Damn, he wanted to stick his head out of the car and throw up. Either that or storm through that house and grab Dylan up, protecting him from everything falling down around him. Take him off someplace where he’d never be hurt again.
“How long will all this take?” Tristan asked quietly.
“I don’t know. They aren’t a beat it into the ground kind of family, but this might take longer,” Mark said, equally quiet. “It seems like I’ve been waiting for her forever.”
“I just found him.” Tristan’s breath made a small circle in the glass with those words and he lowered his forehead to the window on a sigh.
“You’ve eased Teri’s heart. She was worried about what would happen to him,” Mark spoke quietly.
“He eased me,” Tristan whispered. “Do you worry she’ll pick them and leave you?”
“All the time, but she’s worth the risk,” Mark said softly beside him. “At least that’s what I tell myself.”
“One twenty-five an hour,” came from the backseat. Tristan sat there quietly, staring at the house, feeling his love slipping through his fingers with every passing minute.
Teri never minced words and Dylan respected that, but with as loudly as his heart hammered in his chest, he was surprised he even retained half of them. Chloe was still buried in the curve of his arm, feeling smaller than he ever remembered her seeming. He held tightly onto her. Chad sat beside him, and he kept a hand on his leg, holding him in place as he listened to Teri confess his most private secrets to their children. His eyes went between Cate and Chad, watching for their reaction. He saw shock more than the disgust he’d figured he might see. He couldn’t see Chloe, because she had her face turned toward Teri, but her head lay on his shoulder.
“Wait, Mom,” Cate said. She held Teri’s hand now. “So you’re saying Dad’s been gay for his whole life?”
“Yes, honey, but there’s more. Let me finish,” Teri started, but Cate interrupted her again.
“Dad, you didn’t leave us and go find someone better for you?” she asked him directly, and Chloe started crying again as her uncertain eyes searched his.
“There’s no one better or more important to us than you three,” Dylan said carefully. The hand he had on Chad’s knee was clasped tightly by his son. Dylan gripped him back, appreciating that lifeline. “Just because your mom and I don’t have a true marriage, you need to understand, I never considered I was sacrificing myself. Being your father’s the most important role in my life.”
“But that’s so lonely for you and Mom,” Cate added quietly, tears in her eyes now.
“Are you sure you’re really gay?” Chad asked from behind him. Dylan had suspected the most resistance to come from his son. They were buddies. They played sports together, talked about the girls in Chad’s life, and he’d even shared some secrets with Dylan. They were close, and he was afraid Chad would see this as a breach in that relationship.
He turned his attention back to his son. Both of Chad’s hands were now clasped around his. The tables had suddenly turned; his boy needed him as a lifeline, and Dylan reached out, draping an arm around Chad’s shoulders, drawing him closer against him. He took it as a good sign that Chad hadn’t shrugged off the contact. The two of them would need to speak privately about this at the first opportunity he got.
“Please let me finish. I have something to say that your dad doesn’t even know,” Teri said, reaching for the tissues and handing some to Cate. Teri mimicked his move and pulled their youngest daughter in tight to her side. It didn’t go unnoticed that they had this enormous house, with this huge living room, yet they were all cuddled together in the corner, holding on to each other for dear life. “I told you that we were waiting to have this conversation until after Cate graduated from high school. I haven’t talked to your father, but I don’t see any of our short term plans changing. Getting you graduated and off to college is still my number one focus.”
Dylan nodded, immediately agreeing with Teri.
“Here are the additional facts you don’t know—I met someone a few years ago. Your dad knows about him and I’ve been seeing him. I know it sounds like a lot to take in, but it’s really not, because our base, this family right here, is so solid and our foundation and course are set.”
“You have someone like Dad does?” Chloe asked, sitting up a little straighter in her seat. “And Dad met someone, too,” Chloe added, trying to make Chad and Cate see the whole picture. He could tell they didn’t.
“So you guys date?” Chad asked, a little confrontationally.
“Not date so much as there’s one man for me and you’ve met him before at my office. When Cate graduates, I planned to introduce him into your lives with the ultimate goal of marrying him. It’s Mark. Y’all know Mark, remember?”
That had all the kids quietly staring at her, and Dylan’s heart broke a little in that moment. He could tell his children didn’t understand any of this.
“So y’all have this whole secret life?” Chad asked. There wasn’t so much disdain in his voice, just surprise with a bit of confusion.
“Let me finish. I’m almost done and then we can answer your questions,” Teri said, silencing them when it looked like Cate would jump in right behind Chad. “In the spirit of laying everything out there all at once with no more secrets, you guys are the first to know that I’m four months pregnant,” Teri announced, her voice growing quieter at the admission.
“You’re pregnant?” Dylan asked, shocked.
“I am. It wasn’t planned. I took precautions, and I honestly wasn’t certain I was keeping the baby until about a month ago. Mark doesn’t know yet.” Her hand went to rest on her belly.
“Wow. The plan had changed then. We were going to have to say something soon,” Dylan said to Teri.
