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Brian wished he could find someone that would inspire even a hint of that kind of reaction. “Totally,” he admitted, knowing that Duncan would understand.
“You know,” Duncan murmured, sitting back in the chair, “a couple of years ago, I was exactly where you are.”
Smiling slightly, he shifted on the chair. “I know, sir. I was just thinking about that.”
“You’re still young,” Duncan told him. “What are you now, thirty?”
“Thirty-two,” he corrected.
Duncan waved a hand. “You have plenty of time for life stuff.”
Brian grimaced. “I don’t know,” he said eventually. “It’s hard getting knocked down over and over again. I mean, I go on dates, but it just doesn’t feel right. I think I’m going to take a break for a while. Just quit looking.”
Duncan frowned, meeting his eyes. “It takes a hell of a woman to accept what we are. You should take your time.”
Brian glanced at him, surprised. For some reason he’d thought Dunc would argue with him. “Really?”
“Of course. It’s not something you can force. There has to be a connection there. And it has to be strong enough to deal with the issues in your life. As a double amputee, you know you’re going to have health issues until you die.”
Brian nodded, taking in the words. He’d been attracted to many women over the past several years. He had a healthy libido. It was the emotional connection that always seemed to be lacking. Maybe he just expected too much. Twice he’d revealed himself to women and twice he’d been dumped.
A sudden urge moved him, a need for something more. “I think I’d like to go to Columbus for a while. Work with Quinn and the guys. See something different.”
Duncan lifted a brow at him. “Have you talked to Grif about this?”
Brian glanced across the room. “He knows I need a change. I told him that. Not that I wanted to move across the country.” Brian laughed a little, realizing how much of a shift it would need to be. The thought of packing up all his crap was daunting. Maybe he would get a storage garage and just try to find something already furnished. He had a lot to think about, but it already felt like the right decision.
“It’s not going to be immediate, but I’d like to change some things up. And since I’ve been helping the Columbus crew so much, it might be nice to be there helping them with the cases, you know?”
Duncan nodded, taking a swig of his beer. “I think that’s completely okay. Have computer, will travel, right?”
Brian laughed. Yes, he didn’t go anywhere without his computer anymore. When he was assigned guard duties, he didn’t need it, but those assignments had taken a bit of a back seat to his forensic accounting work. It was work he loved, though, so he wasn’t complaining.
Duncan waved a hand, catching Quinn’s attention. The other man limped over, nursing a beer. Rather than scoot in beside one of them he grabbed an empty chair and swung it around backwards to straddle. “What’s up?”
Duncan bobbed his chin toward Brian. “Our man, here, needs a change. Have room at the Columbus office?”
Quinn’s expression lifted, almost into a grin. “Are you kidding? Absolutely. It would save us a lot of communication if you were actually in office. Welcome to the Buckeye Brigade.”
Quinn reached out a hand and Brian took it, smiling as he felt his future shift.
2
September, 2 months later…
Brian glanced around, wondering why the hell he was even here.
Yes, he’d helped country star Henry Bright out a few years ago, but he wasn’t sure he needed to come to the man’s actual wedding. Did he? But Bright hadn’t let up, and he’d sent a first-class ticket to make sure Brian was there.
Brian wasn’t a groomsman or anything though. If it all went to plan, he would sit in the back, watch the nuptials and kill some time before the reception started. His legs were aching today, and he wasn’t sure why. Maybe the pressure changes from the flight on his amputations. And then yesterday he’d clipped the edge of the hotel wall with his right foot, and even though the foot had been gone for several years, his brain made him imagine the hurt. He would never understand why his body continued to broadcast pain notifications.
Brian shifted in the chair, easing his weight over to his other hip and stretching his arm along the chair beside him as he observed the venue. It was a barn. He supposed it was actually a horse arena. No lie. But it was cool. Scrupulously clean, it had the little twinkle lights blinking everywhere. They were cute, and it gave the huge room an ethereal feeling. Right now, it was decorated for a wedding, but directly after the service, a team would move in and convert the space to the reception area. There was a wooden stage set up on the other half of the arena where the grooms would stand for their nuptials. Pretty ingenious. There was a white curtain on his side of the room, just a few feet away, and he assumed that was where the caterers were hiding, because the smells coming from that direction were killing him. Last night’s dinner had been a long time ago…
The curtain rippled, hard, drawing his attention. Then it rippled again, and it began to shift from the back. There was a small body on the other side looking for the opening in the curtains, it looked like. Finally, he found it and flung the two sides apart, like he was popping out onto a stage. The kid grinned, looking like he wanted to take a bow for the half a dozen people seated and watching him. Most of them were grinning as well. The kid glanced around and obviously decided ‘what the hell…’, because he threw himself into a theatrical bow. His audience laughed, and even Brian found himself grinning. The kid’s brownish red hair flipped forward, then back as he straightened, and he pushed wire-rimmed glasses up his nose. Brian heard a hiss from behind the curtain and he wondered if it was the kid’s mom getting after her son. The boy, no more than ten or eleven, looked back, shrugged and gave an adorable grin, then took off running, letting the curtains fall together again. Brian was close enough that he could hear a sigh from the other side, then footsteps retreating. The boy had run from the barn, obviously on a mission.
Brian remembered being that age. He hadn’t had a care in the world. Dirt had been his favorite thing and every chance he’d gotten, he’d been outside, either playing with his dog or riding his bike. His mother had made him clean up for church, but other than that, he’d been as dirty as possible.
More people began to wander in, and recorded music started to play from speakers in the rafters. Some of it was Henry Bright’s music, interspersed with other country music artists. Brian had a feeling he was going to see some popular faces today. This was a hell of a production.
