AU BigBang Fic: Shades of the Past , chapter 3

[cloversworld]

Title: SHADES OF THE PAST, Chapter 3/5
Author/ Artist: clover71
Fandom: BelAmi Online
READ DISCLAIMER

Links:
Masterpost  |   Chapter 1  |   Chapter 2



III -




Blue prints were laid on a wooden table where Brandon, two of his architects, an engineer and the contractor gathered around. Brandon and Engineer Hamilton were in the middle of discussing why more pipes were necessary on the south wing of the building when Brandon’s phone rang. The smooth-flowing melody of a ballad rock music blended with the construction noises and nonsensical yelling among the people around him.

“Excuse me,” Brandon told his companions before fishing his phone out of his pocket and nearly dropped the phone in his hurry to press the ‘answer’ button after seeing the caller ID. “Dolph?”

“Oh God, Brandon” were the only words that Brandon was able to hear coherently. The rest were undecipherable run-on sentences that Dolph spilled out in one breath.

“Whoa, wait. Calm down, Dolph. Breathe.” Silence from the other end of the line followed. The only sound filtered through the device was heavy breathing. Then there were some faint voices in the background, whispering. “Dolph?” When Brandon heard an almost inaudible ‘yeah’, he said, “Now, what were you saying? And please slow down a bit.”

Upon hearing the story about someone lurking in Dolph’s property, fear settled in Brandon’s chest and he muttered a quick “excuse me, family emergency” to his colleagues before dashing over to his SUV. The drive to Fairfield probably took half the normal time and Brandon could only hope he didn’t break that many traffic rules.

Luke’s car (or was it Josh’s?) was still in Dolph’s driveway when Brandon arrived. Josh had the front door open even before Brandon could reach it. “Where are Lexie and Dolph?” he asked, a bit breathless.

“They’re in Lexie’s room” was Josh’s response. “The police just left,” he added just as Brandon strode over to his daughter’s bedroom.

Luke was sitting on the floor looking up at Dolph who was on the bed with Lexie on his lap.

“Oh thank God.” Luke looked relieved upon seeing Brandon.

“Are you guys okay?” Brandon went straight to Dolph and Lexie, laying his hand on Dolph’s thigh without a thought. “Josh said the police just left. Did they find anything?”

There wasn’t anything reassuring with the responses Brandon got from either Dolph or Luke. Josh wasn’t any help either.

“They just took some dust samples from the spot where Luke saw the man hiding and they said they’ll call as soon as they get the results.” From the way Josh spoke, Brandon could tell he likewise doubted if the police were being helpful at all.

Luke recounted what happened when Brandon asked for details.

“Have you talked to Sergeant Sulik?” Brandon was a bit uneasy about the fact that the officers who were given the responsibility to watch over Dolph and his daughter would just leave without anyone else replacing them.

“Yes,” Luke said with uncertainty. “He told us that he didn’t ask the officers assigned to keep watch here to report at the crime scene, or hostage scene.” Luke had a hard time explaining in details so Brandon ended up calling Sgt. Sulik instead.

The two officers who left their post apparently claimed they heard a dispatch calling all officers on duty to report to a scene where a robbery was taking place. Dolph pointed out it was opposed to the hostage scene they used as an excuse to leave. Sgt. Sulik gave his word that he would get to the bottom of this.

“Listen.” Brandon’s instincts were kicking in. “I know a private investigator that might be able to help get this case solved.” He laid a hand on Dolph’s shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze and he could feel Dolph tremble underneath his touch. It was quite a feat to pull his hand away but Brandon had to. “I have to make a call. Excuse me.”

Brandon made his way to the living room, the feel of Dolph’s muscles still fresh on his palm. That mere contact seemed to have reignited a flame inside him that had long been extinguished. Brandon could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage and… Damn it… His hand was shaking. He couldn’t even keep his fingers still to press the right keys on his cell phone.

“Ridgeston Investigations.” A female voice at the other end announced after three rings.

