Page 46 of Carver

Since Gideon’s arrival, things within the Angels had changed for the better. Despite the need to accommodate him, though really there wasn’t much to change there, his sweet boy’s presence gave more than it took. His men were getting reprieve to do as they wished. Carver felt less irritable overall.

Gideon eyed Carver as he sank back down in his chair. The sweet boy had likely heard Hex’s words. With how much itshocked him, Carver couldn’t let him think there was anything false about it.

“What Hex said is true,” Carver told him. “We are all better with you here.”

His boy gave him a quick nod before looking around the room. Carver followed his gaze. He noted how empty the office was aside from the paperwork, the cage in the corner, and some basic furniture. Nothing about it screamed Carver.

When he took over as leader of the Angels, Carver hadn’t cared about decorating things. That was for the others to take care of. The old ladies and the men who wanted to have a say in it. Carver’s focus had been on making sure the club business turned in the right direction.

Now though, he saw it as a failure. Because Gideon deserved to be surrounded in love and support. The walls should be covered in happy memories, motivational images, and color.

There needed to be more color.

Keeping his boy in this barren room felt wrong.

“We should paint the office.” Carver’s words shattered the silence.

Gideon turned to him, eyes wide.

“Do you think we should put some color in here? What would you like?”

At his question, Gideon tilted his head. Carver leaned around his boy to tug at the mouse for his computer. The screen lit up, which seemed to startle his boy.

“I’m just going to pull up some options. You can point to which you like best. Maybe we can paint in here and in the bedroom, yeah?”

Gideon didn’t outwardly respond. His eyes were locked on the screen as Carver typed in a website where they could get paint samples. A few quiet minutes of scrolling had Carverquestioning if this was the right move. Nothing appeared to draw his boy in.

Not until they got to the greens. That was when Gideon’s entire body shifted forward like he wanted to jump through the screen.

Carver slowed his scrolling to give Gideon time to make his choice. When his trembling hand reached out to the screen, Carver held his breath. The chosen color, a forest green, was actually nice to look at.

“Is this for the office?” Carver asked him.

Gideon gave him a nod. Then his finger trailed across the screen to a softer, pastel green. He tapped it twice.

“And that’s for the bedroom.” This choice wasn’t a question. He knew it’s what his boy wanted. “I’ll put in the order for it. One of the guys will pick it up. We can make the changes as soon as we have it here. The probies can move the furniture to prep for it all.”

Carver rambled the words almost nervously. He didn’t know why he felt unmoored at this change.

Then again, he did know.

What if they did all this and Gideon still decided to leave in the end? Hell, his sweet boy didn’t even know Carver had learned his name. There was a lot the pair hadn’t discussed. As much as he could try to blame it on the fact they didn’t communicate in a traditional way, Carver knew it was a weak excuse.

Gideon could communicate in his own way. He’d let Carver know when he did or did not want something. To keep details from him wasn’t fair.

At the same time, Carver feared what the change might bring. Would the boy he’d grown close to still see him the same way if he knew all of what Carver had found?

After sending some of the men out to get the paint and working a bit on the backed-up paperwork he had, Carver decided the rest of his day should be spent outside. He knew it was a gorgeous day. And since Gideon had been relaxing in his office all day, it was a good idea to get the boy some sun.

They’d switched chairs along the way to make it so Carver could work without reaching over Gideon all day. His sweet boy had curled up in the visitor chair, his eyes firmly planted on Carver to monitor what he did.

The cage in the corner, the secondary one Carver had insisted they get sat empty. He loved knowing his boy didn’t want to be kept tucked away in this space. While it was likely not the end of his battle with the apparatus, it still meant Gideon had made progress.

Or at least, he’d felt like the boy had.

When Carver had Hex make sure the outside was fine enough for them to go out—aka make sure the women weren't out there and that no parties were happening—he noticed a shift in Gideon’s body language. It was slight. Almost imperceptible.

But he saw.