Pulling off one of the strings, he handed a single green balloon to Kylie. When he went to hand one to Travis, the oldest of them all simply frowned at Braydon.
“No? None for you? Fine.” From there, Braydon started going from one person to another – even complete strangers – handing out balloons. There obviously weren’t enough people in the waiting room, but that didn’t seem to stop Braydon, he just made his way out into the hall. Ethan knew he’d have all of the balloons handed out in no time. The guy was crazy.
“What are you doing?” Another familiar voice sounded from the hallway. A strangled laugh followed by, “No. I don’t want a damn balloon.”
As he watched his cousin Jared Walker – also known as the new man in charge of Walker Demolition – make his way into the waiting room, he considered escaping while everyone’s attention was diverted. Ethan prepared himself for the confrontation that he expected to come.
When Jared looked his way, Ethan nodded in acknowledgement but sent up a silent prayer that his cousin wouldn’t stop to chat. He didn’t have anything to say to the guy. Especially after the last couple of conversations they’d had.
Granted, Ethan respected the fact that Travis had hired Jared to come in and manage Walker Demolition now that he was fully immersed in the new resort, but that didn’t mean Ethan liked the guy. Ok, so he liked the guy, he just wasn’t fond of the ass chewing he had received on Blake’s behalf.
Technically, up until that morning, Blake was an employee of Walker Demolition and Ethan didn’t understand why he had to be the one to take the heat every time Blake fucked up. Which had been frequently, Ethan knew.
Blake wasn’t the most reliable, didn’t usually come into work on time, and sometimes disappeared for a couple of days without bothering to even call and let Ethan know where he was. And despite the fact that Ethan had been dating him – for lack of a better term – he wasn’t his keeper. Nor was he his boss. Not that Jared seemed to understand that. So, needless to say, they’d butted heads since the day Jared showed up right around the first of the year.
Now that Blake wasn’t working for them, Ethan wondered if that would help the strained relationship that had started to develop since the first week of January when Jared had shown up out of the blue. There was a story behind his cousin’s reason for relocating to Coyote Ridge, but out of respect to Jared, Ethan had never tried to get to root of that reason. Watching as Jared shook hands with Travis and then Curtis, Ethan started to wonder why he hadn’t put forth the effort.
It wasn’t like Ethan had wanted anything to do with running the family business. He had more than enough to do in the mechanic shop, and that’s actually where he wanted to stay. He liked being out of the limelight, staying in the shadows and not having to deal with any of the political bullshit. Jared seemed to be suited perfectly for the job, although Ethan knew for a fact that if he needed his cousin to get his hands dirty and help out in the shop, he’d be capable of doing that as well.
Hmm… he certainly wasn’t going to tell Jared that Blake quit, that was for damn sure. The last thing he needed was some nosy family member getting all up in his business.
Chapter Two
♂♂
Beau stood in the background, watching as the Walker family rejoiced in the newest addition to their family. Being in the midst of all of their excitement, Beau couldn’t help but feel it too. Having grown up as an only child, he had found himself drawn to the Walker household because there was always something going on, and he had fit in from day one.
The Walker family was the exact opposite of his own family. Curtis and Lorrie doted on their children, spent time with them, and encouraged them in everything they did – even now, when they were all full grown.
In Beau’s house growing up, encouragement came when it benefited his father and only then. Not that it was necessarily a terrible thing because growing up Beau had worked his ass off to please his father. It hadn’t done much good, but the best memories he had were those rare times his father looked at him as though he hung the moon. Never mind the fact that it all came crashing down during his senior year of high school.
It wasn’t that his parents didn’t love him, he knew they did. They just didn’t have much time for him. Growing up, his father had been right there rooting him on in all his football glory, but, maybe because of that, their relationship had always been tense. At times, Beau felt like his father was more his coach than his actual parent. And, when the day came that his football dreams crashed and burned, an even bigger gap formed between them. Beau had never questioned it. Having felt as though he let his father down, he never even thought to ask why their relationship had dwindled as fast as his future had.
