by Lynn Hagen
If left up to Snowball, he’d wiggle his nose and solve all of Harmon’s and Brady’s problems. But there were rules, and Snowball didn’t want to end up stuck behind a desk if he broke them.
For him, that would be a fate worse than death.
“I guess I’ll be on my way.” Snowball rose from his chair and made it disappear.
“Just don’t get caught again,” Peppermint warned. “Hawk isn’t someone you want to mess with.”
“And you keep an eye on your guys,” Snowball said.
He knew Peppermint’s presence wouldn’t really be needed. He had to let Harmon and Brady come together naturally. They were mates, after all. Once they laid eyes on each other, fate would do the rest. In his opinion, Peppermint’s assignment was far easier than his.
The two vanished from the cold shack. Snowball made his way to the Den to keep an eye on things. He might’ve been confident about his plan, but so many things could go wrong.
Especially when it came to dealing with shifters.
Chapter Three
Brady Tryniski cranked on the heat of the rental car as soon as he pulled away from the Hertz parking lot. He turned on the radio and hummed along to a familiar pop song as he navigated his Prius onto the main highway.
Nervous to see his parents for the first time in five years, he sang along with the song, belting out the lyrics to calm himself. He didn’t exactly have the best relationship with them, not since he’d come out and they’d flipped their damn lids. Brady and his parents got along just fine, as long as everyone acted as if their son wasn’t gay.
He stopped singing when the snow started falling harder, making him turn on his wipers and fully concentrate on driving.
“Not even heavy snow is going to dampen my mood,” he said out loud. “Bring it on, Mother Nature.” But not too much until I get where I’m going. Brady wasn’t sure if the Prius had snow tires and didn’t want to find out by sliding across the road and landing in a ditch.
That would be bad.
“Okay, don’t bring it on just yet.” He patted the steering wheel as though that would keep the snow at bay. He had eight miles to go before he reached his parents’ house, and Brady was already tired from his flight. He cranked the window down slightly to let in the cold air, hoping that would keep him awake.
Brady dug into his coat pocket when his phone rang, steering one-handed and trying his best not to hit any slippery patches. The road looked as though it had been salted, but the wetness was quickly freezing again.
“Brady’s BDSM Boutique. All of our operators are tied up right now. Leave a message, you bad, bad boy.”
Ronny snorted. “You’re not as funny as you think you are.”
“I’m hilarious. Just ask my sense of humor.” Brady put the call on speaker and set his cell phone on the seat next to him so he could drive with two hands.
“I was just calling to see how your flight went,” Ronny said. “Clearly your plane didn’t crash, like you said it would.”
Brady had been a bundle of nerves getting on the plane. He’d never flown before, and all he could imagine was hitting a flock of birds and his plane crashing. Statistics said it was the safest way to travel, but Brady had gripped his armrests the entire two-hour flight.
“How do you know I’m not lying in the wreckage and using my last breath to answer your call?”
“Because I hear music in the background. So, how was the flight? Did you hit any turbulence and piss your pants?”
“As a matter of fact, I joined the mile-high club.” Brady wished that were true. All the attendants had been female, and the person sitting next to him had been an elderly gentleman who kept burping and farting as he snored loudly.
Ronny hooted with laughter. “You lying prick. You didn’t get busy on the plane.”
“Okay, no. But it makes for a good story.”
“I’m also calling to see how you’re feeling,” Ronny said. “Maybe you should’ve called your mom and dad first before showing up. It’s not like you have the best relationship with them.”
“Things will be fine.” Again, they got along just as long as Brady didn’t show his rainbow colors, which he didn’t plan on doing. He was determined to have a nice holiday with them.
Brady slammed on his brakes when deer shot across the road. The last one kind of ambled, as though his ass was a bumper and he didn’t have the sense to hurry along.
“Shit!” His heart raced as the car spun around and now faced in the opposite direction.
“What is it?” Ronny asked. “What happened?”
