Choices, p.41
Choices, page 41
Brian jolted and looked away from Josh. “I can’t Find things, just people.”
“We wouldn’t waste your talent on it anyway,” Charlie said. “I figure Nick can make the rounds of some pawn shops, and I’ll check online. See if we can locate them. These douchebags sound like amateurs. They’ll have dumped the stuff for pennies on the dollar.”
“You warned her it was a long shot?”
Charlie nodded. “Sure. She said she heard we were real good, though. Sentimental value was worth the retainer.”
Nick couldn’t suppress a satisfied smile. It wasn’t just Brian’s help that had their word-of-mouth growing. They’d documented an abusive husband for a divorce case, proved an insurance fraud, tracked down a con man— even found a missing horse, which, given the fuck-all he knew about horses, had been a fluke. But “heard we were real good” sounded sweet.
“I can do the pawn shops.” He had a local list, ranked from most likely to fence to least. “Tomorrow, though. Brian and I are taking the rest of the day off.”
“Lucky guys. Wish I could take a day off after a successful case.”
“You can,” Nick pointed out. “We’re our own bosses.”
“With rent to pay.” Charlie clicked to a new screen. “Got another case we might end up with. Dude wanted proof his neighbor is breaking his fences and letting his cattle out. He balked at the fee, but he was steaming mad. If it happens again, I’m betting he’ll be back.”
“Surveillance on cows. My favorite.”
“Cows are our friends,” Brian said, deadpan.
Nick recognized the glint of humor in his eyes. “We’ll pay you to sit out in the cow shit with a camera then.”
There was a buzz from the front door button. Charlie said, “Not expecting anyone. You?”
Nick bounced to his feet and went to check, finding a courier waiting with a large envelope and a touchpad. “Sign for this.”
Nick did, waiting for the man to leave before bringing the envelope on back.
“What’s that?” Charlie held out his hand.
“Don’t know. Return address is Florida, don’t recognize the name.” Florida didn’t evoke good memories. Nick pulled the tab across the top and peered carefully inside. “Just papers.”
Charlie slid his laptop to the side to clear space and shifted Joshie over to his other knee. “Dump them out.”
Nick shook the envelope gently side to side to ease the pages onto the desk without touching them. Brian stood close, crowding him. As the writing on the top page came into view, Brian said, “Damon!”
Nick would’ve denied it in a court of law, but a huge rush of relief went through him. They hadn’t heard from Damon in months, not since two days after the meeting with the Russians, when he’d called Charlie to relay the message that they were all clear and he was dropping under the radar for a while. He hadn’t surfaced when Lori got the stomach flu, or when Joshie caught it from her, or when Brian got squished by a sheep and had to get his hand X-rayed. He hadn’t kibitzed about the car dealership Lori was working at, or the location of the office they chose to rent. Without Brian’s Finder sense reassuring them, he’d have wondered if Damon was dead.
Of course, after the flood of relief came a rebound of irritation. He didn’t want his most annoying in-law getting up in his business, even if he expected it. “What now?”
Brian nudged his hand aside to sort through the pages. “Looks like more ID stuff for Lori and me. What does the letter say?”
It was short, a few typed lines with Damon’s “D” as a signature. “Additional documents for Brian and Lorraine. Should be good for that affidavit now. Read the background sheets. Don’t end up fingerprinted. That shit can’t be erased. Tell Lor her manager with initials EH is cooking the books. Time to look for another job. Burn this letter. D.”
“Short and not very sweet,” Charlie muttered. “Typical.”
“But it means he’s okay.” Brian put a finger on the initial, smiling softly.
Nick shoved down what definitely wasn’t jealousy about someone’s brother, just frustration that they were still being told what to do by Damon fucking Kerr. “Burn after reading seems a bit paranoid, even for Damon.”
Charlie said, “If he’s really working for the Russians, maybe not.”
“If he’s really working for the Russians, I hope he stays gone.”
“I can’t wait to tell Lori.” Brian’s eyes were still bright.
“And warn her about looking for another job? Better you than me.” Nick sighed. “Got a lighter, Charlie?”
“Don’t do it in here. We’re finally up to code.” Charlie handed him a book of matches and pointed at the smoke detector.
“We’re headed out anyway.” Nick frowned as Joshie wriggled and almost got a fist on the keyboard before Charlie tipped him away. “Do you need us to babysit the kid? Why do you have him here anyway?” Lori paid Helen a pittance to watch the baby while she worked. Frank said it made Helen happy, so Nick was butting his nose out about the hourly rate.
“Helen’s not feeling good.” Charlie shifted the baby to his good side and jiggled him. “I’m not too busy, just writing up the bill for your Find. He’s no trouble.”
“Better you than me.” Which was half a lie. He was getting used to babysitting now and then, and Joshie always made him think of a little Brian. Still, he was always glad to hand the kid back after a few hours. No full-time parenting dreams for him.
