They were in the car fifteen minutes later and heading toward Hank’s work. He could ride with the crew today, and Maddox would pick him up from the office at the end of the day. Once Hank was safely delivered and they were heading toward JJ’s school, she spoke up.
“Are you going to walk me to class, Uncle Dox?”
He glanced in the rearview mirror at her. “Do I need to? Because I will.”
“Daddy doesn’t, but you’ve never met my teacher. I want her to meet you.”
“Oh. Well, okay.” He parked when they arrived and headed into the school with her tugging on his hand. It was an older school, one-story, and with open courtyards and breezeways. Each classroom opened out onto a covered hallway, and he was relieved to see he wasn’t the only adult accompanying a student to their room, although none seemed to be walking with the older students.
The teacher stood outside the door, smiling and greeting her students as they arrived. Maddox felt a flash of jealousy wash through him as he sized her up and noticed she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.
Hank hadn’t mentioned much about her, just that she was nice and JJ loved her.
Well, there were only a couple of weeks left in the school year, if that. He really needed to get that info, too.
The teacher’s smile slipped only a little when he walked up, but he could immediately see she was wondering who he was.
JJ handled that for her. “Miss Grant, this is my Uncle Dox. He’s not really my uncle, he’s Daddy’s best friend and my step-dad.”
He had to hand it to the woman, she had a damned good poker face. “Oh, nice to finally meet you, Uncle Dox. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
He held out a hand. “Thanks. Maddox Orosco.” He knew he could’ve left it at that, but it might make Hank wonder later why he didn’t correct the story. He hugged JJ good-bye and then straightened. “I’ll see you this afternoon, sweetie.”
Once JJ was safely inside the classroom and out of earshot, he clarified things. “That wasn’t exactly right, though. I’m not actually her step-dad.” He gave the teacher the quick summary and her expression shifted again, this time to concern.
“Oh, wow! I heard on the news this morning about a sinkhole taking a house. That was theirs?”
“Yeah. And I’ve known Hank literally since we were kids. I couldn’t not take them in. Hank’s listed me as her emergency contact, and I have permission to pick her up from school, if there’s a problem. But please call us if she seems to have any issues that crop up after the fact.”
“Absolutely.” She smiled. “Your wife’s a lucky woman.”
He knew a fishing trip when he spotted one, and decided to toss a little chaff into the air to deflect her and maybe “accidentally” misdirect her away from Hank.
“Well, there isn’t one, and it’d be husband if there was, but thanks.” He smiled. “I think my biggest battle will be convincing Hank he doesn’t need to feel guilty about them living with me. After everything he’s been through over the past couple of years, it’s time for him to be able to lean on someone else and be taken care of.”
She slowly nodded in that knowing way, and he suspected her mind had just zipped off in the direction he’d wanted it to. “So your number is in her file?”
“It should be. For now, if there’s any emergency, please call me first instead of Hank. I’ll be the one bringing her to school or coming to get her if there’s an issue. He doesn’t have a vehicle yet. Might be a couple of weeks, depending on how fast they get his utility deposits refunded.”
“Well, while you’re here…” She glanced around and lowered her voice. “She’s been acting really tired in the afternoons the past couple of weeks. They get a short naptime after lunch, but sometimes it’s difficult to wake her up.”
Hank hadn’t mentioned anything about that. “I know the martial arts lessons sort of wear her out. She seems okay on the weekends, and I’m usually around all during the day, but I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Oh, that’s right. I bet that’s it.”
Maddox chatted with her for another moment and finally left, feeling smugly satisfied that he’d likely redirected any potential competition in another direction. Once in the car again, he texted Hank before getting on the road.
One princess safely at school. You didn’t tell me her teacher’s cute.
He sent it, knowing it was a calculated risk.
Hank responded a moment later.
Thank you! I owe you.
Followed by another seconds later.
She’s nice, but I’d feel weird asking her out. Not even going there.
Relief filled him, with guilt a close second.
But only a little bit of guilt. It was more smug satisfaction.
From there he opted to stop by their house first. He wanted to see what state it was in. Part of the street was roped off and he had to walk from four houses down. There was a small crew in the yard, one rolling what looked like an odd kind of cart back and forth in straight lines while others were surveying the property and putting out marker flags.
The sinkhole was only a little larger than it’d been last night. Maddox spotted part of the truck’s rear bumper stuck up at an odd angle where it was visible under the collapsed roll-up door.
Then he caught sight of a guy standing on the sidewalk. He was wearing a work shirt that matched the people with the cart and survey equipment, and Maddox realized he recognized him.
“Wade?”
The man looked up, his gaze narrowing briefly as he eyed him. “Y-yes?”
That’s right, he was sure he remembered now. From the Suncoast Society munch he’d attended. The guy had a slight stutter, and had been there with his husband and their third.
Maddox walked over and extended his hand. “Maddox Orosco. We met…at dinner with friends a few weeks ago.”
Recognition dawned, and he was apparently relieved that Maddox was being discreet. He shook with Maddox. “Wade Hines.”
“What are you doing here?”
