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“Or very, very right.” Ivan waggled his brows. Rory had confessed he didn’t think his brother’s feelings for Cash were purely platonic.
Rory shook his head and vaulted out of the truck as soon as Ivan stopped. Ivan scrambled to catch up to him.
“You’re just going to crash into the house like the Kool-Aid man?” Ivan asked.
Rory grinned at the reference but kept walking. “Something is wrong. I know it.”
“Nick or Cash would’ve called you,” Ivan countered.
“We were on our first vacation together, and I was meeting your family,” Rory said. “They would’ve only called if it was life-threatening.”
“All the more reason we should head home and visit in the morning,” Ivan suggested.
“I won’t be able to sleep until I know he’s okay. Something has been off with Nick for a while.”
Ivan hadn’t seen him since he’d dropped Rory off at the ranch, but he had looked rough then. “Okay, but I’m not busting down Cash’s bedroom door. If they’re not in one of the gathering rooms or Cash’s office, we’re heading home and returning in the morning.”
“Fine.”
The front door wasn’t locked, so they stepped into the foyer.
“Should we call out?” Rory asked.
Ivan shrugged. “This is your mission. I’m just along for the ride.”
Rory sighed and rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to wake them if they’re sleeping, so we’ll do a quick check in the main rooms.”
The dining room, kitchen, and great room were empty, but a light spilled out from the library.
“I’m not sure about this,” Ivan whispered.
“I don’t hear any grunting, moaning, or other sexy sounds,” Rory whispered back.
They eased down the hall and stopped outside the library. Nick lay on the sofa with his head in Cash’s lap. His arm was in a sling, and he appeared to be sleeping. Cash must’ve been lost in thought because he just stared down at Nick while carding his fingers through Nick’s hair. It would have been a gorgeous picture of domestic bliss if not for Nick’s injury. Ivan expected Rory to rush in and demand to know what happened to his brother, but he eased back from the doorway and reached for Ivan’s hand. They exited the house as quietly as they’d entered and walked back to the truck to get their luggage.
“I saw everything I needed to,” Rory said with a soft smile.
The cats met them at the door with a chorus of outraged protests over their absence. “Shameless liars,” Ivan said. Rueben had been taking care of the cats while they’d been away and had sent many photos and videos of the felines cuddling up to him and eating. Ivan picked Scruffy up and smiled when the old boy headbutted him repeatedly. “You got roasted chicken for lunch today.” He glanced over at Rory and caught him staring. He usually reserved those heart eyes for watching Ivan with his niece. “What?”
Rory set Tux on the back of the sofa and said, “Those brawny arms were made to hold the people and things you love.”
Ivan flexed a little just to watch Rory’s eyes glaze over. Scruffy must’ve sensed a shift in the air because he jumped down and fled. “You were made for me to love, hold, honor, and cherish.”
Rory sighed. “My poet.” His eyes rounded slightly as he recognized snippets of the wedding vows Ivan planned to exchange with him someday. Ivan opened his arms, and Rory stepped into his embrace.
“I love you,” Rory said.
“Love you too.”
Love and a happily ever after were things Ivan never thought he could have, but the Rory Effect made him believe anything was possible.
The End!
