“Okay, okay. Maybe I’ll stop by his place on my way home. That way I’m not blindsiding him at work.” And that way he wouldn’t give him the opportunity for another public argument. He refused to admit he might have any other reason for stopping by Linc’s house. And he wasn’t lying—Linc’s place was on the way back into town, just past Jacob’s parents’ property, and well before the town started. He passed that turnoff every damn day without giving in to temptation. He had no reason to change that now, no reason to go resurrecting feelings better left buried in the past where he stored all his other regrets. He’d deliver his message and be on his way, back to that headspace where every damn mention of Linc didn’t hit him in vulnerable places he needed to protect at all costs.
* * *
“Sit down, you greedy mutt.” Still toweling off, Linc stared down Bandit until he plopped his substantial ass on the kitchen floor next to the food bowls. Always calmer but no less eager for dinner, Shadow was already in position, looking eagerly at the large plastic bin where their chow was stored.
“Fine, fine. You win.” He went ahead and fed them a little early because they’d been good while he’d been gone for the long first day of training. Later on in the summer when long callouts became inevitable, they’d get visits from the teenage twins who lived on the next property over. Linc paid them for help with the dogs and watering the garden when he couldn’t get to it.
The evening was cool enough that he pulled on sweats after finishing a fast trim with the clippers, still unable to shake his restlessness. It was going to take more than a shower to clear his head after the stress of the day. He’d tried both a weights workout and a long shower, and neither had been enough to banish Jacob from his thoughts. Checking on the seedlings lining the dining table was hardly enough distraction either, but it was April, which meant time to get the hardier plants ready for the cold frame if he wanted to eat come fall.
He chafed at people who called his gardening a hobby. It was more of a necessity when dealing with unpredictable seasonal income, a habit he’d picked up from his mom, repairing her setup and ensuring that he wasn’t entirely at his dad’s mercy or others’ charity when it came to groceries.
The sound of tires on gravel had him pausing mid-spritzing, setting aside the water bottle and heading for the front porch, dogs fast at his heels. Despite his usual lack of visitors this late, he wasn’t startled, and indeed, had already resigned himself to who it likely was even before Wyatt’s—Jacob’s—truck came into view.
His dogs, fickle things with no common sense, both rushed to Jacob even before he was out of the truck. Knowing they weren’t likely to listen, Linc didn’t bother to call them back. And it was impossible not to appreciate the way Jacob crouched low, petting each one in turn, doling out praise. He might well be pissed at Linc, but he didn’t take it out on the dogs.
“You change your mind about the job?” Not wanting to let Jacob’s behavior with the dogs soften him too much, Linc bypassed all the bullshit and potential hemming and hawing and got right to what he wanted to know.
“Fuck no.” Jacob shook his head before he straightened. “Mom sent me.”
Funny how three simple words could make his gut churn, memories of the last time Jacob had been in his driveway bearing news swarming him, making it impossible to step off the porch.
“What are you doing here?” Only the fact that the dogs had raised a ruckus had brought Linc off the couch, and one look at Jacob’s face had him wishing he’d stayed put, waited for him to give up and leave.
“Mom sent me.” Jacob’s face, usually so playful, was as somber as Linc had ever seen it.
“Oh.” Fuck. He’d been expecting that. Didn’t make it any easier. But he’d been expecting it. Best to just get it over with. “There won’t be any trouble. I don’t have to go. Last thing I want is her bothered.”
“What the hell?” Jacob blinked up at him, eyes red rimmed and lines around his mouth that weren’t there a few days ago. “That’s exactly the sort of crazy talk she sent me here to put a stop to. Said you didn’t answer her texts.”
“Didn’t know what to say.”
“How about yes? As in yes, you’ll be there. She wants you to be a pallbearer, needs to know you got the message, that you’re not too injured to help, and that you’ve got a suit.”
Humbled to his core, Linc sank to the porch steps, surprised when Jacob joined him, further shocked when Jacob threw an arm around him. “Don’t know if I can do that,” he whispered.