“Is Mr. Lukas Ridgeston around?” Brandon crossed his fingers, hoping his brother’s friend would be able to help. After giving his name, he was left listening to a ballad he often heard over the radio, teasing his mind to wander off to a place he had long buried into the deepest corners of his subconscious.

“Lukas here.” The voice yanked Brandon out of his musing.

“Hey Lukas, it’s Brandon.” There wasn’t any time for small talk, so Brandon went straight in stating his purpose. He racked his brain for anything he could possibly miss while telling Lukas the entire story.

“Police conspiracy in such cases isn’t anything new,” Lukas said after Brandon had expressed his suspicions about the police being involved in the kidnapping. “I’ll have to look into this case further before I can declare that this could possibly be an inside job.”

“Does that mean you will take the case?” Brandon paused by the window and closed his eyes, hoping that Lukas would concede. He held his breath while waiting for the other man’s response.

“Of course,” Lukas finally said. “I have extra time tomorrow afternoon. I think we should meet.”

It was Saturday the next day and Brandon didn’t have to be at the construction site. He couldn’t ask Lukas to come by Dolph’s place because if Lukas was right, then Brandon was certain that whoever was involved in the conspiracy would be most likely watching the house at all times.

“How ‘bout my place?” Brandon gave his address and listened intently to Lukas’ instructions. The thought of taking Dolph and Lexie away from Fairfield had just crossed his mind even before Lukas suggested it.

“Just be careful, Brandon,” Lukas said before they hung up.

Just as Brandon had pressed the button on his phone to end the call, Devlin Lambert stormed through the front door making Brandon jump slightly from his spot. Devlin’s eyes narrowed the moment he saw Brandon.

“What the fuck are you still doing here? Don’t you have better things to do than hang around my son?“ were the first words that spilled out of Devlin’s mouth.

There were a hundred ways Brandon could meet Devlin head-on with equal sarcasm. But he settled for, “Funny, but, shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” then tugged at the corner of his lips to give Devlin his most devious grin.

“Why you—“

“Dad!” Dolph appeared at the hallway, exasperation masking his face. “Please. I have enough to worry about without you adding weight to the problem.”

“Well, you wouldn’t be having any problems if you had stayed at home” was Devlin’s return, and Brandon could see the veins protruding on the man’s temple.

“I’m not going to get into that argument again, Dad. Just…” Dolph’s shoulder dropped. Frustration clouded his usually calm face. Brandon was so tempted to wrap his arms around him, but he knew such a gesture would only add fuel to the fire.

“Look, son. All I’m asking is for you and Lexie to stay with me while the investigation is taking place.” The thread of deceit hung loosely on every word that slipped out of Devlin’s mouth. It took great self-control for Brandon to hold in his temper. “Keep in mind that they have not caught the kidnappers yet. And Sergeant Sulik did say since they got away with the money so easily, there’s a possibility they might do it again. I’m just worried about you, you know.”

Brandon couldn’t help but grunt in disbelief. Fortunately, tension seemed too thick for anyone to notice. When his gaze landed on Josh, the other man rolled his eyes and Brandon realized that Josh was probably having the same thoughts.

“I know you’re worried,” Dolph said. “But this is my problem, so please let me deal with it in my own terms.”

A string of sinister laugh floated out of Devlin. “Your own terms? You couldn’t even keep your daughter safe. The police called me and told me what just happened earlier.”

“Nothing happened, Dad.” Dolph was on the brink of losing his temper, Brandon could tell. “For all we know, that was probably just some reporter who got a tip that there’s been a kidnapping and decided to snoop around.” That was the police officers’ theory, according to Luke.

The debate went on and Brandon wasn’t the least bit surprised. Devlin was a manipulative bastard who would go to any lengths to get what he wanted. But what left Brandon astonished was the way Dolph handled his father.

It was amazing to watch Dolph plant his feet sturdily and stand his ground. He refused to go back to what his father kept referring to as ‘home’. But Devlin’s stubbornness was no match for Dolph’s decisiveness, and Brandon stood witness to a whole new side of Dolph that he had never seen.

In the end, Dolph won.

