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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Gray

Emory arrived at six thirty, dressed in ripped jeans, a tight T-shirt, and a smile that tempted me to take him straight upstairs. It was a far cry from how he’d looked at the bank this morning, tense and contained in a business suit.

“C’mere.” I tugged him over the threshold and into a kiss. I cupped his face, angling his head so I could sweep my tongue deep. He swayed toward me, hands gripping my shirt on either side of my ribs.

“Bro, really?” Bailey said. “You’re corrupting my innocent eyes over here.”

We broke apart. Emory’s face glowed with a blush of arousal, and his chest rose and fell with quickened breath. We’d just hooked up last night, but I couldn’t get enough of him.

“It’s not my fault Emory turned up looking good enough to eat.”

“Business first,” Holden said, emerging from the back hall. He’d dressed down into the sweats and hoodie style I remembered from his teenage days. “I’ll give Emory a tour so we can figure out if this loan will work.”

“But—”

“You finish dinner,” he said. “I don’t trust you not to take Emory straight to your bedroom and give him a tour of something else.”

Bossy as ever. The fucker.

Bailey choked on a laugh while Emory blushed furiously. I shrugged. “Sorry not sorry?”

“Let’s start outside,” Holden suggested, ignoring me. “We just gave the house a new paint job a few months ago, so the exterior is in pretty good condition. You’ll see…”

His voice trailed off as he led Emory outside, closing the door behind him. I returned to the kitchen, where I’d put chicken enchiladas in the oven.

I whipped up a batch of Spanish rice on the stovetop, listening as Holden and Emory came back inside, then headed down the hall. This was an old farmhouse, so it was sturdy and spacious, but it was hardly the most updated home.

Holden and Emory returned just as I was taking the enchiladas out of the oven. The tour hadn’t taken long, but that wasn’t surprising. We had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, and an eat-in kitchen. There wasn’t much else to see.

I’d mostly used it as an excuse to invite Emory over tonight. I’d wanted to see him again after the bank visit—and make sure he hadn’t taken too much heat from his father about it.

I could have just asked him for another hookup, but we’d already had two in three days. I didn’t want to scare him off with too much intensity. Emory was still figuring himself out, and that meant he needed some time to process.

“Dinner is ready.” I transferred the rice to a serving bowl. “Hope you like Tex-Mex.”

“Love it,” Emory said. “Thanks.”

“Is Axel coming over?” I asked Holden.

“He’s already here,” Axel said from the living room. Taz and Sugar trotted along at his side. The other dogs I’d seen at the junkyard must have stayed home.

“Oh, cute.” Emory turned and crouched, holding out a hand. “Hey there?—”

“Don’t,” I said, rushing forward.

But it was too late. Taz reached Emory before me, and…licked his hand? Let him pet him?

“What the hell, man?” I said indignantly.

Axel chuckled. “Taz likes him. That means Emory is trustworthy.”

“And I’m not?”

Axel shrugged one shoulder, blue eyes fixed on Emory as he obliviously scratched behind the little demon’s ears. “I don’t make the rules.”

I didn’t like the flicker of interest in Axel’s face. When Emory straightened, I took his arm. “Let me show you where you can wash up. Bailey, set the table.”

“Why me?” Bailey protested.

“Because you’re a brat,” Axel suggested.

“Yeah, well, better a brat than a cocky bastard.”

“Not really,” Axel said, unfazed, which only made Bailey sputter with indignation.

I led Emory toward the hall bathroom, ignoring my brothers’ bickering. As soon as we stepped inside, I pushed him against the door and kissed him long and hard again.

“Gray—” he started.

I dropped to my knees and undid his jeans.

“Oh god,” he murmured as I drew out his cock and fell on it like a starving man.

Now was not the time to be doing this, but my self-restraint broke the second Axel eyed up Emory like a guy he could take for a test drive. Emory was doing this with me , nobody else. I was the one helping him navigate his bisexuality.

