Scott had just opened his mouth to ask if Kayla was okay with dogs when she made a beeline over to him, her tiny hands outstretched, reaching up for Chewie.
He’d figured that a family lunch was a family lunch, and Chewie was his family. If it’d been a problem, he could have left Chewie to play outside and get into all kinds of trouble, but it looked like it wasn’t going to be.
“I told you we should get a dog,” Jude said before anyone else could react. Kayla was still standing at Scott’s feet, staring up at Chewie with love in her eyes.
Scott lowered him to the floor carefully, keeping a tight grip on his leash just in case, but he really didn’t need to worry. Kayla darted forward another few steps, hugging Chewie tightly when he jumped up on her.
“I can introduce you to some great kid-friendly dogs,” Scott said, smiling down at the scene unfolding in front of him.
No one was being weird about his presence so far. Jude and Owen had greeted him like an old friend, Charlie had kissed his cheek and excused himself to help in the kitchen, Mrs. Jules had waved a quick hello and then ducked back in after Charlie.
It was all surprisingly not traumatic.
Just as Scott was thinking that, the sound of keys in the door made him jump. He turned to see who could possibly be coming in, and came face-to-face with a man wearing huge reflective sunglasses and what looked like half a normal person’s wardrobe, layers upon layers of clothes along with a scarf and a beanie.
The man lunged forward, wrapping Scott in a warm hug as though they were long-lost brothers.
This was bordering on traumatic. Just a little bit.
The man backed off after a second, removing his sunglasses and looking Scott up and down. “You are not one of my brothers. Sorry, man.”
This had to be Riley. Scott understood immediately what Charlie had meant about him being a little odd.
He gave good hugs, though. Even if he hadn’t actually intended to hug Scott.
“Uh, no,” Scott said, unsure why he felt guilty about that.
“Who are you?” Riley asked.
It wasn’t a rude question, or even really a demand. He seemed genuinely curious, looking between Scott, Kayla, and Chewie.
“Is that a puppy?” he added, apparently forgetting that he still didn’t know who Scott was.
Charlie had been right. Scott did like him. Anyone who’d completely ignore the presence of a stranger in their home in favor of paying attention to a dog was okay by him.
“His name is Chewie,” Scott said.
“And that’s Charlie’s new boyfriend,” Owen added, walking over to greet his brother. The hallway was getting a little crowded, but Scott didn’t mind.
He’d always wanted a big extended family, but he was the only child of two only children. No brothers or sisters, no cousins, no aunts or uncles. His grandparents had died when he was in elementary school, so it had just been him, his parents, and the dogs.
“Oh.” Riley stood again, having ruffled Chewie’s fur gently, and turned to face Scott. “Hmm,” he said, looking Scott up and down. “I guess he can keep you. As the oldest, I’m legally required to mention that I will hurt you if you hurt him.”
Scott wasn’t sure how seriously to take that.
“He’s joking,” Charlie said, squeezing into the already crowded hallway and wrapping his arms around Scott, kissing his cheek.
Scott blushed. The whole family was looking at him.
“I actually wouldn’t hurt anyone,” Riley said. “I probably wouldn’t know how.”
“You’ll get used to him.” Charlie smiled wryly, tugging on Scott’s arm. “Time to sit down. There’s plenty of food.”
Riley grinned. “After you two,” he said, holding his hand out to let Charlie and Scott into the kitchen first, holding back the stampede.
Scott headed inside, moving out of the way so he could take Chewie’s leash off and give him a chance to explore, since no one had said not to. They all seemed to want to give him attention, and Chewie was happy to indulge everyone as much as they wanted.
Later, he’d pretty much pass out from all the excitement, but that was okay. Puppies needed plenty of sleep and love. This way, he’d get both.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Scott said as Riley sat down next to him at the table. Thankfully, Charlie was sitting on his other side. As they all settled in, Charlie took his hand under the table.
He hadn’t exactly heard a lot about Riley, but he had heard of him. It seemed like the kind of thing to say in a situation like this.
“And no one told me about you.” Riley tutted, standing to help Mrs. Jules find space on the table for all the dishes she was setting out.
She’d cooked enough food for the entire town, but since no one mentioned it, Scott assumed that was normal.
He suddenly wondered what Thanksgiving was like in the Jules household if this was a normal Sunday.
“I haven’t been around long,” Scott said. “I’ve only been in town a few months, and I didn’t meet Charlie until recently.”
It was strange explaining himself when everyone else at the table already knew what was going on, but Scott didn’t hate doing it. Riley did seem genuinely interested.
“Well, you’re hot, so you can stay,” Riley said.
The whole table went quiet.
“What?” Riley asked. “Are we pretending he’s not? Is this some kind of weird mind game we’re playing with the poor kid?”
Scott laughed. He could see why everyone had gone quiet. It wasn’t the kind of thing that people normally said during polite, family-lunch conversation. He was starting to get Riley, though. He wasn’t the kind of man who held back.
