Broken Warrior (The Weavers Circle 1)

Clay could certainly understand that.

Baer stood with his hands on his hips, watching for his dog to reappear around the plants that had run wild in the yard. “Funny thing, though. The closer I got to Georgia, the more that went away. I have no urge to run anywhere now. I don’t know if I finally got tired of the travel or if it’s like I’m supposed to be here.”

Clay didn’t say anything as he looked over at Dane from the corner of his eyes. This was going to be difficult, discussing things with Baer when he couldn’t reveal any of what was going on to Dane. For now, Clay was careful to keep the conversation light and about inconsequential topics.

When all the food was prepared, they took it to the outdoor table and settled in.

Dane took a bite of his steak, moaning as he chewed. “This is so good. Thanks for being the grill master.”

“Welcome,” Baer said. “With all my travels, I’ve found it’s easier to learn to cook in the outdoors.”

“I bet you have some crazy stories.” Dane grinned. “Both of you. I’ve stayed here my whole life.”

Baer snorted as he cut his cabbage wedge up. “I once stayed with a family in the Ozark Mountains, and their idea of fun was to shoot bottle rockets out of pipes at each other. They’d hide in the woods, turn it into a real hunt. Crazy people were covered in small burns and they started more fires than you can possibly imagine. And just when I thought we’d get a break on a trip canoeing down the Big River, they whipped those out along with smoke bombs and set up attack points. I ended up overturned in a nest of baby water moccasins.”

“Did you get bitten?” Dane asked, trying and failing miserably to hide the fact that he was feeding bits of beef to Ruby under the table.

Baer shook his head. “They were more scared of me, because they scattered. But I ended up stranded. My canoe got picked up on a current, and I was too busy untangling myself from some thorny branches.”

“That sounds like the trip from Hell,” Clay chuckled. “Reminds me of a group of people I met while traveling through Pennsylvania.” Clay shook his head, grinning. “Only they chased each other with Roman candles. One guy was even missing two fingers, and he still ran after his friends with the damn thing in his hand.”

“Wait,” Dane said, pointing his fork. “They actually held the Roman candles in their hands?”

“Yep, and those things are totally unreliable and can go off in ways you don’t expect. I didn’t stay there long. But the next group of people? Turned out they made their own moonshine. Oh my God, that stuff stripped paint, and they were drinking it like it was water.” Clay speared another cabbage wedge. “Love this cabbage. I’ll eat this stuff grilled from now on.”

“Cabbage is the poor man’s best ingredient.” Baer winked. “There were many times I had trouble finding work on the road, and it fills the belly well.”

Pleasantly full, Clay set his fork on the plate and knife and patted his stomach. “That hit the spot. Thanks for manning the grill. I got the next one. I’ll put the chicken we grabbed in a marinade tonight.”

A twig snapped and he turned to see Jo stepping around an oak tree, along with her sister Flo. They were both dressed in their usual jeans and T-shirts. Jo’s shirt had a cartoon panda on hers. Jo smiled while Flo frowned at them. Likely her usual expression.

Flo held out her hand. “We’d like to discuss a few things with you, Clay. You and Baer. If you would follow us please, we’ll…take a walk.”

Dane stood and picked up his plate. “I’ll start the cleanup.”

“If you’d wait, I’ll help,” Clay offered as he got to his feet.

“No problem. This won’t take long at all. Go with them.” Dane flashed him a toothy smile that made his stomach clench with need.

He wanted to see more of that bright smile. He couldn’t help but stare and their eyes locked, Dane’s grin slowly fading as some elusive feelings crackled between them. It took effort to pull his gaze away, but when he did it was to see Flo, Jo, and Baer all watching him with varying looks of amusement and speculation.

Shaking it off, he walked with them into the forest. Leaves left from the winter crunched under his feet, and somewhere close another woodpecker dug into a tree with heavy hits. Other birds created a chorus of sound that made the woods feel magical. Not unlike the presence in his chest.

Nature called to him with her sweet song and he turned to look at Baer to find the man absorbing her essence, too. He couldn’t deny the bond he felt with the redhead, reminding him of how he felt with his sisters. Green eyes met his, and Baer lifted a red eyebrow.