Although, of course, Devlin wouldn’t leave without saying, “Let’s just hope your poor decision won’t cost you your daughter’s safety” as his last thought-provoking words. “I doubt these gentlemen here,” he added, gesturing to Brandon, Josh and Luke (and Brandon knew that ‘gentlemen’ for Devlin Lambert was his subtle term for sons of bitches in a conversation like that) with a condescending wave of his hand as he spoke, “will always be around to protect you both.”

The plan to bring Dolph and Lexie with him back to Pittsburgh was at the tip of Brandon’s tongue, but something inside him, perhaps gut instinct, stopped him from telling saying anything about it. Besides, he hadn’t told Dolph yet and telling Dolph’s father before Dolph himself even knew might ignite tiny flames into a raging fire.

When Brandon did tell Dolph about his plan later that day, he was glad that Luke backed him up. “I’ll feel more at ease if you go with him,” Luke had said. “You may want to have Lexie see Dr. Paulik as well.” Dolph did mention that the child psychologist Dr. Bonnet had recommended had an office in Pittsburgh.

“But…” There was a gleam of hesitation that flashed momentarily in Dolph’s eyes and Brandon felt crestfallen thinking that Dolph might decline. “But I don't want to impose. I mean, don’t you have a girlfriend or boyfriend who might not like the idea of me being around you or something?” Brandon had to laugh, and this made Dolph glare at him with his hands on his hips, lips forming a thin line. Dolph was obviously trying to sound pissed when he said, “I don’t see what’s so funny about that.”

It took only a couple of strides for Brandon to reach Dolph. Then he pressed a finger against Dolph’s lips. “I’m sorry,” he said, pulling one corner of his lips into a lopsided smile when he heard Dolph gasp softly but didn’t so much as back away. “And no, Dolph, I’m not currently involved with anyone.”

A comfortable silence fell between them, gazes locked, and Brandon could hear their heartbeats mingling. Not even the sound of a throat clearing could break the moment. Not until—

“Daddy, I’m hungry.” Dolph jolted upon hearing Lexie’s voice and he whirled his head a little too quickly.

“I’ll go and fix you something sweetie,” Dolph told Lexie before turning back to Brandon and timidly asked, “Would you, uhm, like anything?”

“No, thanks, I’m fine.”

When Dolph made his way to the kitchen, Brandon noticed the look both Josh and Luke were giving him. It was the kind of look that seemed to say ‘I know what you’re thinking’ and Brandon simply smiled at them before placing a call to his secretary to let her know that he wouldn’t be returning to the site and to tell his project assistant, Architect Mark Aubrey, to “finalize things as we discussed with Engineer Hamilton and the contractors. He can brief me on what they’ve agreed on tomorrow.”

After dinner, they packed everything that was necessary and decided to drive through the night.


=====


When they got to Brandon’s place, Dolph did his best to hide his awe. The house was huge, not large enough to be considered a manor but a bit over the edge for someone like Brandon, whom he’d always known as the practical type.

Dolph’s eyes scanned the living room, balancing his sleeping daughter on his arms.

The porcelain vases and crystal lamps that adorned the tables were similar to his mother’s collection. Antique drawers lined the walls and a rare design of Persian carpet covered the floor. With just one glance, Dolph could tell that the living room held many expensive furnishings and fixtures. Growing up in a mansion himself, he was quite adept at recognizing luxury.

Brandon led them to the guest room and helped them settle in. Dolph had to decline Brandon’s offer to show him around. He was worried that Lexie might freak out if she woke up in a strange place so he didn’t want to leave her side.

It was around midnight when Lexie woke up. Dolph had been lying awake for hours pondering the last four years of his life and thinking what a huge mistake it was for him to keep Brandon out of the picture.

“Daddy, I’m thirsty,” Lexie whined, tugging on the front of Dolph’s shirt.

“Okay, baby. We’ll go get something to drink.” Once they stepped out of the hallway with Lexie clutching tightly at Dolph’s hand, Dolph realized that he didn’t know where the kitchen was. Now he regretted not having Brandon show him at least some parts of the house.

