Full Balance (The Peachtree Series Book 3)

by Brigham Vaughn

  “Okay, this is the plan then. Stephen and I will drive separately. You’ll go to the after-school program and do your homework with the tutor.” Russ pointed a spatula at him. “I will pick you up there. And I will be checking your homework over. If it isn’t done, you’ll have to do it with Maria at the center, okay?”

  “Ugh.” Austin made a big, dramatic flop back in his chair. “Fine.”

  “But after I pick you up, we’ll stop somewhere for dinner, then head to Open Doors, okay?”

  “I see, I’ve been replaced as your favorite dinner date,” Stephen teased as he walked into the kitchen.

  Russ shot him a smile. “You are always my favorite dinner date. But I want Austin to have a chance to see his sister.” He turned back to Austin. “Do you know if she’ll be there?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t heard back from her in a few days. I’m not sure if she’s getting my texts.” Austin’s expression dimmed.

  “Well, let’s think positive,” Russ said cheerfully. “Hopefully she’ll be there. I want to talk to her about getting minutes on her phone.”

  “Yeah, okay.”

  “Excellent.” Russ gave the eggs one last stir with the spatula, then pushed them onto the plate. “We have a plan.”

  “A plan that involves leaving me out in the cold,” Stephen teased. “I see how it is.”

  “Never.” Russ leaned over and kissed him. “You’re always hot to me.”

  Austin made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a gag and Russ smiled against Stephen’s lips.

  “Oh my God, there you are,” Kellie said when they arrived at Open Doors.

  “I texted you like twenty times,” Austin said as he flopped onto the couch beside his sister. “You didn’t answer.”

  Russ had gotten stuck in traffic on the way to the school, so he hadn’t had a chance to look over Austin’s homework. Now, he carried it over to Maria. “Hey, I hate to ask, but do you think you could look over Austin’s work? See how he’s doing with the tutoring?”

  “Sure,” she said with a smile. “Happy to. How’s he doing otherwise?”

  Russ shrugged. “Well, so far, I think? It’s kind of hard to tell.”

  “You’ll get there.” She patted his arm.

  “Thanks.”

  As he walked back to the desk area, he heard Kellie ask, “What are they like? Your new dads, I mean.” Her tone was mocking as she shot Russ a suspicious look out of the corner of her eye. He turned away and hung up his coat on the rack nearby. Russ knew he probably shouldn’t eavesdrop on Austin and his sister, but he was curious about what he would say.

  “I dunno. They’re pretty okay, I guess,” Austin said. Well, that was probably a ringing endorsement from anyone who was thirteen years old. “They got me a new phone. So that’s kinda cool, right?”

  “But like, they’re not … making you do stuff, right?”

  “Well, I have to help with dinner and chores,” Austin said.

  “I don’t mean that. Like … other stuff.”

  “Oh. Eww. No. They’re not like that,” Austin protested. He sounded so sure of it that Russ felt some weight slip from his shoulders. The last thing he wanted was for Kellie to think he and Stephen had any ulterior motives. He hated that that had been Kellie’s assumption though. What kind of life must she have had to assume the worst? “No, I just have to do dishes and take out the garbage. Not even all the time or anything. And like clean the bathroom and do my homework. It’s stupid, but they’re not gross.”

  “That’s okay then.”

  “Yeah, they’re kind of annoying, but they’re not creepers, I promise.”

  Russ took a seat at the desk and resisted the urge to protest he wasn’t annoying. He wasn’t, was he?

  “Are you okay?” Austin asked his sister.

  She sighed. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “Why haven’t you been texting me then? I was worried.”

  “No money, Austin.”

  “Crap. Russ said he’d make sure your phone had some minutes. He, um, said he wanted to meet you too.”

  “Ugh. Whatever.”

  “Hey, Russ!” Austin called out. “You wanna come over and meet Kellie?”

  A couple of kids looked over curiously and Russ debated if he should remind Austin he could come over rather than yelling across the room but decided against it. He wanted this interaction with Kellie to be as low-stress as possible.

