There were worse ways to die. Still, Skyler knew that he wasn’t alone in thinking that it would take a long time to move on fully from the death of this amazing, incredible, strong man. All the preparation work that John had done helped, but in the end, it would take time.
* * *
“Of course you’re going to come with me,” Craig informed Skyler, who hadn’t been sure that he was invited. “You’re a part of the family, baby.”
Every so often, Craig said the exact right thing. Considering that his mother had yet to speak to him since Hannah had officially changed her address to the ranch house, and his father hadn’t been interested in speaking to him for years before that, it meant the world to Skyler that he had a family at all.
Even if the situation was a little bit grim, a bit morbid, he’d never been to a reading of the will before.
John hadn’t forgotten anyone. Even Mary Anne had gotten some money, safely tucked away for her education, if she wanted to go to school. Or it would be available to her when she turned twenty-one.
Skyler had to cling to Craig’s hand and swallow rapidly when the lawyer unexpectedly called his name. John had left part of his inheritance to him, too. The man who had given Skyler a home, and a purpose in life, hadn’t forgotten him.
When it was all over, the property and money distributed, even Wyatt didn’t look unhappy. Even though it was very clear that, as long as Malcolm was alive, Wyatt would never get to sell the place and split the money, Wyatt had gotten enough to get himself started, and that was good enough for him.
“Babe.” Craig’s voice was husky, lower than usual, as they walked out. There had been more than a few tears in the lawyer’s office, too, and for once, no judgment about that. “I don’t know if this is a good time to talk about this, but have you considered what Dad said to us?”
Skyler didn’t misunderstand. There was, after all, one pretty major thing which had been said to them, and he immediately nodded as he wrapped an arm around his lover’s waist.
“I want to do it if you do,” Skyler admitted, gazing up at the man he loved, deep into his sapphire blue eyes. They were still a bit blurred by tears, but Skyler couldn’t judge him for that. “I want to travel, to see everything.”
And there was money to do it if that was what Craig wanted. Skyler even had some money that he’d saved up from working on the ranch as well as the inheritance he’d gotten. And that was without the money that Craig had gotten.
“Dad wanted us to have time to figure out what we want to do in life,” Craig mused, as they wandered idly through the city streets, not even particularly paying attention to where their feet were headed. It didn’t matter. Walking and talking, wrapped around each other, that was the important thing. “But do you think we should really go do something so selfish? We could use that money for school, or maybe even for a down payment on a place.”
Skyler practically glowed when he heard those words. Craig was clearly planning a future with him, talking about buying a place together. He hadn’t doubted it, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t pleased to hear it.
“When we make the choice for what we want to commit to, let’s do it right,” Skyler murmured, finding it a little incredible that he, of all people, was advocating for something as giddily irresponsible as going on walkabout. “Let’s do it without wanderlust. It’s what your dad wanted.”
Craig grinned, and Skyler could tell that he had wanted to be convinced. It felt strange to him, too, but John Hart had directly said that he wanted them to do this. And they should really respect his wishes.
Besides, it wasn’t like either of them had really had much luck figuring out what they should be doing when they were in this particular little corner of the world. Why not give it a try elsewhere?
“Yeah. I think we should do it,” Craig agreed and then actually pressed his lips to the top of Skyler’s head. And this from the man who hadn’t been willing to admit, to himself or anyone else, that he was even interested in men. Still, Craig had the advantage of being huge enough that anyone who had a problem with what they were doing would keep it to themselves.
“But where do you want to go first?” Skyler wondered, place names spinning dizzily through his head. He was suddenly very aware of how many places there were in the world, how very big the globe was.
“The moon?” Craig suggested and then laughed softly. “I dunno, babe. Maybe we should get a globe and spin it and see where our finger lands.”
The suggestion, Skyler knew, was half a joke, but when they got back to the ranch, when they got home, that was exactly what they ended up doing. The globe spun merrily by, a blur of green and blue and brown, and Skyler and Craig shut their eyes. Craig held Skyler’s hand, while Skyler pointed and touched the surface of the sphere lightly until it stopped moving.
At first, Skyler thought they were headed to the middle of the ocean, which, given the amount of blue on that globe actually would have made the most sense statistically, but when he moved his finger, he saw a tiny little chain of islands.
“Hawaii,” he read, and Craig turned him, gripping his shoulders and spinning him gently to face him so that they could kiss.
“Mmm. Hawaii. I can definitely think of worse places to start seeing the world,” Craig murmured, and Skyler smiled, contentment filling him, a blissful glow that was all too easy to surrender to. He nuzzled against Craig’s neck, his arms looping around him. Craig had been so imposingly huge at first, but now that felt perfect. No matter where they went, or what they did, Craig would be able to protect Skyler, and that was soothing.
“Same,” Skyler replied, and they sealed it with yet another kiss, one that bound them together more than ever.
They really were going on this incredible journey together. It was actually happening. And what would end up coming of it, Skyler had no earthly idea, but it still somehow felt like the right thing to do. And he knew, from Craig’s lips, that he felt the same way.
Craig
By the time everything was settled, and the money was in the account, it was not the normal tourist season for Hawaii, which actually ended up working out perfectly. Although there was a decent amount of money, they still had to be a little bit careful with it, and it was far cheaper to go to Hawaii and stay in a nice place during the off-season.
They had been warned that it would be rainy, but so far, after a week, it had been bright and sunny and warm. Skyler and Craig spent their time traipsing around the island, which, as far as Craig could tell, they had all to themselves. They hiked, they swam, they lay around on the beach, and they both got very brown and tanned.
They had a section of beach all to themselves, and an adorable little cabin to shelter during the hottest part of the day. As the days had passed, they had both gradually started wearing less and less clothing. It was more comfortable that way, but seeing Skyler half-naked pretty much all the time led to a lot of sex.
