Page 14 of Lifeline

“A wonderful question. Kind of a shame that I have no idea,” he said with a chuckle. “But he’s doing it. I think he’s hoping, kind of like I am, that you and Aidan figure out how to operate around one another professionally before Xander figures out there’s a thing. Because if he figures it out after you two figure something out, then he won’t have much ground to stand on in arguing against Aidan being here. If you forgot, he didn’t want someone like Aidan here in the first place, you know how he feels about social media anything.”

“Social media whores,” I said, reciting the exact phrasing I’d overheard Xander using when he’d been told about the newcomer to the outpost.

“Exactly. So, think on that while you stubbornly refuse to deal with the problem you’re helping to extend, eh?” he said with a grin. “Maybe you know, take a little risk once in a while. Especially if it makes things easier for everyone else.”

I scowled. “Yes, please, prey on my sense of guilt and obligation to the group.”

“Eh, if it gets the problem taken care of then fuck it,” he said with a snort, then turned. “You know what?”

“Reno,” I warned and winced when he didn’t think twice, calculating what he was doing. With a grunt, he hopped out of sight. It wasn’t that far; I knew that, but I still cringed as he walked to the edge. Reno was already on his feet and walking around the building to a grinning Jake who was walking back to meet him. “Idiot.”

And yet the entire conversation had been so…Reno. To his willingness to tweak my sense of guilt and shame, to his realization and taking the leap. Not that he had ever lacked courage, not really. It was kind of funny; I was the one who had been insistent, launching myself from the nest so to speak, but he had always been willing to take the first step, to dare to do more, and to take the risks I would usually sit back and calculate before deciding what to do next.

He wasn’t wrong; there was a leap of my own in front of me, and I was standing at the edge, not sure if I wanted to take the leap or do more mental math. And the longer I waited…well, perhaps Aidan would be the one to pay the price.

“Even after all this time, you still find a way to wiggle into my life,” I muttered as I turned to descend the ladder.

Well, maybe it was time to take a leap, but unlike my brother, I was more willing to take the metaphorical sort and leave the literal ones to people like him and Jake.

3

AIDAN

“Kitchen duty again?” someone asked, and I looked up to see Carter coming in, Maverick close on his heels. One of those two was easier to read than the other, and yet they were frequently seen together. It was a lot like Reno and Jake, actually, but Mav seemed more inclined to keep Carter’s more obnoxious traits under wraps. Reno and Jake had a weird symbiotic relationship where Reno mellowed Jake, but Jake brought the daredevil brat out of Reno.

“Well, there’s only a few things I’ve been posting,” I told him, nodding at Mav who stared at me before nodding. He wasn’t much of a talker, and he looked mean as hell sometimes, but he wasn’t antagonistic. Our boss was more antagonistic.

“You mean you’ve been allowed to post,” Carter said knowingly, opening the fridge door and grabbing beers, handing one to me.

I eyed the beer, wondering when I would get the chance to stock something that didn’t make me understand what piss tasted like. “I’m not saying nothin’ about anything.”

Carter snorted. “Don’t worry. Everyone knows Xander is⁠—”

“An ass,” Mav said, drinking from the bottle and watching what I was doing.

Carter jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “That. And he was never shy about being grumpy that some internet dude was showing up. Don’t take it to heart. He’s just grumpy and stubborn. And thinks the internet is for emails and porn. I wonder if someone should introduce him to internet dating. What do you think, Mav?”

“Probably not,” Mav said, with a shake of his head. “He has his divorce going on right now.”

“Oh, right,” Carter said, tapping his jaw. “Still, maybe we could get Colin to feed him the idea at some point. He does a pretty good job handling him…no one tell him I said that.”

“I’ll consider keeping it to myself,” I said with a snort, but it was the amused look on Mav’s face at Carter’s suggestion that had my attention. “Something on your mind?”

“All sorts,” Mav said, giving me a mischievous look.

Carter side-eyed him. “You thinkin’ those weird thinks again, bud?”

“Always,” Mav said, and frowned. “I need a shower.”

“Not a bad idea. We’ve been busy all day and I’m sweaty as hell,” Carter said, looking himself over and frowning. “I probably stink.”

“Probably,” Mav said, his eyes staring into the back of Carter’s head. “Your shirt is soaked.”

“I mean, it’s been raining,” I pointed out. “Doesn’t have to be sweat.”

“Yeah, well, now I can feel how much my shirt is sticking to me and it’s driving me bonkers,” he grumbled, and I watched in amusement as he set his beer down to wriggle out of his shirt.

I would have challenged anyone with a reasonably active sex drive not to find their eyes magnetically pulled to the sight. It was not meant to be a strip show or an attempt to get attention, but he was silently getting my attention anyway. There wasn’t one person on the crew even remotely out of shape, and Carter’s big ass was no exception. My eyes swept over the flat stomach, the dip in his hips, and yes, even the curling hairs that were so dark blond they were practically brunet.