Chapter 6

Everyone was on edge at the estate.  They tried to go on with their daily activities but everyone wondered when Mel would call.  Justin worked with Dani a couple hours each  morning and then another hour in the afternoon.  Brian spent his day working.  He also spent time getting updates on Craig’s activities. 

Brian noticed  Jenn was acting odd.  Her phone must have been on silent but she was picking it up and looking at it frequently.  When someone mentioned it she just said she had some work she had to keep track of but by Wednesday, Brian knew something had to be wrong.  When he came out of the office to grab a bite for lunch he caught her sitting at the kitchen counter with her head in her hands.

“Jenn?” he put a hand on her back. She jumped about six inches off the stool.  “I’m sorry but what’s wrong? It is so obvious that….”

“It’s Craig.  I haven’t responded, hoping he would think I changed numbers but he isn’t giving up.  He has been texting every five minutes for the last two days.  He must have some automated system because he hasn’t stopped for more than 48 hours.”  Her whole body was trembling now as he put his arms around her.

“Jenn, you should have told someone.  You should have called Mel or the police. He isn’t supposed to contact you.”  Brian was too angry to just stand there holding her.  “I would love to just hire someone and….”

Molly walked in the kitchen, “Mom, what’s wrong? Did something happen to Daddy? Did they arrest him?”  Brian spun on her and was about to lose all control but then he looked at her face.  Molly had seen the hate in his eyes and, although he hadn’t meant to emit his hatred of her father  at her for that split second she felt the full brunt of his anger.  She started walking backward to put space between them. “What did I do, Brian? What…” 

Jenn rushed to her daughter, “Molly, you didn’t do anything.  Brian isn’t mad at you, really.  He just found out something and…”

Brian took a deep breath and took a step toward Molly and Jenn but Molly ducked behind her mom.  “Molly, sweetheart, I am sorry.  I…”  Brian’s phone beeped.  “Fuck, I have to get this.”  He rushed to his office to see what Mel had to tell him. “Spill!” Brian shouted into the phone.

“I love you, too, Kinney. I just wanted to let you know that everything is going before the judge this afternoon.”

“And how long will it be before we hear anything?” 

“Depends on the judge. If he looks at  the findings and agrees with it, it could be turned over to the police in maybe 48 hours, but my guess it will be next week before everything is in place. Brian, I know you are an obnoxious man but right now, I get the feeling I interrupted something….shit, are you and Justin fucking?”

“No, awe shit, I need to go find Molly.  By the way, Jenn is getting texts from the asshole every five minutes for two days now. Is there anything we can do?”

“I will add that information to the file but it might work in our favor if she can just ignore it. Tell her to just leave the phone.  Turning it off might be best.”  

Brian didn’t say goodbye.  He just ended the call.  He was sure he heard Mel mumbling until the call was disconnected.  He took a deep breath and left the office to find Molly.  He found Jenn in the kitchen but Molly was nowhere to be seen. He looked at Jenn, “Where is she?”

“She is in her room but I don’t think she wants to see you right now.”

“I know but I need to go out for a while and I need to talk to her before that.”

“Do you know something?  Who was on the phone?” Jenn demanded.

“It was Mel.  Everything is going to the judge today.”

“Brian, you aren’t going to see him, are you?”

“I’ll talk to Sunshine before I go. I might be gone overnight so he might freak out a bit.” 

“Brian, confronting Craig isn’t going to help anything.”

“I need to talk to Molly.” Brian took the steps two at a time.  He went to Molly’s door and knocked. “Molly, I need to talk to you, now!”  Brian took a deep breath.  He needed to change his tone or she would never let him in. He was sure he heard her shut the bathroom door.  He reached to the top of the door and found the key, letting himself in. “Molly, come out.  I don’t have time for this and I need to talk to you.” He pulled a chair up to the bathroom door and sat down.  “Molly, I am sorry.  I wasn’t angry with you.  You just happened to be in the way but Molly, I am leaving and you are going to have to help with Justin.”

Now the bathroom door swung open. “You promised Justin you wouldn’t leave him,” she came out swinging at him.  “If you leave him he is going to disappear inside himself.  You’re a liar. I will never speak to you again if you….” Then the tears started rolling down her cheeks and Brian pulled her into his arms.

“Sweetheart, I’m not leaving Justin.  I just have to go away.  I don’t expect you to understand. I don’t think I want you to but what I need from you is to have you help him understand.  I will be back.  I just need to do a couple things.  I plan to go talk to him but you might need to remind him for me.”

