Page 132 of Nothing Special X: The Last Stand

Xander’s heart leaped into his throat.

Cassidy’s face changed.

There it was.

The word they hadn’t said…until now.

Love.

Syn

Syn pulled up to the ranch and killed the engine. He got out but didn’t go any farther.

He stood beside the open driver’s door, resting one hand on the frame as he stared across the acres of open country as though he’d crossed ten state lines instead of driving forty-five minutes outside Atlanta.

But from where he stood, it might as well have been another planet.

There were no sirens, horns blaring, traffic stacking itself for miles, or hordes of pedestrians flooding the sidewalks.

It was just sky, land, and a long gravel road bordered by blooming azalea bushes leading toward a massive country house.

The two-story home had a wide front porch, stone columns, dark timber beams, uncovered windows, and solar panels covering the roof catching the late afternoon sun.

The lawn rolled down from the porch in one wide, uninterrupted sweep of thick green grass, where four ridiculous peacocks strutted about as though they owned that part of the property.

Beyond the main house, the ranch spread in every direction. Fenced pastures. Barns painted deep red with black trim. Riding rings. A pond shimmering in the distance. Horses grazing with tails swishing lazily. Cows gathered beneath shade trees. A few goats doing goat stuff in a huge paddock. And to his left, an alpaca stared at him with the blank judgment of an old detective.

Workers moved throughout the property in green ranch shirts, some interacting with customers, others hauling equipment or driving small utility carts. There was motion everywhere, but none of it felt frantic. It was work, but it moved at a peaceful pace.

Syn breathed in the fresh-cut grass, hay, warmed earth, and so many different animals, but over it all was something smoky drifting from the house that smelled like searing meat.

The scenery and air reached inside him and loosened areas that’d been tight for weeks.

Accepting Fox’s invitation to come out for a visit might’ve been the smartest decision he’d made yet.

Syn loved his brother Ro. He’d opened his house to him, fed him, let him sit motionless on his porch like a malfunctioning robot, and never once made him feel unwelcome.

But by the third week, Ro had become a serious mother hen with boundary issues. Constantly asking if him if he’d eaten, slept, taken his blood pressure medication, considered his future, and if he knew what the bible said about forgiveness.

Syn had humored him because he knew his brother meant well, but if Ro would’ve tried to shove one more asparagus spear into his mouth, their team was going to be a member short.

So when Fox offered the ranch, he didn’t think twice.

Not ordered, or demanded, just sent a message that said, come out here and breathe for a bit.

That was Fox.

The former SWAT lieutenant had been off the force for a few years but he still knew how to calm a crisis. Still possessed that sharp, quiet instinct.

One of the peacocks stopped near the edge of the lawn and fanned its train, bright blue body standing proud beneath a trembling spread of green, gold, and bronze. The bird turned slowly, making a shameless spectacle of itself.

Against his will, it made him think of Furi.

His breathtaking hair, face, strong, lithe gorgeous body.

Furi had always been stunning. Whether angry, laughing, or standing in the kitchen over a coffee pot barefoot with sleep in his eyes.

Had Syn been crazy to think he didn’t have to share that kind of beauty with the rest of the world?