Riley nodded hesitantly. "Some of it might involve working from home, but that's good, right? I mean, he's still there if we need him."
"That's very good. This sounds like a wonderful thing, Riley. Wait and see. There's no reason to worry right now or think he's going to be fired. And you know it's hard on you taking care of the kids alone when he's working overtime."
Riley nodded and looked at him shyly. "He said something you said gave him the push to try for it."
"Now, I know that's not true. Justin has never needed a push to be bold — not ever!"
Riley gave him a little shove, his smile shy. "You'd be surprised."
I hope that's not a quip about their bedroom activities, because I don't want to know. "I'm really happy for you. By the way, how's Asher doing?" He hadn't asked about the boy in several days. He'd been consumed with other things.
"Oh, really well. He was shy at first, hungry and wary, too, but he seems much more at home now. He's such a good kid. He actually offers to do extra work around the house, even more than I ask. He's been helping Carson with his homework. They're in the same grade. He plays really carefully with the little kids, too."
Tomas nodded. He knew playing carefully had been a big thing for some of the kids; shifters, without appropriate boundaries in their lives, could sometimes be too rough without meaning to be because they hadn't learned appropriate behavior and needed to get their aggressions out somewhere. It was all a pretty steep learning curve for some of the boys, and one reason they needed a lot of adult supervision. Of course it was easy to say they should make a rule about absolutely no roughhousing, but that didn't work very well in a household of mostly adolescent wolves.
"Unfortunately, his grandparents aren't coming around, so we're keeping him for now." Riley looked pensive. "I really thought they would."
Tomas hadn't. Anyone who kicked a kid out on the street in the first place had to be pretty cold. He decided to change the subject before Riley got down in the dumps. "How are the boys doing? Everybody getting plenty of exercise?" That was important for growing wolves.
"I take the older boys for runs as often as I can. Justin says we should be able to manage that more often, with him there to watch the younger kids." He smiled.
Tomas nodded. You couldn't take puppies rampaging through the undergrowth of the forest. It simply wasn't feasible or appropriate. The older wolves needed to discharge their energy safely, but dragging the younger pups along past their endurance wouldn't be safe. "That sounds really good."
"He's also getting in contact with the packs near here. The kids need role models and community, he says." He made a face.
Riley wasn't keen on packs, not since he'd gotten away from the underworld figures he'd considered his pack. Tomas thought it was because he didn't want to trust any group again with his deep and abiding sense of loyalty. Not that Tomas could blame him; he wasn't much of a joiner himself, and he hadn't had half the bad experiences Riley had had with such things.
"We'll see howthatgoes," grumbled Riley. "If any of the packs had been halfway as community-minded as Justin thinks they will be, these kids wouldn't have ended up in foster care in the first place."
It was a good point. "You'll keep him in line," Tomas said. "If you don't trust the packs, he has to follow your gut. He knows that." Tomas certainly did. The more he thought about it, the more he thought Cody was right. Shifters had a sixth sense about things, not always sure why they knew something, just that they did. He smiled at Riley and gave him a pat on the arm. "You'll do fine. Trust your gut. I do."
Riley's smile was wavering but real. "Thanks. By the way, how did things go with Auden last night? I was too consumed with my news to ask."
"That's all right. It was...nice." He thought again of the dreamlike beauty of skating with Auden, how like a movie or a story it all was. His smile felt soft and a little shy. "I really like him, Riles."
"Good," Riley said firmly. "You deserve somebody nice." His smile was friendly, and the pat on the arm he gave Tomas was even more encouraging than his words. "I'll be here if you need any help or advice."
"Okay," said Tomas. He could have teased Riley about offering himself as an expert when he'd only ever dated one man, but really, his advice was bound to be more helpful than nearly anyone else's. Riley understood Tomas on a level most people never would. And even when he didn't quite understand, Riley always cared.
He spied a familiar figure heading towards them: Cody, smiling a little nervously, waving shyly. "Hey, guys. You're looking awfully chipper this morning."
"You're one to talk." Tomas nodded to Cody's clothing, which included a suit that was a sort of purple-black color with a bright red dress shirt underneath, and a single carnation. "Someone's feeling snazzy."
"Snazzy. Oh, good lord." He sat on the edge of Tomas's desk and grinned at Riley. "How old is your partner again?"
Riley blinked several times, looking like a deer stuck in the headlights. He gave Tomas a pleading look, asking for help. He either couldn't remember or wasn't sure if he should answer; the fact that it was a joke hadn't occurred to him yet.
"None of your business," Tomas said loftily to Cody. "But I'll have you know I'm very young, hip, and down with the kids."
Cody laughed and swatted him on the shoulder. "Good one! I'm getting coffee. You guys want some?"
"We do," Tomas said with no shame about answering for both of them, although Riley was beginning to smile and look a bit more at ease already. "And we like it sweet."
Once Cody had gone to fetch coffee (he was so cheerful this morning — and dressed really unexpectedly fancy), Riley looked at Tomas. "He's not so bad. I'm getting used to him."
"I agree, and I'm glad," said Tomas. Riley was getting braver all the time. Of course, for most people, being comfortable around a new coworker would be pretty low on the bravery scale, and adopting a bunch of kids would be pretty high on it. But Riley wasn't most people, and Tomas appreciated his strengths and bravery for what they were, not what they ought to be.
Thinking about it, he decided he could treat himself like that as well. He might not be a very sexual or outgoing person, but he could be a considerate and caring boyfriend anyway. He knew he could. He could appreciate what he was, and work on what he wasn't.