If Brady’s heart wasn’t in his throat he might have been able to speak. He just sat there, trying to get his breathing back under control. From his rearview mirror Brady saw the last deer in the line stop to look at him, its eyes wide before it dashed away.
“Fucking deer,” Brady finally said.
“You didn’t spot one with a red nose, did you?”
“Fuck you.” Brady wiped at his forehead. He tapped the gas and managed to right the car before he slowly gained traction and was now heading in the right direction. “That wasn’t funny. I could’ve hurt them and damaged the car.”
He should have rented a huge Jeep that could handle these conditions, but Brady had tried to be environmentally friendly with the Prius.
“I forgot how treacherous winter is in these parts. I’m so ready to fly back to Tampa.”
That was where Brady had lived for the past five years. Five long miserable years. He’d initially gone there for reasons he didn’t want to think about right now. He’d ended up staying after meeting his best friend. He’d also ended up getting his heart broken by some hot jock named Joshua Remington.
A hot jock that Brady discovered was poking his dick into anything that moved. Brady was now a joke in the complex where he lived, and not only was this a trip to visit his parents but also a job-finding quest in Brac Village where they lived. If he could secure a job and a place to stay, Brady was packing his shit and leaving Tampa.
Ronny had even agreed to move with Brady. They were best friends, and he couldn’t imagine leaving Ronny behind.
“I’m gonna let you go,” Ronny said. “You need to concentrate on the road. Call me when you get to your folks’.”
“Kisses,” Brady said before he hung up. The rest of the drive was uneventful, and Brady was happy to see the sign welcoming him to Brac Village. As he drove down Main Street, childhood memories flooded him. Brady could recall a time when not so many businesses were around. The storefronts were decorated for Christmas, and he even spotted The Café where he’d spent a lot of time in his teenage years.
And the diner. Brady swore that place had been around when the galaxy first formed and wondered if Tangee was still a waiter there and if Keata still worked behind the counter. Did Heaven still own the hair salon, and did Johnny still work at The Café?
While he was home, Brady would have to spend a day in town, rediscovering all the places he loved. He pulled the Prius into his parents’ driveway and just sat there as his throat grew tight and tears prickled his eyes. God, he’d missed his mom and dad something awful, even if things were sometimes rocky between them.
Brady got out of his rental, cleared the lump from his throat, and approached the front door. The house was made of dark brick, and the attached shutters were black. A large pine bush was to the right of the three steps that led to the door.
Brady rang the bell, something he’d never done before, but he felt like a stranger as he stood in the cold and waited for someone to answer.
“I got it,” someone yelled from the other side. It was a deep, masculine voice, and Brady broke out into a smile. His dad. He couldn’t wait to lay eyes on him. But when the red door swung open, Brady was taken aback. Unless his dad had started aging backward, dyed his blond hair black, grown three inches—or more from how looming this stranger was—and bulked up considerably, this guy wasn’t his father.
“Can I help you?” The str
anger slid a gaze over Brady that made him feel hot and bothered, the kind of gaze that ignited the sheets. Perhaps Brady should’ve told his mom and dad that he was coming, but he’d wanted his visit to be a surprise. Now Brady was the one surprised as he stared at the lumberjack of a man waiting for Brady to respond.
“You look like the kid in the pictures hanging on the wall.” The guy cocked his head as a smile spread across his handsome face. “You Brady?”
Brady was hardly a kid any more. He was pushing twenty-six. But the guy standing in front of him looked to be in his mid to late thirties. “Do you mind?” He waved a hand to indicate he wanted to go inside. Although he didn’t mind staring at the handsome fella, Brady was freezing his balls off.
“Oh, yeah, sure.” The stranger stepped aside, giving Brady the room he needed to enter.
“I’m Harmon Andrews.” He stuck out his hand that looked big enough to be a paw. “I help out your dad from time to time.”
Brady mouthed Harmon’s name as he slid his hand into Harmon’s larger one. “It’s really nice to meet you.”
