4

4Cope

The morning of their flight had been bedlam. Cope had crossed off the last items on everyone's packing list when comfort items were added to the carry-on bags. Lizbet cried when he pried her blanket out of her hands; Wolf wailed along with her in solidarity. Of course, that's when Jude started with twenty questions: vacation edition. By the time the car to the airport arrived to pick them up, Cope had been ready to stay home alone to enjoy the quiet.

Thankfully, the kids plugged in their headphones and had watched a movie together while the driver made his way from Salem to Logan Airport in Boston. They'd been able to board the plane quickly and without going through the tedious TSA line, which kept everyone in their good moods. Nothing made Jude more irritable than waiting in line for something. Jude being irritable made Cope irritable. It wasn't a pretty picture.

What was pretty was the view from his window. As the hours passed, he'd seen the Appalachian Mountains give way to the Mississippi River and then the Rockies. Along the way, they'd been treated to an enormous breakfast featuring steak, eggs, and lobster benedict, which Aurora lost her mind over. She'd loved it so much that she insisted Fitz get the recipe so he could make it for her at home. Come to think of it, Cope wouldn't mind having it either.

"I haven't wanted to say too much," Ronan began.

Jude snorted. "Oh, please. You always say too much."

"It's part of his charm." Fitzgibbon rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Fine! Be that way." Ronan folded his arms over his chest. "I won't tell you all of the cool things we can do in Arizona."

"What cool things?" Jace asked, trying and failing to keep a smile off his face.

"Nope! Fuck you all!" Ronan crossed his arms over his chest and slammed his lips closed.

"Bad word!" the kids chorused from the back of the plane.

"Put your headphones on!" Ronan challenged back. "I swear they're all ears at this age."

"They're all ears at every age," Ten said before reaching out to pat Ronan's bruised ego. "Tell us what you learned, snookums."

Ronan's lips pulled into half a grimace before his normally sunny personality came back full force. "Well, there are the energy vortexes in Sedona. Might be a good place to stop. We can meditate and manifest."

Jude snorted. "You meditate?"

"I manifest like a motherfucker." Ronan wore a smug look on his face.

"Bad word!" the kids chorused a second time.

Ten raised a sharp eyebrow at his husband. "One more bad word out of you and we're turning this plane around and going home."

"Zip it, Dad!" Everly called from the back.

Ronan gasped dramatically, a hand fluttered to his chest. "I didn't say…"

"Zip!" Everly interrupted with a giggle.

"If we're turning the plane around, does that mean I can have more lobster?" Aurora asked.

Jace got out of his seat and headed toward the back of the plane. Seconds later, all the kids were laughing, no doubt at Ronan and his big mouth.

"Should we ask Ronan to continue with the fun things he wants us to do on this trip?" Jude asked. He nibbled his bottom lip.

Ronan shook his head vehemently, like headbangers at a heavy metal concert. If he kept it up, he'd give himself a concussion.

"I'm not sure it's a risk worth taking," Ten said on a sigh.

"What are things you want to do in Arizona?" Fitzgibbon asked.

Cope had several ideas he wanted to run by Jude but held his tongue, wanting to hear what Jude had in mind first.

"To be honest, I want to see this place, my home, from the kids' point of view." Jude took a deep breath. "After my father died, my life was in free fall. When Eagle brought me to Arizona, I was an angry kid. Rage-filled is probably a better way to put it. I was mad at the entire world. There wasn't any time to stop and admire the scenery—I was too busy nursing my grudges, which of course multiplied over time with the way people treated me as an outsider."

"I think that's a great idea," Cope said. "I've been thinking about that exact thing with New Orleans. I'd like to go back when Lizbet is a bit older and show you all around my hometown. The last time we were there…" Cope trailed off, his body shuddering in response to the horror he'd experienced at Deacon Boudreaux's hands.

Jude reached for Cope's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "It's hard to believe I never stopped to take a good look around me. I hated it all, the red rocks, the dust storms, the mesas, the painted desert. All of it could eff right off." He waggled his eyebrows at Ronan, who flipped Jude the bird. "When Eagle came to visit at Christmas, Wolf was enraptured with him. He listened closely to what Eagle had to say and even learned a few chants. Watching my son learn our ways loosened something here." Jude set a hand on his heart.

Cope had seen the transformation in Jude and had been impressed. His husband had the biggest heart of any man he'd ever met, but there were certain things it was hardened against, the reservation and the ways of the Navajo people being the two biggest things. "Everything is magical through our kids' eyes. Not just things like Christmas morning or their first taste of birthday cake, but the mundane things like picking dandelions in the yard and finding sea shells at the beach."

Ronan raised his hand as if he were a student who needed to ask a question in class.

"Yes, Ronan?" Ten asked with a chuckle. "Are you going to be able to control yourself now?"

