It didn’t look like much to the untrained eye, but Gabriel was suddenly aware first-hand of how much damn work it took to lay a little gravel along a few little paths.

To be fair, the yard was on a Texan farm scale. The path up to the road was a few hundred feet. At least the new greenhouse sat on empty land that had been a buffer between the house and the farm, so it was a little easier to get to—and could be accessed easily, without machinery chewing up their brand-new path every month.

“How’s that?” Orion was at Cora’s side, his eyes watchful as she carefully stepped down the new, and gently sloped, porch ramp onto the beginning of the new path. “Fine gravel, so it should be easier.”

“I’ve been getting around in Creek mud just fine, boyo.” Cora threatened him with her cane until Orion retreated to Gabriel’s side. “Phew. It looks good.” Her gaze wandered up to the road, and then she smiled. “I can get up there easy as pie this summer!”

Gabriel beamed. “Then you can join me.” He was going to keep watching the stall three days a week this week, and she’d hired a new kid to take over for two days—for now. If and when he scaled up his landscaping work, he’d quit completely.

Well, almost completely. He planned to give Cora a hand with the herbs, once she’d figured out the packaging design and her product line. She was already experimenting with oil infusions. The pie tonight was probably going to involve basil olive oil, or rosemary vinegar, or something fancy like that.

She strode off toward the garden site, leaving the two men in her wake.

“Join you? Up on the road? As long as you have frozen water bottles—” Orion started to tell Gabriel.

Gabriel raised a brow at him. They’d had this discussion before, after the last near-argument. He knew perfectly well how to cope in the heat of a Texan summer. “I will. Just like I do every summer,” he reminded Orion.

Orion shut his mouth quickly and nodded. “Ah. Right. Thank you for, um… putting up with my worrywarting.”

“You’re welcome.” Gabriel rubbed his back for a moment to show his appreciation. Orion had relaxed a little since their first real miscommunication, but so had he.

Instead of assuming the worst, Gabriel tried to ask. Which reminded him to ask, “Did you hear back from the local security place?”

“Hidden Creek Security? They’re a pretty small operation, mom-and-pop. Not a lot to do in a town this size. A couple famous sports people supposedly live here, but that’s it. They can use an extra guy for a day or two per week, but I think consultancy is the way to go.” Orion smiled. “Now’s the chance, while everyone’s reevaluating their security systems after the Victory Boulevard incident.”

“Oh, this is perfect.” Gramma gestured with her cane toward the bench they’d carefully placed halfway between the house and the new garden. “I can sit here and watch the pool boy. My garden is going to have a pool, right?”

“If you want a pool,” Gabriel said with a laugh, “I can add it to the plans. As long as I get to help choose the pool… and pool boy.”

“I’ll make sure they send me the catalog.”

Orion rubbed his neck and shook his head. “You two.”

“Oh, hush. You chose well,” Cora told him, grinning. “Just like I hoped. Now, show me where those rose beds are going.”

The whole time, Orion stayed by his side, occasionally taking his hand. As they walked behind Gramma to test the greenhouse path, he stopped Gabriel in his tracks to peck his lips.

In the last week, since they’d agreed to make things work—since admitting he was staying here—despite all the uncertainty, Orion’s spirits had been higher than ever. It was wonderful to see.

“You did well, boys.” That was Cora, snapping Gabriel out of his reverie. She was settled in her new chair at the trestle table—which Orion had adapted to give it shorter legs, so she didn’t have to stand in front of it or reach too high. “Now, come inside. Pie will be ready, and I believe I have some of Gabe’s designs to approve.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Orion said and smiled, squeezing Gabriel’s hand. “Need a hand with anything?”

Cora winked at Gabriel. “You can take care of the side dishes,” she told Orion. “Gabe’s in charge of pie.”

“What?” Orion yelped. “I’m perfectly capable of pie.”

“Yes, dear,” Cora wickedly smiled. “But that’s why I found you a boyfriend who’s a great cook.”

Orion stared. “But I found him!”

“Oh, bless,” Cora said and laughed along with Gabriel. “If that’s what you want to believe.” She eased herself to her feet and led them out of the new greenhouse. “Go on ahead. The pie will burn if you don’t hurry up.”

Gabriel grinned at Orion and took him by the hand, walking ahead of Cora to the farmhouse. Its windows glowed with light as dusk crept closer. The crickets’ song was the perfect soundtrack to end a hard but satisfying day of work.

Everything I was looking for wound up in the right place at the right time.

Hopefully that included an unburnt pie. Gabriel sped up to a sprint, laughing as Orion pretended to chase him through the early evening.

“Go get him!” Cora cheered Orion on. “Come on, put some effort in and impress him. I let your granddad do all kinds of things when he impressed me.”

“Gramma!” Orion protested.

