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CHAPTER THREE

Gray

“Pizza’s here!” Axel called from downstairs.

I rolled out of the full-size bed that barely fit into my old attic bedroom, where I’d been cooling my jets and answering texts from my friends back in Swallow Cove.

Cash checked in to see if I’d arrived okay and sent me a photo of his boyfriend, Declan, working in the greenhouse I’d helped build over the summer. One of my coworkers, Sawyer, begged me to return to Swallow Adventure boat tours next year.

At least I’d have options when I left here. I didn’t stay anywhere too long, but Swallow Cove had been nice. Friendly. Good people, if a little redneck. But hell, Riverton, Nebraska, wasn’t really a center of cultural sophistication either.

I ducked under the sloped ceiling, learning my lesson after I’d bashed my brains on my way in earlier.

Apparently, I’d tacked on a few inches after age seventeen, because damn, the ceiling and walls sure all seemed a lot closer than they used to be.

I stepped through the doorway, straightening up with a sigh of relief, and took the steps two at a time.

Axel was in the living room, two pizza boxes stacked on his forearm.

“Did you get a Hawaiian?” Bailey asked, entering the room with damp hair curling at the edges. “Nova’s coming over, and you know how she likes pineapple.”

“Shouldn’t you be the one eating the pineapple?” Axel joked, a grin flashing across his face that changed his whole countenance from hellion to boy next door. “You know, for all the BJs you’re getting from your girlfriend .”

There was an odd note of challenge to his words.

Bailey rolled his eyes. “You’re hilarious.”

Axel smirked. “Just looking out for ya, baby bro.”

Neither of my brothers had so much as looked my way. I cleared my throat. “So, uh, is there something besides Hawaiian? I’m not really a fan of pineapple on pizza.”

“Oh, he’s not a fan ,” Axel said.

“Poor guy,” Bailey said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “ Our food isn’t to his liking.”

“Okay, sorry,” I muttered. “I assumed this was a family meal.”

Wrong thing to say. They swung identical glares my way, and I swear, none of us were related, but in that moment, they’d never looked more like brothers.

“It is a family meal,” Axel said. “But you left this family years ago.”

“Ax, I had to leave. It wasn’t like I didn’t care.”

Axel thrust a box into Bailey’s arms. “Here’s the Hawaiian. I’m taking the meat lovers with me.”

Axel whirled on his heel, headed for the door.

“Is he going back to the junkyard at this hour?” I asked Bailey.

Bailey shrugged. “He sleeps over there.”

“What? Why?”

“He likes it better with the dogs. What do you care? You’ll be gone soon, right?”

Ouch. The kid knew how to twist the knife.

“I don’t know my plans yet.”

A knock came at the door. Without waiting for an answer, it swung open, and a black girl walked inside. Her hair trailed over her shoulders in dozens of braids.

“Hey, Nova.” Bailey smiled, looking sweeter than I’d seen him yet. “I got a Hawaiian.”

“Awesome!” She hesitated when she saw me. “Who is this?”

“Nobody important.”

Well, damn. The hits just kept coming.

“I’m Gray,” I said. “His brother.”

“From a million years ago,” Bailey said.

“Huh,” Nova said. “Well, nice to meet you. You helping out with the auto shop? Bailey works so hard?—”

“Don’t talk to him,” Bailey said. “He’s not worth the effort.”

She frowned, a crease forming between her brows.

“I’ll work at the shop,” I answered because it was nice for someone to talk to me without animosity. “I’m a decent mechanic, but mostly with bikes.”

“Oh.”

A strained silence gathered. I racked my brain for something to say, some way to bridge the gulf between me and Bailey.

A phone rang, saving me the trouble.

Bailey went to the front table, where it sat on a charger. He pulled it off and tossed it at me.

I fumbled to catch it, fingers clutching it before it hit the floor.

“That’s the auto shop line. You wanna help so bad? Get started.”

With a frown, I answered the call. “Forrester &—”

“I need a tow,” a woman interrupted. “I called that other place, the nice one in town, but they want two hundred dollars! I’m not made of money.”

