Reece began chatting with her. Grayson pulled the backpacks over, ostensibly packing their new stuff but subtly watching the two of them.
Reece’s shoulders were relaxed, his smile bright, gesturing unselfconsciously as he talked. He looked happy.
And so did the cashier, as she went on enthusiastically about the fabrics in one of the hoodies, how it was made with 100 percent recycled materials, her motions animated and her eyes still going to Reece as much as possible.
Could Reece be projecting again? It obviously wouldn’t have any effect whatsoever on Grayson and he wasn’t able to tell. Before Reece, Grayson’s experience with empath projection was with corrupted empaths purposefully influencing others with things like rage or fear.
He hadn’t extrapolated the possibilities of an uncorrupted empath accidentally projecting an emotion like contentment or happiness.
Before he could decide what, if anything, he should do, Reece had turned to him, holding up a tightly packed, oval-shaped bag, hunter green with a drawstring. “This is for you.”
Grayson blinked. “Is that a...sleeping bag?”
“An extra-long, Big and Tall sleeping bag.” Reece pointed at him. “I didn’t see so much as a blanket in your truck. I bet you’ve spent a lot of cold nights alone on the side of the road, and maybe I can’t get you a house but I can get you this. So no arguing.”
“Sir, yes, sir,” Grayson muttered, but he didn’t argue.
The cashier took Grayson’s credit card as he took both backpacks, and a couple minutes later, they were back at the truck. Grayson got the passenger door first, so Reece could climb in, then moved to open the back door and set the sleeping bag and both of their new bags on the backseat.
His gaze lingered on their bags together. A memory rose up: an older truck, loading it up with a tent and gear, the man in the University of Texas T-shirt tossing in a travel hammock.
“They hadkayaksin there.” In the passenger seat, Reece still sounded enthusiastic, his normal Grumpy Bear attitude gone for the moment. “Have you ever gone? Jamey and I go sometimes in the summer; my arms are pretty useless, but it’s so great to get out on the water.”
Grayson blinked and the memory vanished.
But Reece was still there, looking over his shoulder at Grayson and smiling brightly. “With the right straps and the tailgate down, you might be able to fit a kayak in the bed of this truck, if you were camping.”
“I used to love camping.”
The sentence slipped out. Grayson blinked at himself. His body apparently continued not to need his brain’s permission to notice that Reece reminded him of so many things he’d once liked.
“Oh yeah?” Reece tilted his head. “Did you used to go with, like, a girlfriend or something?” His eyes were lit only by the truck’s interior glow, not quite enough for Grayson to make out whatever he might be thinking or feeling.
“Just friend-friends, in college,” Grayson said. “I did have a crush for a time on one of them, but I was pretty sure he was straight, and I would never have crossed that line.”
“You seem to have a lot of lines you don’t let yourself cross,” Reece said.
Grayson shut the backseat door instead of answering.
Not long later, they were pulling into the parking lot of a small hotel, the kind that had advertised to business travelers and extended stays. Grayson had booked it from the road while Reece had been solidly unconscious, and he never needed to know it had happened behind the wheel.
Reece glanced at it. “You didn’t pick some downtown luxury place?”
“One, I told you we’re undercover. Two, when I’m undercover, no one valets my truck. Three, we’reundercover, and I know I already said that but seems like you’re missing the point—”
“All right, all right.” Reece opened the glove box and pulled out his gloves. “I learned my lesson about leaving these in a glove box, though. I’m bringing them in.”
He unbuckled his seat belt, twisting halfway in the passenger seat to reach into the backseat. “Just sticking them in—oh, you’ve got to be kidding. How’d you sneak this past me?”
“Did you find your hat?”
“This hasbear ears.”
“Practically had your name on it. And now you’ll be all set for your next felony and won’t have to steal mine.”
Reece twisted back around, turning the hat over in his hands, a surprisingly big smile on his face. “You think you’re so funny, but you know what?” he said, as he leaned over, closer to Grayson. “I’m into it. I’m going to wear the shit out of this hat.”
Grayson side-eyed him. “You didn’t flinch.”
