When Love Intrudes (When the Mission Ends)

by Christi Snow

  “I think I have something that may help. Just relax for now.”

  “No offense, Alpha, but I don’t think you’re gonna be able to help the gay boy on this one.”

  “Trust me. Right now, don’t worry about anything but filling your stomach. I think you’ll find this place was worth waking up for.”

  Toni hoped that wasn’t an empty promise. She didn’t know what to do to help Nathan, but she had to agree with Brian.

  They arrived at the door and stepped into a bar that looked like it came straight out of the nineteenth century. An entire wall was dominated by a huge dark wood bar with a mirror behind it and a brass foot rail along the bottom, the kind of bar cowboys used to lean up against in the old time westerns. All the walls in the place were covered with rough wood planking barely seen with the memorabilia tourists had tacked to them. There were about a dozen small tables scattered throughout the room for dining.

  About three quarters of the tables were full and with the way that people were talking from one table to the next, Toni would guess that most of the diners were locals who knew each other. Brian led them to an empty table and the three of them sat down as he nodded to a couple of people in the restaurant.

  “Do you know many of the locals?” she asked.

  “Not as many as I used to, but I recognize some faces. I worked here during the tourist season every summer through college, so I probably know more than the normal vacation folks do.”

  When their waitress walked up, she spotted Brian and squealed. He stood and she threw herself into his arms. “Brian Barnes, why the hell didn’t you tell me you were coming to town?”

  He gave her a wide, natural smile which sent Toni into high-alert. He never looked at her with that easy smile. In fact, she was pretty sure she’d never seen Brian that natural except for maybe this morning right after she’d treated him to an amazing orgasm. Jealousy immediately ate at her.

  “Hi, Cherise.” He ducked his shoulders. “It was a last-minute decision to come up for a visit so I didn’t let anyone know.” He turned toward them. “Let me introduce you to my friends. This is Nathan and Toni.”

  The woman sent a quick nod to Nathan and a measuring look toward Toni, but quickly refocused back on Brian, while she murmured the perfunctory, “Nice to meet you.”

  Nathan nudged Toni and rolled his eyes. Who was she to Brian? The way she rubbed up against him made Toni think she knew him pretty well. She was everything Toni wasn’t…tall and willowy with none of those annoying curves like hips that Toni had. Her hair was up in a ponytail, but even with that, Toni could see it was platinum blonde, perfect to frame her silky porcelain skin. She batted her almond-shaped eyes with perfect lashes at Brian like he was the last man on Earth.

  Toni had to give him props though. He honestly seemed immune to Cherise as they discussed what all she’d been up to in the last few years. Finally, he seemed to remember why they were here and sat down so the three of them could order.

  After they ordered and Cherise flounced off, Toni cocked an eyebrow to him. “An old girlfriend?”

  Brian had the grace to look chagrined. “Yeah, we may have hooked up a few times during college.”

  Toni crossed her arms across her chest and nodded her head. “Oh, so she was your mountaintop booty call. Got it.”

  He actually turned red and she tried to hold off her grin. He was too easy to mess with.

  Nathan shook his head. “Man, what is it with heteros? She’s so obvious. That’s really what you like?” They watched Cherise flirt with another table full of three very middle-aged, overweight men. Cherise obviously wasn’t too discriminating, but Toni figured in a town this size, there wasn’t a lot to choose from.

  “No,” Brian responded as he pried her crossed arms apart so he could hold one of her hands. “That’s not what I’m interested in anymore.” He looked directly into Toni’s eyes. “Now I like my woman to be a little more real with a sprinkling of freckles right across her nose.” He lightly brushed a finger across her cheekbone and Toni was tempted to see if she really had melted into a puddle in the middle of the floor. She was in so much trouble here.

  “Um, guys.” Nathan’s strained tone broke through the spell Brian had woven over her and she glanced up at him to see him scowling at their entwined hands. “What the hell did I miss after I fell asleep last night?”

