Reading Time: 115 Minutes

Title: A Glimpse of Us
Author: Keira Marcos
Fandom: 9-1-1
Relationship: Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Evan Buckley/OMC (past), Eddie Diaz/Shannon Diaz (past), Canon Pairings as appropriate for the AU
Genre:  Romance, Soulmate AU, Magical World
Warnings:  Canon-Typical Violence, Explicit Sex, Stalking, Homophobia, Character Bashing, Verbal Abuse, Grammarly Beta, Human Trafficking, Discussion-Domestic Abuse, Discussion-Child Abuse, Discussion-Child Abandonment, Discussion-Child Death, Discussion-Savior Siblings
Word Count: 56,004
Summary:  Eddie Diaz met his soulmate a year after he married Shannon Whitt due to an accidental pregnancy. Five years later, he’s been discharged from the Army and is newly divorced. He moves his son to LA for a fresh start in the hopes that maybe he can reconnect with the man he’d spent just six amazing hours with years before. Buck was going through the motions, working as a firefighter and sort of dating a man who doesn’t care that he has a soulmate. Then Eddie Diaz followed him on Instagram, something they agreed wouldn’t happen as long as he was married. Neither had wanted to be tempted into an affair with continued contact. Buck broke up with the man he’s seeing casually immediately and followed Eddie back.

* * * *

Chapter 1

“Daddy?”

“What’s up, Mijo?” Eddie questioned as his son crawled up onto the couch beside him.

“What happens now?” Christopher questioned. “I mean, now that we’re divorced?”

Eddie exhaled slowly at his son’s phrasing. “Your mom didn’t divorce you, Christopher.”

“That’s how it feels,” Christopher said. “She hasn’t called me or anything since she left.” His son leaned into him, and Eddie wrapped an arm around him. “And that’s fine. She can be that way.”

“Your mom loves you,” Eddie said.

“Maybe, but it’s not a good kind of love,” Christopher said sadly. “It’s been a whole year since she left, Daddy, and I’m tired of waiting for her to remember me.”

Eddie had no response to that.

“So, what happens now?” Christopher asked again.

“Well, we have some options,” Eddie said. “We can stay here in El Paso, or I was thinking of maybe moving to LA.”

“LA,” Christopher said firmly. “Definitely LA. I can see Abuelita and Disneyland any time I want. Plus, Grandma isn’t there.”

“Your mom might try to see you if we move to LA. She doesn’t live there, but it’s certainly closer than El Paso,” Eddie said.

“I’ll think about it. I’m not sure if I want that. We’re doing fine by ourselves.” Christopher looked around the house. “We should sell the house because I never want to come back here.”

“Yeah, we’ll sell the house,” Eddie said. “I have something to tell you.”

“Ugh.” Christopher huffed a little but wiggled closer.

“What?”

“The last time you said that to me, you told me about the divorce,” Christopher said sourly. “After trying to hide it for weeks.”

Eddie laughed. “This is different, I promise.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll listen,” Christopher said and crossed his arms over his chest. “Lay it on me.”

“I have a soulmate.”

Christopher turned around quickly and stared at him with wide eyes. “Daddy, that’s amazing!” He threw his arms around Eddie’s neck. “Where are they? Can I meet them?”

“He’s in LA,” Eddie said as he hugged his son. “I met him after I married your mom and…. I told him I couldn’t be with him because I’d already made my promises.” He took a deep breath against Christopher’s hair.

“That’s a sad part,” Christopher said quietly. “Is it my fault?”

“No, baby, of course not.” Eddie hugged him closer for a second, then reluctantly released him. His son leaned back and stared at his face. “I mean it.”

“Okay, can we go meet him then? Is he married now? What’s his name?”

“His name is Evan Buckley,” Eddie said. “And he’s a firefighter in LA, and he’s still listed as single on Facebook. We’re not friends on social media, so I can’t see much beyond public posts. We agreed not to friend each other, so it would be…easier to keep my promises.”

“Makes sense.” Christopher reached out and grabbed Eddie’s phone from the side table. “Let’s follow him now.”

“Now?”

“Now,” Christopher said firmly and handed him on the phone. “On Instagram because Facebook is for old people. I can’t believe he even has one.”

Eddie laughed and sighed as his son turned around to lean on him. He browsed to Evan’s Instagram and stared for a moment at the profile picture, which was a thirst trap of the first order. He saved the image with no shame whatsoever and took a deep breath as he hit the follow button. Evan had a lot of followers. Maybe he wouldn’t even notice.

“How long do we have to wait?” Christopher questioned.

“I….” Eddie blinked because he’d just got a notification. He checked it. “He just followed me back.”

“Wow.” Christopher wiggled closer. “Now we can stalk his Insta without guilt, Daddy.”

Eddie agreed, so he scrolled down. There were tons of posts about Evan’s day-to-day life.

“Cool, firefighter stuff.” Christopher took the phone and started to flick through the pictures of a firehouse. “We need to get out of El Paso as quickly as possible, Daddy, before Grandma finds out we’re moving and tries to stop us.”

“She can’t stop us.”

“She keeps asking me if I want to live with her,” Christopher said huffily. “And offered to be my new mom. I told her that was gross since you’re my daddy and her son. That’s weird, I know that’s not normal. I told her so, and she got all weird about it. Then she cried and said I’d hurt her feelings. She wanted me to apologize, but I just told her the truth. I shouldn’t have to apologize for telling the truth.”

Eddie sighed. “I’ll try to talk to her, but she’s unreasonable. I don’t know what to do about her. Moving will help, and we aren’t going to tell her. She’s so focused on herself that she probably won’t even notice until we actually start moving.”

“How did you meet Evan?” Christopher questioned as he continued to look at the pictures.

“We crossed paths in an airport,” Eddie murmured. “The moment I saw him…I knew. Just like they say you will. It was crazy and I was really sad to have to hurt him by telling him no. He said it was okay and that he understood. He asked to see a picture of you, and I showed him one.”

“How old was I?

“Just ten months,” Eddie murmured. “He said you were adorable.”

Christopher nodded. “That’s just facts, Daddy.”

He laughed. “Certainly. We talked for about six hours until my flight was ready to go. Then I said goodbye.”

“And that was it?” Christopher questioned.

“Yes,” Eddie said quietly. “I never told your mom.”

“Don’t you have a soul mark?” Christopher questioned.

“Yeah, but she never asked about it,” Eddie said. “She doesn’t have one and seemed to think the whole thing was stupid.”

“When will I get one?”

“After you’ve finished puberty. I got mine at fifteen,” Eddie explained. “It’ll vary a little, but you could be as old as sixteen before it happens.” He paused. “If it happens.”

“But it normally does, right? If one parent has a soul mark, then the kids have soul marks. I learned about that in school.” He focused on the phone. “Hey, cool, he climbed a mountain. We need to ask about that.”

Eddie certainly had questions. “When was this?”

“Hmm, May of 2014,” Christopher said. “At least that’s when he posted the pictures. Looks like he did it a lot back then, but not so much now. Maybe being a firefighter is a lot of work, and he doesn’t have time to climb much anymore.” He browsed some more. “It’s interesting—none of his posts are personal.”

“He probably has two accounts, or he keeps his personal stuff offline.”

“Cool,” Christopher said happily. “Does grandma have access to your Insta?”

“No, of course not. I blocked her ages ago,” Eddie retorted, and his son laughed. “Why?”

“We should take a selfie and announce we’re moving to LA so Evan will know,” Christopher said and rolled his eyes. “Gah, Daddy, we gotta give him a head’s up, ya know!”

Eddie took the phone, opened the camera app, and scooted down so he could take a picture with his son. He took several since Christopher tended to make faces at cameras when given a chance. Eddie posted the best one with a note about moving to LA. His sisters would see it, but they wouldn’t say anything to their mother. In fact, Sophia wasn’t even speaking to either of their parents currently. Adriana was hit-and-miss on the subject of their parents, but she was conflict-avoidant and would do a lot to stay out of the way of their mother’s temper.

He posted the picture and took a deep breath. It made the decision seem final.

His phone went off, and he groaned at the sight of his mother’s name. He answered the call, hoping that it was just a coincidence. Surely, Adriana wouldn’t have tattled.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Eddie, I’m coming to pick up Christopher to spend the weekend with me,” Helena said.

“No,” Eddie said firmly.

“I wasn’t asking.”

“I know, and that’s an immense problem,” Eddie said as he stood up from the couch with a sigh. “You don’t get to make decisions regarding my child, Mom. Also, he told me how you offered to be his new mom, and it freaked him out. I mean, it seriously bothered him. What’s wrong with you?”

“Shannon’s gone,” Helena said. “And he needs a mother. I’m the obvious choice. He should live with me from now on, and I want you to sign custody over to me and your father.”

Eddie laughed. “Not in a million years, and don’t come over here today. We’re busy, and I don’t have time for your crap.” He walked over to his gym bag and made sure everything was packed in it. “He doesn’t want to spend the night with you, much less the weekend. Plus, he has school tomorrow.”

“I think I’m going to have to get a lawyer.”

“Sure, waste your money,” Eddie said evenly. “You know you don’t have any grounds, and I’m sure Pop will just be thrilled to let you throw money at a lawyer hand over fist only to lose pretty much immediately in court. I’ve already gone through a home study and psych evals with social services because of the divorce, Mom, and been declared fit. Pop knows that.”

“You don’t have the right to keep Christopher from me,” Helena hissed. “And I know I have rights.”

“You still eating Percocets like they’re candy?” Eddie questioned, and his mother gasped in shock. “Do you think you could stop long enough to pass a court-ordered drug test? Because I don’t think so, and neither did the last two rehab facilities you got kicked out of for using.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Sure,” Eddie said easily. “I’d love to keep talking about it—in court, on Facebook, and maybe even on YouTube. I could vlog about it or something. Do some TikToks talking about my tragic childhood living with two addicts. The amount of sympathy I would garner could be absolutely astounding.”

His mother hung up on him.

“That was savage, Daddy,” Christopher said with a grin. “Grandma practically lives on Facebook. It’s like her only hobby.”

Eddie shrugged. “Let’s get online and find an apartment to rent.”

“Can it have a pool?” Christopher questioned.

“Absolutely,” Eddie agreed. “One with a gym would be nice, too.” He paused. “And not having to cut grass would be a thrilling bonus.”

“Well, we’ve got our priorities straight,” his son said with a firm nod. “I guess a decent school nearby is kind of important.”

Eddie laughed and wondered if he should’ve taught his kid about priorities at all. Maybe kids shouldn’t have to worry about that kind of thing.

* * * *

The wait was probably going to kill him, and Buck wondered if he should make the next move. Eddie Diaz had followed him on Instagram, something they’d agreed wouldn’t happen as long as the other man was married. He didn’t think about the situation often as it was always just a little heartbreaking. Meeting your soulmate by chance in an airport was the stuff romantic movies were made of. Yet, his had ended with a soft kiss pressed against his cheek and the sweetest apology he’d ever known whispered against his skin.

Just meeting his soulmate had derailed his plans. He’d gone to LA instead of Peru, and just a year after that he’d been on the job as a firefighter with the LAFD. He enjoyed the work if not all of his co-workers. It had only been a stroke of luck that he’d been browsing Instagram when Eddie’s follow notification had come through. He might not have noticed it for days otherwise.

Thanks to a few high-profile rescues and professional climbing, he had a following online. As a result, he had to maintain a firm hand on his social media. If he didn’t, he got little passive aggressive messages from the LAFD’s PR department. They’d wanted to take it over, and he’d had to go a few rounds with them on the subject before he’d threatened to quit altogether over their crazy ass behavior. He’d been assured by the LA County Fire Department that they would not try to make him into some kind of poster boy.

He bounced one leg as he stared at his phone. It had been a whole damn day since Eddie had followed him and posted an adorable selfie with his son. They were moving to LA. Buck had followed back practically immediately. Maybe the man was waiting for him to send him a DM. Eddie was signaling that he was single. Maybe Buck needed to do the same.

Granted, he hadn’t been exactly single when he’d followed Eddie back, but he’d ended his most consistent casual sex relationship as soon as he could. The fact was that part of him had come to terms with the knowledge that he’d never see his soulmate again. The chance to actually see him, talk to him…to maybe even have more with him was so exciting that Buck couldn’t think about anyone else but Eddie.

The man’s Instagram had been full of pictures of his son and the soldiers he’d served with the Army. There had come a point, though, where it was just pictures of himself and Christopher. Buck didn’t know what had happened, but it was clear that Eddie was no longer in the Army, and the lack of a wedding ring was overt in the new pictures.

“Okay, Buck, just keep it cool,” he murmured to himself as he leaned against the top of the bunk and stared at the blank box. “Friendly, but not too friendly.”

“Talking to yourself, Buckley?”

“I’m the best conversationalist on the whole shift,” Buck said absently. “There was a poll, remember?” He glanced briefly toward Ken Arnett, a firefighter paramedic, who did more talking than working when they weren’t out in the field. “You weren’t on that poll at all.”

Arnett huffed but walked away, which was exactly what Buck wanted. Arnett’s partner, Beth Gibson, had asked Buck out within a week of his being transferred into the 122 from the 76. She’d been offended by his careful rejection and had made no bones about it. Beth was a gorgeous woman, and he figured she didn’t get told no often.

He was bisexual, but he largely preferred men, and telling her that had resulted in her being more offended by his rejection. It had resulted in a hostile work situation that he hadn’t seen coming and still hadn’t really forgiven. Buck just hadn’t expected her to lie about his behavior which made him feel naïve as fuck.

Even six months later, it was still kind of awkward, and Buck was tired of the whole situation. His reputation for fucking around was earned, but it was a result of coming to LA shortly after being rejected by his soulmate. He hadn’t come to terms with it and hadn’t wanted to commit to anyone in case Eddie changed his mind. That meant a lot of casual relationships because he wasn’t going to give up sex.

He’d calmed down eventually and picked out a few steady partners that he could reach out to for sex when the urge struck. They all knew the score, and most people just didn’t bother trying to get serious about someone who had a soul mark. Buck frowned at the box and wiggled his foot a little as he meandered from one generic greeting to the other.

Frustrated and a little at a loss, he just sent the man his phone number and closed the app. Surely, a phone number would be an indication that he was available. He browsed to the selfie of Eddie and Christopher, then after a few moments of hesitation, saved it to his phone and tucked it into his faves album. It was certainly going to be a picture he’d want to keep forever.

He slid down into his bunk, turned off the light, and settled in to get as much sleep as the job would allow. Buck normally would get at least eight hours, though it wasn’t always at the same time. Arnett came back, crawled into his own bunk without a word, and turned off his own light. It darkened the bunk room since most of the shift was down to sleep.

Buck’s phone vibrated where he’d placed it on his pillow. He took a deep breath as he stared at the device then picked it up. There was a text from an unknown number. Buck saved the number first and focused on the content.

Eddie: I don’t know where to start. Please know up front that I have no expectations and I promise I won’t demand anything from you either. I’ve been discharged from the Army due to losing a kidney after being shot. I’m fully recovered so no worries on that front. My wife left me when I was in recovery and our divorce finalized three days ago. I’m moving to LA with Christopher. He’s six years old now. It’s crazy how fast he’s growing.

It was infuriating that Eddie’s ex-wife had repaid his loyalty with abandonment in a moment when he clearly needed her. He wondered how many times Eddie had been shot and what other kind of trauma he’d been left to deal with in the wake of her leaving. He stewed for a moment, then tried to push the anger down because none of that could be about him and his feelings.

Buck: I’m really glad you’re both coming to LA. Please tell me more about your injuries when you can. Do you need help on this end? I can receive packages or whatever, depending on what you plan on shipping. You can have expectations. Expectations would be good. I’m basically single. Have a few hook-ups here and there but nothing serious. It’s been kind of hard to find something serious when you have a very visible soul mark, but you know that. I can’t wait to see you again. Christopher is adorable.

Eddie: I know you said that I didn’t owe you an apology all those years ago, but I’m so fucking sorry for hurting you. I’ve thought about it often lately and after Shannon left me I started to resent myself and her. It feels like I stole years from us both because I was loyal to a woman who couldn’t or wouldn’t return that loyalty when I needed her the most I’ve ever needed anyone. Maybe I’m to blame for that—I spent too much time away from home and my combat posting lasted too long this last time.

Buck: Plenty of people have very good marriages while one half of the couple serves in the military. I don’t know enough about the situation to be anything but pissed off that she left you when you were all in on making that marriage work. I’m sorry that she hurt you and Christopher.

Eddie: Can I call?

Buck: I’m at work and supposed to be sleeping but I’m off work at 7am

Eddie: I’ll be taking Christopher to school around that time and I’ve got a meeting with a realtor after that. When will you sleep?

Buck: I try to keep the sleep hours at home similar to the scheduled sleep on my shift which is 8pm to 4am.

Eddie: Can I call around 10am then?

Buck: Absolutely

Eddie: Go to sleep. Thank you for giving me your number Evan.

