Reading Time: 87 Minutes

Title: Rocks Under Tide
Series: Like Stars Aligned
Series Order: 3
Author: Bythia
Fandom: 9-1-1
Genre: Established Relationship, Family, Slash
Relationship(s): Evan “Buck” Buckley/Tommy Kinard
Content Rating: PG-13
Warnings: *No Mandatory Warnings Apply, discussion-child abuse, homophobia
Author Note: I very much enjoyed exploring some of my headcanon for Tommy’s life in this story. I’ve put down some seeds for possibly adding more stories to this series in the future, but we’ll see.
Beta: starlitenite
Word Count: 40,039
Summary: Tommy left his father’s house as soon as he could after his 18th birthday and planned to never look back. Nearly two decades later, his father’s early death forces him to deal with family history, an estate he didn’t know about, and, worst of all, his stepmother and half-siblings.
Artist: penumbria

 

---

---

 

Chapter 01

Tommy pulled off his turnout coat and threw it into the cab of the engine before grabbing one of the water bottles, pouring part over his face before he took several big gulps of it. He had lost track of how long they had been working the fire, grateful it was finally put out. He hated fires like this. They had found one of the residents burned beyond recognition, although they had thankfully managed to get the other four out in time.

“You good?” Tarek asked as he leaned against the engine beside Tommy.

Tommy shook his head. “This shift needs to be over. How are the kids?”

“Shaken,” Tarek murmured. “Suffering from smoke inhalation. But no burns. I think it’s their grandma who didn’t get out in time.”

Tommy exhaled slowly. “The grandfather?”

“Arrived at the hospital alive. Cap has dispatch trying to reach the parents. According to the oldest girl, they’re on a weekend trip and the kids were supposed to spend four days with their grandparents.”

Tommy sighed. “This is why I prefer to be in the air.”

He loved his job, there was no question about that. But being in the air gave him the distance between himself and anyone they went to help that he sometimes needed. Tommy already knew that the screams of the youngest child and the charred body of the grandmother would haunt his nightmares for at least the next little while.

Tarek hummed.

“Does Cap want us back inside to help with the cleanup?” Tommy asked.

Most of the house was a total loss. There was always a last check-up to make sure that the fire wasn’t still smoldering in some places, just waiting for them to leave before it flared up again. And then, of course, they’d had to wait until they could hand the scene over to the police. There was always an investigation about fires like this, especially when someone died.

“Nah,” Tarek shook his head. “Someone needs to collect the hoses.”

Tommy nodded, grateful that he wouldn’t need to go back inside. He tossed the empty water bottle back into the engine and turned to start gathering up their gear, putting it back into the compartments where it belonged. Tarek joined him without forcing conversation, and Tommy enjoyed the easy silence between them.

“Oh good lord, what happened?”

Tommy flinched and turned to the elderly woman standing just outside the perimeter they had established shortly after their arrival. Her hands were wrapped tightly around the handles of her walker, but he could still see them shaking from where he stood. There had been a group of onlookers earlier, while the fire had still been raging. Now, those people had all left, bored by the mundane tasks that followed the excitement of extinguishing a fire.

“The situation is under control, ma’am,” Tommy said with a careful and soothing smile that he had practiced for years.

He walked over to her so she wouldn’t try to pass the barrier of the tape. She was probably a neighbor, and at her age in a neighborhood like this, that meant she might know the owners of this house pretty well. People tended to do stupid things if they saw friends and family hurt, like crossing the perimeter first responders had set up to keep everyone safe.

“Is anyone hurt?” she asked, staring past him at the burned-out husk of the house.

Tommy sighed. “I can’t give you any of that information, ma’am.”

“Paula and Robert are my friends,” she hissed and looked up to glare at Tommy, who braced himself for an angry tirade. But then she paused, and her frown deepened. “Lombard? Thomas Lombard?”

Tommy tensed and pulled his shoulders back. He hadn’t been called by that name in a very long time, and he had to bite his tongue not to instinctively snap at her to correct his name.

He had really hoped to get out of this neighborhood without anyone recognizing him. The only downside he had ever found with his transfer was that this whole neighborhood was part of the 217’s response area. But they weren’t the only station covering this neighborhood, and Tommy hadn’t had to return here that often.

“I’m sure your neighbors will contact you as soon as they can,” Tommy said, trying to redirect her attention. Maybe she would forget about recognizing him or think she had the wrong person if he didn’t react.

She lowered her gaze and shook her head. “You are the Lombard boy!”

Tommy sighed.

“I can’t believe you’d dare to show your face here!” she snapped.

“Right now, I’m just doing my job,” Tommy said, trying and probably failing to hold onto a friendly tone. “Please return to your own home. The situation here is under control, there is nothing to see, and as I said, I’m sure your neighbors will be in contact with you as soon as they can.”

She shook her head and braced her hands on her hips, her elbows pointing sharply outwards—and suddenly Tommy remembered her. Beth Morrow had loomed larger than life back when Tommy had been forced to move into his father’s house at twelve years old, watching the neighborhood like a hawk and reporting back to the parents about every single misdeed the children playing in the neighborhood made. She’d had an unfavorable opinion about Tommy before he’d even unpacked the few things he had been allowed to take with him after his mother’s death, and Tommy had never figured out if it had been his father or his stepmother who had spread that opinion throughout the neighborhood.

“You always were an ungrateful brat, Thomas! Ever since your father took pity on you and took you in!” Mrs. Morrow spat.

“Everything alright here?” Tarek asked as he came to stand beside Tommy.

Mrs. Morrow turned her glare on Tarek. “I hope you know what kind of person you work with! And I thought the LAFD had a code of conduct firefighters had to follow! This man didn’t even deem it necessary to show up to his own father’s funeral. After everything his father did for him, sacrificed for him, he did nothing! He didn’t even send flowers, can you believe that?”

Tommy’s knees buckled, and he stumbled a step backwards. “What?”

He felt like someone had punched him in the gut, knocking the breath out of him. He blinked, but both Mrs. Morrow and Tarek still looked strangely blurred in front of him.

Mrs. Morrow huffed. “Oh, don’t pretend, Thomas! I spent half an hour after the wake consoling Colleen. She was so heartbroken about your disrespect for your father when she called you, and about your disregard for anyone else’s grief! You are a horrible, horrible son!”

The only thing Tommy managed to do was to shake his head.

“And your disrespect in not showing up! I managed to make that drive down to San Diego three days after my knee surgery! There is no reason why you couldn’t manage it. Though I told Colleen it was probably for the best. If you had shown up, you would have only talked badly about that poor man, even after he sacrificed so much for you!”

Tarek’s hand on Tommy’s arm made him flinch. “Go to the engine, Tommy.”

Tommy blinked again, and then he just nodded. He turned on his heels and walked around the engine until Mrs. Morrow was out of sight and out of hearing range. He leaned his back against the warm metal and dragged his fingers through his hair. Then he grabbed two fistfuls of hair and started to pull until the pain broke through the fog that had overtaken his mind.

The next thing Tommy knew his captain, Hayden Stack, was standing in front of him and carefully prying Tommy’s grip loose from his hair. Tommy sucked in air through his teeth and flexed his fingers carefully, avoiding Hayden’s worried frown.

“Tarek told me what happened. I assume you didn’t know.”

Tommy shook his head. “I didn’t. I don’t know what his wife told everyone, but no one called me. I’d be surprised if any of them even had my number or my address at all.”

The truth was that he would be horrified if he learned that his father had had the ability to reach him or just show up in front of his door all this time. He hadn’t wanted to hear from him ever again after he left.

Hayden watched him carefully. “Do you need to go home?”

“No!” Tommy shook his head and stepped away from the engine. “Don’t send me home, Cap. I don’t … There is a reason they didn’t call me to tell me, okay? I haven’t spoken to my father in a very, very long time. And I had no interest in changing anything about that.”

“You’re clearly shaken,” Hayden said.

Tommy huffed. “I didn’t expect one of my teenage nightmares to berate me while telling me my father was dead. I have a grip on it. I don’t … I won’t grieve for that asshole, Hayden.”

His captain looked at him a moment longer, then he nodded and pointed at the hoses. “Clean up. We should be able to leave soon.”

Tommy nodded and gave him a grateful smile before he turned back to the task he had been assigned. Tarek joined him, and for a precious few minutes, they worked in silence.

Then, Tarek asked, “So, this is your childhood neighborhood, huh?”

“No, not childhood,” Tommy murmured. “That was Burbank with my mom. She was a seamstress and worked for one of the studios in the costume department. My childhood was there. And ended when a drunk driver killed her, and Colleen decided she couldn’t live with the shame of anyone learning that my father had let me go into the system. I don’t even remember if it was before or after my twelfth birthday that I was forced to move into their house here. That whole year is a little bit blurry.”

“I remember you telling me that about your mom,” Tarek said softly. “The costume part, at least. I didn’t realize you went by her surname rather than your dad’s.”

Tommy huffed. “Took that back as soon as I could. I don’t know much about the time around my birth, but my father didn’t want to accept paternity at first. And even after he did, we never heard anything from him. But then he forced me to take his name when they brought me here. I changed my name back to Kinard as soon as I was 18.”

“Makes sense,” Tarek said quietly.

“Don’t tell the rest, okay?”

Tarek sighed. “Cap was right, Tommy, you look … shattered right now. There is no way the rest won’t notice something’s wrong.”

Tommy frowned as he haphazardly rolled the hoses. They just needed to be tidy enough to fit in their compartment for the drive back to the station. There, they’d unroll them again anyway to inspect them for damage and hang them to dry.

“You can hate someone and still have their death hit you like a truck,” Tarek said. “I don’t think you should dismiss your own reaction to this.”

“I’m not.”

Tarek huffed, and Tommy sent him a glare. He wasn’t dismissing his reaction, he just didn’t want to talk about it. Especially not when they weren’t even halfway through a 24-hour shift. He could deal with whatever emotions this news would eventually cause on his own, far away from his colleagues. Hopefully, even far away from Evan, because he would be damned if his father managed to shake his relationship even in death.

***

Buck waited outside Harbor station, leaning against Tommy’s truck and watching the entrance. In theory, he and Tommy should’ve gotten off shift at the same time. But half an hour before the end of the shift, Tommy’s flight crew had gotten a call for a medical transport, so they were running late.

The strange thing was that Buck didn’t hear any of that from Tommy. He had gotten a text from Tarek while on shift late yesterday afternoon, telling him that he should cancel whatever other plans he might have had for the next day because Tommy would need him. Tarek hadn’t passed on any more information—except letting Buck know about their last flight delaying them—and Tommy hadn’t reacted to Buck’s text of ‘everything okay?’ at all.

So Buck had left his own car in the parking lot of the 118, called an Uber, and come here. They could take Tommy’s truck together, and it would be easier for Buck to pick his car up from the 118 than from here. Even though Tommy was clearly able to fly, Buck wanted to be prepared in case Tommy wasn’t able to drive himself.

It was an hour after his shift should have ended before Tommy and his flight crew—his co-pilot Charlie and the two paramedics Tarek and Marisol—came out of the station. It wasn’t the first time Buck had waited to pick Tommy up, so he noticed right away that all four were unusually subdued, and everyone kept throwing Tommy worried looks.

Tarek was the first to notice Buck and greeted him with a nod and a relieved smile. Then he not very subtly led Marisol and Charlie in the other direction as Tommy stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Buck. He was too far away to really read the expression on his face, but Buck decided to wait patiently for Tommy to come over.

Eventually, Tommy let out a sigh that Buck could see even from this far away and kept walking. “Tarek tattled?”

Buck shrugged. “Not really. Just texted me that you’d need some kind of distraction.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Tommy said.

“You don’t have to.” Buck stepped up to him and took his hand, rubbing his thumb over Tommy’s knuckles. “We can find something to distract you without you ever telling me what happened.”

Tommy stared at the ground for a long time, then he nodded slowly. “There’s a diner in Burbank that my mom used to take me to for breakfast. It’s still there, and I’ve checked it out a couple of times over the years. It’s not bad.”

Buck nodded. Burbank was easily an hour’s drive at this time of day, if not more, but they didn’t have any other plans or appointments for the whole day. “Sounds good. Do you want to drive or should I?”

Tommy ran his tongue over his lips, then he pulled the car key from his pocket and held it out to him. Buck took it without comment, then he leaned in for a short kiss. Tommy hated being the passenger in any car, but Buck had promised not to ask about what was bothering Tommy, so he wouldn’t.

“It’s great to see you,” Buck murmured.

“I won’t be good company today,” Tommy warned quietly.

“Doesn’t matter,” Buck whispered and kissed his cheek. “I’m going to enjoy my time with you, no matter your mood. Get in the car and be prepared for me to complain for the whole drive about the latest failure they sent us to replace Chimney.”

