Deuce took his duffel from the truck and crossed to the porch. He could hear voices—some from the dining room, others from the kitchen—but he needed a few moments of privacy, so he climbed the stairs to his bedroom on the second floor.
Fortunately, Ma hadn’t left it the way it had been when he’d lived there, hadn’t made it a shrine. That would have been creepy.
He took a fresh change of clothes from his duffel, laid them on the bed, then went into the attached bathroom and turned on the shower. When the temperature was to his liking, he pulled back the curtain and stepped into the enclosure.
He and Pop had talked about it while they groomed the gelding. Deuce would split his time between the ranch and the diner—quiet, uncomplicated jobs. Nothing that would call attention to him. To his relief, Pop hadn’t asked why a former Marine would want jobs like that.
Deuce came out of the bathroom, toweling his hair dry.
“I wondered if you were jerking off in there.”
Deuce came to an abrupt halt, whipped the towel off his head, and reached for the gun that was no longer under his arm. “Shit.”
“Indeed.”
“Ace.” He relaxed.
“Yep.”
Deuce stooped to retrieve the towel. “You always did have sex on your mind.”
“Doesn’t make me a bad person.”
“No, it doesn’t.” He draped the towel around his neck, held out his hand, and they shook. “It’s good to see you, but what the fuck are you doing here?”
“Well, when Trip told us he was coming to find the boss, we couldn’t let him go on his own.”
“Trip’s here as well?”
“So is Stan.”
“Uh huh. But Dr. G.’s your boss, and she’s in New York. At least she was the last time I spoke to her.”
“She still is. She just isn’t our boss anymore.”
“Huh?”
“Let me simply say she isn’t happy with us.”
Deuce could have groaned. “You didn’t get the kid.”
“Nope.”
“What happened?”
“Get dressed, and I’ll tell you. Your mom said she’d hold dinner, but not for long.”
“You met my mother?”
“And your dad, your brothers, and that cute sister of yours.”
“You even look at Katelyn, and I’ll shoot your balls off.”
“That’s the boss we know and love.”
“Ass.” Deuce crossed to the bed, dropped the towel from around his waist, and drew on his shorts. “Talk.”
“Yes, sir. The woman had been working at the Contemporary, like you said, but by the time we got there, she was gone. I kind of got the feeling she may have known we were on the way.”
“How?” Deuce stepped into the navy trousers and pulled them up his legs. He left the fly undone while he put on a light blue button-down shirt.
Ace whistled. “You clean up real good, boss.”
Deuce scowled at him, and then tucked his shirt into his pants and zipped up the fly.
“Maybe she’s got friends.”
Like Vincent? Deuce sat down on the edge of his bed and pulled on a pair of socks. “Get my half boots, would you?”
Ace grinned and tossed them to him. Deuce caught them and placed them on the floor.
“I’m telling you,” Ace continued, “this woman is like dust in the wind.”
Deuce ran a hand through his hair. “How did Dr. G. take the news?”
“How do you expect? She wasn’t happy.” Ace gave him a wry grin. “That’s one of the reasons why we tracked you down. She fired us.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“Yeah, you could say that. The thing is, we weren’t looking forward to working for anyone but you, so as soon as she cut us loose, we headed out here.”
“Wait a second. How were you able to find me? How did you know where I was?”
“You told Trip.”
“What are you talking about? I never—”
“Are you losing it, boss? When you called to let him know where we could find the kid, he asked you where you were going.”
“Yeah, and I told him it was better he didn’t know.”
“No, you told him you were going home.”
Had he? But he’d have sworn…he was certain…Jesus, was Ace right? Was he losing it?
“Trip’s a smart guy. After Dr. G. fired us, he did a little investigating of his own and tracked down your family to Woody Draw, South Dakota.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Seriously, Deuce? The guy’s in love with you.”
“What?”