Precious few people called him Evan anymore, but it wasn’t offensive. He’d have to tell Eddie about his preference when the call happened. Buck locked his phone and tucked it under his pillow before trying to get comfortable so he could sleep. He closed his eyes and relaxed on the bunk.

The station bell woke him, and a quick glance at his phone told him he’d managed to get six hours of sleep. He rolled out of the bed, slipped on his boots, and zipped them up. Buck had his turnouts on and was headed for the driver’s seat of the ladder by the time the captain started barking orders at the stragglers. The 76^th, his previous station, had been a rough ride for Buck socially since he hadn’t been a good fit personality-wise and had been the unfortunate replacement for someone who’d died on the job. They’d seen him as an intruder despite his efforts, but the three years he’d spent there had taught him discipline and to move fast no matter the hour.

The firefighter engineer and second-in-command, Joe Reilly, climbed up into the ladder passenger seat as Buck started the engine. The man had a tablet in hand, which he was frowning at.

Buck put on his headset and rolled out when Shane Joseph called out from the back that they were set. He planned the trip mentally after Reilly gave him the address and concentrated on driving.

“We’ve got a four-car pile up with entrapment,” Reilly reported. “LAPD is reporting hostility on the scene from two of the passengers. One driver is dead. The sun is coming up in the next five minutes, and the morning commute is going to be a problem. Buck, we’ll want to use the ladder truck to create a traffic obstruction for our safety. The LAPD has closed three of the four lanes, which is considered enemy action by the vast majority of drivers in LA.”

“I’d take it personally,” Buck admitted, and Joe laughed.

At the scene, he finished off the vehicle barricade that the LAPD had started with their cars after the engine and ambulances were parked. He worked mostly with Joe on scenes like the one they were on, so he grabbed a Halligan and went to where he was pointed by the engineer. The entrapment probably wouldn’t need the jaws, which was kind of a bummer because he liked using them. Arnett was chatting with the man behind the wheel when he got there.

“This is Firefighter Buckley, Mr. Jones. He’s going to help me get you out of this little situation of yours.”

“Great,” the man said and nodded. “My leg is wet. Kind of worried that I wished I’d just pissed myself.”

“Can’t blame you there,” Arnett said. “But we’re going to get you fixed right up.”

The man rolled his head on the headrest and closed his eyes as Buck started to push the Halligan into place. He wrenched the door open easily enough and held it back so Arnett could get in to work on the driver.

“Strong,” the man muttered.

“He is,” Arnett said. “But that was just a matter of leverage for us.”

“The Halligan did most of the work,” Buck agreed. “Need help getting him out or….”

“You can hit your next task,” Arnett murmured. “We’re going to have to do a bit of work before we can move him off the seat.”

Buck winced when Arnett pulled a tourniquet out of his kit. “Let me know.”

“Thanks, Buck,” Arnett said as Gibson joined them.

He walked toward a pickup truck, ignoring the argument that was taking place between a civilian and two uniformed cops. Buck figured that the only reason the man wasn’t in cuffs in the back of a vehicle was because he was white. He made a face at the three of them and joined the field sergeant standing by the car where it was wedged under a delivery truck.

“Ma’am.”

She looked at him, glanced at the argument, and sighed. “Good morning, Firefighter.”

“Buckley,” Buck supplied, and she nodded. “We’ll need a tow truck for this, or we could use the winch from the ladder if the need is dire.”

She shook her head. “Everyone is out.” She jerked a thumb toward the hostile jerk. “It’s his delivery truck, and he seems to think we should just pull these two vehicles apart so he can leave and get back on with his day.”

Buck raised an eyebrow and squatted down to get a good look at the backend of the delivery truck. “The back axle is bent. He’s going nowhere fast in this thing even if we do separate the vehicles.” He frowned and put the Halligan on the ground so he could look underneath the truck. Piss was pooling on the ground. He heard a soft whimper and looked up at the truck.

“Son of a bitch.” He grabbed the Halligan and climbed up onto the car.

“Hey! What the fuck are you doing?”

Buck ignored the man, shoved the Halligan into the door lock, and wrenched the thing open. Then gagged. The smell of human waste and unbathed bodies was overwhelming. The truck was full of people. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen such circumstances in LA, but it was still heartbreaking and infuriating.

“Close those doors!” The man screamed. “You can’t search my property without a warrant!” He ran toward him, and the field sergeant put a hand on her weapon even as the other two cops tackled him.

“Come on down, Buckley,” the cop said, and Buck reluctantly slid off the car.

“We’ll need more paramedics,” Buck said quietly as he glanced toward her name tag. “I’ll get out some water, Sergeant Grant.”

“Yeah, thank you,” she said and shook her head as the man struggled against the cops. “Get him in cuffs! He’s just earned himself multiple felony counts of human trafficking.”

Two hours later, Buck dragged himself out of the station and into his Jeep. They’d spent a lot of time on the scene doing field assessments, arranging for transport, and watching helplessly as those they couldn’t send to a hospital ended up being put in vans by ICE agents. He hated the whole system and sometimes even the whole world on days like the one he’d had.

He started the Jeep and fiddled with the radio as he considered where to get breakfast. The others were going out for food, but he’d side-stepped the invitation because he’d honestly spent enough time with Arnett and Gibson already. A little knock on the window caught his attention and he rolled it down while he tried to school his expression into something neutral.

Beth Gibson crossed her arms. “You’ve got to stop avoiding the whole shift, Buck.”

“I’m not,” he said and turned down the radio a bit. “I just want to go home—the last call was exhausting and sad.”

She grimaced. “You have too much heart for this job.”

“And you don’t have enough,” Buck said evenly, and she shrugged. “So, maybe we balance out the shift as a result.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and took a deep breath. “Why are you over here trying to lecture me for skipping a team breakfast?”

“They all blame me for it,” she said darkly and glared at him.

“Well, they’re not all that wrong about it. You made shit really hard for me for the first month after I transferred, and it was a bullshit thing to do. Turning you down shouldn’t have resulted in the whole shift giving me the cold shoulder until you admitted to lying to them. You’re lucky I didn’t report you to HR, Gibson. They’d probably still believe it if you hadn’t drunkenly confessed to Joe that you’d lied about me sexually harassing you.”

Her cheeks were stained dark red. “I made a mistake.”

“You lied and could’ve gotten me fired,” Buck said flatly. “I worked hard for my job and consider it a career. I have over a dozen certifications, and I’m pursuing more. And you fucked around with my life, never apologized, and you’re standing there acting like I’m the problem.” He exhaled sharply. “Look, just give me some space. I avoid you, and I don’t make problems for you. You could at least have the grace to do the same.”

“Fine, whatever, fuck you,” Beth muttered and stalked off with a flounce of her ponytail.

It was really too bad she’d let her looks go to her head. He knew what he looked like, and his appearance had gotten him ahead now and again in the past. But he’d worked hard to keep his ego in check because looks faded then you were only left with the personality you’d managed to put together along the way.

“Buckley.”

Buck groaned and wished he’d driven off when he had a chance. He slid out of the Jeep since he felt weird talking to his captain while sitting on his ass. The man wasn’t the friendly or casual sort.

“Sir.”

Barnes grimaced. “I realize things were rocky when you started out here, but it would be a favor to me if you’d try to cut the team some slack. I know why you’re leery of them, but nothing is going to get better if you hold a grudge.”

“I’m not holding a grudge, sir,” Buck said. “I don’t even have a problem with their defense of her. I do have a problem with the fact that exactly two people on the whole shift have apologized to me, and you weren’t one of them.” The older man stared in shock. “I also have a problem with the fact that she wasn’t even reprimanded in-house for her behavior after you asked me not to report the situation to HR. You said you didn’t think I’d be a good fit for the shift before you agreed to my transfer, and I should’ve believed you, but I needed a decent, safe landing after what happened at the 76.”

Barnes grimaced. “Hell, kid, I….” He exhaled slowly.

“All I wanted was some actual civility after being treated like shit for three years because I replaced a man who made a mistake and died on the job. If I did well, I was disparaging a dead guy. If I made a mistake, which was rare, then I was a fuck up trying to get myself killed like the dead guy. So, I’m not here to make friends, and I’d have already transferred out if it wouldn’t make me look like a problem. In a few months, it’ll be a year, and I’ll have finished my SARTECH II certification. A transfer will look reasonable for most people at that point.”

“You’re one of the most qualified firefighters I have on the shift and the only one doing continuing education,” Barnes said. “I’d rather you stay.”

“I’m precariously close to being overqualified to work a light brigade,” Buck said, and Barnes nodded. “And after my SARTECH II, I will have skills that will get zero use in a light brigade. I want SAR—I’ll either get it with the LAFD or with the county. I have a standing job offer with LA County already. I’d just prefer to stay with the LAFD.”

Buck leaned on the Jeep. “It’s not my place to tell you how to manage your people, but giving Gibson a pass on her behavior will just make it easier for her to do it again. Maybe the next guy will go straight to HR, then it’ll come out she has a history of that crap, and you’ll take a bigger hit than she will. I don’t know that you deserve that, sir, so think about it.”

“Yeah,” Barnes said and rubbed his neck. “You know, Sloan at the 76 told me I should avoid serious conversations with you.”

Buck made a face at the mention of his former captain. “That’s just because I told him he was an asshole after he asked me what I thought of him and ordered me to be honest.”

Barnes snorted, then laughed. “Shut up.”

“He really did ask,” Buck said defensively. “And he really is an asshole.”

“Well, you aren’t wrong.” Barnes shook his head. “Good job noticing the delivery truck situation as quickly as you did. Some of those people probably wouldn’t have lasted another ten minutes in the back of that thing. See you next shift.”

Buck nodded and got back in the Jeep as soon as his captain headed for his truck. He turned on the engine and got out of the parking lot before he got cornered again. He wanted to be home and comfortable for his phone call with Eddie Diaz.

 

Chapter 2

Buck noted that the trash bins were out on the street, so after he parked, he snagged his own trash and took the bins out to the curb before his landlord could get to it. He tried to get ahead of Howard Price as much as possible since the man was stubborn and would try to roll the bin out with one hand while he used a cane with the other.

Renting Dr. Price’s guest house was probably the best decision he’d ever made as the Prices were just really good and supportive people. They gave him room, charged a very fair amount of rent, and were quick to see problems corrected. He’d been renting their guest house for over three years, and while he could’ve already bought his own place, he’d been putting it off since he liked them so much.

“Good morning, Buck,” Carla said as he jogged up the driveway. “Thanks for that. He almost fell last week trying to pull the bin down and still use his cane at the same time.”

“I know,” Buck said and frowned. “Did you have any trash that should go in the bin?”

“No, I took it out last night,” Carla said and put a bag in her car. “I’ll be staying with a client until Sunday morning when his son returns from a trip. You’re off, right?”

“For the next four days,” Buck said. “I’ll keep an eye on things. I had plans on Saturday, but I canceled those. I’m glad for the time off. There was an accident, and one of the vehicles proved to be full of immigrants being trafficked by a coyote. Fortunately, they were all alive, but it wasn’t…good at all. So, I could use some time to reset a little.”

“I hate that,” Carla murmured. “It must be so hard to see that kind of thing and not be able to do anything about it.”

“It is,” Buck said. “They suffered a lot, and most of them ended up in ICE custody. They’ll get sent back to terrible circumstances and will probably get scammed out of more money. The world’s a mean place, you know.”

“I do know,” Carla said and patted his arm. “You get some rest and try to focus on the things you can change. Maybe go volunteer at the animal shelter and pet some puppies. You’ll feel better.”

“Is Howard ready to get a new cat, you think?” Buck asked. “I could take him over there and get him to pet some animals, too.”

“Well, he’s working his way toward it since we had to let George go due to his cancer,” Carla said. “Ask him—maybe he’ll surprise us both. At the very least, it’ll be good for him to get out. His doctor told him that we’re going to have to get the knee replaced, and he’s been in a sour mood since the appointment yesterday.”

“I don’t blame him,” Buck said. “That’s going to suck extra large. I’ll get him to grill out later, and we can complain about stuff together. He likes that.”

Carla laughed. “Sometimes you act like a man twice your age, Buck.”

He laughed and trotted back toward his house so he could shower off the work smell and figure out what he needed from the grocery store.

By the time he was sitting at his kitchen table making a list on his phone, he’d relaxed a little. The stress from work wasn’t as bad as it could be, and that was such a low bar that he was kind of annoyed by what he was used to tolerating. He’d grabbed a fruit salad on the way home, so he was eating that and drinking water.

His phone buzzed, and he answered it with a sigh.

“Hey.”

“Buck, I was hoping you’d come by this evening.”

Buck frowned. “I told you that I wanted to end things, Travis.”

Travis Cohen had been his most frequent sex partner over the last few months. They were both upfront about not wanting anything serious, and the sex had been decent enough to keep agreeing to meet up. But he was confused by the call, since Travis had seemed to understand completely what Buck had said the day before.

“I wanted to talk to you about that. Listen, I was thinking lately that maybe we could talk about taking things a little more seriously. We’re compatible, and I think I’d like spending time with you—even without the sex.”

“And I told you that I wasn’t interested in anything serious because I have a soul mark,” Buck said. It was an excuse he’d been using for years, even before he actually met Eddie, and it worked well nearly all the time. “And you agreed.”

“You’re twenty-six, Buck. Don’t you think it’s time that you stop waiting for something that isn’t going to happen?” Travis questioned.

“My soul mark is still bright and unmarred, which means that I have a viable opportunity to bond,” Buck and Travis huffed in his ear. “And, no, I’m not ready to give that up. I don’t know if I ever will. I want a magical bond, and I have a mark on my body that I see every single day that tells me it’s possible. I realize you don’t get it, but I need you to respect my choices on this.”

“I do respect your choices.”

“You suggested I get my mark covered up with a tattoo last month,” Buck pointed out. “You said it was a turn-off.”

“It’s ugly,” Travis said. “And I hate looking at it. I can’t be the first person to tell you that.”

His soul mark was beautiful, a series of swirly entwined circles over his heart that spoke to many reincarnations with his soulmate. If he and Eddie bonded, then he would get a seventh circle. It was exciting to think about but not something he was willing to discuss with anyone.

“It’s not ugly,” Buck said mildly. “And I love it. I’ve always loved it. I would never cover it up for any reason, not even if it smudges due to my soulmate’s death. And you’re the only one who has ever told me they hated seeing it and the only one to suggest I cover it up. Hell, Travis, we weren’t even exclusive. Listen, I told you that I’m ready to move on from what you and I were doing. It’s done, and I don’t mean to be cruel about this, but I’d rather not hear from you again.”

“We could make a serious go of it if you’d get your fucking head out of the clouds,” Travis responded. “You’re not living in some goddamned romantic movie, Buck. The thing is that you’re great relationship material if you could just settle down and commit.”

“I like my head exactly where it is, and I don’t want to make any sort of commitment to someone who resents my soul mark as much as you do,” Buck said. “And while we have decent sexual chemistry, that’s it. We don’t have anything else in common—not even basic things that would make a relationship viable. Hell, Travis, we can’t even order food from the same restaurant half the time.”

“You aren’t even willing to try?” Travis prodded.

“I’m not, and I thought I’d made that clear already.” Buck sighed. “Listen, I know who my soulmate is. And I owe it to myself and them to focus on the potential we have together.”

“Is it a woman?” Travis demanded. “Is that why you’re so willing to try with them? It’s about having kids, right?”

Buck frowned. “No, actually, my soulmate is a man, and I told you before that I’m willing to adopt or use a surrogate. I don’t need a romantic relationship with a woman to have children. None of this is about you or the casual relationship we used to have. Just…hell…Travis. What the fuck is this?”

“I’m allowed to change my mind about what I want, Buck,” Travis snapped.

“Sure, but that doesn’t mean that I have to agree to what you want,” Buck pointed out. “It takes at least two people to have a relationship, and I’m not interested in pursuing anything else with you.” He rubbed his forehead with two fingers. “Are you going to get weird with this? Because I’m not going to tolerate that shit for even a single second. I think a restraining order would probably hurt your career in the mayor’s office a lot.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Travis muttered. “I’m not going to get weird about it. I’m just disappointed and pissed off. I thought better of you.”

“You thought better of me? What exactly does that mean?” Buck questioned. “Is it suddenly immoral to want my own soulmate?”

“You were so nice and sweet to me,” Travis said. “And I thought you were working toward asking for more, but you just dumped me.”

“Oh, you’re accusing me of leading you on,” Buck said faintly. “Jesus, dude, I was explicitly honest with you about everything. And I’m nice to all of my sex partners.”

“You cooked for me.”

“I cook for everyone,” Buck said. “I bake cookies and take them to work at least once a month, for fuck’s sake. And I only like two out of the fourteen people I work with. I’m sorry that making you French toast made you think I wanted to have a relationship with you. I really didn’t think about it. I just try to be a decent person to everyone. Is that weird or something?”

“It’s practically a myth in LA,” Travis said. “Listen, will you think about this? Your soulmate could be an asshole, for all you know. What do you even know about him? You’re giving up something good with me for a stranger.”