“Brian, I have never seen you look so mad. What made you so angry? You never get that mad at Justin do you?”

“Molly, if I get mad at him, my love is always greater than my anger.” He looked at his watch.  “Shit, I want to talk to him before he starts working with Dani.  I will be in touch.” He kissed her cheek and was gone.   Molly was so confused.  She wasn’t sure what was going on but as scary as he was, Molly trusted Brian.  

Brian wasn’t sure where Justin was but after checking in their room he rushed out to the pool house.  “Sunshine, are you…” Justin sat by the counter. The bust sat in front of him.  Half of the head was definitely Justin but the other half was distorted and stretched out at odd angles. “Oh, Justin, is that how you feel?”

“A lot of the time.  The only time I know I will feel normal is when we are together.  Then I feel…. I feel like me. Did you need something? I thought you’d be working and Dani will be here in a few minutes.”

“I need to talk to you.” Justin tensed and Brian reached out and touched his cheek.  He then put his hand on the back of Justin’s head and kissed him. Justin was careful not to touch Brian’s shirt with his hands but put his arms around Brian’s neck, linking his own fingers.  By the time they separated, neither of them wanted to.

“What did you need to talk to me about?” Justin kissed him once more.

“Fuck, you aren’t making this easy.  I need to head into town and I think I might just stay at the loft for the night.”

“Why? Is there something with work? Do you have a conference call or something?”

“No, Sunshine. I just…”

“You promised you’d never leave me! Brian, I can’t….” Justin’s leg started buckling so Brian helped him sit down. “What are you going to town for?  Who are you going to be with?”

“Oh, Justin, I’ll be back.  I just am not sure when.”

“Why won’t you answer my question? What are you going to do?”

Brian took him in his arms and kissed him.  It was hard to step back but when he did, he looked into Justin’s face.  “You trust me, right?”

“I do but my brain will freak out when I don’t know where you are.” Justin stopped for a moment and then his voice began to rise. “This has to do with my dad, doesn’t it?  You are going to do something stupid.  Brian, I can’t let you.  I need you here.  He kept us from each other for two years.  You can’t do this!”  Justin had forgotten about his dirty hand and had grabbed Brian’s shirt.  Brian’s arms went around him.                                      

“Am I interrupting something?” Dani had walked in and from her vantage point it appeared Justin was pushing Brian away.  She walked directly over to Justin.

“Dani, can you give us a couple minutes,” Brian snapped.

“No, I can’t, as long as you have your hands on him.”  Dani snapped.

Justin and Brian just stared at her for a second before Justin let go of Brian’s shirt and laid his head on Brian’s chest.  “Dani, Brian would never hurt me. We are just having a loud disagreement.”

“Dani,” Brian started, “you actually can help me out.  I have to go into town and will probably be spending the night so Justin is concerned he will have a panic attack.  Maybe you can help him come up with a coping mechanism.”

Brian turned back to Justin, “Sunshine, I love you.  I will text you later tonight.” He pulled him close and kissed him, not giving him a chance to talk. 

As Brian broke the connection, Justin began to cry, “Brian, please don’t go.  He’s not worth it.  I need….”  Dani hugged Justin and Brian broke into a jog to get out of earshot.

Brian entered the main house and moved toward their room just as Jenn came down to spend time by the pool.  “Brian, is everything alright?”

“I am going to the city for the night.”

“Does Justin know?”

“Yes, he does. Dani is working with him right now.”

‘Brian, this isn’t going to be good for him.  He is going to be very unhappy. Does he know why you are going into town?”

“He guessed it had to do with his dad.  I didn’t give him details.”      

“What are the details?”

“Jenn, don’t answer the phone.  Mel wants the phone log so she can show it to the judge.”

“Brian, you are avoiding my question.”

“That is exactly what your son just said to me.” Brian went into their room. “FUCK!” he screamed as he stripped off his shirt.  He threw a few things in an overnight bag and pulled on a fresh shirt before leaving the house.  An hour later a driver had dropped him off at the loft and he was pulling out in his own jeep. 

Brian arrived at the office where Cynthia greeted him with a hug, “I didn’t know you were coming in!”

“I didn’t know  I was coming in until this morning.”

“How’s Justin doing?”  Cynthia followed him into his office.

“He’s getting better.  I wouldn’t have left him if I didn’t think… shit, Cynthia. I hated leaving him but it’s the jackass.  I just get the feeling that he might try something.  I don’t know if he has tracked them down or if he is going to run but I know he is desperate.”

