Page 135 of Slow Heat

“I will say it,” Yule said, lifting his chin. “And you will listen. All of you.”

Jason stood up and moved behind Vale, wrapping his arms protectively around his shoulders.

Yule went on, “Jason had gone to be with you when the worst moment happened. Miner’s heart stopped and Dr. Chase almost didn’t get it started again. I was useless. Your friend, Xan, was helpful, though,” Yule said to Jason. “He followed Urho’s orders exactly, breathing into Miner’s mouth while Urho pounded his chest.”

“Wolf-god,” Vale breathed and Jason’s arms tightened around him.

Miner took hold of Yule’s hand again, comforting him.

“And in that moment, I was so grateful that Jason wasn’t here, that he was with you, and that he was, hopefully, happy.”

Jason whimpered softly. Vale knew he’d felt guilty about their shared joy while his father and pater had been suffering so much. And he’d regretted personally that his own thankfully unsuccessful attempt to push Jason away had marred the bliss of their first heat together.

“I knew then how unreasonable and wrong I’d been. He’ll be happiest with hisÉrosgápe, childless or not. It won’t matter in the long run. Nothing lasts forever. No man, no relationship, no life. Death claims it all. So why try to defy that truth?”

“Love, you’ve gone rather deep and a touch morbid,” Miner murmured, kissing his fingers. “I think a simple ‘I’m sorry’ was likely good enough.”

Vale shook his head. “No, I appreciate your candor. It’s a lesson you’d think I’d have learned after I lost my parents, but I didn’t. Instead, I tried to push Jason away.” He leaned back against Jason’s tall form, happy for the strong, wiry arms around him. “I was afraid he’d find me lacking and resent beingÉrosgápe.”

Part of him still worried, but Jason was so…Jason. Open, loving, ready to embrace their future together. He could only have faith in him.

Jason kissed the top of his head and murmured, “You’re an idiot.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“We’ve had this conversation before.”

Vale’s cheeks flushed and he rubbed his hand over his beard, looking away.

Miner yawned and Yule rose quickly. “You should go. Miner needs his rest. You two come back tomorrow. We’ll discuss arrangements for signing a contract then.”

“Tomorrow?” Jason asked, confused.

Yule glanced up from helping Miner get comfortable on the giant stack of pillows and said, “Aren’t you planning to stay with Vale?” He blinked in confusion but went on rapidly, “You’re welcome to continue living at home, of course. We love you and want you here if you want to be here. We just hadn’t anticipated you’d want to stay.”

“Oh! No, I…” Jason trailed off, turning to Vale. They hadn’t discussed a timeline outside of Jason’s declaration that they’d live together in Vale’s house. They’d both assumed Jason’s parents would want him to continue living at home until the contract was signed, possibly until Miner was on his feet again. But it was clear Yule had Miner’s care well in hand, and no one seemed too worried about the contract anymore.

“You should pack a bag while we’re here,” Vale said. “You’ve already gone through the bag of clothes Xan dropped by for you. And I’m afraid I’m terrible about doing laundry.”

Jason grinned at him. His blue eyes shone like the sun. “You want me to move in now?”

“Oh, yes. Don’t worry. We can come back with boxes for anything else you need later.”

Miner reached out a hand to Jason and he went over to kiss his pater again. “I’m sorry I scared you,” Miner whispered, touching Jason’s cheek. “I can only imagine what you must have felt seeing me that way, my sweet boy.”

Jason smoothed Miner’s hair off his forehead and kissed him there, too. “Father and Urho handled it. I just paced and prayed.”

“That’s not true,” Father said. “You called Urho here. You arranged for Xan to come. You were a true man in the face of this crisis. We’re proud of you.”

Miner sighed. “And, luckily, we’ll never have to face this sort of ordeal again.”

“Thanks to Urho,” Yule said. “He’s the other hero of the hour.”

“But Jason’s the real hero for summoning him,” Miner said, and yawned again.

“Enough talking for you,” Yule said sternly. “You need to rest.”

Jason hugged his father and kissed Miner one more time before taking Vale’s hand and leading him from the room.