Author Notes: To start, here’s a brief scene I had in mind for the book, but I had to cut it for space reasons. Honestly, it was just a little too long to work as a proper flashback in the middle of a chapter but not long enough to stand as a chapter on its own. And honestly, having got it out and looked it over, it would have just cluttered up the book, so in retrospect, I’m glad I left it out.

That said, I’m including it here, along with the other bonus scene. And yeah, I’ll say it now, both scenes are from Chase’s perspective. He was the one who got trimmed down the most. Not that I didn’t consider him interesting enough to be showcased, but due to the way the story was going...well, Devin’s journey had a lot of impact on the story’s path.

Still, I love the giant grump that is Chase, so you get to have more of him!

Click here if you wish to read in .pdf

Chase

NOTES: Now, this one is less a deleted scene and more...well, think of it like an alternative epilogue to the one in the actual book. I was genuinely torn between writing this more ‘traditional’ epilogue, albeit pared down from what it’s at now, and the one I included.

I stand by the decision for the original epilogue. It honestly felt right for the two of them. As much as I was tempted to show them when they were already well-established and past their issues, something spoke to me about showing Devin coming back after his solo journey down the true path of healing. Even so, this alternative epilogue stuck with me, and I had to get it down on paper before it drove me crazy.

So here you go, a ‘proper’ epilogue for you guys to enjoy, to see them as a couple, as uncles as well, and an issue with a troublemaking Karen.

* * *
 
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” I asked Devin quietly as I took the next turn my phone told me I needed to take.

“Chase,” Devin said in an exasperated and calming tone. “Believe it or not, I’m more than okay with this. It’s just a city.”

“Denver isn’t just a city for you,” I grumbled, trying to choose my words carefully. Even my mother, who could spin any criticism into the gentlest statement that could almost be a compliment, had never called me tactful. Sure, with a little help on Devin’s part, I had learned, but it was still something no one looked to me for. Admittedly, I found I was more wary of speaking too openly in the presence of our passenger in the backseat.

Despite the brief exasperation, Devin’s smile was genuine as he reached over to grip my knee and squeeze it. “You forget, I stayed here briefly before returning to Fairlake for good. I worked through my demons...mostly.”

That much was true. He had returned, just as he’d promised, after taking weeks to deal with those demons. And he’d come back...not changed, but different at the same time. Maybe it was better to say he had come back more whole, steadier, and collected in a way he hadn’t been in the months before while we’d worked to get him clean.

Addiction was just one of his many demons, and while we both knew it would always be there inside him, seeking chances to take hold once more, I wasn’t as worried as I’d been before he left for his journey of self-discovery. The Devin I knew now was much more like the Devin I’d known when we were teenagers and yet so different. Sure, there were days when he retreated into the darkness of his past or the dreams that were more like memories haunting him in his sleep.

But things were better, we were better, and if having him in my life again had taught me anything, it was that sometimes that was all you could really ask for.

“I know,” I said after a few minutes of silence, reaching down to take his hand and squeezing it. “I’m just...you know.”

“You are,” he said with a gentle smile. “Now stop it. We’re supposed to be having a good day, so let’s have one.”

“Day!” our little passenger screamed from the car seat in the back.

“Yes,” Devin said with a smile, peering into the rearview mirror to smile at Colin. “A good one.”

“Good!” Colin shot back, and I didn’t have to look in the mirror to know the kid was grinning from ear to ear as he filled my car with noise.

If it weren’t for the fact that Colin wasn’t remotely related to Bennett by blood, I’d swear the kid took after him in personality and volume. But no, even I had to admit the kid was the spitting image of Adam, simply smaller. The kid had moments that reminded me of Adam's personality, mostly when he grew quiet and appeared to be watching everything calmly and thoughtfully. Other times though, he dug down and decided to find the genes that both his mother and uncle possessed, namely the ones with plenty to say and no hesitation to say it.