Still, I had to make this quick. I pulled out all my tricks, taking him deep into my throat, working him hard and fast with tight suction. Emory gripped my hair, giving in to the urge to yank me down on his dick, to make me take him deeper. I relaxed my throat and took the face fucking until his thighs tensed.

I raised my hand to cover his mouth, and he sucked two of my fingers in, eyes slipping closed with bliss as he came down my throat with a muffled whimper. Damn, it was sexy. I was hard as hell in my jeans, but there was no time to do anything about it.

I rose to my feet and washed my hands, then cupped them to slurp some water to rinse away the taste of his cum. Emory tucked himself away and joined me in front of the sink to wash up too. “What was that about?”

“You’re just too sexy, golden boy.” I winked. “I’ll see you out there.”

I slipped out before he could question my motives further. Emory didn’t need to know that I was a possessive, jealous idiot.

The farmhouse had a large kitchen that contained a rectangular table large enough to seat six. I took a seat across from Axel and Bailey and to the left of Holden, who sat at the head of the table.

Axel eyed me with a smirk. “Did you give him a tour of the pipes?”

“His pipes, maybe,” Bailey muttered.

“Shut up. I don’t want you to embarrass Emory when he gets back.”

“At least one of you has some shame,” Axel said with a grin. “’Cause it sure isn’t you.”

“Like you have any?” Holden said. “Remember that time I had to bail your ass out for fighting with a woman’s husband?”

“In my defense, he threw the first punch. It wasn’t my fault his wife was flirting with me.”

“Oh, I’m sure it was your fault,” Bailey said with a snicker. “You’re always on the prowl, and everyone knows it.”

I leaned in, eyes on my brother. “Just keep your prowling away from Emory.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Feeling threatened?” A cocky smile overtook his face. “Is that why you?—”

“Enough,” Holden said. “Emory is all that stands between us and foreclosure, so let’s be fucking grown-ups tonight, all right?”

“Killjoy,” Axel muttered.

Emory emerged from the hallway and pulled the chair out beside me. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “We were just talking shop.”

“These enchiladas look great,” Emory said with a smile. “Thanks for dinner. I really appreciate it.”

Holden picked up the casserole dish and served himself two enchiladas. He passed it along to me. One by one, we served ourselves, then passed around the bowl of Spanish rice as well.

“So, you got the tour,” I said. “What do you think? Does the house value cover us?”

Emory chewed and swallowed. “Mm, yeah. Based on the county assessment and what I saw tonight, I’d say we should have no problem there. The house is solid and well maintained. The next step will be evaluating the debt-to-income ratio.”

“So like, money in and money out?” Bailey asked.

“Exactly.” Emory cut another bite of his enchilada, unaware that he had a rapt audience now. “You need to bring in enough income to cover your expenses, including the loan payment.”

I exchanged a look with Holden, wondering just how tight the business had been running. We’d have to make it work somehow, even if we cut some other expenses.

Time to change the subject. “So, Bailey, no Nova tonight? I thought you two hung out every Monday?”

Bailey shifted uncomfortably. “We’re kind of fighting.”

“What did you do?” Holden asked, sounding like a strict father.

Bailey scowled. “Why do you assume I did something?”

“Because Nova is sweet as pie,” Axel said. “That girl is too good to you. Especially since you never take her anywhere nice.”

Bailey rolled his eyes. “I don’t need advice from you, thanks.”

“So, Nova is your girlfriend?” Emory asked.

The table fell silent. Everyone looked to Bailey. Huh. I hadn’t asked that question when I arrived because I wasn’t sure how to read their relationship. I’d only picked up on friend vibes, but I could hardly claim to know my brother well after being gone so long.

But it seemed I wasn’t the only one in doubt.

Bailey shrugged. “She’s just…I don’t know. We don’t label it.”

“Sorry,” Emory said. “I didn’t mean to be nosy.”