Since he’d had the welcoming arms of the Walker family, Beau had simply continued to put one foot in front of the other, finding himself spending less and less time at home and more time at Zane’s. At first it was strange because growing up, Zane was as much a part of Beau’s family as he was Zane’s. Surprisingly, Zane hadn’t questioned the rift between him and his father, but that’s probably because Zane hadn’t understood it either. After all, Curtis Walker was the opposite of Ben Bennett.
Where Curtis was supportive, Ben was critical. Where Curtis laughed with his boys, Ben frowned, never understanding the joke or the reason for so much happiness. And Beau’s mother, Arlene, was very much like her husband.
And now, considering the direction that Beau’s life had taken, the revelation he’d made about himself, he couldn’t imagine sharing his innermost secrets with his parents. He knew how they would react if he ever had the guts to tell them he was gay. After having spent a lifetime not caring what people thought of him, for some reason, Beau cared what they thought. Which meant their relationship would continue to be strained because Beau had no intention of letting them down again.
So, as long as they accepted him, Beau would continue to find comfort within the Walker family, celebrating their triumphs, mourning their losses and everything in between.
Beau turned and smiled like a fool as Zane approached. He refused to bring down the celebration, and he knew the first person who would suspect he was dwelling on thoughts better left alone was Zane.
“What’s up?” he asked casually, readjusting his stance, but not moving from his position against the wall.
Zane glanced around the room and then back at Beau like he was expecting someone to sneak up on him.
“You wanna grab something to eat?” Zane’s question was said in a conspiratorial whisper, which was a dead giveaway that the man was up to his mischievous ways.
“Why? Cafeteria food calling your name?” he asked Zane as he watched Braydon disappear out into the hallway again, Brendon and Jessie right on his heels.
“You know it,” he answered with a grin.
“Liar.”
Zane laughed.
Beau had known Zane long enough. Knew how his brain worked. And the last thing Zane was thinking about was hospital food. In fact, the way Zane was eyeing V, Beau knew he was craving something a lot more appetizing.
“Nah, I think I’m gonna hang here for a few more minutes. Then I’ve got to head into work. But I’ll catch up with y’all later. Maybe we can get a beer after work.” Beau declined the invitation to their rendezvous as nicely as he could.
Beau knew that Zane was still trying to lure him back into his relationship with V, from an extracurricular perspective at least. He couldn’t blame him, necessarily. The sex had been phenomenal. Especially at the end when… nope, not going there.
He understood Zane’s reasoning because the threesomes had been satisfying and interesting, and Beau might’ve been inclined to accept the offers had it not been for the fact that his life had changed dramatically ever since the night he had been with Zane. What happened between them had only solidified the reason for all of the confusion Beau had been living with in regards to his sexual orientation.
That night had changed him. It also clarified that what
he felt for Zane, which he’d originally thought was more than friendship, was merely infatuation. Although he’d experimented, walking away from Zane and V had been easier than he thought. Mainly because it left him open to find what he’d been missing. Love. True love. Something that wasn’t only based on physical attraction.
Because Zane and V had found that deeper connection with one another, it hadn’t been a difficult decision for Beau to back out of the threesomes. In fact, it was easier to walk away than it would’ve been to deny himself the fulfillment he knew he would never find with them.
And with V’s support, Zane had backed off, but Beau knew his best friend was merely trying to keep things from becoming awkward between them. If Zane had picked up on Beau’s fascination with his brother Ethan, he might just be a little less worried. And maybe he had, but Zane wasn’t one to talk about those types of things.
Now that Beau had finally found his footing in the world, and V seemed to understand him, they were letting the significance of what they had all three shared before turn into a comfortable, platonic friendship. For that, Beau was thankful.
“Well, if you change your mind…” Zane let the sentence hang, but his attention was now fully on V.