Scott liked that. Even if it was a little embarrassing to be called hot in front of everyone.
The sudden tension melted away, as though everyone had been waiting for Scott’s reaction. Maybe they had.
He was trying to make a good impression on them, but they were probably trying to make a good impression on him, too.
“I saw him first,” Charlie said, a tiny smile turning up the corner of his lips.
“And I saw him second, so you get in line,” Mrs. Jules said.
Scott looked up, unsure he’d heard right for a moment, and then realized he definitely had. His ears burned with embarrassment, but thankfully, everyone was looking at her this time.
“What? I have eyes,” Mrs. Jules defended.
“And if I hadn’t met Charlie first, I’d be bringing you flowers instead, ma’am,” Scott said.
Charlie laughed at that, which set off the rest of the table, including Mrs. Jules. Scott breathed a sigh of relief that he’d said the right thing.
Maybe it had been a little awkward, but he felt accepted here. Wanted, even. Like he could have just slipped into this family and no one would have made him feel like he was an outsider. Jude had clearly done exactly that.
“So, we were talking about kid-friendly dogs,” Owen said, cutting up potatoes for Kayla.
Beside him, Jude let out a tiny squeal of excitement.
Scott grinned. That, he could definitely talk about.
“Well, I’ve got a few dogs who’ve been kid-tested. But you’re always welcome to bring Kayla over to my place and see how she gets on with everyone. And I can arrange that kind of thing with a lot of other places, so you’ve actually got a lot of choice. Depends on what kind of dog would suit you. And, uh. I can help you figure that out, too.”
Owen smiled over at him. “Sounds awesome. We’ll talk about it and see you for drinks on Friday?”
“Absolutely,” Scott said, squirming in his chair. That was acceptance. Love, even. Owen just expected that he’d be there, because he was one of them now.
Scott glanced at Charlie, who was taking advantage of the distraction to load his plate, and smiled.
He could get used to this family.
Thankfully, the conversation turned away from him and onto Riley’s latest adventures, which were actually interesting. He was a good storyteller, and Scott could imagine sitting around at Thanksgiving and Christmas listening to his travelling tales.
If Hope Springs felt like home, this felt like family. It wasn’t his, but there was a part of him that thought maybe it could be.
Sometimes, people found themselves in the right place at the right time, and everything worked out. Scott was starting to think this was his right place, his right time. It had been so easy to accept the way he felt about Charlie, felt so natural to fall for him, even if he’d never felt like that before.
Fall for him?
Had he done that?
Scott wasn’t sure, but the thought felt natural, too. Comfortable. Like if it happened, it wouldn’t be a bad or scary thing. It’d be nice.
He wanted to fall for Charlie. He wanted this comfortable life, full of people he liked being around, with someone as kind and good as Charlie beside him.
Right now, he couldn’t imagine wanting anything else. This was what the world had always promised him would happen. One day, he’d find his people, and everything would be okay from that moment onward.
Charlie’s family, his friends, the whole of Hope Springs felt like that. Like they were his people. Like this was where he belonged.
After dinner, when the table had been cleared and Scott was too full to move, Charlie sat back down next to him and took Scott’s hand, moving it into his own lap and wrapping both of his hands around it.
“Thank you for coming,” he said. “Sorry about Riley.”
“Hey, he called me hot. I like him.” Scott shrugged. He did like Riley. Charlie was nothing like his older brother—either of his older brothers—but they were all good people.
“I still saw you first,” Charlie said, squeezing Scott’s hand. “They all approve, by the way. Not that you probably care.”
“I do care,” Scott responded. “I care that your family likes me. I care that you’re never gonna have to feel like you’re choosing between me and family.”
“You never really talk about your family.” Charlie shifted closer, leaning his head against Scott’s shoulder.
Scott was starting to love it when he did that.
“There’s not much to talk about. I’m the only child of two only children. Neither of them miss me now that I’m gone.”
Charlie made a soft, sad noise and shuffled a little closed. “They should. You’re wonderful.”
“I don’t think it’s their fault,” Scott said. “I think they had a kid because they thought they had to, and then I was… there, and they never really wanted me, so they sort’ve… went through the motions of raising a child. I know they love me in their own way, but I always felt like I’d interrupted their life. I dunno.”
“You shouldn’t have been made to feel like that,” Charlie murmured, squeezing Scott’s hand again. “You deserve to be loved.”
Scott swallowed. He wasn’t sure whether or not they were at I love you stage yet, so he held his tongue.
But he wanted to say it.
He wanted to be in love with Charlie, and come over for Sunday lunches every week, and bask in the warm, loving family he could see himself just slotting into, like he’d always belonged there.
“Thanks,” Scott said instead. “I like your family.”
Charlie hummed, turning his head to kiss Scott’s cheek. “Good. Because we come as a whole package.”
“But I only have to take you home, right?”
“Right,” Charlie said. “In a minute. I’m too full to move.”
Scott laughed at that.
Yeah. He could get used to this.