by Sara York
“Do you need any help?” Tanner asked.
“I think I’ve about got it. I was going to vacuum next.”
“I’ll do it.”
“You don’t have to. I clean when I’m nervous.”
“Duff?” Tanner met his gaze again, this time showing compassion in his eyes.
He really liked the guy. There was something about Tanner which made his heart swell and his body warm. “Yeah, that and James.”
Tanner came close and leaned against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest, making his biceps look even bigger. “Do you think something is really wrong?”
“No clue, but I want to hear from them. No one has ever really left the ranch, well, other than Clark, but he’s hidden himself from us and wants nothing to do with Duff or anyone else from Wild Bluff. James and Brody, they’re our friends.”
“So, was this Brody guy ever a member?”
“No, he and James had a thing. James couldn’t stay away from him, said they were connected like none other. Their love is something special, they were meant to be together.”
They both were silent for a moment, then Tanner pushed away from the counter. “I’ll grab the vacuum and get to it.”
Mike went back to cleaning the kitchen. He was done but didn’t leave the kitchen, instead he watched Tanner move as he vacuumed under furniture. Suz came in and helped Tanner finish the den and took over vacuuming another room. By the time Davis and Ryan brought Duff back from Colorado Springs, the house was sparkling.
Duff headed to his bedroom for a nap and Davis headed out to the pen with the horses. Ryan waited until Davis was outside before he turned to the group to speak.
“Duff needs to watch what he eats even more. The doctor wants to run some more invasive tests and Duff got angry. There could be another problem, but Duff doesn’t want to get it checked. He’s not old, but with his health issues, he needs to take better care of himself. Duff is mad he’s having any health issues.”
“How bad is it?” Grant asked.
Ryan rolled his eyes. “The worst part is Davis is worried and Duff is angry that Davis is worried. If I could just get the two of them to listen to each other. I swear.”
“Great,” Marshal said.
Ryan shook his head. “They are a pair, but what can I say? Give them both time, and I’m sure everything will be okay.”
“I’ll go check on Duff later,” Marshal said.
“I’ll make sure Davis doesn’t wallow too much,” Ryan added.
Mike grabbed two cold beers out of the refrigerator and held them up. “Give me a few minutes with him.”
Mike headed outside with the beers. He made his way over to the area where Davis was leaning against the fence.
“How you doing?” Mike asked, trying to go for casual.
“Good.” Davis took one of the beers and unscrewed the lid. He didn’t lift it to drink yet, instead he stared off in the distance, shaking his head. “He’s not doing good. I get the feeling he hasn’t been feeling well for a while and he was too proud to say anything.”
“Do you think he was afraid?” Mike asked.
Davis shrugged. “He could be. I don’t know. I’m angry.”
Mike took a drink of his beer, giving Davis more time to think. Davis drank some then turned to face Mike.
“What do you think. Do you think he’s okay?”
“He didn’t look good this morning.”
“No, he didn’t.”
Mike pointed out to the horses. “Want to go for a ride?”
Davis shrugged then closed his eyes. “I need something to take my mind off my dad. I’m angry and afraid. I just reconnected, and then all the other stuff we went through. I’m not ready to lose him yet.”
“I understand. Somehow, I don’t think Duff is at that point yet. Come ride with me and then you can go talk to Ryan.”
Davis sighed before he took another swig of his beer. They headed into the barn and they both finished their beers while they saddled the horses. They rode a trail close to the base of the mountain. It was near dark when they made it back to the barn. Ryan and Tucker met them with water and some fruit.
They unsaddled the horses and Tucker took both to the barn. He and Davis ate the fruit while Tucker brushed the horses. Billy joined them and helped Tucker with the horses. Mike made sure their tack was cleaned and put away. He checked the rest of the stalls, clearing out the mess before putting in new straw.
“Thanks for letting me brush them,” Tucker said.
“No problem, thanks for helping. Did Davis already go in?” Mike asked.
“Yep, he and Ryan went in to talk to Duff.”
Mike stayed in the barn as Tucker and Billy put up the horses. After the horses were put away for the night, they headed to the house together, Mike going to the stove where he found beans, corn, and leftover burgers heated in the microwave. The fixings were set up on the sidebar and he made himself a burger and took it to the table.
The room wasn’t full, and most of the guys had either already eaten or were spending the evening in their rooms. He watched for Tanner but didn’t see him. It hadn’t been too awkward between them, at least he didn’t think so, even with the near kiss he’d put too much thought into. Actually, it hadn’t really been a moment, just a few seconds where they’d been standing close. He kind of wished Matthew hadn’t opened the door. What would have happened next? It was crazy to think about Tanner so much. He wasn’t willing to start a relationship with anyone, and just fucking Tanner wouldn’t work with him living on the ranch. There would be too many problems that could come up. And on the off-chance Tanner ever did get into a relationship with another person, it could get a little tricky.
