Susan raises her eyebrows. “Are you guys ever going to sort things out?”
Felix shrugs. He’s made too many mistakes for Kade to possibly want him back. But he buries his face in the giraffe’s flank anyway, breathing in its pine-and-cedar scent. It smells like Kade has been holding on to it for a while, like Kade is standing here with him, and he hugs it to himself, comforted. “Maybe.”
“You should. It’s only a few more months before you’re due.”
He winces, reaching down to touch his belly. It’s still getting bigger, and the baby has been moving, a constant reminder of the new life inside him. Kade hasn’t said anything about wanting a child.
But Kade had brought up the past, and Felix had deflected the conversation. Like a coward. There’s a reason he’d repressed that memory from five years ago. He’d been focused on hurting Kade, making Kade stay in Meadowfall so he wouldn’t follow him.
And the horrifying things Kade had repeated back to him last night... If Felix had said them to his alpha, then how could he possibly make up for that?
Felix brushes the tears from his eyes, hurrying to the backroom so he won’t cry in front of anyone else. The giraffe presses soft against his chest, and he hugs it, breathing in Kade’s scent, wishing Kade were here.
He wants everything to be right again. He wants to erase the awful bits of their past, so Kade’s father will still be alive, so Kade’s family will still be doing well, and his brothers and parents will still be living contentedly in the same house.
Felix tucks the giraffe into his locker. If Kade returns again, he can’t reject his alpha. He’ll make it up to Kade somehow.
Ten hours later, Felix opens up his email. You’ve made some sales today, the artist portal email reads. Check out which pieces you’ve just sold!
Smiling, Felix clicks on the email. There’s been a sale or two every week, and one a day for the last two days.
What he doesn’t expect to see is the list of sold paintings. He scrolls down the page, and half his collection is listed: Ship at Sea, Goat in the Forest, The Kraken Attacks.
He stops counting the number of paintings after a while, scrolling down to the order summary. $5,230.41.
His heart thuds, and Felix whimpers, his vision blurring. Someone bought his paintings. Someone bought half his collection, and he’ll have money to pay for things again. He’ll have savings now.
He sets his phone down, hugging his belly.
39
Kade
Kade returns to the gas station the next day, feeling like he shouldn’t be there.
Maybe Felix won’t be around. Maybe he’s swapped shifts with Susan so they won’t have to talk. And it would be just like Felix to do that.
He steps through the doors anyway, expecting to see the giraffe on the counter.
Instead, Felix straightens at the register, his eyes hopeful, teeth biting down a smile. “Hello.”
Kade’s pulse trips. “Hey.”
But the night before still stands between them. Felix doesn’t want anything from him other than sex. Kade tucks his hands into his pockets, trying to look like he doesn’t care, when his bondmate stands just four feet away.
Felix holds his gaze, squirming, looking like he’s holding back a flood of words.
“How are you?” Kade asks. Why do you look like you just throttled your manager?
“I sold some paintings last night,” Felix says, his words cramming together. “Half of everything. Someone bought forty pieces at once!”
“Really?” Kade stares. This isn’t what he imagined would happen. He’d pulled into the gas station, thinking he’d have to apologize, or edge around Felix. And here they are, Felix looking like he’s bursting with sunshine. “How much did you make?”
“Five thousand,” Felix says, wriggling.
“Holy shit.” Kade grins. It’s not something either of them expected to happen. Felix has groaned about his sales the past few weeks, and to have him sell so much suddenly... Kade thinks about jumping over the counter. He wants to hug Felix. “I told you, they’d sell!”
Felix does a little dance next to the register, his entire face suffused with delight. “It’ll probably be a one-off event, but five thousand dollars, Kade! I can’t believe it. I’ll have it piled up and roll around in it.”
“Gonna cash it in dollar bills?” Kade chuckles at the image, extending his hand.
Felix raises his eyebrows—they’re a little past handshakes by this point—but he slips his hand into Kade’s anyway, his fingers soft and warm. “Maybe some five-dollar bills. I want a bed of cash. Make a coat out of bills. Or maybe a painting. It’ll be my thousand-dollar masterpiece.”
Kade laughs, and it feels like a bit of relief, and a bit of joy. “Go ahead. You deserve it.”
“I’m still walking around in a daze,” Felix says, his eyes the brightest Kade has seen in five years. “I think I’ll have to spend Saturday shipping everything out. I can’t go out with you. Sorry.”
Kade shrugs. He’s happy for Felix, and if Felix has to take some time off to get his paintings shipped, he’s willing to accommodate that. “It’s fine. Want me to come over and help?”
Felix bites his lip. “Probably. I mean, I don’t want to trouble you. But I don’t know how else I’ll get forty whole paintings packed. Some of them aren’t even framed yet. I’ll need frames for them. Oh, gods, there’s so much to do.”
“Relax,” Kade says, rubbing the back of Felix’s hand with his thumb. “I can come over tonight and help if you want.”
Felix’s eyes widen. “You don’t mind?”
Kade clicks his tongue. “I’ve been coming over the past few days, haven’t I?”
“Not yesterday,” Felix murmurs, looking down. And Kade remembers two nights ago, when they’d crouched by the slushie machines and kissed. Felix’s eyes had brimmed with regret.
“Don’t worry about it,” Kade says. He pulls his hand