“Go. Have fun. Maybe you can start with dessert.”
Zane turned back to face him, his blue-gray eyes glittering with devilish intent. “I think I might just do that.”
“Right. Like you hadn’t thought about that before.”
Zane slapped Beau on the shoulder. “You know me all too well, Bennett.”
That he did. He knew Zane better than just about anyone else.
“All right then,” Zane said, looking back at him, his expression turning serious. “If you’re sure you’re not hungry…”
Beau laughed. “I’m positive.”
“Then we’ll catch up with you later at Moonshiners,” Zane said as V stepped up to join them.
“You two have fun. Don’t get caught.”
“Never,” Zane laughed.
V grinned, looking over her shoulder as Zane led her away and Beau overheard her say, “What were y’all talking about?”
As they moved closer to the exit, Beau laughed at Zane’s response, “He suggested that we go get dessert.”
As more people filed out of the L&D waiting room, Beau fell into step, following them down the hall to the nursery where they would all receive the first glimpse of Kaleb’s and Zoey’s son. He made sure not to get caught up in the crowd, lingering behind as he kept an eye on Ethan. Something he found himself doing often.
At first, Beau had tried to play off his attraction to Ethan. Having lived nearly twenty-six years of his life being confused about what he wanted, forcing himself to fall in with the norm and not understanding why he couldn’t seem to find happiness, he had been a little overwhelmed by the initial draw he had to Zane, and now Ethan. Only with Ethan, Beau’s intrigue was magnified by a million, and he found his thoughts overwhelmed by the man. Sometimes, at the most inopportune times. But it was that original pull that made him realize exactly what he had been avoiding all his life.
In fact, the night he had been with Zane was when the weight of the world had fallen from his shoulders, understanding finally dawning. Did it hurt to realize that he was infatuated with his best friend? Damn straight it did. Worse that Zane was his best friend. But Beau knew going in that he wasn’t in love with Zane, just curious, so in a way, experimenting with Zane had been a blessing. Zane and V had offered him a safe environment that allowed him to understand himself more so than if he’d been with a stranger that he didn’t care about.
So what did he do after that whirlwind realization? He went on a date, of course. With a guy.
What a fucking disaster that had been.
There he was, shy as hell, nervous that he was actually at a turning point in his life that he finally understood, but had absolutely no clue as to how to handle it and he found himself on the worst first date in the history of dates. Aside from the fact that he spent an hour of his life that he would never get back talking to a man who wanted to do nothing more than figure out the mechanics of how the two of them could actually be together, Beau had found they had nothing in common.
Nothing.
After an awkward dinner with Joe, when Beau assured him that yes, he would probably fit, however, no, he didn’t actually want to try, Beau had thought his night couldn’t get any worse.
He’d been wrong.
As he was planning his escape, Beau saw a man he recognized sitting in a booth at the opposite end of the row. Blake Henley. The lying, cheating bastard was with a man – one that very much was not Ethan – at the very same restaurant. And yes, Blake was all over the mystery man. Had the two men been any closer, it would’ve been considered public indecency he was sure.
So, Beau could thank Joe for turning him off of potentially dating. And to this day, he hadn’t talked to anyone about it. V had tried to persuade him to talk a time or two, but he damn sure didn’t want to clue her in on the clusterfuck that had been that evening. He wanted to pretend it never happened and try the whole first date thing again.
One day.
Maybe.
That’s when his hang up with Ethan Walker began. Whether it was because he had finally embraced his attraction to men, or whether he was just concerned because he had seen Ethan’s supposed boyfriend with another guy, Beau found himself thinking about Ethan. All the damn time.
By the time he had mustered up enough courage to talk to Ethan, he realized too much time had passed to share the little secret he harbored. And now… Well, now he would look like he was just trying to interfere.