“How do I take my coffee?” Buck questioned.

“What?”

“How do I take my coffee?” Buck repeated. “What’s my favorite song? Favorite book? Favorite TV show? Can you tell me anything about me that isn’t about sex?”

“Do you know any of that stuff about me?” Travis demanded.

“No, because all we ever did was fuck, and I didn’t care to know any of that stuff about you,” Buck said frankly. “That’s the point, you see. Sex was all we had because that’s all we agreed to have and all that I wanted. I’m going to go because this conversation is making me feel mean, and I don’t deserve that when I never lied to you about what I wanted from you.”

“Fine, you’ll regret this.”

Buck slouched back in his seat as Travis ended the call. He briefly considered blocking the jerk on his phone, but he’d prefer to know if he was going to continue to be a problem. Fortunately, he never brought sex partners back to the house, so Travis didn’t know where he lived.

With a huff, he finished his grocery list and stood. Howard Price was out on his back deck with coffee, so Buck refilled his water and went to see if the older man needed anything from the store.

“Good morning,” Howard called out when he approached.

“Hey, I’m going to the grocery store. Need anything? Carla told me she’s going to be gone all weekend. I was thinking we could grill and eat stuff she’d lecture us for.”

“Get some ribs and sausages then,” Howard suggested as Buck sat down at the table across from him. “You out of sorts?”

Buck shrugged. “Hard shift that ended with a truck full of badly treated immigrants who either went to the hospital or got arrested by ICE.” Howard sighed. “And there’s this guy I’ve been sort of seeing.”

“You mean having sex with.”

Buck shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah, you know. Casual stuff.”

“Totally allowed,” Howard said in amusement. “You’re young. Is the guy a problem?”

“My soulmate contacted me, Howard,” Buck said. “He’s divorced now, and he’s moving to LA. So, of course, I ended my casual stuff with a few people.” The older man nodded. “Travis seemed to think we were working toward something serious, but I swear I was totally honest at the start about what I didn’t want from him. And he acted like I led him on because I was nice to him.”

Howard snorted.

“This is serious,” Buck responded. “Am I supposed to be a dick to people to avoid them getting weird expectations that are completely contrary to the terms I set in the first place?”

“Well, if I learned anything, it was the fact you can’t control anyone’s expectations but your own,” Howard said. “If you were honest with him at the start, and he chose to ignore that in favor of what he wanted, then it’s no fault of yours. Is he going to be a problem?”

“I don’t know,” Buck admitted. “But I’m really glad I never brought him here. That should’ve been a clue for him, right?”

“It would’ve been for me,” Howard said. “But self-centered people only focus on what they want and need. He saw and heard what he wanted. I’m sure it’s not the first time you’ve encountered that kind of selfishness.”

“No, I’ve…yeah.” Buck sighed and drank some water. “Ribs and sausages all that you want?”

“Get some corn on the cob and maybe a chicken. We’ll smoke it for my girl. She likes to make her chicken salad with smoked chicken.”

Buck nodded. “Okay, do you have eggs? Celery? I can get all of her ingredients, so they’ll be ready on Sunday when she gets home.”

“We have eggs, but get some celery and green onions,” Howard paused. “And maybe that garlic aioli she likes so much.”

“Yeah,” Buck said and added the stuff to his shopping list. “Okay, choose something green to go with the ribs.”

Howard huffed.

“Come on, then we don’t have to try to lie to Carla,” Buck cajoled, and Howard laughed. “Asparagus, zucchini, or we could steam some green beans.”

“I do like those steamed ones you do,” Howard conceded. “So, get some green beans and do the thing with the garlic.”

“Deal,” Buck said. “Wanna grill some pineapple?”

“Yes, I do,” Howard said quickly. “Get some charcoal. I think we’re low. And bring the receipt so we can take some money off your rent this month.”

Buck nodded. He’d learned to never argue with Howard or Carla about money. They always won, and he’d feel like a child for days afterward. It just wasn’t worth it.

“And get some of that microbrew beer you brought to dinner last month,” Howard said.

Buck laughed. “You pretended you didn’t like that beer and kept calling it hipster.”

“It is hipster, but it’s good,” Howard said. “How can it not be hipster when it’s made with orange blossoms.”

“Best orange blossoms I’ve ever tasted.” Buck paused. “Also, the only orange blossoms I’ve ever tasted. Can you even buy them in the store?”

“Maybe in tea?” Howard suggested. “Try to find some of that, too. We might as well explore that whole thing when my girl isn’t around to make fun of us.”

* * * *

Eddie wished he’d picked an earlier time, but ten in the morning had seemed perfectly reasonable the night before. He figured that Evan might need some time to wind down from work, and the last thing he wanted was for the call to seem like a chore after a long shift. His phone buzzed, and he groaned as the Wicked Witch’s music from The Wizard of Oz started to play.

“Hey, Mom,” Eddie said as he answered the call. “What’s up?”

“You took me off the list at Christopher’s school? What’s wrong with you?” Helena demanded.

“I told you that you aren’t allowed to drive him because I never know when you aren’t high as a kite. Moreover, the school day has barely started, so you have no business trying to pick him up. Are you at the school now?”

“No,” she snapped. “I was escorted to my car by security and told to leave. That’s ridiculous, Eddie!”

“It’s just school policy. You have no reason to be there, Mom, so of course they had security make you leave,” Eddie said in exasperation. “Why were you going to take him out of school?”

“I wanted to spend the day with him,” she said stiffly. “I told you I have rights, Eddie.”

“Being a grandmother is a privilege, not a right, and I bet your lawyer already told you that with your history of failing out of rehab, you won’t have a chance in hell of taking my son from me,” Eddie said. “Look, this conversation is getting really old. I’m willing to cut you off completely if you don’t stop trying to parent my son. It’s starting to get really weird, and I’m going to end up in therapy because of your issues rather than my own. And I know you were trying to pick him up from school so you could try to keep him the whole weekend. If you’d succeeded, you’d be in a world of trouble right now. You have no legal rights to my son, Mom, and you never will.”

“If you don’t put me back on the list so I can pick up Christopher,” she started, “I’ll tell your father!”

“You can tell whoever you want,” Eddie said. “But no one is going to make me do anything, Mom. I don’t take orders from you or Pop and haven’t for years. I’m not going to allow you to endanger my son’s life because I can’t trust you to be sober.”

“I never take pills if I have to drive,” Helena said.

“I don’t know if I believe you, and if I ever see you driving high, I’m calling the cops.”

She hung up on him, which he expected her to do. His mom had a pattern, and her response to being frustrated was to abruptly end communication. He wanted to see Evan, but he hadn’t asked about a FaceTime call when they’d texted the night before. Since it was just a few minutes before 10am, he decided to text for permission.

Eddie: Can we FaceTime

Evan: Sounds great

Eddie took a deep breath and opened the FaceTime app and called Evan. The call was answered immediately, and Eddie just took a deep breath as he stared. Evan was beautiful and just looking at him soothed some part of Eddie that had been aching since they’d parted ways in that airport so long ago.

“Hey.” Evan smiled.

“Hi,” Eddie said and cleared his throat. “Tired?”

“Nah, I’m good. I just finished putting away some groceries,” Evan said. “How are you?”

“Just had an argument with my mother,” Eddie said with a shrug.

“Ah, well, that’s not new,” Evan said. “I remember you saying she was a lot.”

“Still is,” Eddie assured. “How was work?”

“Awful,” Evan murmured. “There was a traffic accident with a big delivery truck. I was checking the axle, and there was liquid pooling under the vehicle. It was…urine.”

“Oh God,” Eddie said.

“Yeah, he had forty people crammed into the back of that truck. Most of them were basically okay if filthy and hungry. But some had to go to the hospital, and the rest were taken into custody by ICE. I hated the whole thing, and I wished we could’ve found a reason to send them all to the hospital so they could at least get some kind of care before they ended up in a fucking cell for just trying to have a better life.” Evan shook his head. “But I came home and hung out with my landlord for a bit, then went grocery shopping.”

“Is your landlord nice?”

“Yeah, I rent a pool house that was converted into a guest house. It was for his mother, but she passed. I met his wife on the scene of a call because her patient went into cardiac arrest. She was doing CPR when we arrived—saved the man’s life. Anyway, I met Carla at work, and she’s really easy to talk to, you know. I was in a room share with a bunch of other firefighters I’d met at the academy. The next thing I knew, I’d agreed to rent out her guest house, and I moved in the following day.

“Her husband was a literal brain surgeon until he was in a car accident. It forced him to retire as he no longer trusted himself to work after his injuries healed.” Evan made a face. “I guess he could’ve gone in general medicine, but it seemed like the accident took a lot out of him.”

“Injuries do that,” Eddie said quietly. “When I was shot—the emotional rollercoaster was intense. I thought I was going to die.”

“Can you talk about that?” Evan questioned. “I don’t want to bring up bad memories, but I’d like to know what happened to you.”

“I was on a helicopter—I can’t discuss mission specifics.” Eddie paused when Evan nodded his understanding. “We got shot down, and most of us survived the crash. We set up a defensive position and waited for evac. Shortly before rescue arrived, I took a bullet. It went straight through me, and I was sure I’d bleed out. I woke up in a field hospital a couple of medals heavier with the news that I was going to be discharged due to the loss of a kidney.”

“Medals?” Buck questioned.

“Purple Heart for the injury and a Silver Star for my actions after the crash,” Eddie said. “I didn’t take the discharge well since I’d planned to make a career in the Army.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you. Are you recovered now?”

“Yeah, I’m officially off of disability,” Eddie said. “I’ve been considering my options. I was a combat medic in the Army.”

Evan wet his lips. “You know, if you went to the fire academy here in LA, we could work together because we’re soulmates. There’s a policy for it.”

“The job is appealing,” Eddie said. “And working with you would be great. In an effort to be transparent, I want to explore everything being soulmates could mean for us, but if you only want friendship, then that’s what you’ll get from me, Evan.”

“These days, I mostly go by Buck,” he said. “And I want to explore it all, too. I’ve always wanted a magical bond, and I crave it. If we achieved it—it would be our seventh bond. Wouldn’t that be amazing?”

“Yeah,” Eddie said quietly. “It would be perfect. Why Buck?”

“There were four Evans in my academy class,” Buck and Eddie laughed. “What?”

“It’s just that’s how nicknames sometimes get created in the Army, too.” Eddie got up from the kitchen table and meandered into the living room to get comfortable on the couch. “Do you like the work?”

“I love the work. Sometimes, it’s hard—emotionally and physically. But it’s also challenging and rewarding, which was exactly what I needed when I came to LA.”

“When we met, you were heading for Peru,” Eddie said. “How did you end up in LA?”

“I didn’t go to Peru then.” Buck frowned and shifted around on what looked like a blue couch.

“My fault?” Eddie questioned.

“Yeah, but don’t feel bad about it. I just didn’t feel like exploring Peru after we met so I skipped it and came to LA, which was always a goal. I don’t regret it at all. I’ve met some great people out here, and I love my work. It was hard after meeting you to come to terms with what I’d lost. It felt permanent, but my mark didn’t smudge like I heard happens with rejection.”

“Mine didn’t either,” Eddie murmured. “Maybe because as much as I wanted to make my marriage work for my son’s sake, my heart just wasn’t in it.” He took a deep breath. “You’re all I’ve wanted since we met. I understand, now, how people say that denying your soulmate is often impossible.” He cleared his throat. “I crave the bond, too. I didn’t before we met, but afterward…yeah.”

“I’m sorry for that,” Buck said. “That’s probably due to our magical compatibility. I’m surprised the Army let you go, even with a missing kidney, with your magical abilities as a factor.”

“They had no choice—there are only a few special circumstances for mages,” Eddie said. “And earth mages are pretty commonplace. If my healing abilities were more advanced, I would’ve probably healed on my own and kept the kidney. Since I didn’t…well.” He shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“When will you come to LA?”

“The realtor thinks my house will sell quickly due to the location, and the inspection went very well. It’s only ten years old, and I’ve taken good care of it.” Eddie cleared his throat. “We’re apartment hunting.”

“I have a second bedroom in my rental,” Buck said. “If you don’t mind sharing with your son while we figure ourselves out.”

“You’d want that? I wasn’t sure if you were ready to meet him.” He took a deep breath and asked a question that had been preying on his mind for years. “Do you resent him?”

Buck made a face. “What?”

“He’s the reason I married Shannon and the reason I told you no.”

“Well, you never actually told me no,” Buck pointed out. “You said you were married, and you couldn’t leave her because of your son. Then we talked for hours, and at the end, you apologized for hurting me, then you walked right out of my life.” He flicked a hand. “So, no actual rejection ever happened. I think if it had, our marks would’ve smudged at least a little, no matter how much you regretted it. And no, I don’t resent your son in any single way.”

Eddie wanted to believe that so badly.

“Okay,” Buck said. “You’re clearly worried about it, so put yourself in my shoes. Would you resent my son if he was the reason that I’d married someone and couldn’t be with you?”

“No.”

“Soulmates nearly always have the same values, principles, and personal ethics. Put in identical circumstances, we’ve probably made near matching decisions before and after we met. I hate mustard.”

Eddie laughed. “So do I.” He wet his lips. “I eat my steak rare.”

“The bigger mess on my plate, the better,” Buck assured. “I hate grapefruit.”

“I don’t even know why it exists,” Eddie responded. “It’s like a lemon and an orange hooked up with a lime and made an evil baby.”

“Lemons aren’t a natural fruit—they’re a hybrid mutant themselves, so it makes sense that they were involved in the creation of a more evil version of themselves.”

Eddie laughed and dropped down on his couch so he could throw his feet up on the coffee table. “I’ve missed you. Six hours wasn’t enough time.”

“No, it wasn’t, but it was all we had.” Buck smiled then, beautiful and sweet. “And I made myself be content with it. It’s what we had to deal with, but things can be different now. I’m willing to do the work if you are.”

“I am,” Eddie murmured. “Christopher is looking forward to meeting you and asking you questions about climbing mountains.”

Buck grinned. “Great.” He paused for a moment and grew serious. “Eddie, I swear your son is as safe with me as he is with you, and I already just love the hell out of him for existing. And I know that you’d be no different in my place.”

“You’re right,” Eddie murmured. “Do you want more kids?”

“Yeah, I’m saving for a surrogate,” Buck said. “How does that sound to you?”

“I would adore it,” Eddie said. “Christopher has blue eyes just like you. It caused a bit of an issue when he was born, and they didn’t change. My father insisted on another paternity test. Even though Shannon has green eyes, and that meant there was a small chance of a blue-eyed child. Except as I look at you now, he clearly has your eyes and your curly hair, Buck.”

“That’s pretty common,” Buck pointed out. “A little bit of soulmate magic in play. A child of mine could end up looking like you. What did Shannon think?”

“She never mentioned my soul mark,” Eddie said. “And never touched it either. It was like it didn’t exist in her mind, but maybe that was just her way of devaluing it. She didn’t have one and often scoffed at soulmate magic when it was mentioned on movies or TV shows.”

“When will you get here?”

“I’ll hire a company to pack my furniture and store it in one of those pods. I have an older truck, but I’m considering buying a new one. I don’t want to trust it with the trip to California. So, I’ll sell it here or get my sister to do it for me and fly there with Christopher.” Eddie took a deep breath. “So, I’m hoping inside of a month, barring any complications with selling the house. I’m not going to haggle much over an offer, but I won’t take less than it’s worth. I’ll keep you in the loop on that front.”

“I can send you a link so you can get your application in with the academy,” Buck suggested. “And contact HR with information about our soulmate status. They’ll be looking for your application.”

“Yeah, that would be great. I’m okay for money right now, but I’m paying out of pocket to extend my insurance from the Army to make sure Christopher has everything he needs.”

“If it gets delayed, we can put you both on my plan.” Buck stretched and wiggled around on his couch. “California has very progressive policies for soulmates and all the stuff that comes with it.”

“Would that be too much?”

“No.”

“What if we end up hating each other?” Eddie asked in amusement.

“That’s like never happened, ever,” Buck protested with a laugh. “There are mass murderers in prison whose soulmates visit them as often as possible.” He paused. “Unless they’re in jail, too.”

“It’s a comfort that you also go on weird mental tangents,” Eddie admitted. “You’re probably sitting there wondering if they still get to visit each other if they’re in separate prisons.”

Buck flushed. “I mean, they’re evil, right? But it seems beyond the pale to deny someone contact with their soulmate.”

“That’s oddly adorable,” Eddie said. “It’d be like looking in the mirror if you weren’t the palest man in America.”

“So rude but also true.” Buck stood and walked through his house. “Anything I should do to prepare for you guys? If you don’t want to stay with me while you search for a place, I can find you an apartment and get everything ready for that.”

“I don’t mind staying with you, and if there’s a pool house, then there is a pool, which was Christopher’s main concern,” Eddie said. “School gets out here in a few weeks, and I’ll have the whole summer to find him a new one in LA.”