It had been Devin’s idea to take Colin down to Denver to the art museum, where they were having some sort of event aimed at kids between two and five. Personally, I would have been fine without having to spend a day responsible for a three-year-old, but my friends were right, I found it next to impossible to tell Devin no. Even if I felt awkward and out of my element dealing with kids, Devin had picked up on being a ‘step uncle’ as he liked to call it, without hesitation.

So long as Devin took responsibility for dealing with Colin on a social level, I was perfectly fine to walk around, content to make sure the little goblin didn’t hurt himself. That, of course, meant watching my language around him, as literally every other adult in his life kept reminding me, but that beat trying to figure out how to interact with him. The kid always looked at me like I was getting ready to pull a Jack and the Beanstalk level of feasting on his bones whenever he dealt with me, so it was probably best if Devin was in charge.

Keeping my language under control as I tried to find parking that wasn’t three miles away was easier said than done as I dealt with the mid-afternoon traffic. As tempting as it was to try to pull a few maneuvers that may or may not have been dangerous in order to find a good spot, I had to remind myself there was a small child in the car as well as the love of my life. The latter would happily rip me up one side and down the other if I did something idiotic like endangering our lives for a mere parking spot.

By the time I finally found a spot, my mood had grown sour, and from the sound of it, Colin was feeling more than a little restless himself. He did his best to squirm out of the car seat and Devin’s arms when he was finally pulled free. Devin’s mood wasn’t all that better, considering the attempt to wrestle a squirming toddler resulted in a Glasgow Handshake to the nose. There was no bleeding, thankfully, but he was still rubbing it by the time we made it to the museum entrance.

“Two adults,” I informed the smiling woman behind the front desk over Colin’s enthusiastic squeal at a giant stuffed animal nearby. “And one creature from a hell dimension.”

She at least smiled as she took my card and ran it while Devin corralled Colin before the kid managed to crawl up the thing taller even than me. Having seen Colin in action, I had no doubt he was more than capable of scaling the thing if he didn’t have Devin right behind him, scooping him up before the kid could make a solid attempt.

“You know, there are moments when I wonder if one day I might want a kid of my own,” Devin told me once he’d managed to wrangle Colin, though it involved carrying Colin under his arm. “And then I deal with being headbutted and retrieving a wannabe mountain climber, and I realize the hormones inside me need to get a grip.”

I glanced at him, eyes widening. “You...you’ve thought about having kids?”
Devin stopped, looking surprised before shrugging, jostling a now giggling Colin. “I mean, I’ve thought about it, yeah. Not exactly something I’m ready for, but yeah, it’s crossed my mind.”

We had never discussed kids before. I thought I’d made up my mind a long time ago, and I thought Devin had done the same. In truth, having kids would take a miracle, considering he’d never been with a woman. While it might have technically been possible with me, considering I’d never been all that choosy about the gender of my partners, I’d ensured I would never have kids when I was twenty.

It had taken three different doctors before the final one finally agreed to let me have the vasectomy. Even then, they’d tried to give me shit at the hospital once they’d seen how young I was. No amount of cajoling was going to sway me, no matter how much they swore up and down that one day I’d regret the choice if I met someone I wanted to have kids with. Never mind that the damn procedure could probably be reversed, and never mind that I might not be all that worried about kids, no matter who I was in love with.

“Oooh,” Devin said loudly as we entered the exhibit. He glanced down at Colin, earning a mimicked reaction from the three-year-old, but I was a little suspicious that the reaction was for himself as well. “Look at that!”

Not that I could blame him. The museum definitely hadn’t scrimped to make the exhibit as interesting and engaging as possible. It was supposed to “engage children in play and socializing” through “interactive exhibits to encourage kinesthetic and social projects.” An overly complicated way of saying they had places for kids to screw around and talk with other kids.

