Page 126 of Kaden & Keegan
“Because I won’t stop. I know.”
“No.” Kylie took his hand, squeezed it. “Because you’re doin’ this solo. You’re not keepin’ him in the loop.”
“To protect him,” he rationalized.
“He doesn’t see it that way. Think about it, Travis. Gage wants to protect you, too, and this is his way of doin’ that. He needs you.” Her eyes implored him. “And he needs you to need him.”
Travis took a deep breath, stepped away from Kylie, and paced the floor.
“Let him help,” she pleaded. “He needs to feel included where you’re concerned, Travis. We both know that.”
He turned to face her. “Where is he now?”
“At home. He’s takin’ the kids to daycare, then he’s bringin’ Kate here. I told my sister I’d help her with a few things in the spa. Then I was gonna take Kate home with me.”
Travis nodded. “All right. I’ll talk to him when he gets here.”
She walked over to him, her soft hand cupping his cheek as she stared up into his face. Travis could feel her pain, her worry. It was etched in her face and he hated that he’d done that. That he was responsible for all of this.
“I love you,” she whispered. “More than life itself, Travis. We all do.”
He continued to stare, his heart squeezing in his chest.
“But you have to let us take care of you, too.”
He knew that. How could he not? They reminded him of it over and over again.
In fact, that was how they reined him in when he…
When he did shit like this.
Two hours later, Travis gave up on waiting for Gage. His husband never showed, instead taking Kate for breakfast. Just the two of them.
And to add insult to injury, Gage didn’t respond when Travis texted him.
It was no less than he deserved.
*
Friday evening, after putting in a long day and getting far too little sleep this past week, Kaden had one more thing to deal with before he could go home and possibly lose himself in a bottle for the first time in … years.
Yeah. That was exactly what he was going to do. So fucking what if he had a hangover tomorrow. Right now, he didn’t really give a shit.
“Where’re we headed?” Keegan asked from the passenger seat, his eyes pinned on him.
“Need to stop by the office, talk to Autumn before we head home,” Kaden explained.
“Fine. But after that, we’re goin’ to the lake.”
Kaden peered over at his brother. “What?Why?”
“Because Bristol agreed to go with us.”
Shocked, Kaden managed to keep half his attention on the road. “She did?”
“Well, to be fair, I kinda made it non-negotiable. Told her we needed some fresh air.”
“And she agreed?”
