“If we get another motherfucking storm, I’m going to flip my shit.”

Uncle Pete looked grouchy, but Orion gave him a smile over their cups of coffee anyway. “Yeah. It’s murder on the recurring orders, isn’t it?”

Brunch at Rocket was his idea, and he hadn’t expected Pete to so readily agree to it. As a kid, Pete had taken him here for Saturday morning breakfasts while Gramma took care of business on the farm.

It was strange to be back here, but comfortably familiar. Like settling into an old, worn pair of boots. Gramma had dug his out of the basement—after all, his old shirts might not fit, but his shoes did.

The mud-stained rubber boots had been sitting on the front porch of his rental farmhouse when he pulled up, his car full of his old Houston life, packed neatly into boxes. They were the best “welcome home” gift he could have asked for.

“The new orders more than make up for it,” Pete told him, but he was still frowning.

Orion sipped his coffee, listening to the line cook grouching in the kitchen and the rattle of the servers carrying empty plates back to the dishwasher. He liked the booths at the back, near the business end of the restaurant. “Oh?” He hadn’t thought business was going that well, based on Pete’s… well, attitude lately.

“Yeah. Losing certain customers freed up capacity. Even if we lost some sentimental value for Mom.”

Orion sensed he was getting closer to the root of the problem. They were interrupted by the arrival of food, but he didn’t let Pete get away from it once they were alone again. “It bothers you, losing her first favorite customer, huh?”

“It shouldn’t.” Pete frowned at his pancakes like they’d wronged him. “It’s better for business.”

Orion shook his head. “It’s not all about numbers, though.”

“Easy to say when you ain’t in business,” Pete said, but he grinned at last.

Orion laughed. “Good point. I nearly am, though.”

“You get anywhere with your job hunt?” Pete wolfed down pancakes like he hadn’t eaten in days.

“After I handed in the keys, I talked to a few Houston conference centers. I’ll freelance at big events, and anything in the area, too. There’s a mom-and-pop security company here that might have room for me, but they wouldn’t have full-time work. And I’m working on spinning my work into consultancy. Since the fire… explosion… whatever the hell that was, a lot of places are upping their security. Who better to advise them?”

Pete looked impressed. “Good going, man.” He shook his head, then gulped his coffee and straightened up. “I owe you an apology, I think.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“No,” Pete shook his head. “Mom told me I do.”

Orion grinned. “Then go ahead.”

“I had a lot going on, and I took it out on you. Things should be better now, with the divorce finalized and… you know, all that stuff.”

Orion had barely asked about it. He didn’t want to rub salt in the wound, if Pete was upset, but the fact that he was bringing it up now… meant maybe he wanted to talk.

“How are you handling it?”

“Meh,” Pete shrugged, working on his hash browns now. “Glad it’s over. It’s a fair settlement, and we don’t hate each other. It’ll give us both more of our freedom back.”

“Yeah. That’s the best possible outcome of a bad situation, I guess,” Orion nodded. It was strange, talking like adults instead of uncle and nephew about Pete’s divorce. “Drinks on Saturday? And the game?” A good old sports bar trip would cheer Pete up.

Pete shook his head. “How about Bottoms Up?”

Pete’s suggestion made Orion nearly drop his utensils. His cheeks flushed. Just because he’d come out and the family knew about him and Gabriel now didn’t mean Pete had to bring him to the gay bar in town.

“Are you sure?” Orion asked, shaking his head. “You don’t have to.”

Pete leaned in. “I’m positive,” he said, not looking away from Orion. He looked like he was choosing his words carefully. “I owe Kris a drink.”

“Fair enough. Bottoms Up Saturday,” Orion said with a cheery smile. His phone rang with Gabe’s ringtone, so he quickly dug it out. “Sorry, hold on.”

“Go ahead.” Pete finished his breakfast while Orion answered the phone.

“Ryan here.” The words were automatic, like he was still on the job. And now he might be at any given moment.

“Hi, babe. The gravel’s here.”

“Shit. It’s early.” Orion glanced at his watch—not even eleven yet. “Wasn’t it supposed to be noon?”

“Something about it being a small load. Not like your usual,” Gabriel said, and he could hear the smirk in his tone.

Orion tried not to rise to the bait. The sex over the last few days had been awesome, as they made up for a week of Orion being away in Houston. “It sure isn’t. Okay, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“If you need to go, I’ve got this,” Pete waved at the table. Orion knew it was his way of saying sorry for yelling at him about Gramma, so he nodded and let him do it.