Tommy just nodded, and Buck allowed himself a short frown of confusion and worry while he walked around the car. He pushed that away as soon as he got in and started talking about the latest paramedic the LAFD had sent to replace Chimney. Or more correctly, who they had sent to replace Sahar, who they had sent to replace Chimney.

It had been three months since they had learned about Chimney using Buck’s name to catfish women and pick them up at bars when they thought Buck had stood them up. Sahar Hadid had joined their team just a week later—and for the next ten weeks, it had looked as if they had found a great replacement, someone who had just clicked with their whole crew. But then she had learned she was pregnant, and two shifts after a closed-door meeting with Bobby and Hen, Sahar had been reassigned to the fire academy.

So, the A-shift of the 118 was back to having a different paramedic work with them every shift, and there didn’t seem to be an end in sight. Buck felt they might be cursed with the whole thing, because the replacements just kept clashing not only with Hen but also with their other paramedic team, so none of the new people ever stayed long.

Tommy remained silent, no matter the opening Buck gave him to chime in. So Buck kept talking, moving on from the latest catastrophe of a paramedic to some of the funnier calls they’d had. His shift had mostly been easy, but he wished he knew what had happened on Tommy’s shift to rattle him so much. Tarek, Charlie, and Marisol had all looked fine: they had only seemed to be worried about Tommy, and that puzzled Buck even more.

When they reached Burbank, Tommy finally started to talk, but only to direct Buck through the streets to the diner he wanted to go to. Buck followed the instructions, and a short while later, they sat in a diner that didn’t look like it was thirty years old. The place definitely had seen a renovation or two since Tommy had come here with his mother.

“We didn’t have much money when I was a kid,” Tommy said quietly while they studied the menu. “But Mom had a deal with the owners of this place back then. I think ownership has changed twice since. Doesn’t taste like I remember, but it’s still good.” He sighed. “So, Mom would do some sewing work for them, and we’d get free meals out of it. I was always so excited when she brought me here. It was the highlight of each month.”

Buck smiled. “What would you get?”

“Pancakes,” Tommy said, chuckling. “Always pancakes. I’m still convinced they had some secret ingredient in them back then.”

Buck laughed and bit his tongue so he wouldn’t ask for pictures. He had done that once before only to learn that all of that had been lost when Tommy’s mother had died. He longed to see pictures of Tommy as a child, and his heart ached for his boyfriend and the fact that he didn’t have anything left of his mother other than the memories in his head.

“So you’re getting pancakes?” Buck asked instead.

Tommy made a face. “No. They aren’t the same anymore. Or, maybe, I’m just not the same anymore.”

“What did your mom always get?”

“Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and fried veggies,” Tommy said. “And a huge milkshake. She always said the best meal was the one she didn’t have to make herself. I don’t think she liked cooking in general. I always thought that one day I’d learn to cook and make sure she never had to cook for herself again. And she had just started teaching me, but she always said I wouldn’t be allowed to use the stove by myself until I was at least 14.”

Buck chuckled. He was sure he had been handling the stove alone long before that. Of course, Maddie had only taught him some very basic recipes, and Buck had never bothered to learn more until he joined the 118 and Bobby started teaching him. But he had gotten along fine with those few things once Maddie had left to live in a dorm room at her college.

“I’ll take the fancy omelet with salmon,” Tommy said after a moment.

“I’m getting the pancakes,” Buck decided. “The sweet ones. Berries, maple syrup, and cream sound exactly like what I need.”

They ordered shortly after, and for a moment, Buck didn’t know how to break the silence again. Then, Tommy exhaled slowly and loudly, curling his fingers around the edge of the table on his side.

“My father is dead,” Tommy said.

“Oh.” Buck stared at him, wide-eyed and at a loss for words. “I’m … sorry.”

He knew Tommy hadn’t spoken to his father in nearly twenty years—hadn’t had any interest in getting back in contact with the man either. Buck understood that mindset very well, especially given the few things he knew about Tommy’s father.

“I feel I shouldn’t be shaken by this as much as I am,” Tommy said, his gaze fixed on a point on the table. “I should be happy! And … I guess I am relieved. Immensely.”

“But it’s still a shock,” Buck murmured.

“Yes.”

“Did his wife call you?” Buck asked.

Tommy huffed. “God, no. I really hope none of them have my number. But we had a pretty devastating call to a fire in a residential area. We got the three kids and the grandpa out of the house, but the grandma was probably dead long before we arrived. After the fire was dealt with, a neighbor showed up, worried about what was going on. Until she recognized me and then berated me about not showing up to my own father’s funeral. While at the same time claiming it was for the best that I hadn’t shown up because I would’ve just talked badly about him anyway.”

“Charming woman.”

That made Tommy laugh darkly. “She always was. Mrs. Morrow was the bane of all the children in that neighborhood. Probably still is. She hated me before I even moved there, but looking back, I think she hated most children out of principle. Good thing she never had any of her own.”

Buck groaned and sank deeper into his seat. “I had one of those living on my street, too! When Maddie was still there, old Mrs. Henson would tell her all the bad things I had done—you know, running down the street chasing a couple of friends and shouting too loudly, playing ball on the street and getting too near to her yard—and Maddie would lecture me about how I should behave better.”

Tommy grinned. “And did you?”

Buck raised his brows. “What do you think? The next day we’d make sure our ball ended up in her yard at least every half hour. She didn’t have a fence, so we could just get it back and wave at her while she was yelling. Called the cops on us a couple of times. Then she got a fence and … ah … we might have thrown other things into her yard at times. We wouldn’t sacrifice any of our precious balls for that.”

“Like what?” Tommy asked, laughing.

“Dog poop was a favorite,” Buck explained. “Mickey, two streets down, his family had three dogs. We had an endless supply. Mrs. Henson moved away, eventually.”

Tommy leaned forward, still laughing. “Damn, I wish someone would’ve been brave enough to prank Mrs. Morrow to that point. But everyone was scared of her. And the parents all seemed to be on her side. My father, especially, of course.”

“At least that asshole won’t be able to show up and bother you ever again,” Buck said softly.

Tommy swallowed visibly and nodded. “Yeah. And good riddance. I just wish I hadn’t been slapped in the face by the news while on shift. And that I didn’t feel so rattled by it.”

Buck shrugged. “We’ll find something to do today that will thoroughly distract you.”

“I have no idea what to do,” Tommy confessed.

“I suggest you enjoy your meal first,” the waitress said cheerfully as she reached their table in that moment with their breakfast.

Tommy grinned. “That’s always the best plan for any meal.”

Buck waited until they were alone again at the table before he asked, “Is there anything you and your mom planned to do eventually that you never got to do but you’d still like to?”

Tommy blinked and stared at him silently.

Buck shrugged. “I mean, you’d clearly prefer to remember your mom today. So, let’s do that. Let’s do something in her honor.”

Tommy stared at him for a moment longer, then he nodded slowly. Instead of answering Buck’s question, though, he started eating in silence. Buck bit his lip, wondering if he had made a mistake, but he followed Tommy’s lead and kept quiet.

“Mom used to talk a lot about Disneyland,” Tommy said after a long time. “She loved the whole idea of it. I was never very interested. But … If I wanted to do something to honor her, I think visiting Disneyland after all would’ve made her really happy.”

Buck grinned brightly. “Then we’re going to Disneyland once we’re done here.”

Tommy frowned. “It would already be afternoon by the time we got there. Only having half a day seems like a waste.”

Buck shook his head, already on his phone to look up the necessary information. “They’re open until midnight. And neither of us has a shift tomorrow, so we can stay until they close, if we want to. I bet we won’t make it the whole twelve hours or so before we’re overwhelmed and tired.”

Tommy lowered his gaze at him.

“Don’t be a spoil sport!” Buck said, maybe a little too excited about the whole idea of going to Disneyland with Tommy. But he still nudged Tommy’s shin under the table with his foot. “This will be great.”

“Have you ever been to Disneyland?” Tommy asked.

“No.” Buck sighed deeply. “I used to beg my sister to go to Disney World because I knew Florida wasn’t as far as California. But she always just laughed me off. I passed through Orlando when I was travelling, but I didn’t want to go without her. That was before she stopped answering my phone calls.” After a moment, Buck shook his head, his excitement returning. “And since I’ve been in California, I haven’t even thought about Disneyland! So, we’re doing this today, right?”

Tommy chuckled. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go to Disneyland.”

Chapter 02

The day after their impromptu trip to Disneyland, Buck regretted a little bit that he had taken his own words about managing to stay until closing time as a challenge. They had stayed until everyone had been asked to leave the theme park, and so they had reached Tommy’s house far after midnight. Despite being used to working through the night, Buck felt utterly exhausted the next day.

There was no time to rest, though. Hen’s mom was visiting from Las Vegas and had demanded a day alone with her grandson, so Buck and Tommy had invited Hen and Karen to come over for lunch to distract them from missing their son on one of the few days they both had off. So they got up much too early for Buck’s liking to prepare the lunch they had invited their friends to.

Karen laughed when Buck opened the door for them and eyed him from head to toe. “Will Hen interrupt if I ask what the two of you were up to last night?”

Hen sighed and rolled her eyes.

“We were at Disneyland,” Buck said, grinning. “So Hen has nothing to fear about Tommy or me sharing things she doesn’t want to hear.”

Hen looked at him with a frown as she passed him by. “You went to Disneyland and didn’t talk all our ears off beforehand? I would’ve bet you’d plan your visit down to every last detail beforehand.”

“It was a spontaneous decision,” Buck said. “And we had a lot of fun.”

“Despite not planning ahead for it?” Hen teased.

Buck sighed and rolled his eyes. He wouldn’t admit that he had already started making plans for the next visit—either with Tommy or when he would steal Denny and maybe one or two of his friends for a trip. “Yes, despite that.”

“How come you went to Disneyland?” Karen asked.

Buck shrugged, not sure what exactly he was supposed to say about that. He knew Tommy didn’t talk a lot about his family. Karen might know some things, but Buck wasn’t sure how much even Hen knew other than that Tommy’s father had been a bigoted and homophobic asshole.

“How is your mom’s visit going, Hen?” Tommy asked when Buck led Karen and Hen into the kitchen, where lunch was already laid out on the table.

His tone made Buck think for a moment that he hadn’t heard Karen’s questions, but the brief frown and the hunched shoulders told a different story. Thankfully, Hen and Karen got the message and started talking about Toni’s visit instead of asking about their previous day. Hen was clearly already fed up with her mother’s visit, and Karen was mostly amused but also resigned to some things that might just never change with Toni.

“This is great wine,” Karen said eventually when they were already halfway through their meal, and Hen had exhausted herself complaining about her mother.

Tommy chuckled. “It’s not that special.”

“Oh, it’s very special,” Karen said and exchanged a look with her wife. “Because this will most likely be the last time I’m getting wine, any alcohol, really, for the next two or three years.”

Buck frowned. “What? Why?”

“Hen and I have been talking for the past little while,” Karen said with a soft smile and grasped Hen’s hand. “And you’re the first we’re saying anything to. So. We think it might be nice to have another pair of little feet running around the house. And we’re both in a good position in our careers for it. I just got promoted to head a team at JPL. So it won’t be a problem to delegate any experiments to other people and observe them from a safe distance.”

“You’re planning to get pregnant?” Tommy asked.

Hen nodded. “We’ve done a lot of research, and we’ve been in contact with a clinic that does IVF. It’s a long process, of course. And Karen’s age might be a little bit of a concern. But we want to try, at least.”

Buck grinned widely. “I’m so excited for you!”

“I’m starting the first round of treatment next week,” Karen said. “And I decided no more alcohol right from the start, even though everyone told me it would be fine until the embryos were implanted.”

“I understand wanting to do the best for your baby from the get go,” Buck said. “So, we’re here to celebrate that new, exciting step in your life, are we?”

Hen chuckled. “It might not work. There won’t be a reason to celebrate for some time.”

“Of course it will work,” Buck said, fully convinced. “You’re great parents. And Denny will be a great big brother.”

“He’ll be the best big brother to ever exist!” Hen said with conviction.

Tommy chuckled. “Have you talked with him about these plans yet?”

“Not about the specifics,” Karen said. “But we had the conversation about adding a sibling to our family. And he is excited about it. We’ve tried to caution him that it will take some time, but I’m not sure how much of that part he understood.”

“I don’t think we’ll tell many people until we’re sure it has worked,” Hen said. “No one needs to know at the LAFD for a while. We’ll tell Karen’s boss soon, because safety at the lab will be a worry very early on.”

“We won’t tell anyone,” Tommy promised, and Buck nodded.

Hen’s smile looked relieved. “We’re not even going to tell Chimney. It’s … I hate it, because half a year ago he would’ve definitely been the first person I told. But I can’t trust him with it right now.”