  “I’ll have to keep an eye on the desk,” he said as he stood, “but yes.”

  He gave Kellie a closer look as he approached them. She was thin and very delicate looking. Austin was only a few inches shorter than she was, despite being six years younger. He wondered how tall Austin would be when he grew up and with a pang, he hoped he’d be there to see it. He wanted this to work so badly.

  “Hey, Kellie.” He offered her a friendly smile as he held out a hand. “I’m Russ Bishop.”

  “Yeah, I know who you are.” She chewed at her lip and ignored the handshake. “Austin’s new foster dad.”

  “One of them,” he said. “My husband, Stephen, is the other.”

  “Hey, Austin,” Maria said from behind Russ. “I have a question for you about your homework.”

  Austin eyeballed her, then Russ, like they’d somehow cooked this up so he could get Kellie alone, but that wasn’t the case at all.

  “So why are you doing this anyway?” Kellie asked after Austin left. She had her arms crossed over her chest, a scowl on her face, and smeary eyeliner that looked a couple of days old.

  “Taking Austin in?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Because we think he’s a great kid and he’s been dealt a shit hand by life and we want to help him out,” Russ explained, not wanting to sugarcoat it. He held up his hands. “I swear, Kellie, we want nothing but the best for Austin. We want him to be safe, healthy, and happy. And to give him all of the opportunities possible. That’s all.”

  “What’s in it for you?”

  That was the exact question Austin had asked but maybe that was because he’d gotten his suspicion from her.

  “The satisfaction of knowing we helped someone who needed it,” Russ said. “Look, Stephen and I have dealt with enough shit in our lives from unaccepting family. My mom walked out when I was a kid. Friends of ours had parents who weren’t okay with them being gay. There’s a lot of terrible things in the world and we want to do what we can to make it better, especially for LGBTQ kids. That’s it. No ulterior motives, I promise.”

  Her expression softened a little. “Yeah, okay.”

  “And the last thing we want to do is come between you and your brother. So we want to make it as easy as possible for you to stay in contact with him. If you’ll let me, I’d like to give you a prepaid phone card so you and Austin can talk whenever you want.”

  “What, are you afraid I’ll use the money for drugs if you give me cash?” she snapped.

  “No,” Russ said, surprised by the question and her tone. Does she use drugs? he wondered, then figured at this point, it wasn’t any of his business. “I just thought this would be the easiest way. You can just call the 800 number on the back and refill your minutes and …”

  “Oh my God, I was joking.” She rolled her eyes and for a moment Russ could see the resemblance between the siblings. “I don’t do drugs. My dad fucked this up enough for our family. I don’t touch the stuff.” There was real venom in her tone.

  “I am sorry to hear that about your father. But, no, that wasn’t what I was implying. I just wanted to make it as simple for you as possible. This way you don’t have to go to a store to pay for the minutes and all that. We’ll reload the card as you need it and you can use the minutes however you need. The offer is open if you want to accept it,” Russ said, holding the card out to her again. “We just want to make sure Austin has as much opportunity to stay in contact with you as he’d like.”

  Her expression softened for just a fraction of a second before she took the card and slipped it
in her pocket. “Yeah, okay.”

  “And let him know when you start to get low?”

  “Sure.”

  He hesitated, then offered something else he and Stephen had discussed. “And maybe some time we can all have dinner or something?”

  Her expression closed off as she glared at him. “Dude, I’m not a little kid like Austin. I don’t need you guys to take care of me.”

  “I wasn’t trying to,” Russ said, genuinely surprised. “I was just trying to give you more opportunities to see Austin. If you’d rather just keep it to here at the center, that’s fine. We’ll follow what he wants.”

  “Right. Whatever.” She grabbed her backpack. “Austin! I’m out of here.”

  “What?” Austin came barreling in from the other room. “No, why are you leaving already?”

  “I’ve got things to do today.”

  “Ugh.” He shot Russ an annoyed look. Presumably because he felt like Russ had monopolized most of her time. “Did you take the phone card at least?”

