Page 21 of Approved (The Dapper Duck #1)

Chapter twenty-one

WEST

“I think you should go for some inpatient therapy, Tyler.” Dr.

Porter said matter-of-factly.

You need to take a time out for a reset.

The place I recommend focuses on people with PTSD, which he had been officially diagnosed with, and they strongly encourage the patients to have a support animal.

” My eyes darted to Earl, who had his snout in Dr.

Porter’s coffee cup.

“Earl, no.” I stood up, grabbed him, and wiped off his face with the bottom of my T-shirt.

I quietly prayed he didn’t suggest he trained Earl because I wasn’t sure he was capable.

“I thought since you have Earl,” and there it was.

“You could take him, and he could learn to be the support you needed.” Tyler snorted next to me as Earl crawled up on his lap.

“I believe in you, Earl. You can probably do this.” He said while he petted his friend, we looked at each other, neither of us actually believed he could.

He was a wonderful, sweet companion, but he was motivated by food and was kind of a free spirit when it came to paying attention.

I looked at Tyler.

“Will you go?”

“Of course, I want to be healthy mentally. I am tired of always expecting the worst of people.” His conviction made me smile; that’s what I wanted for him, too.

I could already see how he trusted me more and even let East get close to him as a friend.

It did my heart good.

Three weeks later, I stood at the airport kissing Tyler, trying not to cry.

It wasn’t like he would be gone forever, but I would miss him so much.

We went out on dates regularly, I took my days off every week, and we made sure to spend that time with each other.

Our relationship was stronger every week, and I knew he was my forever person.

After one last hug and kiss, Tyler and Earl headed to their gate.

“I am learning a lot about myself and how to cope with what happened to me.” My phone calls with Tyler were everything.

I made sure Larry and Charlie would see him on video calls, since I knew they missed each other.

It had been five weeks and I always kept my shit together for him even though hearing his voice broke me.

I missed him more every day, but this was so important to him, and I wouldn’t do anything to damage that.

“Earl is trying, West, but I don’t know. He is a great friend and does some adorable things, but this might not be his calling.”

“What are our options if he, ummm…” I didn’t want to say flunk out because I loved that little dragon, and saying something like that seemed wrong.

“Doesn’t make it?”

“West, I think a support animal would help me from spiraling. If Earl doesn’t make it, we need to look into finding a service dog. They take years to train, are ridiculously expensive, and are very hard to find, but I am sure we could find one in a year or two.”

What Tyler didn’t know was that a benefit of owning one of the most popular high-end bars in a major city was that you knew a lot of people.

A customer who had been coming into The Dapper Duck for a few years trained service dogs from puppies.

Not that I didn’t believe in Earl, okay, I didn’t, but I thought maybe a few inquiries would be wise.

The next day, I contacted Jeremy, who had two retrievers that had finished their pre-training and he was was getting ready to sell them.

The dogs would then get the training their handler needed from a specialized kennel or clinic like the one Tyler was at now.

That afternoon, I paid triple the price Jeremy asked for, guaranteeing the dog was ours.

A few weeks later, I sat on the couch, excited to talk to Tyler.

He had confirmed he would return home after ninety days, so only a month remained.

The phone rang and I jumped to answer the call.

I could tell by his face that something was wrong.

“Hey, Baby. You doing okay?” I’d been taught not to assume but to ask directly.

I watched as a tear slipped down his cheek.

I ached to reach out to him, hold him, comfort him, but I couldn’t because we were thousands of miles apart.

“Talk to me.”

“Earl isn’t going to make it. When he was supposed to be working, I caught him with his head in the box with a birthday cake for one of the staff. Earl hadn't been paying attention at all, West. When he was caught, he was covered in frosting.” Tyler snort-laughed.

“I’ve got you, Sweetheart. There is a dog on hold for you through one of my patrons. Yogi is yours if you need him. His training is finished, but he will continue to be worked with until you are ready for him.”

“Dear God, I love you, West. Thank you.” He had learned to accept my gifts gracefully, and now understood that I did it because I cared about him, it was not to manipulate or trick. “Maybe Earl can do it? Hold on.” Tyler set down the phone, and I could hear him through the speaker. “Earl, get out of the peanut butter. Come here, let me wipe you off.” Tyler picked up the phone. “Tell Jeremy we will be taking Yogi.” We laughed together.

“Well, we suspected this was going to happen. I’ll let him know.”

“Yeah, that’s great. I am sure he will work out perfectly. But West. This means I have to come back for a few more months with Yogi.” My heart dropped knowing he would be away from us again. I wondered if I could buy my way into treatment so I could be near my man, but figured that would ultimately defeat the purpose.

“That’s not great news, but we will survive it.”

He gave me a half smile, “I guess. I’m leaving here at the end of October, and the next class doesn’t start until January 15. I’ll be home for the holidays. I miss all of you so much, I don’t want to leave again.”

“Let me ask you this. Has this time away helped?”

His eyes lit up. “Yes. It’s been amazing, and Earl has really tried, but he gets distracted too easily. I think if dragons are to be support animals, they need to be trained from birth. Honestly, I was pretty lazy with him when I first got him. We did our thing together, and it was cool.”