“How is Chimney?” Buck asked carefully.

Hen and Karen had kept their word about keeping their friendship with Chimney separate from their friendship with Buck and Tommy. Most of the time, Buck didn’t much care for any news about Chimney, and Tommy kept his questions about Chimney to those wine nights he spent alone with Karen.

“Working on himself,” Karen said slowly. “I think he recognizes now that he does have some lingering issues from his accident. He is … He has a problem with his anger. And he knows that. He has started taking therapy seriously.”

“That sounds good,” Buck said with a careful smile.

Hen nodded. “It does. But it might be an ongoing problem, something he’ll always have to fight with because some wires in his head got crossed that no surgeon can uncross anymore.”

“He has your support,” Tommy said. “And you mentioned the other week that his foster parents got back in touch with him.”

“They did,” Karen agreed. “The Lees learned about his accident somehow and reached out. They’re there for him, too. And he has other friends to support him. Chimney is far from alone in this. But he still feels like he is sometimes.”

“I’m glad he is accepting the help he needs now,” Tommy said. “He’s always been stubborn about that.”

Hen laughed. “So stubborn. Do you remember when that truck drove over his foot that one call? And he could barely walk, but he kept insisting he could keep working?”

“Sal and I had to carry him to the ambulance, and he wouldn’t stop struggling and protesting,” Tommy said with a grin. “Didn’t stop cursing us out until we had dropped him off at the ER.”

“Didn’t stop cursing all of you”—Karen pointed at Hen, then Tommy, then at Buck for some reason as if he had been there—“for the whole time he was treated. He was still cursing you out when I showed up to drop off a bag with essentials when he had to stay overnight.”

Buck laughed. “Wow.”

The laughter was interrupted by the doorbell, and Tommy sighed deeply as he pushed his chair back from the table and stood. Buck followed him with his gaze as he left the kitchen, his place at the table such that he could watch Tommy all the way to the front door, though he couldn’t see past the threshold.

“Thomas Kinard?” a male voice asked when Tommy opened the door.

The conversation in the kitchen had fallen silent, so that Buck could hear everything clearly.

“That’s me.”

“You aren’t an easy man to find, Mr. Kinard,” the stranger said. “I’m sorry that I have to inform you about your father’s death two months ago.”

“I learned about that recently,” Tommy said, and Buck bit his lip because his boyfriend’s voice had turned icy. “Who are you?”

“I’m Noah Graham, and I work as a PI for the law firm of Mason, Rossi, and Hudson. Our firm represented your grandfather, Simon Lombard, and has been managing his estate since his death.”

Buck saw Tommy shaking his head. “I don’t know why that has anything to do with me?”

“I’m not privy to the details,” Graham said. “I’m just here to tell you that you’ll need to come to San Diego because there are some things that you will need to make some decisions about.”

“About my grandfather’s estate?” Tommy asked, sounding incredulous.

“Yes,” Graham said.

“I don’t have any interest in any of that,” Tommy said darkly.

Graham sighed. “Be that as it may, you’ll need to come to our office to sign the paperwork about declining your inheritance.”

Tommy huffed, and Buck jumped up from his chair and hurried to the door. He placed a hand on the small of Tommy’s back as he asked, “Could Tommy just send a lawyer down there to deal with whatever needs to be dealt with? Could he handle it all electronically?”

Tommy exhaled slowly and leaned ever so slightly into Buck’s touch. Standing beside him now only confirmed the impression that had made Buck jump out of his chair. Whatever this was, Tommy clearly did not want to deal with it, probably even less with a stranger standing right in front of him.

Graham eyed Buck suspiciously for a moment, then he nodded slowly. “I would assume that would be possible.” He turned his gaze back to Tommy. “But I’m not a lawyer, just the person the lawyers use to track people down. I’d recommend that you should at least take the time to come in person initially to listen to what your grandfather arranged for you.”

“I never met him,” Tommy said coldly.

“Do you have a business card for your employers?” Buck asked and curled his fingers into Tommy’s shirt.

Graham nodded and provided the card. “Of course.”

“Thank you,” Buck said with a fake smile. “We’ll find a way to deal with this so your employer will be satisfied with their inquiry. You can tell them someone will be in touch with them soon.”

Graham sighed. “Fine. I guess my job here is done. Have a nice day.”

Buck closed the door for Tommy, who turned and leaned his back against it, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Hey,” Buck said softly, worriedly, and rested a hand on Tommy’s arm.

Tommy just shook his head, and for a moment, he just breathed slowly. When he pushed himself away from the door, he said, “Let’s just ignore that that happened.”

Buck made a face and followed Tommy silently back into the kitchen. He doubted it would be that easy.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Karen said slowly.

Tommy shook his head. “No loss at all. Could even be a win, if people stopped bothering me about it.”

“Okay,” Hen said slowly. “Then I’m sorry people keep bothering you about it.”

“I like the idea of just throwing this at some lawyer,” Tommy muttered and sat down with a heavy sigh.

“Maybe not the best idea,” Karen said with raised brows. “At least not until you know what this is all about. What do you know about your grandfather?”

“Nothing,” Tommy said. “I honestly thought he had died before I was born. Which … might have been a misconception. My father was pretty young when I was born.”

“Another reason to hear that law firm out, if only so they can tell you what your father and possibly your grandfather died of,” Hen said with a frown. “How old was your father? Maybe there is something in your family history that you should be aware of.”

“You just have to sound reasonable, don’t you?” Tommy glared at her.

“Kind of my job as your friend,” Hen said with a soft smile.

Tommy rubbed a hand over his face. “My father was 21 when I was born, so he should be … 58 now. Should’ve been. Whatever.”

“That’s pretty young,” Hen said with a frown.

“If you decide to drive down to San Diego, I’m coming with you,” Buck decided. He wouldn’t let Tommy go and face whatever parts of his family he’d have to deal with by himself. Buck knew that if he ever had to face his parents again, he wouldn’t want to do it by himself.

“You don’t need to…”

“But I want to,” Buck interrupted him. “I want to be there with you, for you, whatever happens. And Bobby has been hounding me about using my PTO anyway. I wanted to wait until my probationary time was over, but Bobby keeps telling me that it’s important to make time for myself regularly.”

Tommy chuckled listlessly. “Cap has been reminding me I need to schedule some time off, too. He nearly sent me home last shift after we learned about my father’s death.”

***

Tommy wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but four hours later he found himself sitting in the passenger seat of his own car with Evan driving south. Somehow, they had both managed to get the next two shifts off—a testament to the fact that both Bobby and Hayden had been desperate for each of them to take some time off. It gave them six free days in total, and Tommy really hoped they wouldn’t need all that time to deal with this situation.

So now they were heading to San Diego, even though it was the last place Tommy wanted to visit. San Diego wasn’t that far from Los Angeles, but Tommy had convinced himself it was far enough that he wouldn’t ever have to deal with his father or his father’s family again.

“We’re going to make a little holiday out of this,” Evan said as he turned the car onto the highway. “I’ve never been to San Diego before.”

Tommy grinned. “Really? And here I thought you had already been everywhere.”

Evan laughed. “No. I think even just the US is too big to visit everywhere in a lifetime. When was the last time you took a vacation?”

“I don’t even remember,” Tommy had to admit.

Evan looked at him with a frown for a moment. “Yeah, we’re definitely making a vacation out of this. And next time Bobby insists I take time off, I’m not going to argue with him, and we’ll go on vacation somewhere we both want to visit. Whatever this lawyer wants from you can’t take more than a couple of hours, right?”

“And now you jinxed us,” Tommy laughed.

“I did not!” Evan protested. “What do you know about your grandfather? Why would there be a problem with his estate after your father’s death, of all things? Shouldn’t that all have been taken care of when your grandfather died?”

“I have no idea. I honestly don’t even remember his name. My mom never talked about my father’s parents. And I don’t remember that my father ever mentioned them, either. Not that I would’ve wanted to listen to anything he had to say.”

“Have you ever thought about getting in contact with your half-siblings once they’re of age?” Evan asked.

Tommy made a face and shook his head. “No.”

He suspected that was a mindset difficult for Evan to understand. He was still waiting for his sister to call him again, even after not hearing anything from her for nearly three years now. When Evan talked about his childhood, it always included his sister in a way that showed a lot of hero worship for her.

“I doubt they remember me,” Tommy continued after a moment of silence. “The oldest was six, the others four and three. I think he was already three? I might have left before his birthday, I don’t remember exactly. I hope I won’t have to deal with any of them.”

“They might surprise you,” Evan said softly.

Tommy huffed. “Hardly.”

Evan was quiet for a moment, then he changed the topic. “Okay. So, you have about two hours to research what we can do tonight. We don’t need to stay in San Diego after your appointment with the law firm is done. We could detour a little and make a road trip out of going back home.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Tommy said. “The less time I have to spend in San Diego, the better.”

“I’m driving, so it’s your job to search.”

“I could’ve driven,” Tommy protested. “We could still switch at the next place where we’re able to pull over.”

“Nope.” Evan shook his head with a playful grin. “I’m driving all the way to the super fancy hotel I booked for the next two nights. Get your phone out and start looking up what we can do to make this trip worthwhile.”

Tommy sighed and did as instructed. But instead of searching for must-see places in San Diego, he opened the email Evan had forwarded him with the hotel booking. He hadn’t really listened earlier when Evan had talked about looking up hotels, and now his comment had made him curious.

Tommy whistled lowly. “Wow, that is one fancy place. We could’ve probably found a room somewhere else where we’d have paid the same for five nights that we’re paying for one night here!”

“We can indulge a little,” Evan said. “We’ve got a steady income. And I figured if you have to deal with your awful family, we can at least enjoy a little luxury at the hotel.”

“They have room service,” Tommy said, and Evan laughed. “And according to those pictures, there’s a hot tub in the bathroom, big enough for us to share. I don’t think I want to go out tonight. We can get a fancy dinner in our room and make good use of it.”

Evan grinned and winked at Tommy. “Sounds like a great idea. But that still leaves most of tomorrow.”

Tommy sighed and opened another tab to look up tourist attractions in San Diego. He read aloud some attractions, and somehow the drive just flew by while they were talking about what they wanted to see and where they would be heading after their two nights in San Diego.

***

Tommy sank deeper into the hot water and shifted around until the water jets hit just the right spots on his back. “This was a perfect idea,” he murmured.

Evan chuckled. “Yeah, I know.”

Tommy didn’t open his eyes when he felt the water move, just raised his arm and wrapped it around Evan’s shoulders when he felt his boyfriend snuggle up against his side. They had arrived at the hotel three hours ago, and because Tommy had been too agitated and restless by the mere fact that he was now in the city at all, they had hit the gym right after bringing their luggage up to their room, so Tommy could get rid of the restless energy being the passenger in a car ride had left him with.

Then they had made good on the plan to have room service deliver a much too expensive, if very delicious, dinner to their room. For a while, Tommy had even been able to forget that they were here because somehow he had to deal with his grandfather’s estate. Instead, he had been able to pretend they were on a little romantic getaway, something Tommy hadn’t ever really done with anyone before Evan.

“We need to do this again, someplace else, when we don’t have to deal with whatever fucked up shit my family will throw at me tomorrow,” Tommy said quietly.

Evan hummed and trailed his fingers in lazy circles over Tommy’s chest.

“Did you send your sister another postcard after you moved?” Tommy asked.

Evan had finally found an apartment and moved out of the room share situation seven weeks ago. Settling into the apartment was still an ongoing process, because all of Evan’s possessions before the move had fit in two duffel bags and a small box for books he had recently acquired. So Tommy and Evan had spent a lot of their time over the past two months getting all the things someone needed to live in their own apartment, with the added difficulty that sometimes Evan had very specific ideas about the things he wanted.

The most amusing part for Tommy was still that Evan had spent three weeks testing out different beds and mattresses before deciding on one, all while sleeping in a sleeping bag on his bedroom floor when he wasn’t spending the night at Tommy’s place or on shift at the fire station. Though secretly Tommy had to admit that the effort had been worth it—he was already contemplating replacing his own bed with Evan’s ultimate choice.

Tommy’s mind kept circling back to Evan’s question about his siblings earlier in the car, and the longing Tommy had heard in Evan’s voice. He might not have any interest in building a relationship with his own siblings, but for Evan’s sake, he hoped that Evan’s sister would eventually reach out to him again.

“No,” Evan said so quietly Tommy barely heard him over the noise of the jets.

Tommy sighed, wondering if he should encourage Evan to still send a postcard or not. He didn’t know enough about Evan’s sister to even hazard a guess whether she’d ever reach out to Evan again. And if she didn’t, maybe it would be best for Evan to come to terms with that sooner rather than later.