“There is a pool, and I can use it when I want,” Buck said. “I’ll speak with my landlords about you guys staying with me, but I don’t expect any issues at all.”

“I’ll send you my details so they can do a background check,” Eddie said. “And I won’t be offended if they’re opposed. Are there stairs or steep slopes on the property?”

“No, it’s relatively flat. Why?” Buck questioned.

“Christopher has cerebral palsy,” Eddie said and watched Buck’s eyes widen just slightly as he adjusted to that news. “He’s mobile and uses crutches.”

“Ah, well, he’ll be fine. The property was renovated for my landlord when he had his accident, so there are accommodations for his cane use where needed. The bathroom in my rental has a shower bar because it was originally fitted for Howard’s mother. It might be too high on the wall for Christopher, but we can adjust it or add a second one for stability if needed. There’s also a tub.”

“Sounds good,” Eddie said and relaxed since Buck appeared comfortable with the topic and not put off.

“When you have time, send me an email with a good explanation of his physical capabilities and weak areas so I’ll know how to handle issues, and I can avoid messing up,” Buck said. “I’ll text you my email address. I just don’t want to upset or hurt him with ignorance. Should I start looking around for a physical therapist as well?”

“Yeah, that would be great. If you could find one that specializes in pediatrics, it would be ideal. He responds best to female therapists, or at least that’s what Shannon told me. I haven’t asked him about it or questioned the staff at the current center. I’ll do that and get back to you with details.” Eddie frowned. “I’ve reviewed his medical records and all of that jazz—she didn’t lie to me on any other issue, so I don’t think she’s misled me on this front either.”

“Never hurts to check,” Buck reasoned. “What kind of activities does he like?”

“I’ve been so focused on school, therapy for us both, and keeping my parents at a distance that we’ve not done much of anything else,” Eddie admitted, and he felt a blush heat his cheeks. “I feel like an asshole, suddenly.”

“Well, you also had to figure out how to be a single parent, divorce the wife that abandoned you, adjust to civilian life, and angst about me in what little spare time you had,” Buck said in amusement, and Eddie laughed. “So, cut yourself some slack. We can figure out how to entertain your kid together.”

“We.” Eddie smiled. “That sounds great, Evan.” He paused. “Buck.”

“You can call me whatever you want,” Buck murmured. “I just wanted you to know about the nickname since most everyone else calls me Buck.”

Eddie smiled, and Buck huffed.

“What?” Eddie questioned.

“You’re just really pretty, that’s all,” Buck said amusement. “I gotta run in a few. I promised Howard I would start the grill up. I’ll take some pictures of the property and send them to you after I speak with him about you living here with me while you get settled in LA. If things go the way we want, we can search for a house together. I could’ve already bought one, but I just kind of like living with the Prices and wasn’t keen to live alone.”

“Sounds great,” Eddie said. “I’ll text you my info like I said earlier and don’t forget the email address and the link for the application.”

“I won’t,” Buck promised. “I never forget the important things.”

 

Chapter 3

Precious few adults in his life considered him important, Eddie thought as he stared at the texts that he’d gotten from Buck. He’d gotten pictures of the property, and of Howard Price cooking food he wished he was there to eat. He’d written the email Buck had asked for, and it had proved to make him extremely proud of his son’s strength and accomplishments.

When Christopher was small, the doctors had warned them that he might never walk at all. Everything had been so uncertain when they’d been figuring out his diagnosis and coming to terms with his disability. Shannon had often refused to discuss long-term plans for Christopher and surgical options until Eddie had given her no choice. They’d argued sometimes because he’d agreed most often with doctor’s recommendations, and she seemingly made a sport out of arguing with him about even the simplest of things.

Since thinking about his ex-wife would just make him irritated, Eddie retrieved the iPad and filled out the application for the LAFD and the fire academy. Buck had mentioned in a text that he wouldn’t be able to speak to HR until after the weekend, but he went ahead and listed himself as the soulmate of an active-duty LAFD firefighter in his application. It felt weird to think about building any kind of life with Evan Buckley because he’d been denying himself that very thing for years.

Eddie set aside the iPad and walked through the house to his son’s room. Christopher was sprawled on his bed, sound asleep but half out of his covers. He carefully shifted him around, covered him with a blanket, and got a brief snuffling little sound as a result. He laughed a little and checked the placement of Christopher’s crutches to make sure they were within his son’s reach.

He checked his watch. In LA, if he was on schedule, Buck was also sound asleep. Eddie closed the door to his son’s bedroom and walked through the house—checking windows and doors as he went. His cell was ringing by the time he returned to the living room, so he picked it up and answered it despite the distinct lack of desire.

“Hey.”

“Eddie, I picked up my copies of the divorce papers, and my lawyer said everything is final in Texas,” Shannon said crisply.

“Yes. You should have the details to arrange for the child support to be sent through the agency I selected. They’ll make sure it’s direct deposited into my account. If you refuse to use the agency, I’ll have to go back to court and have it deducted from your paycheck,” Eddie said, and she huffed.

“I’ve been making the payments since we legally separated,” Shannon snapped. “Why set up an agency now?”

“Because I don’t want any personal contact with you going forward, and I want records of the child support payments to avoid any legal issues that would require us to meet in person.”

“Wow, you’re being a dick,” she said.

“If you aren’t calling me to tell me some sob story about a late payment, then why are you calling?” Eddie asked in confusion. “We have nothing left to discuss, Shannon. You agreed to pay child support, and you outright refused to discuss any sort of visitation schedule.”

“I heard from Katie Hillard that you’re moving to LA,” Shannon said. “It was embarrassing that I had no clue about it.”

Katie Hillard was the wife of one of the men he’d served in the Army with. Eddie grimaced as he realized he’d have to remove some approved followers from his Instagram since he didn’t want Shannon in his business on the regular.

“And?”

“And what?” Shannon demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t intend to tell you anything at all going forward, Shannon,” Eddie said mildly. “There’s nothing about my life you need to know about and my moving to LA is none of your business.”

“You’re moving within an hour from me, and it’s none of my business?” Shannon questioned. “I thought you’d never leave Texas.”

“What you thought isn’t really all that important to me,” Eddie said. “And the distance between San Bernadino and Los Angeles really doesn’t matter either since I have no intention of seeing you once I move there. I have full custody, and you have no court-ordered visitation by your own choice. If you want to see Christopher, it will have to be supervised in a visitation center and only if a psychologist can guarantee me that it won’t cause him further hurt.”

“I haven’t hurt our son.”

“If you honestly believe that, then you need an immense amount of psychological help,” Eddie snapped. “Christ, Shannon, he cried himself to sleep for weeks after you abandoned him. I told him that you loved him, and he told me that it wasn’t a good love. How does that make you feel? Because it made me furious. It made me wish to never set eyes on you again as long as I fucking live.”

She gasped. “Eddie!”

“The day Christopher was born—I wished for him the simplest of things, Shannon. I wished that he would be happy and wished that he would have a better mother than I did.” He took a deep breath. “As it turned out, you’re just as selfish and cruel as the bitch who birthed me, and I deeply regret marrying you. If I’d known what you’d do—I’d have just taken my baby and told you to fuck off the day he was born.”

“If that’s how you feel, then I wonder why I’m paying child support at all,” she snapped.

“Feel free to try to tell the courts that,” Eddie retorted. “Goodbye, Shannon.” He hung up before she could respond and tossed his cell phone on the couch, only for it to start playing his mother’s ringtone. “It’s like an asshole parade.”

He picked up the phone and answered it. “Hello.”

“You’re not moving to California.”

“Yes, I am, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it,” Eddie said mildly, and his mother huffed. “Tell whoever reported that to you that they can kiss my ass.”

“I will not,” she hissed. “And you should’ve asked me and your father if you could move to California! Because the answer is no, and that’s final, Edmundo!”

Eddie laughed. “Dios, Mom, you realize that I’m twenty-nine years old, right? I’m not going to ask your permission for anything. Christopher is not your child; he never will be your child, and you have no authority over either of us. I’m tired of having these bizarre conversations with you. This is the last time I’m going to respond to any of this crap. Get yourself in check, or I won’t be speaking to you at all.”

“You don’t get to argue with me about this. I forbid it.”

“Are you going to ground me or something? Take the keys to my truck?” Eddie questioned and she actually screamed a little. He jerked his phone back from his ear in shock, then hung up.

He called his father.

“Eddie, your mother is having a screaming fit on the patio,” his father said warily. “What did you say to her?”

“I told her she couldn’t order me around,” Eddie said. “Listen, she’s precariously close to needing a psych hold. I don’t know how many pills she’s taking these days, but I’m fed up with her behavior. It’s like she’s obsessed with Christopher and it’s disturbing as hell. I need you to rein her in and get her help before she does something that none of us can come back from.

“You’ve enabled her addiction for years and acted like it wasn’t a problem. Well, I’m fed up with this shit, and if you think that I’m the only one that’s reached a saturation point, then you’re mistaken. Sophia isn’t off pouting, you know. She has no interest in speaking to Mom anytime soon. Adriana is a nervous wreck all the damn time because of our mother. The last time Mom had a go at her, she came precariously close to checking herself into a therapy retreat just to get some fucking peace.

“You need to take this on board—we’re all three fucking tired of being emotionally and verbally abused by your wife. Do something about it, or we’re all going to disappear from your lives permanently. I mean it.”

Eddie listened to his father breathe for a few seconds, then ended the call when his father said nothing in response. He put his phone on silent, plugged in to charge on his nightstand, and headed for the shower.

“Daddy!”

“Coming, Mijo,” Eddie called out in return.

Christoper was sitting up in the bed when he entered the room. He turned on the lamp on the nightstand. “My leg hurts.”

“Cramp?” Eddie questioned as he sat down on the bed.

Christopher nodded and rubbed his face with both hands. Eddie pulled out a healing balm he’d picked up from an herbalist as Christopher wiggled out from underneath the covers and threw his leg across Eddie’s thigh.

“Make it stop with your magic.”

Eddie laughed. “Just a second, okay?” He rubbed the balm between his hands, and a few magical sparks danced around his fingers. Then he shifted around and cupped the back of his son’s lower leg. The muscle was clenched up tight.

“My abuela taught me about my magic when I was younger,” Eddie murmured. “My mom hated it, but I’d go spend a whole month in LA every single summer so I could learn from her.”

“Will she teach me?”

“When your magic manifests, we’ll both teach you.”

“If it does,” Christopher muttered. “Grandma said I’m probably not magical at all, like her.”

“You are very magical,” Eddie said. “I felt it the first time I held you, Christopher.”

“Really?”

“Really,” he said quietly as he rubbed the balm into the muscle.

“Mommy never got this stuff for me. She used this lotion from the pharmacy.”

“Your mom isn’t magical, so this balm wouldn’t work any differently than the lotion she bought at the pharmacy for her,” Eddie explained, and Christopher hummed under his breath. “It requires magic for it to activate, and you don’t have the ability to activate it yourself right now. But it will come as you get older.”

“What kind of mage am I?”

“I feel a deep kinship with your magic. So, you’re either an earth elemental like me or a fire elemental like Buck.”

“Buck?”

“Evan, my soulmate. His nickname is Buck, and he prefers to be called that, so we should get used to using it.”

Christopher nodded. “It’s important to use the name people prefer. That’s just respectful, and I’m all about respect.” He wiggled his foot. “That feels better already.”

“We might need to start doing stretches before bed as well.” He glanced toward his son’s face and found Christopher nodding his agreement. “And I think probably we need to ask a therapist about resistance exercises at home.”

“I use a big rubber band at the therapist’s office,” Christopher said. “Maybe they sell them.”

“I’ll check,” Eddie said as he focused on his son’s leg. “How does this feel now?”

“Much better,” Christopher said and wiggled his toes. “Thanks, Daddy.”

“You’re welcome, Mijo.”

Chris pulled his leg back under the covers and settled down on his pillow. “You never used magic around Mommy.”

“She didn’t like it,” Eddie said. “And it wasn’t always worth the argument. But she’d let me activate herbal bath gels for you when you were a baby because it was the only kind of relief we could give you at the time.”

“I asked Mommy what kind of magic you could do, and she told me not to talk about it,” Christopher said. “But it’s okay, right? If we talk about it sometimes?”

“We can talk about it anytime. Why didn’t you ask me about this before? Your mom has been gone for a while.”

“I don’t know. It’s weird. She told me not to do stuff or not to ask stuff, but she’s not here anymore, so I won’t get in trouble if I do those things. But also, some of them I probably shouldn’t do anyways.”

Eddie smiled. “Okay, so let’s just make a deal. In the future, you can ask me any questions you have. And if there were things your mother didn’t let you do because they’re dangerous, then you still can’t do them. But if you aren’t sure, just ask me.”

“Like pee standing up?”

Eddie laughed. “You’ll have to practice a bit with just using one crutch before you try.” He paused. “Plus, you have to tell me if you make a mistake so we can clean it up as quickly as possible.”

“Sounds good,” Christopher said happily.

* * * *

Buck sort of figured that eating a rib straight out of the fridge in front of the kitchen sink just after four in the morning was deeply immature, but he was willing to own it. He pushed a little more heat into it and hummed as he took another bite. They’d managed to make a really good batch of ribs this time around. Earlier in the year, they’d both salted the meat rub, not realizing the other had, so the results had been…inedible. Lesson learned.

He threw the bone away and grabbed another from the bowl, then pushed heat into it as he walked away from the kitchen area. Buck picked up his phone with his clean hand and browsed through a news app. There were a couple of new text messages, and he reluctantly checked them. They were all from Travis, which was a little frustrating for several reasons.

Of course, all of them were after he’d gone to bed, which meant the man had totally ignored his established schedule. Travis had never been great on that subject and had called it weird more than once, but he knew nothing about working twenty-four-hour shifts. A good sleep schedule was imperative if he wanted to be fit and rested for work. Sometimes, he had to nap after work if things were hectic, and sleep got short during working hours, but that just meant that a good sleep cycle was even more important.

Each one was just a demand to call him. Buck responded to the last text, asking the man not to contact him again. If the situation escalated, he’d need proof of continued contact against his wishes, so he kept everything. If it graduated to the point of restraining order territory, he was going to get a fucking lawyer and sue the asshole for harassment.

The whole thing was super irritating. Rarely had he ever regretted fucking someone more in his whole life. He paused at that, then nodded. It was definitely the worse place he’d ever stuck his dick, bar none. Buck warmed up the rib again and chewed on it moodily while he reprimanded himself for his poor fuck buddy decision. Once he’d finished the rib, he tossed the bone in the kitchen trash and went to put on some shorts so he could take a run.

Howard was out on the back deck when Buck left his house, so he trotted over to him. “Going for a run?”

“Yeah, I figured I’d put in ten. I’m going to take route two. I’ll be back in about ninety minutes.” Buck started stretching as Howard checked his watch. “I have my watch on for calls.”

“Well, keep an eye on the traffic, and I’ll check for you if you’re gone more than two hours without a call,” Howard said. “Wouldn’t say no to bagels for brunch, though.”

Buck nodded. “Sounds good.”

He did the warm-up exercises without really thinking about them as he reminded himself of the route that he’d created for himself after prodding from Carla and Howard. It was really nice and unusual to have people actually care about his whereabouts, so he was always considerate of their concerns.

“Wanna talk about the knee?”

“Nope,” Howard muttered.

“The sooner you get it done, the better your recovery will go,” Buck pointed out, and Howard huffed. “Not gonna lecture you, Howard. I know it’s gotta be the last thing you want to hear after the hip replacement.”

“I knew it was coming,” the older man said, stretched his leg out a little and shook his head. “I can feel the grind, and it’s been giving out on me more often.”

Buck nodded. “Then you’ll schedule the surgery. Otherwise, you’ll start stressing Carla out.”

“Way to lay on the guilt trip, kid,” Howard said. “I already decided to call on Monday. Got a frat brother of mine to do the background check for Eddie Diaz. He sent it to me in the middle of the night. I told him about himself since he should’ve been asleep.”

Buck laughed. “What’s he do?”

“Works for the FBI,” Howard said. “Rides a desk these days, but I can tell he hates it. At any rate, you’ve got yourself a genuine hero for a soulmate, Buck.”

“He said he was awarded some medals for his service in the Army.”

“Buck.”

He focused on Howard. “What?”

“Eddie Diaz was awarded the third highest combat medal available in the military. It means a lot, and he saved a lot of lives in the last battle he fought in the Army. I don’t know the details and didn’t ask, but he’s a very courageous young man. I look forward to meeting him. His divorce is final, and the mother of his child has no established visitation. She came precariously close to losing her parental rights. As is, he’s the custodial parent, and she has no say in any decisions he makes for their child.”

Buck nodded. “I didn’t press too hard on that issue since it seemed to be stressful for him. As his soulmate, I’ll gain parental rights for his son when we register our bond. It’s not something we’ve discussed, but I will since I’d like to make it as legal as possible for his son’s protection.”

