Stars & Stripes

“Clancy?”



“Garrett! Hey! How’s your dad doing, is he okay?”



“Uh . . . yeah, he’s okay. Just got home from the hospital, thanks for asking. I’m looking for Ty, is he around?”



“No, Hot Dog called in this morning and said he’d been tasked out to DC again.”



Zane’s stomach began to churn as that news sank in. “Tasked out to DC” was Ty’s way of covering when Richard Burns needed a job done. Burns had promised Ty months ago that he wouldn’t call him again for one of those jobs. Apparently, his promises had a shelf life of three months.



“Garrett? You there?” Clancy asked, sounding worried.



“Yeah, sorry. I . . . will you have him give me a call when he shows back up?”



“Sure, but you’ll probably be home before he will. He said he’d be gone for up to a week on this one.”



Zane nodded jerkily. “Okay. Thanks, Clancy.”



“No problem. Hey, you need anything from our end, you just ask, okay? We sent flowers to the hospital. Did your dad get them?”



Zane barely heard what she was saying. “Yeah, he did. I meant to thank you.” In truth, he had no idea if his father had gotten those flowers. That was the furthest thing from his mind now. “I have to run, but I’ll be in touch, okay? Thanks.”



He hung up as he headed back toward his dad. When he sank into the chair beside him, the phone was still in his hand and he was staring out at the land, unseeing.



“Everything okay?”



“Hmm?”



“You look like you got bad news,” Harrison observed, his sharp eyes looking Zane up and down.



Zane smiled and told himself to pull it back together. “Yeah, just . . . my partner got loaned out to another agency. I can’t get in touch with him.”



“Is that good or bad?”



“It’s dangerous, sometimes. Bad, I guess.”



Harrison nodded. “You worried about your partner, Z?”



“Yeah, a little,” Zane admitted.



“That’s good. Last time you were here, you weren’t even worried about yourself.”



The echoed chime of the front door saved Zane from having to respond. That was one conversation he did not want to have.



“Sounds like someone left the gate open,” Harrison said.



Every ranch in the Hill Country, big or small, had a gate. Sometimes that was all there was—just a gate on the driveway with no fence to back it up. But the Carter Garrett Ranch had fences galore.



“You better get it. Juanita’s at the store.”



Zane nodded and went inside. The door chimed again as he jogged down the stairs. The house around him brought back all kinds of memories, some good, some not. Parts of the house had been comfortable and homey, mostly the parts frequented by his father or Zane and the other kids, while others had been museum pieces meant for magazine shoots and society functions. He got to the door and nudged the dog out of the way so he could open it.



What he saw left him speechless.



Ty grinned. “What, it’s the butler’s day off?”



Zane just stared, taking in the face that had filled his dreams for nearly a week. “How are you here?”



Ty’s smile softened into something more intimate, and he shrugged. “You sounded like you needed me.”



It sunk in with another heartbeat, and Zane stepped forward to wrap his arms around Ty and held him tight. “Yes,” he whispered. “Yes.” He squeezed his eyes shut, hardly able to believe it. Ty was here. In Texas.



Ty hugged him hard, laughing.



It was a long minute before Zane could make himself step back, though he didn’t pull loose of Ty’s arms. Ty’s tanned face and a day’s worth of stubble was possibly the most beautiful thing Zane had ever laid eyes on. “How?”



“Well, see, first I took a plane. And then I rented a car. And then after getting lost twice, I found a sign that said ‘Garrett,’ scaled the big-ass gate down by the road, and hitched a ride on a prairie dog here.” He gave a mock frown. “Those things are not as cute and cuddly as you’d think.”



Zane snorted and pulled Ty inside. “Funny guy. Hell, I don’t care how.”



“I caught the first flight out this morning,” Ty said as he stepped into the marble-tiled foyer. “Called in a favor. All my favors, actually. I explained what was going on to Dick, and he’s claiming me for as long as we need to be here so I don’t have to use any comp time. And Alston took the case I was working in exchange for a personal favor of unknown origin later on.”



