A Special Kind of Perfect

CHAPTER 10

Moving to turn around, the man bumped into something, and turning his head, he saw a blond, curly-haired boy, who studied him with obvious interest. The child frowned lightly, mumbling something under his breath.

"Sorry, kid, I didn't mean to hit you, but my back was turned, and I couldn't see you," the man apologized.

"You have blue eyes, too, but you are old, way too old to be one of them. Or maybe you are my great-aunt Willa's husband? I'm Lochlin Bloom-Ballard. Nice to meet you." The boy politely extended his hand.

The man took it, slightly flinching at the mention of the child's last name. "I'm Thaddeus MacGregor. Nice to meet you, young master. No, I was never married."

"Oh," the boy said, making no efforts to hide the disappointment in his voice. "They are probably late."

"Lochlin Bloom-Ballard, get over here, shorty," a young man's voice called. "Didn't your daddy tell you not to talk to strangers?"

"You're the shorty, Ezra." The kid giggled, hugging his uncle. "You are a meanie, right, Peyton?" He turned to the other young man, who welcomed him into his arms.

"No, he's not." They smiled against Lochlin's messy curls, kissing him on top of his head. "Your uncle here is very good to me."

"He's not a bad guy. I saw him talking to daddy and smiling at him, and then he apologized when the two of us bumped into each other and called me young master, and his eyes are kind and very blue, just like yours and..." The blond boy abruptly stopped talking, putting his head on Ezra's shoulder.

"Gotcha, now go inside. Your daddy must be worried about you." The young man hugged the child to his chest, kissing him on both cheeks. "I love you very much, Lochlin Bloom-Ballard. All of us do, you are such a sweet, brave boy." He put the child down, then turned to the solidly-built man, whose eyes were clouded by a veil of sadness after witnessing the scene from earlier. "My name's Ezra Bloom, and I'm Lochlin's uncle. I have to ask you something very important."

"Sure, you have my undivided attention. Name's Thaddeus MacGregor, mister Tarquin hired me to do some changes in and out of the house, according to the special needs of his husband's aunt's grandson." The low, soft voice of the man provided a pleasant impression on Ezra, who relaxed a bit.

"Tarquin is a wise man. He must've run several checks on you before deciding on using your services. And now, the special request: my cousin Daniel, Tarquin's husband, had been missing for about three months, and we have reasons to believe he is...that he won't come back. Please, don't give the kids false hopes, they have to accept the reality and move on."

The man nodded, his heart wrenching in pain at the sight of the lost expression on Ezra's face. The poor soul knows how it is to wait for a father who never came home, to hope against all odds that, at the end of the day, he would find peace and comfort in the warm embrace of the man who gave life to him, Thaddeus thought.

At least, Ezra grew up safe, untouched by the evilness of the monster who ruined his father's and uncle's life, the man continued his train of thought. Suddenly, he wondered if whatever happened to Daniel wasn't that bastard's doing, the possibility making his blood turn to ice. A few seconds later, the panic that wrapped around Thaddeus like a huge, sticky spider web dissipated, replaced by a cold anger.

The twisted-minded psycho better stay away from this family, or else he should get ready to face the consequences, the man thought, balling his hands into fists. You can no longer fool me. I've learned all your dirty tricks by heart. I've had plenty of time to do that. Now, I've risen from the grave you put me in, and I'm here to protect those I love.