Jesus Christ, Orion had forgotten he had those exact muscles. Why did they hurt so much after a few days of farm work when he was in the gym every day? It wasn’t like he was a hundred-pound scrawny thing.

Orion heard his trainer’s words echoing in the back of his mind. Gym strength and real-world strength aren’t the same. It had been a warning not to get lazy on the job and rely on his muscles against a practiced fighter, but it applied here, too.

His uncles had needed an extra hand moving fertilizer yesterday and he’d thought nothing of pitching in—until today. Farm work was hard on the body like nothing else. It also built up a hell of an appetite.

He rolled out of bed instantly ready to drive down to Gramma’s house and make breakfast. His stomach wouldn’t let him put it off.

His phone ringing was an annoyance, but he answered it automatically, stopping the juggling act of buckling his belt and blowing on his first cup of coffee for the day. “Ryan here.”

“Hey. It’s Erik.” For this hour, Erik sounded annoyingly cheery and awake. The extra hour on the east coast made a big difference. “I have some news for you.”

Orion sharpened immediately, setting his mug down and tucking his belt into the loop. “Go ahead.”

“Your guy’s got a rap sheet. He’s not on the Most Wanted list or anything, but he’s got issues. Definitely owns an unregistered firearm. A few DUIs. An assault charge that got dropped. I tried looking into it—I don’t think it’s domestic violence,” he answered Orion’s question before he could even form it. “It looks more like a bar fight situation. And a few problems as a juvenile, but I’d need a lot more time to dig those up, of course.”

“Right. No, that’s enough to work with,” Orion answered, a chill running down his spine. A guy with a gun, a drinking habit, and an attitude problem: a problem in the making. The fact that Gabriel was caught up with him worried the hell out of him. “That’s a big help. Thanks.”

Erik might have been nosy at times, but he was discreet, too. He didn’t even ask. “No problem. Keep me posted if you need anything else.”

“Thanks. Will do. Take care.”

When he hung up, Orion tapped his phone against his lips a few times, his coffee half-forgotten. He finally glanced down at it and picked it up again. What the hell was he going to do?

Gramma would have told him to get a good breakfast, for starters, and deal with the rest later. So he listened to the advice and headed out the door to cook them both a meal.

When he arrived, Gramma was up but not out of her room yet. He heard rustling that meant she was probably getting dressed—a laborious process he dared not interrupt until she was prettied up with perfect hair.

By the time he had pancakes sizzling, Gramma emerged from her room, leaning on her cane as she made her way down the hall to the living room. “Oh, my breakfast servant has arrived.”

“Ma’am,” Orion teased, touching his forehead with his finger. “If you’d care to have a seat, breakfast will be served as soon as these eggs scramble.”

“I could get used to this.” Gramma was hinting—they both knew it. She grinned at him. “Having you around more.”

“Yeah,” Orion admitted. He’d gotten so caught up in his job, being sent hither and yon to protect people, that he’d lost touch with his roots. These past couple weeks had been like a weight lifting that he hadn’t even known had been settled on his shoulders.

Well, there was the one weight he knew about—the screw-up was small enough that he’d only gotten one dressing-down from Joe, but it bothered him. He shouldn’t have let the asshole slip past his defenses, and it easily could have been worse.

This was not running away from his job, he told himself.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Gramma was sharp as ever. She’d never let a bad day at school slip by without getting him to spill his thoughts, and it was no different now.

He sighed and turned the heat under the pancake pan off as he scrambled four eggs.

Between his job, Gramma, and Gabriel, he had enough on his mind to talk for days. He wasn’t going to bother anyone with all that, though. “Just… Chad. Gabriel’s ex. Have people seen him hanging around him?”

“And how would I know that?” Gramma teased.

Orion laughed. “Oh, come on. I know you. You have your whisper network.”

“Well,” Gramma pretended to think, tapping her cane on the floor. “I have heard a few things about that Chad kid trying to win Gabriel back. Why?”

I need to find time for him. Not just as a fuck-buddy, but… as a friend. Orion knew his goddamn protector instinct wasn’t going to shut off now that he was worried about him. Not until he knew for sure Gabriel was safe and happy.

He sighed. “I’m not sure, but I think he’s stalker material. I see some of those kind of guys in my day job. He seems more like a… directionless loser who’s realized what he’s missing out on, but there’s that potential.”

Gramma frowned and rocked her chair slowly, not saying anything as she watched him.

“Chad’s got a history of skirting trouble and nothing better to do. I know you like Gabriel. I just wanna make sure he’s all right before I skedaddle out of here.”

Gramma snorted. “Well, of course we’re going to keep Gabriel safe and kick that Chad guy’s ass. Invite Gabe over for supper tonight. And make the meatloaf the way I tell you to.”

Orion opened his mouth and then closed it again, blinking a few times. “Oh. Okay.”

