Page 83 of Hold Back
Red could do it…just.
Kit shook his head. “I want to make it for you.”
“You can cook?”
“Three, maybe four dishes. All of them breakfast. I had to teach myself breakfast or I’d never get to eat at the clubhouse until lunchtime. The old ladies don’t get in ‘til later and I eat at odd hours,” Kit confessed.
“It doesn’t show,” Red said with a trace of envy.
There wasn’t a scrap of fat on his boy’s lean muscular frame. Red remembered being once like that. He’d piled on weight in his thirties. That’s when he had to hit the gym. If they ended up staying confined for a long time, he’d need to work out an exercise regime; for his weight and Kit’s restlessness. Maybe he could ask Ronan to help with that.
“Go get dressed. We’ll get visitors soon enough.”
Red swatted Kit’s butt and steered him gently toward the bedroom. Kit grumbled that they’d seen it all already so what was the issue, but he did as he was told, even giving Red a butt wiggle as he went. Red had a feeling Kit loved pushing his Daddy’s boundaries but secretly liked being a good boy. He’d never admit it though. No chaos demon wanted to be a good boy.
“This isthe best eggs Benedict I’ve ever had,” Red said sincerely, forty-five minutes later, as he rubbed his belly. “I think you should do all the cooking from now on.”
Kit beamed at the praise. “Three dishes, remember? And all of them breakfast.”
“If the others are like this, I’ll happily eat them all the time.”
“You know, I think you’re the first person who’s eaten my food in forever.” Kit sat back in his seat and drew one leg to his chest. “My mom always said she’d teach me to cook, but then the accident happened, and it was too late.”
“I’ll teach you to cook my dishes and you can teach me,” Red said, reaching over to place a tender kiss on Kit’s cheek. He pretended not to see the way Kit’s eyes shone brightly. “We have all the time in the world.”
“You can’t say that, Daddy. You never know what’s going to happen. Look at me now. No home, no brother, no Mom and Dad. I have nothing left. I can’t be that positive.”
He tried to tug his hand away but Red held it tighter.
“You have me. I can be positive for you, boy.”
But he caught Kit’s expression. So many emotions crossed his face. Fear. Resignation. Sorrow.
His chaos demon was crumbling under the weight of his loss.
Red reached over, picked Kit up, ignoring his startled squeak, and plopped him into his lap. Then he wrapped Kit in his arms and held him tight.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered. “I’ve got you.”
Kit held on fiercely as if he were desperate to believe that Red could be his rock for him, the one constant in his life.
Red pressed a kiss to the top of his head. No one was going to take his boy away from him. No one.
They sat like that for a long time. Red wasn’t even sure if Kit was awake, he seemed so relaxed. But Kit sat up at the knock on the door, yawning sleepily.
“It’s me,” Mo called.
“Hold on.”
Red stood, went via the panic room to check the monitor, and spotted two men at the door. He recognized Mo scowling at the camera instantly, but took a moment to place Jace.
“Stay here,” he ordered.
“Woof!” Kit didn’t bother to hide his sarcasm.
Red rolled his eyes, swatted Kit’s butt, then jogged back to unlock and open the door.
“Finally,” Mo grumbled as he stepped in, brushing snow off his shoulders. “I thought we were gonna turn into popsicles.
