Deserted - Auctioned

Gray exhaled and tried to erase the past five or ten minutes from his memory. Then he dove for the boys, tickled them, and accused them of already turning into mini versions of the history nerd that was Darius.

In the corner of his eye, while the kids squealed with laughter and pleaded for mercy, Gray watched Darius lock away his gun and the USB drive in the entryway.

“I will only stop if you feed me all the popcorn,” Gray threatened, growling playfully against Justin’s belly.

“Give—give him popcorn!” Justin gasped through his giggles.

The assault ended when a wide-eyed, too-excited Jayden recklessly shoved a handful of popcorn into Gray’s mouth, almost clocking him in the jaw simultaneously. Jesus Christ. Gray coughed as one kernel nearly got stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“I shurrender.” He dropped into his seat and chewed quickly so he could catch his breath after.

“We win!” Justin declared.

“No, I win.” Darius joined them and picked Justin up off the couch. “I’m stealing your spot in the middle.”

“Why?” Justin gasped in surprise.

Darius mirrored the boy’s expression and feigned a gasp. “Because I’m a greedy bastard who wants you all close.” He sat down in the middle and planted Justin in his lap. Gray smiled and cuddled up against his left side. Jayden did the same on the right. “That’s better. I gotta have Gray next to me so I can make sure he listens to the documentary.”

“Hey, I graduated high school with a B in history,” Gray defended.

“There’s room for improvement, in other words,” Darius replied. “This fucker got an A.”

“This fucker,” Jayden snickered.

“Shit,” Darius muttered.

Gray rolled his eyes. “That’s a quarter off your allowance, Jayden. Just because grown-ups are dumb enough to curse, doesn’t mean you get to do the same.”

“Crap,” Jayden whispered. “Fine. Your mom sneaks us money all the time anyway.”

For chrissakes. Gray made a mental note to talk to Mom.

Darius looked like he was trying not to laugh.

It thawed Gray somewhat. He didn’t mean to be an uptight asshole; he just felt the pressure to make sure they were good parents. God forbid they were denied the adoption when that became an option.

Pulling the stick out of his ass, Gray turned his curiosity to Darius. “Did you really get an A?”

He inclined his head, his gaze glued to the flat screen. “It was also the only A I ever got in school, but whatever.” He nodded to the documentary. “Pay attention, knucklehead. There’s a lot to be learned from the Battle of Midway. For starters, trust your intelligence.” He turned to Gray and looked him dead in the eye. “In our case, that’s Willow.”

Gray swallowed. Those last five words were enough to let him know Darius wasn’t talking exclusively about some battle from World War II.

“Lesson number two. A single battle can change the course of the future and give the underdog the upper hand.”

Gray glanced at the screen and felt something settle in his gut. He couldn’t foresee the next battle, but he knew one thing.

The war wasn’t over.