“Brian, don’t take this wrong but you look …. Well I thought you were finally so happy because of Justin and now…”

“Once he is locked away and I know my family is safe, my world can go back to normal.  Justin can recover without the worry of him showing up.”

“You two deserve a break.  Maybe after this is all done you two can get time away.”

“Oh, Cynthia, I can only dream of that.  Do you still have those friends with a house on Lake Erie?”

“Oh, my aunt and uncle’s place.  That would be a perfect place for the two of you.  Are you going to keep the estate? I heard you could get a really good deal with Jenn’s help.”

“Well,  I think she could have gotten the deal for anyone.  But, ya, Ted is checking into me buying it.  It is perfect for Justin to have an art studio and Molly would enjoy visiting and there is room for Gus,” Brian’s voice got soft.  “I miss my boy.  I don’t see him often enough.”  

Cynthia touched his shoulder and he turned to her.  She hugged him tight.  “Brian, no one deserves an easy time more than you and Justin.”

Ted knocked on the office door. “I heard you were….oh, am I interrupting something?” Ted saw Brian and Cynthia together.  

“No, Theodore.  I am on my way out again.  I just stopped by to grab a couple reports.  Did you put together my financials?”  Brian said as he walked to his desk, picking up a couple folders.

“Yes, it is there. You will see that the numbers will work out without an issue unless the company falls apart and there are no signs that that is going to happen.” 

“Thanks.”  Brian looked at his partners. “If it wasn’t for the two of you….” Brian paused.  “I’m out of here. Hopefully in the next couple weeks things will start getting back to normal.”

“Brian, where are you going?” Ted asked but Brian left his office without another word.  “Did he tell you where he was going?”

“All I know is it has to do with Craig. I hope he isn’t doing something stupid.”              

Brian’s private investigator had been following Craig part time for several weeks.  Brian had a list of places to ‘accidentally’ run into him.  He had a feeling as soon as the word got out, Craig wouldn’t be seen in public and he was sure they were already aware something was going on.  He had to be on edge and Brian was going to make sure he had a chance to look Craig in the eye and  speak his mind.  

The PI had told Brian that Craig had become a creature of habit. He tended to go to the same places weekly so Brian hoped if he didn’t catch him tonight, he would get him in the morning.  He really didn’t want to be away from Justin longer than that.  He knew how hard it was on Sunshine but it was almost as hard on him.  Brian parked near Craig’s duplex.  The PI was outside of Craig’s store and contacted Brian when Craig left.  A few minutes later Brian saw him come around the corner and pull into his garage.  The door went down and Brian saw a shadow pass the window.  He watched the door while he reviewed the report Ted had put together for him.  He was impressed with the numbers.  He had hired a good staff.  Even with him being gone as much as he had been the last couple months, Kinnetik was thriving.  He knew he could afford the estate.  At least he knew he could keep Justin  feeling secure there.

“FUCK! That hurts like hell! That’s enough for today!”  Justin pulled his hand out of Dani.

“You can be done if you come to the pool with me for a half hour.  You know walking in the pool always makes you feel better, even when you don’t want to.”

Justin grumbled but went to the bedroom of the pool house and put on his trunks.  Dani changed in the bathroom and they walked out to the pool together.  Justin got in the pool and started walking laps.  He hated to admit it but the water therapy really did make his leg feel better and working with the clay seemed to be helping his hand.  He had noticed his fingers had more strength. He knew Dani was giving him directions but he wasn’t listening and after a few minutes she quit talking.  She sat on the steps of the pool and watched Justin go back and forth, going a little faster and a little faster.  

“Hey, Justin, why don’t you start slowing down.  You need to let your muscles start cooling…..”  she knew he wasn’t listening.  She walked out and blocked his path. “Justin, you need to start relaxing.”  Now she looked into his eyes and saw the tears in his eyes.  She put an arm around him and felt his body tremble. “Let’s sit down.” Dani led him out of the water and to a chair in the shade.  She then walked over and got him a beer and water for herself.  “Want to talk about it?”

“There’s nothing to talk about. Brian left me.  He said he wouldn’t ever leave me but where is he? He wouldn’t even tell me what he was going to do, where he was going to go.  I know it has to do with Dad.  What did you see in him?  How could you have been with him? At least you found someone else and this baby….”

Dani bit her tongue.  She wanted to tell him but she knew now wasn’t the time.  He needed to know that she was carrying his brother or sister. She sipped her water, “Justin, I have never seen two people love like you two do.  That’s why I told your dad what he was doing was wrong.  It was like he had a blind spot when it came to you.”

