Cut from the new Jack & Channon book for reasons! Now yours to enjoy ^_^ Bet you can’t guess what this episode is about.

Scene deleted from His Boy Next Door #39

Jack bracketed Channon’s jaw with his hands, turning his face up to be looked at. “How are you coping, sweetheart?”

His boy was pale, his eyes clear but skittering away from the directness of Jack’s gaze. “I’m okay. I’m just nervous.”

“What are you worried might happen?” Jack asked, smoothing his hands down over Channon’s shoulders. His boy was often nervous, but he’d matured so much that Jack hoped he might be able to stand up to the pressures of today without too much anxiety.

Channon’s brow crinkled. “What if they don’t like me?” He sounded so young then. Jack kissed his mouth, just a quick, comforting peck.

“You know, I worried about that when my brother had kids. They came around, in the end.”

Channon’s lip twitched. “Yeah, but they were babies. You had years to make them like you. Chase is ten. I don’t know what I’d have done if I got a new big brother at ten.” His eyes widened. “What if I’m not the oldest? What if my dad had another secret family before me?”

It wasn’t completely out of the question, but Jack gave Channon a steady look, rubbing his arms to put confidence into him. “Your dad isn’t much older than me, so I don’t think he had a lot of time for secret families before you came along. But even if he did,” if he’d been a teen dad, for example, “then what would you say to an older brother or sister who wanted to meet you?”

This had an immediate effect. Channon’s expression cleared, the tension in his shoulders loosening. “I mean, I’d probably start with, ‘Hi, I’m Channon. Nice to meet you.'” His mouth quirked up in one corner. “I always wanted an older brother.”

“You said you always wanted a younger brother too.”

Channon nodded. “Yeah. And a sister.”

He seemed better now, less stressed. Jack wrapped him up in a tight hug. “Now you’ve got both.”

“I really do.” He sighed, leaning his head on Jack’s shoulder. Jack kissed his hair.

“So let’s go meet them.”

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The episode this was cut from comes out this month! Bwa-bwa-bwa-bwaaah! (that’s a fanfare, trust me).