“And in the meantime, I have some paperwork for you to run to your uncle Frank.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Orion could see his day was scheduled for him. Honestly, it was probably best that way. His grandmother had a way of knowing exactly what had to be done and when. The less he got in the way of that plan, the better.

* * *

Quitting time came a lot faster than Orion had anticipated. It felt like the sun was barely past lunchtime when he spotted Gabriel putting the unsold vegetables in cold storage.

Shit. He still hadn’t gotten a chance to make it up to the road and check on him. Hopefully Gabriel didn’t think he was backing off now.

Gramma was inside, hopefully napping and not trying to cook. He’d done the bulk of the prep work under her guidance after lunch. That left him free to roam around, pitching in and helping where it seemed like it was needed. Time had gotten away from him.

“Hey,” Orion called out, trotting over to Gabriel’s car. He got there just as Gabriel was closing the rolling door.

“Oh!” Gabriel looked startled, clutching his heart. “You keep doing that.”

The reminder of startling Gabriel the morning after their first incredible sexual encounter was really distracting right now. Orion tried to put it to one side and laughed it off. “Sorry. Gramma wanted me to invite you to supper.”

“That means it’s mandatory, doesn’t it?” Gabriel laughed.

Orion grinned. “Pretty much, yeah.”

“Well then, why not? Am I in the way here?”

Orion glanced around to make sure, then shook his head. “Nah, you can leave your car here. Come on in. How was today?”

“Average,” Gabriel said simply. “A bit slow at first, but it picked up around lunchtime.”

“Cool. It’s been pretty busy on the back end.”

“The back end, huh?” Gabriel gave him a teasing grin. “You got started fast.”

Orion’s cheeks burned as he cleared his throat and looked around. Nobody within earshot, especially since they were heading away from the farm down the short lane to the farmhouse. “Uh. Not that fast.”

Gabriel laughed. “Good. Saving something for me?” He winked.

“Oh, I am,” Orion agreed. He tried to put that aside, but it was harder to do now that Gabriel had distracted him. “You free tonight?”

“I am.”

“Not anymore,” Orion told him, trying for bold and cheeky.

“Oh! Saucy.” Gabriel winked. “Good thing you’re cute.”

Orion let out his breath. “That’s a yes?”

Gabriel smiled at him in a way that looked almost fond. “Yeah.”

They were at the porch now, so Orion just nodded and dropped the conversation. “So, meatloaf’s on today. This time, I listened to Gramma.”

“About time you did that.” Gramma’s ears were sharp as ever, since they opened the door to that greeting.

Gabriel laughed and headed over to hug her. “How are you feeling? You look a lot better.”

“Why, look at you flattering a girl. You’ll make me blush,” Gramma swatted him. “Go sit down. Let Orion do the hard serving work.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Orion said obediently and winked at them as he headed to the oven to check on the meatloaf. Just about ready. Perfect.

The two of them chatted, catching up on stall gossip and names he didn’t know as he served the side dishes, then cut and divided up the meatloaf between plates.

“How are things going with that boy?” Gramma eyed Gabriel knowingly. She’d timed the question so it hit right when Orion dropped off their plates at the table.

“Ah. Yeah. Him. I dumped him,” Gabriel admitted as Orion brought back his own plate and joined them. He glanced over at Orion, then Gramma again. “He’s been hanging around lately, though.”

“I heard.” Gramma didn’t look pleased. “That rascal ain’t welcome on any Miele property, and you can tell him that I said so if it bothers him.”

They both laughed, Orion and Gabriel exchanging looks. Gabriel knew just as well as Orion that that tone meant business. “Yes, ma’am,” Gabriel said. Then, he hesitated and added, “Is the street technically…?”

“Even the damn street. Don’t make me come up there and hit him with my stick.”

Supper took their minds off it briefly, but Orion could tell Gramma was just biding her time. Sure enough, after he cleared the dishes, she changed the subject back to Chad.

“That boy—he’s not bothering you at home, is he?”

Gabriel looked startled, then laughed. “Oh. No, he’s not. Don’t worry. I mean, he came over the other day, but it turned out he was visiting Art.”

Orion glanced between them quizzically, but Gabriel didn’t explain. Did he have a roommate? He didn’t miss having those. Art was Gabe’s cousin, wasn’t he?

“So, coming over for a couple beers?” Orion asked Gabriel, glancing at Gramma. He tried to convey I’ve got this.

She nodded slightly. “Help me into my chair and I’ll be fine for the evening.”

Gabriel hugged her goodbye, then headed for the door and waited as Orion settled her down. She whispered into his ear, “Make sure he’s telling the truth about that.”

“I will,” Orion murmured.

“See you in the morning,” Gramma said, this time loud enough to be overheard. “I expect breakfast, young man.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Orion said with a laugh and waved as he headed for the door with Gabriel.

With Gramma smiling to herself in the rocking chair, Orion felt like he had her blessing. With that, he forged ahead with his project, not even bothering to pretend it wasn’t his goal now.

Operation Get Gabriel Out was full steam ahead.