“Yes, ma’am. We can certainly beat that rate.”

I had no idea what my brothers charged these days, but if the business was struggling, it seemed smart to undercut the competitors.

“How much?”

“One fifty?”

She groaned. “Fine. I was on my way back from Granville, so I’m just past the mayor’s farm.”

“The mayor…”

“The Prince place! Geez, do you live under a rock?”

No, but she kind of made me want to pick one up and smash something. Maybe her taillights.

“Got it. Be there ASAP.”

“You better be for what you’re charging.”

Click.

Bailey and Nova were talking quietly, whispering over the pizza box between them. They were obviously close, but I didn’t really suss out a romantic vibe.

“Bailey, what’s the going rate for a tow?”

“Depends on how far. Within twenty-five miles, it’s a hundred bucks.”

“Well, I just raised the rate. It’s one fifty now.”

“I’m sure Holden will love that,” he said.

“Hey, the nice place wanted two hundred. Clearly, you all were due for an increase.”

“Yeah, have fun telling Holden you know better than him after two fucking minutes in town.”

“I didn’t mean it that way.” I paused. “Where is Holden, anyway?”

Bailey shrugged. “At some business thing.”

Well, great . I was hoping he’d give me a few pointers before I went out on my first tow. I hadn’t done it in years.

Looked like I was on my own.

I went upstairs to grab the keys, then headed outside to pick up the truck over by the auto shop. It was only a few hundred yards from the house, so I was on the road in fewer than five minutes.

I arrived to hitch up the stranded car not ten minutes later. Piper Billings still bitched the whole time I did it, complaining about how long she had to wait.

Luckily, I’d done a lot of tows as a teen, and muscle memory took over. I got the car hooked up for the tow, took down the woman’s info for billing, and offered her a lift.

She wrinkled her nose as she glanced at the industrial tow truck. It was caked in dust and grime, not exactly pretty, but it’d get the job done.

“I’ve got a friend on the way,” she said.

I waited until a black sedan pulled up behind us. Wouldn’t do to leave a woman alone on the side of the road.

She sighed with relief. “Thank you. Sorry if I bit your head off. It’s stressful to get stuck like this.”

“No problem at all. You want us to take a look at the car?”

She gave me a wary look. “My husband will check everything you do. I might not know anything about cars, but he does.”

I wasn’t offended by her distrust. Some auto shops took advantage of customers’ lack of knowledge, especially if those customers were women. But I knew Holden would never stand by that kind of practice, even if the old man had occasionally screwed people over.

“Understood, ma’am. We’ll only fix something if it’s necessary, and we’ll call and confirm before we go ahead with it.”

“Okay,” she said. “Then yes, please. Thank you.”

I climbed into the truck and started it up. The black sedan took off first.

I shifted into drive and pulled back onto the two-lane highway, headed toward Riverton.

A car on the side of the road caught my eye. It wasn’t black, though, so my customer was fine. This one was cherry red.

Two men were standing by the car. Embracing? No. Fighting.

I was past them before I could process the sight entirely. Maybe it was just a spat between friends or brothers, but if it was something else…

Well, it wouldn’t sit right to just leave someone to their fate.

I swore under my breath and pulled over onto the side of the road. I left the truck idling and jumped out the driver’s door.

“Hey!” I called, jogging toward the tussling men.

A slim blond guy slammed against the side of the car, then fell to his knees.

A dark-haired, larger guy snarled down at him. “Stay there. That’s where you belong.”

I recognized that voice. It sent a chill through me.

“ Dallas , is that you?” I grabbed his shoulder and jerked him away from the guy on his knees.

He spun, shoving me away. “Who the fuck—” His eyes widened. “ Gray ?”

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

He scoffed. “What, this? He’s just a bad hookup. Not worth the fucking trouble. Especially now that you’re here…”

He reached out to touch my face. I swatted his hand away.

“Get the fuck out of here before I kick your ass.”

Dallas raised his hands, looking wounded. “Nice way to greet an old friend.”

“We’re not friends. You’re a snake.”

He huffed. “Fuck this drama. I’m out of here.”

