Infinite Ties (All That Remains #3) (7 page)

“I overreacted.” Joseph takes my place when
I step out of the shower. We’re so accustomed to doing things as a group, it
just comes naturally now.

“Abby.” Airen sighs.

Joseph looks him in the eye and proceeds
to lather his hair. He has such a thing for Airen’s hair. “Let it go,
beautiful. She needs to do this. We’ll be right inside if she needs us.”

“Fine,” he grumbles, “but I don’t like
it.”

“Noted.”

The sun is sinking, painting the sky a
blazing red when I return to the yard to talk to Jon. “How about a game?” he
asks, and tosses me a beanbag
. How about I throw it as hard as I can at your
junk?
I follow him to the backyard where the cornhole boards are set up.

“Well, Gail. Spit it out,” he demands,
tossing and missing his first throw.

“First, stop calling me Gail. It’s Abby.
Second, tell me what it is you want. You’ve met Carson. What else do you want
from me?”

“Well, aren’t we demanding? Don’t think
that just because you have a few guys snowballed into sticking up for you that
you can order me around,
Abby
. We both know this little ménage of yours
isn’t going to last. You got lucky, what with the shortage of women after the
plague.” Hate bubbles inside me at the arrogance and disgust in his voice.

“Are you going back to Indy?”

“No, it’s a shit pit. I’m thinking of
driving down to Florida, finding a little beach house. Of course, I’d like to
find a lady to accompany me. Maybe you could help me out with that.” Oh God. He
can’t mean me. My revulsion must show on my face.

He snorts. “Jesus Christ, Gai…Abby. Not
you. I said a lady.” I’m relieved, but once again he’s managed to make me feel
like trash. He looks at me like I’m something nasty stuck to the bottom of his
shoe. “There are other women here. My first choice would be the big tittied
blonde, but the brunette isn’t a deal breaker.”

“I can’t give you a person, Jon. Be
reasonable.”

“You can talk them into giving me a go.”

“Eric’s with Lexi, and Emma’s attached as
well.” I fail to mention she’s attached to Gary. Let him fuck with Gary’s
woman. It may solve all my problems.

“I don’t give a fuck.”

Sighing, I take my turn, missing on
purpose. He’s a complete dickhead when he loses. “So, are you finished with
Carson, then?”

“I’m going to spend some time with my son
before I go, and you can call off that sumo wrestler you have following him
around. I’m not going to hurt my own damn kid.” He glares when I fail to hide
my smirk. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m not worried about Carson. He’s as big
as you, and he has a black belt. He spars with that sumo wrestler. He can take care
of himself. I just don’t want you to fuck with his head.”

“Stop trying to keep me from him, and I
won’t fill his head with shit no boy should know about his mother.” I really
hope Airen and Joseph aren’t eavesdropping. Airen will kill him.

“Fine.”

“Good. Talk to Emma. Don’t give me any
shit, and I won’t fuck things up for you.”

I sigh as he sinks the last bag.

“I win.” He smirks.

Joseph

Jon has barely left the yard when a small
truck towing a pop up camper pulls into the driveway. Shit on toast, what now?
“Abby?” Joseph and Airen step out the front door just as the truck door pops
open and Troy steps out. Christ, this must be the summer for reunions. First
Joseph’s parents, then Jon, and now Troy.

“Oh my god,” Joseph gasps, his eyes widening
with shock. He doesn’t hesitate before running to embrace him, burying his face
in his neck. “You’re okay.” Troy hugs him back before waving at me and Airen.
Airen’s expression is thunderous as he watches their heartfelt reunion.

“He was worried about him, Air. That’s
all. You know that,” I murmur. I’m happy for them both. Joseph needed to know
he was okay, and Troy should know how much Joseph agonized over his absence.
Gradually, Airen relaxes and nods.

“How have you been? Where have you been?”
Joseph babbles.

“It’s a long story. Listen, I’ve met
someone. I hope it’s okay that I’ve brought him with me,” Troy says, glancing
between the three of us.

“Of course,” Joseph replies with a soft
smile. “I’d love to meet him.” The fact that Troy has a boyfriend will make
revealing our relationship so much easier.

A dark haired man steps out of the truck,
and all the breath flees my lungs with a squeak. He’s stunning. The thin
T-shirt and shorts he’s wearing do nothing to conceal the ropes and slabs of
hard muscle covering his body. He has a chiseled jaw covered in dark scruff,
and full sensual lips. When he looks at me, I’m dazed by his luminous, ice blue
eyes. “You must be Abby. Troy has told me all about you.” He reaches to shake
my hand while I struggle to find my voice. “I’m Dominic, but you can call be
Nic.”

“Nice…nice to meet…you,” I stammer,
finally pulling my head out of my ass. He just grins. I expect he’s used to
that reaction from women. I’m afraid Airen is going to be pissed, but he’s
staring at Nic in disbelief.

“Nic? Nic Stark?” he whispers, awestruck.
Whoa, they know each other?

“Oh my god. Airen Holder?”

