Avery's heart lurched in his chest. Kane was his everything. One heartbeat passed, and then a second, before Kane's tears began to spill from his eyes and roll silently down his cheeks. He recognized what he thought might be uncertainty and apprehension in his husband. Kane started to pull away from him. Knowing his partner felt so much anguish over his position almost slayed him where he lay.
"No more. I promise this is it. We'll see this through and then we'll bow out," Avery reached for Kane, pulling him back reassuringly against his body.
"Thank you!" Kane's expression lit up, and he climbed back on top of Avery, placing random kisses all over his entire face. "Thank you!"
"All right, all right," Avery said and rolled Kane onto his back. There was a time they would have gone again, making sure Kane knew who the real boss was, but not so much anymore. Instead, he looked down at his smiling love. "But I believe I burned a few calories, so can I have my snack now, please?"
Chapter 30
2004 ~ Georgetown, Washington, DC
Avery sat in his usual place, directly across the kitchen table from Kane, the house phone stuck to his ear as he gave the occasional and unsure 'yes' while Autumn eagerly explained her new Christmas plans. The ones that differed from any other itinerary they had discussed before. This year's plans gave him pause as he stared at Kane, trying to figure out how his husband would feel about this latest development. Kane loved Christmastime with their family. He looked forward to the weeklong festivities leading up to the big day.
As if he already had a clue something was up, Kane kept his gaze glued to Avery, never rushing the conversation, but waiting for his turn to talk to their daughter. Autumn was in her final year of graduate school at Yale while Robert had chosen Duke, and they were both very busy and excited about their chosen careers.
"Dad, you tell Daddy for me. I have to go to class. I'm late," Autumn said hurriedly.
"Wait a minute. No way, you tell him," Avery immediately shot back, breaking his standard uh-huh response.
"I don't have time. Besides, he'll take it better from you," she said, but Avery wasn't buying any of that, he knew his husband too well. No way would he be stuck with the task of breaking Kane's heart.
"Kane, she has to go," Avery clicked the speaker phone on so Kane could hear her.
"Daddy! I love you! I'll call you tomorrow. I'm late for class," Autumn yelled into the phone, making sure she was heard. Then came her signature giant smack from the other end of the line—Autumn's kiss goodbye to both of them.
"I love you, too. Study for finals," Kane called out, but she had already ended the call and the phone went dead. Damn, she'd left Avery holding the bag! He hadn't been fast enough at seeing where her sneaky, middle of the day phone call was headed. He should have known that something was up when she sounded surprised they answered the phone, and then insisted on talking to him first.
"What was all that about?" Kane asked as Avery reached forward to click the phone off.
"Well, honey, it seems neither of our children can make time for us this Christmas break, but they both still plan to be here for Christmas day. They don't want us to be alone while unwrapping presents, can you imagine that? Anyway, Robert evidently has a mini-mester and Autumn is traveling to meet her current boyfriend's family before heading to New York City for New Year's with her friends. We'll apparently be the stop in the middle of her jaunt," Avery announced, watching Kane closely, worried about his reaction. Kane had dedicated his life to raising their children, and now it appeared they were back to just the two of them at home.
"She's like you, go, go, go," Kane said, picking up the empty sandwich plate taking up space in front of Avery on the table.
"I can call and ask them to come home," Avery started but Kane stopped him as he placed the dish in the sink.
"I think we should go to Aspen this year," Kane surprised him by saying. Avery watched him even closer as he turned on the faucet and washed the dish. Had he heard him right? He had been certain the holidays without the children would have depressed Kane.
"Why are you looking at me that way?"
Avery rose, trailing a finger around the center island as he walked toward Kane. He kept his gaze focused on his husband, trying to figure out why the man was okay with a change of plans this year. He wrapped his arms around Kane from behind and kissed his neck before he answered. "I've always wanted to go to Aspen for the holidays."
"I know. I think it's the perfect time," Kane stated, leaning his head back to look at Avery.
"What about the children?" Avery asked cautiously.
"They can come there for the day, just like they can come to Georgetown. They're twenty-four years old, they're moving on with their lives, and it's back to just us now. It's time for them to leave the nest. We have to let them jump. It seems they're past ready to spread their wings and fly," Kane said, shutting off the water and drying his hands before he turned in Avery's arms.
"So does this mean No-Clothes-Thursday can be added back to our weekly schedule?" Avery gave Kane a grin and waggled his brows.
"I'm old enough to collect Social Security, Avery, I don't think anyone wants to see me naked," Kane replied, leaning in to give Avery a small kiss before pulling away. Avery wasn't having any of that. They were going to have the house to themselves again. Kane was settled with their children creating their own lives away from home, so Avery found this the perfect moment to reinforce how much he loved his husband. Because Kane was very wrong, his need for this man had never faded, it had only grown stronger over the years.