworks personally—well, at home, but I’ll make you a deal.”
“What?”
“I want you to start volunteering once a week at a local VA center. That’s where people that have served go to get help and advice when they come home.”
“What would I have to do?” Kai sounded nervous but curious.
“Can you play dominoes?”
Kai shook his head. Richard grunted. “I’ll teach you.” He glanced over at Matthew for approval and saw the man nod. “Right, I’ll pick you up on Sunday and we’ll go check things out.”
Kai stared at him, then at Matthew. “I’ll still be here?” His voice was so full of hope.
Richard didn’t need to check with Matthew this time. “Are you going to do something like that again?” Kai shook his head quite violently.
“Okay then,” Richard agreed and stood up. “See you Sunday, and don’t be surprised if Elijah wants to come.”
The beam from Kai was so bright he reckoned they could see it from space.
Chapter Nine
“It’s so pretty.”
Talon smiled his agreement at the yard and hugged Asa, before slipping both the rings they had bought what seemed a lifetime ago into the pocket of his suit. He eyed his official foster son. He wondered when nerves and,yes, the fear that it could all go wrong, would settle enough for him to take that qualification away. He just wanted him to be hisson. But it had only been a week, and he’d spent a long time talking to both the captain,Matthew, he had to remind himself to call him, and Richard after the chaos of last weekend. He had confessed to Matthew how damn scared he was of screwing up.
“Oh, you will,” he’d said a little too confidently for Talon’s liking.
“Please don’t try and spare my feelings,” he responded dryly. “Tell it how it is.” Vance, at least, had thought that hilarious.
He smiled at Asa as he pirouetted for approval, and he told him he was stunning in the purple waistcoat he’d insisted upon as he ran outside, and he followed him.
Connie was the official dresser and Sam had made himself available for generalstyling. Talon had shut him down when he’d suggested asmidgen of eye-liner would make those baby blues pop,so Sam had gone to see Finn. Asa had eagerly asked for some to match his waistcoat.
Talon stood at the doors leading to their yard and grinned. Molly Landring had practically stolen Zuri when she saw her, and there was a large group of kids, moms, dads, and hell, everyone else, all mingling. The last time he’d gone outside to make sure everything was okay, Daniel was very gallantly escorting Elspeth Vine to a shaded corner, and she was loudly telling anyone that would listen Vance should still come and work for her.
There were also seven dogs.
And nobody seemed to give a damn.
Finn had been right. He usually was, but having their wedding here with all the family, and what seemed like fifty kids—some with obvious scars on their faces, and some with hidden ones—was exactly the right thing to do. Pete Docherty slapped him on the shoulder and passed him a beer. They clinked bottles and Pete looked at the house. “When’s the opening day? I hear you’re going into my line of business.”
“You’re not funny,” Talon deadpanned, knowing he was partially correct. They’d even found a huge attic space that could very easily be converted to more bedrooms.
He was so fucked.
He couldn’t seem to keep the smile off his face though. He watched as Liam wrangled all the kids—actually now that he looked, he’d bet he wasn’t far off that original number—into teams. He gazed in quiet pride as every kid was included in the game, even Michael Ramsay’s three. Derek was clutching his electronic pad but seemed to be watching intently as Christopher spelled out a conversation to him on his hand. Talon was as shocked as everyone else when Eli went to help Liam referee the game.
