by Elle Keaton
“Yeah,” Miguel said. “I think Ed went a little overboard on this beginning-of-summer shindig.”
“Where’s Sara?” Evan asked. And true, where was she? Sara and her dad were very close. Besides, he thought Miguel and Sara had been seeing each other.
Miguel looked uncomfortable. “Uh, we’re kind of taking a break. She’s in Seattle visiting friends for the weekend. Ed still wanted me to come, wouldn’t take no for an answer. Irritating old man.”
A throat cleared; the “irritating old man” had managed to sneak up behind the four of them. “I’ve been called worse, and not by any of you, so being rude isn’t going to get you out of my party.”
Miguel rolled his eyes, looking up to the heavens, Sterling supposed, for patience and support.
“It’ll be fine, boy, you’re both adults. I like the both of ya. Well, I like Sara better, but that can’t be helped.” He turned to Buck. “Everything ready?” Buck nodded. “All right then.” Ed wandered away in the direction of the deck, muttering about “getting the meat on,” which made all four of them bust out laughing like hyenas.
Sterling thought there was something a little off about Buck’s laughter. Miguel must have thought so, too. He grabbed Buck and pulled him in close, tugging his head down and whispering in his ear. Buck seemed to need the contact, because he allowed Miguel to plaster himself all over him, nodding in response to what Miguel whispered. If Sterling hadn’t known that Buck belonged to Joey body and soul, he would have been confused. More confused. Apparently Miguel had no boundaries and zero issues with how (or who) he touched. It was astounding how quickly Buck settled.
“Where is Joey?” Sterling asked.
“At the hospital, he’ll be here as soon as his shift is over,” Buck answered, a little out of breath.
Buck managed to pull himself together, shaking off whatever it was that had put him near hysterics. They shot the breeze for a little while. Buck and Miguel were deep in negotiations for a larger shop space. Buck and Sterling bonded about the world’s most boring meetings, the dreaded Chamber of Commerce. Sterling had only been to one so far; luckily Buck had warned him to bring coffee. Sterling hadn’t regretted the choice of a quad Americano.
By this time many of the guests had migrated down to the yard, and Kon and Xena were playing fetch. Sterling thought he saw Mrs. James again, but he had watched her drive away, so that couldn’t be right. Most likely it was Ed’s current girlfriend. For an old guy, he sure got around.
Evan and Adam were talking about something Sterling wasn’t paying attention to; he was wrapped up in his own conversation with Buck and Miguel about the city plan to “revitalize” NOT. Neither of their businesses was affected, but the plan was half-baked at best.
Ed appeared from around the corner of the garage, Joey trailing behind him with Kon and the dog in tow. Sterling looked around, needing another beer, and his incredible boyfriend reappeared with a beer and a plate of chips. Sterling leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He couldn’t help himself, he immediately wanted more.
Somebody grabbed his ass. It wasn’t Evan, because his hands were full. Sterling glared at Miguel in astonishment. “What the fuck?”
“Pay attention.” Miguel nodded toward Buck, who once again had that sick look on his face. Sterling finally got a clue, but Miguel squeezed his ass again for good measure. Now Evan glared at him, too. Heh. Sterling snaked an arm around Evan’s waist, tugging him closer before snagging some chips.
“Joey?” Buck rasped out.
“Yeah? Buck, what’s wrong? Are you sick, do we need to go home?” Kon was pulling Joey’s hand in one direction and Xena was pulling the other.
Miguel ran a comforting hand down Buck’s back before stepping away. Buck took a deep breath before dropping to one knee.
Joey froze. He resembled a man being crucified, but Sterling thought guests would overlook that. And it had been Mrs. James he’d seen lurking by the garage.
“Joey James?”
“Uh, yeah?” Joey whispered.
Buck dug around in his jeans pocket and finally pulled out a small box. He flipped it open before continuing. The dog came rushing over to slobber all over him; Miguel grabbed her, but he wasn’t able to grab Kon, who vaulted into Buck. If the guy weren’t built like a Mack truck, he would have fallen over.
“Joey—” One hand held the box out, the other held onto Kon. “Will you marry me?”
Sterling had never thought he would see Joey at a loss for words. There was a palpable heartbeat of anxiety amongst the partygoers before Joey recovered himself.
“Oh my god, yes!”
Joey threw himself at Buck, who only just managed to push Kon to the side before his boyfriend/fiancé landed on his lap, passionately kissing him and crying at the same time.
“Yes, yes, yes!”
Sterling had to turn away from the sweetness. It really was too much. His boyfriend was right there next to him. He certainly wasn’t wiping his eyes.
Evan grinned. “You ever ask me in public like that, and I will snuff you.”
Huh, somehow that sounded like a challenge he could overcome. Grinning, he kissed the living daylights out of Evan until they both had to come up for air.
THE END
A Thank You From Elle
If you enjoyed reading Storm Season, No Pressure and Convergence Zone, I would greatly appreciate if you would let your friends know so they can experience Adam, Micah and the rest of the gang. As with all of my books, I have enabled lending on all platforms in which it is allowed to make it easy to share with a friend. If you leave a review for any of my books on the site from which you purchased the book, Goodreads or your own blog, I would love to read it! Email me the link at [email protected]
Also by Elle Keaton
Accidental Roots
Next in series
As Sure As the Sun
River Home
Hamarsson & Dempsey
Conspiracy Theory (book 1)
Available in ebook and audio
A Long Shadow (Book 2) coming soon
There are two winter time novellas based in the Accidental Roots world, The Northstar and Over the Hill. Northstar is before When it Rains and Over the Hill occurs after When it Rains.
Both can be read as standalones.
Trusting the Elements is a sweet instalove featuring Otto from River Home and is the first in the Never Too Late series.
About Elle
Elle hails from the northwest corner of the US known for, rain, rain, and more rain. She pens the Accidental Roots series, the Never Too Late series, and the Hamarsson and Dempsey series, all set in the Pacific Northwest. Elle is also chief cook and bottle washer, the one always asking ‘where are my keys and/or wallet’ and ‘why are there cats?’.
Elle loves both cats and dogs, Star Wars and Star Trek, pineapple on pizza, and is known to start crossword puzzles with ballpoint pen.
Thank you for supporting this Indie Author,
Elle
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