“I wanted to wait until after Chad’s graduation. Look, guys, I know we’re dumping a lot on you all at once, but I honestly don’t know a set of children more well-adjusted and accepting as you three. And I speak for both me and your father when I assure you nothing has changed in your base. We will continue to always be your parents. We’ll always be there for you. We stand together—your dad is my best friend, and that will never change,” Teri reassured, making eye contact with each of them as she spoke. Teri’s nurturing voice was back, and she reached up to brush Cate’s hair out of her face. “I have some counseling ready to start for you guys to help answer any questions you’re uncomfortable asking us.”
They both looked at their children who all just stared straight at Teri. Dylan knew they had a lot to absorb. Chad had finished his final exams and currently coasted, waiting until graduation. They were in the final six-month countdown to Cate’s graduation, too. Would this jeopardize anything for her? Worse yet, would rebellion ensue?
“Nothing changes, guys. I’ll be here every day for you. There’s nothing we can’t get through because we’re a strong, committed family,” Dylan added, trying for reassurance.
“I don’t want you to be lonely,” Cate said quietly, staring at him before she looked up at Teri. “So are you and Dad divorcing?”
“We can’t until the baby’s born. It’s part of the state law, but we will after that. If I’m right on my calculations, the baby’s due date will be a month or so before your graduation.”
“So are you guys thinking of keeping things like they are? Or are you gonna move other people in our house?” Chad asked.
“Absolutely not, Chad. Things will stay the same for now. There won’t be any more secrets from this point forward. When we know more, you three will be the first to know,” Teri said. Chad was still tense in his arms, but hadn’t moved away.
“What would you guys do if you were us?” Dylan asked, wanting them to feel part of the decision and curious as to their thoughts.
“I can’t change schools right now. It’ll mess with my applications,” Cate said immediately.
“Honey, we would never ask you to do that. Our home base is secure until you all get settl
ed in college—I promise, and even after that, you guys always have a place wherever your mom or I might be,” Dylan stated. Chad shrugged out of Dylan’s hold.
“What I think is that I’m graduating next week and leaving for college two months after that. Chloe’s going off to school. She barely lives here anymore. Cate needs to graduate, but you guys have been living a huge lie,” Chad stated very plainly.
“It’s not really a lie, Son. We’re a family. We love each other like a family does. That will never change,” Teri started, but Chloe cut her off.
“No, I get what he’s saying, Mom. Love is love. You should be with the people you love. Cate needs to finish school, but then she’s gone too. You guys need to be happy in your lives,” Chloe added to Chad’s words. His son was shaking his head in her direction.
“Right. And I’ve taken a lot of finance classes. It’s gonna take a long time to divide up Dad’s assets. And yours, too, Mom,” Chad tossed out when he realized his mistake.
“If y’all have to stay married until the baby comes, then maybe you can trade out and start to get a taste of what life’s like without us since we’re all you’ve been living for. And maybe you two need to be in counseling to learn to live without us every day,” Cate added.
“Yeah!” Chad agreed, nodding his head. They were switching gears so fast it was getting hard to keep up. “I’m not sure a lot of our friends’ parents are gonna understand this. We have to figure out the best thing to say.”
“Allison was with me tonight, she knows. But I’ll ask her to wait to tell people until Mom and Dad are ready,” Chloe told Chad and Cate.
“Are y’all still paying for our college?” Chad asked.
“Of course we are,” Teri answered. “That money’s been set aside since you guys were little. Those are not worries you need to have.” Out of all the ways he’d envisioned this conversation, never once had he expected that response. His gaze landed on Teri. They exchanged that look, and he knew she was on his page. Somehow in finding out their father was gay and their mother was pregnant by another man, their kids had made this all about themselves.
Chloe still hadn’t weighed in on her final answer, but she also wasn’t curled up against his side anymore. She sat more between him and Teri. “What’re your thoughts, honey?”
“I think we’re at a critical time in our lives and we need to make sure we stand by one another. Cate needs the most support right now out of all of us. I can stay at OU if I need to and come home on the weekends,” Chloe offered.
“Absolutely not,” Teri said before Dylan could manage to get the words out. In what world did Chloe put others before herself? Maybe his firstborn was truly growing up. He ran a hand down her hair with the pride her words had raised in him.
“I agree with what you guys are saying, though. You three are moving on and we need to find our new normal,” Dylan said. All three of the kids nodded. Teri did too. “It’s gonna take some time to sort this out, but under no circumstances are the three of you to take on any of your mom’s or my burden. We don’t want that. We’ll figure out how best to handle the next six or seven months between us with as little disruption to you guys as possible.”
“All right, so can I go to bed now?” Chad asked, letting out a loud yawn.
“We need to talk soon,” Dylan said to Chad as he rose from the sofa.
“Wait. I wanna know who Dad’s dating,” Cate said. Chad rolled his eyes at her and started walking across the room.
“I knew I had some great kids, but I really expected some anger and shock when you found out about me,” Dylan added, standing and stretching the tension out of his body. Again, never had he expected this conversation to go quite this way. He also let out his own yawn.
“Dad’s seeing Mr. Wilder,” Chloe whispered loudly toward Cate. That stopped Chad in his tracks and had Cate squealing.