Zane hugged him again, stunned by the lengths to which Ty had gone to be with him. Ty laughed, his long fingers sliding down Zane’s back. Zane had to force himself to let go. He pushed the door shut behind them and looked down at the red and white Australian Shepherd sniffing at Ty’s ankles.



Ty watched it warily. “Why do they like me?” he whispered in exasperation. “It’s like they smell that I was almost food once.”



“Bullet likes everybody, even me.” Zane leaned over to scratch the dog’s ears and then shoo him away. The dog headed for the stairs, seeking out Harrison. When Zane straightened, it struck him all over again. “I can’t believe you’re here. And I can’t believe how much I missed you.”



“I missed you too. Not enough to trek my ass to Texas, but you sounded . . . I just figured I needed to be here.”



Zane hugged him again. He couldn’t help himself. “It’s just a shitty situation,” he said, glancing toward the kitchen as he released Ty. His mother was around here somewhere. Maybe upstairs in her suite, or in her office. He was surprised she hadn’t come out when the doorbell rang. “But I am so glad you’re here.”



Ty ran his hand down Zane’s arm. Then he shook himself and shrugged his bag off his shoulder, handing it to Zane. “I’ll just make myself at home then.”



Zane took it and dropped it on the floor next to the door. At Ty’s raised eyebrow, he said, “We won’t be staying here. We—”



His mother’s voice rang out from upstairs. “Zane? Who was at the door?”



Zane glanced to Ty and made a rude gesture toward the stairs. “A friend of mine’s here,” he called back, and within a few moments, Beverly Carter-Garrett appeared at the banister halfway around the second floor.



“A friend?” she asked, looking down at them from on high. She paused for effect, and then made her way down the polished wooden staircase, a polite smile in place.



She cut a severe figure on the spiral staircase, her graying hair dyed a harsh black, her smile not touching her blue eyes. She hadn’t been expecting company today, but that hadn’t stopped her from donning a designer pantsuit, high heels, and a string of pearls; her entire life was about outward appearances, and always had been.



“Ma’am,” Ty said with a nod as she came down the stairs.



Beverly tipped her head to one side as she looked Ty over. He was wearing jeans and a plain white T-shirt, probably to ward off the blazing heat, and every inch of him was dusty. No way would he pass Beverly’s inspection. He wasn’t wearing a tie, after all. She turned her gaze to Zane as she stopped two stairs from the bottom—a tactic with which he was familiar. It put her at about his eye level. He’d gotten his height from his father and grandfather, so she’d come up with a way to compensate.



“Mother, this is Special Agent Ty Grady. Ty, my mother, Beverly Carter-Garrett.”



Beverly held out her hand, like royalty. Ty took a single step forward and took the tips of her fingers in his, bowing his head in a formal greeting that, for some reason, Zane was shocked to see his partner knew how to do. By the look on his mother’s face, she was both surprised and pleased.



“Hello, Mr. Grady,” Beverly said, voice still polite. “How do you know Zane?”



“I’m his partner, ma’am.”



The warmth and charm that seemed to exude from Ty at all times were missing. He was being gracious, but almost cool to her. It was obvious to Zane that what he’d said about his mother in the past was coloring Ty’s behavior toward her, whether Ty meant for it to or not. But Beverly treated everyone like that. Zane figured she wouldn’t think anything of it.



“His partner?”



“Yes, Mother. And it’s Special Agent Grady, not Mr. Grady.”



“Oh, I see. I wasn’t aware you had a partner, Zane.”



Zane just smiled, not willing to give her a chance to start an old argument. She was baiting him, pure and simple. When she didn’t get the response she wanted, she turned to Ty.



“Please, come in.” Beverly indicated the sitting room to her left. “Tell me what brings you to Texas, Mr. Grady.”



“Well,” Ty said, glancing back at Zane with a furrow of his brow. He was obviously wondering how much he should say, and probably how nice he had to be. Zane waved permissively—go for it. “Zane told me his father was shot.”



“And that brought you all the way from Washington?” she asked, sitting primly in the armchair that faced the couch. “Just to see your coworker?”



“Mother, you know full well it’s Baltimore, and Ty’s not just my coworker, he’s a close friend.”