“I’ll send another postcard if I move away from the 118,” Evan said after a while. “The card I sent for Christmas was a picture of me in front of the 118’s engine. So, Maddie knows where I work, and I’ve told the captains of the other shifts that maybe one day my sister might show up asking for me. I asked them to get her in contact with me if that ever happens.”

“Did you give them a picture of your sister?” Tommy asked with a frown.

Evan nodded. “After the whole catfish debacle. I didn’t want them to confuse Maddie with one of those crazy women and send her away. Or confuse one of those women for Maddie and give someone random my address.”

Tommy nodded, that had been his exact worry for a moment. “You could send her a postcard from our mini road trip back home in two days.”

“Maybe,” Evan shrugged, and Tommy decided that it might be better to drop the topic.

“I’ve been thinking about Balboa Park for tomorrow after that appointment with the lawyer,” Tommy said instead. They had made plans for their drive back, driving to several spots that were supposed to be great for hiking, but they hadn’t decided on anything to do tomorrow yet. Mostly because Tommy didn’t really want to think about the next day and the morning’s appointment at all.

“Sounds great.” Evan shifted beside him, and then he kissed Tommy’s shoulder and collarbone.

Tommy chuckled. “We’re not having sex in the hot tub, Evan!” But he also didn’t do anything to stop Evan’s kisses or the hand that was now stroking much firmer over his chest, the thumb rubbing over his right nipple for a moment with very clear intent.

“Why not?” Evan asked with an audible pout and trailed more kisses along Tommy’s collarbone until he reached his throat.

“Want to look up statistics about people calling 9-1-1 because they underestimated the effect of the heat on their bodies during sex?” Tommy leaned his head back with a sigh to give Evan more space.

“There is a very big problem with those statistics,” Evan said.

He moved to straddle Tommy’s lap, which made Tommy finally open his eyes. Evan grinned at him, one hand resting on Tommy’s shoulder, while he slowly scratched the nails of the other hand over Tommy’s nipple.

“Really?” Tommy asked with a shudder and grabbed Evan’s hip.

Evan nodded, a mischievous grin on his face. “There is no statistic about the people successfully having sex in hot tubs because no one ever asks about that. Which means we can’t put that other statistic you mentioned in context.”

Tommy laughed and was only interrupted by Evan leaning in to kiss him. For a moment, Tommy let himself enjoy the kiss and Evan’s hands roaming over his chest. Then Evan started to grind against Tommy, and Tommy grabbed his ass firmly. Instead of arguing again, Tommy lifted Evan out of the water and sat him on the thankfully very wide edge of the tub.

“Hey!” Evan protested, but he turned around and lifted his legs out without standing up.

Tommy stood and climbed out of the hot tub, grabbing one of the big towels. “We’re finishing what you started, but not in here!” Tommy promised.

He grabbed Evan’s neck with one hand to pull him into a heated kiss, haphazardly rubbing the towel over Evan’s chest and back as much as he could without looking at what he was doing.

“It’s nice and warm in the hot tub,” Evan whined, but he followed Tommy out of the bathroom when Tommy grabbed his wrist and pulled him along.

Tommy grinned. “I’ll make sure you’ll forget all about being cold in a moment. But that will happen on that very luxurious and huge bed in the other room.”

Chapter 03

Tommy had to squash the urge to turn around and walk straight out of the lawyer’s office as soon as the personal assistant greeted them and asked them to follow her. He had called the number on the business card before they had left LA the previous day to make an appointment, and he was still surprised that he had gotten one bright and early this morning. Tommy didn’t know why this law firm seemed to be so eager to talk to him.

They were led to an office where an elderly man was waiting for them. He stood and came around his desk, his gaze flicking from Tommy to Evan and back again.

“Thomas Kinard?” he asked eventually, looking at Tommy and holding out his hand. “I’m Jeffrey Mason. I have been the trustee for your grandfather’s trust fund for the last twenty-five years.”

Tommy shook the offered hand. “I have honestly no idea about my grandfather or any trust fund at all. I can’t remember ever meeting him. And I haven’t talked to my father in nearly twenty years, so I have no idea what this is about.” He gestured to Evan. “This is my partner, Evan Buckley. He is mostly here for moral support.”

Mason smiled tightly. “I understand. Please sit down. We have a lot to discuss. I had honestly assumed you were at least partially aware of Simon’s estate. Your father assured us he had informed you about the trust fund for your education.”

Tommy shook his head. “I don’t know anything about a trust fund. My father and I weren’t exactly on speaking terms, even when I was forced to live with him. I don’t even know when my grandfather died, to be honest. So, what is this all about? Where do I sign that I don’t want anything to do with this?”

Mason frowned. “Maybe you should hear me out before making such a decision.”

“Listen, I found my place in life without any money my grandfather left in some trust fund you couldn’t be bothered to inform me about personally until nineteen years after I could’ve used it,” Tommy said. “Back in ‘99 when I ran away from my father before I could slip up about liking boys and get beaten up by him for it, maybe even killed, I could’ve really used some kind of help financially. But now I don’t need anything and want nothing to do with my father.”

“I see we made a grave mistake trusting Nathan’s word about anything concerning you,” Mason said, his tight smile returning.

“Do you agree with him?” Tommy asked, because he couldn’t help himself. “On a personal level, I mean. Because you look pretty uncomfortable having Evan and me sitting here together.”

Evan cleared his throat and reached out with one hand to place it on Tommy’s arm.

“I’m sorry,” Mason sighed deeply. “I do not agree with Nathan about your sexuality, Mr. Kinard. I can’t say I understand it, but I don’t have to do that to let you live your life as you see fit. Or to deal with you in a professional manner.”

Tommy raised his brows, not quite sure what he should think about that explanation.

“I am truly sorry for our firm’s lack of action when you were a teenager. You should’ve learned about the trust fund when you were 16, and you should’ve gotten access to it at 18.”

Tommy shrugged. “I guess my father cleaned it out at some point.”

“No,” Mason shook his head. “He had no access to any of the money. He received a monthly stipend from the main trust account for the family, but Simon made sure your father would never see more than that comparatively small allowance from his estate.”

“That sounds harsh,” Evan said with a frown.

Mason inclined his head. “I have a letter here for you, Mr. Kinard, that Simon wrote around the time he arranged all of this. He died in 1993, but he had been sick for several years by that point. Simon made sure everything was taken care of as soon as he got his diagnosis early in 1990.”

Mason pushed an envelope across the table, and for a moment Tommy was surprised that the name on it was “Thomas Kinard”. But then, if this letter had been written in 1990, his mother would have still been alive, and he hadn’t been forced to use his father’s surname yet.

For a long moment, Tommy stared at the letter, wondering if he really wanted to read it. A look at Mason told him that he wouldn’t get around reading it without an argument, so he took it and ripped the envelope open without much care. Simon Lombard’s handwriting was surprisingly neat, Tommy thought as he unfolded the letter.

My dearest Thomas,

I don’t know how much Sonja has chosen to tell you about your father or me, your grandfather. But given my son’s deplorable behavior, I can’t fault her for shielding you from our family, no matter how much I wish things could be different. Once upon a time I had very much been looking forward to becoming a grandfather and spoiling my grandchildren rotten.

Nathan was a very late-in-life surprise for my wife and me. I was already well into my forties when we found out Giulia was pregnant, despite everything the doctors had told us over the years. It was a very happy surprise, and I can’t help wondering nearly every day where I misstepped with Nathan so badly that he became the kind of shallow and heartless man he is today.

My son didn’t treat your mother well. He tried to deny paternity of you, and he didn’t tell me that your mother was pregnant until after you were already born. By that point, the only damage control I could do was to force Nathan to acknowledge paternity, though that didn’t do much good, did it? He has just recently met a woman he told me he intends to marry. If that turns out to be true and he builds a family with Colleen, I can only hope he’ll be a better father to his other children than he is to you.

I am paying the child support your mother deserves in my son’s stead, and I’ve made sure that will not stop even after the damn cancer takes me. I offered Sonja more support, but she didn’t want to accept it. I asked her if I could spend time with you, but I understand that she’d rather not have anything to do with my family after how horribly Nathan treated her.

What I’m going to do with my estate will make Nathan very unhappy. But he brought this on himself. I told him I refuse to support a selfish man who can’t be bothered to take care of his own child, and once I’m dead, he’ll learn I meant every word.

I have left a letter for Sonja as well, explaining all of this in a little more detail. You should be 18 now, and when you are reading this letter, you should have just gotten your high school diploma. Maybe Sonja will have told you some things about me as you grew up. I don’t know how to put everything I want to tell you in a single letter. I have left journals with memories of Giulia and my life in a safe deposit box, and have left orders with Jeffrey to give you those whenever you ask about them.

You should already know about the trust fund for your education. When you turn 21, another half million will be deposited to help you start your life after college or trade school or whatever you choose to do with your life.

Nothing else with my estate will matter until Nathan follows me into the afterlife. If nothing unforeseen happens, you might even be a grandfather yourself at that point. I hope you will have already found a happy and fulfilling life, and someone to love and cherish to spend that life with. My money won’t be able to buy you any of that. But it will give your family security eventually.

The doctors tell me I don’t have long, and I’ve made my peace with that. I’ve missed Giulia long enough, and I’m looking forward to seeing her again. The only real regret I have about the cancer is that I won’t get a chance to maybe get to meet you once you’re old enough to decide for yourself.

I love you, Thomas, and I wish you all the best in your life.

Grandpa

San Diego, March 17, 1990

Tommy stared at the letter, feeling hollow and wrong-footed. He held the letter out to Evan, who took it without hesitating and began to read it. Tommy stared at Evan, trying to decipher his reactions as he read. Maybe that would give Tommy a clue as to how he should react, what the appropriate emotions were for this.

“Wow,” Evan said eventually when he lowered the letter, and Tommy still didn’t know what he felt. Evan looked at Mason. “Can we get a moment of privacy?”

“Of course,” Mason said after a beat of silence. “There’s a small conference room just through that door.”

Evan grabbed Tommy’s hand and pulled him out of the chair. Tommy followed his boyfriend’s direction, and somehow, as soon as the door between them and Mason closed, it felt a little easier for Tommy to breathe again.

Evan didn’t let go of Tommy’s hand even when he pulled him into a one-armed hug. “Talk to me,” he murmured against Tommy’s ear.

“I can’t believe that asshole is going to make me grieve him,” was the first thing out of Tommy’s mouth.

Evan chuckled. “I think your grandfather might not have been as big of an asshole as you thought. I mean, if the letter can be believed, he honored your mother’s wishes, right? Do you remember your mother ever talking about him?”

Tommy shook his head. “No. I honestly didn’t even know my father’s name until after she died.”

“Wow,” Evan whispered.

“Whenever I’d ask about my father, she’d tell me he wasn’t worth the hassle. That the only reason she didn’t regret the relationship with him was that it had given her me as her son. That he had decided he didn’t want to be a father, and that we were much better off without him.”

Evan’s hold on him tightened.

“She was right about that, of course,” Tommy continued. “I learned that after her death and wished I’d never had to meet him or his oh-so-perfect wife.”

“Do you want your grandfather’s journals?”

Tommy shrugged silently.

“It’s not that long a drive to come down here for a day sometime in the future to pick them up if you decide you want to read them eventually,” Evan said. “So you don’t have to decide that now.”

“I don’t want to decide anything,” Tommy admitted, and he felt so very childish for that thought.

Evan kissed his temple. “That’s okay.”

Tommy huffed.

“So, I got the impression your grandfather practically disowned your father for how he treated you and your mother,” Evan said after a moment. “From my point of view, that makes him pretty likable. And there seems to be a not insignificant amount of money if he just casually mentioned dropping half a million into your trust fund.”

“Not sure how I feel about that,” Tommy whispered. “Doesn’t make anything that happened to me during my childhood better.”

“True,” Evan agreed. “But maybe one day it will give you some gratification that your father didn’t get away unscathed from treating you and your mother so poorly.”

Tommy sighed. As much as he didn’t want to make any decisions, as much as he really didn’t want to think about any of this, he was far too old to just keep running away or burying his head in the sand. “Let’s face the music and find out what exactly I need to know about my grandfather’s estate.”

Evan nodded and held onto Tommy for a moment longer. When he took a step back, he pressed a short, sweet kiss against Tommy’s lips. “You aren’t alone, okay? And I’m happy to listen to whatever you want to complain about later, yeah?”

Tommy chuckled and the fond smile that Evan had caused remained in place until they sat back down in front of Mason. “I apologize. All of this is very unexpected, and I don’t even remember if I ever met my grandfather.”

“You did,” Mason said and pulled something out of the folder that was lying open in front of him. He put it on the table in front of Tommy, and Tommy inhaled sharply.

He stared at the picture and immediately wished he could go back into the other room to hide in Evan’s embrace again.