“Not a blind spot!  He just hated the fact that after I met Brian, I had enough courage to stand up for myself and he couldn’t deal with not having total control over his family.  It was all my fault so after I had been bashed he saw the opportunity to get me back.  At that point he didn’t care about  Mom or Molly.  He knew I was an easy target.”

“I think you’re right about that.  He figured he could get his son back. He honestly thought you had chosen to be gay and he could ‘change’ you.  How could he think being like him …”

“My father wasn’t a bad man as long as we were his perfect family.” Justin got a distant look on his face, “Molly has suffered the most and it was my fault.  If I hadn’t left, Mom and Dad would probably still be married and Molly wouldn’t have had to go through any of this.  Why did I have to look for love? If I would have waited until I was out of the house …. Maybe this wouldn’t have all….”

“Justin, you had to be who you are.  Postponing it wouldn’t have changed you, it would have just changed the timeline. You were meant to find Brian that night.  I have never seen two people more perfect for each other.”

“Then where is he?” Justin began to fall apart as she watched.

Dani wasn’t sure where they came from but Jenn and Molly swooped in and led Justin toward the house.  Jenn looked back at her and said, “Thank you, Dani.  We’ve got him.” 

An hour later Justin was sitting on the sofa with Molly next to him.  Jenn was making dinner for the three of them but she was fairly sure Justin wouldn’t eat much.  He had calmed down a bit but he was watching TV without seeing it.

Brian was sure, an hour later, that Craig was in for the night.  He would have left by now if he was going out to dinner.  He must have fended for himself tonight.  Brian was glad he had grabbed water and some fruit to eat.  He should have brought more. Oh, well, eating Jenn’s cooking had helped him put on a few times.  He should be eating less anyway.  He picked up his phone and texted Justin, ‘Hello, Sunshine, how was your afternoon?’

Justin pulled his phone out and saw it was from Brian.  Molly moved to the kitchen so he had some privacy.  He responded, ‘I miss you so much.  Are you safe? Where are you?’

‘I am safe.  I hope to be home by noon.’

‘Too long’ Justin responded.

‘I’ll call you tonight. I love you, Sunshine.’

‘Call me at 9:00’

Brian knew he was being dismissed at that point.  He hoped Justin would eat something now.  He was sure Jenn would have dinner ready soon.  She almost always had the meal ready about 7:00.  As he sat there thinking about Justin, a light came on at Craig’s. He cringed as he saw Craig pacing back and forth in front of the window with his phone in his hand.  He wondered how many texts Jenn had gotten by now.  Brian let his mind wander to everything he wanted to do to that man.

After texting with Brian, Justin managed to eat some of the meal Jenn had made.  He realized she had made one of his favorites and he hated disappointing her.  Jenn was glad he was at least getting something down.  She realized it had been a very long time that she had been alone with her children. 

“Justin, it looks like Dani is very good at her job.  You are walking so much better and I noticed you are using your hand to eat.”

“She’s a slave driver,” he gave his mom a slight smile. “Dani knows what she’s doing but I am really tired. This is good, Mom.  I’m sorry I didn’t eat much of it.”

“There will be plenty left over.  When Brian gets back you will feel like eating more.” She hesitated but continued, “Has he said when he is coming back?”

“By lunch.  He promised he would be home by lunch tomorrow. Did he tell you where he was going?”

Jenn glanced at Molly, “I know it had to do with your father but he didn’t tell me anything.”

“I think he wants to hurt Daddy,” Molly blurted out.  “Isn’t the judge going to hurt him enough!” She bit her lip as soon as the words came out. “I know he did bad stuff.  I’m sorry, Justin, that he did what he did to you but he isn’t the one that hit you.”

“Molly, I think…” Jenn tried to stop her from going on.

Molly jumped up, “I know.  Justin is the only one that counts right now.  Maybe you’d rather I wasn’t here at all now that Justin is back!” She rushed out the door to the pool area. 

Jenn stood to follow her but Justin stopped her, “Give her a few minutes.  Hell, she’s almost 13 years old. That is hard enough and then she has to deal with me.”

“Honey, she doesn’t mean it.”

“Mom, I think I know what she feels.  Even I wish Dad wasn’t the man he is.  Of course, I would love a relationship with him but that can’t happen if he won’t accept me.” Justin helped clear the table with Jenn and then said, “I’ll go find her.”