It was the second one that interested Colin’s parents, as there weren’t a lot of kids his age in Fairlake. They did their best to socialize him around other kids, but a public venue was the perfect place to drive it home. There were complicated water wheels, a paint station that somehow didn’t manage to look like it had exploded despite the number of toddlers, and what looked like the most complicated playset I’d ever seen.

“How the hell did they manage to get paint in here without causing a disaster?” I wondered aloud.

“Someone didn’t read the information on the packet, did they?” Devin asked Colin in a high voice that Colin barely noticed as he stared wide-eyed at the crowd around us. Not that I could blame him. There were an awful lot of people around and way too much noise for my liking. “Someone didn’t see that they have special paints that only show up on special kinds of paper, huh?”

“I...skimmed it,” I muttered.

“What do you wanna do?” Devin asked Colin, setting him on the ground.

Colin glanced around, a little uneasy, before looking up at us. His eyes lingered on me momentarily, and I hoped I wasn’t suddenly expected to say something. It seemed like anytime I said anything, Colin shut up and stared at me like I’d just jumped out from the shadows and was trying to murder him. Not that I blamed him, full-grown adults commented on how scary they found me. Admittedly, I preferred adults afraid of me because it meant they didn’t try to talk to me for the most part, but I felt kind of bad that a kid felt the same way.

“There’s no rush,” Devin told him gently, and I felt a pang in my chest at his words. Despite his annoyance at Colin’s behavior earlier, it was gone instantly so he could show Colin the utmost patience and kindness while the three-year-old assessed the situation. I wondered if he thought of his father in moments like these, whose only expression of language and emotion was impatience, anger, and cruelty.

“I dunno,” Colin said, looking doubtfully at the pack of screaming kids.

“That’s okay,” Devin told him soothingly, running a hand through his hair. “We can stand here and wait.”

For a moment, it seemed like waiting was precisely what Colin was going to do. His eyes were wide as he took in the chaos of the play area, and I could practically see the tiny gears in his head whirring away furiously as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. After a couple of minutes, he finally peered up at me, his eyes wide as saucers, before grabbing Devin’s pant leg and pulling on it.

“We can go,” Devin told him with a smile, earning one from Colin in return.

Permission was apparently all Colin needed at that point, and he almost immediately charged off, but not before glancing over his shoulder to make sure Devin was following him. Devin glanced at me, only for me to nod my head toward the toddler, perfectly content to be left against a wall where I wouldn’t be forced to maneuver my bulk through the sea of tiny people.

Left to my own devices, I watched the two of them. Colin grew bolder as he played with what looked like a moving block puzzle, constantly checking to make sure he wasn’t left alone. Then he moved on to the collection of water wheels, walking away from Devin without a glance as he found something of interest. I couldn’t help but chuckle as I watched Devin quickly go from a comforting adult to a tagalong that Colin occasionally consulted over something new or exciting.

Watching the two of them pulled at something in my chest, and I wondered if maybe my firm decision never to have children, no matter the partner, was a little too hasty. Back then, I hadn’t considered that I might have a partner like Devin with me, someone who managed to make me feel...well, not like an absolute disaster. Someone who I could actually picture dealing with kids, raising them properly, all that despite knowing Devin was probably half terrified at the idea. Terrified that all his problems, the problems that came through his family, might leak into that child.

Yet the more I watched him with Colin, the more I became convinced that any child, blood or adopted, would be damned lucky to have a parent like Devin. I couldn’t say I would ever be comfortable being responsible for a child. Still, I also knew that if Devin truly wanted to give it a shot, he firmly believed I was capable of it too. His opinion of me had always been the one I trusted the most, and if he believed in me without hesitation, then I was inclined to believe him.

A voice piped up beside me. “Which one’s yours?”

Surprise made me tense, and I glanced to find a woman at my side, peering up at me. I blinked for a moment before clearing my throat. “What?”

She nodded toward the collection of energetic children. “Which kid is yours?”

“Oh...none of them,” I said, wondering why this random woman chose to talk to me. Most of the time, my face and sheer size were enough to put most people off, especially women who only came up to my chest. “I’m just the...supervisor for the day.”