  He turned accusing eyes to Toni. He started to say something, stopped, and then he shook his head and started again. “Do you really think you can trust him not to shatter your heart again? I know, I know.” He raised both hands while shaking his head. “He’s a good guy, but he seems to be toxic to you. Don’t you remember what it was like before?”

  Embarrassment swamped her. She never wanted Brian to know just how much his rejection devastated her before. It was embarrassing at just how weak she was then.

  She swallowed hard and met Nathan’s challenging gaze. “Hey, that’s not fair to me or Brian. Things were very different then and that wasn’t entirely his fault. He’s been nothing but good to us. In fact, he’s given up everything for us, so I think you’re being incredibly harsh to him. Did you realize he quit his job on the force yesterday? For us, because he wanted to be able to protect you and me.”

  Brian squeezed her hand before letting it go. “Hey, it’s okay, Toni. Let’s all just calm down a bit. I like that he’s protective of you. It’s great that you both have this friendship where you take care of each other. It’s really admirable. Don’t begrudge him that when he only wants the best for you. He doesn’t want you to get hurt. Out of all the things he can complain about, I’m fully on board with that one. I don’t want you hurt, either.”

  Nathan examined the two of them for a moment before mumbling, “I’m sorry, Brian.”

  “It’s okay, kid. I get where you’re coming from, believe me.” He gave Toni a bone-melting smile.

  Nathan’s gagging sound echoed across the table. “Okay, really? This is breakfast. It is way too early in the morning for looks like that. Ugh. So, what’s going on? Are you guys dating now or what?”

  She smiled softly. “Yeah, something like that.”

  “In that case, we need to establish some ground rules. No PDA’s in front of the impressionable teenager.”

  She smirked at him. “So now you’re impressionable, huh?”

  “I am if it will stop him with the lovey-dovey looks he keeps sending you. I don’t need or want to see that crap.”

  Brian got a mischievous glint in his eye as he leaned over, winked, and then lifted Toni’s hair off her ear to give her lobe a soft nuzzle. “Didn’t anyone tell you, kid? I’m on vacation this week. That means I get to have fun and she is fun.”

  “Was I really complaining last week about the fact that I didn’t have any family? I’ve changed my mind. I think I’m gonna move to another table.” Nathan began to rise before Toni began to laugh and shoved Brian off her.

  “Stop giving him a hard time. Come on, Nate, sit back down. He’ll be good.” She pushed Brian’s hands off her and back into his own space. “Won’t you, Brian?” She gave him her stern look.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He looked properly chastened which just made her giggle.

  God, was she giggling? The incongruity of the situation wasn’t lost on her. Just yesterday they had been in a car chase with shooting guns and everything. If she didn’t stop to consider why they were actually here, this might turn out to be a really amazing vacation for the three of them. They were already having a lot of fun.

  They were almost through with their amazing breakfast—even Nathan had said it was definitely worth getting out of bed for—when Cherise came by the table to give Brian the check. She wasn’t subtle about leaving her phone number on the ticket ‘just in case Brian didn’t have it anymore and needed anything while he was in town.’

  Toni looked over at Nathan and whispered, “You can see me, right?”

  He chuckled. “I can, but you know I’m thinking you must be emitting some
sort of low-frequency competitor waves which makes you invisible to her. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. They don’t seem to work on Alpha.” He nodded his head at Brian, eyeing the two of them like they were nuts while he pretended to listen to Cherise.

  As they headed out the door of the bar, a handsome smiling man with huge dimples jumped up from his table and gave Brian a hard pat on the back. “Brian, I didn’t know you were in town.”

  He wore a forestry service uniform with a gun strapped to his hip. Wow, who knew forest rangers carried guns? Toni looked curiously at his dining companion, a statuesque, leggy brunette who looked like she belonged on the cover of a swimsuit magazine. They fit as a couple because the guy was definitely good looking, his arm muscles bunching under the sleeves of his shirt. Was it something to do with the mountain air up here that made every person beautiful?

  Brian pulled her forward.