Nick sorted through the documents on the desk, putting Brian’s in the envelope and stacking Lori’s. He stuffed the letter in his back pocket. “Call us if you need a break. If we don’t answer, we’re busy. Call back in an hour.” He smirked at Charlie who gave him the finger behind the baby’s back.
At the door, he paused. Brian was still in his chair, leaning forward to look at Joshie, face peaceful, eyes wide. “Brian! Come on now.”
Brian shivered and blinked, then ran a finger down the baby’s shoulder. “You be good for your daddy. Sorry I’m taking your doggie.”
“Ga-da-da.” Josh smiled widely.
“Good doggie, yeah.” Brian stood and flicked a hand at Luger, who rose and came to heel.
As they left the room, Josh’s baby voice rose in a wail. Nick leaned back in to say, “You need to get your kid his own dog.”
To his surprise, Josh stopped crying at the sight of him, waving both hands his way. “Mo-ma-ma.”
“I’m not your mom.” He worked to keep his tone cranky. He might be fond of the rug rat, might also treasure the rare pictures Ariana texted of his nephew, but he wasn’t going to pretend to be a kid kind of guy.
“Aww, he likes you. His taste is as bad as Brian’s.” Charlie grinned at him. “Go take your man home and have some of that… what do they call it again? The thing I’m not having? Oh, yeah.” He covered the baby’s ears, his bad hand still awkward. “Hot man sex.”
Nick wished life would go Charlie’s way for a change. Dude deserved all the good things. But Charlie was grinning at him, so a one-fingered salute was the way to go. He closed the office door behind him.
In the parking lot, he ducked behind the dumpster to light up the page of Damon’s letter and crush the remnants to ash while Brian watched. Overkill, for sure, but anything related to Damon deserved to be set on fire and crushed. It was therapeutic. “Done. Let’s go home.”
Luger hopped in the back, but Brian got behind the wheel and said, “Tip your seat back and relax. I got it from here.”
He didn’t argue, stretching and rotating his shoulders against the seat. The North Carolina landscape went past— small wooden houses, most with porches, and thin stands of trees, with cypress and sweetgums and loblolly pines where the road dipped in the low spots. It wasn’t Minnesota’s flat, smooth greenness, with her lakes and lush fields and tall pines and oaks, but it’d become home.
They turned in at the drive up to the battered, lopsided house and that sense grew stronger. This was his place, their place together. He’d put gravel on that walk and repaired that deck. And it was going to get better. He hugged his growing happiness to himself, just a minute longer.
They got out. Brian let Luger out to run around the grass and lifted their bags out of the back of the SUV. Nick sat on the front steps and patted the stair beside him. “Take a load off.”
Brian set the bags down and sat hesitantly. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” He focused on Brian’s face to capture all of his expressions. “I got a call while you were passed out.” He took a slow breath, drawing the moment out. “Jason Edwards accepted our offer.”
“Our— the house? This house?” A smile dawned on Brian’s face, bright as daybreak. “We get to keep it?”
“Yep.” He was grinning just as widely. “Between your Minnesota Find money and my trailer sale, offering enough cash up front did the trick. He said yes. We’re set to sign the papers Monday.”
“We got it!” Brian bounced to his feet and spun in a circle, staring at the drive, the house, the yard. “Ours? Forever?”
“Unless we trade up someday.”
“No! I love it.” Brian patted the stair rail. “It’ll be perfect with a bit more work.”
“We’re gonna be broke for a while. Might be able to afford a few cans of paint, though.”
“Yellow. I want to paint it sunshine yellow.”
Nick laughed. “Sure. We can do that.”
“I want a swing set for Joshie. Mom used to take us to the playground when things were good, and she’d push me on the swing and smile. She said a swing was the closest thing to flying.”
Brian so rarely talked about good family memories. Nick stood and wrapped an arm around him. “We can get a swing set, and a fence— for Joshie and Luger.”
“Around our own backyard!” Brian hugged him, turning to press his face against Nick’s shoulder. “No one can take it away. No more leaving stuff behind.”
No more garbage bags stuffed with everything I own. He kissed Brian’s hair, baby-fine strands against his lips.
Brian sniffled and laughed and rubbed his face against Nick’s T-shirt, leaving dampness behind. Nick blinked back his own tears. “Eww, boogers on my shirt. Brian!”
Brian snorted and shoved him away. “It’s not boogers!”
“Snot boogers, that’s what I said.”
He dodged Brian’s kick at his shins, laughing, but didn’t avoid Brian’s lunge, big arms wrapped around his waist, bringing him down to the ground. They rolled onto the grass and stayed there, tangled up together, his weight supported by Brian’s ample chest. For a second, his head spun, gravity sucking him down toward the earth, his piece of earth, with his big, soft, strong man under him, wrapped around him. I love this. Love you. He pushed up with one elbow and kissed Brian, pressing his mouth on full lips parted in joy and pleasure. The taste of Brian’s mouth completed the circuit. I want this forever.
He raised up enough to look into Brian’s pale blue eyes. “You’re never going to leave me?” It wasn’t quite a question, but his breath still caught on the last words.