“Friend of the family?”

“Sorta.”

“Well, you have to be important if you’re being trusted with their child,” she said, voice tinged with a condescension that made me immediately dislike her.

My brow furrowed. “I’m a friend of one of the parents. That make you happy?”

“See, that wasn’t so hard,” she said with a smile that did nothing to assuage my annoyance. “And I sure hope it’s not the mother.”

“It’s not,” I said, hoping the overly simple answer would put her off.

No such luck. “Because with a man like you around, I’m sure her husband would be more than a little nervous.”

“I’m not her friend. I’m a friend of one of his dads,” I said irritably.

“Dads,” she repeated slowly, her brow furrowing. “Plural?”

“Yes,” I confirmed, now watching her closely. “My friend is the stepdad.”

“Where’s their mother?”

“Back home, where his dads are.”

“And you don’t see an issue with that?” she asked carefully.

“Is it the divorce, the clearly gay relationship, or the fact that the mom doesn’t care that’s bothering you here?”

“Well, I’m a very modern woman,” she said with a laugh that told me she was lying through her teeth. “But a child raised in that kind of environment is surely going to struggle.”

“Lady, the only thing that kid is going to struggle with is having one too many people in his life to love and eventually embarrass him when he gets older,” I scowled. “That and whatever crap might still be left over from idiots like you who are going to give him shit over something stupid like the relationship between his dads.”

She took half a step back, looking affronted. “Well, clearly, you can’t see why something like that would be confusing to a child.”

“About as confusing as it was for someone like my friend, who grew up in a straight world and still ended up gay as a rainbow,” I snapped, losing my patience along with my temper. “And about as confusing as it was for me and my boyfriend, who had to do the same thing. The only thing that confuses me is why you even give a shit and are still talking to me.”

“Y-your boyfriend?”

The disbelief made me roll my eyes. “Yeah, my boyfriend. Now, could you peddle your bullshit somewhere else? I was enjoying being left the fuck alone, thanks.”

If I wasn’t so pissed, the affront on her face would have made me laugh. The woman would have been clutching her string of pearls if she’d been wearing any as she stepped away from me and marched off. I had only a moment of faint relief that she was gone before I saw another woman approaching, glancing at the first one before stopping.

“Jesus,” I huffed. “What?”

This one smiled in a way that didn’t make me want to punch a wall. “Sorry about her, and sorry for letting it happen.”

I frowned. “What?”

“I just…” She glanced over her shoulder toward the small group of women she’d been standing with just a moment before. “We’re familiar with her. She comes with our mom group on occasion to do things. Most of us can’t stand her, and just from the way you started that conversation off, I had a feeling you were going to upset her.”

I scowled. “So you used me to piss someone off you don’t like?”

“Pretty much,” she said, completely unabashed.

I grunted, respecting the fact that she owned up to it without a trace of embarrassment. “Fine, apology accepted.”

Her eyes shifted to the group, and I didn’t miss where they’d stopped. “I caught a glimpse of you two earlier. That the boyfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s very good with them.”

I watched as Devin managed to carry on a conversation between Colin and two other kids, a little redheaded girl, and a grinning blond boy. “He’s good with people, even little people.”

“And you’re...not.”

“Clearly.”

She laughed, tucking a strand of dark hair behind one ear. “I guess someone as charming as you would need someone...well, actually charming to balance you out.”

“You only say that because you haven’t seen him pissed off,” I said with a smirk. It was genuinely one of my favorite things about Devin, watching people who saw the sweet man suddenly grow claws and fangs, not afraid to make someone bleed. In fact, as much as it would have been funny to watch Devin give the woman a piece of his mind, I was glad he wasn’t around to hear her.

Coming to understand my bisexuality had been a complicated process, but once I’d realized I was into other guys, I’d dealt with it pretty smoothly. Unfortunately, Devin had been the complete opposite. He’d realized fairly early that he was gay, but finding peace with it had been hard. His father’s vitriol for anything resembling an offense to masculinity was for it to be derided, scorned, and punished relentlessly.