  “Yeah.” She shot a glance at Russ, who realized he was hovering unnecessarily. He turned away and slipped behind the desk, pretending to read something on his tablet.

  “So, text me?” Austin said.

  “Of course.”

  “Good. I miss you.” Austin’s words grew muffled and Russ peeked through his lashes to see Austin’s face buried against Kellie’s shoulder. Poor kid. Russ knew exactly how that felt. Being apart from Addie had been so hard. He’d hated when he and his dad and gone to visit her and they’d had to leave her with Aunt Caroline.

  He wondered if he should tell Austin about that.

  “What were you talking to Kellie about earlier?” Austin asked, tilting his head to look at Russ as they drove home. Austin was glad they hadn’t made him call them Dad and Papa or something stupid like that. Russ and Stephen, he could live with.

  He glanced over at Austin and smiled. “You. I wanted her to know you were safe with us.”

  “I told her that,” Austin said. He fidgeted with his backpack.

  “I know. I heard. And I appreciated you standing up for us.”

  “I didn’t do it for you. I just didn’t want her to worry,” Austin explained.

  “That was still a nice thing of you to do. You must miss her a lot.”

  Austin shot him a wary glance. “Yeah.”

  “I missed my sister a lot too.”

  “Why?” The words were out before Austin realized he’d played right into the trap of making him have a conversation. Ugh. He’d been trying to avoid that.

  “Because she didn’t live with my dad and me.”

  Austin frowned as Russ told him about his sister being raised by his aunt after his mom left. He was probably trying to make Austin feel like he understood. Like they had something in common. So annoying. Foster parents were always doing that.

  “But we’re close now,” Russ said. “You’ll get to meet her soon.”

  Ugh, great. More people to fuss over him and make him try to have a conversation. He’d been telling the truth when he told Kellie that Russ and Stephen were nice. But man, they talked way more than they needed to. Didn’t they know how to just be quiet?

  “Okay,” he said aloud. He looked out the window at the city lights and wished Kellie would just find a place to stay already so they could have a home together.

  “How’d it go tonight?” Stephen asked when they got back from the center.

  “Pretty well,” Russ said, giving him a kiss. “Austin got to see Kellie, I talked to her for a little bit, and she agreed to take the phone card.”

  “That’s great.” Stephen patted Austin on the shoulder. “How do you think it went?”

  “Fine.”

  “How was your night?” Russ asked.

  Stephen smiled. “Not bad. We’re setting the fundraising deadlines for next quarter at the center. And I spent all day at work tweaking the budget projections for next quarter there. So it’s been a lot of number crunching, which I enjoy.”

  “Does his job sound boring to you?” Russ asked Austin. “Because it sounds super boring to me.”

  Austin laughed, then caught himself like he didn’t want to admit it. “I thought you were in marketing. Isn’t that selling stuff to people or something?”

  Stephen bit back a smile and saw Russ do the same. “It is. But someone has to keep track of all those numbers and make sure the business is running efficiently. It’s fun.”

  Austin made a face. “That sounds terrible. Super boring,” he muttered.

  “You just haven’t found the right math,” Stephen said. “Numbers are never boring.”

  “I married a nerd,” Russ teased. He rolled his eyes and let out a little sigh. “Good thing I find nerds sexy.”

  Austin made a gagging noise. “You guys are gross. I’m going to bed.”

  “Take the trash out first, please,” Stephen reminded him. “And don’t forget the recycling!”

  Austin let out a little huffing noise but disappeared into the kitchen and returned a moment later carrying two bags. “And put on your shoes,” Russ said.

  Austin darted out the door—shoeless—before Russ could stop him. There were sometimes spills in the trash room near the garbage chute and near the recycling bin and he’d come back with sticky, gross socks.

  Russ sighed.

  “While he’s gone, how did it really go with Kellie?”

  He shrugged. “As well as can be expected, I guess. A little hostile but she took the card.”

  “That’s encouraging.”

  “She seems wary of me though.”