“I understand, and I agree—especially if the boy’s mother is as toxic as she appears to be based on the court’s ruling,” Howard said with a frown and checked his watch. “Get on with your run so we can have brunch. I’ll start prepping stuff about forty-five minutes from now.”

“Great,” Buck said and started off.

* * * *

“They didn’t even try to haggle?” Eddie questioned.

“No, and she can have a check ready within a week,” Macy said as she put her iPad down on the desk in front of her. “And my husband wants your truck.”

Eddie smiled. “Yeah?”

“I told him you were looking to sell it, and he asked for the details. He wants a vehicle inspection, but he knows you take good care of your vehicles. He needs another work truck for his landscaping business.”

“Sounds good,” Eddie said and took a deep breath. “I’d like to get out of El Paso as soon as I can, Macy.”

“Your mother has been pitching a fit on Facebook,” Macy said. “At least that’s what my mother said. I deleted my Facebook a couple of years ago and pissed off every single member of my family over fifty. They’re all bitchy about the lack of pictures of my kids on social media.”

“It’s dangerous to put your kids online without any sort of consideration,” Eddie muttered, and she nodded. “It’s probably only going to get worse going forward. Also, it’s an invasion of their privacy. I’d rather not create my son’s digital footprint for him.”

“That’s a good argument to add to my arsenal,” Macy said and nodded. “Great. So, are you good with this offer?”

“Yeah, it’s just weird that it sold so quickly.”

“Not so weird,” Macy said. “I had a client who needed a house that was already accessible. She’s currently wheelchair-bound, so the ramps you had installed for Christopher and the renovated bathroom were…frankly, Eddie, she was near tears to find a house that she wouldn’t need to have a lot of work done on. Her disability is new, due to an accident, and her husband divorced her shortly after she left the hospital minus one leg.”

Eddie exhaled slowly. “Well, is there anything she needs done that isn’t already there? I can do it after the movers get all of my stuff out of the way.”

“You have plenty of lower kitchen storage, which was a priority for her while she’s working toward wearing a prosthetic,” Macy said and pulled a notepad out of her desk. “I made some notes. You’ve got some child-proofing that will need to be removed, and she had a difficult time getting her wheelchair over the track on the sliding door leading out to the patio.”

“We could replace that with a pair of French doors,” Eddie said. “I wanted to last year, but never got around to it then I got an assignment overseas.”

“I’ll ask her and if you’d arrange for the replacement, we’ll add the cost to the purchase price. She’ll insist as she’s focused on pride at this point, and the divorce put a big dent in her self-confidence.”

“I get that,” Eddie said quietly. “And I’ll remove all of the impediments to her access. You didn’t say if she wanted the appliances.”

“Yes, to the fridge and stove, but no to the washing machine and dryer. She needs a front-loading washing machine and has already picked out a set she likes.” Macy made a few notes. “And she has all of her own furniture since she took everything that she entered the marriage with.”

“The front ramp is wide enough for her wheelchair?” Eddie questioned.

“Yes, she was thrilled with it.”

Eddie nodded. “Okay. I’ll make sure it’s in great condition before I leave, and I’ll arrange for the sliding doors to be replaced as soon as I can.”

* * * *

Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat down in front of the principal of the school his son attended. He’d arrived ahead of pick up so he could get a copy of Christopher’s school records for his own files and to tell them that he wouldn’t be enrolled the following year. Somehow, that had led to him being asked to speak with the principal, a man older than his father.

“Mr. Diaz, I had the occasion to speak with your mother at length this morning,” Principal Parker began. “She’s expressed deep concerns regarding Christopher’s home life. I’m a mandated reporter, so I had no choice but to contact the Department of Family and Protective Services.”

Eddie sighed. “My mother is a pill addict, Principal Parker.” The man’s mouth dropped open. “She’s been put in rehab twice in the last three years, and both times was kicked out for using. I’ve had a thorough home study done by the DFPS because of my divorce. My son has seen a psychologist due to the trauma of his mother’s abandonment, which is the cause of my divorce. They found nothing out of place in my home, and your report will fall into the hands of the social worker who already knows my circumstances very well.”

“I see,” Principal Parker said quietly. “And that’s why you don’t have her on a list to pick up your son.”

“I can’t trust her to drive sober, and I told her if I ever knew of her driving high, I would report her to the police. She doesn’t want me to move to LA, so she’s using you to try to keep me in El Paso. But she has no clue how such things work, nor does she understand that I’ve already laid the groundwork with the DFPS to prevent all of this. She’s transparent and the Army taught me how to effectively deal with threats.”

“You consider your mother a threat?”

“Would you consider an adult addict who covets your child to the point of obsession a threat?” Eddie questioned, and Principal Parker took a deep, ragged breath. “Right. She’s bizarrely focused on my son to the detriment of her relationship with me. I think she’d be happy if I hadn’t survived being shot in the line of duty while I served my country with honor, valor, and distinction.”

The older man’s face was dark red as he took a deep breath. “I don’t appreciate being used by her, but I realize it’s not your fault at all. I’m sorry that you grew up in such circumstances, and I’m glad you’re determined to make sure your son has it better. Often, the children of addicts can fall into the same bad habits.”

“I’m aware,” Eddie said. “And I’m careful. It helps that I’m a mage and can’t actually get drunk or high. My magic burns alcohol and narcotics right out of me. You can imagine that my recovery from being shot and losing a kidney wasn’t exactly pleasant until I could get access to an alchemist stateside.”

“You’re a mage,” Principal Parker murmured. “That’s not listed in Christopher’s school records. Children who have magical heritage are to be identified at enrollment so that we can make sure our staff is aware of them if something happens and they need help.”

“My ex-wife enrolled him,” Eddie said. “I apologize for the discrepancy. I’ll make sure his next school is fully informed. I’m an earth mage—with a focus on strength, energy conversion, magic nullification or magnification, enhanced memory, and endurance. Unfortunately, my healing abilities are limited but useful in certain circumstances. I can slow bleeding, cauterize wounds in some circumstances, and activate medicinal herbs and the like. I’d be more powerful if I were bonded with my soulmate.”

“I feel deeply misled and used,” Principal Parker said roughly.

“It’s your job to act in the best interest of the children in your care. I take comfort in the fact that you’d have looked after my son if there were a problem while I was serving in Afghanistan.” Eddie checked his watch and stood. “I need to call my lawyer, and I hate to do it, but it’s time to consider some kind of legal notification. I’ll make sure the school gets a copy of whatever letter or court order my lawyer deems necessary. Neither of my parents are allowed to pick up my son or visit him at the school, but I already have that in his records. Also, I’ll make sure that the DFPS contacts you to confirm that I’ve not misled you regarding these circumstances.”

“I won’t take phone calls from either of your parents going forward,” Principal Parker said and tapped his fingers on his desk before he stood. “Let me go out with you and make sure everything is in order.”

“Out of curiosity, what did my mother accuse me of?” Eddie questioned.

“Emotional and medical neglect,” Principal Parker said stiffly. “Emotional neglect often isn’t exactly reportable and rarely acted upon. But medical neglect…with your son’s disability that could be and should be an extreme concern for anyone who knows your family.”

Eddie nodded. “I agree. My mother thinks that Christopher should use a wheelchair.”

“But….” Principal Parker frowned. “He’s done very well with his crutches, and I’ve seen improvement just in the last few months with agility and his use of the crutches. He even walked up several steps unassisted to sit on a bleacher last week in the gym. Granted, his teacher hovered behind him like a little hummingbird the whole time.”

“I’m really proud of his progress. Christopher is determined to remain as mobile as possible, so he takes his physical therapy seriously. I think he considers my mother’s stance around wheelchair use to be a threat to his independence.”

“I would as well.”

* * * *

He called his lawyer while he’d waited for Christopher to be released from school and got an emergency appointment. It would require that he take his son with him, but he really didn’t think he had a choice. Christopher chatted all the way across town despite the fact that they clearly weren’t heading home. The parking lot wasn’t extremely crowded, so he got a good spot and guided his son into the building while the boy talked about his evil math homework.

Ignacio Young, his lawyer, was standing in the lobby of his small law office when they arrived, and he offered them a quick smile. “Eddie, I’ve prepared a few options.” He focused on Christopher. “Did you have a good day at school?”

“I did,” Christopher said with a nod. “Daddy said we had to come here to talk about Grandma. I think we need to put her on a time-out. If I do bad things, I get a time-out. She shouldn’t be any different.”

Mr. Young grinned. “You know what, kiddo? I think you’re absolutely right.” He motioned them into a conference room. “I need to ask you some questions, Christopher. Can you promise to answer them truthfully?”

“Yep, lying is wrong.”

“This looks like a formal interview, Ignacio,” Eddie said quietly.

“Nothing so serious as that,” the man assured and patted his shoulder. “I just need to know the lay of the land.”

“I don’t have any land,” Christopher said as he adjusted his glasses and swung his feet as he sat in a chair. He smiled when they both laughed.

Ignacio sat down, and Eddie hesitated just briefly before sitting down beside Christopher.

“Mijo.”

Christopher turned to look at him.

“I need you to be really, really honest with Mr. Young, okay?”

“About everything?”

“Everything,” Eddie said in agreement. “You don’t have to be afraid to say exactly what you think.”

“Okay, sounds great,” Christopher said and focused on Ignacio. “Is this just about Grandma?”

“I do have questions about your grandmother, Helena Diaz,” Ignacio said as he adjusted a digital recorder he’d placed on the table. “Did you want to start there?”

“Sure,” Christopher said and nodded. “Grandma’s a lot.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s…rude to people, and she says ugly things about everyone she knows. She used to tell me how much she hated Mommy and how relieved she was about the divorce until she made me cry in front of Tía Adriana. Then she acted like she was the one who had the right to be upset when my tía yelled at her.

“Last year, before Mommy ran away, Grandma almost hit me because I dropped a glass, but Abuelo stopped her. He picked me up and took me right out to his truck then took me home. He said he was sorry for what Grandma tried to do, but it scared me, and I told Mommy. Then Mommy called Grandma and screamed at her for a very long time.”

“I see,” Ignacio said quietly. “Has your grandmother ever hit you or spanked you, Christopher?”

“She slapped my hand once because I was eating my chicken nuggets with my fingers,” Christopher said. “It hurt, and I told her I was going to tell on her, and she said she’d slap Mommy, too. It was before I started to go to school. I don’t know how old I was.”

“Did you tell your mother?” Ignacio questioned with a glance toward Eddie.

“No, I didn’t want Grandma to hit her. I told Abuelo, and he yelled at Grandma and threatened to smack her back. She said he couldn’t hit her because she was a woman, and he said that he was willing to make a F-word exception.”

Ignacio nodded. “You have a very good memory, Christopher.”

“Yes, I remember most things I see or hear,” Christopher said with a shrug. “Like Daddy.”

It was a sign of earth elemental abilities, and Eddie found that relieving as he looked forward to sharing something so fundamental with his son. Of course, it would’ve been charming if he’d proved to be a fire elemental like Buck.

“Did your Abuelo ever hit or spank you?” Ignacio questioned.

“No, he doesn’t think that’s good because I’m disabled. He yelled at Grandma. He told her that spanking me could be more painful because of my CP and my muscle soreness. She said she didn’t care, and I should do what she wants at all times. But I don’t go to their house anymore. Mommy said I wasn’t allowed, and Daddy agreed.”

“Have you ever had anyone spank you?” Ignacio asked.

“Once,” Christopher said and pursed his lips. “I did something really dumb, and Mommy smacked my butt, then she cried. I felt really bad about it.”

“What did you do?” Ignacio questioned.

“I stood up on the back of the couch, and I was going to jump,” Christopher reported. “I think I was three. I was really proud that I got up there to stand without any help, and I called her to come see.”

And Eddie took a deep breath at the thought of how tiny Christopher had been at three.

“I probably deserved it,” Christopher continued. “But she apologized and said that I scared her.”

“I can see how that would’ve scared your mom,” Ignacio said. “Do you feel ignored at home?”

“Ignored? What’s that mean?” Christopher questioned.

“It means when someone doesn’t pay attention to you,” Ignacio said.

“Oh, gosh, no.” Christopher shook his head. “I can’t even stub my toe without Daddy coming to check on me. Last week, I fell trying to go to the bathroom by myself in the middle of the night, and I didn’t even have to call for help. It was just like he knew I needed him.” He shrugged. “Pretty weird, but we’re magical, so maybe there’s a connection or something.”

“Why did you fall?”

“I thought I could go without my crutches,” Christopher said with a frown. “I wish I didn’t need them, but that’s just me being silly. I need to use them most of the time and I accept it. The next day, Daddy rearranged my bedroom so I could use the wall to support myself all the way to the bathroom.”

“Do you go to the doctor?”

“A lot,” Christopher said. “And physical therapy twice a week, and I’ve had to talk to a lady about my feelings a lot since Mommy divorced us. Plus, Daddy said we’ll need to get another surgery soon, so my muscles won’t be so tight as I get older. I just gotta push through and do the work so I can continue to walk.”

“And you want that? Would being in a wheelchair be better for you?” Ignacio asked.

“No.” Christopher frowned and waved both hands in anger. “Absolutely not. Grandma can shove that wheelchair nonsense wherever she’d hate it the most!”

 

Chapter 4

“So, my six-year-old has now been documented, in a legal fashion, telling a lawyer that his grandmother can shove her talk of a wheelchair wherever it would be the most hated,” Eddie finished, and Buck laughed. “I ended up having a cease and desist letter sent to her, and a social worker will come by the house to verify what she already knew about Christopher’s welfare.”

“Is this going to keep you in El Paso?” Buck questioned as he stared at Eddie’s face. The man looked exhausted, and he felt bad for asking for the FaceTime call.

“No, but the social worker said she would contact the LA County Department of Children and Family Services and forward them a copy of her assessment, the home study, and the false accusations that my mother has already levied against me on two different occasions,” Eddie said warily. “If she does it again, I’m going to sue her, and my lawyer made that clear in the letter he had delivered to their house. I included my father in the letter since he can’t stop enabling her. He needs consequences, too.”

“Yeah, he does,” Buck agreed. “How can I help?”

“Just be you,” Eddie murmured. “How’s work?”

“Slow, I washed the ladder truck. That’s how bored I am,” Buck said, and Eddie laughed. “I got a phone call from HR this morning and confirmed that you’re my soulmate. They congratulated me on making a connection. It was nice. They said we could review our employment options together after you finish at the academy. Did you get your acceptance email for the academy?”

“Yeah,” Eddie said. “My start date is in just four weeks.”

“Too soon?”

“I’ll make it work,” Eddie murmured. “You’re moving into your sleep phase, right?”

“Yeah, in about thirty minutes,” Buck said. “As long as the alarm doesn’t sound. But dispatch does a good job of letting us get the rest we need on most shifts. Sometimes, LA just goes nuts, and we all pay the price. I’m working twelve hours tomorrow, too.”

“I thought it was twenty-four on and twenty-four off, at least,” Eddie said with a frown.

“Yeah, it’s not mandatory. I’m doing a favor for a friend at the 133. He took a shift for me last month so I could go camping with some friends who came into town unexpectedly. Someone from his station took the first twelve hours of the shift, but they had to farm out to cover the rest. I’ve worked a lot of overtime over the years to save money for a house and a baby.” He stretched. “I should go back down and get some sleep. Thanks for not…minding the sleep thing.”

“Why on Earth would I?” Eddie asked in confusion. “You need sleep and rest to be safe on the job.”

“Not everyone understands that,” Buck said quietly. “Text me tomorrow, okay? Just whenever you have time to chat. I’ll be on shift at the 133 starting at 7pm. Unfortunately, their sleep period is different from the 122’s, but I’ll be cat napping on their couch as the man behind whenever I get the chance.”

“Yeah, of course. Stay safe,” Eddie said.

Buck ended the call and tucked his phone in his pocket then reluctantly left the roof and went back down into the station house. He felt kind of guilty about how much he really didn’t want to spend time with anyone he worked with when only two were remotely hostile with him. In the kitchen, he pulled an orange from the fruit bowl and took it to the trash can so he could peel it.

“Hey, Buck, come into my office for a minute,” Captain Barnes called out, and Buck nodded.

He followed the captain into the small office. “Something wrong?”

“Got a call from HR,” the man said. “Congratulations on your soulmate connection. As you know, I don’t have room to bring your partner onto the shift.”

Buck nodded.

“I told HR that, and they told me that there will be a few options available for you both, or you can work separately.”

“We’re not interested in working separately,” Buck said, and Barnes nodded. “He’s an earth elemental. We’ll work best together, and our magical compatibility will only increase with a soulmate bond. It makes us working together a better option for the department.”

“And you wouldn’t want to stay here with him anyway,” Barnes said.

Buck shrugged. “He’s better looking than me. Probably not a good idea.”

Barnes huffed. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, it’s crazy how pretty he is,” Buck said and shook his head. “I’d get kind of jealous about it if he wasn’t mine.” He pulled out his phone and browsed to the selfie of Eddie and Christopher. “I’m getting a bonus kid in all of this, hopefully.” He passed the phone to his captain.