“Thanks, man. See you back at the farm.”

“See you in a while.”

Orion took off for the car, already visualizing the new paths. Even though the garden wasn’t finished, they’d planned the pathway carefully, so they could get enough gravel for all three paths at once. Soon, Gramma would be able to get to her new greenhouse, the roadside stall, and the garden.

It had meant long hours of planning with Gabriel, shooting drawings and photos back and forth, and consulting with Gramma about what she found easiest.

Giving her back her freedom was worth it all.

* * *

“Jesus. I never want to move again.”

Gabriel was sprawled in the tub, one foot hooked over the edge of the bath, his arm on his forehead as he soaked in the tub.

The first shower had taken the sweat, grime, and dust off them both. Now, Gabriel was unknotting his muscles while Orion shaved over the sink.

“Mmm,” Orion hummed, keeping his eyes on what he was doing despite the distraction that a naked, wet Gabriel provided. The quiet, domestic moment was strangely peaceful. “Hard labor is surprisingly hard.”

“Speaking of surprising,” Gabriel laughed. “Chad was at the market over the weekend and talked to me.”

Orion tensed up, but he reminded himself that Gabriel was allowed to talk to whoever the hell he wanted. “Mmm?” He scraped the razor along his jawline, keeping his hands steady.

“He tried to apologize, I think. I said what I told him a few weeks ago still applies until I tell him otherwise.”

Orion smiled as he rinsed off the blade, glancing over at Gabriel. “And how did he seem? Armed and desperate?”

“No. No, he looked sober, for once.” Gabriel swished his foot through the water, his fingertips just touching the surface. He slapped it gently with his palm a few times. “Weirdly.”

“Mm.” Orion returned his attention to his upper lip. “S’good.”

“I just figured I’d let you know. Just in case. He’s not sniffing around every day, though.” Gabriel smiled up at him. “Cora’s shotgun probably got through…”

“Her what?” Orion yelped, jerking his razor away from his face.

“Oh. Uh. The gunshot that day that, um… we kind of argued?”

Orion eyed Gabriel and rinsed the razor again, then drained the sink. “It wasn’t a neighbor, was it? She looked way too innocent when she said that.”

“I don’t think I was supposed to spill the beans,” Gabriel admitted with a laugh. “But no.”

Orion blew out a sigh and shook his head, but he couldn’t help smiling. There was no stopping Gramma from protecting her boys. “Well, it did get Chad to fuck off.”

“Oh, how did brunch go? I never asked.”

“Pete and I talked it out,” Orion assured Gabriel and smiled, leaning over the sink to rinse his face and pat aftershave onto his cheeks. “We’re going to Bottoms Up for drinks on Saturday. Said he owes Kris a drink.”

Gabriel’s brows shot up, and the tub sloshed as he sat up. “He knows Kris?”

“Yeah. Why?” Gabriel was giving him the look that he’d quickly realized meant he thought Orion was being slow. “What did I miss?”

“Your uncle, who’s getting divorced for as-yet-unstated reasons, just said to you that he knows the very gay bartender of the only gay bar around here.”

Orion stopped patting his cheeks, opened his mouth for a moment, then closed it again.

“Now you look like me when I’m caught by surprise,” Gabriel snickered. “You really never saw it coming?”

Orion shook his head. “He’s… but… I never thought he might be…”

“Gay? Honey, now that I’m paying attention, I think half the town is.” Gabriel laughed. He stood up, pulling the plug on the bath.

“Is that why you’re staying?” Orion smiled into the mirror as he finished rinsing the sink.

“Among other reasons, which are sexier and made entire of muscles. But don’t make me name them,” Gabriel wagged a finger. He grabbed a fluffy towel to wrap himself in. “We have a site tour to give your gramma, and then I believe she’s making us pie. Come on. Clothes, and out the door. Wear your nice shirt.”

Orion shook his head. Gabriel had taken this leadership role in the yard project on a little too easily. It was getting hard to say no to him when he got bossy. It was adorable, after all. “Yes, sir.”

“Good answer.” Gabriel winked and snapped his towel at Orion’s ass, then fled for the bedroom with Orion giving chase.

“I’m gonna catch you,” Orion threatened, laughing all the way.

“You already did,” Gabriel winked, coming to a halt and letting Orion wrap his arms around his waist. “Just like I hoped all along.”

Orion rested his chin on Gabriel’s shoulder and hugged him tightly. “Me, too.”

“Come on. Time to show off our hard work.”