Chapter Five
Tanner met up with Tucker and Billy the next day and headed out to practice shooting. Eventually Grant, Marshal, Ryan, Roger, and Zander met them at the range. Marshal was trying to get steady enough to hit the target they set up, but he was still having problems squeezing slow enough and not jerking the trigger. If Marshal were just shooting for fun, or trying to hit what an average citizen could hit, or even an average military guy, he would ace the test, but he was trying for the impossible.
Marshal looked annoyed. He stared off in the distance after missing a tiny target they had to use binoculars to even see.
“It’s not the end of the world,” Zander said.
Marshal blew out a breath and then rolled his eyes. “I’m being ridiculous. I mean, really, I have the world because I have you. My shooting arm doesn’t matter.”
“I get that you miss being able to hit an apple seed at a thousand feet,” Zander joked.
Marshal laughed and pulled Zander into his arms, kissing his neck and then his cheek.
“You two take it back to your room,” Grant said.
“Soon it will be house,” Marshal said.
“Can’t wait.” Grant moved into position and Tanner watched as he lined up and adjusted his rifle, looking down the sight before making a minor adjustment.
Tanner lifted his binoculars and watched downrange. Grant pulled the trigger and the ping pong ball with a G drawn on the front which was sitting on top of a coke bottle was gone.
“Well?” Grant asked.
“It’s gone,” Tanner replied.
“Okay, now your turn, Tanner.”
He set up with Grant’s rifle, making sure he felt good in position. After a minor adjustment, he blew out a breath, settled into his setup and stared down the scope. The ball with his T was an impossibly small target. If he messed up, he would miss, or he could end up hitting a Coke bottle, ruining all the rest of the bottles they’d set up.
He closed his eyes and breathed out before drawing in a slow breath. On the next release, he opened his eyes and stared at the target in an almost trance-like state. He gently squeezed the trigger and sure enough he hit the ball. He sat up and Grant gave him a thumbs-up.
“You hit it,” Marshal said as he lowered the binoculars.
“Thanks. Any pointers?” Tanner knew learning from experts was the best way to improve.
“Let me think. Maybe we could sit down over a beer and discuss what I know. It’s kind of hard to say just one thing, I mean, you got the target. It’s not like you need overall pointers, more like what I’ve experienced.”
“That would be great,” Tanner said. “I’d appreciate any knowledge you have to share.”
“Sure,” Marshal said then he turned to watch Billy line up to shoot. He liked this crew. They were good men. It was impressive how skilled they were with a rifle. Better shots than most, he imagined they could hit almost anything.
“I’m done,” Billy called out.
“Guess we should wrap it up,” Grant said.
Ryan began breaking down his rifle and Grant cleared the chamber on his. Tanner walked around picking up shell casings behind them, his thoughts on how he’d shot today. The military had been his life for so long. He’d grown used to being told what to do. There was structure here, but he had freedom to explore skills like shooting. In the military, he would have been told what to do, limiting his pursuits.
Ryan put his rifle in the case. “I’m clear. Who’s going out to get the targets?”
Billy chuckled and grabbed Tucker’s hand, leading him out to the field. Tanner finished packing away the ammunition and began walking out to help Billy and Tucker.
Grant stopped him. “Don’t go out there.”
“Why?” He glanced out to where the guys were and noticed Tucker grab Billy by the belt and haul him close. Billy yelped.
“They seem to want some private time,” Grant said.
“Oh.” Heat filled his face and he glanced away.
“Heck, I could use some private time. Roger, get your ass over here.” Grant slung his arm around his man and headed to the house carrying his rifle over his shoulder. Marshal and Zander paired up and laughed about something. They all got along so easily. Maybe he wasn’t destined to find a man.
“You doing okay?” Ryan asked.
“Yeah, I’m good.” He pushed away his longings for a companion.
“When I met Davis, I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone. It was an adjustment being here. These guys are amazing, but they do have a lot of sex. It can be difficult being on the outside when couples are pairing off and getting busy.”
“It’s not that.” Tanner turned and saw Ryan’s brows raised. “Okay, it is that.”
Ryan chuckled. “You’ll be able to head to Colorado Springs soon. It takes the edge off for the guys who are single.”
“Yeah, I probably need that sooner rather than later.”
Ryan laughed out loud and continued laughing all the way into the yard by the house. Davis was on the porch and he ran down the steps to the ground then came over, shaking Tanner’s hand before reaching for Ryan’s.
“We’re having a meeting in a few minutes. I was just coming out to get you when I heard the silence. I knew you were coming back soon,” Davis said.
“What’s the meeting about?” Ryan asked.
“I think it’s about James and Brody. It’s been too long and Duff is antsy. He says he’s worried. Maybe it’s just to distract from his health issues, who knows.”
“Will one of us go up there to find them?” Tanner asked.
“Probably two, maybe three. We’re not really doing anything here on the ranch other than practice and keeping the place clean.” Davis opened the door to the house and they stepped in.
“Um, Tucker and Billy are still out there,” Tanner said.
Ryan snorted a laugh and Davis rolled his eyes. “I swear they have sex more than teenagers. I’ll send them both texts. Thanks.”
Tanner chuckled as he headed to his room to use the bathroom. When he stepped into the hall, Mike was right there. They almost bumped into each other but Mike pulled up short.
