Guilt washed over Danny’s features, and he dropped his gaze.
“Oh God. I forgot about that.” He took a ragged breath. “I’m so sorry, I was just so mad. I don’t know why I even went in there—”
“It’s okay, Danny,” his mom said, leaning forward to wrap her hand around his forearm. “Don’t worry about it now.”
“When we got the report about what your father had said to you in Monroe’s,” the sheriff continued, “added to the fact he left the bar not long after you, it seemed logical he was responsible for your disappearance.”
“He was so drunk he couldn’t remember what he’d done after he’d left the bar,” Jake picked up. “In the end, when he realized Detective Stevens was convinced he was guilty, he asked for a lawyer and we thought that was it.”
Danny looked up at him, eyes widening. “You’d given up finding me alive?”
“Not Jake,” the sheriff answered, a note of pride in his voice. “Jake wasn’t going to give up until he got you back, Danny. He’s the reason we found you in time. I’m only sorry I didn’t listen to him sooner.”
“Jake is a pretty smart guy.” Danny offered him a thin smile. “First thing I learned: it’s always a good idea to listen to him.”
Danny closed his eyes and leaned into him, so Jake wrapped both arms around him, hugging him into his chest.
“Thank you for saving me,” Danny said in a quiet voice, muffled against his chest.
He cupped Danny’s cheeks and gently brought his head up so he could look into those beautiful blue eyes. “I love you, Danny. How could I do anything else?”
Danny’s breath hitched, joy quickly chasing the disbelief that’d crossed his face.
“I love you too, Jake, like I’ve never loved anyone else.”
Heart tripping over itself, Jake leaned in and kissed him chastely, but with all the emotion overflowing inside him. Danny sighed against his lips, and he couldn’t wait to get him out of this hospital and find some kind of normal together.
As he pulled back, there was another knock on the door and he glanced up to see a nurse standing there.
“Sorry, folks. Visiting time is over. Danny needs to rest that head.”
They all murmured their agreements before the nurse smiled and left again.
“I’ll come see you tomorrow, Danny.” The sheriff affectionately squeezed Danny’s ankle through the blankets. “I’m glad you’re okay, son. Think my heart never would’ve recovered if we’d lost you.”
Hayes didn’t wait for a reply but quickly bid Danny’s mom a quiet goodbye and then hurried out, probably because of the tears that’d been gathering in his eyes.
Joyce stood and moved over to the bed, leaning down to kiss Danny on the cheek and pat his head like he was a four-year-old. Danny simply smiled up at her and settled deeper into the pillows, clearly enjoying the coddling in this instance. She left with a promise to bring him something to eat later so he didn’t have to suffer the hospital food.
Once they were alone, Danny caught his hand again.
“I’ll go home and get some of your things,” he said, remembering Danny had packed all of his stuff and left it at his house with the intention of staying with the sheriff until he sorted things out. “Or, I could just bring it all here for when you’re released so the sheriff can take it—”
“Or.” Danny’s interruption held a note of hesitation. “You could just leave it all there at your house.”
For a second he stared at Danny, not comprehending. And when his brain finally sorted out the unspoken question, he tightened his hold on Danny’s hand, heart leaping.
“Sorry, if you don’t want to—” Danny lowered his gaze. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
Obviously he’d taken too long to answer and Danny had interpreted his silence as a negative.
“Leaving it there sounds like an awesome idea.” He sat on the edge of the bed again as Danny snapped his attention back to him.
“Really?” Danny asked, almost giddy with happiness, which Jake wasn’t sure might be good for his head injury.
“Really.” He set Danny’s hand down and kissed his forehead. “But right now, you need to get some rest. Doctor’s orders.”
He went to get up, but Danny caught his wrist. “Will you stay a few extra minutes? Just until I fall asleep.”
Jake glanced at the door, hoping the nurse wouldn’t come back and chase him out. But then he realized he was so damn tired himself, he didn’t care. It’d been thirty-two hours since he’d last slept, and he honestly didn’t even know how he was going to get home at this point.
