I walked out into the chilly October night with Otto. My brain whirred with thoughts of August Stiel. The man was somewhat of a mystery. One moment he seemed like a stereotypical rich kid who wanted everything a certain way, but during other moments, he seemed incredibly unsure of himself and insecure.

I wondered if even he knew what he wanted or who he was. Part of me felt a little sorry for him. He clearly didn’t seem comfortable in his own skin. I hated that for anyone, even if they were a little distant like he was. It was clear he’d built a massive stone fortress around himself and I wasn’t one of the lucky ones he’d let in.

“Aren’t we walking to the pub?” Otto asked as we approached my truck.

“Yeah, I just need to toss my stuff in here. Is anyone else joining us besides Seth?”

“West said he’ll meet us there. He needs to go home and change, which I think was code for sneaking in a quickie with Nico. I texted Sassy to see if she wanted to join us, and she said she’ll try. Who else is there?”

“What about Hudson?” I asked.

Otto’s laugh was warm and rich in the dark evening air. “You kidding? He’ll be there. It’s rainbow night. Ain’t no way he’s letting Charlie flirt with all the cute guys without supervision.”

“He’s so fucking whipped,” I said with a smirk.

“Pretty much. It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around him being with another man.”

“Agreed,” I admitted before unlocking the doors and throwing my bag in the truck.

“We should actually get Stevie over there to flirt with Charlie. Get Chief Paige and Hudson both fired up with jealousy,” Otto said with a chuckle as we turned to walk across the square.

We were still laughing when we entered the pub. The music was turned up louder than usual, and there was way more skin showing than on a normal night at the pub. My brain flashed briefly on the memory of August Stiel in the locker room shower, and I felt my lower belly squeeze. Lean muscle stretched over a trim frame. Smooth skin slick with shower water. The rounded cheeks of his ass bunching as he turned to look at me. The memory clip was short but sweet, and it had been playing on a repetitive reel since I’d walked out of Twist.

God, I needed to get laid.

I forced my eyes around to find someone to strike my fancy while Otto took off toward where Seth stood ordering drinks at the long bar. I didn’t even need a drink at this rate. I just needed to feel a hot mouth on my cock as soon as humanly possible.

I looked around and followed my nose until I saw a man who caught my eye. There was a small but crowded dance floor in the opposite corner of the pub from the dart boards. Men moved to the music and took advantage of the small area to touch each other as much as at any crowded club in Dallas. I was pleasantly shocked at the pickup scene our little local pub had managed to create in only six months of being open. The man I’d spotted saw me watching him and smiled a knowing smile. Bingo. Target acquired. I made my way closer until my hand landed on his hip, and I began to match his rhythm. His hands grasped my sides as he leaned closer and brushed my ear with his lips.

“Are you looking for someone to throw around tonight?” he asked in a voice that sounded nothing like I’d imagined. I felt myself stiffen and looked at him, quirking a brow. He smirked. “I hope to god you like it rough because your size is really doing it for me.”

It wasn’t an unusual response to my size, but it took me off guard anyway. I looked down at the man and wondered what had drawn me to him. He was much smaller than I was, which, agreed, was my type, and he had thick dark hair that looked messy in the very best way. He was wearing a blue button-down and charcoal suit pants. It wasn’t until he tilted his face up that I realized it was the dark-framed glasses that had caught my attention. The same type of glasses worn by a certain geeky client of mine.

Fuck, was I really that obsessed?

I stood for a moment, trying to decide whether my reasons for picking that particular man really mattered in the grand scheme of things. No, they didn’t. But the fact that my dick was as soft as a marshmallow did matter.

“Sorry, man. Just looking to dance a bit,” I said. We danced for a couple of songs until I excused myself to go to the bar and say goodbye to my brothers.

Charlie looked across at me with a wide grin. “Not taking him home? That kid was cute enough. What happened?”

“I have a headache,” I lied. “I’m heading to the ranch. You guys don’t mind if I bail?”

Hudson and Otto looked at each other before glancing back at me. “Of course not. But are you sure you’re okay?”

They were my brothers, and I knew they could see right through me.

“I’ll be fine. See you tomorrow.” I turned to go and saw August Stiel walk through the door looking like a terrified bunny frozen in front of a vicious wolf.

Did the poor man have any idea what he’d just walked in on?

“Hi,” I said after quickly making my way over to where he stood. My stomach twisted in a knot seeing him so out of place and nervous.

He blinked at me, and if it was possible to look even more uncomfortable, he did. My heart went out to the guy.

“Let me get you a drink and introduce you to my brothers,” I said quickly. The sooner I could get him some liquid courage, the sooner my heart might stop squeezing from his discomfort.

“Oh. Okay,” he said quietly, looking around at all the men in the pub. “No… I should go.”