“Sorry. I was reading some notes from the guys.”
“Notes?”
“Yeah, there was an email sent this morning by Jazz. He doesn’t like the way one of the groups out of France is operating. Says he wants to keep an eye on them.”
He pulled out his phone then put it back in his pocket because they were almost to the control room where they were setting up.
“Do you think this meeting will be about the France thing too?” Tanner asked.
Mike shrugged. “Could be included. We are meeting in the control room so there will be some slides, possibly a presentation.”
“Oh.” Maybe it was the shooting they’d done, or the lack of sex, or just general feelings of not being used to the place, but he felt about two steps behind on everything.
“You okay?” Mike asked.
“Yeah, I just feel a little lost. Like I should have known to check for a note from Jazz. It didn’t even hit my radar.”
Mike held out his hand. “Let me look at your phone.”
He unlocked the device and handed it to Mike who clicked through some screens while they took a seat next to Matthew.
“Oh, I see,” Mike muttered.
“What?” Tanner asked as he looked over Mike’s shoulder.
“Just this notification setting. You didn’t get pinged so you didn’t get the notification.”
The lost feeling intensified. “Oh, okay.”
Mike did something then handed his phone back. Their fingers touched and he felt like fire shot from the spot where they connected.
“Thanks,” he sputtered as desire burned a grouch him.
“Sure. Hey, you want some coffee?” Mike asked as he jumped up.
He shook his head, his gaze filtering over the computers and tables in the control room. “No, thanks, I’m good.”
“Sure,” Mike said as he turned away. He glanced back over his shoulder. “I’ll be back in a few.”
He ignored his reaction to Mike’s touch, instead he watched the guys filter in. After everyone arrived, about half of them drinking coffee, Grant stood and started talking as a map popped up on the screen at the front of the room.
“This is a satellite image of James and Brody’s general location from two months ago. There isn’t a satellite we can piggyback available at the moment, and though Jazz is amazing, it doesn’t look like one we can hack into will be over the area for a few weeks.”
Marshal stood. “It appears a fire was reported close by about a week ago. Of course, they haven’t given an exact location in the news because it’s a small area and the people who live up there value their privacy.”
Grant continued. “We don’t know what is going on in the area. Combined with the fact we haven’t heard from James or Brody in a while, we’re unsure.”
“I’m worried as hell,” Duff grumbled.
Grant’s lips twisted and his brow bunched before he turned back to face the image on the screen. “James and Brody have a right to drop off the face of the earth, but they’d been in contact and didn’t give any warning they were going underground. Maybe it’s our problems and they want to distance themselves. Heck, it took them long enough to trust us with their location.”
Marshal moved closer to Grant. “The lack of contact wouldn’t be enough to get me to go, but the fire has me worried. We haven’t received any calls or texts, no emails, nothing.”
Roger raised his hand. “Do you think they are in danger?”
“I don’t know. We haven’t seen any direct threats against them. Jazz has been searching but didn’t come up with anything other than the fire.”
Jazz stood and moved next to Grant. “So while I was looking, doing my best to dig up threats against James and Brody, I stumbled into a chat room used by a group out of France. Of course, they don’t advertise they’re in France, but I worked it out, searching their location using my new method I taught you all. They’re in France.” A few of the guys chucked as quiet applause went around the room. Jazz took a small bow then his lips thinned. “Anyway, this cell is planning something big—like huge. I need someone to help me track down thei
r funding. Once we find the funds, we’ll be able to slow them down a little.” Jazz moved to the computer and clicked something and the map changed to show France. “We don’t have to travel over there yet, but we really need to watch them. I’ve got their location tagged. They won’t even be able to go to the coffee shop without me knowing.” The map zoomed in to a street outside Paris and a photo popped up. “This is their street, and the blue door is where they are. If we do have to go, I know where they are.”
Grant squared his shoulders before he started speaking. “Good work, Jazz.”
“Good job,” went around the room. Guys lifted their coffee cups in approval.
“Okay, we need to have a team working on James and Brody, and we need to have a team working with Jazz on the cell in France.”
“I’d like to work with Jazz,” Ryan said.
Davis held up his hand. “I have some experience in France.”
Billy lifted his hand too. “I’d like to work with Jazz.”
“Okay, France looks good. I’d like Mike to head to Canada. We need someone else to go with him,” Grant said.
“I’ll go,” Tanner offered. The room fell silent and he worried he’d misspoken. “I’d like to go if that’s okay.”
Suz gave him a thumbs-up and then turned to Grant. “I want in on the France thing.”
Grant gave her thumbs up. “Sounds good, Suz. I like the idea of you starting out on this. Then we’re set. We’ll have a good-sized team working with Jazz on the France issue. Marshal, I’d like you to work with Jazz and back him up on leading the team.” Grant turned to face his sister. “You’re new, and you haven’t been through training, but we’re going to have to handle your training differently. We’re going to let you in on this one. After this is settled, we’ll develop some sort of training program for you.”
Suz shot him a smile. “I swear, Grant, I won’t let you or this team down.”