Had it not been for the fierce passion he had witnessed in Ethan’s beautiful blue-gray gaze on more than one occasion, Beau might’ve given up on the man. But the chemistry was there. And it was intense. Far stronger than anything he’d ever experienced in his life and it irked the shit out of him that Ethan was being so damned stubborn.
Not only did Beau find himself physically attracted to Ethan, he found that – thanks to the few occasions he’d had the opportunity – he could talk to him. Based on Beau’s limited experience, he knew that was rare.
Speaking of Ethan…
Beau eased behind the crowd gathered in the hall, keeping to the wall opposite the glass windows that offered a direct view into the nursery where it appeared a nurse was taking care of baby Walker. The oohs and ahhs from everyone were a dead giveaway.
Glutton for punishment that he was, Beau continued to make his way to the far side of the group where Ethan was standing alone, doing his best to resemble a post – holding up the wall he was leaning against.
“You ok?” Beau asked in an attempt to make conversation, not looking directly at Ethan, instead pretending to be watching what was going on in front of him.
Too bad he could barely focus as soon as he got a whiff of Ethan’s rich, spicy scent. Not to mention, he could see Ethan in his peripheral vision. The tension that settled in Ethan’s shoulders was apparent, but Beau pretended not to notice the way the bulky muscles bunched. He let the silence consume them until he wanted to fidget from the discomfort.
Risking it, Beau looked over at Ethan, admiring the chiseled features of his face, the heat – whether it be anger or desire – that smoldered in his seductive eyes. He wanted to touch him, to put a hand on Ethan’s shoulder, something to let him know that he wasn’t a threat.
After a painfully long second, Ethan jerked to face him. Beau swallowed hard, but forced himself not to be offended by Ethan’s affronted reaction. He’d come to expect Ethan to be defensive around him. It was actually one of the things that turned him on, oddly enough.
Before Ethan said a word, Beau continued to study him, trying to figure out the range of emotions that played across Ethan’s ruggedly handsome face. “You ready to talk to me yet?” he asked nonchalantly, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the wall and crossed his ankles, mirroring Ethan�
�s pose.
“Back off, Bennett,” Ethan said faintly. “This isn’t a good idea.”
No, maybe not. But Beau didn’t really give a shit about good ideas or not at this point. He’d spent his entire life not knowing what he wanted, and when he finally figured it out, he found himself up against a brick wall. A sexy as fucking hell brick wall.
“Good idea or not, you’re gonna have to talk to me eventually.”
“I don’t have to do shit,” Ethan bit out.
When he turned to walk away, Beau put a hand on his arm. He didn’t grab him, just let his hand settle on Ethan’s bulging bicep.
“Relax,” he said softly. “It’s not like I’m gonna jump you in the hallway.”
Ethan glared at him, his eyes shooting sparks of anger. It was a given that Ethan tried to avoid him, but he wasn’t known to lose his cool quite this easily.
It wasn’t surprising that Ethan wanted to evade him, but Beau could sense there was something else wrong. Letting him walk away was probably the best thing he could do, but Beau couldn’t stand seeing Ethan quite so angry.
“Is everything ok?”
With what sounded like a resigned sigh, Ethan turned back to face him, and Beau tried not to count that as a win, but considering everything they’d been putting each other through these last couple of months, he couldn’t help himself.
“I’m sure Zane’s already told you,” Ethan said quietly, his blue-gray eyes churning like storm clouds.
Beau knew his disappointment was apparent. “He mentioned Blake quit.” The fact that it was bothering Ethan that much didn’t make Beau feel any better.
“Then you know what’s bothering me, don’t you?” The torrent of anger seemed to have dissipated and Ethan met his gaze head on.
“You got another mechanic lined up?” Beau asked, aiming for subtle conversation and ignoring the way his stomach twisted with excitement at the opportunity to talk to Ethan. When Ethan didn’t answer right away, Beau followed up with, “Sorry, not trying to be nosy.”
Ethan (Alluring Indulgence) Page 3