Chapter 7



Justin felt something that made him gasp. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the lump under the sheet.

"Brian," he said in that little boy voice that still made Brian want to eat him.

Brian shoved the sheet down and looked up at his husband. His mouth was full of cock and he didn't want to release it to answer the call. He tried to smile at Justin, but found it difficult with his mouth otherwise occupied. Instead he began to work Justin's dick more decisively. He heard his lover moan as Brian's tugs became more insistent. Brian slid his tongue through the slit before swallowing as much of Justin's member as he could manage. Justin rose up from the bed and let out a small cry before filling Brian's warm mouth with his load of spunk.

Brian swallowed and licked his lips. He crawled up the big brass bed in the porch and leaning on his elbow he studied the face that had come to mean everything to him.

Gradually Justin's breathing slowed down and he opened his eyes, looking up into the hazel ones that were studying him. "What a wake up call!" he said with a smile before kissing Brian gently.

"Anything for my partner," Brian whispered nuzzling Justin's neck.

"Brian, is something wrong?" Justin asked with a frown.

"No, something's right."

"Huh?"

"Mr. 1500 SAT's, I love you."

"You do?"

Brian laughed out loud. "Christ, after all these years, haven't you figured that out?"

"I have. I just wasn't so sure about you," Justin chuckled. "You still have trouble saying it sometimes."

"I do not!"

Justin giggled. "Well, not as much as you used to."

Brian frowned. "Are you happy?" he asked.

"I … of course, I'm happy. What brought this on?"

"Nothing. I … sometimes I wonder how I got lucky enough to find you."

Justin smiled. He liked to hear Brian say things like that. "You know, you big Smoosh, luck had nothing to do with it."

"It didn't?"

"No, tenacity … sheer tenacity on my part."

"Why, you little twat! You can't take all the credit."

"Who says?" Justin laughed before Brian pounced on him and started tickling him unmercifully. Justin shrieked and squirmed as Brian continued to torment him.

Suddenly there was a loud "woof" and Beau's huge head appeared over the side of the bed.

"What do you want, Dog?" Brian demanded as he stopped tickling.

Beau cocked his head to one side and looked at the man. The earlier sounds had made him think something was wrong, but now everything seemed to be the way it should be.

"You thought he was hurting me, didn't you, Beau?" Justin asked. "You were going to take a big bite out of his ass if he was."

Brian looked at his husband and then at the dog. "You fucking better not have any such intentions, Dog," Brian said with his best glare at Beau. "And you stop encouraging him," he told Justin.

"He's the family protector, so you better watch your p's and q's," Justin giggled.

"Dada! Daddy!" Bree called as she raced across the porch from the Morrison-Anderson side of the building.

"Hey, Miss Squirt!" Brian said as he scooped her up and plopped her on top of her daddy.

"Hi, Dada, I helped Patrick. He feels better," she declared.

"We'll have to call you Nurse Briana," Brian said with a smile followed by a kiss to the top of her blond head.

Bree frowned. "No, Dada, I Doctor Briana," the little girl stated emphatically.

"I stand corrected," Brian said as he looked with something akin to awe at the little blond munchkin who most certainly could be a doctor if that's what she chose to do.

"That's right, Bree. Aim for the top," Justin laughed as he kissed his daughter.

Beau barked his approval from the side of the bed. Bree reached out to touch the top of Beau's head. She patted the dog gently.

"You and Beau seem to be getting along better," Brian said.

Bree nodded. "Beau … good dog."

Beau gave a little woof of agreement.

"All right, Dog, we know you're the best," Brian laughed as he gave Beau a good ear scratch.

"You're in an awfully good mood this morning," Justin observed. "Especially for someone who was … supposed to be sleeping in the lounger all night. How did we get into the bed?"

"I carried you over here after you fell asleep. I thought you'd be more comfortable."

Justin grinned. "You are so sweet, Mr. Smoosh."

"Yeah, Dada Smoosh," Bree giggled.

Brian moaned. "Not you too. I have a certain reputation to maintain."

"Too late," Justin giggled just like his daughter.

"Hungry, Daddy," Bree said definitely.

"Some things never change," Brian declared as he picked Bree up and carried her into the house. It was time for the family to get moving.

Beau watched them all disappear into their side of the house. Then it was time for him to go check on his other charges next door.

*****

"Ooof," John let out loudly as Patrick pounced. Patrick was getting way too big to pounce on his father but he decided to do it anyway. "Young man, one of these days you're going to pounce and I'm not going to recover," John commented as he ruffled his son's hair then rolled him onto Bobby's side of the bed. Patrick smiled; he loved hearing how big he was growing. Patrick had enough Kinney genes in him that he was very tall for his age just like his father.

"Where's Poppa?"

"He left early."

"Court?"

