6. Tomás

Tomás

A couple of weeks later, Tomás sat on the floor of Columbo's room and watched Henry bottle feed puppies. This was his favorite way of watching the omega. Henry was so confident when he was with animals, his smile natural and beautiful.

They'd met up every night since their first date, sometimes eating dinner at Tomás's house and sometimes with Aunt Mia and the others. He hadn't lied to Henry when he'd told him he wanted to spend time with him. Tomás didn't want to be away from his omega for even a moment. Which was why he was spending his lunch break at the sanctuary.

It was a cozy lunch, at least. Mitzy and Journey slept curled in a dog bed next to Columbo's cage while the parrot perched on a stand near Henry. His omega's chicken, Sophie, sat near the dogs, gently pecking the bedding. Aunt Mia had even brought them sandwiches.

"The girl who brought the puppies in said her dad was going to throw them in the lake." Henry looked up, eyes full of anger. "I'd like to put him in a bag and throw him in a cold lake to see how he likes it."

Tomás nodded, petting the little pup he was feeding. It was teeny tiny with white fur and a pink nose. "I'll help you."

"She said he told her that their dog had too many puppies to take care of." Henry gently placed the puppy he held back in the padded laundry basket with the other puppies and took another out to feed. "That doesn't justify killing some of the puppies. If mama dog can't care for all her puppies, then it's the human's responsibility to help."

"How many did she have?" Tomás peeked into the basket and counted. There were ten puppies counting the two they were feeding.

"Twenty-two."

"Whoa, that's a lot."

"They're Great Pyrenees. The girl said their dog usually has a large litter once a year, but had never had one this big before. They raise the pups to sell as livestock guardians."

"You'd think he'd want to keep all the puppies he could if he's making money from them."

Henry winced. "Well, they need to be fed every two hours."

"I see." Tomás traded his puppy in for the next hungry baby. "Are you taking care of them yourself?"

"During the day Teague and I are alternating feedings. At night, there are four of us alternating, so it's easier. We did the same when Casey was first born."

"I have the feeling that Dad is getting two livestock guardians when these babies are old enough." Tomás chuckled as the pup in his hand burped, dribbling milk.

"Mitzy told me she wants a little sister too." Henry gave him a sweet look. "The one in your hands is a girl."

Tomás groaned. "That's not fair. I can't say no when you look at me like that."

Henry grinned. "That's the point."

"It's what I get for dating a handsome man that works at an animal sanctuary."

"We're dating?" Henry's cheeks turned red. "I wasn't sure, since you didn't say anything. Did I tell you it's been a while since my last relationship?"

"A few times." Tomás leaned over and kissed Henry. "Yes, we're dating. You and me. No one else allowed."

"Fuck off." Columbo hopped off his perch and slowly made his way up the ramp into his cage.

"Woof." Journey's ear twitched.

"Woof." Mitzy raised her head, looking around.

"Fuck off."

"Woof."

"Woof."

"Oh no." Tomás shared a look with Henry as he lowered the puppy back into the basket. "Now Mitzy's doing it too."

"Fuck off."

"Woof."

"Woof."

"That's the last puppy." Henry settled his own puppy in with the others. "Soon, Sophie and all the puppies will be talking back to Columbo too."

Tomás held his arms open, and the omega crawled over to lay against him, sighing happily when the Tomás's arms closed around him. He rested his chin on top of the omega's head.

"Why do you call him Christopher Columbo?" Tomás asked, tightening his arms around Henry.

"Christopher Columbus is an explorer, right? That's who he's named after."

"I thought he was named after that old show, Columbo ."

"Huh?"

"You don't know about Columbo ? It was popular in the seventies."

Henry side eyed him. "How do you know about it? You're younger than me."

"One of the few memories I have of my abuelo is watching reruns of the show with him. I don't even remember what's it's about. I just remember sitting on his lap and trying not to fall asleep so I could spend more time with him."

"How long did you have him?" Henry asked, voice full of tenderness.

"Until I was five. Abuelo and Abuela died in a car accident, I went into foster care."

"Fuck off."

"Woof."

"Woof."

"Bad timing, guys," Henry mumbled, making Tomás laugh.

"To be honest, he reminds me of Abuelo, grumpy on the outside, and tired and in pain on the inside. Still sweet though."

Henry laughed. "I think we need to watch Columbo . What was it about again?"

Tomás shrugged. "An old guy named Columbo."

"Yeah, we need to watch it. Tonight?"

"Sure. The only night I can't be with you this week is Saturday. My younger siblings are coming over for a movie night sleep over. We watch movies and they camp out in the living room all night."

"It's great you like spending time with them." Henry leaned back against him. "Audrey and I spent time together since we're close in age, but Sterling didn't know what to do with us. You should see him try to comfort one of us when we're upset. He's all awkward hugs and weird head pats."