Thinking that it wouldn’t be so hard to find their way around, Dolph led Lexie downstairs. Fortunately, wall lamps along the hallway were left on so they didn’t have to stumble through the dark.

There was a humming sound, like a machine, somewhere at the ground level and Dolph decided to follow the source. Barely a minute had passed when Dolph ambled into the kitchen with Lexie where they found Brandon pouring a dark liquid that Dolph presumed was coffee into a large mug.

“Hey,” Dolph started softly, careful not to startle Brandon because he might end up spilling the steamy liquid.

After a quick glance at them and throwing a genial “hey” back, Brandon settled the pot he was holding at the coffee machine. “Can I get you anything?”

Dolph looked down at his daughter who was pressed close at his side. He brushed a few strands of her hair away from her face then encouraged her to tell Brandon what she’d like.

“I’m thirsty,” Lexie said, loosening her grip on Dolph’s sweat pants and actually taking a step toward Brandon. “Can I have water please?” She looked up at him with her big brown eyes and Dolph couldn’t fight the smile teasing on his lips as he witnessed Brandon falling under Lexie’s charm.

“Sure sweetie.” Brandon ruffled her hair before walking over to the refrigerator to grab a pitcher of water. “Would you like some hot chocolate?” he asked Lexie while handing her what Dolph hoped was an unbreakable glass.

Lexie’s head bobbed up and down with intense enthusiasm and she broke out into a toothy grin when Brandon asked her if she’d like marshmallows in her drink. “I do, I do,” she said excitedly and Dolph had to take the glass from her hands quickly before she started clapping.

“Do you need help?” Dolph watched Brandon move around with practiced ease.

Brandon glanced at Dolph with a rather sensuous smile. “Nah, I’m good.” There was a glimmer in Brandon’s eyes that made Dolph’s stomach twist. “Or maybe you can grab some mugs from the cabinet?” he added, pointing at one of the overhead cabinets.

“This is a nice place you’ve got.” Dolph placed a couple of mugs on the counter near the stove. His eyes darted across the kitchen and noticed how it was lavishly furnished like the living room.

“Thanks.” The chocolate was now boiling in the pot and Brandon stirred it with a wooden spoon. “I, uh… I’ve been filling the place up for the past couple of years. Some of the things I got from my travels. I sort of got into the habit of collecting interesting things.” Brandon set the wooden spoon aside and started gesturing over at the various objects he had acquired from Paris, Switzerland and Greece.

A playful mood had hit Dolph. He flicked his eyes over to Brandon and said, “Who are you and what have you done to the practical Brandon I used to know?” and this started a comfortable rhythm between them. His words apparently pulled light laughter out of Brandon and Dolph had to smile in comfort while Lexie… Well, she was pounding on the kitchen table, screaming for her hot chocolate.

In that brief moment, the thought that they were much more like a family crossed Dolph’s mind and this pulled a bigger smile on his lips, but then he wondered how long this would last. He could feel his smile fading as soon as doubt settled over his happy thoughts.

“I, uhm…” Brandon started out uncertainly. He turned the stove off and carefully poured hot chocolate in the mugs. “I don’t know. You’ll think it’s silly.”

“No, go on. Please.” Dolph waited patiently for Brandon to speak while trying to get Lexie away from the counter, where she was now trying to climb.

“I wanted to prove something to myself, that I’m not as worthless as your dad saw me.” Brandon shrugged and these words somehow ripped a crack in Dolph’s heart.

“Brandon.” Whatever Dolph meant to say next never made it past his lips.

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” Brandon took the mugs over to the table. “It’s all in the past.” He asked Lexie to drop some marshmallows in the beverages and the little girl gladly complied.

“If only things could’ve happened differently.” Dolph remained leaning against the counter and watched as his daughter and her other father bond. “If only I was brave enough to fight for us back then.”

“Look, Dolph…” Brandon ambled over to him then placed a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s make a deal.” Dolph lifted his eyes and saw the earnestness in Brandon’s own. “The past? Let’s leave it where it should be, okay?”