“There’s a good chance I’m going to fall asleep long before you,” he told Danny as he toed off his boots.
Danny scooted over to make room for him in the narrow bed, and Jake tiredly climbed up to settle next to him. Danny snuggled up against his side, their arms wrapping tight around each other.
“What if the nurse comes back to kick you out?” Danny asked around a yawn.
“Since I’ll be completely unconscious with sleep, I’d like to see her try,” he mumbled in reply, the simple act of closing his eyes already dragging him under fast.
They probably still had a few things to sort out, but right in this moment, everything in his life was more perfect than he’d even imagined it could be.
Epilogue
DANNY GLANCED up from pouring a drink to look across the bar as Jake sauntered toward him. He passed the glass over the counter and took the money with a distracted “thanks” as the lady he was serving turned back to the friend she was chatting with.
Jake was in uniform and it was the middle of the afternoon, so he probably had a few hours left on his shift. But his boyfriend had made a habit of stopping in to see him at work whenever he happened to be passing by since he’d started at Monroe’s a few weeks back. Surprisingly, old man Murphy had handed over complete management to him, allowing him free rein with his ideas to freshen the place up and improve service. He was making the changes gradually, however. He knew the people around Everness; they didn’t like change, so he’d have to ease them into it.
Having an openly gay bartender who was dating one of the town’s deputies was shocking enough for most people. He’d worried about the impact it might have on the business if people started refusing to come. Old man Murphy had waved him off and said anyone who was idiot enough to let that stop them drinking his beer, then he didn’t want their money. Considering Monroe’s was the only bar in town, they otherwise had to go dry, which possibly overrode some people’s reservations.
Jake reached the bar and Danny set the ice-cold glass of water on the counter, same thing Jake always had when he stopped in while he was on duty.
His boyfriend, however, apparently wasn’t here only for the delicious generic bottled water they served, because he leaned up on the bar, grabbed a handful of Danny’s shirt, and tugged him in for a thorough kiss.
“What was that for?” he asked—a little breathlessly, which made his cheeks get warm—when Jake finally released him.
“I was just thinking about what we got up to in the shower before I left for work this morning.” Jake sent him a wicked grin, and his face got even hotter. He snatched up Jake’s cold water and took a long gulp, leaving Jake laughing.
“What time do you finish tonight?” Jake asked, slipping the water from his hand and shifting to sit on the stool.
“Seven,” he replied, wiping a towel over the damp ring left by the glass on the shiny wood he’d recently had reglossed.
“How’s the new menu working out? I might meet you here and we can grab a burger together.”
He nodded to where some people nearby were eating cheese fries and onion rings. “Seems to be going over well. Gina said she was coming in after work as well, so we can make it a threesome.”
Jake’s lips quirked into a smile. “She wishes.”
“Don’t encourage her.” He pointed a finger at his boyfriend. “She’s bad enough as it is.”
Jake shrugged carelessly and downed the rest of the water, gaze sober when he looked at him again. Danny knew what was coming next, even before Jake said anything.
“Did you see him?” Jake asked in a low voice.
He nodded, focusing on the towel in his hands for a moment to keep control of his emotions. “We came to an agreement. A lot quicker than I thought we would.”
He’d gone to a kind of mediator meeting with his father that morning. His dad had surprisingly agreed not to press charges against him for trashing the garage and also agreed to leave him alone, so Danny didn’t need to take out the restraining order against him. His father didn’t apologize for threatening to kill him, or hitting him the night he’d found out the truth. Although Danny had already come to terms with things, he’d left the meeting with the distinct impression his relationship with his father was completely over. They’d probably never speak to each other again.
In some ways, it felt like he’d lost someone, like he was in mourning. But it was the relationship he wished he’d had with his father he was missing: the loss of hope they might eventually find common ground or he could do something to make his father proud. Now he could see that was never going to happen, and it’d left a hole inside him. No doubt it’d heal eventually, especially with the love of people like Jake, his mom, Gina, and the sheriff. Alan had offered to be the older man Danny could turn to whenever he needed advice or anything else. Though he hadn’t said the words directly, he understood the sheriff was offering to be the father he’d never had in the man who’d raised him. It wasn’t such a stretch; there’d been plenty of times Alan had been more fatherly toward him than his own dad had been.