“Thank you, Justin, but I think I need to take care of this. I wonder about how good a mom I was while you were gone.  I won’t blame myself but I need to deal with it.”

“Mom, she knows you’re a good mom.” Justin kissed his mom and watched her walk out to find her daughter. Justin paced back and forth.  He had forgotten how much he hated being alone, especially after dark.  He wanted Brian.  He needed him but he couldn’t bother him now.  He had to give Brian a little space.  If he pushed him, Brian might stay away more and more.

Jenn scanned the pool area looking for Molly.  Finally in the far corner of the pool deck she saw movement.  She made some noise so she didn’t scare Molly.   “Hey, Mol,” Jenn sat on the end of the lounge chair.  “I’m sorry.  I know the last two years have been hell for you.  Your father left us and I know I was too distracted to give you the attention you needed.”

“Mom, I didn’t mean what I said.  You are always there for me.  I am so mad at Daddy.  Why doesn’t he want me?  I don’t know why he can’t accept Justin but what did I do for him to leave me?”

“Oh, sweetie, your father was always very focused so when he stole Justin, he had to focus on him.  I would guess he planned to come back for you once he had ‘control’ of Justin. And it wouldn’t surprise me if he would then expect me to go back to him but your father and I were already on rocky ground and I think when you needed me the most I emotionally abandoned you.  You were so mature and you just seemed to handle it.”

“Mom, have you told me everything? Mel hasn’t told you anymore has she?”

“No, she expects the case will start soon.  When it’s over she expects he will spend some time in jail but she doesn’t think it will be that long.  And, Molly, if you want to see him, we will make that happen.”

“What if Justin gets mad at me?”

“Your brother loves you more than he hates his father. He wants you to be happy. That is what he wants for all of us.” Molly’s head dropped on her mom’s shoulder.  “I’m sorry for what I said.  You never chose Justin over me. Of course you talked about him.  You thought  you had lost him forever.”

Jenn wrapped her arms around Molly.  “I love you, Molly Taylor.  You are the most amazing young woman. What do you say we go in so I can get dinner cleaned up and then you and I can watch a movie or play a game.  Maybe Justin will play with us.”

“He won’t.  In fact, I am sure he is bugging being in the house alone.”

“You are such an amazing sister.  I hadn’t even thought about that.”  Molly stood and offered her mom a hand and they walked to the house together.

Justin had gone to his room but he hated being in there without Brian and Brian wasn’t calling for another hour. He sat down and grabbed a sketch pad he kept in there and started drawing. He planned to draw a picture of Molly but instead his father loomed on the page. It was the father he remembered as a child.  He had a gentler look back then. He didn’t remember even drawing it but there he was, looking back at him. He threw the tablet across the room.  Just as it thumped against the wall there was a knock on the door.

“Justin, may I come in?” Molly’s voice came through the door as she tried to turn the knob..

Justin walked over and unlocked it. “Sorry, I just…..I don’t like being in the house alone so I locked it when I came in here.”

“Justin, you may lock the door if you want to.  I just wanted you to know Mom and I are back in the house and we aren’t going anywhere.”  Justin sat on the loveseat in the room and as Molly walked over to him she picked up the sketch pad.  She looked at it and saw her father’s face. “Oh, Justin, I remember Daddy looking like this sometimes.  I remember him pushing me on a swing in a park.  I think we were on vacation. He loved us then and that’s the father I want to spend time with again.”

“Molly, I hope, for your sake, that you will get to spend time with him again, if you want to. If you want that just take it.  I don’t even remember drawing it.  Can you leave me alone, now?” He said it gently.  “I think I just need to… I need Brian.” Tears started running down his cheeks but when Molly stepped toward him he put up a hand.  “Mollusk, really, I just need, I love you but..”

“Ok, Justin.  If you need me, come upstairs or I will come down here if you want.”

“Thanks, Mol, but I need to learn to do this for myself.” Molly kissed his cheek and walked out, holding the sketch pad tightly against her. 

Justin curled up on the bed and watched for the clock to get to 9:30. 9:30, 9:31, 9:32.  Where was Brian? Was he with another man?  Had his father found him? Had he gone after his father. At 9:40, Justin couldn’t wait any longer.  He called Brian’s phone.

Brian was confused when the phone rang.  Where was he? His eyes flicked up.  He was in his car.  “Oh, shit,” he said when he saw the time on the phone.  “Oh, Sunshine…”

“Where were you?  Are you alright? Why didn’t you call me? You said you would call me at 9:30.”