“Hell, kid, lucky you,” Barnes murmured. “And we don’t need to have this man anywhere near Gibson. I had a long talk with her, and she acted like you were the problem throughout most of the conversation. Apparently, she thinks that you should be required to forgive her for her bad behavior.”

“Wow.” Buck frowned. “I haven’t been made to apologize and make friends since the third grade.”

“I won’t be breaking that trend,” Barnes assured. “As I said, the two of you will have a couple of options.” He passed the phone back to Buck. “But give the 56 pass. The only shift open over there is going to be one you don’t want your soulmate anywhere near.”

“Why?”

“I don’t normally discuss this with White people,” Barnes said frankly, and Buck nodded. “But you’re going to have to get a crash course in covert racism and microaggressions, Buck. You’ve got a Latino soulmate, and not everyone will be kind about it. Not everyone will even be kind to his face. I’m sure he’s used to it, and that’s a fucking shame.”

“Are you used to it?” Buck questioned. “Because that sucks, too.”

“I’m a fifty-year-old Black man,” Barnes said. “Of course, I’m used to it. The world we live in can be very harsh, and there are elements in the LAFD to this day that hate the fact that I have authority over White people. At any rate, the openings at the 56 are on Captain Scott Lowery’s shift, and I wouldn’t want someone I hate to work for him, much less someone as talented and hardworking as you. He’ll covet you—you’d be ideal in his mind, and he will loathe the fact that your soulmate is a person of color.”

“Why is he still on the job?”

“He’s been with the LAFD for thirty years, and he knows how to skirt the line on bad behavior. Of course, he’s much better about keeping his mouth shut since Gael Alonzo became the chief. But I wouldn’t trust Scott Lowery to pour my coffee. You’d never be able to turn your back on him, and it’s more than just you to consider. That bonus kid you’re clearly very excited for is going to expect you to bring his dad home to him every single shift.” He cleared his throat. “If there ever comes a day that you don’t, be sure you can tell him that you did everything you possibly could and that you made all the right decisions to keep you both safe.”

Buck looked down at this phone and took a deep breath. “Yeah. I wonder if they’re both trusting me with too much to even try to let me be part of their little family.”

“Well, none of that,” Barnes said shortly. “You’re a very good young man, and I’m pissed to lose you. And I won’t let Gibson get away with anything going forward. That’s the best I can do unless you want to file a complaint. And I apologize for asking you to keep it in-house. I was trying to keep things running smoothly around here and that was a mistake.”

Buck shook his head. “I like to think I’m punishing her by not letting her take a ride on this.” He motioned to himself and popped a few pieces of orange in his mouth after tucking his phone away.

“Get the hell out of my office,” Barnes said in the midst of laughing.

* * * *

Eddie supposed he should’ve expected his sister Adriana to show up on his porch, but Sophia was a surprise. He hadn’t even been aware she was in town. He motioned them both inside, and they followed him into the kitchen.

“If you’re here to lecture me about the letter I sent our parents, then I don’t want to hear it,” Eddie said as he pulled three beers out of the fridge. He opened all three and set them on the counter.

Sophia slid up onto a barstool and grabbed one of the beers. “You won’t get one from me. I want to divorce them like some kid in a Lifetime movie.”

Adriana huffed and grabbed her beer. “Eddie.”

“What?”

“Pop sectioned Mom,” she said roughly, and Eddie couldn’t help but gape in surprise. “Right? It’s involuntary, but she lost her shit when she realized he’d lied to her about why they were at the hospital, and she had to be restrained. They cuffed her and basically carried her out of the emergency room. He’s not allowed contact with her because she has a screaming hissy whenever they mention his name, and he designated me as her next of kin as a result. I told them about the narcotics, and she attacked an orderly trying to escape. Fortunately, the staff doesn’t consider her competent, so she won’t face assault charges. I mean fortunate for her, not the orderly.”

“I still don’t want a lecture,” Eddie said evenly and shrugged when Adriana frowned at him. “She’s obsessed with Christopher, Adriana, and it’s creepy as hell. She’s tried to make him call her mom and got upset with him when he refused. He told the lawyer today that she hit him in the past, and no one told me!”

“I know she threatened to spank him once,” Adriana said. “But I yelled at her, and Pop took him home. That was the final straw for Shannon, and she didn’t let Christopher go over to their house after that. She said you agreed.”

“I did agree. I called Mom and Pop in the middle of the night and unloaded on them because of that bullshit. Mom used to hit us all the time when we were kids, and the only thing Pop ever told us was to not upset her. But hell, a stiff breeze would upset her. Still probably does.” Eddie took a deep breath. “But no one ever told me that she slapped Christopher’s hand for eating chicken nuggets with his fingers. Which is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“You know she’s a control freak,” Sophia interjected. “And Mom gets fucking unreasonable when she doesn’t get what she wants exactly how she wants it. Also, the asshole twins nearly broke their necks getting to her to tell her about your post on Instagram.”

The asshole twins were their first cousins on their mother’s side and the hellspawn of his Aunt Marnie. Eddie had never liked the little bastards and had only allowed their follows on Instagram to avoid a bitch fit from his mother. He pulled out his phone, went to the app, and started removing that side of the family without any sort of guilt.

“Are you really moving to LA?” Adriana questioned.

“I’ve already got a job lined up in LA,” Eddie said, and Adriana groaned. “And the house has sold. So, I’m gone within the next two weeks if I have anything to say about it, and I do.”

“Come on, Eddie, Mom will lose it,” Adriana said. “Can’t you just….”

“Continue to be the center of her attention so she leaves you alone?” Eddie supplied. “Allow my child to be your goddamned meat shield?”

Adriana flinched and averted her gaze.

“Right, because if she’s preoccupied with stealing my son and ruining any chance Christopher ever has of being independent, then she isn’t crawling up your ass about the fact that you haven’t given her any more grandchildren,” Eddie said snidely, and his sister took in a deep, ragged breath. “You’re going to end up divorced again if you keep letting her interfere in your marriage and life.”

“What? Is that why Shannon bailed on you? Blaming Mom for that?” Adriana demanded.

“Shannon hates both of our parents and would regularly unload on them if they didn’t stay in their lane. And I never tried to tell her how to behave. I never asked her to take Mom’s bullshit,” Eddie said evenly. “She left me and abandoned Christopher because she didn’t want the responsibility of parenthood anymore. Maybe it’s my fault for serving overseas, but I was in the Army when I married Shannon, and she never seemed to have a problem with me leaving.” He waved a hand. “But she had a huge problem with me being home for good.”

“At least Shannon didn’t list our parents as a reason for the divorce,” Sophia said sourly, and Adriana glared at her. “Come on, Ri, Damon ran for the freaking hills, divorced you from New York, and listed Mom as the primary reason he wanted to divorce you.”

“Yeah,” Adriana said and took a long drink from her bottle.

“And my last two boyfriends bailed because of Mom. That’s why I cut her off completely, and frankly, I think I’m going to move to LA with Eddie and Christopher.”

“I….” Adriana frowned. “I don’t want to be stuck here with them.”

“Well, isn’t Casey’s family from San Antonio?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “He’d probably like to live closer to his mom, and she loves me. He hasn’t mentioned a move.”

“Bring it up to him,” Sophia said with a shrug. “Because Eddie’s practically gone, and I’m not far behind. I’m running out of reasons to go on business trips. Well, the freelance work is good, but the travel is eating into my budget. Working in LA would be great, and I can sleep on Abuela’s couch since Christopher needs a real bed to sleep in.”

“You can have her guest room,” Eddie said. “I’ve already made living arrangements.”

“What…do you mean?” Sophia questioned. “You’ve already rented a place? Without looking at it?”

“I’ve connected with my soulmate. I’ll be using his guest room while I figure out if I want another house or maybe a condo since I don’t know if I want a lawn.”

They both stared at him in shocked silence.

“How long have you known him?” Sophia questioned.

“I met him when Christopher was ten months old,” Eddie said, and both of his sisters paled. “I really don’t want to talk about it. I never cheated on Shannon, and she had no idea that I met him. I told him I couldn’t…that I needed to make my marriage work for my baby’s sake, and he agreed.”

“I don’t even know what to say,” Sophia said and shoved off her shoes. “Get me another damn beer, and I’m sleeping on your couch tonight.”

Adriana shook her head and checked her watch. “I promised Casey I’d be home soon so just this one for me. I don’t want to use Christopher or you to distract Mom. But I also know she’s going to completely lose it over this, and I don’t know how to deal with the fallout.”

“Then don’t,” Sophia said with a shrug. “You didn’t take Mom to raise, Ri. She’s Pop’s problem, and she always has been. It’s time we all move on from this ugly cycle. Her addiction, her behavior, and her demands can’t be the driving force of our lives. It’s bullshit.”

“Someone’s been in therapy,” Eddie said and took a sip of beer when Sophia sent him a baleful look. “We all need it. I’ve been having sessions here and there as I can through the VA. I’ll get a regular therapist in LA because I don’t want to fall into some kind of ugly cycle, either. It won’t be drugs or alcohol because of my magic, but there are other bad habits that I’ve indulged in before that I can’t afford now. I want to be a good partner for my soulmate and the best father possible for my children.”

“Children? Does your soulmate have one, too?” Adriana questioned.

“No, but he’s been saving for a surrogate for years,” Eddie said, and both of his sisters smiled. “It’s stupidly attractive to have that kind of dedication to becoming a parent.” Both of them nodded. “And he’s already gorgeous, so I feel like I’ve hit the lottery, and I hate the years I wasted on Shannon.”

“How will she react to the soulmate news?”

“I don’t even care,” Eddie admitted. “She can fuck off as long as she pays child support, and that’s basically what I told her. She didn’t want any sort of visitation listed in the court documents because she said it would feel like an obligation, and she needed a break from parenthood.”

“Oh, God, fuck that cunt,” Sophia snapped and finished off her second beer. “Gah!”

“Two beers in, and she’s busting out the c-word,” Eddie said wryly, and Adriana laughed. He went to the fridge and got Sophia another beer when she motioned to him with her empty bottle. “Should I make up the couch, or will you be fine with a blanket and pillow?”

“Blanket and a pillow,” his sister said as he opened the beer and put it on the counter.

He retrieved the other two bottles and put them in the sink so he could rinse them for recycling. Neither of his sisters was magical, so Sophia was certainly staying, and Adriana would nurse the single beer she had until she left to go pout on her husband of one year.

“Ask Casey about moving closer to his parents,” Eddie suggested. “They’re older than ours and might need more help. Plus, you’re both in careers with lots of job opportunities.”

His sister was an RN, and his brother-in-law worked as a deputy district attorney. Surely, finding work in San Antonio would be relatively easy. He knew that Casey’s father actually had a law practice so even joining his father would be an option.

Adriana nodded. “I will. I hope he agrees. Even Austin would be closer, and it would be far enough away from Mom that her showing up at our house unannounced wouldn’t be a regular thing anymore.”

“You let her in every time, right?” Sophia said and shook her head when Adriana shrugged. “Dios, Ri, you need to move away as soon as freaking possible if you don’t want Casey to get fed up with our psycho mother and leave you, too. I don’t want to be mean about this, but the enmeshment has to be a real fucking turn-off. You need to get off her tit.”

Eddie laughed and waved a hand when both of his sisters sent him dirty looks. “She didn’t even breastfeed me.”

“Because she got a boob job after Sophia and her milk ducts were cut since she was trying to minimize scarring,” Adriana said. “If she’d had them go in through the armpit or under the muscle, then she’d have probably been fine. I think she just didn’t want to breastfeed ever again, and Pop pushed it with both of us. As it is, I kind of remember him bitching about her giving Eddie formula. He certainly thought his baby boy deserved better.”

Eddie made a face. “I’m honestly glad she can’t ever say that she fed me with her body. I can’t even fucking imagine how she’d twist that. My therapist said she was worried about the emotional incest angle since she keeps trying to make Christopher call her mom.”

“Oh, gross,” Sophia said and groaned as she lowered her head to the bar.

“It might explain why she loathed Shannon,” Adriana said and shrugged when Eddie glared at her. “In fact, has she ever liked a single person you got involved with?”

“No,” Eddie muttered. “She pitched a whole fit when I asked a girl to my senior prom. Remember what she said?”

“She said that you were just a boy, and the only woman you needed was her,” Sophia said, and Adriana pretended to gag. “A week later, you told Pop that you’d enlisted in the Army, and I thought Mom was going to stroke out and die. She tried to get the Army to kick you out before you ever went to basic training. The recruiter told her that having a crazy mother most often encouraged men serving to stay far from home, and that suited the United States Army just fine.”

Eddie laughed. “She picked the wrong one to have an argument with that’s for sure.”

Adriana took her bottle to the sink and sighed. “I’ll go, and you’re both right. I’ve got to get away from Mom before I even think about having a kid with Casey. I can’t let her get weirdly attached to my child the way she has Christopher. It’s not healthy, nor is it anywhere near sane. Pop won’t be able to keep her confined in a hospital without a court order. He’d have to force rehab on her, as well, and not one of those country clubs like before.”

“The best way to accomplish that is to get her arrested and charged with possession,” Eddie said and shrugged when both of his sisters looked at him, startled. “How hard would it be? She carries that shit wherever she goes and hasn’t had a prescription since her hysterectomy over two decades ago. She probably wouldn’t go to prison if she rolled over on her dealer. So, probation and rehab, right?”

Adriana nodded her agreement. “If Pop got her a good lawyer. It would destroy her, though, ruin her reputation, and that means everything to her at that stupid country club.”

“Ask me how much I care,” Eddie dared.

“At least twice as little as I do,” Sophia said, and Eddie laughed.

“I’ll go,” Adriana said and punched Eddie’s shoulder lightly as she passed him.

“I’ll walk you out,” Eddie said as he put aside his beer.

By the time he’d come back in the house from walking Adriana out to her car, Sophia had gone to sleep on the couch. So, he threw a blanket over her and called it done since she’d found a pillow on her own. After a brief check on his son, he showered and went to bed himself.

* * * *

Travis Cohen was leaning on his Jeep as Buck walked out of the 122. He took a deep breath as he adjusted the shoulder on his bag and pulled out his keys. Buck said nothing as he put the bag in the backseat of the Jeep and shut the door a little more sharply than normal.

“So, listen,” he said calmly as Travis huffed. “This is absolutely not ever happening again, Travis. The next time you show up at my job, I’m going to call the cops.”

“I don’t know where you live, Buck.”

“And you didn’t care until I decided to stop fucking you,” he retorted and glared when Travis tried to touch him. “You said you weren’t going to get weird, and now you’ve shown up at my damn job.” He rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. “What part of no is not getting through to you?”

“It’s just….” Travis crossed his arms. “I’ve never been dumped before. I don’t know what I did wrong.”

“Nothing until you decided to be a complete dick,” Buck retorted. “Tell me something.”

“If I can,” Travis muttered.

“Do you have any idea how stringent the stalking laws are in California?” Buck questioned, and Travis flushed. “Would your career survive even a misdemeanor charge? Is sitting on my dick worth a thousand-dollar fine, a criminal record, and maybe even a prison term if you were charged with a felony? Because if you don’t get ahold of yourself and leave me alone, that is exactly what will happen. I never want to see you again.”

“You think it’s going to be that easy? I can ruin your life, you know. I can take this precious job from you,” Travis threatened. “Then what? What will you do then?”

“Sue you,” Buck said simply, and Travis blinked in surprise. “Repeatedly. I’ve got enough money in trust to bleed you dry and leave you living on the streets. I know a lawyer who actually has a boner for suing the city as well. Maybe I’ll contact the mayor’s office and notify them that their employee is threatening my career because I don’t want to fuck them anymore. I can threaten to sue them, too since you appear to be capable of using your job to ruin my life.” He leaned on his Jeep and stared. “So, continue to be a problem for me, and I’ll burn your life to the goddamned ground in return.” He let flames dance briefly across his face, and Travis stumbled back with a huff of shock. “Clear?”

“Oh, I think it’s very clear to him,” Joe Reilly said.

Buck glanced to his left and found several men from his shift standing in a group a few feet away.

“It’s really clear to me as well,” Captain Barnes said dryly. “I don’t appreciate an employee from the mayor’s office threatening one of my employees. Do I need to have a talk with the chief on this subject? What exactly has my firefighter done to you?”

Travis flushed and waved a hand. “Whatever, Buck, ruin your life. Like you can do better than me.”

Shane huffed. “Dude, he can do better than you three or four times a night in any bar in this city.”

Buck groaned as Travis stalked off toward his Lexus with a glare in his direction. “This is what I get for letting some asshole pick me up at a Starbucks. I don’t even like their coffee.”

“It’s shit, and you should be ashamed of yourself,” Barnes muttered and walked away. “Text me his full name and job title, Buckley, so I can report what I witnessed to the chief’s office.”

“Same,” Joe ordered as he walked away with their captain.

“Oh, me too,” Shane said.

“I don’t answer to you, Shane,” Buck retorted.