Cora scoffed. “You’re only young and flexible once! Make the most of it.”

“Oh, God.”

Gabriel laughed so hard that his steps slowed as he reached the stairs.

Orion swept him off his feet and tossed him over his shoulder as he squirmed and protested. “Gotcha,” Orion teased, then set him gently on the porch and beamed at him.

“Good,” Gabriel told him and leaned in for a kiss. “Pie smells perfect.”

Orion felt it, too—he took Gabriel’s hand and squeezed lightly. “Everything is.”

“Yeah,” Gabriel murmured, turning to lead Orion inside. “It is.”

* * *

It was pitch black, even considering it was early summer, which meant it must have been a late hour as they stumbled back along the road to their house next door.

Gabriel had been surprised how affordable the place really was, especially with the rent divided between two people. If he didn’t have a policy against regrets, he might have regretted spending so much time in a place that was… well… such a dump.

Living here? He’d never imagined this kind of happiness.

“Hey, sexy.” Orion took his hand. “What’s on your mind?”

Gabriel squeezed Orion’s hand and led him up their driveway, smiling at the sight of their cars side-by-side. Just as Orion had said, Connor had fixed up his car quickly and without charging him an arm and a leg. It ran like a dream now.

People seemed to care for him here in a way that he doubted he would have found in the big city. No wonder Orion was happy being home.

“I’m just happy,” he answered at last.

Orion smiled. “Good. I’m happy if you are.”

Gabriel let them inside, sighing as he glanced around the place. It was cozy and comfortable now, with the touches of decorations he’d added in the last couple weeks.

“You know what would make me happier?”

Orion gave him one of those gorgeous, slow smiles that showed his pearly whites and crinkled around his eyes. God, he was beautiful. “I have a few guesses. Will I find this source of happiness in the bedroom?”

“Anywhere in the house, really,” Gabriel grinned. “But it’s late and I’m too tired for wall sex today.”

Orion laughed. “Damn. We’ll have to save that for tomorrow morning.”

“If you’re up early enough.” Gabriel grinned mischievously. “My job waits for no man to come.”

“Oh, I’ll be up early,” Orion promised, grinning as he smacked Gabriel’s ass. “I’m starting to get up now, in fact. Upstairs, you.”

Gabriel trotted upstairs with Orion hot on his heels. He hardly made it to the bedroom before Orion grabbed his hip and steered him to the bed, straddling him the moment he was flat on his back.

“Someone’s eager,” Gabriel panted against Orion’s lips, kissing him hard.

Orion grinned. “I’ve been waiting since I watched you raking gravel earlier, all sweaty and shirtless.”

“Waiting for a little manual labor of a different kind?” Gabriel kissed Orion again, enjoying the sweet, soft warmth of his lips. Then, he nipped Orion’s bottom lip and sucked gently. “My cock against yours? My moans in your ear as you ride me hard?”

“Oh, you animal,” Orion teased. He fumbled with the buttons on Gabriel’s shirt, pulling it off with a few grumbled complaints about the complexity of clothes.

While he took care of the top half, Gabriel went straight for their jeans. He had them both open within seconds, and slid a hand into Orion’s pants to caress his half-hard cock with a promise of what was what to come.

“Oooh,” Orion approved. He kissed Gabriel again, then tossed his own shirt aside.

Gabriel took a moment to admire the sculpted torso in front of him, but his eyes kept wandering back to Orion’s face. He just looked so gorgeous when he was happy.

Orion was grinning at him like the world was theirs alone. “I bet I know what you’d like.”

“What’s that?”

“Get our pants off and maybe you’ll see.” Orion winked.

Gabriel didn’t waste time getting them naked. He had to fight the fabric around Orion’s knees until he could kick his jeans off without kneeing Gabe in the balls. “Shorts season is here, you know. Or maybe just boxers.”

“Or we could just go naked around the house,” Orion snickered.

Gabriel hummed. “And shock the mailman.”

“He shouldn’t be looking in our windows, then.”

“Fine,” Gabriel laughed as Orion’s weight settled on top of him again. This warmth of skin on skin was more than welcome compared to the scorching heat they’d endured in the day. This was… cozy, yet intimate.

His fears about moving in had all dwindled away or been proven wrong. He couldn’t get enough of Orion. Being around him every day was so much better than he’d dared to hope.

All the sex sure didn’t hurt, either.

Orion’s hard cock pressed against his, their cock heads sliding together slowly. Gabriel rolled his head back into the pillow as Orion wrapped his hand around both their shafts, squeezing them together as he thrust slowly against Gabriel.

The warm, slick, firm pressure was divine. Gabriel gripped the sheets hard, his hips shuddering upward as he tried to thrust. The weight of Orion against him kept him in place, though.