“Whoa, Sunshine, calm down, sweetheart.  I am so sorry. I just dozed off.”

“Who are you dozing off with?” Justin’s voice was sharp. “Where are you?”

“Sunshine, I am in my Jeep.”

“Where are you in your Jeep?” Justin questioned.

“Don’t freak.  I’m in front of your dad’s house.”

“Why are you at Dad’s house? Brian you’re scaring me.  I don’t trust him and if I lost you…”

Brian could hear the panic building in his voice. “Sunshine, listen to my voice.  I will be fine,” he said in a very soothing voice.  “I miss you.  God, I want to be in bed with you.  I want to feel that tight ass of your closing around…. Shit, I’m hard.” Brian adjusted in his seat.

“Come home, Brian.  We can make love until morning.  You don’t need to….”

“Ah, Justin, I need to do this.  I have to face him once before he gets locked up.” Brian was getting wound up now.  “He kept you from me for two years.  He…”

“Baby, you're not helping me.  Come home!”

“I love you, Sunshine.  I plan to talk to your dad in the morning and then I’ll come home.”

“Brian, if anything happens to you, I’ll never forgive you.”

“Justin, when I get home I plan to take you to bed.  Tell Dani you need a very long lunch break. I want to touch you.  I want to lick every inch of you and I…” Brian heard Justin groan. “Sunshine, close your eyes and listen to my voice.  I love you, Sunshine.  Your mom and Molly are in the house and I am a phone call away.  Move your hand down your stomach.  God, I want to be touching you.  Are you getting hard?I want to wrap my mouth around that magnificent cock of yours. Can you feel my warm tongue…” 

Justin moaned as he came in his own hand. He grabbed a tissue and wiped himself off.  “Are you sure you won’t come home?” Justin said very softly.

“I can’t.  I need to do this.  The asshole has to know that I will always be here for you.  Unlike him, family is forever.” Brian’s voice had gone soft as he spoke.  He continued to talk until he was fairly sure he heard Justin snore softly. He loved him so much. Maybe he should give in and go home but…. He closed his eyes and thought of Sunshine.  He was going to avenge his lover.   Craig Taylor would realize what he had done to his son had only made them more committed to each other. Brian set his phone alarm for 4:30 a.m. and drifted off to a restless sleep.

Justin startled awake as if an alarm was going off.  He looked at the clock and saw it was 4:30.  Why was he awake? He was wide awake.  He knew he wasn’t going back to sleep now.  He dressed and went out to the pool house.  Maybe painting would help.

Brian was awake when his alarm went off.  He had dozed off and on but he couldn’t shut his brain off. He got out of the car to stretch his legs and went behind a  bush to relieve himself and then got back in his car and waited.  He had decided he was going to follow him to his store and, before anyone else arrived, he was going to talk to him face to face.  He was going to tell him how much he loved Justin and that he would never know love like they had.  

Brian had been told Craig usually left for work between 6:00 and 6:30. He would enter the store through a back door and, the report guessed, he worked in the office until the store opened at 8:00.  The PI had said that the store door was usually unlocked most days so Brian should be able to get in there.  He wasn’t sure when the judge would issue the arrest warrant but he was going to get first shot at this man and if he got arrested so be it.  It would be worth it. Brian saw light come on in the duplex and at 6:15 the garage door began to rise.

Craig went through a drive thru.  Brian took the chance and did the same.  There was one car between them but he was fairly sure Craig saw him.  He really didn’t care. He hoped he was nervous. Brian had only ordered an extra large cup of coffee.  He definitely needed the caffeine.  He watched Craig pull into the alley behind his store and as soon as Craig entered the building, Brian pulled in behind him.  He sat there and drank more of his coffee while he hoped Craig was getting into his daily routine.  It was nearly 7:00 when Brian got out of the Jeep  and, with coffee in hand, he turned the knob on the door and thankfully it moved and he pulled the door and it opened with a scraping noise.      

“Jan, what the hell are you doing here this early?”  Brian walked toward the door with light coming from it. “Jan?” Craig questioned.  “Say something you impossible woman.”

“That would be hard to do since my name isn’t Jan.  How does someone as miserable as you keep any employees?”   

Craig came rushing out of the office door. “Who the hell…”     He froze in his tracks when he saw Brian Kinney standing in his store room. “Get out of my building.  I thought you had a restraining order against me.”