He pointed at the cart. “Ground an…alysis. Mapping.” He smiled and pointed at the embroidered company name on his shirt. “Evil day…job.”
“Ah.”
“What are you…d-doing here?”
“Hank is my best friend. He called me last night when it happened. The man who was renting the house, him and his little girl.”
“Are they…okay?”
“Yeah. He and his daughter got out safely. And a bunch of us, including my bosses, Marcia and Derrick, and Eliza and Rusty, and others, came out to help clear their things out and get them moved to my house.”
Wade slowly nodded, fitting the pieces together. “Ah.” He smiled. “F-friend in…common.”
“Exactly.” Maddox’s attention returned to the house. “Any chance of us being able to clear out the kitchen? We got everything else out.”
Code enforcement had red-tagged the house and put a warning sticker on the front door.
Wade shook his head. “Too…unstable. Still…shifting. That’s what we’re doing. M…apping the ground to see…what else is…there.”
Wade swept his arm, indicating the development. “Built on top of an old…orange grove. Not the…first sinkhole to…happen here. Place is…pockmarked with them. Four in…twenty years. And more voids. Lots of…subsidence all…over. Half the…p-place is on well water. Older section is. And…yard irrigation systems. And golf…c-course irrigation system just…over there.” He pointed, indicating beyond Hank’s house. “Groundwater…subsidence.”
“Oh, shit.” Thank god they’d only been renting and hadn’t bought the place.
Wade nodded. “They’re…lucky. Void extends…past back of house. Could’ve…opened under a b-bedroom.” He consulted his tablet, then let out a piercing whistle to his crew. The guy pushing the cart stopped and waited while the surveyors kept on working.
“Well, I’ll let you get back to work,” Maddox said, shaking with him again. “We can talk later.”
<
br /> “Yeah. Glad they’re…okay.”
“Me, too.”
Once at the office, he dove into his work. Marcia and Derrick waved him into Derrick’s office not long after his arrival.
“How are they?” Derrick asked.
“JJ’s fine,” he said. “Hank’s still shaken.” He told them what he’d learned from Wade.
Marcia’s eyes widened. “Holy crap,” she said. “They really are doubly lucky. They have you, and they’re alive. They need anything, let us know.”
“Hank’s a proud man. Getting him to accept much more help might push him to his breaking point. He’s going to need to replace his truck, though.”
“When he’s ready, let us know,” Marcia said. “We know a car dealer.”
“Yeah, a new one won’t be in his budget right now.”
“Maybe not,” Derrick said, “but we trust her to not screw him over. She’s a friend in common. She can help find him a good used one within his budget.”
“Ah. Thanks, I’ll let him know.”
He spent the day yawning and drinking more coffee than he usually did, which he suspected might catch up with him later.
When it was finally time to pick up JJ, he headed out feeling…excited. If this was what being a step-dad felt like, he could easily get used to it.
Now if he could only find a clear and reduced-guilt path toward convincing Hank that was a great idea.
Chapter Twelve
It was both slightly weird and a comfort living with Dox. JJ quickly settled in and acted like she’d never lived anywhere else. For Hank’s part, he realized the first weekend there that he was sleeping better than he had in fricking years.
Having a living person in bed with him, even platonically, was like a silent balm he hadn’t known his aching soul desperately needed. It was a comfort awaking in the middle of the night and having Dox’s calm and steady presence there.
To assuage his guilt, he arose before Dox every morning and made sure his coffee was ready, as well as made breakfast for them. Hank also insisted on taking over the cooking, laundry, and other chores, since Dox wouldn’t let him chip in for anything. Evenings were spent together with JJ, and…being a family.
That first Sunday night, they were sitting on the couch and watching a movie, with JJ asleep and sprawled across both of their laps, when it struck Hank that he was actually…relaxing.
There weren’t a million anxieties silently streaking through his brain.
By the following Wednesday, he had all his deposit refunds. With Marcia and Derrick’s recommendation, Dox drove Hank to the dealership. Susan Costello Holman, the owner, personally took charge of them and walked them around to show them four different used trucks she’d had checked out. Derrick and Marcia had apparently already talked to Susan, and it was soon clear that Susan had already talked to Dox, who playfully and silently smirked the entire time.
Hank finally settled on a Ford pick-up that was only three years old, but had low mileage, and it had a crew cab. That meant JJ could safely ride in the backseat. When it came time to do the paperwork and he filled out the financial forms, he realized the price listed was a good three grand less than the window sticker.
When he pointed that out to her, she smiled. “You get the friends and family discount,” she said as she nodded at Dox. “We’re good friends of Derrick and Marcia’s. They told us what happened.”
Immediately, he realized the context. She meant those kinds of friends, the kinky kind, and he wasn’t sure how that left him feeling.
Dox hadn’t gone out since they’d been living with him, not even to the club. If they weren’t at work, they were together, or Dox was transporting JJ to school, or picking her up from Eliza’s. Dox had even bought a new car seat so they had one in both cars, and he wouldn’t let Hank chip in for it.
Hank had also notified the school of their situation and made sure they reflected their new address in their records. It apparently amused Dox to no end that he was now “officially” listed in the school records as JJ’s “step-father,” since that was the closest category they had to what they now were.