“I like him, Dad! He’s hot!” Cate said, jumping up and giving him a hug.
“Girls, I don’t think your dad’s ready to talk about things like this with you,” Teri said, still sitting on the sofa, but smiling at their daughter’s response. “This is all very new to him.”
“I’m so not ready to talk about this. Not sure I’ll ever be ready—” Dylan started, but Chad cut him off.
“Dad, there are cars parked out front,” Chad said, pointing toward the front of the house. Dylan went to his side and looked out the small window, putting Chad behind him as he got closer. He did see the cars out front. There were two parked, one behind the other, right in front of their house. He reached for his phone and patted his pockets, but he didn’t have it on him.
“It’s probably Mark. I called him before we talked tonight. He wanted to come over. I need to talk to him. He doesn’t know about this.” She patted her belly.
“I can’t believe you’re having another baby.” Chloe gave her own little squeal. Dylan ignored them, not completely convinced that was who sat in one of the two cars outside.
“Maybe you can get pregnant, Chloe, and y’all’s kids could play together,” Chad teased, like an annoying brother would do.
“That’s not funny at all,” Dylan said, nudging Chad to the side with his elbow. “I’m going out there to make sure it’s him. I don’t understand two cars and they crowded each other. Something’s not right.”
“No, let me go. He’s got to be worried,” Teri said, pushing herself up out of her seat.
“No. You’re not going out to some unknown cars in the middle of the night.” Now, they were both standing in the living room, staring out the two front windows of their home. Dylan went for the door.
“You stay back. If it’s anyone other than Mark, lock this door and call the police, hear me?” Dylan didn’t wait for their answer and opened the front door then shut it behind him. He kept the lights off and fully stepped out on the front porch. As he got to the steps, someone inside decided to turn the porch lights on. He was momentarily blinded as two people got out of the first car. Then he heard a third door shut. Three people made absolutely no sense. He took the porch steps down, trying to get a better look and move the distraction away from the house. He hoped they were in there calling the police right now.
“Are you guys all right?” Mark asked. Why had Mark brought two people with him?
“Yeah, who’s with you?” Dylan asked from about the middle of the front yard. Mark was stalking forward, but bypassed him with a quick pat on the shoulder as he went straight to the porch. Teri had come outside after he’d told her to stay in and protect herself. His kids were standing in the doorway, watching. Dylan turned back to the car to see Tristan standing several feet away.
Neither of them seemed to know what to do or say, and he looked back at the porch to see the kids watching him as Teri hugged Mark.
“I shouldn’t have come. I was just concerned,” Tristan said, still standing several feet away.
“You’ve been here the whole time?”
“Pretty much.” That touched his heart, and Dylan took a couple of steps toward him. “I didn’t expect them to see me.”
“It’s okay, I guess. I mean, I don’t know, but they know about you. You should come inside,” Dylan said, now a step or two away from Tristan. His eyes were better adjusted and Tristan looked so unsure. “How did you get here?”
“A driver.” Tristan didn’t move a muscle. He’d never seen him like this before. Tristan was always so self-assured and strong-willed that he never doubted himself in anything. “You’re too important to me. I don’t know what to do here,” Tristan confessed softly.
“I needed to hear that right now,” Dylan said and that had Tristan taking a step toward him. “They seem okay with it all. Teri did the talking. She’s good at giving just enough information.”
“I can attest to that,” Tristan agreed. They rarely stood this far apart without Tristan touching him in some way.
“Come in. They should meet you again. It looks like Mark’s already inside.” Dylan looked back throu
gh the front door, seeing them all standing in the foyer.
“Hang on. I need to pay this guy.” Tristan went to the car, pulled out his wallet and shelled out a stack of bills. Before he stepped away from the curb, the car had started and was already pulling away.
“Where’re your shoes?” Dylan asked.
“I followed you out of the room without the key. I didn’t want to take the time to get a new one and go back upstairs. I felt strongly about being here in case you needed me.”
“You’ve just been sitting out here, waiting?” Dylan asked. By his estimation, Tristan should already be halfway to California by now after how rude he’d been at the hotel.
“I was worried. How do we stand?” Tristan asked. It seemed an unexpected question even for him, and Dylan furrowed his brow, slowing his step. Maybe he wasn’t out of the woods like he’d thought.
“How do you want to stand?” Dylan asked. He came to a stop in the middle of his walkway, dropping his hands inside his slacks pockets. He didn’t want his kids to hear this exchange, and he didn’t want to lead Tristan up to the house if things were coming to an end. Panic raced through him for the second time that night. Except this time, the worry coursing through his veins was worse than earlier. He’d sat inside that living room, listening to Teri confess his secrets, feeling stronger because Tristan would be beside him in the end. Now he wasn’t sure how Tristan felt and his heart was being torn from his chest at the thought of losing him.
“I want a long-term commitment between us and for you to move in with me—whenever that’s possible,” Tristan said, sending his world spinning again. The highs and lows of today were beginning to catch up with him, and his heart pounded violently in his chest. He ducked his head, let out a deep sigh, and absently ran a palm over his heart. He hoped he’d heard right.
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