“You’re not nosy,” Holden said. “Bailey’s just private about stuff like that. We’re all here, ready to listen, when he’s ready to share.”

Bailey squirmed in his chair. He muttered something under his breath.

“What was that?” I asked.

“Nova’s not my girlfriend.”

“Oh. Okay. That’s cool.”

“But I…I let people think she’s my girlfriend sometimes,” Bailey said quietly. “That’s why we’re fighting. She doesn’t want me to do that anymore.”

“Do you want her to be your girlfriend?” Axel asked. “You could just?—”

“That’s not it,” I said, certainty filling me. “Bailey doesn’t want to date Nova. He just doesn’t want to answer questions, so it’s convenient to let them think he does. Am I right?”

“I guess,” Bailey said, gaze flicking to me. “How did you deal with that? When you were my age, I mean?”

“Not well. You know how I ran away.”

Emory’s gaze fixed on me. “What happened back then?”

“Dallas,” I said. “Yeah, I made the mistake of trusting him too. Small towns, right?”

Emory’s eyes widened. “Holy crap, I didn’t know you two had history.”

“Yeah, my old man caught us.” I saw the realization on Emory’s face that the memory I’d wanted to rewrite was about Dallas, same as his. I looked back to Bailey. “But that won’t happen to you. No one will chase you away, kid. You know that, right?”

He chewed his lip. “Yeah, but…it still sets me apart. Makes people see me differently. If I was, I mean. I’m not saying I am.”

“We wouldn’t see you any differently,” Holden said.

“Yeah, you’ll always be a spoiled brat,” Axel said, tussling his hair and making Bailey duck away with a glare.

“I understand how you feel, though,” Emory said quietly. “I worry about it too. Everyone expects me to be a certain way. If I’m not who they think I am, do they know me at all? Will they still like me?”

I took hold of Emory’s hand under the table, squeezing it. “It can be lonely,” I admitted. “But it’s easier when you’re out. When there are no more secrets. It’s like this heavy burden is gone.”

“How can you say that after what happened with Dad?” Bailey asked. “Was it better you had to leave?”

“No. No, of course it wasn’t. That killed me. But after that day, I was done hiding. And there’s a freedom in that. I no longer had to worry what people thought about me, whether they figured out I’d stared at a cute guy too long, if they were going to tell my secret. I could just be me.”

“Your brothers are supportive,” Emory told Bailey. “You’re lucky to have that.” He hesitated. “I think I should go and let you all talk privately.”

“We didn’t mean to chase you off,” Holden said.

Emory pushed back his chair. “That’s all right. I’ve got an early morning. It was really nice seeing you all together.” His voice grew tight. “You’re lucky, Bailey, to have so many brothers. There’s no one who will ever be more loyal.”

I followed him to the door. “I’m sorry we dragged out our family business in front of you. We’ve got no filters when we’re together.”

“Oh, don’t apologize,” Emory said. “I love how close you all are. It must be nice…to have one another.”

“It is, yeah.” I smiled as I opened the door for him. “I really missed them when I was gone.”

“Of course you did.” Emory stepped outside. “Tell Holden I’ll be in touch about getting a look at the books, okay?”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks for speaking up for us today. I could tell your dad wasn’t thrilled with the idea.”

Emory swallowed. “Yeah. I need this to work, Gray. For all of us. Dad is giving us this chance, but there won’t be any others. And I really can’t let him down. I owe him better than that.”

“You owe him? You use that word a lot.”

He looked down. “I just mean, he’s trusting and relying on me, you know?”

“I understand.” I cupped his chin, lifting his eyes to meet mine. “We don’t want to let you down either, golden boy. We owe you for giving us a chance.” I echoed his words about his dad. “You’re trusting and relying on us, and we won’t forget that.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean?—”

I kissed the protest from his lips. “You’re too hard on yourself, sweetheart.”