There was no way I was letting him leave like that. Even if he wasn’t gay, I didn’t want him to feel unwelcome in my brothers’ pub. I put my hand on his lower back and steered him toward the bar where I’d just said good night to everyone just a few moments before. The warmth of his body met my hand through the starched shirt, and I pressed a bit more firmly to feel more of it.

“Just stay for one drink?” I asked. “It’s on me.”

“You looked like you were leaving,” he said.

“I… well, I was, but… then I saw you.”

His eyes met mine, but before he could ask me what the hell I’d meant by that, Otto called out to us. “Back so soon?”

“Guys, this is…” I lifted a brow at him, wondering how to introduce him.

He blushed and murmured, “You can call me Augie.”

The warm rush of victory heated my skin as one tiny chunk of his defensive walls crumbled at my feet. “August Stiel, this is Otto, Hudson, and behind the bar is Charlie.”

The three of them stared at us before Charlie spoke. “Saint, love… we know Augie very well. He owns the antique store next door.”

I felt my face heat. “Oh. Right. Well, I didn’t know him before tonight, so… can he get a drink?” I turned to him. “What would you like?”

“Pint of Auld Best please,” Augie said, shifting on his feet. I realized when I felt his movement under my palm that I still held a hand to his back. Pulling it away was excruciating, but I forced myself to do it anyway.

“I’ll take the same,” I said to Charlie. “And can we please get some of that beer cheese dip you have? That stuff is awesome.”

As soon as Charlie gave me a nod and a wink, I led Augie over to a small table in the corner, away from the dancing and louder groups. I held out his chair for him and pushed it in as he took his seat.

Once I sat down too, we stared at each other, and I suddenly realized I’d usurped whatever plans he’d had for coming.

“Oh god, I didn’t mean to steal you,” I said quickly. “Did you… were you meeting someone here?”

Augie looked around as if still in a daze. “No. I was just going to grab a drink before heading home. I remembered it was rainbow night or something.”

“Is that why you decided to leave? You remembered when you saw all the guys?” I tried not to let the thought disappoint me, but I had to admit to remembering what a conservative family he came from.

“What? No. That’s why I came in the first place. But I’m not used to being…”

He paused long enough for me to consider prompting him, but then he finally finished his sentence.

“Out.”

Oh. Ohhhh.

“I thought you were dating a woman in Dallas?”

His face registered surprise before he shoved his glasses up with one long finger and sat forward. “I am. I mean, I was. Well, I am. But not really.”

I felt my mouth widen in a grin. He was fucking adorable. And now I knew he was gay.

Score.

“You’re dating her but not really dating her,” I said with a chuckle. “Clear as mud.”

“She’s a close friend. We went together to a big fundraiser a few years ago in Dallas and the media jumped to conclusions. When my family and Kat’s work friends got all excited about it, we decided to let them believe whatever they wanted to believe.”

“I guess it isn’t easy to be out when you’re from a conservative family.”

Augie snorted and took a sip of his beer. “Hell no. That’s an understatement. I learned early on, being gay isn’t something a Stiel man does.”

I leaned in like I was confessing a secret. “You should become a Wilde. Being straight isn’t something a Wilde man does.”

He barked out a laugh, which got the attention of my brothers and Charlie behind the bar. Otto and Hudson meandered over and pulled up chairs to our little table. The irrational part of me was annoyed at sharing Augie’s company, but I’d also missed my brothers since I’d been on the road so much with Gemma.

As soon as they sat down, the conversation went to the success of LGBT nights at the pub, gossip about the elementary school principal sleeping with one of her kindergarten teachers, and the upcoming bonfire night out at Walnut Farm.

Augie laughed when Charlie popped into the conversation and acted like he didn’t know what a bonfire was. His fake American accent sounded like a melodrama cowboy act and had all of us in stitches. Hearing August Stiel cut loose and relax was enough to make me feel buzzed. When he smiled that much, the very corner of one side of his mouth curled up, making him appear ten years younger.

As the next couple of hours wore on, I found myself sitting closer to Augie and resting my arm on the back of his chair. When Hudson told the story of me stealing a horse from Grandpa’s barn one night when I was twelve and getting as far as the second pasture before getting bucked off, Augie turned to me with a raised eyebrow and leaned in to bump me with his shoulder. I wondered if the beer was responsible for bringing him more out of his shell.

“See? Even that horse wasn’t intimidated by you, kitten,” he teased.

“Ha! Smart man. My brother’s a total kitten,” Otto said, his face splitting into a grin. He puffed up and got close enough to loom over Augie as if to show he was bigger and more intimidating than I was. But the minute Otto approached with a pretend menacing look, Augie shrank back against me with the soft hiss of an indrawn breath.