One solid, yet gentle pump and Harmon released Brady’s hand, but they didn’t release their gazes. It was an instant attraction for Brady. He felt something swell up in him as his breath hitched. The side of Harmon’s mouth curled into a half-smile. Brady blew out a small puff of air to calm his racing heart. He felt trapped in that mesmerizing blue gaze.
“Oh my god!” Brady’s mom squealed when she rounded the corner, pulling Brady’s attention from Harmon. Tears filled her eyes as she grabbed for him. “Is that really you, Brady?”
“Nope. I’m his twin, and I’ve come to steal your souls.” Brady harrumphed as his mom squeezed him so tightly that she might have cracked a few of his ribs. But he didn’t complain. It felt good to be in her arms. She even smelled the same. Lilacs. That scent comforted him in ways that nearly made him cry.
“Did you say Brady?” His dad’s voice boomed from the family room. A smile split his aging face, and his eyes became misty. He pulled Brady from his mom’s arms and hugged Brady even tighter, smelling like Old Spice. If this kept up, Brady’s lungs would collapse. His father might be in his sixties, but he still had a firm grip.
“Dad…can’t…breathe.” Brady felt the blood collecting in his head. If his dad didn’t let him go, any second Brad’s head would pop.
His mom smacked Brady with her tea towel as his dad finally released him. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming? The house is a mess, and I’m wearing this old dress.”
The house was immaculate, as always, and his mother looked beautiful. She had quite a few gray hairs since the last time he saw her, but she was still radiant.
“You don’t call often enough,” his dad groused as Brady forced himself not to steal glances at Harmon. Their happy reunion would be ruined if his dad saw him trying to check out the lumberjack. “Your job keeping you that busy?”
Brady wished that were the case. Ronny had given him the money for a plane ticket, and Brady was surviving off his savings, which was quickly dwindling.
“What’s that smell?” Brady changed the subject before his dad could ask more questions about a job he no longer had. “I’m starving for some of your cooking, Ma.”
“Why don’t you put your suitcase in your old bedroom and I’ll make you a bowl of my famous stew.”
“I left my bag in my car,” Brady said as his mom hurried away.
“I’ll get it for you,” Harmon said.
When he stepped outside, Brady turned to his father. “Who’s your new friend?”
Not that Brady cared. Nope, not one bit. He hadn’t returned home to get laid. He needed to go job hunting right away so he and Ronny could move.
His dad looked toward the door, something akin to sadness in his eyes. “Harmon lost his wife of ten years this past spring. He’s retired but tries to stay busy by being the town’s handyman. I think it’s his way of keeping his mind off his loss. He’s helping me do some rewiring around the house.”
The guy was way too young to be retired, but Brady didn’t comment. It was none of his business.
“That’s so sad,” Brady said. It also meant the guy was straight. That was good since Brady didn’t have time to crush on the older man. He had a goal to complete while he was there, and he didn’t need any distractions.
* * * *
Brady decided to go for drinks after dinner. It was nice being home, but he was used to the fast-paced life in Tampa, and get real, Brac Village was as slow as any small town could get. Laid back and quiet wasn’t what he wanted. Besides, getting out would help Brady rediscover his hometown and help him look for job prospects.
There was a bar called Black Forest wedged between two businesses, and the place looked fairly new as he stepped inside. Brady hadn’t remembered Black Forest being here the last time he’d been in town.
Just as he took a seat at the booth, his phone rang.
“What’ll you have?” the bartender asked. He looked faintly familiar, but Brady couldn’t quite place him.
“For now I’ll just take a bottled Budweiser.” No sense getting wasted if he was gonna job hunt. After showing his ID, he pulled his phone from his back pocket and answered, “Brady’s Gay Emporium. We slick ’em, you dick ’em.”
His dad would’ve had a heart attack if he’d heard Brady say that.
