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A high pitch bark distracted Luke from his thoughts and he glanced down and saw Ripley staring up at him, her big tail wagging back and forth in excitement. An unexpected rush of happiness went through Luke at the sight of the dog followed by the unhappy realization that he’d already become more attached to the animal than he would have liked. As Ripley’s barks increased and she began bouncing up and down on her front legs, Luke smiled and made his way to the ladder that was propped along the side of the cabin. By the time his boots hit the ground, Ripley was all over him.
“Hey girl,” he said as he patted the dog’s side. He glanced at the cabin and knew it was time to stop putting off the inevitable conversation he needed to have with Gray. As he made his way towards the door, his gut clenched much like it had last night when Gray had put his palm against his stomach. Luke had known the move was just to convince the cop that he and Gray had something going on between them but fuck, that touch had sent shockwaves through his entire system and he’d gotten instantly hard. He hadn’t cared one whit that Gray had insinuated Luke was gay but learning that Gray was had opened up a whole new world of images and thoughts for Luke. The fantasies he’d had about Gray had somehow seemed more like a possibility if he could just get past the weirdness of being suddenly attracted to another man for the first time in his life.
Luke went into the cabin and found Gray sitting at the kitchen table, his big hands wrapped around a cup of coffee.
“Hey,” Luke said as he closed the door and shrugged off the light jacket he’d been wearing. Although it was late summer, the mornings were still chilly in the Montana mountains.
Gray ignored him and stared out the window.
“You hungry?” Luke asked as went to the fridge and pulled out the nearly empty carton of eggs.
“No.”
“Gray, you need-”
“To eat, I know,” Gray said coolly. “Tell you what, Luke. You don’t want me fighting your battles, I don’t want you fighting mine. So how about we just stay out of each other’s way?” Gray snapped as he stood and headed towards his bedroom.
“Gray, I’m sorry,” Luke said as he shoved the carton of eggs away and followed Gray. He nearly slammed into the other man as soon as he rounded the corner because Gray had stopped moving.
“Save your apologies. Lister’s not pressing charges so your conscience is clear. Stay, go, I don’t give a shit,” Gray snapped before he stormed into his room and shut the door in Luke’s face.
Frustration went through Luke and he threw the door open but froze when he saw Gray in the process of stripping off his shirt. The sight of firm, tanned flesh had Luke coming to a stop. It wasn’t the first time he was seeing Gray’s body since he’d helped the man change into sweats and a T-shirt the night after they’d met but considering how sick Gray had been, Luke hadn’t really taken the time to study or appreciate the man’s wide shoulders, defined muscles and narrow waist. The only thing that would make the sight any better was if the pants went next but Gray had stopped unbuttoning them when he’d heard the door open.
“Like what you see?” he heard Gray drawl. Luke knew the words were meant to make him uncomfortable but he couldn’t help but wonder what Gray would do if he said yes. Or better yet, if he walked up to Gray and finished the job of taking his pants off for him.
His silence seemed to set Gray off further because the man shook his head and began moving towards his bathroom. Luke knew he should just go. Pack what little shit he had and get his ass back on the road. He could figure out all the rest later. But hadn’t this place been what he was looking for when he’d come to Montana? Hadn’t he hoped to find someone he could trust – who’d have his back when he needed it most? No, he hadn’t imagined it would be a virtual stranger but how many men would have done for him what Gray had done last night?
“The cops think I killed someone.”
* * *
Gray stopped just before he reached the bathroom. He’d known whatever Luke was hiding was bad but he sure as hell hadn’t expected the man to actually tell him the truth.
“I didn’t do it,” Luke quickly added.
“I believe you,” Gray automatically said. And he did. God help him, he had no idea why his gut was telling him to trust this man but it was. He turned to face Luke and saw him still standing near the door, his frame stiff and unyielding.
“Someone I trusted set me up…did this,” Luke said as he pointed to the injury on his side. “It’s safer if you don’t know the details.”
Gray couldn’t help but wonder if Luke was hesitant to tell him everything because he still didn’t trust him. But that was irrelevant so he said, “I can get you the best lawyers. I know Jax will help too – I think he used to be FBI…”
Luke shook his head but didn’t say anything.
“Okay,” Gray said softly. “Tell me what you need, Luke.”
A haunted look passed over Luke’s features before he schooled them. “This, Gray. Exactly what you’re doing. That’s what I need.”
Gray wanted to say that he could do more but he could already see Luke withdrawing so he nodded. “For as long as you need it.”
* * *
“Where’d you learn to do this?” Gray asked as he tried to tear his eyes from Luke’s ass as he bent over the piece of flooring he’d just knocked into place.
“A guy I met during boot camp started up a contracting business when he finished his deployment. I used to help out in my down time.”
“Was that the kind of work you wanted to do when you got out?” Gray asked.
Luke sat back on his heels and wiped his arm across his forehead. “No, I was a lifer.”