Devin had never told his father he was gay, but he hadn’t needed to. His father could only see his son was on the small side, quieter, and gentler than other people, and that was enough for him. As much as Devin acted as though people’s nasty opinions about homosexuality didn’t bother him, I wasn’t convinced. The woman’s ignorance might have pissed me off, but I was sure it would have stung Devin.

“You two been together long?” she asked.

I wasn’t quite sure why we were still having a conversation and shrugged. “Since we were kids.”

“Oh? How long have you been dating?”

“About a year?”

“That sounded like a question, not an answer.”

“The question is why we’re still talking.”

“Because it beats talking about the latest update in child psychology, the latest article about child raising, aching boobs, and sore nipples.”

“Uh...sore nipples?”

She glanced sidelong at me, smirking. “I guess you haven’t ever had kids of your own.”

“No, never wanted them.”

Her eyes drifted back toward Devin. “Well, you might want to be careful then.”

“Why?” I asked, bewildered.

“Because that one looks like someone who might want one...or two. Always go for two if you can.”

“Uhhh, I’m an only child.”

“Yeah, and look at what a wonderful specimen of social charm you are.”

I snorted. “That’s fair.”

Her brow furrowed. “Oh shit.”

I didn’t have to ask what she meant as I watched the original woman march through the crowd of children, her shoulders back and eyes blazing. I only had to look at Devin and Colin, who were now interacting with a little girl with soft brown hair full of curls, to realize where her target was.

“Excuse me,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Abigail, no!” the woman shouted, but her voice was lost in the din of the children playing.

Mindful of all the little legs and hands around me, I carefully watched where I stepped as I headed toward Devin and Colin. I watched as the woman, Abigail apparently, reached her daughter and pulled her back, her lips thinning as she said something I couldn’t hear to Devin. I caught the way some of the color left Devin’s face before his eyes began to blaze with familiar anger. I couldn’t hear what he said to her, but the look on her face was one of someone being slapped as she jabbed a finger toward him, her voice beginning to rise.

Worse yet, the ever-aware Colin was watching them, and his face scrunched up, pulling his fists up under his chin as he squeezed his arms against his chest. I only just reached them as Colin gave a wail of dismay, pulling Devin around with a look of surprise and unhappiness on his face.

“I see you met the local Karen,” I growled as I approached, glaring at the woman who turned, her purse smacking into Devin as she drew herself up to face me. I set my hand on Devin’s lower back, feeling him lean back into the touch even as his posture remained tense.

“Charming,” Devin said through clenched teeth, trying to run his hand through Colin’s hair. “Lady, please go away. You’re upsetting him.”

She ignored him. “Why this museum tolerates this, I’ll never know.”

Her gaze was locked on where I was touching Devin, and I rolled my eyes. “Are you really that stupid, lady? You’re in the wrong city for this kinda crap. It’s Denver, you might as well be in San Francisco for how okay with this shit it is.”

Before I could say anything further, I felt a tug on my hand and looked down into Colin’s tear-stained face. His eyes were big as he gave my hand another tug, and I immediately realized what he was doing, having seen him do it before with Bennett and Adam. Bewildered, I crouched down carefully to pick him up and then started when he tightly wrapped his arms around my neck, burying his face into my chest.

“Go. Away,” I told her in a low voice, mindful that I didn’t want to start snarling when a terrified toddler was burrowing into my chest. “Or I’ll gladly get security over here.”

It was telling that Devin said nothing, simply glowering at her as she huffed once more. I could feel him practically coiling up beside me, and this woman had no idea of the danger that was the usually soft-mannered man beside me. Just to be sure he was aware we were still surrounded by kids, I hooked my fingers around his waist, pulling him closer and away from her.