“Come on, Buck, let me report your fucked up stalker ex,” Shane cajoled, and Buck laughed reluctantly. “I feel threatened and intimidated by proxy.”

“I can’t stand you the least of everyone we work with,” Buck said frankly, and Shane grinned. “But I’m still not texting you his information.”

“Need me to follow you home to make sure that jerk doesn’t?” Shane asked.

“No, go stare longingly at the ocean like you’re some mermaid stranded on shore,” Buck said in amusement. “Like you always do.”

“I’d totally rock that shell bra!” Shane declared and trotted off toward his truck. “Let me know if you want to go surfing later! I’m hitting the waves by 1pm.”

Buck was tempted, but he didn’t want to be unavailable for Eddie’s text. He sat in the driver’s seat for a moment and texted the information that his captain had requested to both him and Joe Reilly. He could’ve argued it, but he appreciated the fact that he might need the reports if things took a more formal and legal turn.

There was a knock on his window, and he turned to find Joe standing there. So, he rolled it down.

“You okay?” Joe questioned.

“I’m fine.”

“Buck, you’ve not even turned this vehicle on, and it’s ninety degrees outside right now,” Joe said.

“Oh,” Buck said and made a face. He put his keys in and turned the Jeep on despite the fact that the heat didn’t bother him at all. “I was just sitting here wondering where I misstepped with Travis.”

“You didn’t. We all learned pretty quickly that you have concrete boundaries, and you’re an explicit communicator,” Joe said. “So, whatever problem he has isn’t because you failed to make your wishes perfectly clear.”

Buck frowned and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “I grew up with parents who barely tolerated my existence. So, I had to learn boundaries just to survive in that household. I had to be demanding, often times rude, and insultingly honest with them. Hell, I learned to shame them by the time I was twelve to make sure they bought me food.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Joe said and leaned on the Jeep. “And now?”

“I try to be kind to others because I grew up with two vicious assholes, and I learned how to manipulate them like a pro early on. It’s not the kind of person I want to be. I try hard not to be cruel to practically everyone, but it’s not exactly a mage’s nature to beat around the bush. We just aren’t known for it.”

“No, that’s true.” Joe sighed and tapped on the Jeep. “Go home or something.”

Buck nodded.

* * * *

Eddie had watched the sliding door get replaced from a bar stool while he texted on his phone with Buck. They’d have both preferred a call or to use FaceTime, but the installers were making enough noise to make it difficult. Of course, by the time they were done, Buck was ready to have brunch with Howard Price, and Eddie didn’t want to interfere in that little ritual since it clearly meant a lot to them both.

The installers were leaving as his father pulled into the driveway, so Eddie just waited for him. Ramon Diaz looked good and fit for his age. Eddie wondered if he’d inherit that and kind of hoped so. He wasn’t necessarily vain, but he hoped to stay able as long as possible in case Christopher needed him.

He motioned him inside and locked the door after his father came in. “Problem?”

Ramon sighed. “I’m sure you’ve heard.”

“Sophia passed out on my couch last night,” Eddie said, and his father sighed. “She was gone by the time I came back from taking Christopher to school.”

“What were the repair man for?” Ramon questioned. “I could’ve helped to avoid the extra expense.”

“I had the sliding door to the patio replaced,” Eddie said. “The buyer is currently wheelchair-bound and got stuck on the track when she was touring the house. Replacing the doors was the least I could do since she didn’t even haggle about the price.”

Ramon nodded. “You aren’t ever coming back, are you?”

“No, and I’m not going to be lectured about my choice, Pop. Christopher doesn’t deserve the stress that Mom causes just by being herself. I don’t want him to grow up around her toxic ass behavior. I’m ashamed that I left him and Shannon here in El Paso. I should’ve moved them to California like she wanted when he was a year old.” He rubbed the back of his neck as his father meandered into the kitchen to look at the doors.

Ramon opened the doors, ran his fingers along the frame, and nodded. “It’s good work. Do you know much about her circumstances beyond the wheelchair?”

“She’s getting fitted for a prosthetic leg, and her husband left her because of the amputation,” Eddie said, and his father grimaced. “Right? Dick move. I’m going to remove the childproofing after I’ve gotten rid of all the chemicals. She’s keeping the fridge and stove. I’m taking the washer and dryer since she needs both to be front-loading.”

“The front ramp we built is still in great shape,” Ramon said. “But we can check it for problems and retreat the wood. It’s faded just a bit.”

“Did you want to talk about Mom?” Eddie questioned.

“I’ve never really considered her pill issues much of a problem,” his father said and shrugged when Eddie sighed. “It’s not that expensive, and it keeps her happy. Is it illegal? Sure. And maybe I’ve let her self-medicate just to avoid her wrath, which doesn’t speak well of me at all. Her mental issues are worse than I expected, and the doctor at the hospital wants to have her committed for long-term treatment involuntarily. I just came from the county clerk’s office, where I started the process. The doctor already has his assessment ready. She’ll be placed in a facility that will deal with both her psychiatric issues and her drug addiction.”

“How long?” Eddie questioned.

“I have no idea,” Ramon admitted and shook his head. “The doctors think six months at the minimum just to get a relatively good handle on her addiction issues. Then, there will need to be a diagnosis phase, and they’ll start trying to figure out which medications will work best for her. They’ll basically force detox on her first, then work her into a therapy situation.”

“It’s a legit place? Right? Not one of those weird camps?”

“It’s legitimate,” Ramon assured. “I wouldn’t send her off to some mental conditioning camp.” He sat down on a stool. “They had to restrain her in a straight jacket, Eddie.”

“Wow.” Eddie sat down beside him. “Adriana said she attacked an orderly.”

“She broke his nose,” Ramon said roughly. “I offered to pay for any wages he might miss out on because of it, but the hospital assured me that they’d pay him for the time off to recover. I should’ve told them she was prone to violent outbursts. I just assumed that she would behave herself. It was stupid of me.”

“She’s normally good at pretending to be normal in front of strangers,” Eddie said mildly. “None of my friends knew she was a hellbeast unless I told them.”

“What will you do for work? More security jobs?”

“No, I’ve applied and been accepted to the Los Angeles Fire Department’s academy,” Eddie said and took a deep breath. “I’ll be joining my soulmate on the job.”

“I see.” Ramon nodded. “Your decision to move so quickly makes sense now. When did you meet them?”

“Years ago, when Christopher was ten months old. I told him that I needed to make my marriage work for my baby’s sake. I regret it, considering Shannon’s behavior.” He cleared his throat. “Mom tried to convince Christopher that he didn’t have magic. Do you know why?”

“She’s always resented the fact that she has no discernable magical gift,” Ramon said. “Not even a knack like her sisters. She said it wasn’t fair that she didn’t have a gift when she had the genetics.”

“Is she talking to you?”

“We spoke on the phone,” Ramon said. “It’s hard for bonded soulmates to be apart, so her anger at my actions faded quickly. She cried and begged me to come get her, but I can’t do that. I have to do what is best for her.”

“Will you be able to see her?”

“Yes, there are special circumstances due to our bond,” Ramon said. “But we’ll be separated by glass.”

“As if she were in prison?” Eddie questioned. “Seriously?”

“It’s to prevent me from bringing her drugs,” Ramon said. “And I agreed to it because I don’t trust myself not to give into her pleading. I’ve also asked the court to give her a medical conservator who will work in tandem with me regarding the decisions. We’ll both have to agree to treatment and confinement decisions. It’s a check for me that the court is willing to provide for soulmates.”

“That’s good, right?”

“Yes,” Ramon said. “I’ve been weak in the face of her addictions and my own drinking for years. I can go weeks or months without a drink, you know. I don’t have a physical addiction.” He rubbed the top of his hand. “Just enough magic to prevent that part, but not enough to keep from drinking away my problems. The worse she is, the more I drink. I see the pattern, Edmundo.”

“Are you going to get help for yourself?”

“I’ve asked my doctor to give me a referral for a psychologist. I’ll need support on that level going forward. I’ve let our problems ruin everything around us. Sophia says she’s moving to LA with you.”

“Yeah,” Eddie said. “And Adriana is going to talk Casey into moving near his parents.”

Ramon nodded. “Not a surprise and necessary if she wants to keep the marriage. Helena hates Casey for no reason beyond the fact that he’s married to Adriana. She said that all of her children should listen to her first and always. You’ll change your phone number in LA. I hope you’ll give it to me.”

“I will.”

“But I don’t want your address,” Ramon continued. “When I come to visit, we can meet at my mother’s home. I’ve never been able to deny Helena much of anything, Mijo, and I recognize my weakness in this. That being said, I’ve made it clear to her that no judge in this state or California would allow her to have custody of any child. She doesn’t want to lose a public court battle and have all of her issues revealed for her friends to hear about. And I’m sure you’d make sure they would. She’s sure, too. I can’t say she’ll ever forgive you, and I hope you don’t care.”

“I gave up on Mom years ago, Pop,” Eddie said quietly. “I had no choice.”

“She’ll never understand, but I can keep her contained as she’s not worked for two decades, and I pay for everything. I won’t allow her to come to California.”

“And if she breaks with you over it?”

“Your mother is far too selfish to give up the lifestyle I give her,” Ramon said. “There is a covenant between soulmates, as you know, and I feel compelled to take care of her.”

“Do you resent that?”

“Yes, of course I do,” Ramon said roughly. “At the end of the day, Mijo, I am no better and no less selfish than your mother. After all, we were made for each other.”

“That is the least romantic thing I’ve ever heard said about soulmates,” Eddie said darkly, and his father laughed.

 

Chapter 5

Crossing the California state line had been one of the more relieving moments of his life, and Eddie wasn’t even ashamed to admit it. Sophia was dozing in the passenger seat of her SUV, and Christopher was much the same in the backseat. Eddie didn’t know how. He’d rarely been able to sleep sitting up, even as a little kid. They’d stopped for gas about an hour out from LA, and he’d exchanged a few texts with Buck, who’d done a lot for them over the two weeks before the move.

Buck managed the arrival of his and Sophia’s moving pods, which made them both feel better about the whole shipping process. His sister had spent more time with his soulmate on FaceTime the past two days than he had. He was a little jealous because he’d gotten used to a lot of contact with Buck, but also, he was relieved by how well his sister was getting along with Buck since he hoped to make a permanent connection. A hope that seemed very possible.

Pulling into his abuela’s driveway brought a smile to his face despite the fact that the house was mostly dark. The porch light came on even as he turned off the SUV, and his abuela came out into the light. Sophia took off her seatbelt, slid out of the vehicle, and trotted across the lawn right into their abuela’s arms. Eddie kind of wished he could do the same then just realized he could. He glanced briefly at Christopher, who was still sleeping soundly and got out. He left the driver’s side door open as his abuela came to him.

“Edmundo,” Isabel Diaz murmured and pulled him close. “Look at you, I was worried about your injuries. How do you feel?”

“Better, I promise,” Eddie said and kissed her forehead. “I’ve missed you.”

“Your magic is a bit different,” she said and let a hand rest on his chest. “A response to injury, or is it in relation to you finally accepting your soulmate?”

“There was an expansion after the injury. I pushed my fingers into the ground and drew energy directly without any kind of reserve on it. I just pulled and pulled until someone evacuated me.” Eddie cleared his throat. “There was still a fistful of dirt in my hand when I woke up. They’d just wrapped my hand in a plastic bag.”

“Very smart of whoever handled your care,” Isabel said and nodded. “Many fail to understand the depth of power available to earth mages because it’s not as flashy as some of the other elementals.” She glanced toward the SUV. “Now I shall peek at my sweet boy.”

Eddie laughed as he was abandoned and walked to the back of the SUV, where his sister was pulling out her bags. “Need any help?”

“No, I’m good,” Sophia said and shouldered a backpack. “I shipped the rest of my clothes, and they arrived yesterday. Tía Pepa said she put them in the guest room.” She yawned. “Thanks for doing the driving. I really appreciate it.”

“I’ll bring the SUV back to you tomorrow,” Eddie said.

“I was thinking about that,” she admitted. “I’ve had it for about six months. I was wondering if you wanted to buy it from me so I can buy something smaller.”

He preferred Ford and the Ford Explorer SUV his sister had purchased was nice, and Christopher had been able to get in and out of it easily as they traveled. “I normally buy a black vehicle, but this dark gray isn’t bad.” Eddie nodded. “Christopher likes it, and he can get out of it on his own, which he clearly enjoys.”

“You’re a good dad,” Sophia said and nudged him. “It makes me feel better about my chances on the parenthood front. I’ve always worried I’ll be terrible at it like ours were.”

“I like to see my entire childhood in a lesson on what not to do on that front,” Eddie admitted, and Sophia sighed. “You know it’s true.”

“Yeah.”

He closed the back of the SUV carefully in the hopes that it wouldn’t wake his son up. “You paid cash for this, right?”

“Dad’s cash, sure,” Sophia said with a shrug, and he laughed. “I have the title in my name, though, no worries. It was 32k, but I’ll take 29k. I want a Prius, and that will cover it.”

“You sure you don’t need something bigger?”

“No, I can get plenty of work in LA without having to travel, so I won’t need to haul around half my life,” Sophia said.

Eddie nodded. He had the money since he’d nearly all of his severance check in savings, and the house sale had come through just the day before. That money would hit his bank account within forty-eight hours.

“I’ll take the Explorer,” Eddie said. “Pick out your Prius, and I’ll get you a cashier check for it.”

“Cool,” Sophia said and picked up her duffel. “Go meet your boy before he vibrates out of his skin from the wait.”

His abuela was standing near the still-open driver’s side door when he came back around the Explorer. “I’ll come back tomorrow afternoon.”

“For lunch, and bring your man,” Isabel said and patted his shoulder. “Unless he has work.”

“He took some time off to help us settle in,” Eddie murmured. “I’ll call you about lunch. I don’t know how Christopher will feel and I’m worried he’ll be sore from the travel. We stopped twice and did some stretching, but I don’t know if it was enough.”

Isabel nodded. “Yes, call and get some sleep. You look very tired.”

“Yeah, a little,” Eddie admitted. “I’ll text when I get to Buck’s. It’s just fifteen minutes from here.” He kissed her cheek and got into the Explorer.

Eddie stayed where he was until his abuela and sister were in the house, and the porch light turned off. He backed out of the driveway and headed toward Buck. His magic fluttered gently inside him as if it were just as excited and sweetly relieved as he was.

* * * *

It was shortly after eight at night, and both Howard and Carla Price were asleep. Not a surprise since they both considered it a goal to get up with the sun. Buck appreciated that as he was a little tired himself. He had six days off per the schedule and had taken three days of vacation, which gave him a total of nine days off work to focus on getting Eddie and Christopher settled.

Eddie had twelve days until he started at the academy, so they’d also have time to hammer out some childcare options since Christopher was out of school for the summer. Carla had delivered a folder of information about summer programs, physical therapists, and state programs for disabled people. Plus, she’d made a list of schools for Christopher that they could review. Buck felt good about that, and he was glad he’d asked her.

He was kind of worried about the whole third-parent thing and didn’t know if Eddie was aware of how that would work. Buck really wanted to present himself as good parent material. Kids normally liked him, so he hoped that Christopher would like him, too. Eddie had sent him a list of foods that the boy liked to eat so he’d bought some stuff and had even gotten the processed chicken nuggets, though they’d kind of horrified him.

Since his house was quiet, he heard their arrival and just exhaled slowly in relief. Buck had worked as a first responder long enough to know how dangerous just being on the highway could be. He did try to keep his anxiety around that kind of thing to himself as much as he could since no one wanted him spouting statistics at them about how dangerous it was to drive.

Buck opened the door and bounced a little on his feet as he watched Eddie lift his son out of the back of the SUV. The boy slumped against his father, clearly still asleep. He hesitated just briefly on the porch before he walked out to the wide driveway that had been created for the guest house. Carla and Howard parked their vehicles in the garage, so the driveway that wound around the side of the house was solely for their use.

“Hey,” he murmured. “Is he okay?”

“He’ll fall asleep at the drop of a hat in the car,” Eddie said. “And could sleep through a tornado.”

“I put two half-beds in the guest room since you told me he’s a restless sleeper,” Buck explained as he motioned toward the house. “Let’s get him settled, and I’ll help you unload.”

“I just need the two duffels from the back seat right now. The rest can wait until tomorrow.”

“I’ll get them now.” Buck opened the door and grabbed the two bags in question when Eddie nodded.

The guest house wasn’t huge, so he led Eddie across the open concept living room/kitchen area to the second bedroom that he’d done his best to make comfortable for the two of them. He didn’t want to pressure Eddie into sharing a bed with him. Buck put the bags down next to the dresser then watched Eddie prop a pair of crutches against the nightstand before he put Christopher down bed.

“He’ll probably wake up to eat sooner rather than later,” Eddie said and pulled off his son’s sneakers and tucked them under the side of the bed. Finally, he took off Christopher’s glasses and put them on the nightstand. “It’s past your bedtime.”