Tommy had been aware that he must have forgotten more about his mother than he remembered. He remembered that her hair had been dark blond, but until this very moment he hadn’t remembered that looking into the mirror meant looking into his mother’s eyes. He remembered that she had been the most beautiful woman he had ever known, but until now he wouldn’t have been able to describe her face, the way her lips had curled up when she smiled, the way the space between her eyes wrinkled when she had been happy.

And she was clearly happy in the moment this picture was taken. An elderly man stood beside her, one arm wrapped around her shoulders. His other hand rested on a boy’s shoulder, who looked into the camera with a serious yet confused expression. Tommy barely recognized himself in the boy in the picture. He didn’t remember that day at all.

“Can we keep this?” Evan asked.

“Excuse me?” Mason asked, confused, and Tommy wondered if he had missed something the lawyer had said.

“Tommy doesn’t have any pictures of his mother left,” Evan said.

He was holding onto Tommy’s hand tightly, something else Tommy didn’t remember happening. He squeezed Evan’s hand and swallowed, but his voice wasn’t working. Tommy didn’t know what to say anyway.

Mason exhaled loudly. “Oh. Of course, you can take the picture with you.”

“When was this?” Tommy asked hoarsely.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know,” Mason said. “Shortly after Simon’s cancer was diagnosed, I believe.” He reached out and flipped the picture over, and it took Tommy a moment to understand why until he saw a date printed on the back.

“March 20, 1990,” Tommy murmured. “That’s three days after he wrote that letter. I guess he didn’t bother to change it.”

When he looked up, Tommy was met by confused stares from both Mason and Evan. He blew out a breath and shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

“Doesn’t matter,” Tommy said. “We’re here about my grandfather’s estate. I don’t have the first clue about any of it, as you’ve probably already noticed. My father didn’t talk about his parents when I lived with him. I didn’t know that there was anything to inherit at all. Maybe we could start with that trust fund I should’ve gotten access to twenty years ago?”

Mason watched him with open worry for a moment, then he nodded. “Of course. Simon arranged that for each of his grandchildren, an educational trust would be established upon their birth. Those trusts would be set up with an initial amount of $750k. There are stipulations about what that money can be used for until the grandchild finishes their first degree. On their 21st birthday, another $500k would be added to the trust. The actual amount of your trust is higher at this point, of course, as I was tasked to carefully invest it.”

Tommy leaned back at the same time Evan whistled lowly. “That’s a lot of money,” Tommy said. “Multiplied by four, even, for each of us.”

“Five,” Mason corrected slowly. “You have another brother. He’ll turn 16 in a couple of months. He was a bit of a surprise for Nathan and Colleen, I believe.”

Tommy just shook his head. He didn’t know how much more news he would be able to take in.

“Simon built a very successful company in the fifties and sixties,” Mason said. “He manufactured all kinds of electronic components, first for radios and TVs, later for computers. He sold the company in 1987 for 63 million dollars when he decided that he didn’t want his son to take over. So, the trust funds for you and your siblings barely made a dent in the estate.”

Tommy rubbed his free hand over his forehead. “I don’t know how much more I can deal with today.”

“I’m sorry,” Mason said. “If I had known that you were coming here with so little knowledge, I’d have prepared a different approach. As it stands, I already set up a meeting with the rest of Nathan’s family tomorrow morning, because you told my assistant during your phone call yesterday that you’d be leaving tomorrow afternoon. Is there any chance you can stay in town longer?”

“We can maybe swing it to stay an extra two or three days,” Evan said.

Tommy bit his tongue. He wanted to protest, but he knew Evan was probably right. Tommy couldn’t just ignore this, and he’d rather take care of it now, no matter how overwhelmed he felt, than to have to return here in a couple of weeks.

“I’m expected to be at the meeting tomorrow, I assume,” Tommy said darkly.

Mason frowned. “I was under the impression you had agreed to that.”

Tommy made a face and shrugged. He had to admit that he might not have listened very well to the details during the phone call the previous day. “I’ll be there.”

“Do you want to know the details of Simon’s will now, or do you want to wait until tomorrow?” Mason asked.

“It’s probably better if I know what kind of minefield I’ll be walking into with my siblings and stepmother.”

Mason nodded. “I’ll make it short. We can talk about the details later. You’re the sole beneficiary of the estate, except for the half million that’s still to be added to young Benjamin’s trust fund upon his 21st birthday.”

“You’re kidding,” Tommy muttered. “Does Colleen know about this? Did my father know?”

“All Nathan knew was that Simon’s estate would be held in trust until his death,” Mason said. “He tried to contest that. He took us to court for many years before he accepted that he couldn’t change anything about how his father had set up his estate. I don’t know what else his wife and other children may know about Simon’s estate.”

“What if I don’t want it?” Tommy asked.

Mason nodded slowly. “Simon has detailed a list of charities to donate his estate to in that case. He asked that you get a say in revising that list when the time came, especially concerning the replacement of any organizations which might not exist anymore at the relevant time. But he also left instructions that we shouldn’t accept that decision until you’d had a month to think about it. That month starts today.”

Tommy huffed and turned his head away.

“That’s a lot to think about,” Evan said. “When is that appointment tomorrow?”

“At 10 am, here in the office.”

“Is there anything else you think we need to know about before that meeting tomorrow?” Evan asked, and Tommy was infinitely grateful that he had taken charge of the conversation.

Mason frowned in thought, but after a moment shook his head. “If you can manage to stay a couple of days longer, I’ll be able to make time for you tomorrow after lunch. We can go through the details of Simon’s … your accounts then.”

“I’d appreciate that break,” Tommy said tiredly.

Mason nodded, and Tommy felt a little bit as if he was trapped in a fog for the next few minutes while they bid their goodbyes to the lawyer and navigated their way out of the office. Once they were standing silently in the elevator, Evan let go of Tommy’s hand to place his hand on the small of Tommy’s back, and Tommy leaned into that touch, feeling as if it was the only thing holding him upright.

“Let’s go back to the hotel for a couple of hours,” Tommy said quietly. “I think I need some time to work through this.”

“Of course,” Evan agreed. “I’m driving. Don’t even argue.”

Tommy huffed. “I hate riding shotgun.” He knew it was probably for the best that he didn’t drive, but that didn’t mean he was ready to admit that.

Evan grinned. “I know. You’re just going to have to deal with it for the next couple of days.”

“We should probably look for another hotel starting tomorrow,” Tommy said, staring at the elevator display, watching the numbers tick down to the ground floor.

“Or we can stay in the outrageous luxury hotel I chose,” Evan said. “Get something good out of this by getting to soak in our own private hot tub every evening. Even if you really don’t want to keep any of the rest of the money, your trust fund will barely notice it if we stay where we are.”

Tommy couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re just trying to convince me to find out which side of those statistics we discussed yesterday we’d end up on.”

Evan grinned. “Maybe. We have to get some fun out of all of this, don’t we? At least if we do have to call 9-1-1 because you fainted, no one will know we’re firefighters.”

“You’d be surprised about the gossip mills connecting different fire departments,” Tommy said. “Also, I’m not the one I’m worried about fainting.”

“That’s just wishful thinking on your part,” Evan said, chin raised.

Tommy laughed loudly as they stepped out of the elevator. “Okay, let’s stay in the hotel we’re in. But my rule about the hot tub stands. Either Hen or Sal would find out about it somehow, and then no one would ever let us forget it!”

“Spoilsport,” Evan muttered under his breath.

Tommy shook his head with a grin, but it fell from his face as soon as they exited the building and a woman stepped right into their path as if she had been waiting for them.

It took Tommy only a moment to recognize her. She hadn’t changed a lot, though the twenty years that had passed, or maybe her recent loss, had left a few marks. She had her blond hair pulled back into a tight bun and was clad all in black. The way she flaunted her money had always made Tommy despise her, and he wasn’t surprised she managed to manipulate her grief to show off as much as she had always done.

She looked at him with as much disdain as she’d always looked at him. Tommy had always thought that look in her eyes broke the image she tried to portray.

“Colleen,” he said coldly. “I believe we have an appointment tomorrow, where we are all invited. I had hoped I wouldn’t have to see you until then.”

She glared at him, but then she turned a fake but polite smile at Evan. “I’m Colleen Lombard, Thomas’ mother.”

“Stepmother,” Tommy corrected.

Evan’s smile was just as fake as hers as he held out a hand that she took without hesitation. “Evan Buckley. Tommy’s partner. Or boyfriend, whatever you prefer.”

Colleen’s smile froze on her face, and she dropped Evan’s hand as if she had been burned. Then she took two steps back from them and straightened her back. “I see. You did look a little young and … underdressed to be a lawyer.”

“What do you want?” Tommy asked. “We have far better things to be doing with our day than talk to you. There is a hot tub waiting for us in our hotel room after all.”

Evan bit his lip, which didn’t help to hold back his laughter.

Colleen sneered. “What did Jeffrey tell you about your grandfather’s estate?”

Tommy raised his brows. “Nothing you won’t learn tomorrow anyway. You and your children are all supposed to be there, right?”

“You know you have no right to any of this!” Colleen hissed.

“I have a lot more right to my grandfather’s inheritance than you,” Tommy said. “I had the right to know about the trust fund he set up for me. Did you keep their trust funds secret from your own children, too? Or did you cheat them out of it by having them sign some paperwork without explaining what it was?”

“My children got their due from Nathan’s father,” Colleen said. “If you try to take away what belongs to my children, I’ll sue you. I’ll ruin your life.”

Tommy cocked his head and watched her silently for a moment. Then he grabbed Evan’s hand and turned away, pulling Evan with him. Colleen shouted after them, and she clearly followed them for a while, but Tommy kept silent and ignored her, Evan following his example until she finally gave up.

“Do they all call you Thomas?” Evan asked as they turned a corner.

They’d have to turn around eventually, or maybe circle the block, because Colleen had blocked the path to his car and Tommy hadn’t wanted to try to walk past her.

“Do they have the same kind of strange opinion about nicknames as my parents?” Evan continued.

Tommy chuckled sadly. “I don’t think so. They just think it’s on them to choose what they call everyone. I was honestly glad they didn’t call me Tommy. No one called me Tommy while I lived with them, none of the … acquaintances as I made at school either.”

“Acquaintances?” Evan asked in an incredulous tone.

“I wasn’t in a place to call anyone a friend,” Tommy admitted quietly. “I was counting down the days until I could get away from them from the very beginning. Even before that horrible last year. There are people I met in school I call friends today, but I didn’t dare trust them as such back then.”

Evan leaned against him as much as he could without stopping. “Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and make all that shit better for you.”

Tommy smiled at the thought. “I got through it. We both got through our shitty childhoods and came out as pretty decent people, I think.”

“We did,” Evan agreed. “And we’re going to get through dealing with your evil stepmother, too.”

“Evil stepmother?” Tommy laughed. “Now I feel we need to look up all the evil stepmothers in any story ever created and find a fitting nickname for Colleen.”

“All might be a little much,” Evan said thoughtfully. “But I’m sure we’ll find a fitting name.”

Chapter 04

Buck found a comfortable armchair near the hotel bar and ordered a coffee from the waiter who had been hovering since practically the moment Buck had set foot in the area.

He wasn’t used to this kind of service, and he felt a little uncomfortable with it, but there were a lot of great things about this hotel that Buck appreciated. It had been no issue at all to extend their stay at the hotel for another four nights when Buck had expected the kinds of arguments about moving or not moving rooms which he had experienced too often during his travels.

Buck took out his phone and called Karen. It didn’t take long for her to answer.

“Buck,” she said softly. “How are you?”

“I’m fine.” Buck sighed. “Tommy, not so much. But he asked for some time alone. So he is up in our room, and I’m sitting in that lounge area near the bar that I didn’t know hotels could have.”

Karen chuckled. “Judging by the pictures you sent yesterday, you’re in a pretty high-end hotel.”

“Yeah.” Buck sighed. “And we’re going to stay here for more than just one more night. Tommy’s family is a mess, Karen. And so far, we’ve only run into his Evil Stepmother.”

Karen laughed. “Evil Stepmother?”

Buck shrugged, even though she couldn’t see him. “It’s true.”

“There are three siblings, right?”

“Four, as it turns out,” Buck said. He smiled and thanked the waiter for bringing his coffee. “The youngest’s not quite 16 yet, apparently. We’ll meet all of them tomorrow because there is a whole estate to take care of. Did you see the Wikipedia article I sent you?”

“I did. I’d heard of Simon Lombard, you know? He was a pretty big name once upon a time in computer science because his company pushed forward a lot of the hardware development for the first decade or two.”

“Don’t tell anyone, please. I don’t think Tommy would want it spread around. But that’s his grandfather,” Buck said quietly. “The one whose estate we’re here to deal with.”

