Chapter 7

 

By mid-afternoon, Casen and Darren were knee deep in their art project. Lachlan hadn't offered to help, only because he already had plans for the day. With Grayson and Mack cooking, Levi and Cormag organising the music and a few games for after dinner, and Tam and Giovanni handling the barbecue, everyone was busy. Leaving Lachlan free to drag Konnor off on a long walk along the beach.

“I think our little reunion is going well, don't you?” Lachlan asked, as they walked arm in arm.

Konnor nodded, but didn't look too sure. “Gray is still freaking out. It's like every little thing has to be perfect or the whole visit is going to go to shit,” he complained, tilting his head to lay it on Lachlan's shoulder.

“Yeah, but he's allowed to do that. It's a big deal, what with it being part of your therapy homework and to celebrate your engagement,” Lachlan reasoned. It wasn't as if Grayson was panicking over nothing; he had legitimate reasons to worry. Thankfully, there had been no sign of the anger or intolerance to each other that they'd all expected and feared.

“I guess.”

“You're excited about getting married, right? But a little scared too?” he asked, though he already knew the answer. When Konnor turned to grin at him like a kid on Christmas morning, he knew he was right. “Then you know what Grayson is dealing with right now. He's excited to help you with this celebration and let you finalise your therapy stuff, but he's also scared that it's going to go wrong. Let him worry. It shows he cares,” he promised.

Konnor took a long, deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay. I just don't want him to feel like it's his fault if something does go wrong. We're basically asking for it, bringing so many people together with the kind of history we've got,” he argued, talking like the reunion was already a disaster.

Lachlan didn't like or approve of the way he'd been acting or talking since they arrived, so he led the way to the little fishing pier and sat down. Once Konnor was sitting beside him, dipping his feet into the water thanks to the shorts he wore, Lachlan pulled his phone out of his pocket. They were both dressed for the nice weather, in shorts and t-shirts, anticipating the heat wave they said was going to blow in after the storm faded. But if they had any hope of enjoying the hot weather, with the volleyball game Cormag and Levi were plotting for tonight, then he had to make sure Konnor was in the right frame of mind for it.

Pulling up the necessary phone number, he didn't give Konnor time to see or argue; Lachlan called Rico.

“Hello?” the therapist replied, after just two rings.

“Rico, it's Lachlan. I'm here with Konnor,” he explained, to make sure the therapist knew he wasn't trying to overstep the boundaries he'd set. He was only allowed to call if he had concerns for Konnor, never to try to find out how his therapy was progressing.

Konnor blanched and muttered a small, “Hey, doc.”

“Konnor. How is the reunion going?” Rico asked, in that same mild mannered, but somehow all-knowing way he had.

Lachlan loved it, but when he looked Konnor's way, his best friend was floundering a little at the unexpected phone call. “He's a little freaked out, Rico. And I blind-sided him with the phone call, because I'm worried. He says he's dealing, but he doesn't look good. Did he tell you that he and Grayson got engaged?” he asked, only to realise that he'd thrown a lot at the therapist with those few sentences.

“He didn't. Congratulations,” he replied, actually sounding thrilled for them. “Is it the engagement, the reunion or both that's freaking you out, Konnor? Because, you know that we can bring Grayson in on this call if you want to discuss the engagement,” he reminded him.

Which was another thing he loved about this guy; he not only let Giovanni and Darren share sessions, because they were comfortable doing that, but he'd offered to let Konnor bring anyone he needed into a session or phone call, if it would help.

Waiting, he watched Konnor trying to decide what he wanted. Then he licked his lips and spoke up, his voice a little more certain than before. “I'm okay with the engagement, Rico. I've been waiting to marry Gray for what feels like forever, but I'm happy that he's the one who brought it up. I couldn't take the rejection again,” he confessed, with a slow sigh that sounded so sad. Lachlan reacted on instinct and grabbed his hand in support. “I guess I'm freaking out because nothing's happened. I'm waiting for the shoe to drop, for someone to say the wrong thing and for someone to get hurt.”

“What's your main concern?” Rico asked. “Try to be specific. So, don't think about the overall reunion and what might happen, tell me what you're worried is the most likely risk and why it worries you.”

For a moment, Konnor was quiet. Thinking or maybe just trying to organise his fears into order. He never let go of Lachlan's hand, so he put his phone on the deck between them and placed his free hand over both of theirs, in a promise that he wasn't going anywhere.

“Darren,” he said, with absolute certainty. “I'm scared someone will say the wrong thing and we'll trigger something for him. None of us know what his issues are, and that's fine. But I saw that look in his eyes, when Tam and Casen walked in. He's scared and that makes me scared for him,” he confessed.

“Okay. Well, I can tell you that Darren is fine,” Rico promised, with what sounded like a smile in his voice. “We had a session before he came to the cabin and talked over all eventualities. If a trigger word comes up, he knows how to deal with it. He's ready to tell you all the reason for his therapy, if necessary, but most of his coping techniques involve proximity to Giovanni. So, unless they're a little more glued at the hip than usual, I wouldn't worry,” he explained.

“And you'd notice that, wouldn't you?” Lachlan quipped, trying to ease the tension he felt in Konnor. “I mean, those two are so in love that they could be on opposite ends of the earth and still be making goo-goo eyes at each other. So, if they're practically on top of each other, we'll notice that. Because they don't need to be right next to each other for every minute of the day to survive,” he reasoned.

“Precisely,” Rico agreed.

Konnor nodded, releasing a breath and folding his bottom lip up to nibble on it. “I'm also scared about Mack and Levi. Which, technically, doesn't make any sense, but I don't know them. What if they end up not liking me? I mean, after what I did to Tam, they'd have every right – being his best friend and his husband's twin – to hate me,” he claimed, as though that was the real issue.

And, thinking about it, Lachlan wondered if that was the truth. Was he concerned for Darren in the way that any decent person would be, when someone they knew and liked was hurting? Was his fear of Mack and Levi much more personal than his fear for Darren?

“I see.” Rico went quiet for a moment, then cleared his throat. “You don't talk about Tam much, but I know enough to put the pieces together. And, beyond anything else, I want you to understand that neither Tam nor Casen holds a grudge. You should know that, because you've all worked so hard to rebuild the trust between you,” he explained, sounding so supportive that even Lachlan felt comforted. “But, your fears are valid, so I'm not surprised you haven't noticed that you've already been forgiven. Even if Mack and Levi wanted to hold a grudge, I assure you that neither Tam nor Casen would allow it.”