Four Ever, page 31
I was just as worried about Waldo as Killian and the others, but I knew what a fighter the toucan was. He was going to be fine and his new beak was going to be perfect for him.
Killian and I had worked long and hard researching the materials that would be the best kind to use for both the beak and the fixtures that would attach the artificial one to the natural one, and we’d finally come to the conclusion that Killian’s 3-D printer wouldn’t be able to accommodate the material we’d wanted to use. We’d been able to find an engineer to review our design as well as a company willing to manufacture the beak, but it hadn’t come cheap. Zak and Killian had been planning to dip into their savings to pay the costs, but Liam beat them to it. The lawyer Zak and Killian had hired had come through with getting Liam access to the inheritance his mother had left him, and he’d used a small chunk of it to pay the manufacturer. Killian and Zak had been angry because they’d wanted Liam to use the money for his education as well as mine, but Liam had shut down the argument pretty fast when he’d pointed out that we were family now and family took care of each other. It was no longer his money but our money, and Waldo was family, so our family had gotten our money.
That was pretty much how his argument had played out, and while I hadn’t been able to follow along with some of what he and Killian had yelled back and forth at each other, watching them make up afterwards had been pretty straightforward.
Fights were few and far between among the four of us, but the stuff that came with making up happened on a daily basis.
Usually several times a day.
And in all sorts of interesting places.
Only having sex while we were all together was a thing of the past too. It was pretty much a free-for-all.
Though my favorite times were still when it was all four of us in our bed – yep, it wasn’t just Zak and Killian’s anymore, it was ours… that had been another “argument” that’d had a very memorable make-up moment – together at night just losing ourselves in one another. But of course, I wasn’t about to complain when I walked in on two or all three of my guys fucking each other’s brains out. And it sure was a lot of fun watching one of my men walk into a room and see me on all fours or on my back as I was being filled or as I was doing the filling.
Liam’s tests had come back negative for the second time, so we’d been able to ditch the condoms. I hadn’t been with Liam when he’d gotten the call with his results, but Zak had and from what I understood, they’d celebrated the moment by using the back seat of Zak’s car and a deserted access road just outside of town. Unfortunately, our two errant lovers had ended up getting the car stuck in the snow and Killian had had to take his truck to pull them out. But Zak and Liam had made efficient use of the time while they’d waited for Killian and by the time all three of them had gotten home, we’d had another celebration.
While things between the four of us were better than ever, we knew the outside world wasn’t going to be as accepting. We didn’t hide what we were to one another, but we didn’t exactly advertise it either. Killian and Zak had gotten legally married so that when we were ready to start adding to our family, it would be one less obstacle to deal with. Surrogacy was definitely an option we would pursue, but all of us had agreed that we’d like to foster and adopt kids too. If the logistics proved to be too cumbersome and some people who didn’t even know us said we weren’t qualified to be some kid’s family because there were four of us instead of two, then we’d find another way to help kids who needed it.
The day Killian and Zak had legally gotten married, we’d said our own private vows to one another. Killian’s sponsor, Delia, had officiated our little private ceremony and a few people from Killian’s, Zak’s, and Liam’s workplaces had attended. The four of us had exchanged rings that were all the same and had the words Four Ever inscribed in the inside of the band. Dr. Clark, Killian’s and my psychologist, had been in attendance as well.
Both Killian and I continued to see Dr. Clark on a regular basis, though Killian’s sessions were less often than mine. Dr. Clark was still helping me work through the guilt and loss I was feeling, especially after I’d gotten my father’s first journal back, plus the new ones Gerald Darby had saved for me. I hadn’t met Gerald yet, but I was hoping to soon, because he’d be able to tell me more about both my parents when I was ready. As for the journals, as I worked my way through them, I read one entry every night to Killian, Zak, and Liam before we went to sleep. Sometimes the entries made me laugh, sometimes not. I didn’t always remember the events my father had written about, but some I did and once I got past my grief, I was able to share my memory of the time with my men.
Therapy was helping me to learn to communicate with others, even if I didn’t necessarily feel as safe as my men made me feel. I’d been fortunate enough to land a job with the very vet whose clinic we were currently at. I’d been with Killian when we’d brought Waldo in for some pre-surgical testing, and the local vet had been impressed with the calming effect he said I had on Waldo. He’d asked me if I’d ever considered working with animals.
I hadn’t up until that point.
Now it was all I could think about.
I hadn’t started my new job yet but was scheduled to once Waldo was home and all healed up. I wouldn’t be doing much more than cleaning cages to start, but I was incredibly excited.
And nervous.
The vet who was going to be my future employer had been kind enough to donate his operating room and resources for the procedure, even though he wasn’t the doctor who was actually working on Waldo. No, it was the vet who’d done Waldo’s beak the first time who’d agreed to come to our little town to do the second surgery. She’d even donated all her time, so the only thing we’d had to pay for was the beak itself.