Beverly folded her hands in her lap. “I thought perhaps he’d brought some work for you. You do claim to be important to that place.”



Ty looked between them. He cleared his throat, meeting Zane’s eyes, and he pointed to the bag by the door. He held his hand against his chest, where only Zane could see it, and mimicked holding a gun. “I did bring work.”



“I see,” Beverly said, her voice still cool. “I was under the impression that Zane was to be at home with his family.”



“Ma’am, I was under the impression that he’s been at the hospital with his family. Weren’t you there?”



The change that came over Beverly’s face was like a storm cloud passing over a clear blue sky. For once, she’d been struck speechless. No one in the area had the nerve to say such things to her, and no one in the family bothered anymore. Zane knew she’d dig in the spurs any chance she got, but he hadn’t expected Ty to shoot back. The pointed words from his partner, and the quiet way Ty was standing up for him, warmed him in a way he knew he should have been ashamed of.



But he needed to curtail it before it went further. He knew what Ty’s sharp tongue was capable of, and he knew his mother. Rather than waiting for the next verbal stab, he turned Ty toward the stairs.



“Mother, I’m going to take Ty to meet Dad. We’ll talk to you at dinner. Come on,” he said to Ty.



Ty turned with him, pausing to nod at Beverly. “Nice to meet you, ma’am,” he offered as he followed Zane to the stairs.



“Dinner is at eight o’clock sharp,” Beverly called after them.



Zane didn’t slow until they reached the second story landing and the small sitting alcove that led toward a set of double doors to the outside. He stopped short of opening them and turned to Ty. “That was the first time in years I’ve seen someone do that to her.”



Ty ran his hand down Zane’s arm—a gesture he reserved for when he felt Zane needed comforting. “I’m sorry. It kind of slipped out. I promise I’ll be good.”



“It was spectacular,” Zane whispered, smiling and pulling Ty closer, palming Ty’s lower back as he reveled in the kiss. He couldn’t express in words how much Ty being here meant. “But yeah. Try to be good so she doesn’t banish you, huh? Dad’s a lot easier. And drugged to the gills on pain meds.”



“Right.”



Zane smiled as the rest of his mother-related tension melted away, and he led the way out to the porch. Harrison was sitting right where Zane had left him.



“Hey, Dad, I want you to meet someone.”



Harrison turned his head and watched them approach. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t get up,” he said, his gravelly voice even lower than usual. “This a friend of yours, Z?”



Ty waved his broken hand out by his hip and stepped closer. He held his left out to Harrison. “Ty Grady, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The difference in his tone with Harrison was night and day to his tone with Beverly.



Harrison shook Ty’s hand. He glanced up at Zane and back to Ty. “Z’s partner?”



“Yes, sir.”



Harrison smiled. “Wondered if you’d show.”



Zane blinked. “What?”



“You talk about your partner, Z. You’re closer than you let on.”



Zane glanced at Ty, surprised to feel himself blushing.



Harrison looked at Ty. “You’re playing hooky from work to be here, aren’t you, son?”



Ty smiled. “Yes, sir, I suppose I am.”



“Why is that?”



“Zane’s always there when I need him.” He met Zane’s eyes and added, “What sort of partner would I be if I weren’t here now?”



Zane grinned.



“Have a seat,” Harrison said, waving at two chairs in the informal grouping.



They settled in, and Zane began to relax. Ty had apparently passed his dad’s inspection, and his dad seemed content to let the conversation go at that. He never had been one for idle talk.



Zane looked to Ty. “Did you eat on the way here? We’ve got a few hours ’til dinner.”



“I had three peanuts on the airplane; I’m good,” Ty said, deadpan. “It really is like surface-of-the-sun hot here, huh?”



Harrison snorted a laugh. “Why don’t you two go on and get him settled in. No need to stay here until dinner.” Zane opened his mouth to protest, but Harrison talked right on. “I’m well enough, Z. You’ve been on your feet for days now. Take him and show him the ranch. Get some peace and quiet before dinner comes around and your mother starts in on you again.”