“It was for your family although it hasn’t stopped you from texting Jenn several hundred times in the last two days.  Well,” Brian leaned against a rack of stock, casually crossing one ankle over the other, “you got a program to do it for you.  Although making people miserable seems to be the only thing you are willing to work at.”

“Kinney, get the fuck out of here.  You have no right to barge in here and…”  

Brian stood up straight and squared off to Craig.  He had a little height advantage and he was going to use it.  “You are an expert in being where you don’t belong. By the way your children are both doing well, not that you care. You stole one and deserted the other.  And your son is back in my bed where he belongs.”

“That’s disgusting. It was working.  He and I talked about finding him a girlfriend.  He had forgotten all about…”

“He hadn’t forgotten me.  You told him so many lies he didn’t know what to believe.  And you weren’t having any in depth conversations because you withdrew him from therapy before his speech came back clearly, not to mention that you left him in a shitty apartment with 20 steps.  20 steps that he had to take to go anywhere and because you withdrew him from therapy he could barely make it up and down them.” Brian took a small step closer to him and it didn’t go unnoticed that Craig took a step backward.  “It took me 30 minutes of talking before he would open the door and it took me three weeks before he would let me make love to him.”

“Shut up you fucking queer!”

“Well, yes I am.  I fuck your son daily but we call it making love. I plan to marry him soon but you don’t have to worry about an invitation.  You will be unable to attend as I have a feeling you will be detained by then.”

“Kinney, you know I took him away for his own good. You used him when he was a minor.  You should be worried about that!”

“Oh, Craig, if you knew the law better you would realize that in Pennsylvania 16 is the age of consent.  I wasn’t with Justin, who by the way has always been a willing partner, was almost 18 the first time we were together.  And although I don’t think you understand what real love is.  I love your son.  I also am happy that Jenn and Molly consider me family.  As I know you are well aware of, I have been there for them since you faked Justin’s death.  How could you put your wife and daughter through something like that?”

“She was my ex-wife by then,” Craig spat.

“And Molly was your ex-daughter? You obviously don’t care but this is tearing her apart but she has come to the reality that you have to pay for your crimes.”

“Crimes? No one has charged me with…. No one in their right mind would hold what I did against me.  I was trying to save my son from the depraved life you drug him into.”

“You go ahead and see it anyway you want but soon,” he took a step closer again and Craig took a couple backward.  He was now back in his office and Brian was blocking the only door in or out.

“What are you talking about? If you are trying to scare me it isn’t going to work.”

“I’m not trying to scare you.  You could say I am trying to warn you.  If there are any preparations you should make before leaving for a long time, I would start making them.  Maybe you should be nice to...what was her name… Jan?  You are going to have to have a reliable employee. Of course, you won’t own this place much longer.”

“I have no intention of selling my business.”

“Well, you are right there.  You aren’t going to sell it.  You are going to lose it.  My guess is your, no, my family will own it.”

“Like hell they will.”

Brian pulled his fist back and it connected with Craig’s jaw. Craig landed the next one with a hard thrust to the stomach. They each landed a couple more blows before Craig tripped over his chair and landed on the floor.

Brian stood over him, “Get your life in order, Taylor.  You won’t be able to make any decisions for quite some time.” Brian wiped the back of his hand across his lip and found a streak of blood on it.  “Is there anything you would like me to say to your daughter?”

“I…” for a moment Brian thought he might actually say something sincerely but then he raised his middle finger instead of completing the sentence.

Brian turned around and walked out of the store. He couldn’t wait to see his Sunshine but first he decided he better clean up. He picked up his phone and called Ted.

“Hey, Brian, I didn’t expect to hear from you so early. What can I do for you?”

“Meet me at the loft.  I might need your help.”

“There you are,” Molly walked into the pool house.  “Mom wondered if you wanted breakfast.”

“No, I can’t eat anything until Brian gets back.  I could use some coffee though.”

Molly held up a coffee carafe, “I had a feeling.  I hope I got the cream and sugar right.”

Justin walked over and kissed her cheek. “Thank you.”

“Did you sleep at all?” Molly asked as she set the pot down and got a mug out of the cupboard. She filled it and handed it to Justin who took a sip and smiled with a nod to her.

“This is perfect,” he said as he took another swallow. “I slept some but I woke before the sun came up and I knew I wouldn’t fall back to sleep so I just came out here.”

Molly walked over and looked at the painting of Justin and Brian that he had worked on for the last few hours, “This is so beautiful,” Molly said softly as she looked at the details. Brian had his arms protectively around Justin and Justin’s head rested on his chest as Brian looked down at him. “For some reason it makes me want to cry.  I can feel how much you love each other.”

