Thawed Out (Merry Everything #4)

Chapter 14

14

“ I ’m hungry, Dad-Mom.”

“We were good, so we can have dessert right?”

Kiren checked his watch. Flynn had a shift at the hospital so they should make it home first.

“You were both very good. Thank you.”

“Was he your too-der?” Cassie asked.

“He is my student. I am his tutor.”

“Tutor, like pooter,” Jasper sang, stretching out the ooh sound.

Thank goodness they were in the backseat; he could tune them both out a little.

Usually his mom watched the kids after school for an hour while he tutored, and then he’d get everyone home in plenty of time to make dinner, but today Mom had an appointment, and the kids had to be with him. They were both very well behaved, but the session ran long. Flynn’s shift ended soon, and there was no dinner.

The problem wasn’t dinner. The problem was that he hadn’t told Flynn he was?—

“Ow!”

“Hey. Hands to yourselves back there, please.”

“Jasper is mean!”

“Cassie’s a baby.”

“I am not!”

They’d been quiet while he tutored, and now they were hungry, and itchy and he really couldn’t be mad about it. “Come on guys, just leave each other alone for a few more minutes. We’re almost home.”

Flynn’s truck was in the driveway, shocking the hell out of him. Flynn wasn’t due home for another hour or so…

Shit . He sighed. “We’re home, guys.”

Jasper took off his own seatbelt, then helped Cassie with her car seat. Kiren opened the door for them both to hop out, then grabbed his bag and his lunch cooler as they ran up the driveway.

“Daddy! Daddy, we’re home!” Cassie ran up to the door, her feet slapping against the sidewalk. “Did you miss us?”

“Always. You guys are late coming home.” Flynn had a vaguely confused expression, but he opened his arms to Cassie.

“I’ll explain.” He followed the kids inside and set all his stuff down in the foyer. “They’re getting hangry though, so dinner first? Sorry if I worried you.”

“I made stew and cornbread. Nothing fancy.” Flynn nodded to Jasper. “How was Granny?”

“She had to go to the doctor, so we went with Dad-Mom to toodling!” Cassie beamed at Flynn. “We were so good. We colored and didn’t say a peep.”

He caught Flynn’s curious look. “Tutoring. Long story. Dinner sounds great. Let’s eat guys.” Kiren could tell already this wasn’t going to be easy to wait to tell. He hadn’t expected Cassie to say something so quickly, but he probably should have.

“Okay, guys. Go wash up. I’ll get the bowls filled so the soup can cool.” Flynn’s spine was stiff, and Kiren knew there was going to be some blowback here.

He wanted to say something just to hold Flynn over, but he couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t make this worse, so he just kept his mouth shut. He ran a hand down Flynn’s arm as he walked by, headed into the kitchen to help. “Smells good.”

“Thanks, babe. I tried to make it taste like yours, but it’s a little off, I know.”

He smiled at Flynn. “I appreciate that you did it; I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for dinner at this hour.” Which was his own fault. Flynn had picked up his slack.

“You’re tutoring? How many nights a week?”

He sighed and got the milk out for the kids. “I think we should talk about this later, babe.”

“Okay…but why?”

“Why?” He shook his head. “Why am I tutoring? Or why didn’t I tell you? And can we please talk about this?—”

“I have clean hands see?” Cassie came running in, holding her hands up so he could see them.

“You did a good job, girlie. Go sit.”

“She was hogging the bathroom.” Jasper came in behind her and sat down.

“Who’s hungry?” He poured two glasses of milk.

“Me!”

“Me!”

Two bowls of stew landed in front of the kids, the clicking of the dishes sharp. “Be careful, you two. It’s hot.”

He knew he was in trouble, and Flynn was probably right to be upset with him, but his reasons were—what? Noble? That was bullshit; it was still a lie.

It was just a couple of months. It was only for a couple of months, and then they would have been fine, and he wouldn’t have had to explain it to Flynn.

Cassie started blowing on her bowl. “Hot, hot.”

He sat at the table, but he wasn’t hungry right now.

Flynn brought the cornbread over, offered him another vaguely hurt, sort of curious glance, but didn’t say anything. He just ate.