Interestingly enough, the sheriff had also been there for his mom through her mastectomy and recovery. He told himself he was just imagining things, considering his mom had just ended things with his dad like five minutes ago, but he sensed there was something growing between them. Maybe there’d been something there for a long while, but circumstances had kept them apart. Whatever the case, Danny just wanted his mom to be happy. Just like he’d found his own happiness.
Jake’s hand on his brought him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to find Jake’s hazel eyes staring at him with so much love and warmth, it made his stomach flip over.
“I’m sorry how it ended, Danny. I know you were hoping for something else.” Jake’s voice was gentle but firm, and all the reassurance he needed. “But if that’s the way he wants to be, then I’m glad he’s out of our life. You have plenty of people who love you without him.”
“I know.” He turned his hand in Jake’s grip to press their palms together. “Still don’t know what I did to deserve you.”
The last few weeks since he’d gotten out of the hospital and gone home with Jake, his life had become utter bliss. They went to bed together every night, slept sated and tangled together, and woke up in each other’s arms every morning. Shared breakfast, talked about the most mundane things like grocery shopping and mowing the lawn and upcoming town events and their jobs and he loved every minute of it. They’d talked about eventually leaving Everness; Jake was thinking about going into specialized policing like SWAT instead of the FBI, and Danny still wanted to own his own business one day, but he figured he could do that wherever Jake was. For now, they’d decided to stay in town because Jake was happy getting experience with Sheriff Hayes, and Danny was happy managing Monroe’s, plus they’d agreed that while his mom’s health was still under question, it was better to stay close by.
Jack reached up and touched his fingers to his chin. “I keep telling you it’s the other way around.”
He grinned, since they had already had this conversation several times over. “Let’s just agree that we’re both lucky.”
“Hell yeah, we are,” Jake said with a grin. He leaned in for another kiss, quick but tender. “I’ll see you after shift.”
“Careful out there,” he murmured in reply, something he’d gotten into the habit of saying.
“With you to come home to? Always.” Jake pushed off from the bar and sent him one last smile before sauntering back out, waving to some of the patrons he’d become friendly with.
Danny stood watching after him for a moment, unable to believe how amazing his life had become in such a short amount of time.
“When you’re done mooning over that cop boyfriend of yours, need inventory done on the beer,” old man Murphy grumbled, appearing seemingly from nowhere and startling Danny. He was damned good at it and definitely enjoyed sneaking up on him all the time.
“Sure thing,” he replied with a wide smile, going to get the book they kept records in.
“Lord save me from young love.” Murphy made an exaggerated gagging noise. “Get on with you, now.”
Danny gave a low laugh and went out the back to do the inventory, thinking back over the last few weeks. He still hadn’t done anything about replacing his pickup truck, but he couldn’t be too sorry about crashing it that day. Not when it’d put him directly into Jake’s path.
And despite the rough beginning, he had absolutely no doubt it was the path he was meant to be on, Jake the only one he wanted to share the journey with.
JESS ANASTASI has been making up stories ever since she can remember. Though her messy handwriting made it hard for anyone else to read them, she wasn’t deterred, and now she gets to make up stories for a living. With a multi-award-winning science fiction romance series to her name, her books feature larger-than-life heroes with relatable vulnerabilities who find themselves in situations that push their resolve to the limit. Jess is a tea addict who loves loud music, dancing in her kitchen, and a good book on a rainy day. A fangirl at heart, she probably spends too much time watching too many TV shows. Jess lives in regional Victoria, Australia. Find out more about Jess and her upcoming releases at www.jessanastasi.com.
By Jess Anastasi
TEXAS HEROES
Take Down
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Take Down
© 2019 Jess Anastasi
Cover Art
© 2019 Kanaxa
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Mass Market Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64108-157-3
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64405-222-8
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64405-221-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019900691
Digital published July 2019
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America
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