A strident sound interrupted the unrestrained ambiance building around them before Dolph could agree. Music reverberated across the kitchen and Brandon muttered, “Excuse me,” before picking up his phone from the shelf and pressed the unit against his ear. The only words Dolph heard were “hey mom, how are you?” before Brandon walked out of the kitchen.

It was only when Lexie called out “Daddy?” that Dolph snapped out of his trance. He had been staring at the spot where Brandon had disappeared. He joined Lexie at the table, settling on the chair beside her.

“Yes, sweetie?” He reached out to feel the mug of chocolate in front of Lexie and realized that it was still too hot.

Lexie looked up at him, a piece of marshmallow wedged between her teeth when she smiled. She mumbled something through her marshmallow-filled teeth that Dolph did not understand so he asked her to chew the fluffy sweet first while he blew on her still steaming drink.

After taking a sip to test if the drink was cool enough, Dolph handed it to Lexie and helped her bring the mug up to her lips. When she placed the mug down, she lifted her head and said, “Daddy, I like Branen.”

“That’s Brandon, sweetie. Can you say Bran-don?” Dolph coached, wiping a smudge of chocolate at the corner of Lexie’s lips with his thumb.

“Bran—Bran—Bran-don.” Lexie looked up at him, smiling triumphantly. “I like Bran-don,” she repeated.

The smile that tugged on Dolph’s lips was pretty hard to resist and he began running his fingers idly through his daughter’s dark brown hair. “So do I, baby,” he said dreamily, thinking whether he should teach her to call Brandon ‘Papa’ instead. “So do I.”

Dolph was startled by the sound of a throat clearing and he whipped his head around to see Brandon leaning against the doorway.

“How long have you been standing there?” Dolph lifted an eyebrow when Brandon smirked.

“Just long enough to hear your confessions.” Brandon went behind Lexie’s chair where he leaned over and said, “And I happen to like you too,” then pressed a kiss on her cheek, causing Lexie to giggle.

It was undeniable then that Lexie did feel comfortable being around Brandon. And Dolph couldn’t be any happier. The knot that had settled in Dolph’s stomach had tightened when Brandon shifted his gaze to him. “Listen. That was mom on the phone and…” He straightened up and rubbed at the back of his neck. “I haven’t told her about Lexie yet, but I did tell her I have a surprise. So, uhm, we’ll be driving down to Richmond tomorrow to pay them a visit, if it’s alright with you.”

Dolph initially thought that ‘we’ meant Brandon and Lexie. And despite the fact he’d seen Lexie bond with Brandon so easily and she had never shown any signs of apprehension around her other father, Dolph was still uncomfortable with the thought of Lexie meeting new people without him around, especially after what had just happened.

The conflict that went through his head must have shown on his face because Brandon started saying, “It’s okay if you don’t want to. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other times.”

“Oh, it’s not that I don’t want to.” Dolph then told Brandon what really worried him and the smirk that broke through Brandon’s face made Dolph rethink what Brandon had said earlier.

“Of course I won’t be taking Lexie alone.” Brandon then explained that he wanted Dolph to come along.

Which was worse because… “Uhm, don’t your parents hate me? After what happened between us, I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t want to see me again.”

There was no dissent whatsoever on Brandon’s behalf but he did smile reassuringly. “Don’t worry about them. They couldn’t possibly hold a grudge against someone forever.”

That didn’t help ease Dolph’s worry.


=====


The drive to Brandon’s parents was historically nerve-wracking. Brandon knew that his parents, his mom especially, detested Dolph and Dolph’s father. When Brandon went through a depressive breakdown for more than half a year after Dolph had left him, his mom was his constant shoulder to cry on.

When Brandon began to pick up the pieces and mend his life back together, they never talked about Dolph anymore and so Brandon had no clue how his parents felt about him now. Brandon was more than tempted to turn back and just call his parents to tell them he had an emergency at the site or something, but that would be such a cowardly act.

Besides, he wanted them to meet Lexie badly, let them know that they have a granddaughter. He would probably know what to do once they get there.

But first…

“There’s something I’d like to ask, Dolph.” He didn’t mean to make Dolph more nervous than he’d already seemed to be since they left the house, but Brandon had to fill in the four years worth of gap that still stood between them. When he was certain that he had Dolph’s full attention, he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me that you were pregnant? Or at least try and contact me when Lexie was born.”