  “Trevor, it’s good to see you. I’d like you to meet two very special people. This is Toni and Nathan. We’re all staying out at Rand and Hudson’s place this week.” He turned back to the two of them. “I used to work with Trevor in the summers doing construction on vacation homes.”

  “It’s nice to meet you both. We don’t get to see this guy up here enough.” He turned his focus back to Brian. “So are you still in Lubbock working with the police department?” Trevor asked.

  “I’m still in Lubbock, but am exploring other work options right now. I figured with the time off, I’d earned a mini-vacation so I brought them along to keep me entertained.” He smiled at the two of them. “Listen, we’ll let you get back to your breakfast.” He nodded to the girl watching them with a bored expression. “I don’t want to pull you away from your companion. Call me this week and we’ll all get together, Jamie too, and catch up.”

  “Sounds great, Brian. It’s good to see you, man.”

  As they stepped back out onto the boardwalk, Brian explained, “Jamie and Trevor have always been inseparable, definitely best friends. We all worked for Jamie’s dad in the construction company that he owned so we spent a lot of hours together over the years. Now Jamie runs the company and as I’m sure you noticed, Trevor works as a law enforcement officer for the forestry service. Maybe I should hit one of them up for a job. I’d love to live up here like they do.”

  Toni could see the allure of mountain living, but she didn’t like the idea of Brian moving so far away. When did she become so attached to him?

  At the end of the boardwalk was a coffee shop advertising free Wi-Fi. When Nathan spotted it, he asked. “Hey, is it okay if I grab my laptop out of the car and check in and do some work while you guys do the grocery shopping?”

  Brian frowned for a moment as he thought. “You can do that, but be sure not to do anything that could tip anyone off to where you’re located. No one. Remember, we have no idea who we can trust.”

  “Relax, Alpha. I can mask my stuff when I’m online. Besides, I didn’t see you playing it all coy-like with your friends in the bar.” He nodded back toward the restaurant.

  “That’s because none of them know you so they have no reason to try to kill you…yet.”

  “So you’re saying it’s my incredible charm that has people trying to kill us now?”

  “Something like that. Go on. It should be fine. You have probably thirty minutes while we get the groceries.” Brian threw the car keys to him and Nathan took off on a long-legged jog toward the car.

  * * *

  Brian glanced across the grocery store with interest. It didn’t look like too much had changed over the years. Thank God. The Mountaintop Grocers was a tiny little grocery store that served Snowcroft and the surrounding communities. As a teenager who could eat anything and everything while also burning calories like only manual labor could, Brian had spent his summers salivating and spending every spare dime here.

  The store didn’t carry a lot and what it did carry had incredibly inflated prices, but the bakery made it all worth it. Marge, the head baker, created pastry masterpieces. Smells of jelly and cream cheese-filled croissants, breads, doughnuts, and amazing pies emanated across the mountaintop town. Just thinking about those sweets had Brian’s mouth watering.

  As he stood at the counter trying to make a decision between the cherry and cream cheese croissants or the strawberry rhubarb pie, Toni laughed at his indecision.

  “Stop,” he scolded her. “This is serious business. You’ll completely understand my dilemma after you discover just how good everything tastes. After trying these today, you and Nathan are going to wake me up early tomorrow so we can get down here while the pastries are hot.”

  “Don’t let him fool you,” a man interrupted from behind them. “He’s definitely going to buy both.”

  Brian turned around in surprise. His friend from summers working in Snowcroft during college, Jamie was a tall, muscular guy with messy blond hair and smile lines in the corners of his eyes. He gave a short wave to the women behind the counter as he smirked at the two of them, before shaking Brian’s hand.

  “It just takes him a while to remember that he’s totally helpless against Marge’s temptations.”

  “It sounds like maybe you know him well.” Toni mused. “You wouldn’t happen to be Jamie, would you?”

  “Guilty as charged,” he said as he raised an eyebrow in question. “But should I be worried that my reputation precedes me?”

  Brian grinned at his friend as he unabashedly flirted with Toni. “You don’t need to worry too much. We just got into town so I haven’t had the chance to regale her yet with all your exploits. We just saw Trevor over in Loggers.”

