by Elle Keaton
Soon enough there was an impromptu party going on at Brandon’s stall. Brandon was introducing them to people right and left. There was no way Travis was going to remember all the names, but he had a thick stack of business cards in his back pocket.
23
“Why are you making me get up?” Travis had dragged Rod out of bed on a Saturday morning, insisting he had a surprise for him. The only surprise Rod was interested in was an early-morning blowjob, but that didn’t seem to be in the cards.
“Get dressed. I want to show you something.”
“Is there coffee involved? If I can’t have a blow job, I want coffee.”
Travis laughed. God, Rod loved his laugh.
“If I promise coffee now and a blow job later, will you quit bitching and come with me?”
“Fine.” Rod pouted.
“You’re going the wrong way for coffee.”
“I thought,” Travis replied patiently, “that we would stop at the new place, The Last Drop. It’s on our way.”
“I would have known that if you would tell me where we’re going.”
Travis pulled to a stop in front of a house that had been converted into a cute café. There was a line of people out the door, and Rod winced.
“That’s for sit-down, don’t worry.”
Rod turned his head with a snarky reply to find Travis had leaned across the armrest. He planted a quick, hot kiss full of promise on Rod’s lips, and all grouchy thoughts fled. Rod flicked out his tongue to taste Travis, loving that he was allowed, that Travis was his.
“None of that. I’m not putting on a show.” Travis leaned back and clicked open his seat belt. “Come on.”
The Last Drop was epically cool. The owner had gutted the interior of the house, making it one big space. In the center was a horseshoe-shaped bar with a glittering espresso machine where beer taps would usually be. One side of the bar was clearly the to-go area, and the other had mismatched tables and chairs for seating. A doorway led out to a porch that wrapped two-thirds of the way around the house. There were tables outside as well. Every seat was full.
“This place is incredible.”
“It’s amazing, isn’t it? They’ve only been open a month.”
Travis didn’t let Rod linger. Soon they were back out on the road, but not for long. This time when Travis stopped his truck, they were parked in front of a run-down property not far from town. At one point it had been pretty isolated, but Skagit had grown. The house looked to be unlivable from where Rod sat, safely in the truck. The barn was pretty, though.
“Okay, I’ll bite. Why are we parked here?”
“Come on.” Travis got out and began to make his way toward the barn.
Rod, as he always did, followed. “Travis, isn’t this private property?”
Travis ignored him and kept walking toward the barn, unashamedly opening the gate and sauntering through. He rolled aside the barn door like he owned it and disappeared inside.
Inside, the barn was filled with dappled light that found its in way through the hay drop as well as gaps between the siding and roof beams. Travis stopped in the center and turned in a slow circle before his gaze focused on Rod. “What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful,” he answered truthfully, “just beautiful.”
“I have a plan.” Travis waggled his eyebrows.
“How many times in our lives have you started a sentence with that exact phrase?”
“Mmmm, come here.”
Rod was never going to be able to resist Travis. He didn’t want to, and he didn’t have to. He went. Travis wrapped his strong arms around Rod before whispering in his ear.
“This is the future home of the Walker Winery tasting room. See that pink piece of paper over there?”
Rod couldn’t see from the angle he was at. Travis turned him 180 degrees, keeping his arms wrapped around him as if he was afraid Rod might run away. There was a small piece of paper tacked to an interior wall. It fluttered slightly as a breeze snuck in.
“That piece of paper is the beginning of everything.”
“Is this what you’ve been secretly working on?”
“Yeah. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew all the wrinkles were ironed out. Or at least that this would eventually happen.”
“What, exactly, is happening?”
“Do you want it in order, or do you want a good news–bad news kind of scenario? Or…” Travis broke off his meandering when Rod tried to turn and pinch him. Or maybe tickle him. Or throw him down in the vestiges of hay and fuck him silly.
Something in his expression must’ve told Travis what Rod was thinking. Travis ground against him, chuckling evilly. “While I have every intention of making use of the barn, Michael is on his way. I don’t think that’s the kind of exhibitionism you are into.”