“Don’t say you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
Deuce just stared at him. He’d been so careful…
“Jesus, maybe it’s a good thing you got out of the business. Stan and I would have to be blind not to see you’re in love with him as well.”
“How long have you known?”
“We’ve had our suspicions—”
“How long?” he asked again.
“We figured for certain after he was shot last year.”
“And it doesn’t bother you?”
“Why would it? It’s your business. Anyway, we decided there was no point in hanging around the East Coast, and when Trip said he was heading west, we thought you’d appreciate it if we went along and kept an eye on him.”
“It really was better that you didn’t know where I was. Mark Vincent might be after me.”
“Ah. Well, in that case, it’s a good thing you’ll have the three of us watching your back.”
“What will you do?”
Fortunately, Ace didn’t act as if he didn’t understand what Deuce meant. “Well, your dad’s offered to teach me and Stan how to be cowboys, and when your sister mentioned you were going to be working the front counter at the diner, Trip volunteered to be her short-order cook.”
“How the mighty have fallen.”
“Maybe, but we’ll all live long enough to collect Social Security.”
“Unless Vincent decides to pay us a call.”
“We’ll deal with it if and when.” He rested a hand on Deuce’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
Deuce felt his eyes start to burn. Damn, he had good men. He cleared his throat. “Say, since when has Trip known how to cook?”
“I’ve been giving him lessons.”
“Should my sister take out more insurance for her customers?”
“Not funny, Deuce.” He poked Deuce’s shoulder. “Trip’s a damn good cook. Now, I don’t know about you, but it’s been a long time since lunch, and I’m starved. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
“Let me get my boots on, and I’ll go down with you.”
“No rush.” Ace gave him a grin and a wink, opened the door, and stood aside to let Trip enter. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, boys.” Then he pulled the door shut.
Deuce stared at Trip, taking in the dark hair and eyes that had filled his thoughts. He cleared his throat. “Butch.”
“Hi, boss.”
“I…I never expected to see you here.”
“I had to come.”
“You know being in my vicinity could be dangerous.”
Trip gave him a saucy grin. “I live for danger.”
“So you’re sure you want to do this?”
Trip’s grin morphed into a sweet smile. “Yeah. I am. Are we going to live here?”
“I think it might be better if we lived in town. There’s an apartment over the shed behind the diner, and Kate said I could have it. I don’t think she’d object if you shared it with me.”
“Cool. Now we can get onto more important things.” Trip raised his hand and ran his fingertips along Deuce’s jaw. “Is this okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” Trip stepped closer to Deuce, wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and pulled him close.
Deuce didn’t plan to close his eyes, but the feel of Trip’s mouth on his was something that needed to be savored, and to be savored…He smiled and closed his eyes.
* * * *
At some point they wound up on the bed with Trip on top. Deuce liked the feel of Trip’s long, lean body pressing down on his, and the way Trip cradled his head, nuzzled his throat and jaw before returning to his lips.
Pounding on the door broke their kiss, and they both rolled off the bed and reached for guns they weren’t carrying. They glanced at each other and exchanged sheepish grins.
“Come on, big brother. Get your butt out here. Dinner’s getting cold.”
Deuce couldn’t help chuckling in spite of himself. “Are you sure you want to be part of this family, Butch?”
Trip leaned against him and rubbed his cheek against Deuce’s shoulder. “Yeah. I think I’d like it a lot.”
“Okay, then.” He raised his voice. “Keep your shirt on, Danny. We’re on our way.” He took time for one last kiss, then opened the door, and they walked out of the room.
“Hey, big brother.” Danny grinned at him. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
Deuce gave him a shove. “What day would that be?”
“When you settled down. You’re taking on a tough man, Trip.”
“I’ve worked with Deuce for a few years. I know what he’s like.” Trip met Deuce’s gaze. “And he’s perfect for me.”
Something Deuce never thought he’d hear. He winked at his brother, then squeezed Trip’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go have dinner.”
THE END