"They won't let me be awkward." Tomás grinned. "Half the time, they're the ones making sure I feel loved . Like I'm the only one at prom without a date, so I need all their support. If I didn't like you so much, I'd make you come too. They'd be all over you. Hannah and Drew are home from college on spring break, so it'll be them, Tali, Terry, and Nate."

Henry leaned back and cupped Tomás's face. "Aww, you're such a good big brother. What are you watching?"

"All the Shrek movies since Nate is just five. It was that or Frozen and Frozen II for the hundredth time. Those were the only options I was given."

Henry chuckled. "Enjoy it. Didn't you say Tali was graduating high school this year? Then she'll go off to college too and you'll only have Terry and Nate to sleep over with their big brother."

Tomás winced. "Tali and college are not topics you want to bring up together right now."

"Uh-oh."

"Papa and Dad want her to at least try college, but she has her heart set on running the ranch with Dad."

"Can't she take classes online and do both?" Henry asked.

"She could, but they want her to have the whole college experience. Honestly, Tali knows what she wants. There's no point in trying to change her mind. Plus, Dad loves working with her. I think it's mostly Papa that worries about it."

Henry frowned. "Are they really disappointed in her?"

Tomás leaned down and kissed Henry softly. "Not at all. They'll accept and support her decision in the end. They just have to work through it first."

"Good. Papa was furious when I refused to go to college. He didn't talk to me for months. Dad didn't say anything. It was like he knew I wasn't good enough anyway."

Tomás scowled. His omegas parents had done a number on him, knowingly or not. "I'm sure you would have been just fine if you chose to go."

"Sterling and Audrey graduated top of their classes." Henry pressed his cheek to Tomás's chest. "I wouldn't have been able to do that."

"All you can do is be the best you. You don't have to compete with anyone."

Henry looked up with a slight smile. "Thanks for that. What about you? Did you want to go to college?"

"Nope." Tomás shook his head. "Almost joined the Navy but decided to train with Carter. Started out plumbing, but I like electrical work better. Speaking of, your house is completely rewired. Plumbing's finished too. New walls are up. The AC/heating unit is going in tomorrow."

"You all work fast." Henry gave him an excited look. "Can I see it tonight or do I need to stay out of the way?"

"Come by tonight. I'll keep the heaters running so you and Journey don't freeze."

"You'll be there?"

"I'll even bring dinner."

A short time later, Tomás left Henry with the animals and drove the short distance back to the farm house. Juan was already back to work installing the new windows, he danced around, Bluetooth speaker blaring Dolly Parton. The other alpha was an odd one.

Juan tightened a screw in the window frame. "Little Tomás is late. Did you have trouble pulling yourself away from your omega?"

Tomás grinned. "You're lucky I came back at all. If I could, I'd just follow him around all day."

"Aww, you're so cute." Juan grinned. "When are you going to tell your papa that you're in love?"

"It's too soon for love." Tomás changed the music from "White Limousine" to Neil Young's "Revolution Blues."

"Your face says different."

"I didn't say I wasn't in love. It's just too soon to tell anyone." He picked up the handles of the sander. "He's it. I don't know why or how, but I know he's it for me."

"It happens like that for some people. Especially Wilsons." Juan changed the music back to Dolly. "Baby I'm Burnin'" started playing loudly. "You're too young to listen to Neil Young. What's wrong with you?"

"Dolly Parton is any better?" Tomás switched the playlist back to Neil Young, choosing "Old Man" this time. "Papa loves Neil Young and raised me right. This is the way."

"You two are ridiculous." Carter shut the door behind him. "I can't escape Dolly or Neil. This is why I have earbuds."

"Our baby boy is in lurve ." Juan wrapped an arm around Tomás's shoulders. "Look at that blush."

Carter winced. "I know. Zoe spread the word after seeing you with him. She tried to hold it in, but she couldn't take it. By now, all the Wilsons know you're in love."

"Damn it." Tomás scowled. "How did Zoe know? I didn't even know until yesterday. They better not scare Henry off. He has things to work through, and I plan on being there beside him as he does."

"It does no good to worry about what the Wilsons will do." Juan ruffled his hair, then went back to setting the window. "They're going to do what they're going to do. There's no stopping them. Like an ocean of meddling and good intentions. It'll drag you under eventually."

"Elijah said Ernie was already knitting him something and Janelle is repotting some houseplants to bring over." Carter gave him a sympathetic look. "Since you can't fight them, join them. Use the family. Elijah sent a crate of wine to work with me. He said something about Reuben cooking you a romantic meal. I don't know."

"Damn it," Tomás turned the sander on. He still had a lot of the floor to cover and Sophie's coop wasn't quite finished. "Wait." He stopped and looked at Carter. "You said to use the family, right?"