  “So I guess you saw his latest bit of fluff, too. Man,” he shook his head, “I don’t know where he finds them. They’re gorgeous but as vacuous as a person can get and still be able to stand on two legs without assistance.” He turned his dimples to Toni again. “Unlike your gorgeous lady here. Who might you be, beautiful, and what are you doing with this guy?” He twisted his extended thumb at Brian.

  She giggled with a sidelong look at Brian. “I like him.” She nodded at Jamie, before reaching out to shake his hand. “I’m Toni.”

  Even though most women found Jamie extremely attractive, Toni was safer flirting with him than just about anyone else because Jamie was gay. In fact, Brian hoped while they were here he could get Nathan and Jamie together so Jamie could give the kid some advice on how to connect with other guys safely.

  Jamie looked as exhausted as Brian felt most of the time. His smile wasn’t reaching his eyes like it usually did. Were they running behind on a construction project or were there issues with the company? The normal smile lines that his eyes usually featured were marred by new stress lines and dark circles. Concerned, Brian asked, “Is everything going okay with you? I haven’t gotten many emails from you lately.”

  A guarded expression momentarily came over his face before he shuttered it with his normal smile. “Yeah, things are great.”

  Brian wasn’t buying it. “We’re getting some stuff for burgers to cook out tonight. Do you want to come over? Bring Trevor if he’s free, too.”

  Jamie grimaced. “Trevor probably has another hot date lined up with someone named Bambi or Candy, but I’ll ask him and I’ll definitely be there. What time?”

  Brian exchanged glances with Toni. With a shrug from her, he said, “How about six or six-thirty? We’re casual so whenever you want to show up is good.”

  “Can I bring anything?”

  “Nope, just bring your appetite and we should be set to go.”

  After saying goodbye’s to Jamie, they spent another thirty minutes filling up their grocery cart with enough groceries to get them through the week. Then they walked over to the Wi-Fi café to pick up Nathan. This was definitely one of the luxuries of small town life—everything within walking distance.

  Just as they got to the doorway, Nathan stormed out, running into Toni and knocking her to the ground before Brian could catch her.

  “Hey, careful
, kid. Where’s the fire?” Brian asked as he offered Toni a hand to pull her off the ground.

  “Fucking dammit,” Nathan growled. “I’m sorry, Toni. I didn’t see you there.” He ran his hand through his hair in an aggravated, helpless motion. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she said and began to brush off her ass.

  Brian assisted her. Well, it may have been more of an opportunity to just grope her a bit, but a guy had to take his opportunities where he could. He gave her a little squeeze and murmured, “Are you hurt anywhere?”

  “No, I’m fine.” She smirked at him. “I think my ass is clean, too, so you can stop brushing it off now.”

  “Are you sure? I think you may have missed a spot or two.” He gave her an exaggerated wink as he perused her ass once more.

  “I’m so happy this little vacation is working out so well for the two of you,” Nathan said angrily as he scowled at them. He took a deep breath as if trying to gain control of his temper before he threw up his arms in disgust and stomped down the boardwalk to the car.

  “What was that all about?” Brian asked.

  Toni frowned as she watched Nathan stalk off. “I’m guessing he didn’t get any good news. He has a computer client he’s been having issues with. Between that and having to take time off because of his broken arm and this situation, he’s dealing with a lot of stress. He’s barely making it financially. It won’t take many hits before he’s homeless. Come on. Let’s go talk to him and find out what happened. Maybe we can figure something out.”

  Brian reached around her and gave her a small hug. “We will figure something out.”

  When they got to the car, Nathan leaned up against it with his arms crossed.

  Brian silently unlocked the car and let him into the backseat where he continued to sulk. In the ten minutes it took to get to the cabin, nobody said anything, although Toni kept sending both of them worried looks. He tried to reassure her with a squeeze to her hand, but she pulled it away in deference to Nathan’s annoyance over their public displays of affection.