The Nature of Things

Chapter 40

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Michael rubbed his eyes as he carefully tiptoed down the stairs of the house he'd once called home. He'd stayed in bed until he was positive that Ben and Hunter had gone to school. He was shocked to find them still sitting on the couch waiting for him.

"Good afternoon, sleepyhead." Ben went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee for Michael.

"I thought you'd be at work by now."

"We waited for you," Hunter explained. "Dad thought it would be a good thing for us to talk about what's happened and how we can try to fix this family."

"As Hunter said, I think it would be good for the three of us to discuss the recent problems and see how we can go about remedying them."

"I appreciate it, but there really isn't anything to talk about. I did something horrendous and I'm sorry for it, but things can never be the way they were."

"Maybe not, but we can try to find a way to move past them if we try."

"I don't need your pity."

"I'm not offering you pity, I'm offering you hope."

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Brian spent the night at the office doing damage control. He'd called home around nine and asked Jennifer to let Justin know he wouldn't be home. Brian had no idea about what Molly had discovered because Justin had convinced Molly to keep it quiet for a few more days until he could figure out exactly what was going on.

Justin had a restless sleep, listening for Maya and trying to understand why his father would hire a madman to destroy his family.

He'd gotten up a few times during the night to check on Maya only to find Molly rocking her. He was thrilled that Molly was bonding with Maya but he was also worried that she was having second thoughts about letting them adopt her.

The actual adoption wouldn't be final for a few more weeks and Molly had a full year to change her mind. Justin was scared that the more time she spent with Maya, the more she would realize that she'd made a mistake and would take her back.

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Craig was at the jail first thing in the morning to visit with Casey and let him know what was going on. Casey was in no mood to deal with Craig's hysterics. He'd spent the night in solitary for stealing another inmate's canteen.

"Molly and Justin know that I paid for you attorney."

"So," Casey shrugged off the pain in his shoulders from being cuffed all night.

"So if they go public with it, it could destroy me."

"That's not my problem. I did my job."

"Do you really want your brother knowing that I paid you to fuck his little boyfriend over?"

"I didn't do shit."

"You drugged Justin and Michael. You planned the whole damn thing."

"And you bankrolled it. Looks to me like they will be more pissed at you than at me. Besides I'm stuck in here; there isn't shit they can do to me."

"Don't be so sure. Brian Kinney is a powerful man."

"He's nothing but a faggot; he can't hurt me."

"I expect you to deny everything."

"What's in it for me?"

"I'll keep our deal and continue to supply you with whatever you need to make your stay here more comfortable."

"That's not enough anymore."

"I'm not giving you anything else."

"Then I guess the truth will come out sooner or later."

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Molly held Maya close and thought about what Casey had done to her.

"I won't let you destroy us. I promise you, little one, that I'll take care of everything. He can't hurt us anymore."

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