“Nothing wrong with that. Earl will always be important to our family, and we will add Yogi to the mix, too.” Earl looked into the camera when he heard me say his name. He made me laugh, and I felt bad that he wouldn’t be able to help Tyler, but I loved him regardless.

We talked about our businesses, then gossiped about East, Jamie, and Allison, before saying good night. When I was off the phone, I realized I was happy all the time now, and it showed. My staff started calling me Mr. Sunshine, and patrons teased me about the heart eyes when I talked about Tyler. After our nightly conversations, I hung up, missing him like crazy, but I knew this was what we needed to have a long, happy life together.

When I checked my phone the following day, I got the flight confirmation for Tyler’s flight home the last week of October, the buzzing under my skin when I was around him started because I knew he would be near soon. He energized me, made me feel powerful, intelligent, and handsome. Tyler made me a better person, and I loved him for it.

He looked amazing when he came around the corner to gather his suitcase. Earl sat on his shoulder, paid no attention to Tyler, and looked at everything he could. Earl didn’t have a great ability to focus, and it was obvious why he wasn’t suited to be a support animal. I pulled Tyler into my arms and vowed never to let him go, even though I knew it was unreasonable, having him there pressed against me was everything. I kissed him, sweetly painfully aware we were in a public place, and unfortunately, people knew who I was. The last thing either of us wanted was to be headlines in TMZ. We gathered his bag and headed to the limo I had rented because I wanted to sit behind a partition, make out with my boyfriend, and be alone with only him for the hour ride home.

“Fancy.” He said as he climbed in.

“Only the best for the best boyfriend ever.” He laughed at me and shoved me toward the door.

“Get in so we can make out.” I liked how he thought and realized how transparent my little plan was. It didn’t stop me, though. When I got to take his mouth again, it was warm, soft, and perfect. His tongue teased between my lips, then found mine, where they rubbed and danced. I couldn’t help the moan that escaped me. My hands slid under his shirt, feeling the warmth of his skin under my palms and my cock felt like it was about to rip through my jeans. God, I wanted him so much it literally hurt.

“It’s great to have you home,” I said against his lips, not wanting any distance between us. “I missed this, I missed you.”

He reached between us, his palm pressed against my erection, then he squeezed my length through my jeans. “I missed this.”

“Oh, did you now?” He climbed on my lap, straddled my thighs, then leaned down. His kiss was hard, deep, and filled with passion. While he wrapped his fingers in my hair, he rutted against me, making me hold his hips tight, unsure if I should stop him or encourage him. It wouldn’t take much more before I would come in my pants like a horny teenager. “If you keep doing that, I will embarrass myself.”

“You know, I see that as a challenge, right?” Then he doubled down, I found his zipper and managed to get my fingers around the head of his leaking cock. My thumb rubbed against the sensitive frenulum, making him thrust more, his hand down my underwear, where he squeezed and rubbed my aching shaft. I held my breath riding the feeling. I didn’t want to give in so easily, but this was my Tyler, the man I was in love with, the man I wanted forever. Those thoughts were all I needed as I felt my orgasm hit me, and I covered his hand, then I felt his body shudder only seconds behind me, the wet heat running over my knuckles. I managed to lean in and capture some with my mouth, but most smeared on his clothes. He leaned forward and nestled his head in the crook of my neck.

“I love you, West.” I didn’t care how messy we were when I pulled him tight against me.

“I love you, too, Tyler.” We sat there while we continued down the freeway, content to be with each other again after a long three months. “Where do you want to go? Your house or mine?”

“Let’s go to mine to clean up so we don’t show up with sticky clothes.” He knew our family, and they would be at my house to welcome him home, so he had a good point. I texted the driver the address, Tyler snuggled in, and we held each other until we arrived at his house.

Once we had cleaned up, which included another round of pleasure in the shower, we headed to my house, where I knew Jamie, East, and Allison waited with the cats to welcome Tyler home. As we pulled up, he smiled at me. “It’s good to be home. I love having a family that misses me, and I love you.” My heart did little back flips in my chest because Tyler was my guy.

Allison came out before we got to the front door and raced toward Tyler in her dragon pajamas. “Uncle Tyler!!!” She squealed and then launched herself at him. He caught her easily and pulled her into a hug, while East gave him a squeeze around his daughter.

Jamie came up next to him and kissed his cheek. “I missed you. Glad to have you back for a while.”

“I love you all so much.” I watched him while tears slipped down his cheeks, allowing him a minute, I took Allison from him.

“Hi, Unkkie Wefst.” I hugged her tight. I wondered why she could call Tyler Uncle, but I was still Unkkie.

“Hi, sweet baby girl. It’s good to have your other Uncle home, isn’t it?” She nodded her head, “I missed him lots.” Then she leaned in and whispered. “Is it okay that I love him too. Like I love you and Daddy?”

“It’s absolutely okay to love him like that. You should tell him.”

“Okay.” She turned toward Tyler. “Uncle Tyler?” He paused his conversation with Jamie and looked at her.

“Yes, Allison?”

“I love you like I love Daddy and Unkkie Wefst.” I watched as my sweet man’s eyes widened, then tears started again, as he grabbed my niece and hugged her tight against him.

“I love you, too, Allison.” Over her shoulder, he caught my eye, and my heart fluttered, then skipped a beat. This was so much more than I had ever hoped for. I noticed Jamie and East were both looking glassy-eyed, too.