“I love you,” Gabriel whispered, peeking through his lashes at Orion.

“Love you, too.” Orion was grinning in the way that meant he had something he wasn’t saying.

“What?” Gabriel asked, eyeing him. “Come on. Tell me.”

Orion laughed and shook his head. “You know the first time we said it?”

Of course Gabriel did. Orion had first said it during sex, which had made Gabriel briefly worry that it had been lust-driven. But Orion had treated him so well afterward, too. “Yeah?”

“Well, uh, I think you misheard me. I said I love this, and you said love you too,” Orion said, his thumb rubbing distracting circles around the head of Gabriel’s cock.

“Ah! Fuck, I can’t focus when you do that,” Gabriel groaned, his fingernails digging into the sheets again. It took him a second to realize what Orion had just said. “Wait… you…” His cheeks were burning now. “I totally misheard.”

“I know,” Orion snickered.

Gabriel laughed, covering his face now for a few seconds. “You didn’t have to—you could have told me.”

“No. I already knew I love you,” Orion added simply. “I just thought it was too soon to tell you.”

Gabriel slid his hands away to look at Orion again. “Really?”

“I’ve known for… well… I don’t know. I saw you that first day, up on the road, and I just knew I’d found home again.”

Gabriel was breathless, his chest so warm with emotion. “Oh.” He ran his hands slowly up Orion’s sides, then gripped his shoulders and gave him his best teasing grin. “I love you, too.”

Orion laughed and leaned in to kiss him deeply. When he started to move again, he thrust their bodies together sharply with every stroke of his hand. Their cocks were trapped between their stomachs, with just Orion’s hand to guide them.

Every damn thrust of Orion’s hips made Gabriel squirm with pleasure. His skin burned from his chest, where Orion’s finger rubbed around one of his nipples just lightly enough to tease curse words from him, to his thighs, where Orion straddled him, their legs tangled.

When Orion panted his name, Gabriel grinned, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. He ran his nails lightly down Orion’s back, then grabbed his ass. “Come on, baby. Show me I’m yours.”

Orion kissed him hard. “Mine,” he repeated breathily, kissing his neck and ear. “And I’m yours. For as long as you want me.”

“I never want to lose you again,” Gabriel whispered.

“Never,” Orion promised. His thrusts were hard and fast now, and it was getting harder to hold out. Orion, ever a quick learner, had figured out exactly what angle felt best for them both.

Orgasm hit Gabriel like a tidal wave. His body drew tight, his muscles quivering as he gasped Orion’s name. He squeezed his eyes shut, his nails digging into Orion’s hips as he enjoyed the flex of those powerful muscles under his hands.

Every thrust of his hips was met by Orion, whose hand tightly cupped the top of Gabriel’s cock. The sensitive underside of Gabriel’s shaft slid against Orion’s thick shaft. Gabriel twitched and squirmed with pleasure as Orion wrung the last bit of pleasure and passion from him, and finally flopped on the bed.

“Oh, that was beautiful,” Orion whispered while Gabriel gasped for breath.

Gabriel peeked through his lashes, then stared at the smoking hot sight of Orion’s hand working up and down his own shaft fast and hard. Orion was looking him up and down, his gaze lingering for a moment on his cock, then his body, then his face.

Their eyes met, and Orion gasped, his back arching and fingers curling around Gabriel’s shoulder. “Yes!” Orion came hard and fast, leaving them twice as sticky, and Gabriel grinned up at him.

“We’ll need another bath at this rate.”

Orion grinned. “Our water bill is gonna be outrageous.”

“So worth it,” Gabriel murmured, pulling Orion down to lie by his side. Their legs and arms tangled together, but Gabriel didn’t care. He laughed, snuggling into Orion’s chest and pressing his cheek against his shoulder. “I love you. Even if I admitted that much too soon.”

“I’ll forgive you,” Orion teased. “Since you’re cute… and mine.”

“Phew.” Gabriel pretended to wipe sweat from his forehead. “I’d better watch out.”

“You’ll always be cute. Or, at the very least, you’ll always be mine.”

“Gee,” Gabriel laughed, but he couldn’t stop laughing. “Thanks.”

Orion grinned. “You’re welcome!” He kissed Gabriel’s temple, then his forehead and nose, before finally kissing his lips. “I feel like… like I can face the future now, no matter what’s in it. Is that crazy?”

“Not at all,” Gabriel murmured, rubbing Orion’s shoulder. “But let’s start with the tissue box.”

Orion laughed, that gorgeous, warm rumble filling the bedroom. “Agreed.”

The contentment deep in Gabriel’s bones as he found a comfortable spot in Orion’s arms was like nothing else he’d felt, but now that he’d tasted it for the first time, he was never going to settle for less.

Gabriel had found shelter in Orion’s arms, but more than that—he’d found home.