Page 19 of Sobek’s Joy

And he really, really wanted to know if that moment in the bathroom had meant what Rudy hoped it meant.

Flopping down on his back again, Rudy spread out like a starfish. His body felt restless, and his skin was too warm despite the evening breeze coming through the window. Gods, I’m crushing on him so hard.

He hadn’t felt like this since...when? College? That brief, messy relationship with Jeremy that imploded when Jeremy graduated and moved to Portland without so much as a backward glance? Rudy had convinced himself he was over the whole romance thing after that. Between his lottery win and suddenly becoming a single parent to three traumatized kids, dating hadn’t exactly been a priority. More like an impossibility.

Who wanted to date a twenty-eight-year-old with three kids under five, none of them biologically his, all of them with their own unique challenges? Rose’s refusal to wear clothes. Jack’s nightmares that had him crawling into Rudy’s bed at least twice a week. Timothy’s absolute silence unless he was with his siblings.

The kids were everything to Rudy. He’d move mountains for them. But he’d also accepted that his life was going to be different from other people’s - quieter socially and yet fuller in every other way that mattered.

Except now Sobek kept showing up and reminding Rudy what it felt like to want something for himself.

And Sobek was so darn good with the kids. Not in the “let me tolerate your children for thirty seconds before making an excuse to leave” way that Rudy had gotten used to from the few times he’d tried to maintain friendships after finding Rose. Sobek was genuinely patient. He answered Jack’s endless questions, set firm but kind boundaries when Rose tested him, and he seemed to instinctively understand that Timothy needed physical proximity more than words.

It showed him what his little family could look like. Not just him struggling alone, but someone else there, sharing the weight and making it easier...better.

“Don’t,” Rudy told himself firmly. “Don’t go there.” That was dangerous territory, building fantasies around a man he barely knew, a man who would inevitably leave. Sobek was living in a holiday rental property. He had a life somewhere else, probably a much more interesting one than watching a single dad chase three rambunctious children around a falling-apart house in rural Louisiana.

Whatever was holding Sobek back from kissing Rudy tonight - and Rudy was ninety percent sure Sobek had wanted to because he had seen it in the way the man’s gaze had dropped to Rudy’s mouth more than once - it didn’t matter.

Because Sobek would leave because that’s what people did.

And Rudy would handle it.

He’d gotten good at handling things on his own.

The kids would miss him, though. That part made Rudy’s heart squeeze uncomfortably. Timothy especially seemed to have latched onto Sobek in a way he’d never done with anyone except Rudy. And Jack had been watching Sobek really closely lately, like he was trying to figure something out.

Rose would probably take it hardest. She loved everyone and threw her whole tiny heart into every interaction. When Sobek left, she’d ask about him every day for weeks. Where did he go? When is he coming back? Can we call him?

Rudy rolled onto his stomach, burying his face in the mattress. He wasn’t being fair. He’d known Sobek for what, two weeks? Three? The man didn’t owe them anything. He’d been nothing but kind and helpful, and here Rudy was, already mourning his departure like they had some kind of claim on him.

“You’re a mess,” Rudy informed his pillow.

But gods, when Sobek had touched his face earlier...when he’d looked at Rudy with that intensity that made Rudy feel like the only person in the world... When he’d said especially then after Rudy mentioned being a disaster...

Rudy’s fingers crept up to touch the spot behind his ear where Sobek’s hand had been. He could still feel the ghost of that contact, gentle and deliberate.

Sobek was probably dealing with his own stuff. Maybe he needed time to figure out what he wanted, or perhaps he was scared of commitment, of an instant family, of getting involved with someone whose life was as erratic as Rudy’s.

Rudy could respect that. He could be patient. He’d learned patience over the last three years, and life itself had shown him that some things couldn’t be rushed.

And honestly? Even if nothing romantic ever happened between them, Rudy would take Sobek’s friendship and be grateful for every fish delivery, fixed pipe, and quiet evening at the kitchen table. He would cherish every moment the kids got to have another adult in their lives who clearly gave a damn about them.

That was more than Rudy had expected to have when he’d bought his old house. He’d never planned to stay for long either, but then the kids came along, and now this old house was Rudy’s home…and theirs. He had enough money from his lottery win to take care of them properly, to give them everything they needed. He didn’t need anyone’s approval or permission. Rudy just did what he had to do because he cared.

But having Sobek’s...presence…acceptance… The way he never once looked at Rose’s claws or Jack’s patches of fur or Timothy’s scales, like there was something wrong with them meant everything.

Rudy finally kicked off his jeans and crawled under the covers properly, exhaustion starting to win out over his racing thoughts. Tomorrow would be another day of managing three tiny tornadoes, and he needed sleep to survive it.

But as he closed his eyes, he let himself imagine - just for a moment - what it would’ve been like if Sobek had stayed after the kids had settled in bed. If they’d curled up on the couch together, Rudy tucked under that strong arm, watching something mindless on TV while the house settled around them, if Sobek had kissed him goodnight before leaving, or better yet, if Sobek had stayed the night.

“He’ll be back,” Rudy whispered into the darkness, echoing Timothy’s earlier certainty. “He always comes back.” Rudy would accept that for what it was, for as long as it happened.

Chapter Nine

“You have a lot of doors.” Embarrassed at how he’d run out on a chance of intimacy with his beautiful mate the night before, Sobek was back the next morning, looking for more excuses to stick around and be helpful. If he couldn’t kiss his mate the way he wanted to, because Rudy still didn’t know the truth about him and what they were to each other, then he could at least complete some of the fix-it jobs that needed doing and the doors were a good start. There were six that he could see on the ground floor, and he was sure there was many more upstairs.

Rudy looked up from where he was attempting to convince Rose that pants were, in fact, a requirement for breakfast. “I’m sorry, what?”