"Yup, and if we don't get going you're going to be late for school." John noted the time. The Anderson men got up to face the day.

*****

"Johnny, my man!" Gordon greeted John enthusiastically. "You come to give your seal of approval?" Gordon swept his hand toward the almost completed cottage.

"It has your seal of approval; that's good enough for me," John commented. Gordon gave John a curious look.

"John, what's wrong?" Gordon knew that tone in John's voice.

"Nothing really."

"Johnny, boy, we've known each other for a lotta years. You can't bullshit me. Now what's going on in that thick skull of yours?" They walked over to a load of stones that were slated to be the ends of the picket fence that would surround the cottage, and sat.

"Bobby, got me thinking about stuff," John answered softly.

"Stuff?"

"Yeah, stuff. Me, him, you, Brian, stuff."

"That's a lotta stuff."

"Yeah."

"So, what about us?"

"He thinks Brian takes over too much."

"Well, he is a take charge kinda guy."

"True."

"And this is bad because?"

"Bobby thinks I should be the take charge guy in our family."

"And what do you think?" Gordon asked then thumped John on his head.

"I think I take charge when it counts and Brian does his thing when he has to."

"I think you're right. John, we go back a long way, and it works. If it didn't we wouldn't have been in business together for so long. Don't start trying to fix something that ain't broke."

"I guess so."

"I know so. But I can see why Bobby thinks your brother is stepping on those big feet of yours. Brian can get a little loud when he wants to and he does jump in where others fear to tread but I suspect you're not going to change that."

"Nope, you're right about that."

"Then I don't see a problem. Johnny, my man, you got yourself a great family. A little weird family, a big weird family, like that Debbie woman. But hey, my Betsie's got her Aunt Tildie, ain't no weirder than her, but she's family. And I know how you love your family even the ones you've acquired."

John remained quiet for a while. Before Brian and Justin came into their lives, it was really just John and his mother. Claire was John's only real family. Now John's family appeared to number in the hundreds. He shook his head at that revelation.

"You know something, Gordo, you're right. And Bobby will cope. He loves them just as much as I do."

"No argument there. Come on, big guy, you need to get your hands dirty. That'll put the bloom on your cheeks. You artsy guys, always making mountains out of molehills. A little hard work is all you need. Now move that ass of yours. We have a cottage to finish." Gordon slapped John on the back and the friends went into the cottage.

*****

[good boy...big boy...mine...protect]

Beau was patrolling the grounds. He had gone down to the stream, following Brian and Justin. The late May sun was warm, the air was filled with the sweet scent of flowers and grass. Justin had his sketchpad and pencils. Brian had some contracts Ted had emailed over for him to peruse and approve. They found a soft patch of grass to place down a blanket. Beau sat for a while then went off to harass a few frogs.

Justin was deep into his sketch and Brian had dozed, when a loud yelp startled them to alertness.

"What the fuck was that?" Brian jumped up to look around.

"I don't know," Justin answered looking around for Beau. "Beau! Here, boy!" They could hear Beau whimpering but they couldn't see him.

"Damn, where is that dog?" Brian muttered as he walked toward the noise. "Beau, where are you, boy?" They followed the noise to where the stream became narrow and very rocky.

"Beau, where are you? Beau? Brian! Look, there he is!" Justin called over his shoulder then sprinted toward the dog.

"Justin! Slow down, it's very slippery over there." Justin slowed his pace and waited for Brian. Beau had slipped while chasing a bullfrog. His back paw had gotten caught in between some rocks. He was panicking. His paw was cut and it hurt.

As the men approached, Beau growled, baring his teeth.

"Easy, boy, we're not going to hurt you," Justin said softly but Beau's growls got louder. Foam was accumulating around his mouth.

"Justin, stay back, he might bite you," Brian warned.

"No, Bri, Beau wouldn't do that," Justin said as he moved closer to the dog. Beau growled and snarled louder in warning. Justin jumped back.

"Justin, stay back. Go get me the blanket then come back here but very slowly." Justin's eyes grew wide. He had little experience with dogs especially one as big and fierce as Beau. He did what Brian instructed.

Brian crept slowly toward Beau, speaking softly to the frightened dog. He waited until Justin returned with the blanket. With blanket in hand, Brian stood up, steeled himself then spoke to Beau in John's commanding voice.

"Beau! Quiet! Down!" Beau hushed, his ears went back and he laid down as best as he could on the rocks. Brian draped the blanket around the frightened dog and over his eyes. "Justin, come here and dig out Beau's foot." Justin quickly did what Brian asked as Brian kept a firm hand on Beau. When Beau was free, Brian mustered up all of his strength to lift the large dog up and over to steady ground.