Karen was silent.

“Yeah, that was my reaction when I saw the Wikipedia page, too,” Buck chuckled.

“He sold his company, and it’s been absorbed by other companies over the years,” Karen said slowly. “I don’t think there is much known about his family.”

Buck nodded. There had been a note on the Wikipedia page about Simon Lombard being married and outliving his wife by nearly ten years, but nothing about any children. “I think Tommy’s father was his only child. And from all we learned today, he was not happy with how his son treated Tommy and his mother. So, he made sure his estate would be kind of frozen until Tommy’s father died.”

“That wouldn’t have made Tommy’s father treat Tommy any better,” Karen said darkly.

“Considering this all was set up when it looked as if the asshole would never be part of Tommy’s life, I don’t think he thought it would make a difference,” Buck said. “I’m not quite sure about the timeline, but Tommy’s mom and his grandfather died within the span of a year or something like that.”

For a moment, Buck considered mentioning the picture of Tommy’s mother, but it felt like too much of a private matter. Out of everything that had happened today, Buck felt that the picture was the thing that had affected Tommy the most. They had taken it with them, and Buck had asked the receptionist to scan it and send the scan to his and Tommy’s email addresses. It might just be one single picture, but Buck would make sure Tommy couldn’t lose it.

“I’m glad you’re there with Tommy,” Karen said.

“Me, too,” Buck agreed. “The whole thing sucks for him. Right now, he is pretty angry at his grandfather for this whole mess.”

“Understandable,” Karen said with a huff.

Buck nodded. “But I think eventually he’ll start mourning the potential relationship he could’ve had with his grandfather. I mean, at the center of it all, he seems to have been a pretty good guy. But Tommy’s mom didn’t want to have anything to do with anyone from his father’s family, so she cut his grandfather out, too.”

“Maybe it’s good that she did that,” Karen said. “I know how hurt Tommy was by losing his mother. Can you imagine how much worse it would’ve been to lose both his mother and grandfather in such a short time? And then to be stuck in a house where no one really wanted him around?”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Buck shook his head. “But still.”

“I’m here to listen to whatever the pair of you will have to complain about when you meet his family,” Karen said. “Including texts. Feel free to gossip about them in texts to me right in front of them.”

Buck laughed. “You just want to know the gossip!”

“That’s me,” Karen agreed, sounding amused. “But I have a feeling you’ll need a void to scream into. That’s probably better than screaming at them, even if you think that would be more satisfying.”

“I’m not one to scream at people.”

“I’m sure someday you’ll meet people who’ll make you want to scream at them,” Karen said. “That day could be tomorrow.”

Buck laughed. “I hope not! That’s not what Tommy needs from me.”

“So, no gossip about the family yet,” Karen said slowly. “Are you at least enjoying all the benefits of that luxury hotel you chose?”

Buck sighed, darting a quick look around to make sure he wouldn’t unnecessarily disturb any other guests. “Not as much as I wanted to. We have a hot tub in our bathroom. And I tried to make good use of it. But Tommy wouldn’t let me!”

“He didn’t want to soak in the hot tub?” Karen asked, confused.

Buck whined. “No, we did that. He wouldn’t let me seduce him! Can you believe that?”

Karen laughed. “That sounds very tragic.”

“It is!” Buck agreed with a deep, long-suffering sigh. “He started complaining about some dumb statistics about people fainting while trying to have sex in hot tubs.”

“Hen could give you those statistics, too,” Karen said, still chuckling.

“Yeah, but they’re ignoring a major gap in the data!” Buck complained and repeated the same arguments he had made so unsuccessfully with Tommy. “But Tommy is still convinced one of us would faint, then we’d have to call 9-1-1, and then somehow all of the LAFD would gossip about us.”

Karen laughed loudly. “Just try again, I guess.”

“You and Hen come to these types of wellness hotels pretty regularly, right?” Buck asked. “Do you have hot tubs in your bathrooms there?”

“No. And I’m married to a paramedic, Buck. Do you really think she’d let us have sex in a hot tub?”

Buck frowned with a pout. “I thought you could give me some tips on how to change his mind.”

“Sorry,” Karen said, amused. “I gave up that plan long ago. So now we make sure our hotel rooms have big soaker tubs but no hot tubs. As long as the water isn’t too hot, Hen never protests about sex in the bathtub.”

“That might be an idea,” Buck said thoughtfully.

Then he was distracted by a woman approaching, one he had seen earlier sitting behind the reception desk when he had talked with another receptionist about extending their stay. She had her gaze fixed firmly on him, making it clear she wanted to talk to him.

“Give me a moment, Karen,” Buck said and lowered the phone.

“Mr. Buckley?” the woman asked. “There is a young woman at the reception asking for Mr. Kinard. You requested earlier that we not disturb you in your room, but I thought, as you’re sitting down here, it couldn’t hurt to ask and confirm whether we should send her away.”

“A young woman?” Buck asked.

“She claims she’s Mr. Kinard’s sister.”

“Because that’s just what Tommy needs right now,” Buck muttered under his breath. “I’ll talk to her, if you would be so kind as to send her over here? Please don’t tell her our room number or disturb Tommy. It’s been a difficult day.”

She nodded with a smile. “Of course. I’ll send her over.”

Buck raised the phone back up to his ear. “Looks like one of Tommy’s sisters stalked us to the hotel. I have to deal with this, Karen. Sorry for cutting the call short.”

“Remember to text me,” Karen said. “Even if she is sitting right in front of you and being annoying.”

Buck laughed all through saying goodbye and ending the phone call. Then he texted Tommy, informing him that one of his sisters had shown up at the hotel but that he would take care of it down in the lobby. That way, Tommy had the choice to come down if he wanted to deal with it. Or he could stay up in their room and avoid dealing with his family until tomorrow. Buck hoped Tommy would stay in their room and take the rest he needed.

When Buck put the phone away and looked up, he saw the receptionist returning with a younger woman following behind her. Buck didn’t bother to hide that he was watching them approach, and he tried to take in as much of Tommy’s sister as he could. She had slightly darker hair than her mother, was a little taller, and instead of the hostile glare Buck had seen on her mother earlier, she wore a polite smile that still looked a little forced.

“Your guest, Mr. Buckley.”

“Thank you,” Buck said with a smile, and the receptionist left them alone without another word.

Tommy’s sister stared at him for a moment. “I asked for my brother.”

“Tommy is busy at the moment,” Buck said. “I’m not sure he’ll have time to meet with you today. But I’m here.”

She bit her lip, then nodded once. “I’m Erica Lombard.”

“Evan Buckley. Tommy’s boyfriend.”

Buck didn’t remember if Tommy had ever mentioned the names of his siblings, so he couldn’t place which one Erica was. He watched her, waiting for her to start the conversation, and very deliberately didn’t offer her a seat. After nearly a minute, she sat down opposite Buck with a deep sigh.

“Can you call Thomas and ask him if he can make a little bit of time for me?”

“No,” Buck said simply. “How did you know you’d find us here?”

Erica smiled hesitantly. “I called Mr. Mason’s office after Mom told me she had run into you and Thomas—sorry, Tommy—earlier today. I can imagine she probably didn’t make a very good first impression on you. It’s been very difficult for her right now.”

Buck inclined his head. Someone in that lawyer’s office was sharing information they weren’t supposed to share, and he wondered if it was even Jeffrey Mason himself. He had seemed to be sympathetic enough, and Buck had the feeling he had been something of a friend of Simon Lombard, but he could be mistaken. Maybe he had been a friend of Nathan Lombard, too, and just knew how to hide his true feelings a lot better than Tommy’s stepmother did.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Buck said, because it was the only honest thing he could think of. He didn’t much care about Tommy’s father’s death, but he still recognized that it was probably deeply painful for Tommy’s half-siblings.

“Thank you,” Erica said quietly. “We knew it was going to happen sooner rather than later, but that doesn’t make it easier, right?”

Buck shrugged. “Probably not. I’m sorry, no one really told us any details. We only even found out he had died at all a few days ago. Was your father sick?”

“He had an accident about ten years ago,” Erica said. “He tried to repair the light in the garage by himself and got electrocuted. He survived, obviously, but it damaged his heart pretty badly.”

Buck nodded slowly and hoped he could hide his relief well enough. After Karen’s comment about potential health issues that Tommy might have inherited, he was glad to learn that it was nothing they would have to be concerned about. “Electrical shocks can be very dangerous. Especially if at first everything seems to be fine. We spent half a day going through all the things electricity can fuck up in our bodies at the academy.”

Erica frowned. “Academy?”

“I’m a firefighter, like Tommy,” Buck said. “So, we are both certified as EMTs as well. Electrical shocks are sadly common enough that they warrant their own lesson.”

“I didn’t know that. Last I knew, Thomas had joined the Army after he ran away from home.”

Buck raised his brows. “Ran away from home? Is that what your parents said happened?”

Erica raised her chin. “It’s what I remember happened.”

Buck hummed. “And how old were you when you saw Tommy last?”

Erica flushed. “I was six.”

She was the oldest, then, Buck thought. He tilted his head and said, “I don’t have a lot of memories from when I was that age. I mean, sure, there are a few very distinct memories from that time. But I wouldn’t dare judge anyone twenty years later based off of them.”

For a moment, something unpleasant drifted across Erica’s face, but she pushed it away hastily. “You think I judge my brother too harshly?”

“I think you don’t know your brother and shouldn’t have an opinion about him at all,” Buck said. “But you do have an opinion, based on what your parents told you about him. Of course, he has an opinion of you based solely on his opinion of your parents. That’s equally unfair to you and your younger siblings.”

“What did he say about how he left our family, then?” Erica asked, her voice challenging.

Buck shook his head. “Why are you here, Erica? You’re what, 25 now, right? If you wanted to meet Tommy, you could’ve tried to find him at any point in the past 7 years you’ve been an adult, and your parents wouldn’t have had a say in the matter.”

“How do you know I didn’t try to find him?” Erica snapped.

Buck raised his brows. “Did you?”

Erica flushed. “He changed his name. He clearly didn’t want anyone to find him.”

Buck laughed mirthlessly. “And your parents never told you about Tommy’s mother’s name? Or that they forced him to take your name when they took him in after his mother’s death? As if he hadn’t lost enough already. How would you feel if the name Lombard was taken from you mere weeks after your father’s death?”

Erica paled and averted her gaze.

“Your youngest brother is 15, right? That’s still something like four years older, I think, than Tommy was when his mother died. When he was forced to give up the name he shared with her, without being given a choice about it. When he was forced to move into the house of a man he had never even met before in his life. Which was your father’s choice, not Tommy’s, not his mother’s.”

Erica huffed and rolled her eyes. “That’s what Thomas might have told you. Doesn’t mean it’s the truth.”

“Because your parents can’t have lied to you?” Buck asked with raised brows.

Erica pressed her lips into a thin line and took several deep breaths. “I’m not here to argue. I want to meet my brother.”

“But why now of all times?”

“Because it’s the first chance I’ve had since he left!” Erica said heatedly. “He didn’t bother to keep in contact either, you know?”

Buck shrugged. “You were a minor. And he didn’t want to have contact with your parents. In that circumstance, kids get lumped in with their parents. Anything else would’ve been against the law.”

Erica shook her head.

“Do you really want to get to know Tommy?” Buck asked. “Or is this about whatever fucked up shit your grandfather did with his estate?”

Erica pursed her lips and didn’t answer. Buck nodded slowly. He hadn’t expected anything else. She might have approached with a different strategy, but she was clearly her mother’s daughter. Buck thought it was a good thing Tommy hadn’t had any hopes or plans to reconnect with his siblings anyway; any chance for that would’ve surely been destroyed by Simon Lombard’s plans to punish his son for his behavior by withholding his fortune. It would’ve probably been easier for Tommy and his siblings if their grandfather had just given all his money to charity instead of dangling it in front of his son for the rest of his life.

“How do you think your father would have reacted if he had met Tommy and me on the street?” Buck asked. “Or if he’d even just heard that Tommy had a boyfriend?”

“He’d have been disappointed,” Erica said without missing a beat.

“He might have been violent,” Buck challenged.

“You don’t know my father,” Erica said coldly.

“But I know Tommy’s nightmares,” Buck said. “And I’ve been listening to others who grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, discovering they were queer in a world that was and still often is inherently unsafe for us. You asked earlier why Tommy left your home as soon as he could. That’s the reason. He knew he wasn’t safe under your father’s roof.”

“That’s bullshit,” Erica snapped. “If he had stayed and been truthful, we could’ve helped…” She broke off and pressed her lips into a thin line again, as if she had realized that what she was about to admit was something she shouldn’t say.

It was too late, though. Buck knew where she had been going, and she had to be aware of that.

