Page 23 of Twisted Chassis (Foggy Basin)

All Flavors of Freedom

“Whoa, what is this place?”

“The first of three surprises I’ve got for you today,” Maddox said as Haven slid off the back of his Electra Gylde less than ten short hours after he’d finished restoring her to a fully functional beast again.

The paint job was still fucked. Cosmetically, she looked like he’d driven her through a warzone, but she purred the way she had when Maddox had parked her on the curb in front of the bank, and that was all that mattered right now.

Several other cars were parked at the spot as well, and Maddox gave his boy’s hand a squeeze as he led him up the tree lined trail to the top of the mountain.

“I think you’re gonna like what’s ahead,” Maddox said. “Remember when we were talking about different kinds of rushes, and you mentioned what a thrill bungee jumping and ziplining were?”

“Yeah!”

There it was, the curiosity and excitement Maddox had been hoping for. Haven might have been hesitant before, but now he was practically vibrating energy.

“Well did you know that there is a whole zipline course that ends at a bridge spanning a giant gorge with a river rushing through the bottom of it?”

“No.” Haven admitted.

“Guess what they do at that bridge?”

“Oh my god, bungee jumping? Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Holy shit!” Haven blurted as he darted ahead, still clinging to Maddox’s hand only now he was practically dragging him up the trail instead of walking along beside him.

They were damn near running by the time they reached the top, which meant Maddox spent the next five minutes catching his breath while trying to listen to the instructions being given about the harness and rigging. There were eleven lines between here and the bridge, where ATVs would be waiting to take them back to the parking lot. Helmets needed to stay on, hands needed to stay away from the clips and buckles, they could pass on a line if they needed to, or tap out at any point, not that he was worried. From the look on his boy’s face, it wouldn’t surprise him if he begged to go back to the top and do it all over again once they’d finished the first round.

Which was why Maddox had already planned for that and booked a second round of tickets.

It helped to not have to worry about Loki-Bear. River had fallen in love with him as much as Haven had, going so far as to buy a second dog bed, bowl set, several toys and a package of real soup bones for those times when Loki-Bear would be spending time with him. The dog was already thriving in the wake of all the pets and praise he received throughout the day.

Archer had been moved to shimmers of tears the first time Loki-Bear had allowed him to rub his ears, and several times over the week, Maddox had caught his partner peeking in on Loki-Bear in the room they’d set up for him, lavishing him with attention and once, even sitting with him over his lunch break and reading him the inventory as he’d been copying it to the proper form.

If anything, Loki-Bear had confirmed the faith Maddox had in Archer as animals were known for steering clear of people with bad intentions and the dog had warmed up to him almost as fast as he’d warmed up to Haven and River. From all he’d been told, Meadow was excited to meet him too, only she’d been stuck at home for the past week as first one, then another of her children had come down with the flu.

The brothers had been sending meals over so she wouldn’t have to cook, another indication of how close they still were. It was almost funny too, because they didn’t think to discuss it with one another or consolidate their efforts until Maddox had mentioned to Haven that he’d just overheard River sending soup and sandwiches over from the Blue Star. At that point, Haven admitted to having just gotten off the phone with Pasta Pete’s to have food sent over too. There had been a great deal of laughter over that and a bit of woofing too when Loki-Bear decided to join in. That pup would have a really big personality once he finished growing up, and a lot of attitude too, if he kept picking up the traits of his new best friend, The Notorious S.O.X. The tuxedo cat had finally come down off the desk and decided that he wanted to use his pillow, but only if Loki-Bear was on it. The cat was often seen curled between Loki-Bears paws or grooming the Shepherd’s fur whenever the mood hit him. According to Haven, there had never been any hissing or a hint of claws aimed it the dog’s direction. It was like S.O.X. knew Loki-Bear needed him the same way Haven had when he’d invited himself in and reminded Haven of who he used to be, not the way others saw him.

“Ready?” Haven asked eagerly.

Maddox was shocked to see him already harnessed up and ready to go while he’d stood with his own equipment in his hands, woolgathering. Better hurry up and remedy that. Within moments and with help from Haven and one of the men running this leg of the course, Maddox found himself ready to clip on to the line. It had been years since he’d done this and he couldn’t recall the span beneath him looking quite as far, not that Haven gave him much time to think about it. He shoved off with a howl and Maddox followed, soaking in the sound of his boy’s laughter the entire way.

Bungee jumping was a new experience though, and he nearly backed out when he’d made the mistake of peering over the side of the bridge. Haven kissed him, and he forgot everything else but the taste of his boy, who insisted on going first. His heart lept into his throat when Haven made the leap, but there was so much joy and laughter in the moment that he could feel his boy’s exhilaration, making it easy to shove away his fears when his turn rolled around. Watching the ground rush towards him left his heart pounding as the wind whipped past and the line caught and he was jerked upward, bouncing a few times before the line went still and left him dangling over the water.

He was lowered onto the same raft that Haven still stood on, his boy rushing into his arms the moment he was unclipped.

“That was awesome!” Haven said, bouncing around until the raft started rocking. “Can we do it again? Please!”

“Somehow I knew that would be your reaction, so I got a second round of ticket, come on, our ride back to the top is waiting for us.”

“Awesome!”

And it was, the second time around coming with none of the nerves of the first. This time Haven plastered himself against Maddox’s side after they’d finished their bungee jumps, his boy sighing contently and taking in the beautiful sight of the river and the mountains running along the sides of it.