The pained look Dolph gave him was unbearable and somehow Brandon knew deep inside that he had just reopened old wounds.

“I did.” There was a crack in Dolph’s voice. “But you practically erased all your tracks and left no trace.” Dolph gazed out the window, remaining quiet for a while, and Brandon just let the hum of his car’s engine fill the void. “You cancelled your old number. The emails I sent you kept returning back with an unknown email address notification. I must’ve sent you dozens of letters until they started coming back to me with an ink stamp stating that the addressee had moved. So I finally went to your old place in Brooklyn and your landlord said you’d moved out without leaving any forwarding address. I called your parents but your mom made it clear that you didn’t want anything to do with me anymore so I stopped trying.”

There was a sharp tug in Brandon’s heartstrings when he saw a single tear rolled down Dolph’s cheek. “I, uh…” He was at a loss for words. In his own need to cope with the pain of losing Dolph, it never occurred to him that he was shutting out his past, burning bridges and building walls around himself in the process. Putting all the pieces of the puzzle together, Brandon was now swept with the realization that Dolph might have hurt more than he did. “What did you do then?” His voice was low and barely audible, afraid that if he spoke any louder, his voice would break.

No words were uttered. Only the sound of the traffic and the constant babbling of the little girl strapped in the car seat at the rear broke the unenviable silence.

“I had to get away from Dad, especially after he asked me to terminate my pregnancy.” Dolph nearly choked on his words. “When I got back from London, I lived with Luke and Josh in Queens. The doctor who had been helping me in London recommended an obstetrician in New York who likewise specialized in cases similar to mine. Dad didn’t stop trying to take control of my life though and there were times that I almost surrendered to him. I felt so alone.”

The tears that had welled up in Dolph’s eyes strolled down his face. Brandon could feel the prickling at the back of his own eyes.

“I’m sorry” was all Brandon could say. The pain he’d felt, the bitterness he had carried with him for four years melted away and guilt crept up to take its place. “Fuck, I’m so sorry, Dolph.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Brandon. You didn’t know.”

When they pulled up in front of his parents’ house, Brandon no longer felt the trepidation that had been polluting his mind. He was now armed with the truth. And seeing as Dolph had changed and had stood up for him against his father, Brandon was more than willing to stand up for Dolph in return.

Dolph was working on getting Lexie out of her car seat when Brandon’s parents came out of the house. Brandon swept his mother in his embrace and planted a sloppy kiss on her cheek. His father gave him a one-armed hug, which Brandon returned.

“So what’s this surprise you can’t wait to tell us about?” His mother asked but the smile that graciously adorned her face quickly disappeared and Brandon knew she who she saw before he even turned around to see Dolph a few feet behind him with Lexie squirming against Dolph’s hold.

“What the hell is he doing here?” It was his dad who managed to break the awkwardness that was rising around them.

“Look, Dad, it’s a long story. Before I get to that though, I want you to meet someone.” Brandon tilted his head, gesturing at Dolph to come closer and Brandon took Lexie who willingly clutched onto Brandon’s shoulders. “Dad, Mom. I want you to meet Alexa Kamile. We call her Lexie. She’s…” He paused to watch his mother’s expression morph into something that resembled a child waiting for Santa Claus to appear. “She’s your granddaughter.”

The look on his mom and dad’s faces were priceless. It made Brandon wish he had his camera with him. He thought of whipping out his phone but then Lexie was clinging tightly around his neck and she had buried her face on his shoulder.

“Huh-wha—“ His mom looked lost. She sighed deeply before bellowing, “Brandon Manilow, is this some kind of a joke?”

Brandon let out a bark of laughter that startled the little girl in his arms. “Oh, sorry sweetie,” he told Lexie then he shifted his attention to his parents. “Why don’t we all get inside and I’ll tell you all about it?”

Apparently, relaying the story to his parents in a concise manner wasn’t enough. They bombarded Brandon and, to his dismay, Dolph with questions that made Brandon feel like he was back in his office with Detectives Hansen and Carradine.