He rounded the car and climbed in, slamming the driver’s door behind him. The engine roared to life, and the car sped off, kicking up pebbles.

The poor schmuck who’d fallen for Dallas’s false charm scrambled to his feet, swiping blood from a cut on his lip.

His golden hair was a mess from the struggle, darkened by sweat and tufted up in odd places, but he was still gorgeous as hell.

His blue eyes met mine, and recognition hit hard.

I’d nursed a hell of a crush on Emory Gold in high school, even if we’d never talked.

We didn’t move in the same circles. Not even the same stratosphere.

Emory was Riverton’s golden boy. Good-looking, rich, star pitcher on the baseball team, class president—and dating the town sweetheart, Allison Prince.

But dusted up, bleeding, and trembling like a leaf, he barely resembled the confident guy I’d seen strutting through the high school halls.

“You okay, golden boy?” I asked.

“Y-yeah.” His voice came out quieter than I expected. “Thanks for stopping.”

My gaze dipped to his lips again. To that dang cut still oozing blood. Anger flashed through me.

“He hurt you.”

“I’m fine.”

I grasped his chin, turning his face to the right and left. There was no other bruising. Lucky for Dallas. I just needed an excuse to beat him to a pulp.

“Do you want to call the sheriff?” I asked. “You can report him for assault.”

Emory shook his head.

“You sure?”

“Dallas’s dad is the sheriff now, so yeah, I’m sure. If you could just, uh, give me a ride to the Prince farm?”

So, he was still involved with Allison. Maybe even married. I glanced at his ring finger, but it was bare. So, not married or just taking off the ring for a hookup on the down-low?

“Sure, golden boy. Hop in.”

We started toward the tow truck, and Emory’s eyes widened as he read the name on the side.

“Forrester…wait.” He looked at me. “You’re one of the fosters.”

I clenched my jaw. I’d always hated when townspeople called us that. Like we were another damn species.

“That a problem?”

“No,” he said quickly. “I just didn’t recognize you. I mean, I see Holden around, but I guess you must not get into town much?”

I smiled humorlessly. “Been gone a while. Just got back. We went to high school together.”

Emory paused to look me over again. “I thought you seemed familiar. Greg, right?”

“Gray.”

Of course, the king of the school didn’t remember the bad boy from the wrong side of town. Why would he?

“Shit, sorry. I knew Greg didn’t sound right.”

“Uh-huh.” I reached past him to open the passenger-side truck door. “So the Prince farm, you said?”

“Yeah.”

I waited for him to climb into the seat, then slammed the door behind him.

My ego smarted. Fucking Greg ? Did I look like a Greg?

I got in on the driver’s side and started up the engine without a word.

“Sorry,” Emory said. “High school was just so long ago, you know?”

He chuckled nervously.

“Not so long,” I said. “You’re still running around with Princess Allison.”

He grimaced, then made a sound of pain as he pressed his fingers to his cut lip.

He mumbled something indecipherable.

“What was that?”

He lifted his hand. “Don’t call her that. She hates it.”

“My bad.” It wasn’t Allison’s fault I was suddenly a jealous bitch. My long-ago attraction to Emory had roared right back in as if it’d never been gone.

“And we’re not running around together.”

“You two married now? I didn’t see a ring.”

“No!” His cheeks flushed red. “Damn it, why does everyone want us together so damn bad?”

Well, well.

Things had just gotten interesting.

“Golden boy, I don’t want you two together,” I said. “I’m just out of the loop.”

“Oh.”

“I’m taking you to her place, so…”

“There’s a gala there tonight.” He sighed. “Mayor’s having a re-election fundraiser.”

I nodded. “All right, then.”

We drove in silence for a few minutes until I reached the drive leading up to the farm.

“Can you drop me off here?”

“Don’t want to be seen with me, huh? I guess I don’t fit into this scene.”

“That’s not why. Your brother’s in there, so why not you?”

“No shit? So, that’s where he went tonight.”

Emory put a hand on my forearm, fingers lightly brushing, but that touch rocked me. Damn, but I still wanted this guy.