"Jus, run up ahead, call for John then get your Jeep. We have to take Beau to the vet." Justin nodded then ran. By the time Brian got Beau to the house John was there. Justin had brought his Cherokee as close to the path as possible. John helped Brian get Beau into the backseat. The brothers had a firm grip on the dog as Justin drove to the vet with John's direction.

"He's fine," Dr. Baker announced to the relief of the brothers and Justin. "He took a couple of stitches and I gave him something to calm him and help with the pain. You can take him home, but he needs to rest and stay calm. Give him these antibiotics. The cut wasn't deep but it was dirty. I cleaned it up but we don't want to take any chances on infection. He lost a little blood, so make sure he eats well. You can give him some meat for the extra protein. Bring him back in a week and I'll remove the sutures. It could have been a lot worse, but you boys did the right thing." The vet handed John a large plastic cone ring for Beau's neck.

"Put this on him if he starts to pick at the sutures. I don't want him to rip them out. I left it off for now. No need to get Beau upset for nothing." The boys thanked the vet then left with the medicine and instructions. They got Beau back into the Jeep, and again Justin drove. John and Brian were in the back with Beau.

When they arrived back home, John settled the groggy dog into his bed. He sat on the floor next to the sleeping dog, gently petting Beau's head and back. Justin went to clean up then put on a pot of coffee. When he returned to the porch, John was still on the floor with Brian sitting next to him. Justin decided to give the brothers a little space. He went back to the stream to get his sketchbook and the papers they had left behind in their rush.

"You angry with me?" Brian asked his brother, fearing that John would think Beau's injury was his fault.

"Angry?" John looked up with an incredulous look. "Why would I be angry?"

"I should have looked out for him," Brian said pensively.

"Brian, he's a dog and he's still a puppy, even if he's as big as a pony. Of course I'm not angry at you. If it wasn't for your quick thinking, Beau's injury could have been a lot worse."

Brian let out the breath he was holding. "I...I wasn't sure what to do."

"You did just fine, thank you. And if Beau was awake he'd thank you too." John reached up to ruffle Brian's hair. It was John's way of showing his brother just how much he loved him. Brian leaned into the touch. He consciously realized just how much he loved John and how much John's approval meant to him.

"I love the fleabitten mutt too," Brian whispered looking so much like the young boy John had rescued from the stream when they were boys. John smiled warmly.

"I know you do and Beau knows it too." The brothers settled back on the hard floor to watch Beau sleep.

*****

"Thanks, Rachel. I'll be over later with their clothes. Beau's fine but I think the kids would overwhelm him right now. He's pretty drugged up. Yeah, John and Brian are fine too. It's funny, John grew up with dogs so I can understand him getting all emotional but Brian is just as worried as John. Yeah, you're right; those two do have an awful lot in common. Thanks. Okay, a sleepover sounds good to me. Okay, see you later. Bye."

Justin hung up the phone. He had asked Rachel to pick up Patrick from school. Bree had gone over earlier in the day before the drama with Beau to keep Rachel company and to help bake cakes for Rachel's church cake sale, although Justin wasn't sure how much help a four year old would be. But Rachel thought Bree would have fun. Bree had a way with pink icing.

Justin kept the Kinney brothers supplied with coffee and food during their vigil with Beau. He had also left a message for Bobby. Edna's Treasures was quiet, for now.

*****

"How's Beau doing?" Bobby asked Justin. Bobby parked his car on the lane, deciding to come in through the Kinney/Taylor end of the conjoined cottages.

"Much better, he's more alert now. The medicine the vet gave him kept him asleep for a long time. John and Brian are still in the porch taking turns with him," Justin replied. He had started dinner. At some point, John and Brian switched places so that they could shower and put on clean clothes. They had gotten muddy when they carried the large dog. "John will be happy to see you."

"What happened?"

Justin poured them both some coffee and then relayed what had happened earlier in the day. "It's a good thing you guys were here. Beau couldn't have been in better hands," Bobby commented.

"You don't blame us, do you?" Justin had his own misgivings.

"Blame you? Why would I blame you? It was an accident. I never had a dog as big or as daring as Beau, but I did have a dog and cats when I was growing up. They can get into everything. Beau's still a puppy and a very curious one. He's going to get into trouble now and then. It could have been a lot worse if it wasn't for Brian's quick thinking."

"That's what the vet said."

"There, see? He would know. I'll check on them. After I change I'll help you with dinner."

"You going to make salad?"

"I can do that," Bobby said with a sunny smile. Justin beamed back then returned to his stove.

Bobby walked toward his end of the cottage. He spied the brothers sitting on the floor leaning on each other and close to Beau. Their eyes were closed; they had dozed off. Beau raised his head, his tail swished slowly back and forth. Bobby raised a finger to his lips, shushing the dog then motioned to Beau to stay. Beau laid his head back down. Bobby smiled then entered his end of the house. He knew the relationship between the brothers was just as it should be.