The worst was that, despite the sugarcoating Brandon did, his parents didn’t take Dolph’s story too kindly. And Brandon had to fight the urge to pull Dolph in a hug when the other man seemed to be on the brink of tears.

He couldn’t blame his parents though. They knew exactly what he’d been through when he had lost Dolph. They both witnessed what must’ve been a painful display of losing his spirit and the struggle to get back up on his feet.

Although the way they deliberately left Dolph out of their conversations was way too much of a mental torture, especially when they bluntly said things like “it’s sad we didn’t get to see Lexie as a baby, I’m sure she was just as adorable” and his mom’s sneaky remarks of “I hope you’re not teasing us, Brandon, making us fall for Lexie then we won’t get to see her anymore,” which Brandon could bet pierced right through Dolph’s heart.

Fortunately, Lexie warmed up to his mom later in the day, so she had her as a distraction while Brandon followed Dolph out to the front porch. He’d seen the vestiges of guilt and pain in Dolph’s eyes before Dolph asked if he could be excused, and Brandon couldn’t just leave him at that state.

Now that he’d heard Dolph’s side of the story, Brandon had thought things through. It would be a risk to believe Dolph after everything, but he didn’t doubt for a second when Dolph told him all the threats that Devlin used to manipulate his own son.

Dolph was young then. Too young. Brandon consciously knew what he was getting into when he met Dolph at the ripe age of eighteen, but he’d ignored the warnings from the voice inside his head and gave his heart out to the younger man without any reservations.

Everything started out perfectly. Regardless of his youth, Dolph did show an admirable level of maturity. The downside of it though was Dolph’s manipulative father who Dolph apparently respected and feared at the same time.

The sight that greeted Brandon the moment he stepped out onto the porch pulled at his heartstrings. Dolph seemed lost in thought, tears streaking down his face.

“Hey, stranger.” Brandon nudged Dolph’s thigh with his knee and the younger man started. He stared up at Brandon for a fleeting second before his hand flew up to his face to wipe the tears off.

When Dolph didn’t budge, Brandon squeezed through the space beside him and forced him to move over. The swing shook perilously.

“Brandon!” Dolph clutched at the steel support. “We might break this thing.”

“Nah.” Brandon wiggled his butt, making the hinges screech. “This thing is guaranteed durable.”

“Says you.”

“How are you holding up?” Brandon thought the abrupt change of topic would make Dolph spill out what was going through his mind. Instead, Dolph seemed to fold into his shell.

Brandon knew he shouldn’t. Fuck, he really shouldn’t. Because this would mean he would be breaching his own ‘don’t-get-too-close-to-anyone’ rule. But he couldn’t help it. He laid an arm around Dolph’s shoulders and pulled Dolph closer, guiding his head to rest against Brandon’s.

“Give them time. I’m sure they’ll soon learn to love you like they did back then,” Brandon said, running his fingers through Dolph’s sandy blond hair.

They had decided to forego dinner when Lexie threw tantrums after noticing she was left alone with her grandparents. She had practically screamed for her daddy and it took nearly an hour before they could pacify her.

“We’ll pick up something on the way home,” Brandon had said, but of course his mom wouldn’t have it. She packed some pasta and salad and reminded Brandon that he should be eating healthy.

Lexie had slept during the entire drive back but was up and about by the time they got home. Soon after they had dinner though, she had started yawning again.

“Read me a story, Brandon, pleeeeease,” she begged in a singsong voice after Dolph had washed her up and had gotten her ready for bed. She looked up at him with ‘puppy-dog’ eyes and how could Brandon say no to that?

“Sure, sweetheart,” Brandon said after he had loaded the last of the plates in the dishwasher. He heaved Lexie in his arms and balanced her on one hip before his gaze glided over to Dolph. “You coming?”

What Brandon didn’t expect was for Dolph to ask Lexie if she needed him around. When Lexie pointed out she was fine having Brandon alone, Dolph said, “I’ll stay here and finish cleaning up.”



Continued on Chapter 4