“Damn.” Rod thought bad thoughts, trying to will his semi away.
Travis rested his chin on Rod’s shoulder. “You know how my grandpa left me that smallish parcel? Dad and I are going to plant it with grapes. In the meantime, while my grapes mature, I’m going to buy grapes and start making wine. This will be the tasting room, and there will be a cold room and a chiller. We’ll have to build for that, but the barn is where we’ll start.”
“We?”
“Do you want to be Beton-Walker or Walker-Beton? Personally I think Walker-Beton has a better ring to it. Kind of like this ring here.” Travis pulled a small fabric bag out of his pocket and held it out in the palm of his hand.
Rod stared at the bag, then stared at Travis. Then stared again at the bag before reaching out with a shaking hand to take it. His fingers were too thick and clumsy all of a sudden, and everything was watery.
“I can’t open it,” Rod whispered. The barn was quiet around them, a comfort.
Travis opened the bag and shook out a gold band into his palm.
“I had to guess your size.” He cleared his throat before shuffling around to get down on one knee. “Rod Beton, you’ve had my back since I was nine. You’ve been with me through thick and thin. Will you spend the rest of your life with me? Will you marry me?”
Rod looked at his best friend, blurry because tears were leaking from his eyes. “Yes, Travis, I will marry you.” His voice was small in the quiet, but loud to his heart.
He pulled Travis off his knees and kissed him until there was no more oxygen and he had to come up for air. Travis used his thumb to wipe the moisture from Rod’s cheek. “Why are you crying?”
Rod wasn’t sure he would be able to put what he was feeling into words, but he sure as hell would try.
“Travis, I’ve had this secret dream for so long. I never believed it would come true, that you would want me back in the same way. That you would want to marry me. I feel overwhelmed… and scared you are going to change your mind.”
“Rod,” Travis took Rod’s face between his hands, “I know everything about you. I love you. I’ve always loved you, even when I didn’t know what the word meant. I’m not changing my mind.”
The lump in his throat was difficult for Rod to speak around. “I love you too.”
“I know. I know.”
This kiss was gentle and filled with promise, not just of that night but of tomorrow and as many tomorrows as they could fit in their lives together. Travis tightened his grip on Rod’s waist, making sure there was no room between them as he swept his tongue into Rod’s mouth. Their tongues met in a dance as old as time itself. Rod didn’t want to stop. “We’ve got to stop or, uh.”
Travis was breathing heavily. “Yeah. Wouldn’t want my dad to find us. But I don’t ever want you thinking anyone else is my best man. Come on, let’s go meet him at the truck.”
Epilogue
The black-and-white fluff ball was nearly as large as Jasper, but he insisted on holding the leash even though the puppy was going to pull him over any moment. Brandon had provided them with a special leash and collar with the puppy’s name, Crusher, embroidered on them. Rod wasn’t entirely sure how (or
when) they’d agreed to a puppy, but once they’d known for certain that Jasper was coming to them, somehow there was a puppy included. Travis’s friend Brandon wouldn’t let them pay him, either, claiming the puppy was the runt of the litter and needed a special home to live in. Rod was pretty sure they’d been played, but watching Jasper with the dog, he knew they’d made the right decision.
Bringing Jasper home hadn’t been an easy process. There had been an astounding number of hoops to jump through. Rod understood the state had to be careful, but when Jasper cried, it was difficult to explain they needed to wait and do everything in the right order. Even now there were still last t’s and i’s to be crossed and dotted. But they were closer to being a family.
Gloria Browning had played a huge part. She gave character references for both of them, and her standing in the community meant a lot to the officials in the Department of Health and Human Services.
They’d been able to jump the gun a little because Maureen had a pair of siblings come to her who needed her undivided attention, so the case worker had authorized the move from her house to Travis and Rod’s.