“I was hoping I would hear from him by now but he hasn’t texted or called.”

“Didn’t you say he promised to be home by noon?”

“Ya, but I had hoped…”

“Good morning, Molly!” Dani said as she entered.  “Wow, Justin!  I had no idea how talented you were and with the details I see in this painting, I would say your fine motor skills are almost back to full strength.”

“It did turn out pretty good but my hand is really tired now.”

“Well, I will take it easy on you today.  We will focus on your leg instead.”

“Justin has been up since really early and Brian was out all night,” Molly said softly to Dani as she walked out.

“Brian was out all night? Do you know where he was?”

“Ya, he was sitting outside my dad’s house waiting to confront him.”

Instinctively, Dani put her hand on her growing belly. “I hope Brian knows how to fight dirty.  Craig doesn’t do anything fair.” She bit her lip.  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I am sure Brian can handle himself.”

“He can but he shouldn’t have to because of me.”

“Justin, sit down and drink your coffee,” the two sat on the sofa together.  “I don’t think you realize he doesn’t have to do anything but he does it because he loves you.  I can’t imagine what it is like to have someone love you so much.”

“Your baby’s father, did you love him?”

“I thought I did and I thought he cared about me but now I know that was just wishful thinking.  I am going to give the baby up for adoption.  I know I don’t want to be a single mom.  I’ve never been sure I want to be a mom at all.  I am sure there is a great couple out there waiting for this baby.”

“Then you are doing the right thing.  From what you have said it doesn’t sound like the father wants to be a dad to this baby.”

“He doesn’t know about the baby but, trust me, he is not the fatherly type.”

Ted arrived at the loft and found the door open.  Brian was curled up on the sofa with an ice pack on his stomach and a trickle of blood still on the corner of his mouth.  “What the hell happened to you?”                                                                       

“I spent the night in front of Craig’s house and this morning, let's just say, I visited his place of work.”

“Shit, Brian, Mel is going to have your ass on a platter.”

“I don’t think Mel is interested in my ass,” he tried to make a joke.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” Ted went to the bathroom and got the first aid kit along with a wet cloth.  After helping clean Brian’s face up, he looked at his stomach.  “You should have that looked at.  You might have …”

“He didn’t hit me that hard.  In fact, these are the same injuries I got the first time we fought.” Brian struggled to sit up, “And, fuck it hurts as much now but this time I hit back.”

“I don’t know what else I can do for you.  Keep ice on that.”

“What time is it?” 

“It’s about 9:30.”

“I will sleep for an hour and then I need to go to Sunshine.” Brian texted Justin, ‘Meet you in our room at 11:30.’

“You aren’t going to be healed by then. He is going to be horrified.”

“I don’t think he will be too surprised.”

“Sleep.  I’ll work from here for an hour in case you need anything.” He threw a thin blanket over Brian who was already drifting off.

Justin relaxed a bit after hearing from Brian.  Dani had him do an easy workout and said he could have the afternoon off.  “I have a feeling you will get a workout this afternoon and you have made great progress.”

“Then you spend the afternoon by the pool, unless you want to get off the estate for awhile.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet.  He took out a credit and handed it to Dani.  “Do a little retail therapy, online or go into town.”

“Justin, I don’t need your card,” she handed it back to him.  “Brian is paying extremely well, but I think I might just do that.  I keep outgrowing my clothes.  Maybe I will go to that little mall down the road for a while.” She moved toward the door and turned around, “Have you heard anything more about what’s going on with your dad’s case?”

“By early next week he will be charged. Why?”

“Sometime, you and I should probably talk a little more about your dad.  I think there are a few things we should talk about.”

“Ya, it would probably be good for both of us.” Justin smiled at her.  “Have some fun and relax this afternoon.”

“I will and I know you will enjoy yourself. Don’t be too rough on Brian.  Remember how much you love each other.”

Brian was picked up by a town car at 11:00 and arrived back at the estate at 11:30.  He had picked up some flowers for Justin.  He hoped the bouquet would distract Sunshine from the bruises he had.  

“Brian what happened ….” He waved at Jenn as he walked to the bedroom.  

He entered the room with the flowers in front of his face. Justin had some fruit and cheese on a tray as well as a couple bottles of water. He walked over and took the flowers out of Brian’s hands and smelled them before setting the vase on the dresser. 

Justin turned around and froze.  “Oh god, Brian, what have you done? What did he do?”