I wasn’t the only one set to start a new job soon. Killian had decided to return to being a cop, though he was going to work for our town rather than drive to Pittsburgh where there were police forces with SWAT positions like his old job in Philadelphia. Even though being a small-town cop came with fewer risks, we all knew the potential dangers Killian would still face. But it had been Zak who’d insisted that he return to the work he loved. And Killian was good at what he did, so even though I’d always worry about him when he was out working, the reality was that any one of us could not come home someday. It was a way of thinking that I refused to give in to. We were all here now, we were all together now. None of us took that for granted and we weren’t wasting even a second of the gift we’d been given.
Liam was thriving at his job at the diner, but we knew he would eventually outgrow the place. Killian had already started looking into the different culinary institutes in Pittsburgh to see which ones were the best. Liam was protesting the idea because it would mean a long commute for him each day, but we all knew it was what he really wanted. His dream wasn’t just to own a restaurant, but to be the driving force behind it. He’d always talked about working in the kitchen while I handled the business side. I hadn’t had any issue sharing that dream with him when it’d been just the two of us and we’d had nothing. But being with Zak and Killian had shown us it was okay to dream bigger… to dream about the impossible.
Because there were plenty of people who would say four men in a committed, loving relationship wasn’t possible.
We were proving them wrong every minute of every day.
And wasn’t that just sad for them?
Killian relaxed in my hold. I had my head pressed against his chest so I could hear his heart beating loud and strong beneath my ear.
“Waldo’s family?” I heard someone call.
“That’s us,” Killian said as he took my hand and led me in the direction of the nurse who was standing at the door leading to the back, a chart in her hand. She looked up and opened her mouth to say something, then seemed to notice how all four of us were hanging on to each other in front of her. I didn’t recognize her as the same nurse who’d taken Waldo from us earlier in the day.
“All of you?” she asked.
“Yes,” Zak said. “How is he?” Zak had his arm around Liam and was holding on to Killian’s other hand.
“He’s fine,” the nurse said. She definitely seemed confused, but not necessarily disgusted. “He just woke up from the anesthesia and Dr. Sobel is happy with the results. She’ll be out to speak to you in a few minutes.”
“Can we see Waldo?” I asked.
The nurse smiled at me. “I’ll come get you as soon as I get him moved to a cage.”
“Thank you,” Killian said with a sigh of relief. He kissed me, then he was kissing Liam and Zak. We were all hugging and laughing when I noticed the nurse still watching us from the doorway. If it hadn’t been obvious that we were together, it sure as hell was now. But instead of shaking her head at us or casting us a disapproving look, she held my gaze a moment, then winked at me. Then she turned and returned to the back, letting the door slide shut behind her and leaving me and my men alone again.
Alone.
But together.
As it should be.
About the Author
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed Four Ever.
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Also by Sloane Kennedy
(Note: Not all titles will be available on all retail sites)
The Escort Series
Gabriel’s Rule (M/F)
Shane’s Fall (M/F)
Logan’s Need (M/M)
Barretti Security Series
Loving Vin (M/F)
Redeeming Rafe (M/M)
Saving Ren (M/M/M)
Freeing Zane (M/M)
Finding Series
Finding Home (M/M/M)
Finding Trust (M/M)
Finding Peace (M/M)
Finding Forgiveness (M/M)
Finding Hope (M/M/M)
Pelican Bay Series
Locked in Silence (M/M)
Sanctuary Found (M/M)
The Truth Within (M/M)
The Protectors
Absolution (M/M/M)
Salvation (M/M)
Retribution (M/M)
Forsaken (M/M)
Vengeance (M/M/M)
A Protectors Family Christmas
Atonement (M/M)
Revelation (M/M)
Redemption (M/M)
Defiance (M/M)
Unexpected (M/M/M)
Shattered (M/M)
Unbroken (M/M)
Protecting Elliot: A Protectors Novella (M/M)
Discovering Daisy: A Protectors Novella (M/M/F)
Non-Series
Letting Go (M/F)
Twist of Fate Series (co-writing with Lucy Lennox)
Lost and Found (M/M)
Safe and Sound (M/M)
Body and Soul (M/M)
Crossover Books with Lucy Lennox
Made Mine: A Protectors/Made Marian Crossover (M/M)
The following titles are available in audiobook format with more on the way:
Locked in Silence
Sanctuary Found
The Truth Within
Absolution
Salvation
Retribution
Logan’s Need
Redeeming Rafe
Saving Ren
Freeing Zane
Forsaken
Finding Home
Lost and Found
Safe and Sound
Body and Soul
Made Mine
Sloane Kennedy, Four Ever