“I can’t thank you enough for helping me out. I just don’t want to explain where I was or why I need a ride back, you know?”

I nodded, eyes on his fingers. “You’re on the DL?”

“The DL?”

“Closeted?”

“No. Well, not really. I, uh, wasn’t expecting Dallas to…”

I tensed up. “You weren’t a hookup?”

Emory hesitated, drawing his hand away. I wanted to pull the words back, tell him to put his hands on me again. But damn it, if he wasn’t a hookup, wasn’t gay, then I needed to stop thinking this way.

“I guess I was,” Emory said. “Just a na?ve one. I’ve never done that before, and I was just curious, you know? He said we could talk. I shouldn’t have been so stupid. Of course he didn’t really mean he wanted to talk. I got in his car with him. I let him take me to the middle of nowhere. I made him think?—”

He cut off with a rough breath, and I reached for him without thinking. My hand landed on the nape of his neck. He tensed, then relaxed as I squeezed gently.

“Don’t go blaming yourself, golden boy. Dallas is the asshole here, not you.”

He exhaled. “I guess. It was a stupid idea, putting myself in that situation.”

“Maybe, but plenty of folks do it. You just wanted to understand yourself. Nothing wrong with that.”

He peeked at me out of the corner of his eye. “All that, and I didn’t even let him kiss me.” He huffed a ragged laugh. “Maybe I’m not that curious, after all.”

“Well, if you want to find out for sure…”

He turned toward me, eyes wide. How stupid could I be? Emory had just fended off a creep, and I was offering to kiss him?

“Never mind, I?—”

“Yes,” he said. “I want to know.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re sure? You don’t owe me anything.”

His gaze swept over me. He seemed nervous, but he unclipped his seat belt and inched closer.

“You won’t push for anything more?”

“Never.”

He nodded, then dropped his hand to my forearm again, tracing over a portrait of my foster mom, then the petals of a rose.

Goose bumps shivered to life.

“Your ink is sexy.”

“Yeah?” I rasped. “Well, your everything is sexy.”

He sucked in a breath. “Kiss me?”

I leaned in and brushed my lips over his. He hissed, jerking back.

“Shit, sorry.” I pulled away, cursing myself for forgetting about his split lip.

Emory latched a hand around the back of my neck, pulling me back to him. He was stronger than he looked, but I didn’t fight too hard.

He pressed his mouth to mine with a pained groan, but there was pleasure in the sound too. I flicked out my tongue, soothing his abused lip.

He gasped, and that was all I needed to thrust my tongue into his mouth. He tangled his fingers in my hair, tugging me closer as his tongue met mine.

Fuck, he was hot, making little whimpers. Pain or pleasure? I wasn’t sure, but he sucked my tongue like a man who was dying for more, so I gave him everything I had.

We parted for a breath, then reconnected again and again, mouths hot and wet and goddamn, I was so hard my cock hurt.

I ground a hand into my lap, trying to ease the pressure, and kept on kissing him because it might be my only chance.

Lights shone through the windows as a car passed on the blacktop behind us.

Emory pulled back with a gasp. “Shit. That, uh…”

“Answered some questions for you?”

“Yeah.” His chest rose and fell with quick breaths. “Wow.”

Emory looked like a wet dream, and I wanted to drag him into my lap and continue to unravel him.

But I’d promised not to ask for more than a kiss. And after the night he had, I didn’t want to push it. Maybe our paths would cross again. I hoped so.

Just up the drive, a swanky gala full of his family and friends waited for him.

I’d be going back to a greasy auto shop and a house full of resentment.

We didn’t belong in the same world. But it sure had been a nice break from reality while it lasted.

“Good night, golden boy.” I smoothed his tousled hair into some semblance of order. “You take care of yourself.”

He hesitated a moment. I held my breath, waiting to see if he’d ask for my number. But he shifted away, toward the door.

“Thanks, Gray.” He glanced back at me, color still high on his cheeks. “For everything.”

“Anytime.” I tried to infuse my voice with as much innuendo as possible.

Hell yeah, I’d make out with Emory Gold any damn time.

And judging by his blush, he’d definitely be remembering my name.