He got it, but he wasn’t going to argue or talk about money in front of the kids. He helped Cassie get through her dinner, then whisked her off to get her a bath and read with her while Flynn got Jasper showered.

It took Flynn a while to get Jasper settled, and when he came in, he grabbed a beer and started the dishes.

“Beer. Good idea.” That was the first thing either of them had said to each other since dinner. He got up from the table and opened the fridge, hiding behind it for one more second before the fireworks started.

“Honey? What’s going on? Why are you lying to me?”

“I’m doing a little tutoring, that’s all.” He closed the fridge and opened his beer, and after a good swig, he picked up a dishtowel.

“Okay, but that’s not what I asked.”

“No. I know.” He picked up a pot to dry it and keep his hands busy. “We need the money, you know? But every time I say that you—you pick up another shift.”

Flynn glanced at him, lips opening, closing, then opening again. “I—I hate feeling like you have to pick up my slack. I want to be…magical to you, I guess.”

“It’s not your slack. There is no slack. We’re both giving a hundred percent. I’m tutoring because it’s another way I can help, and I didn’t tell you because you’re working hard enough and I knew—there’s no room for another shift, but I know that if I asked you to find it, you would.”

And there was no way Kiren was ever going to ask.

“That’s fair, I guess.” All right. That was…reasonable. Surprising, but reasonable. “Yeah, but no lying. No more lying. I don’t need that.”

“No, and we said that, I know we did. I thought about that a lot, and I wanted to tell you. I guess I thought I was saving you from having to offer. You’re doing enough. You’ve made yourself sick for this family. I can’t ask more of you.” He felt like he was the one not doing enough. Sure, he wrangled the kids more than Flynn, and he had a full-time job, but—“I want to be doing more. Parenting doesn’t bring in money, but tutoring does.”

“Just a few more months, lover. If we can hold it together, then Dr. Mack says he’ll have me on the payroll the day I pass my test. So mid-May. Because I’m going to pass. I will ,” Flynn said.

He had faith in Flynn. His husband studied hard, took every opportunity to learn more and get his hands on everything. “Of course you’ll pass. I have no doubt. Zero. We will hold it together. We are, right? It’s a little touch and go, but we’re doing it. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the tutoring. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I get it. Really, I knew all along I should have told you.”

“I wish you would have, but I get it, why you didn’t. I can fly off the handle, especially when my pride is hurt…”

“You want to take care of us. I love you for that. I do.” He took a breath and reached for Flynn’s hand. “Forgive me?”

“Always. Forever.” Flynn took his hand, twining their fingers together. “You don’t have to hide from me. I’m working hard on my temper. Super hard.”

He’d noticed. He knew. He was working hard on making sure Flynn felt needed and wanted. He wasn’t ever letting this fall apart again. “Everything you do for us is noticed, babe. I see you. I promise.”

Flynn kissed the corner of his mouth. “Fair enough. Love you, old man. So who are you tutoring?”

“I have three boys. Juniors. All trying to get through pre-calc. They’re not my regular students, I’m not sure I could charge my students.”

“Damn, pre-calc? Scary. Good thing you work with the teacher…” Flynn waggled his eyebrows at Kiren.

“Right?” He snorted. “Oh, you had to see the kids. You’d have been so proud of them. Jasper sat there and read to Cassie, and they sat through a whole, boring hour being quiet. They were so good.”

Flynn beamed. “They’re growing up. I worry that we did that to them, by breaking up, but they’re both good kids at heart.”

“It was tough for them, but maybe they’ve learned that you don’t give up on people you love.”

Oh, that earned him a smile, and it felt so good. “I like that idea. I like it a lot.”

“It does sound better than ‘my dads are idiots’.” He grinned as he picked up his beer again.

“Tell me about it. I love the answers that involve us appearing like smart, clever men.” Flynn clinked their bottles together. “Want to sit on the sofa and watch shitty TV?”

“Yes. Yes, I do. Popcorn?” He got up to make some.

“Ooh… Hell, yes. I’ll get the pillows and blankets all arranged and warm up the remote.”

“Meet you there. Save me a seat, babe.” Kiren put the popcorn in the microwave, one eye on Flynn until he’d left the kitchen.

That could have been worse. Much worse. He thought maybe they were finally getting the hang of this marriage thing.