“It’s fine. I won’t mess up my schedule too much while I’m not working,” Buck said and stepped back so Eddie could leave the room.

Eddie pulled the door so that it was only slightly open and focused on him. “You’re a lot bigger now.”

Buck flushed. “I bulked up for work.” He shrugged on shoulder. “It was important that I met the burden for heavy rescue.”

Eddie offered him his hand, and Buck took it. He let himself be pulled into a hug and shuddered as Eddie pressed his beard-roughened cheek against his. “I know I’ve said it more than once, but I’ve missed you so much.”

“I don’t think I realized how empty I felt without you,” Buck confessed, and Eddie trembled against him. “I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re right. It’s exactly what it felt like, and I got so used to it that I don’t know how….” He took in a ragged breath.

Buck moved them to the couch, and they sat down together. He kept Eddie’s hand in his and rubbed his thumb over the top of the other man’s hand. “This feels like a luxury.”

“Holding my hand?”

“Touching you,” Buck said. “I made myself accept the fact that I’d never have this moment with you.” He looked down at their hands. “I was surprised that Sophia didn’t say anything about the two of you living with me when we barely know each other.”

“Well, she grew up in a household with a pair of soulmates,” Eddie pointed out. “And as you said, soulmates mirror one another. I’ve never liked thinking about that part, you know.”

“What do you mean?” Buck questioned.

“My mother is awful. She’s a selfish and abusive addict. My sisters and I have always seen our father as the decent parent when, really, he is no better than our mother. He’s just a different brand of awful and self-involved. In the end, he chose her over all three of his children and is currently focused entirely on fixing her problems so he can keep her.”

“Like I said, not even a life term in prison will keep soulmates a part,” Buck said wryly. “Also, I checked. Soulmates that aren’t imprisoned together are allowed at least one visit a quarter.” He paused. “Conjugal.”

Eddie snorted. “Shut up.”

“I’m serious,” Buck said and laughed when Eddie just smiled at him. “It’s part of a whole series of federal laws protecting soulmates and magical bonds.” He took a deep breath. “Which reminds me of something that we haven’t really discussed.”

“What’s that?” Eddie questioned and his fingers clenched briefly against Buck’s. “Are you opposed to bonding? I know it can be taxing at first, but it would open us both up magically in ways that could protect us on the job.”

“I’d have already told you if I were opposed to bonding,” Buck said and exhaled sharply. “The thing is that once we register our bond, I’ll become your son’s legal parent. I’ll have all the rights of a biological parent, Eddie. I’ll even be added to his birth certificate.”

“Oh.” Eddie stared for a moment. “I haven’t considered that at all. I’ll have to tell Shannon, won’t I?”

“Does she still have rights?”

“Yes, but no formal visitation, and I’m the custodial parent. She’s paying child support but hasn’t contacted the visitation center I set up, and she hasn’t called me since we discussed her getting a copy of the court papers. Shannon’s just not interested, and I don’t know how to…make her be interested. Her mother is dying of cancer, so she’s focused there. Maybe once that matter is settled one way or another, she’ll decide to be a parent again, and I’ll have to deal with that.” He took a deep breath. “What do you think about it?”

“Which part?” Buck asked.

“The legal responsibility?”

“I want to get it all right, and I’d take those responsibilities very seriously. In fact, I’d like to….” He wet his lips. “Make you a promise—one that you can depend on and have complete faith in.”

“Okay,” Eddie said quietly and focused on him entirely.

Having his soulmate’s undivided attention was a startling pleasure. Buck flushed and took a deep breath. “I will never intentionally cause Christopher Javier Diaz physical or emotional harm. I swear this upon my magic.” He relaxed as his magic shifted inside of him and accepted the oath.

“Evan….” Eddie took a deep breath. “I made that same exact promise the day he was born.”

“I just need you to know you can trust me with your child,” Buck said quietly. “Because we both know you can’t trust his mother.”

Eddie cupped his face with his free hand and shook his head. “Honestly, you’re beautiful inside and out. I don’t know how I walked away from you that day, but I know I can’t ever do it again.”

“I really can’t imagine it either.”

They moved closer, though Buck wasn’t sure who moved first, and Eddie let his forehead rest against his.

Eddie took a deep breath. “My father told me he was just as selfish as my mother. His level of self-awareness was startling and awful.”

“Because he knows about himself and has made no effort to change anything,” Buck surmised.

“Yes.” Eddie sat back. “And he never will. I want so much better for my baby, Buck. I always did, and that’s why I walked away from you when it was the last thing I wanted to do.” His fingers clenched briefly in Buck’s hand. “I’m so tired.”

“You’ve been going full tilt for a while,” Buck said. “I’m glad you’re here, of course, but what made leaving Texas so urgent for you?”

“The divorce finalized. I was free, but I didn’t feel free. I felt trapped by my mother and her delusions.” Eddie looked down at their hands. “I think I was using my magic to keep my promise. The moment the divorce was done, I started to ache for you.”

“So, your magic was suppressing your intrinsic desire to be close to your soulmate to help you keep your promise to Christopher.”

Eddie closed his eyes and nodded. “Yes, of course it was.” He brought their hands up to his mouth and kissed Buck’s hand quickly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Buck said. “The day he was born, you were already a better father than yours and mine combined.”

“Daddy!”

Eddie released his hand immediately. “Coming, Mijo!”

Buck stayed where he was because he knew he could be physically intimidating, and maybe it would be best to meet Christopher for the first time sitting down. Eddie came out of the bedroom, carrying his son and the boy’s crutches. He put the crutches on the coffee table and sat back down on the couch.

Christopher stayed in his father’s lap and turned to stare at Buck with bright blue eyes. “Hi.”

“Hello, Christopher,” Buck said and smiled when the boy reached out and poked his arm.

“You’re big,” Christopher said.

“Yeah, I work out for work.”

The boy nodded solemnly. “Daddy’s going to be a firefighter with you. Is it fun?”

“It can be,” Buck murmured. “Hungry? I made chicken fried rice for dinner.”

“I love rice,” Christopher said and yawned. “Daddy drove all day, but we stopped and got Subway because Tía Sophia insisted. Tía Adriana says it’s all she eats.”

Buck grinned. “Well, as fast food options go, it isn’t the worst choice.” He slid off the couch. “I try to always eat at the table.”

“Very good rule,” Eddie agreed.

“Is this your house?” Christopher questioned as Eddie put him down on his feet.

Buck watched the boy pick up his crutches and walk toward the table. “I’m renting it from friends. I haven’t decided what kind of house I want to buy.”

“It’s nice,” Christopher announced even as Buck retrieved the rice from the fridge and put the bowl down on the counter.

“The Prices take very good care of their property,” Buck said. “Mr. Price’s mother used to live in this guest house, but she passed away a few years ago, and they started renting it out.”

He opened the bowl, dampened a clean paper towel and tucked it into the bowl across the rice then put the whole thing in the microwave.

“What…are you doing?” Eddie asked.

Buck raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“With the paper towel.”

“Oh, it keeps the rice from drying out. I do it with pasta, too,” Buck explained. He leaned on the counter and watched Eddie stare for a moment. “Not very domesticated, are you?”

Eddie laughed and shrugged. “I’ve been in the Army since I was eighteen. I’ve had every meal cooked for me in some fashion or another since I was born. The last six months have had a steep learning curve on that front.”

“Daddy doesn’t even burn toast anymore,” Christopher said in a tone that was clearly meant to be praise.

“The bar is low,” Eddie confided, and Buck couldn’t help but smile at the two of them. “But I’ve mastered the basics.”

“Howard and Carla taught me how to cook,” Buck said. “He enjoys it, and they like to explore cuisines from all over the world.”

“What’s that mean?” Christopher questioned.

“Cuisine is a word used to describe foods from different cultures,” Eddie explained as Buck pulled dishes out of the cabinet. “Like Chinese food or Indian.”

“I love butter chicken,” Buck said, and Christopher hummed his agreement. “Howard is considering a tandoor oven, and I’m on board with that experiment. We already have an outdoor pizza oven that we store in the garage when we aren’t using it.”

“I had malai kofta a few years back when I visited India, and it changed my life,” Eddie said. “I’ve never had a good version in the US, but I’m on the lookout.”

“We can try to make it,” Buck said. “I’m usually good at following traditional recipes, and Howard likes to branch out whenever possible.” The microwave dinged, and Buck retrieved the rice then pulled the steaming paper towel from the bowl to toss in the trash. “Eds, you’ll have to serve him. I have no idea how much to feed a pint-sized human.”

Christopher laughed.

“Thanks, this smells great,” Eddie said and fixed their plates.

“Drink options….” Buck went to the fridge. “Green tea, water, lemonade, milk, and apple juice. You didn’t mention drink preferences when we talked about food.”

“Green tea for me,” Eddie said. “And he’ll have milk.”

Buck poured himself some tea while fixing their drinks and sat down with them at the table for the lack of anything else to do.

“What did you do with your day?” Eddie questioned after eating for a full minute. “And this is great.”

“Thanks.” Buck stretched his legs. “I ran, mowed the lawn, and cleaned the pool.”

“Is that part of your rent?” Eddie questioned.

“It wasn’t originally, but then I realized that I was paying well below market value. My rent is only 1200 a month, and that’s ridiculous for two bedrooms. They gave me that price because that’s what I was paying for my room share. I was kind of silly about it, and it took about two months for me to realize that they could get three times that much easily. Howard said the lower rent was worth it to have someone he can trust on his property. So, I suggested taking over the lawn care and pool maintenance since they were paying close to 600 out of pocket for those expenses due to the size of the property.”

“I know how to weed flowers,” Christopher said. “Mommy taught me.”

Eddie offered his son a smile. “We can both help with that, and I’ll split the rent with you, too.” He paused. “What about utilities?”

“I pay a third of the utility bill and half of the Internet bill. I talked them into getting fiber shortly after I moved in,” Buck said.

“Maybe we can talk them into half of the utilities,” Eddie suggested, and Buck nodded.

“I’ll certainly try,” Buck said wryly. “But I can’t even buy them a gallon of milk without them asking for a receipt.” Eddie laughed. “They’re really good people. I think you’re both going to love them.”

“They’ve got a pool,” Christopher said. “They’re already on my favorites list.”

“It’s definitely a feature,” Buck said in amusement. “Is the rice okay? I can make you something else.”

“It’s good,” Christopher said and used both hands to take a drink of milk. “Can you make pancakes? I love them.”

“I can make pancakes,” Buck assured and got a quick smile from Eddie. “You can’t?”

“I made a mess the only time I tried,” Eddie admitted. “But I can handle the waffle maker just fine.”

“We can work on that then,” Buck said and left the table to put his glass in the dishwasher. “You didn’t need anything out of the SUV for baths?”

“No, I packed the duffels for that in case we had to stop at a hotel. I was worried he might get car sick since it was his first road trip,” Eddie explained. “And I do need to get him in the bathtub before he falls asleep on us again.” Christopher yawned. “See.”

“I shouldn’t be tired; I napped on and off all day,” he muttered and rubbed the back of his head.

“Well, it wasn’t very restful napping,” Eddie said easily. “So, we’ll try to sleep, okay?”

The boy nodded easily and concentrated on his rice, which he finished off quickly.

Eddie reluctantly left Buck to take care of their dishes as he guided his son through a bath and brushing his teeth. Christopher was tired but chatty throughout the whole process. After getting him dressed for sleep, Eddie pulled out the balm and worked with both of his son’s legs to keep cramping at bay since Christopher hadn’t gotten to move around as much as he normally did on the trip.

“Tomorrow, we’ll have to do extra stretching,” Eddie murmured as he finished with the balm.

Christopher flexed his toes. “Yeah, I think so, too. I like him. He’s very nice.”

“Yes, he is,” Eddie said as he adjusted the covers. “I’m going to take a quick shower and talk some more with Buck before coming to bed. If you need to go to the bathroom, call out for me. We’ll get your step stool out in the morning.”

“Sounds good,” Christopher said and snuggled down in the bed. “It was a good day, Daddy.”

“Yeah?”

“We drove far away from Texas,” Christopher said. “And Grandma didn’t try to stop us. That’s good. We’re better off here in California with Buck. He makes me feel warm inside. Is that magic?”

“Yes,” Eddie said. “It’s nice when that happens.”

“Very nice,” Christopher agreed. “Maybe he can show me how his magic works tomorrow. You said he was a fire elemental, right?”

“Right,” Eddie agreed. “And you can ask, but don’t be disappointed if he says no. Some people don’t like to put their magic on display.”

“That’s fair,” Christopher said. “Good night, Daddy.”

“Good night, Mijo,” Eddie said and kissed his forehead.

He pulled the door almost shut and took a deep breath as he stared at Evan across the room. The man was leaning on the counter near the dishwasher, drinking a glass of water. Eddie wanted to get everything right, but he didn’t know how he was going to keep his hands to himself. Evan focused on him and inclined his head.

Eddie walked across the room and leaned beside him on the counter. “He liked the fluffy towel.”

“I have sensitive skin,” Buck said like he was very used to defending his towels, and Eddie laughed. “Seriously.”

“I believe you,” Eddie said in amusement. “Everything feels better now. I don’t think I realized how…small I felt without you. I guess I just got used to it.”

“Same,” Buck said. “But we can’t change the past. We should focus on what we can build now instead of worrying about how things were. Will you contact Shannon about the legal parent issue?”

“Yeah, I think so. I mean, she’ll be notified, right? I think I have to report it to the court, too, since I’ve requested that her access be monitored in a visitation center with supervision. The judge in Texas signed off on that without much discussion at all. He was clearly very put off by her lack of interest in seeing Christopher and the fact that she walked out on us without a word in the middle of the night.”

“It sounds like we might need a therapist here to monitor that situation,” Buck said in a clearly cautious tone.

“Yeah, he seemed okay with the one in Texas,” Eddie said. “You said you were going to get a list of child psychologists?”

“I’ve got a lot of info,” Buck admitted. He plucked a thick folder from the top of the fridge. “Let’s sit at the table.”

“What’s all of this?” Eddie questioned as they sat.

“Carla is a registered nurse; I think I told you that.”

“Yes.”

“She does in-home care now. Patients vary by age and level of ability, so she knows a lot about the system as a result. She’s made you several different packets of information.” He pushed the folder toward Eddie. “It’s all labeled—doctors, physical therapists, disability services, grants, and schools. She even found a state grant that will pay for Christopher to go to a private school. There are a few options depending on his academic interests.”

Eddie opened the folder and took a deep breath as he separated the stacks of paper-clipped documents and pamphlets. “I…wow, Buck. She really didn’t have to go to all of this trouble for us.”

“Oh, she’s just like that, and there’s no real arguing with her when she decides to do something,” Buck said. “I made her favorite meal as a thank you and baked her a red velvet cake.”

“My favorite cake is chocolate fudge.”

“Noted,” Buck said with a grin. “And Christopher?”

“He’s in his confetti cake era,” Eddie said wryly. “But I’ve yet to see him reject a single cupcake of any flavor.” He nudged Buck’s shoulder with his own then they stayed pressed close. “Yours?”

“Chocolate of any sort—I like fudge icing as well. I don’t indulge often since I have to work hard to keep enough protein in my diet for my muscle mass.”

Eddie nodded. “I’ve read through the manual you sent me, and the academy sent me the course materials already. What’s the word on a transfer for you?”

“I’ve got a few interview offers, but only one asked to meet us together.”

“Interesting,” Eddie said. “What do you think?”

“I think I appreciate the fact that Captain Nash wants to meet us both. It says a lot about how much concern he has for his team dynamic. Also, he clearly understands that while soulmates mirror each other in many ways, we’re still individuals. Interviewing one of us isn’t the same as interviewing us both.”

“Yeah.” Eddie took a deep breath. “I want to kiss you.”

“Yes.”

Eddie laughed a little as Buck snagged his hand and pulled him close. Their lips met seconds later, and Eddie fell into the kiss with a relieved groan. Buck’s free hand clenched on his hip and Eddie shivered a little as he wrapped a hand around the back of Buck’s neck. The kiss was a little more than the soft brushing of their mouths together repeatedly, but it was already the best kiss he’d ever had in his life.

Eddie pulled free and hummed under his breath. “Has that asshole Cohen contacted you since he showed up at your job?”

“He sent me a really ugly text because the Chief of the LAFD contacted the mayor’s office regarding my captain’s report to HR about the incident and the fact that Travis threatened to get me fired. Apparently, he got reprimanded and lost a chance at a promotion. He’s furious with me as a result. But he’s the one that showed up at my job. I’m glad he doesn’t know where I live.”

Eddie nodded and took a small step back but kept holding Buck’s hand. “I’m going to have a really hard time keeping my hands off you, for the record.”

“Same. I guess it’s a good thing we’ve got a chaperone in the form of a six-year-old,” Buck said wryly, and Eddie laughed. “Go take a shower, Eds, and I’ll make sure we’re locked up tight for the night.”

Eddie moved closer and pressed another kiss against Buck’s mouth. “Good night.”

Chapters 6-10