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“Bye, Gage,” I managed to get out.
He turned to go, then hesitated. Then he was striding back to me and I let out a cry of relief when his mouth covered mine. Like Nash, he didn’t ease me into the kiss. He just took.
And I gladly gave.
Then he was gone.
And I was once again where I’d been for so many years after losing Pierce.
Alone.
Chapter 17
Nash
With Gage’s dog Happy practically glued to my side, I walked the perimeter of the Fortier property, more because I needed to keep moving than anything else. I was trying to reconcile everything that had happened, but it was a next to impossible task.
He’d gone to bat for me.
Everett had gone to bat for me.
And he’d managed to get me one step closer to my dream of protecting a sitting U.S. president someday. It would have taken me years to make that happen on my own, and even then, it’d been a pipe dream, since it was such a prestigious job. Not to mention the scandal I’d gotten caught up in.
I hadn’t given the director an answer and he hadn’t seemed to need one. Fortunately, he hadn’t asked me about the personal emergency I’d claimed was keeping me from work, but as soon as he found out that it had all been a lie, he’d can my ass anyway.
And I couldn’t even find it in me to care all that much.
What the hell was wrong with me?
Everett went to bat for you.
If that hadn’t been mind-blowing enough, he’d admitted that he hadn’t wanted me to go after he’d relinquished Secret Service protection.
And that kiss.
That fucking amazing kiss that had nearly sent me to my knees.
Only to be followed up by another mind-numbing kiss just seconds later.
Two men, two very different kisses, one eye-opening fact.
I did want them both.
And not just sexually.
“Fuck,” I muttered to myself as I entered the small barn that housed the horse and pony. I was on autopilot as I checked it for any intruders. The shed where a small donkey named Persephone lived was next. I smiled as my eyes fell on the nametag that hung from the donkey’s stall. Most of the pens had similar wooden signs with the inhabitants’ names carefully painted on them. I’d definitely noticed a pattern when it came to how the animals were named. They were either named after characters from Greek mythology, or they were named for their personalities or physical characteristics.
I finished up my walkthrough of all the outbuildings and began walking toward the house. I saw the figure on the back deck long before I reached it, but I didn’t react, since I knew who it was.
Well, I reacted, but I managed to internalize it.
Because Everett sure as shit wouldn’t be okay with me decking his son, even if I thought the asshole deserved it.
It was dark, but the outside security light came on when I got closer to the house. Since it was activated by motion, I had to assume Reese had been sitting in the same spot for quite a while. The sight of his food-stained clothes was proof enough.
I forced myself to ignore the other man as I climbed the steps leading to the sliding door. Ever since I’d gotten wrangled into attending dinner and sticking around for whatever activity happened afterward, I’d found myself always doing a quick walk-through of the Fortier house. Gage had noticed me doing it one night as he’d been getting his daughter settled in bed, but he hadn’t commented on it. When I’d apologized for the forwardness of it all, he’d told me that he’d never complain about someone who cared about his family enough to make sure they were safe.
I felt Reese’s eyes on me, but I managed not to react to his presence. My hand was on the handle of the door when he broke the silence.
“Is he okay?”
I held there for a moment before saying, “What do you care?”
It was the wrong thing to say because the little bit of worry I’d heard in his voice was gone when he said, “I don’t.” I looked over in time to see him turning his wheelchair so that he could go down the ramp that Gage had built for him.
“How do you think he is?” I asked, raising my voice enough so that I was sure he’d hear me.
Reese paused in his movements, so I pressed my advantage.
“He’s upset. And scared. And he feels so fucking helpless that I’m surprised he can still function. Sound familiar?” I asked.
“He shouldn’t have come,” Reese responded.
“Do you really mean that?” I asked as I stepped back from the door and turned so I could see him better. He still had his back to me, but I felt a measure of victory when he turned the chair a bit so that he was staring out toward the back yard like he’d been before.