“I think you should go,” Buck said quietly.

Erica shook her head. “I need to talk to my brother.”

“He has no interest in talking to any of you,” Buck said. “We wouldn’t even be here if we hadn’t been worried that there might be some medical issues with your father dying so young that Tommy needed to be aware of. Tommy was so close to just throwing a lawyer at this whole situation.”

Erica stood abruptly. “Thomas needs to grow up and do the right thing here instead of holding grudges for things that were his mother’s and his own fault. This is our inheritance. He has no right to take it away from us.”

Buck just watched her silently, and eventually she turned on her heels and walked away. Buck exhaled slowly as he watched her retreat and wondered what the meeting the next day would bring. One thing was certain—it would likely turn out to be a very hostile situation.

***

Tommy didn’t know how much time he had spent sitting in the armchair by the balcony window staring at the picture of his mother, his grandfather, and himself. He still couldn’t remember that day, and he doubted there was any memory left to unearth.

Eventually, he carefully put the picture into the book he was reading at the moment, which was lying on the nightstand. It would be safe there until he was home again and could get a frame for it. He didn’t know how he felt about his grandfather being in the picture, but it wouldn’t matter in the long run. At least he had a picture of his mother now that he could place somewhere in his home.

Tommy had ignored the texts from Evan earlier, first informing him that one of his sisters had shown up here, then telling him she had left again. He was glad that Evan had dealt with her, he didn’t want to see any of them before he had to the next day. He couldn’t imagine that they wanted anything from him that wasn’t connected to the insane amount of money their grandfather had left behind.

Tommy shook his head and shoved that thought away. Running away wasn’t an option, he knew that, but he could still avoid dealing with it until the meeting. He didn’t have all the details yet, so he couldn’t make any decisions anyway. And sure, not getting all the information had been his choice, but he still felt he needed some time to come to terms with the whole thing.

But he couldn’t stand the hotel room anymore. He needed to move, and Evan and he had made plans for the afternoon. Of course, they had expected that the situation with his grandfather’s estate would be dealt with by now, but just because they had been mistaken about that didn’t mean they had to cancel the plans they’d made.

Tommy found Evan reading a book in the lounge area near the bar, an empty cup on the table beside him. Evan looked up to greet him with a soft smile long before he should’ve noticed Tommy approaching.

“Hey, how are you?”

“Better,” Tommy said and held out a hand for Buck. “Let’s go take that stroll around Balboa Park we talked about last night.”

Evan closed his book hastily and took Tommy’s hand, letting Tommy pull him up out of the chair. “Sounds great.”

“I’m driving,” Tommy said before Evan could get any ideas.

Evan laughed. “Okay. Gives me time to check out where we can have dinner later.”

“I’m sorry I made you…”

“Nope,” Evan interrupted him and gave him a short kiss. “No apologies. You do whatever you need to do to deal with this situation. I’m here to support you. If that means shielding you from your siblings, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

“What did she want?” Tommy asked hesitantly as they headed for the hotel’s parking garage.

“It wasn’t about getting to know you,” Evan said. “Though, at least I found out that your father didn’t die because of something genetic. He suffered an electrical shock years ago which damaged his heart.”

Tommy was silent until they reached the car and tried to work through that information. When he had first learned about his father’s death just a few days ago, he had felt kind of shattered by it. Now, he barely felt anything about it, which was a strange disconnect. He felt much better about barely caring for the man’s death than he had about how rattled he had been initially.

“What they think about you doesn’t matter, you know?” Evan said quietly after Tommy had driven the car out of the underground garage.

Tommy chuckled listlessly. “Is that easy to believe about your own parents?”

Evan huffed. “Took me a couple of years. But I think I’m at the point where I believe it. Hasn’t been tested, of course. I kind of hope it won’t ever be tested. I barely think about them.”

“I don’t know what my grandfather was thinking, setting up his estate like he did,” Tommy muttered.

“He was probably only thinking about punishing your father.” Evan shrugged. “Maybe he didn’t really think there would be any other grandchildren other than you. Maybe your father told him he didn’t want to have any children. But I agree, it’s a pretty fucked up situation he created.”

“I really don’t want any of that money,” Tommy murmured. “Not even the money in the trust I should’ve had for college.”

“There are no debts you’d be relieved to get rid of?” Evan asked.

Tommy made a face. He did have a mortgage on his house. And the helicopter he owned with a friend wasn’t fully paid off yet either. Evan had a point with that, there could be a use for some of that money. But he felt like the money was intended to compensate for his less-than-stellar childhood, as if that would make those memories easier to carry.

After a long silence, Evan changed the topic. “You said you can’t remember the last time you were on vacation. Where would you go if you could go anywhere at all?”

Tommy shook his head with a little grin. Maybe it wasn’t that much of a change of topic. “I don’t know. Never thought of that.”

“Really?” Evan asked, surprised. “You never heard about a place and thought you’d like to see it?”

“Not really,” Tommy said slowly. “Have you?”

“I have a whole list!” Evan said. “It’s subdivided by continents, even. I’ve already made a pretty big dent in the North America section, but most of those were places I could reach by car.”

“How did you come to make that list?” Tommy asked.

“People talked about places, or I read about them in a book. I think it started with Maddie talking about the ocean. We never went to the ocean, but I think they took some family vacations there before I was born. Or maybe when I was too young to remember. So, Maddie talked about it, and the first thing I did when I left home was drive to the ocean.”

“And you promptly fell in love,” Tommy said.

Evan laughed. “Yeah, pretty much. Sitting on the beach and looking out over the ocean is one of the best feelings, don’t you think?”

“That is great,” Tommy agreed. “Especially if you’re sharing that moment with someone you care about.”

He made a mental note to look up which beaches nearby wouldn’t necessarily be overrun by people, so he could take Evan there while they were stuck here dealing with his family’s bullshit.

Evan smiled and placed his hand on Tommy’s thigh. “I can share my list of places I want to see with you. But have you really never thought about anywhere you’d like to visit if you had all the time and money in the world?”

“Not in a way that I thought it could ever turn into any kind of real plan,” Tommy said. “Are you trying to convince me to keep the money?”

“No, not necessarily,” Evan said softly. “But I do think you should consider the whole situation a little more than you have so far. This is connected to your father, who you don’t want to have anything to do with. And I understand that. But this inheritance isn’t about your father.”

Tommy huffed.

“I think your grandfather could’ve done a much better job if he’d just said all his grandchildren should split it equally. Then this situation would suck a lot less, and your siblings wouldn’t suddenly be trying to insert themselves into your life. But he gave it all to you. And maybe, despite the bad things that are coming with that, not everything about it is bad, you know?”

Tommy didn’t have an answer for that. He didn’t feel like anything good could come from it, despite knowing that Evan was right. For a moment, he pondered asking about more details regarding the conversation Evan had had with his sister in the hotel lobby, but he pushed that thought away. He trusted that Evan had told him what was important, and he didn’t want to waste his time thinking about people who had proven more than once already that they didn’t care about him.

Chapter 05

“You are a little early,” Jeffrey Mason said, and he sounded surprised by that.

Buck nodded. “Yes. We hoped we could have a private conversation with you before Mrs. Lombard and her children arrive.”

Over breakfast, Tommy and he had agreed that Buck would take the lead on this part of the conversation, because it would be unexpected. Mason had said all the right things the day before, but they both felt he had been a little uncomfortable with Buck’s inclusion.

Mason’s smile was inviting, but his attention was mostly on Tommy. “I suspected you might come back today with some questions.”

“Most of them can be cleared up later,” Buck said, earning a frown from Mason. “But we would like to know before our meeting with the rest of Tommy’s family who told Colleen Lombard when we would be here yesterday so that she could conveniently run into us just as we were leaving.”

Mason’s face turned slack, and Buck thought he was either a really good actor or he had had no idea that had happened at all.

Buck pushed on, “And we’d also like to know whether that is the same person who told either Colleen or Erica Lombard which hotel we’re staying at. Erica said she got the information from your office, but that was when she was still trying to pretend she just wanted to get to know her brother and that her mother wasn’t aware of her visit.”

“I am very sorry,” Mason said after a moment. “I assure you, I didn’t give out that information. And I didn’t approve anyone else giving that information to anyone either. I’ll find who it was, and there will be consequences.”

“See that you do,” Buck said. “It was very disconcerting to have a conversation with someone who wasn’t old enough when Tommy left to really remember anything about him, trying to lecture me about how disrespectful he was for taking back his mother’s name that he was forced to give up after her death. It was honestly one of the most unpleasant conversations I’ve ever had.”

Mason cleared his throat. “I see.”

“I hope you do,” Buck said, and meant every word of it. He didn’t know if he truly trusted Mason’s words about not being the one who had given out the information.

“Were you a friend of my father?” Tommy asked. “You spoke with a lot of familiarity about him yesterday.”

Mason exhaled slowly. “No. We weren’t close, but I have known Nathan since he was a small child. I’m fifteen years older than your father, Mr. Kinard. My father and your grandfather, on the other hand, were very close friends. If I remember correctly, Nathan was a very happy but very late surprise for your grandparents. But like most of the children of your grandfather’s friends, I was too old to be a childhood friend of your father. The only contact I’ve had with your father over the past twenty-five years or so was when we saw each other in court when he tried to contest Simon’s will. But I guess the familiarity of knowing each other from when we grew up stuck.”

Tommy hummed. “You understand why that is a worry?”

Mason nodded slowly. “I think I am starting to understand. My father was still working when Simon originally set up everything for his estate, so I didn’t have much to do with it. I wasn’t the one Simon confided in about any of what was going on in his family, though the plan from the beginning was that I would manage the estate. I have, of course, heard my father’s account of the circumstances. But I wasn’t aware of the depth of the animosity between you and your father until yesterday.”

“Do you know when they learned about my grandfather’s will?” Tommy asked. He cleared his throat. “I guess, the real question is, did they learn before or after they took me in?”

“I’m not sure,” Mason said. “I admit, I went and talked to my father yesterday, to see what he remembered. He does remember your mother’s death, and that Simon’s mind was already too far gone, so he wasn’t able to understand what had happened. But he doesn’t remember what Simon told your father about his estate before his death and what Nathan only learned afterwards.”

Buck raised his brows in surprise. Mason’s father had to be very old.

“In the letter you gave me yesterday,” Tommy began slowly. “My … grandfather mentioned he had left journals in a safe deposit box at a bank. Do you know anything about that?”

Mason smiled. “Yes, of course. I arranged it so that I have no other appointments today. If you want, we can drive to the bank later on so you can take a look at everything.”

“Yes, I would like that,” Tommy said.

Buck took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. He was a little surprised by that decision since over breakfast Tommy had still claimed he didn’t want to look at any of it. Buck couldn’t imagine what had changed his mind, but maybe that wasn’t important either.

Mason nodded. “I’ll make a call to the bank while we wait for the others to arrive. We’re going to have the meeting in the conference room you used yesterday. Maybe you could go ahead and get comfortable there.”

Buck barely refrained from huffing at that comment. But he didn’t say anything when he and Tommy stood and left Mason’s office through the same door they had used the day before when Tommy had needed a moment to gather himself. It was clear that the conference room was already prepared for the pending meeting, with Mason’s seat clearly marked by some files already lying there.

“I wish he’d chosen a different room for this,” Tommy said darkly and rubbed a hand over his eyes.

Buck nodded and inspected the available seats. One wall was nearly all windows, and the sun was reflecting off the windows of the building on the other side of the street in an uncomfortable way. It would be best to sit with their backs to the windows, so they wouldn’t be bothered by the glare.

“What made you make up your mind?” Buck asked curiously.

“I just thought when we drove here that maybe he also put some pictures in the journals. Or maybe he stored a couple of photo albums there, too. And I know the chances of finding more pictures of Mom there is practically zero, but…” Tommy trailed off with a shrug.

Buck nodded slowly. “We can just take them with us and sort through them when we’re back home. You don’t need to deal with that while we’re stuck in a hotel room. Even in a very nice and comfortable hotel room.”

“Yeah,” Tommy sighed and pulled out one of the chairs Buck had been eyeing. He sat down with a heavy sigh. “Let’s hope we can wrap this meeting up in less than an hour. I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with Colleen and her children for even that long.”

“We still haven’t decided on a nickname for your Evil Stepmother,” Buck said with a grin, though, to be fair, they hadn’t talked about it again either.

Tommy laughed. “Probably better that way. You would call her by any kind of nickname to her face. And you wouldn’t even feel sorry for it.”

“I wouldn’t regret it for a moment,” Buck agreed with a smug grin and sat down in the chair beside Tommy. “Let’s hope after today we won’t have to deal with her again.”

Tommy sighed and angled his chair so he was mostly facing Buck, but he turned his head even further to stare out of the window.

