Jude was about to back out of the room when something soft hit him in the face. He shined the light back to Fitzgibbon, who was now leaning up on an elbow, his eyes glowed red in the shine of the light. He held a unicorn in his hand, which he threw with perfect precision, and hit Ronan in the mouth.
“Ouch, asshole!” Ronan grumbled.
“What the hell are the two of you doing in here?” Fitz asked, sitting up. His hair stuck up in all directions. He looked like something the cat dragged in.
“We heard a noise,” Jude said.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the dark?” Fitzgibbon smirked at Jude and Ronan. Fitz was obviously gathering blackmail material of his own.
“Of course not,” Ronan said. “Your snores were shaking the entire house. I thought we were having an earthquake.”
“My snores?” Fitzgibbon gasped. “You sounded like you were sleeping with a bike horn. And you,” Fitz pointed to Jude, “sounded like you were sleeping underwater.” He grabbed his phone and after a few taps, a video started to play. Ronan’s face, and his own pool of drool was clearly visible. Seconds later, Ronan gulped in a harsh breath, which sounded like his lawnmower when it rumbled to life. A high pitched honk, which sounded like an enraged goose, filled the room.
“No,” Ronan said. “That’s not me. You must have added the sound effect later.”
“What, later?” Fitz asked. “I’m in bed and sick as a dog, I don’t have the time or the energy to doctor a video of you snoring.”
Jude let out a bark of laughter when Ronan honked again on video. “That’s hilarious, Fitz. It sounds like Ronan’s fucking a chipmunk.”
“I wouldn’t laugh just yet, cowboy.” Fitz tapped the screen and the picture flipped from Ronan to Jude, who was sleeping on his left side with his hands pillowed under his face. His mouth was open in sneer, making him look a bit like Billy Idol. The sound coming from his mouth was decidedlynotthe rocker. His inhale rumbled like a box truck, but his exhale was one long, high pitched squeak that sounded like a balloon when you let the air out slowly.
“That can’t be me.” What horrified Jude more than the sound he was making, was the fact that Cope was right. He’d been telling Jude about his snoring for six years now and Jude always blew him off. He owed his husband an apology, which he would be more than happy to deliverafterhe got Fitzgibbon to delete the video. “What’s it gonna cost me for you to get rid of that?”
Fitzgibbon snorted. “Nothing. These videos are priceless to me. I’ve already sent copies to my home and work email, just in case one of you tries something stupid.”
“Stupid’s my middle name,” Ronan said, sounding gleeful. He made a grab for Fitzgibbon’s phone and gave it a tug.
Fitz held on tighter, jerking the phone back, sending Ronan’s back crashing into his front.
“Awww, look, Ronan and Fitzy are spooning each other.” Jude laughed, as he continued to shoot video of the tug of war.
Ronan started to cough. His shoulders shook with it. His head rested on Everly’s pillow and seconds later, he was fast asleep.
“What the hell do I do now?” Fitzgibbon asked.
“Find a way to climb out and go sleep in Ronan’s bed or on the sofa.” Jude watched as Fitz wrangled his way off the bed. He stumbled after tripping on a unicorn, but caught himself before he fell.
“I’ll be on the recliner.” Seconds later, Jude heard Fitzgibbon going downstairs.
“Maybe now I can get some sleep.” Jude headed back into Ezra’s room. He looked out the window, across the street to his own house, which was dark. The sun would be up soon and he knew the kids would be excited for Cope to make pancakes with crispy bacon. Wolfie loved to chase Jude around the kitchen with his hands sticky with maple syrup. Jude always let his son catch him. Wolf got such a kick out of slapping his hands on Jude’s cheeks and pretending they were glued to his skin. Jude would miss that this morning.
As he got back into bed, his eyes were misty with unshed tears. He hated being sick, but what he hated more was when his kids weren’t feeling well. He knew it was well worth it to spend the night with his snoring and drooling friends, if it meant the kids stayed healthy.
One thing was for certain, Jude was going to hug the stuffing out of his family when he was finally feeling better.
7
Ronan
Breakfast Blues
Ronan felt like he’d been hit by a bus. He’d woken up in Everly’s bed, with the left side of his face crusty with dried drool and snot. He made a mental note to order new pillows from Wal-Mart, with same day delivery. His daughter didn’t deserve to lay her beautiful head on the remains of Ronan’s fossilized drippings. He’d add in more Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, another bottle of Nyquil and definitely more of his favorite chicken soup in the packet. He’d buy enough for all three of them to enjoy together.
When he got downstairs, he found Fitzgibbon in the recliner watching the morning news. Jude was in the kitchen mixing pancake batter.
“Wolf loves pancakes on Sunday mornings.” Jude moved to the stove and flipped over the sizzling bacon. “We’ll eat in five minutes.” He turned and took a long look at Ronan. “How’d you sleep?”
“You mean before or after you woke us all up?” Ronan coughed, his whole body shook, and his head pounded. His stomach hurt from the effort and his lungs felt like they were filled with broken glass. All he wanted to do was have something to eat and to crawl back to bed.