Brian grabbed the back of Nick’s head and pulled him down for a harder kiss. “Never. And you don’t wish you had someone smarter or skinnier—” As Nick kissed those words off his mouth, he mumbled, “Or with less annoying relatives?”
“Wait. That last one…” Nick grinned down at him. “Nope. I love Joshie, and I can tolerate Lori, and Damon, um, has his moments. They’re not getting rid of me. You’re not.”
“Forever and uulp—”
Luger’s furry face suddenly came between them, slurping his tongue over each of them in turn, nudging at them as if wondering why they were sprawled on the ground. The dog backed off, play-bowed, and barked.
Nick sat up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Your dog, on the other hand…”
“You love my dog.” Brian sat up too, eyes bright, lips curved. “You love our dog and our house and—”
Nick put a hand under his chin and Brian stilled, their gazes meeting. “And you. I love you.”
“Forever and ever,” Brian whispered. “Because all the best stories end that way.”
Forever and ever. Let it be true. Nick sent one wish, maybe even a prayer, spiraling up into the blue North Carolina sky to whatever deity might be listening. Then he set about kissing the shit out of his boyfriend, while their dog leaped around their yard and barked, and the future opened up sweeter than he’d ever dreamed of.
######
About the Author
I get asked about my name a lot. It’s not something exotic, though. “Kaje” is pronounced just like “cage” – it’s an old nickname, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I was born in Montreal but I’ve lived for 30 years in Minnesota, where the two seasons are Snow-removal and Road-repair, where the mosquito is the state bird, and where winter can be breathtakingly beautiful. Minnesota’s a kind, quiet (if sometimes chilly) place and it’s home.
I’ve been writing far longer than I care to admit (*whispers – forty-five years*), mostly for my own entertainment, usually M/M romance (with added mystery, fantasy, historical, sci-fi…) I also have a few Young Adult stories (under the pen name Kira Harp).
My first professionally published book, Life Lessons, came out from MLR Press in May 2011. I have a weakness for closeted cops with honest hearts and teachers who speak their minds, and I was delighted and encouraged by the reception Mac and Tony received.
I now have a good-sized backlist in ebooks and print, including Amazon bestseller The Rebuilding Year and Rainbow Award winner for “Best Mystery-Thriller” Tracefinder: Contact. Readers can find a complete list of my books with links on my website at https://kajeharper.com/books/
I’m always pleased to have readers find me online:
Website: https://kajeharper.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KajeHarper
Facebook group: Kaje’s Conversation Corner: https://www.facebook.com/groups/208207893795147/
Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4769304.Kaje_Harper
Other Books by Kaje Harper
Self-Published/Indie:
Changes Coming Down (Changes #1)
Changes Going On (Changes #2)
Tracefinder: Contact (Tracefinder #1)
Tracefinder: Changes (Tracefinder #2)
Tracefinder: Choices (Tracefinder #3)
The Family We’re Born With (Finding Family #1) – free novella
The Family We Make (Finding Family #2)
Rejoice, Dammit
Unfair in Love and War
(in the charity anthology Another Place in Time)
Not Your Grandfather’s Magic
(in the charity anthology Wish Come True)
Don’t Plan to Stay
Love and Lint Rollers
Second Act
Audiobooks:
Into Deep Waters – Narrated by Kaleo Griffith
The Rebuilding Year – Narrated by Gomez Pugh
Life, Some Assembly Required – Narrated by Gomez Pugh
Building Forever – Narrated by Gomez Pugh
Re-releases:
The Rebuilding Year (Rebuilding Year #1)
Life, Some Assembly Required (Rebuilding Year #2)
Building Forever (Rebuilding Year #2.5)
Sole Support
Gift of the Goddess
Fair Isn’t Life
From MLR Press:
Life Lessons (Life Lessons #1)
Breaking Cover (Life Lessons #2)
Home Work (Life Lessons #3)
Learning Curve (Life Lessons #4)
Unacceptable Risk (Hidden Wolves #1)
Unexpected Demands (Hidden Wolves #2)
Unjustified Claims (Hidden Wolves #3)
Unsafe Exposure (Hidden Wolves #4)
Storming Love: Nelson & Caleb
Full Circle
Where the Heart Is
Ghosts and Flames
Possibilities
Tumbling Dreams (currently out of print)
Free series stories:
And To All a Good Night (Life Lessons #1.5)
Getting It Right (Life Lessons #1.8)
Compensations (Life Lessons #3.5)
Unsettled Interlude (Hidden Wolves #1.15)
Unwanted Appeal (Hidden Wolves #2.5)
Can’t Hurt to Believe (Into Deep Waters #1.005)
Stand-alone free novels:
Into Deep Waters
Nor Iron Bars a Cage
Chasing Death Metal Dreams
Lies and Consequences
Laser Visions
Stand-alone free short stories:
Like the Taste of Summer
Show Me Yours
Within Reach
Shooting Star
A full list with blurbs, and download and buy links can be found at:
http://www.kajeharper.com/books/
Kaje Harper, Choices
