"What's for dinner? I'm starving!" Robert asked, clearly over everything. Kane laughed as audible sounds were heard coming from his growing boy's stomach.
* * * *
Avery sat, fuming in his office. He fought hard to keep the intense hatred he felt toward the Dalton family from blistering through his veins and manifesting in some outward display of contemptible retribution, but his resolve was only so strong.
Janice came through his office door, her mouth opened to speak as their gazes met. Her eyebrows shot up, she closed her mouth, and backed quickly out of the room, the door closing with a tenuous click in her hasty departure.
A heartbeat later, his will broke and the contents of his desk went violently flying across his office. Anger rolled off him in repugnant waves as he gripped the sides of the brand new mahogany desk and dug his fingers into thick wood. Nothing pissed him off more than having Kane fucked with, and he was damn tired of that detestable family getting the best of his husband.
Reason! He needed reason. A reason to take their vile fucking asses down! No! He couldn't lower himself to their level…or could he? Fuck! He needed sound reasoning ability to filter through this intolerable and nauseating disdain robbing him of his capacity to think rationally.
The constant sound of the annoying dial tone in an otherwise silent room brought Avery's focus back to his surroundings. He glanced around the office, his papers and files lay jumbled in scattered heaps, along with the loudly buzzing phone on the floor. Avery reached for the cord and pulled the receiver back to his now empty desk. He shouldn't let that family get to him, but damn, Kane was too good a person to be treated like that. He methodically placed the phone in its cradle, hanging it up, only to have it immediately begin to ring.
"Avery, it's Sophia. Thomas is right here with me. We've been trying to reach Kane, but the phone's busy. Have you talked to him? Are they okay? Thomas was just about to head over there," she said, her voice just as frantic as everyone else he'd spoken with since the newscast aired. Avery scrubbed a hand down his face and took his seat, trying to gather his composure.
"Yes, they're fine. A little shaken up, but they're all together. My mom's there too. Autumn saw the whole thing," Avery said. Thinking about Autumn watching that awful man spew his hate and bigotry had his gut twisting again.
"I can go there, Avery," Sophia suggested.
"No, stay home. I'm sure Paulie's on his way. Can I talk to Thomas?" he asked. A second passed before Thomas was there.
"I can stop him if you'd let me," Thomas stated emphatically. He sounded just as pissed off as Avery felt.
"No, handling this through the courts would cause too much press. I've got something I'm thinking, I just need time to pull it together. Listen, I'm increasing security on you, Sophia, and your girls. I'll also call you in the morning. I want full, current background reports on every member of that family. Use anything available to find out everything on them. I want it all. And if you and Sophia could help keep Kane and the kids occupied, that might help, too. He's adamant I'm not to come home," Avery said.
"No problem, Avery. For what it's worth, I'm really sorry. You guys didn't deserve that," Thomas said, and he could hear Sophia agreeing in the background.
"Kane's been too good to them. He certainly didn't deserve it. I'll call you in the morning." Avery disconnected the call and dialed his security company. They needed to double their watch. He wanted his family protected until he could figure this out.
* * * *
"That man hasn't shown his face for thirty years. You've supported that entire family for years, and he disgraces you like that? But your money's good enough to take?" Paulie came through the back door without knocking, straight into the kitchen where they were having dinner. "It's not right! Did anyone tell that reporter that your dad put you out of the house at eighteen years old with nothing more than the clothes you were wearing? What kind of father does that to his son?"
"Paulie, it's all right. We're past it. Grab a plate, sit down, and eat." Kane tapped his fork on the table in front of the empty chair Paulie usually sat in.
"Your father did that?" Robert asked. Kane had never shared that story with his children. They were too young, and the story he felt was far too harsh. He only wanted them to know that parents stood by their children, not tore them down.
"Kane Adams! You've sent him thousands of dollars, and that man sure didn't look like he was hurtin' like all those letters said he was." Paulie was on a roll, not even taking his seat at the table, letting everything out to Avery's mom and the kids.
"We send him money?" Autumn asked. Her face visibly changed. She put her fork down and stared at Kane.
"Honey, keep eating. It's the right thing to do to send money to your family when they are down on their luck," Kane said, now tapping the side of her plate.
"I don't think it's right, not if he talks about you like that," Robert said.
"The boy knows what he's talking about," Paulie piped in, still on his roll.
"I don't want us to send him any more money," Autumn said. "He's a bad man, Daddy!"
"I don't want us to either," Robert agreed.
"Me either!" Paulie sat down in a thump in Avery's empty chair right next to Kennedy.
"For the record, and since we seem to do everything on a family vote, I'd prefer we don't send them any more money either," Kennedy added, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. Kane just stared at Paulie. The rant had been substantial, but already fading. Paulie looked older in that minute than he'd ever looked before, and Kane reached out a hand, clasping his. Haggard, worn eyes met his. This had been an argument they'd had many times over the years. Tonight, Paulie won.