Why the hell not? If it didn’t bother Dox, it didn’t bother him. Not like he had a dating life to worry about
It was just over two weeks since they’d moved in with Dox, and tomorrow was the last day of the school year. From that point on, they would drop JJ off at June’s gym in the morning and then pick her up from Eliza’s dojo in the afternoon. She loved karate and was eagerly looking forward to gymnastics, too.
At least the extra exercise was burning off her seemingly boundless energy. She usually crashed hard every evening and slept all night, sleeping better than she had in a while.
The irony that he now could’ve had the privacy to jerk off in bed had he been living in their house did not escape him.
He made do, usually rubbing one out in the evening when he took his shower after returning home. With Dox taking charge of JJ, he didn’t have to worry about her. Dox was also teaching her how to swim, because he didn’t want her living there and not knowing how. He had a pool fence surrounding the perimeter of it out on the screened lanai, but accidents could happen in an instant.
Today, Hank had finished work early and headed over to the dojo to pick up JJ after shooting Dox a text that he was going to do it. He stood there, watching JJ with the rest of the class. She was the smallest one, even though there were a couple of boys her age. But she was apparently keeping up with all of them where she stood in the front of the class, in the first row and right behind the instructor, and worked through forms with them.
Eliza walked over to stand next to Hank and leaned in, her voice low. “She’s doing really well. Very feisty. I can’t wait until she starts sparring.”
He slowly nodded. “I’ll need Xanax then, but okay.”
She snorted. “You’re a good dad.”
He sighed. “If I was a good dad we wouldn’t be shacked up in my best friend’s house and living on the charity of others. I would’ve had full insurance on my truck, and had renter’s insurance.”
“Oh, sweetie. Shit happens. But you’ve got the best friend ever helping you out.”
“Believe me, I know that. Thank god we used to share a bed when we were kids, so it’s not weird. Dox won’t let me sleep on the couch. He insisted on me sharing his bed. I mean, it’s a king-sized bed, so it’s not like we’re on top of each other. But I feel guilty.”
A weird look crossed her face. “Why?”
“Because I’m upending his life.”
“It’s his life to decide that, honey. Enjoy it and be thankful for it, and him.”
“I am, believe me. But we can’t live with him forever.”
“Has he asked you to move out?”
“No.” He sighed. “He insisted we live with him. But he won’t let me pay rent. I tried to give him grocery money the other day and he wouldn’t even let me do that. When I got my money back from the landlord, and the utility deposit refunds, he insisted I use that for a new truck.”
“He loves you.”
“I love him, too. He’s my best friend. He’s pretty much the only family I have left, because I consider him family. I wish I hadn’t gone so long without talking to him. I missed him like hell.”
“Then why don’t you let him do this for you without feeling guilty about it? He obviously wants to do it. He’s a big boy. He can make his own decisions, you know. Enjoy being together. Doesn’t JJ love him?”
He nodded. “Yeah. They’re crazy about each other. He’ll be a great dad one day.”
The class took a break. He watched as JJ ran over to the water cooler to get a drink of water, then she darted through the doorway toward the back, where the bathrooms were.
“You’ve had to be strong alone long enough,” Eliza counseled. “Maybe he’s seeing this as a chance to make it up to you for not getting in touch with you over the years. Let him. Listen, I’d be the first to call you out if I thought you were screwin
g up.”
“I don’t want to overstay our welcome.”
“Again, let him tell you that.”
“I thought moving back to Florida was going to be our chance to get ahead,” he said. “I thought finally, our luck was changing.”
“I’m going to give you some advice, hon. Just because you don’t think your luck is changing for the better doesn’t mean it isn’t. Sometimes, the biggest blessings look like curses at first blush. Just look at history for proof of that lesson.”
“I know you’re trying to cheer me up, ma’am, but I think I’m beyond that right now. I’m…exhausted.”
“Stay strong, hon. You can do this. Let Maddox help you. Hey, think of it this way—it’s making him happy.”
“That’s the only reason I’m not totally selling all my plasma or something right now for extra money. He’s acting like we’re doing him a favor by living with him. He sounds like he really means it when he says he doesn’t want us moving out.”
“Then believe him.”
JJ returned from the bathroom and waved at him as she headed back to resume her place in the class.
“Is she having fun?” he asked Eliza.
“Oh, absolutely. You know the benefit of her learning all this?”
“What?”
“Between this, and June, and Rusty chomping at the bit to get her to our reenactment group and start teaching her how to use weapons, you aren’t going to have any worries about boys giving her shit. She’s going to be fricking lethal, just like our daughter.”
“I guess that’s something.”
Twenty minutes later class ended. JJ ran over to him, throwing herself at him for a hug. “Did you watch me, Daddy?”
He scooped her up into his arms. “I sure did. Are you a black belt yet?” he teased. “Taking out ninjas left and right? Ready to join the samurais?”
She giggled. “No, Daddy.”
“Well, let’s get your stuff and get home. I want to start dinner so it’s ready when Uncle Dox gets home. Go say good-bye to Miss Eliza.”
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