Page 69 of Guarding His Heart
Seb laughed abruptly, struck by how absurd and how totally out of touch with Seb’s life the man was. To threaten to take his housing away was one thing, but Seb hadn’t visited the house since he moved his possessions out with Declan months ago. “Whatever you think is best,” he replied in a monotone. “If the house has to go, the house has to go.”
Declan placed his hands on Seb’s shoulders, rubbing them gently while Ellie laid at his feet. In the phone, Seb’s father cursed about his failures as a son before finally receiving another call and hanging up, never letting Seb get a word in edgewise.
“Wow,” Seb said, lowering his phone. “I guess next time I will just send him to voicemail.”
“That bad?”
Seb shook his head. “It’s fine.” He leaned back into the massage Declan offered, then shook his limbs, trying to shed the gross feeling his father left him with. “I don’t need him, and not needing him means that he can’t hurt me.”
Declan crossed his arms over Seb’s chest, taking him into an embrace from behind. “That’s right. And if he forgets it, I can help you remind him.”
Seb laughed. He leaned back to kiss Declan as clouds passed over the sun. “It’s like you said. We’ll show him with the life we build and the work we accomplish. That’s the best revenge.”
“Sure is,” Declan agreed.
They started back toward home, cutting alongside the canal and near the restaurants that were proving to be their favorites. Once Alexandria showed up, she and Declan were going thrifting with his truck in hopes of tracking down some good finds, most of Seb’s furniture having been left behind with the fire. Having the afternoon to himself meant that Seb would be able to dive back into work, just the way he liked it.
When his research was the only thing he cared about, it had felt good to make a breakthrough. But now that he had someone else there, too, someone he loved and who shared every challenge and every success, he was driven in new ways.
Seb and Declan were growing together. They had found something real to fight for, and together, they could make the future bright.
“We’re home,” Declan said, dropping down to pet Ellie’s head.
“We’re home,” Seb agreed, glad to have finally found his way there.
The end