Last night they’d stayed up past two a.m. painting and putting the finishing touches on Jasper’s bedroom and making sure they had all the supplies for Crusher. Rod couldn’t believe they were bringing home a puppy and Jasper on the same day. He was excited. He was nervous. He was ready.
They were taking the long way back to their place because Maureen and Kon were racing over to be a part of the surprise family barbeque they’d planned for Jasper. Will, Meg, and the boys—who’d recently announced they were moving to Skagit—would be there, as would Michael, the Campbells, and a few other friends. Rod had managed to contact Shanda, Sydney’s mom, and she was bringing Maurice as well. He hoped it wasn’t too much, but he wanted Jasper to know how happy he and Travis were that he would be living with them. When the adoption was official, they would have an even bigger party.
“Rod?” Jasper asked.
“Yeah?” He glanced in the rearview mirror. Jasper was literally being crushed by Crusher.
“Do you think my mom is watching over me?”
“Like an angel?”
“Kinda, but there’s no such thing as angels.”
Rod nodded. “Yeah, I do. I think that’s how come I was at the mall that day with Gloria.”
Jasper looked thoughtful for a moment. Travis gripped Rod’s knee, giving him a squeeze.
“I think she’d like Crusher, and Stripey.”
“Me too.”
That seemed to satisfy Jasper. He went back to petting Crusher.
Rod took the turn to their street. He and Travis made eye contact. Travis mouthed, “I love you.”
“Is that Alex and Morgan’s car?” Jasper asked.
It was. It looked like the last of their short list of guests had arrived.
“It is! Let’s go say hi and introduce them to Crusher.”
Jasper and the dog tumbled out of the SUV Rod had bought in lieu of a minivan. Jasper held the leash in a tight grip while the puppy tugged him over to sniff at a patch of grass.
Travis asked, “How about if I hold him for a second so you can say hi to Alex. I think he must be in the backyard.”
While Will and Meg’s family had been in town over the past month or so looking at schools and houses, Alex and Jasper had become unlikely friends. Or maybe not unlikely, but with the age gap, unusual at the very least. Rod thought Alex felt a little protective of Jasper.
“Okay!” Where any other kid might have dropped the leash and run, Jasper carefully handed it to Travis. “Got it?”
“Got it,” Trav confirmed.
They both watched Jasper trot around the side of the house and then heard the click of the gate being opened, followed by voices calling out, “Welcome home!”
To his surprise, when they made their way into the backyard, Rod saw Jasper giving Detective Jorgensen a fierce hug. Asking the officer had been a last-minute decision, but it seemed to have been a good one. The other guests were protecting the cake Rod had ordered (Travis had tried to bake one, but the evidence of its existence had been removed to the garbage) from Xena.
Jasper let go of the big detective, coming over to Travis to retake Crusher’s leash. “Rod?”
He bent down to hear what Jasper was saying. “Yeah?”
“Thanks for having a party for Crusher. He was a little worried about missing his family.”
“This party is for you, Jasper.”
“Yeah, I know.” He scuffed a toe against the grass. “But I don’t want Crusher’s feelings to be hurt.”
Rod smiled and hugged their foster (for now) son tightly until he squeaked, “Lemme go.” Rod did, and Jasper and Crusher ran off to check out the cake and other treats sitting on the picnic table.
As he stood up, he felt a little dizzy, but Travis was right there to make sure he didn’t fall.
“You okay?” Travis’s warm hand was a comfort at the small of his back.
“I’m more than okay. I’m the luckiest man in the world.”
Travis slid his arm around Rod’s waist, whispering in Rod’s ear, “I’m pretty sure we’re both lucky… or going to get lucky—one of those for sure.”
The End
About the Author
Hi, Elle Keaton here. Thank you for purchasing my book! I hail from the northwet (hahaha) corner of the US where we are known for rain, rain and more rain. I write the Accidental Roots series, set here in the Pacific Northwest featuring hot mm romance with the guarantee of a happy ending for my men. They start broken, and maybe they still are at the end, but they always find the other half of their hearts.
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