  “Well, of course she is. She’s worried about her brother.”

  “Oh, I know,” Russ said. “I don’t blame her. I just don’t know how to get through to Austin, much less to his sister.”

  “One day at a time,” Stephen said. “We’ll get there eventually.”

  “You know, Austin’s only been here a few weeks and I already feel like our lives revolve around him,” Russ said as they went into the kitchen to get all three of their lunches ready for tomorrow.

  Stephen chuckled. “I think that’s called parenting.”

  Russ yawned. “I mean, I knew they would. I don’t mind, it’s just happened very quickly.”

  “It has.”

  The front door opened and a moment later, Austin darted past them. “I’m going to shower and go to bed.”

  “Wear shoes to the trash room next time,” Russ called after him. His bedroom door closed with no response.

  Stephen patted his hip. “That’s a battle for another day.”

  “I know.” He rolled his eyes. “And seriously, I’m complaining about our kid not wearing his shoes to take out the trash. We could have it so, so much worse.”

  “We could,” Stephen agreed. “Did you hear what you just said though?”

  Russ turned to face Stephen as he thought back on the words he’d said. He was very tired and very ready for bed, so it took a moment for his sluggish brain to catch up. “Our kid?”

  “Yeah.” Stephen smiled at him. “We have a kid.”

  Russ chuckled but he could feel it too. That warmth in his chest when he thought of Austin and the life they were all trying to build together. It was different than what he and Stephen had when it was just the two of them. But it was good too. “We do,” he said with a smile.

  “Do you ever consider how things happen at a certain time for a certain reason?” Stephen asked, his expression turning contemplative.

  “Hmm?” Russ was too tired to track the conversation well. “What do you mean?”

  “Like Austin needing help right when we were ready to give it,” Stephen said. He smoothed his hand down Russ’s back, pulling him closer. “Or you slipping on the coffee when you did. The timing was just right for where we were in our lives.”

  “I hadn’t really thought about it,” Russ admitted. “But yeah. That’s true. Or even you running into Jeremy when you did. And him and Evan meeting. It a
ll feels sort of fated, doesn’t it?”

  “I can’t say I’ve always felt like fate—if it exists—was particularly benevolent or kind, but I’m starting to think otherwise.”

  “I’m pretty damn happy with the way my life has turned out,” Russ said with a contented sigh. Stephen pressed a kiss to lips.

  “Me too.”

  The last thing Russ remembered before he fell asleep that night in Stephen’s arms was the feeling of hope and contentment.

  THIRTEEN

  “I’m too dumb to get this.” Austin threw his book on the floor, jerking Stephen’s attention away from his work. After refusing to do his homework with the tutor after school, they’d told Austin he needed to do it at the dining room table after dinner. He’d been working, but Stephen looked up from his laptop at the sound of the book crashing to the floor.

  “Austin,” he said gently but firmly. “Please pick that up. Your frustration is fine; taking it out on school property isn’t.”

  “Ugh!” He rolled his eyes, but he picked it up. “Fine. Whatever.”

  “And you aren’t dumb,” Stephen said. “In fact, I know you’re quite good at school when you put your mind to it. Your teachers told us that. What are you struggling with?”

  “Geometry,” he said sullenly.

  “Ahh. Well, it just so happens that I’m quite good at it.”

  “Yeah, I know. You have the most boring job ever.”

  “You don’t have to make a career of it,” Stephen said, making sure his tone was patient and reasonable. “But you do have to understand the basics. Maybe I can explain it in a way that makes sense. Will you let me try?”

  “Yeah, I guess.” Austin flopped back in his chair with a dramatic sigh. “But it’s not going to work. The tutors at the after-school thing keep explaining it and it doesn’t make any sense to me then either.”

  “You don’t give me very much credit as a teacher.” Stephen flipped open the book. “What page?”

  “One forty-seven,” he muttered.

  “Finding the area of composite figures. I see why you might be having trouble with these. They didn’t come to me at first either. I did have a very good teacher named Mrs. Grosse who taught me some tricks that might help you though.”