“Ever been white water rafting?” Haven asked.

“Nope, but I’m willing to look into it, if it’s something you wanna do?”

“While they were getting you set up for your jump, Chauncy told me about the course they have further up the valley. They’ve got rafts, kayaking, and giant innertubes, too. Please can we check it out sometime?”

“Absolutely, I already have the website saved. I just didn’t look any further than the ziplining.”

“Thank you, D…” Haven started, then froze and looked around with uncertainty.

When he realized that no one was paying the slightest bit of attention to him, he went ahead and finished speaking. “Daddy.”

“Anytime,” Maddox replied, giving him a little squeeze as they headed back to shore. “Are you ready for surprise number two?”

“Is it as awesome as this one?”

“God, I hope so. Though I am regretting the order a little. After this, the rest of the day might seem boring to you,” Maddox admitted.

“Do I get to spend it all with you?”

“Yup.”

“Then I won’t be bored,” Haven assured him.

“Good to know.”

They rode side by side in the back of the ATV, holding hands, with Haven’s head resting on his shoulder. It was a shorter ride than Maddox expected, but they had an hour and a half on his Harley before they reached their next destination, a giant, brightly colored candy store five times the size of the one in town that Haven wasn’t welcome in anymore.

“Whoa!” Haven blurted squeezing him as he parked and making it a bit difficult to maneuver and breathe at the same time.

He wouldn’t have told him to ease up for anything in the world. He was just glad that Haven waited to do a squirmy happy dance until after he’d they’d stopped moving, because his boy squeezed harder as he wiggled, giggled, and sung a made-up candy store song. Painted bright yellow and adorned with big colorful images of every type of candy imaginable. It looked like something out of the Candyland game he’d impulsively bought, along with several others that now sat in a big bag at the shop. After learning that Haven and River both missed the game nights they’d had as kids, he’d decided to help them start a new tradition once he had the house set up.

After one last squeeze, Haven slid off the back of the bike and took off his helmet, his eyes locked on the candy cane arches and lollipop lined path leading up to the entryway. Several of the paving stones had been painted to look like gumdrops, while the front door looked like a giant sugar cookie with frosting and sprinkles painted on it. Haven opened the door and hurried in only to freeze several steps inside the entryway, and it was easy to see why. It was even brighter on the inside, which was filled with rows and rows of candy, dispensers, stuffed critters, balloons, lollipop plushies, and bubble wands, and that was just what he could see from the entryway.

It only took a moment to realize that his boy was overwhelmed and didn’t know what to look at first. Maddox squeezed his shoulder to get his attention, then led him over to the row of small carts and pulled one from the rack.

“What do we need that for?” Haven asked as he eyed it, then Maddox.

“To fill that backpack I told you to bring.”

“I…I…don’t have that kind of money on me,” Haven blurted.

“Did I ask if you had money on you?”

“No.”

“Then all you need to worry about is filling the basket.”

Haven hummed, starting and abruptly ending words without fully forming them, so Maddox had no clue what he was trying to say. His body language was easy to read through. He still didn’t know where to start and unlike the two little girls who were dashing from one thing to the other, laughing and making their parents chase them around, he wasn’t comfortable enough to let that side of himself loose in public.

Pausing, Maddox skimmed the signs above the wide aisles, soon spotting the one marked Asian Candy and Snack Boxes.

Perfect.

“Let’s start with row four,” Maddox suggested, pointing it out so Haven could see for himself why he chose it.

“Whoa. They have a whole row?”

“Looks like it,” Maddox said and began pushing the cart that way. “Now let’s go get you some treats.”

Wide eyed, mouth half hanging open, Haven wandered down the aisle first, pausing several times to pick up packages and check out the contents, but not one thing went in the basket. Maddox was just about to say something when he realized that Haven was trying to see everything first before making very careful selections. Most were flavors of jelly filled marshmallows and several varieties of milk candy filled with everything from coffee to matcha. He picked up a stuffed monster that looked like it had been made from the stitched together parts and pieces of other critters that also doubled as a candy holder, clutching it to his chest as they headed back up the aisle. Maddox was certain he was going to hug it all the way to the checkout line, only he immediately placed in the basket the moment a family rounded the corner and headed towards them.

Haven picked up bubbles too, and several flavors of sour candy in squeeze tubes, while Maddox snagged several varieties of the Beanboozled game, including the Naughty or Nice edition. He drew the line at the chili pepper one though, not wanting to subject himself to Carolina Reaper flavored Jellybeans. He grabbed the Eat It! game too after flipping it over to see that the questions involved things like favorite ice cream topping and who the mascot was for certain snacks and treats. It would be a tight fit in the saddlebags, but he wasn’t passing up the opportunity when it was the only edition they had left.

“I think I’m done,” Haven announced in a soft voice, his shoulder pressed against Maddox’s as the girls ran past again. It was getting a bit crowded in there and a glance at his phone showed him that it was the perfect time to start making their way to the third surprise.

“So am I. Let’s get out of here.”

“How could you ever think I’d be bored here,” Haven asked as they waited in line.

Chuckling, Maddox gave the back of his neck a little squeeze. “I don’t know. I guess I figured candy would be a boring follow up to Bungee jumping.”

“Candy is never a boring follow up to anything.”