A fear response.

Otto didn’t notice and sat back down laughing. Augie tried to laugh it off, but when I put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, I felt a slight tremble in his body.

I leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Hey, you okay?”

He nodded quickly and smiled at me, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Yeah. I just think it’s time for me to head home. I have to be at the shop early to meet a delivery.”

“I’ll walk you to your car,” I offered.

“No, that’s fine—”

I met his eyes and shook my head. “Please let me. I’m heading out anyway.”

He nodded and leaned forward to say good night to the rest of the guys at the table. I followed suit and then led Augie out of the pub and into the cool night air. As the breeze ruffled through his shirt, I caught the barest whiff of the gym shampoo scent from his hair.

I wanted to touch him, to lean in for a sniff and place a kiss behind his ear. My self-control and desire to keep my job warred with the sudden need to be closer to him, to watch over him. I considered offering to follow him home just to make sure he got there okay, but then I had to remind myself the man was an adult. And for all I knew, the well-educated antiques expert had no interest whatsoever in a gym rat who’d barely made it through high school.

Augie made a squeaking sound before stopping in his tracks. I was so lost in my head, I nearly knocked him to the ground, stopping just in time to grab him around the waist to keep him from launching forward upon impact. Up ahead was a dark SUV with its passenger door hanging open and papers spilling out onto the ground.

“Is that your car?” I asked, scanning the area around it to see if I could find anyone nearby who may have seen what happened. My arm tightened around his front automatically.

“Yes,” he said breathlessly. “Oh god.”

I released my hold around his waist and reached for his hand. He was shaking again. What the fuck had happened to this guy to make him so scared? And why hadn’t his car alarm gone off if someone had entered it illegally?

We approached the vehicle together and peered inside.

“Did you leave it unlocked?” I asked, getting closer and peering inside.

“I mean… it’s possible I forgot to lock it,” Augie said quietly. “But that wouldn’t be like me. I’m kind of… careful about stuff like that.”

“There are no signs of forced entry,” I noted. “Should we call the sheriff’s office?”

“No, god no. I just want to go home,” he said. The poor man sounded defeated.

“I’m sorry this happened. Do you want me to follow you home?”

The edge of his lip quirked up. “No, thanks. I’ll be fine. I have my new ear clap skills, remember?”

I turned him toward me and put my hands on his upper arms to force him to meet my eyes. “You call me if you need anything at all. Okay?”

He looked so lost in that moment, worried and unsure. I wanted to scoop him up and take him somewhere safe, reassure him that whatever had him feeling off-kilter was just in his mind. But I didn’t know that. Hell, I didn’t know much of anything about the guy. I did know that these feelings were new for me. I’d felt very protective in the past of my family members, the other members of my SEAL team, and even the civilians we’d been tasked with keeping safe during different missions. But it had never felt quite like this.

Looking out for those other people had felt like my job, my responsibility, whereas looking out for Augie felt like some kind of ridiculous inner need that came from my gut.

I forced myself to go against every instinct and let him go. Once he’d pulled out of the lot, I made my way to the truck and headed toward the ranch.

As I made my way out of town, I cursed my fickle nature. I’d gone to the pub tonight looking for a quick fix. Yet, the last thing I needed was to get a reputation in Hobie or even in my own damned family of being more interested in a hookup than in spending time with my brothers. What the fuck was wrong with me that I’d even considered a quick fuck with a stranger at Hudson and Charlie’s pub? Hadn’t I already had enough meaningless fucks with strangers to last a lifetime? Hell, I’d spent the first year after leaving the navy finding as many men to fuck as humanly possible. It was like making up for all the lost time when I was balls-deep in mud and live fire during my time as a SEAL instead of balls-deep in a tight body like other men my age.

Maybe instead of trying to find sexual satisfaction in Hobie, I needed to get to the bottom of what had spooked August Stiel in this tiny quiet town. Instead of heading straight to the ranch, I turned toward the address listed for August Stiel in the contact info Lanny had given me. It wasn’t too far from my grandfathers’ place, so I simply passed by slowly enough to make sure he’d gotten home safely and turned on some lights inside before making my way to the ranch.

As soon as I settled into my bed in the bunkhouse, I planned to take out my laptop and start digging. I hadn’t had enough time earlier to really get to the good stuff, and something about Augie’s skittishness made me antsy enough to want to learn more.

When I arrived at the ranch, my truck tires crunched over the long gravel drive before coming to a stop in front of the low, wide house with the wraparound porch. Doc and Grandpa sat together on an outdoor love seat with a big flannel blanket wrapped around them and Doc’s head resting on Grandpa’s wide shoulder. It was a sight so familiar and comforting, I felt it deep into my bones.

I was home.