Ronan nodded. "That's one of the reasons I thought Sedona would be a good place to stop along the way. I read a lot about the energy vortex and how it can help not just with manifesting but also with finding inner peace and setting intentions." Everly's giggle stopped Ronan's train of thought as a smile bloomed on his face. "I think Everly will soak it up like a sponge. Same with you and Cope." He pointed to Tennyson. "Maybe for a while, I can bring my daughter a little peace." Ronan shrugged and cleared his throat.

Cope could see the emotion in Ronan's eyes. He'd looked into Sedona as well and had a feeling its powers could be a welcome respite for his own weary soul. "There are a lot of restaurants, art galleries, and crystal shops. I think it would be a fun way to spend this afternoon."

"I agree," Ten said, his eyes glued on his husband.

"See, I knew you'd all think my idea was a good one." Ronan wore a self-satisfied smirk.

"Yes, snookums, your idea was a good one." Ten patted Ronan's shoulder but rolled his eyes at Cope.

"Kids are all set," Jace said, taking his seat and buckling his belt. "I got them some snacks and juice."

"What a life," Fitzgibbon said. "Private planes, all the lobster you can eat, exciting vacations. When I was a kid, all we did was spend two weeks a summer camping in New Hampshire, getting eaten alive by black flies and mosquitos. The weenie roasts and campfires were great, but sleeping in a tent in the mud, listening to my father snore, isn't my idea of fun."

"Same here," Ronan agreed. "My mom couldn't afford to take us on vacations, but we'd spend a week going to the beach. Not crappy Carson Beach in Southie, but we'd head up to Salisbury Beach, where they had big waves and game arcades, pizza, and salt water taffy. Those were the days. What did your family do, Ten?"

"All of my vacations had to do with the church. Vacation Bible School took up most of my summer, but they always had one day near the end where we'd go to an amusement park instead of learning about the prodigal son or talked about the Sermon on the Mount. It was my one day a year just to be a kid. I could run around with my friends, eat ice cream and fried dough, and ride the roller coaster with the double loop, over and over." Ten wore a wistful smile. "Those were the best days of my life."

"I didn't do vacations either," Jude said, elbowing Cope. "What about you?"

"My father hated taking time off. It meant he'd be away from the boardroom and whatever woman he was banging on the side. For two weeks a year, we'd head to Gulf Shores, Alabama, and sit on the beach. It was always fun at first, but then my parents would start to bicker, then fight. We always ended up going home early with them giving each other the silent treatment the whole way back. I used to daydream about the time I could go on vacation like a real person and just relax."

"You all don't want to hear about my vacations." Jace snickered.

Born into an extremely wealthy family, Cope could only guess where the Lincolns went for their summer vacation. "I'm guessing the French Riviera."

"I was gonna say the same thing." Ronan laughed.

"African safari," Jude chimed in. "Or a trip to China to see the Great Wall."

Jace grinned as he nodded his head. "I was a world traveler at two years old. I'd seen every European country by the time I hit middle school and had been to every continent before I graduated from high school."

"Damn." Fitzgibbon let out a low whistle. "Did you enjoy it, or were you sick of being dragged along?"

"What I enjoyed was my father not being on my case about staying in the closet. He seemed to shed those worries, like a snake shedding its skin, the second we boarded the jet. "

"People weren't likely to recognize you at the summit of Kilimanjaro or on Easter Island with those big heads." Fitz laughed.

"I think that was a large part of it, but my father wanted to show me the world. I could never be upset about that." Jace shrugged. "To be honest, I was bored off my gourd at Rome's Colosseum or at the Pyramids of Giza. I can't wait until Aurora is old enough to visit those places and see them through her eyes, like Jude said."

Cope nodded in agreement. "We'll start saving now. I want to ride a camel."

"Me too!" Jude agreed.

"I'm not so sure about that." Ten said with a nervous giggle. "I'll just walk."

"What about you, Ronan?" Jude asked with a mischievous grin, obviously remembering the hard time Ronan had last fall riding a horse in Deadwood.

"No way! You all can carry me on a golden litter like Cleopatra."

"Ah, yes, all hail the Queen of the Nile." Jace wore a placid smile.

"More like the Queen of Denial!" Jude burst out laughing.

Ronan stood up from his seat and lifted his head high. "I'll be in the back of the plane with loyal subjects who love and appreciate my glorious royal self."

"Seriously, what mirror does he use?" Jude asked. "He's gone from being the queen of denial to being the queen of delusion."

A small cheer went up from the kids when Ronan joined them.

"As long as he's happy in his own delusion, that's all that matters to me." Ten peered over his shoulder before continuing. "He spent so much time over the last few days looking into the energy vortex and ley lines, knowing how much we all need a little rest and recharge. Especially Everly."

Cope nodded. They'd all been working themselves hard to get from April vacation to the end of the school year. Energy vortex or not, he planned on getting as much sleep and relaxation as possible.