“They don’t need to know anything about you accepting the inheritance or not,” Buck said softly. “That’s none of their business. We’ll just let Mason tell them whatever they inherited, and then they can leave and hopefully never bother us again.”

“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy,” Tommy muttered.

Buck didn’t think so either, but they could hope at least. The worst thing that could happen was if they tried to drag Tommy to court over this. Because that would mean dealing with them over and over again for who knew how many years.

Instead of worrying about that, Buck turned the conversation to their exploration of Balboa Park the previous afternoon. It was a good distraction for the next ten or so minutes until Mason entered the conference room—through the door from the hallway rather than from his office—followed by Colleen Lombard and her four children.

Mason pointed at the seats opposite Buck and Tommy at the table. He waited until everyone was seated before he sat and said, “Mr. Buckley, you already know Colleen Lombard and her oldest daughter, Erica. Then we have Charlotte, Jonathan, and Benjamin. Everyone but young Benjamin has met Mr. Thomas Kinard, of course. And his partner is Evan Buckley.”

Colleen huffed. “Partner.”

Buck smiled sweetly. “As I said yesterday, we can use the term boyfriend if you’re more comfortable with that.”

“You have no reason to even be here!” Colleen spat.

Buck shrugged. “Not your decision who Tommy brings along for support while he has to deal with this tiring situation.”

Mason cleared his throat. “Let’s move on, please. I don’t want to keep you and your children any longer than necessary, Mrs. Lombard.”

Colleen gave a curt nod but kept glaring at Tommy. Mason took a moment to sort the paperwork in front of him in silence, and Buck used that moment to observe Tommy’s siblings. For a little while, Erica had seemed friendly enough the previous day, but she didn’t bother to keep that front up now. She was glaring at Tommy with the exact same look as her mother.

Charlotte, on the other hand, seemed to be uncomfortable. She had folded her hands in her lap and looked in Mason’s direction, but not quite at him. Jonathan held his head high and hadn’t looked at either Tommy or Buck even once since he had come into the room. Benjamin sat slumped down in his chair, shoulders drawn up to his ears, staring at the table in front of him. Buck hadn’t missed how he had flinched earlier during his mother’s short exchange with Buck.

“Simon’s directives are very clear, Mrs. Lombard,” Mason said finally. “And they haven’t changed since I last spoke with Nathan about the matter. The additional funds will be added to Benjamin’s trust fund now instead of when he turns 21, though he won’t be able to access that part of the money until his 21st birthday. Everything else is to go to Mr. Kinard.”

“That can’t be right!” Jonathan said, loud and angry. He slapped a hand on the table and leaned forward. “It can’t be legal! This man has no connection to our family at all. He has no right to take our family’s money.”

Mason watched him with raised brows. “I’m aware you’re in law school, Jonathan. I’m sure your studies will cover inheritance law soon, and you’ll be able to use Simon’s last will and testament as a case study about all the things that are possible and legal when you decide what is to happen with your estate after your death.”

Jonathan opened his mouth, but Mason raised his hand to shut him up.

“Your father dragged this matter through the courts for years, and he was shut down at every turn,” Mason said. “There is nothing out of order with Simon’s instructions.”

“Thomas isn’t even really Nathan’s son!” Colleen said coldly.

Buck inhaled sharply, but Tommy just laughed. “And you’ve only come up with that now? Where was that accusation back when you were so reluctant to take me in at all but still did so the neighbors wouldn’t talk badly about you?”

“Back then, we could hardly disapprove your mother’s fraudulent claims,” Colleen said, chin raised high. “Nathan told his father more than once that all that … woman wanted was his money. He wouldn’t listen.”

“DNA tests to prove paternity were available in the late ‘80s,” Mason interjected. “Simon requested such a test be done when he set up his will, because he feared such an accusation would arise at one point or another. Nathan knew about the test and the positive result. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you, Mrs. Lombard.”

Colleen made a face, and Jonathan scowled, which made Buck wonder if they had just hoped everyone had forgotten about that DNA test.

“But, for the record,” Mason continued, “it wouldn’t have mattered. Simon was free to make any kind of arrangements for his estate, regardless of familial connections. There is nothing here of interest for you, as I’ve told you repeatedly, Mrs. Lombard.”

“It’s our family’s money!” Jonathan protested hotly. “And Thomas decided years ago that he isn’t part of our family. What happens if he rejects the inheritance? Then it has to go to us, where it belongs!”

Tommy huffed out a mirthless laugh. “I decided? Really? That’s the narrative you’re trying to push after our father decided before I was even born that he couldn’t be bothered to do right by my mother and take care of the child he had helped create?”

“Your mother was a gold digger,” Colleen snapped. “The only reason she became pregnant was to trap Nathan so she could take his money!”

“Not everyone is like you,” Tommy said darkly. “I mean, I always wondered why you insisted on taking me in while at the same time complaining to everyone in the neighborhood about how horrible I was. But you already knew what my grandfather had arranged for his estate, didn’t you? Which makes it pretty stupid that you spent six years treating me like a pariah in the house that should’ve been my home, my sanctuary after I lost my mother.”

“You’re crazy,” Erica said. “And so ungrateful! I remember how it was when you still lived with us. You avoided every moment of family time, and you wouldn’t play with any of us. You treated us like we were dirt!”

Tommy leaned back and exhaled slowly, watching Erica intensely. Buck placed his hand on Tommy’s thigh under the table in support, wondering if he should disrupt that line of conversation, of accusations.

“That’s a little bit of historical revisionism your parents taught you there,” Tommy said slowly. “The day you and your mother came home from the hospital, our father told me very clearly that I had no business being anywhere near you. I was never allowed to hold you, Charlotte, or Jonathan, not even once, when you were babies. That wasn’t my choice. And those instructions only changed after I got my driver’s license, and suddenly I was useful because I could pick you up from preschool or from playdates, from sports. Regardless of what my plans were for that day.”

Erica rolled her eyes, and Jonathan huffed dismissively. But Buck noticed with some interest that Charlotte bit her lip, and Benjamin sank even deeper into his chair. Maybe the four siblings weren’t all the same assholes as their parents, after all.

“If I had known about your perversion, I’d have never allowed you to spend even a single night in the same house as any of my children,” Colleen hissed and leaned over the table. “I’m just glad Nathan never had to learn about it. The shame would’ve killed him!”

Tommy shrugged. “It’s hardly my problem if he would’ve been that bothered by me living my life and being happy with a person I love.”

Buck bit his lip, but he was pretty sure that he wasn’t hiding his smile at all. Tommy probably didn’t even notice what he had just admitted for the first time, too focused on the rest of the conversation. Buck, on the other hand, could barely hold himself back from interrupting to return the sentiment.

“We aren’t here to rehash ancient history,” Tommy said. “I survived having to live with you for six years. That’s all that matters to me. I was glad not to think about any of you for the rest of my life. And I’m happy to go back to that, starting as soon as you leave this room.”

“My children deserve their share of Simon’s money!” Colleen hissed. “How am I supposed to take care of them?”

“Three of them are old enough to take care of themselves,” Tommy pointed out with raised brows, which earned him a glare from all three of them. “Erica said yesterday you had known for ten years that our father would die sooner rather than later. Don’t tell me you didn’t prepare for this. Didn’t he put any money aside? What about your own job, Colleen?”

Colleen flexed her jaw. “When I married, I was promised I wouldn’t ever have to work a day in my life again. I had and have my hands full caring for my children.”

Benjamin huffed, which earned him a glare from Jonathan, and, Buck suspected by both their movements, also a kick under the table.

Tommy covered Buck’s hand on his thigh and squeezed it tightly. “I don’t see how that is my problem. I have no responsibility for or obligation to any of you.”

“Of course you do!” Jonathan said. “You’re trying to steal our inheritance!”

Tommy sighed and shook his head. “That’s bullshit.”

“We’re going to sue you,” Colleen threatened.

Mason cleared his throat, and Buck was relieved that he finally thought about stepping into this whole mess. “Nathan has already exhausted all options there, and all it did was cost him money.”

“The situation is different now,” Jonathan said, and sounded so snobbish that Buck nearly laughed. “Dad couldn’t contest those ridiculous rules that stole his inheritance from him. But the condition of Grandpa’s estate being frozen until Dad’s death has been met. We have a different standing in court now than Dad ever had.”

“You don’t have any standing at all,” Mason said with a resigned sigh. “But please, if you want to waste money, and your personal lawyer is willing bill you for wasting your time and money, I can hardly stop you.”

“What if Thomas rejects the inheritance?” Erica asked. After a second, she turned a glare in Tommy’s direction. “As he should if he had any honor.”

“Then everything will be donated to charities as detailed by Simon,” Mason said. “I realize this might feel very unfair because Simon didn’t know any of you. But the situation is as it is, and there is nothing you can do to change it. He established educational funds for any hypothetical additional grandchildren after all, but explicitly left the remainder of his estate only to Thomas, or charities in the event Thomas could not inherit. Nothing beyond those trust funds is—or has ever been—your inheritance “

For the next half hour, Buck barely bothered to listen to the repetitive arguments from Jonathan and Colleen or the few interjections from Erica. Charlotte was visibly angry about the same points her mother and siblings were, but she never said a single word. And Benjamin seemed to want to vanish under the table the longer the whole situation dragged on.

Buck figured out very quickly that Mason must have had this argument with them more than once before, and that this whole meeting was mostly taking place to show Tommy exactly what he could expect from his father’s family going forward. It was clear they wouldn’t leave it alone anytime soon.

Eventually, Mason ended the meeting and sent the Lombards away, which was a drama all in itself because they kept insisting that they had a right to know everything Mason would discuss with Tommy. Buck was honestly glad that Tommy had somehow managed to become a good person despite living with these kinds of people for six years during a very formative period of his life.

“You could’ve just told me what I’d have to expect from them,” Tommy said with raised brows when Mason returned to the conference room after showing the Lombards out. “I would’ve believed you. I do remember very clearly the kind of people my father and Colleen were, and I’m not surprised their children follow in their footsteps.”

“Most of them, at least,” Buck said. “I think Benjamin’s behavior was more being a sulky and grief-stricken teenager.”

“The others didn’t seem all that grief-stricken,” Tommy muttered.

Mason cleared his throat. “I wasn’t aware of the level of hostility between you and the rest of your family, Mr. Kinard, until I talked to you yesterday. Nathan and Colleen managed to fool me about that, and I can only apologize again that I didn’t seek out personal contact with you as soon as you were of age.”

Tommy just shrugged.

“I left the meeting in place at it was for the reason you concluded, though,” Mason continued. “No matter what you decide about your inheritance, I don’t believe Colleen or Jonathan will stop trying to get what they view as their share anytime soon.”

“If I accept the inheritance, I don’t think it would be very practical to have a law firm located in a different city than where I live,” Tommy said. “A two-hour drive isn’t that much, but it would still add up.”

“I’ve made sure we’re moving with the times,” Mason said slowly. “We can arrange online meetings for a lot of things to minimize travel. But I will understand, of course, if you request whatever law firm you use in LA takes over management of the estate.”

Buck exhaled quietly, relieved that Mason wasn’t arguing his point too much. When they had talked about Erica showing up at their hotel late the previous evening, Tommy had wondered if he could trust anyone here in San Diego to have his interests in mind in the first place. Mason was trying, but Buck didn’t feel it was enough to overcome the mistrust that was already there.

Tommy nodded. “I’m glad you understand. I expect such a change would be months in the making, though. If I accept the inheritance.”

“I’m glad you’re at least thinking about it,” Mason said.

“Colleen brought up that she might lose the house, leaving her and Benjamin without a home,” Tommy said slowly. “As manipulations go, it was pretty obvious. But is there a way for you to find out how dire her financial situation really is? I’d hate to know I had the means to help Benjamin, but didn’t do anything to ensure that the last two or so years he has left in high school won’t be even more disrupted.”

“As you’re aware, we have a PI employed by our firm,” Mason agreed. “I can have him look into Colleen’s situation.”

“Is there a way to provide financial support for Benjamin until he finishes high school… or until he is eighteen, whatever happens later, while making sure Colleen can’t use that money for herself? Or for suing me?” Tommy asked.

Mason watched Tommy for a moment, and Buck thought he looked surprised and confused at the same time. “I’m positive I can figure something out. As to the fear of losing the house, that house is part of Simon’s estate. So, what happens with the house is your choice in the end, too.”

Tommy dragged his fingers through his hair. “Great. That’s just what I need, being their landlord, too.”

“You could just give the house away,” Buck said. “Gift it to her and be done with it.”

Tommy frowned. “Maybe.”

“Are you ready to hear the details about Simon’s estate now?” Mason asked after a moment of silence.

Tommy sighed deeply. “Yeah. I guess I can’t run away from it forever.”

 

---