“I’ll take two slicked-up hotties,” Ronny said with a chuckle. “How did you settle in, pumpkin?”
“My folks were glad to see me.” Brady rubbed his side, remembering the bear hugs both of them had given him. “My mom had stew in the crockpot. I forgot how much her cooking is to die for. You missed out on a masterpiece.”
“Well, my mom ditched me when I was born, and you don’t get loving meals like that being bounced around foster care. At least I never did. Have you started job hunting yet?”
Brady smiled his appreciation and set a five on the counter when the bartender brought him his bottle of beer. “Just got out of the house. It’s late evening, so a lot of the businesses are closing up for the night. It would probably be best if I started fresh in the morning.”
As Brady took a swig of his beer, he noticed a table-sized Christmas tree on the counter behind the bar. It was even lit up like an actual tree, small star on top included.
“I should’ve come with you,” Ronny said.
“And we agreed I’d feel things out before you board a plane and bring your ass here. Besides, there aren’t any nightclubs for you to hit. You’d be bored out of your skull.”
And Brady’s dad would’ve thought Ronny was his boyfriend. Talk about an explosive welcome home. Brady cringed at the thought of his dad going nuclear over seeing Ronny with him.
“There’s that,” Ronny said. “But if I’m going to move there, I need to get used to living in the boonies.”
Brac Village wasn’t quite the boonies. It was a quaint little town surrounded by a vast forest, but there was plenty to do if you weren’t a party boy like Ronny.
Brady kept that to himself.
“Why do I hear country music in the background?” Ronny gave a small growl. “Are you in a bar?” His best friend cursed. “Tell me you’re not in a damn bar, Brady.”
With one hand holding his phone to his ear, Brady used the other to slowly twirl his bottle around. After finding out Joshua was nothing more than the world’s biggest horndog and couldn’t keep it in his pants, Brady had hit rock bottom, getting wasted almost every night to forget that the man he loved didn’t love him back.
It had been Ronny who had picked Brady off the floor on more than one occasion. It had been Ronny who had held Brady while Brady balled his eyes out. It had been Ronny who had gotten Brady on the wagon and had kept him there ever since.
“Just one beer,” Brady admitted, feeling ashamed that his first thought after dinner was to get a drink. “I’m celebrating coming home.”
“Oh, honey. It always starts out that way. Just one drink. But we both
know one drink turns into ten. We also know you don’t handle your alcohol very well.”
“Just one. I promise.” Brady made kissing noises into his phone. “I’m gonna hang up before you give me an hour-long lecture.”
“Don’t you dare hang—”
Brady ended the call and stuffed his phone into his pocket. He removed his coat and set it on the stool next to him as he listened to the jukebox and the light din of conversations all around him. Some sports game was playing on the television mounted behind the bar, the sound muted. Brady grabbed a handful of pretzels and munched on them as he thought of Harmon.
“Don’t you dare start mooning over a straight guy,” he chastised himself. Brady had done that when he’d first arrived in Tampa, and as you guessed, it had been disastrous.
Brady heard some good-natured laughing behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw some guys at a booth having a seemingly good time. But that wasn’t what caught his attention.
It was the guy in the next booth over. Harmon. He sat there with a mug of beer in front of him, staring into the liquid as though it had all of life’s answers.
Brady turned back around. “Don’t you dare go over there. Have your one beer and get out of here.”
Unfortunately, Brady never learned, because he grabbed his bottle, and his coat, and headed to Harmon’s booth. “Mind if I take a seat, Mr. Andrews?”
When Harmon looked up, Brady became lost in his dark blue eyes.
Chapter Four
Harmon had seen Brady coming toward him, but that still didn’t prepare him for the insane fluttering in his gut or the way his heart pounded heavily in his chest as he focused on his mate walking his way.
He scraped his teeth over his bottom lip as he stared up at Brady. “By all means, have a seat.” Harmon waved his hand at the empty space across from him. “What brings you here tonight?”