Prologue 

Can’t Do Life Without You #11

The next four years

For the Taylor-Kinneys, life was never dull.  Brian and Justin started putting their four year plan in place after the first of the year.  Kinnetik Enterprises started the process of moving to the West Coast. The first step was to get a building big enough to house the advertising, hospitality, and investment departments.  Brian had offered to move Ted and Blake out but Blake had his own business and Ted was ready to slow down. He would stay in the Kinnetik office in Pittsburgh. Peter was going to head the Advertising division while Tony would run the hospitality branch.  Brian put the word out to manage the other investments out in California while Ted oversaw it from Pittsburgh. Gus designed the new building with his dads and ground was broken the next year.  

Once Gus found a site foreman he moved on to houses for Peter and John.  Peter and Becca decided to build in town. It was close to Peter’s office and Becca would open her own counseling center eventually.  The kids were growing fast. By the time they moved out they were able to start middle school in California.

John and Tony were ready to move, too.  Tony’s hours would finally be more 8 to 5 and John would be closer to the flights Brian and Dan needed him for.  Jonna would enter high school once they moved and Matty, John and Tony hoped the move would help him find himself.  He seemed to be floundering through life.  

Matty had gone to New Oleans a couple times to visit his mother.  Tina had stayed there and married Calvin. Matty actually liked him but he just couldn’t forgive his mom.  When he graduated, the spring before the move, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. Brinn offered him a job at the lab as a gopher until he could figure out what he wanted to do.  He basically did anything that needed to be done and did so without complaining but Brinn wished he had a love for something like she did.

Brinn completed her doctorate the next spring and Zach had  joined her in the research lab Brian funded. They managed to hire one of the leading researchers in the field.  He and Brinn 

had very different views but both were worth  studying and they had made some progress. Brinn knew she needed him as the face of the lab.  Who was going to listen to a teenager. Zach had moved into one of the cottages and although Brinn officially lived in the main house with her dads, she spent many of her nights at the cottage. Zach had a setback with his Cystic Fibrosis about a year into his relationship with Brinn and ended up needing to take time off.   He spent a lot of time in the main house while Brinn was at work so he wasn’t alone. Justin was in and out enough to check on him.

Zach hated his fragility.  He watched Brinn go to work everyday to help him live a better life and he couldn’t do much of anything.  He couldn’t even love her the way she deserved when he was sick. His Lulu Star was amazing. She was his superhero.

Justin and Brian were glad Zach was part of their family. While watching Zach and Brinn interacting Justin saw his daughter as Zach’s hero of sorts. One afternoon while Justin kept Zach company Justin started sketching “Lulu Star, Super Hero”. He showed it to Zach and while Zach laid on the sofa they had started a new cartoon.  Soon they had the first edition completed and it was sent to Justin’s publisher from years ago. Brinn still thought it was funny they had made her a hero but it made her love Zach all the more.

Brinn was so happy that Zach fit in with her family so well.  Gus and Zach had become like brothers. When Zach was up to it he enjoyed helping Gus with some of his smaller projects, especially if it was for the house they had designed for Brinn and Zach to live in.  Zach was ready to make a commitment to her. Well, they had been committed from day one but Brinn was now old enough to marry him and he hoped that would happen soon although Brinn said she didn’t have time to plan a marriage but she was very excited to move in with him very soon. She wanted them to have their own place where she could take care of her husband and he could take care of her without her dads watching them every minute.

Zach and Danny had also become friends.  Danny and Brinn still had a special relationship but Zach understood that.  Danny and Britt were still in a relationship but it had changed. They were no longer exclusive although still saw each other from time to time. Danny had gone away to PA school and they both decided to do a little exploring while they were apart.   In the summer Danny came back and worked in the lab with Brinn.  

Gus and Seth still met every Monday and about four times a year they went away for a weekend.  Isabella and Seth had separated about two years into their relationship. They parted on good terms but Bella was ready to move on and Seth had found his home, not just because of Gus.  He loved his job at Wine and Design and was tired of moving every few years which was Bella’s lifestyle. Gus had never thought of leaving his wife for his lover but there were times he would like to spend another night with Seth but never wanted to hurt Shelby.

In four years, Gus and Shelby’s life had changed.  Their children went from preschool part time to being in elementary school giving Shelby time to work many more hours for Janna’s Hope.    Shelby enjoyed helping with the missing child cases. Her main focus was on the families and giving them the support they needed. When Becca arrived on the West Coast permanently they were able to work much more as a team.  Becca still had her counseling also but she split her time between the two.

Brian had to admit that the birthday he refused to acknowledge was approaching quickly.  Justin had been asked to go down under for a gallery opening so they were going to do a tour of Asia and then end up in Australia.  They were leaving after the first of the year and planned to be home by the fourth of July for the grandkids birthdays. Brian had helped plan the Asian portion  of the trip but Justin had insisted on keeping the Australian portion of the trip a surprise. They both were looking forward to seeing some new things but more importantly, they would be together with no one needing anything.

Let the trip of a lifetime begin.