“No fucking way!” Airen exclaims. No one
else seems to notice the devastation on Troy’s face. My heart goes out to him.
He lost Joseph to Airen and now his new boyfriend is smiling from ear to ear,
hugging him and slapping him on the back.

“Troy told me about you. I mean, that you
were a model, but I never would’ve guessed!”

“How do you know each other?” Troy asks
quietly.

“We were roommates in college.” Nic grins.

Joseph face falls as all the pieces click
together. It’s
that
Nic. The only other man Airen has been with
sexually. What are the damn chances? Joseph walks confidently up to Airen and
slides an arm around his waist. “Introduce me,” he demands. He’s staking his
claim. He couldn’t have been clearer if he pissed on his leg.

“This is Joseph, my boyfriend, and you’ve
met my wife, Abby.” Airen smiles at Nic, who laughs and shakes his head.

“Holder for the win.” He chuckles, those
amazing eyes twinkling, and Airen laughs along. It’s obviously an old joke
between them. Troy looks dazed with all the sudden heartrending information. Joseph’s
in a relationship with Airen, and Nic has a history with him as well. I can’t
stand it anymore.

“Troy,” I speak up, embracing him. “I’m so
happy to see you.”

He responds, tightening his arms around
me. “You look fantastic, Abby. How are the kids?”

“Growing like weeds. Lane is walking, and
Walker is going to be so excited to see you. He never stops asking about you.”

“I’ve missed them terribly.”

“Well, come on in. Things have changed a
bit since you left,” I explain, linking my arm with his and guiding him into
the house. With all the ex-boyfriend drama, I decide to take the lead. No one
is threatened by me at the moment.

“I can see that,” he murmurs.

“He was devastated when you left, Troy. He
cried for weeks. We were all so worried about you.” My voice is low so the
others can’t hear.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t stay.”

“You aren’t the one who needs to
apologize. We all understood why you left, but we missed you. Now, I want to
hear about how you met Nic. That man is a walking wet dream.”

Troy laughs aloud. “Isn’t he? It’s a long
story. He loves me,” he boasts proudly.

“Do you love him?”

“More than anything.”

“I’m so happy for you. Promise we’ll have
a long chat and you’ll tell me everything.”

“Only if you’ll do the same.”

“Deal.”

He studies me for a moment. “Are you
happy, Abby?” I understand why he’s asking. As far as he knows I’ve been forced
to share my husband with Joseph. He doesn’t know how things are between the
three of us.

“Deliriously.”

“Good, that makes two of us.”

We spend the next few hours filling Troy
in on the things he’s missed. He’s curled up on the loveseat with Nic while
Walker monopolizes his lap. Laughter fills the house when Nic relays the story
of how they met. “I found him sitting on a dead chicken.” Nic grins.

“Come again?” Joseph asks.

Troy rolls his eyes. “I was chasing
chickens that had escaped their pen.”

“One got away, but fortunately he fell on
the second one and squashed it,” Nic says, looking at Troy with a fond smile. “He
was sitting in the dirt, cursing out a dead chicken. It was love at first
sight.”

“Bullshit.” Troy chuckles.

“Well, it was for me. He took a little
convincing.”

“You mean stalking.” Troy leans to kiss
him, and Nic tucks him under his arm.

It’s obvious they’re very much in love. It
shines from their eyes, and is reflected in the way they constantly touch one
another.

The same cannot be said for Airen and
Joseph, who have planted themselves at opposite ends of the couch. Two
obstinate, jealous fools. Can’t they see what I see? Airen has nothing to fear
from Troy. He couldn’t be more into Nic if he crawled inside him. Likewise,
Joseph has nothing to fear from Nic. It was one encounter fifteen years ago.

“We should get some sleep,” Troy admits
reluctantly. “We drove all day. There’s something I’d like to talk to all of
you about when we’ve had some rest.”

“Of course. You’re welcome to stay in the
guest room,” I offer.

“Thanks, but we have everything we need in
the camper. Can we get together tomorrow?”

“Absolutely! We’ll have a welcome home
party. Everyone’s going to be so happy to see you.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Troy
admonishes. “We aren’t staying, Abby. Just visiting.”

“Then we definitely need to get together,”
I insist.

“Resign yourself to it, Troy.” Airen
chuckles when Troy opens his mouth to object again. “Once Abby finds a reason
to have a party, it’s a done deal.”

Once everyone says their goodbyes, they
depart, and I practically sleepwalk to our room. “Ugh, I’m going to smack you
both,” I groan when I see Joseph and Airen perched on opposite sides of the
bed. After crawling between them, I decide Joseph’s need is greater. His cheek
is smooth beneath my palm. “Are you okay? I know it tormented you, not knowing
if he was safe. He seems very happy.”

Joseph smiles sadly. “I’m thrilled it
worked out for him, but I feel so guilty for what I did. I hurt him.”

“We hurt him.”

