Page 57 of Quinton's Quest

“Maybe it is.” He offered a shy smile. “And if you kept spending time with a certain nurse, that would be okay too.”

My jaw dropped.

He smiled. “Don’t blame the gossip mill—small-town living, Leo. Trust me, you get used to it.”

“Dare I ask?” Although I had asked his permission, I’d also been crystal clear this was just me asking a friend over.Or so I thought.

“Well—” Gideon bit his lower lip—something he only did when he was seriously worried about something.

“I’m not going to get mad at anyone. The kids met Quinton yesterday, as you know, when he came over to the house and the kids went sledding. He stayed for dinner before going to the hospital for his shift.”

“Where he spoke to Ravi—apparently glowing—who might’ve mentioned it to his husband Maddox who came over with Princess Sofia so we could all go for a walk in the snow.”

“Princess Sofia?” My head spun. I hadn’t asked Quinton to keep our afternoon just between us, because Gideon knew. And I hadn’t—would never—ask the kids not to say anything. Whether Gideon was able to loop everything back together would’ve been another issue. But he was smarter than I sometimes gave him credit for—to my own peril.

And shame.

“Maddox’s rescue dog. His nieces named her. She’s…a handful. Man, the stories Maddox and Ravi can tell about her. Almost as good as ones about their three-year-old twins.” He held my gaze. “We’ve got a busy street here, so to speak. I mean, we’re on a cul-de-sac, so we don’t get much traffic. But we have four gay couples within a couple of klicks.”

“Oh?”

“Maddox and Ravi. Dean and Adam. Adam works in customer service and Dean’s a forester.”

“Okay. I met Dean and Adam at Fifties.” And I knew of Ravi at the hospital. Everyone else was a mystery to me.

“Felix and Jacob. Jacob is a contractor and Felix teaches French Immersion at Cedar Street Elementary School. Hopefully he’ll teach Melodie and Trevor.”

Early on, we’d decided that if the kids could first, get into the program and second, manage the tough curriculum, that they should try French Immersion. Not much call for Canada’s second official language on the west coast, but having that extra skill would always bode well for them. Better chances of getting a federal government job in the future. And tons of other opportunities.

“That would be great.”

“And…” Again Gideon bit his lip. “Justin and Stanley, with their kids—Opal and Angus.”

“Ah.” Slowly, I nodded. “You recommended Kennedy Dixon. She wasn’t available—but Justin was. He’s a good guy and was upfront about the fact you’re friendly. I told him I didn’t care—and I don’t. I trust his judgment. Wouldn’t be good for his reputation if he went around blabbing all my secrets.”

“He would never.” Gideon’s expression became fierce as his eyes widened. “He’s not built like that.”

“So I assumed. I just realized I needed help.”There. Admitting that wasn’t too hard.

“Because of me.” Said quietly.

“Because of a lot of things. I never dealt with the end of our marriage.” At least here, I could be honest. “I was completely snowed under with my life, and coping meant putting one foot in front of the other and pushing through. I’ve realized that might’ve worked then. Now I’ve slowed down, however, I can see how wrong I was.”

“Not wrong.” He offered a small smile. “You were doing what you thought was best—no one can fault you for that. Now, though, you can share the burdens.”

My knee-jerk reaction was to tell him he wasn’t strong enough. But that had always been my problem. Despite his former physical capacities, I gave more weight to his learning disability. I saw how it disadvantaged him—and how hard he tried to cope—and it made me want to protect him with a fierceness I could now recognize hadn’t been helpful. He’d needed my support—not my intervention. “I’m trying, Gideon.”

“I know you are.”

“Isn’t Archer going to get tired of the kids?”

Gideon laughed. “Uh…no. He’s wanted kids forever—despite having to help raise his many siblings. He’s…a natural.”

“Do you think you’ll have more kids?”Jesus, that’s way too personal a question to ask.

Gideon shook his head, though. Instead of admonishing me, he offered a smile. “Archer would’ve loved any child in his life. Blood isn’t the be-all and end-all for him. He was always willing to adopt or foster. Things didn’t work out.”

With his previous marriage.I’d looked into that as well. His ex-wife, Thea, had remarried. Apparently to, if rumors were to be believed, the man she was cheating on Archer with.