“Fine,” she hissed, bending over to pick her daughter up, her purse smacking into Devin again and getting caught. She didn’t seem to notice, and since Devin only shifted his weight anxiously, I focused on her. When she stood up, it was with daggers in her eyes as she marched off, her daughter protesting at being dragged away.

“C’mon,” I said gently, pulling Devin with me. “Let’s calm him down a little.”

“He’s already calmed down,” Devin said through gritted teeth but let me pull him into one of the other rooms, where the noise of the kids was dimmed a little. “You already talked to her?”

“Yeah,” I said, peering down to look at Colin, who was calm. His face was red, and his eyes were watery, but other than a few sniffles, he was back under control. “That was fast. You okay?”
He peered up at me with his big eyes. “Okay. Fanks.”

Startled, I let out a little laugh. “You’re welcome. You want me to put you down?”

“Stay hew,” he mumbled, laying his head on my shoulder.

“Uhh, sure,” I said, blinking in confusion.

Devin caught the expression on my face and laughed. “I’ve been telling you he likes you.”

“This is the first time I’ve ever believed you,” I admitted, unsure what to do with this change.

“It’s because he and I have something in common,” Devin said softly, resting one hand on my elbow while the other came around to rest on my hip.

“What’s that?” I asked, confused when something in his hand pressed against my side.

“You make us feel safe,” Devin told me softly, standing on his toes to steal a quick kiss. “That’s why he went to you when he was scared. And that’s why it will always be you for me because you’re safe...you’re home.”

I would swear, if it were possible to melt into a vaguely human-shaped puddle, I would have done so on the spot. “Thanks. Wow, that was a terrible response.”
Devin laughed, and my chest tightened. “It’s alright. You’re you, so I know what you meant.”

“That’s good,” I said, then frowned as I got jabbed again. “What is that poking me?”

“Oh,” Devin said, and my brow rose at the evil glint in his eyes. “Not much.”

I heard a jingling before he raised his hand, wiggling a keyring between us. At a glance, I could tell I didn’t recognize where they’d come from, and I was the one who had the keys in the first place.

“Where did…oh, God,” I said in sudden realization. “Are those that woman’s keys?”

“They might be,” he said with a chuckle.

“And uh, how did you get them?”

“Baby, did you forget I pretty much lived on the street for a few years? Taking stuff out of some rich bitch’s purse is like, child’s play.” And before I could say anything, he turned and chucked them into a nearby wastebasket.

“You little shit,” I said, unable to stop my laugh. “She’s going to be pissed.”

“Yeah, well, I guess she shouldn’t be such a terrible person,” Devin said, looking extremely pleased with himself.

“Have I ever mentioned I love you?” I asked him, stealing a kiss of my own.

“Here and there, but feel free to mention it more,” he said with a grin.

“Well, I love you,” I said with a laugh, pulling him close.

“And I love you,” he said, then tilted his head so he could catch Colin’s eyes. “You ready to play more, or you wanna go?”

Colin lifted his head so fast he nearly smacked himself on the underside of my chin. “Play!”

“He says, with literally zero hesitation,” Devin chuckled.

“Well, the man in charge has spoken, so I guess we’re going to have to listen, now won’t we?” I asked with a small laugh.

“Bennett’s right,” Devin said. “You really are a big pushover.”

“Ohhhh,” I growled, giving his ass a slap when he turned to walk off, smirking when he yelped. “You wait until I get you alone later. You’re going to regret that.”

“If I know the tone of the growl I just got, I’m going to do anything but regret it,” he said with a chuckle, rubbing his ass.

I was startled back into the moment when Colin decided to laugh along with Devin, reminding me he was there. Then the little brat decided to give me the biggest grin imaginable when he caught my eye, and I felt a familiar happy twist in my stomach. Glancing at Devin, who lingered by the doorway, his expression soft as he watched us approach, I found myself wondering if maybe we might not be able to pull something like this off.

It was something for us to talk about down the road. And we had all the time in the world.