“And he’d suffered enough.” Truer words
were never spoken. Troy had been held for nearly a year by a cult that tortured
him for being gay. His back is full of scars. It took months for him to trust
Joseph enough to even accept his touch. When he left, Joseph’s worst fear was
that he set him back, just when his wounds were healing.

Airen sighs when he hears the tremble in
Joseph’s voice, and climbs between us, pulling Joseph against his chest.
“You’ll have a chance to apologize now. We all will. He’s happy. Don’t beat
yourself up.”

“I love you, beautiful,” Joseph whispers,
burrowing into Airen’s body.

“I love you, too. Now, let’s talk about
Abby’s reaction to Mr. GQ.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Damn it.

“Nice…nice…to meet you,” Joseph mocks,
stammering, with an impish grin.

“She did the same thing when we met,”
Airen brags.

“I’m going to sleep before I drown in the
arrogance.”

“Good thing he only shook her hand,”
Joseph taunts. “If he’d have kissed it, we’d have had to carry her inside.”
They chuckle.

I fake a snore and they laugh again. If it
means they’re getting along, I’m more than willing to be the butt of the joke
tonight.

Throwing a party for fourteen people at
the last minute takes some quick planning and delegating. Julie, Lexi, Jayla,
and I manage to put together enough food to feed our small army. Airen and Eric
are tasked with obtaining the booze, and Joseph spends the day rigging up
speakers so we can have music outdoors. By six o’clock our backyard is filled
with family, demolishing the pans of lasagna and enjoying one another’s
company. Troy has been met with an outpouring of love and joy. He’s sitting at
the picnic table, sandwiched between Nic and Eric, a wide smile plastered on
his face.

Joseph’s eyes narrow as he gazes past me.
When I turn to find Jon standing behind me with an unopened whiskey bottle in
hand, I’m torn on how to react. Should I cause a scene and throw him out?

Joseph isn’t plagued by such ambivalence.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he demands.

“I invited him.” Carson intervenes, glaring
at Joseph. “Come on. I’ll beat you at horseshoes,” he says, leading Jon away
from the rest of the group.

There’s a sudden silence, and all eyes are
on me. “It’s fine. Ignore him,” I mumble. He’s not ruining our night. Despite
his interruption, everyone has a great time. After a few hours, the kids go
home with Julie and Jayla for a sleepover, and the alcohol begins to flow.

I pull Airen to his feet to dance with me.
It’s such a rare opportunity that I have to take advantage of it. I’m folded
into his arms, and all is right with the world. My hands travel the smooth
expanse of his back, and I press my cheek to his chest, inhaling his scent. He
chuckles lightly when I squeeze him tighter and nuzzle his neck.

“I don’t think you can get any closer,
darlin’. I’m wearing you like a suit.” I can’t help it. I spend so much time
afraid, fearing for my loss of all this. His warm, hard body is such a comfort.
Strong arms around me, the smell of citrus combined with his unique scent, and
his smooth, soothing voice in my ear. All the things I associate with love and
safety. Just being held by Airen lulls me into a sense of security.

“Sorry,” I murmur.

“Don’t be. It’s good to know you need me,
too.” Soft lips trail down my neck while a firm hand cups my ass.

“I’ve always needed you. Before we ever
met, I needed you.”

“My sweet girl.”

“This reminds me of our first dance.”

“Do you remember our first kiss?” he asks,
onyx eyes twinkling.

“Of course. It was the same night as our
first dance, and not our last milestone that night.”

“Nope, sorry. That wasn’t our first kiss.”

“You must be mixing me up with some other
girl,” I tease.

“No one compares to you, sweetheart. The
first time I kissed you we were sitting on a log at our picnic spot. I kissed
your cheek, and Jayla took our picture. It made you blush.” He runs the pad of
his finger down my cheek. “I loved you, then,” he confesses softly. My heart
swells and a lump forms in my throat. “That picture has been in my drawer ever
since, but I think I’ll frame it, and hang it over our bed.”

My fingers stroke the fine hair on the
nape of his neck as I reply in a husky voice. “I love you so much, but if you
make me cry in front of everyone, you better protect your balls.”

He throws back his head, laughing in
genuine surprise before kissing my lips. Gathering me in his arms, he grins
down at me. “You’re an irresistible handful.”

Joseph has been dancing with Lexi, and
when the song changes, he glances in our direction. “Swap partners?”

“We’ll meet you in the bedroom.” Lexi
laughs, glancing at Eric to be sure he’s out of earshot.

“And we get a sudden peek into why you and
Abby are such good friends,” Joseph remarks sarcastically, shaking his head.
“Switch dance partners.”

“Sure.” I laugh, releasing Airen. “Hands
above the waist, Lex,” I tease.

“You’re no fun,” she replies with an
exaggerated pout. Eric watches from his seat at the table, shaking his head and
grinning at his girlfriend’s antics. There isn’t a jealous bone in that man’s
body. He watches Lexi with a heated gaze while she dances with Airen, her
svelte body keeping perfect rhythm with the music. He may hate to dance, but he
sure loves watching her.