His eyes widened a fraction at the endearment. Shit. I was doing a piss-poor job of keeping this casual. I kissed him again, deeper, so he’d forget what I said.

When I drew back, his eyes were glazed. I brushed my thumb over his damp lower lip, my cock thickening in my pants. Emory had to go, though, and I needed to get back to the kitchen to be there for Bailey.

Regretfully, I stepped back. “Have a good night.”

I returned to the table, where my brothers were scarfing down the last of the enchiladas.

“What did I miss?”

“Nothing. Bailey clammed up again,” Axel said.

“Don’t rush him.” I retook my seat. “He doesn’t have to say anything if he doesn’t want to. Bailey is Bailey. Nothing will change either way.”

That seemed to be what he needed to hear. Bailey exhaled, then looked me in the eye.

“I’m gay,” he said.

“Me too. Welcome to the club.”

“Seriously?” Axel wound an arm around Bailey’s neck and rubbed his knuckles over his head. “I’ve waited patiently for years for you to tell me, and you come out to Gray ? I was robbed!”

“Way to make it all about you!” Bailey yelled, fighting him off, but he was laughing.

Holden pushed his chair back and started gathering dishes. “I’m glad you told us.” He flashed his wrist tattoo of the infinity sign. “Foster Bro Code. We always have one another’s backs. No matter what.”

I rubbed my thumb over the blank spot on my inner wrist, a sense of loss washing over me. I wished I could have gotten the tattoo alongside them.

But the ink on my brother’s wrists was testament to my failure. They’d solidified their bond without me.

“Thanks, guys,” Bailey said when Axel released him. “Especially you, Gray.”

Surprise flared. “Me?”

Axel shot me an aggrieved look but kept feeding scraps off his plate to Sugar and Taz without commenting.

“Thanks for coming out to us the other night. I couldn’t have done it if I didn’t see you do it first.”

“No problem, kid. I’ve had some practice with it by now.”

He nodded. “I also, uh, want to say I’m really sorry for how our dad treated you when he found out. It hurts to know he’d have treated me that way, too.”

“He’s an asshole,” Axel growled. “You shouldn’t care what the old man would think.”

“I know that,” Bailey said sharply. “But you don’t know what it’s like.”

“I know he doesn’t deserve a second thought from any of us.”

“Axel,” Holden said. “Come help me with the dishes.”

“But—”

“Now,” he said.

With a huff of annoyance, Axel stood and grabbed his plate, carrying it to the sink. His dogs trailed him, hopeful for a few more treats.

When we were alone at the table, Bailey slumped in his chair. “He doesn’t get it.”

“I know,” I said. “I’m sorry you know how the old man reacted. Maybe it would have been different with you, though. A lot of years went by.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. But…is it wrong if I say I’m kind of glad you left without telling us why? I know Axel was really hurt. But if I’d known, it would have been so much worse.”

“I get that,” I said, “and I’m glad my leaving served someone. I hate that I hurt you guys. I thought I was doing the right thing, but at the end of the day, I haven’t been here. I got abandoned by my parents, you know? I never thought I’d be the one doing the abandoning.”

“You weren’t,” Bailey said. “He made you go.”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

Didn’t stop the guilt and regret, though.

Bailey held up his wrist, tapping the tattoo there. “You’re still part of this, you know? I saw your expression when Holden brought it up. You should get the tattoo. Because you never broke the pact, not really. When you left, you saved me from seeing Dad’s hate. From hating myself. You know?”

My throat went tight. Bailey was giving me a hell of a lot of credit. I didn’t know that he was gay when I left. I’d wanted to save my brothers from being pulled into the mess, yes, but I’d also been afraid of what they’d think of me. Afraid they’d think like our old man.

And that had been a major failing on my part. I should have trusted in them the way they’d trusted in me.

I wanted the tattoo they all wore, wanted it badly. But I wouldn’t get it. Not when I hadn’t earned it.