Deserted - Auctioned

Darius chuckled. “The shortest of missions can give years’ worth of stories. We haven’t worked together that much—four or five times. But the shit you go through with your companions during that time… Well, you understand.”

True.

“Private missions mean extra cash,” Darius said. “You don’t make very much in the military, and Ry always wanted to open a bar when he retired. So, he’d ask me to let him know when there was a gig for a marksman.”

“I guess it’s true what they say,” Gray observed. “It takes a crazy person to be a hero, and you two are the craziest people I ever met.”

Darius let out a laugh.

Not long after, they turned onto a narrow road leading straight into the forest. There was a wooden sign welcoming guests to The Connor Ranch, and the Latin phrases below and above the name were easily recognizable in the short second Gray saw them.

“Those are military branches’ mottos, right?”

“Two of them, anyway.” Darius nodded with a dip of his chin. “Do you know them?”

“Semper fidelis is for the Marines. I don’t know the other one.”

“Aye. Connor’s USMC like Ry. Then there’s Semper fortis—that’s the Navy. Connor’s brother was a frogman. These days, he takes tourists scuba diving in Key West.”

“A frog what?”

Darius grinned. “Combat diver.”

Oh. Military folk spoke their own language.

Glancing over his shoulder, Gray noticed Jayden was dozing off again.

“Jayden,” he murmured.

The boy scrunched his face in dismay and forced his eyes open. “I’m sleepy.”

“I know, sweetheart, but we’re almost there. You’ll have your own bed in a little bit. If you fall asleep now, maybe you won’t be tired later.”

Jayden huffed and yawned.

Darius gave Gray’s leg a brief squeeze.

It was enough for Gray to start a new internal chant about how this was for the best. Let go of him, let go of him, let go of him. Christ, he was a lost cause.

“Here we go.” Darius leaned forward as they emerged from the forest.

“Oh wow.” The beauty nearly knocked the air from Gray’s lungs. The ranch was its own tiny village, and everything looked so tranquil. A dozen or so little cabins sat in two rows and created a semicircle around the main house. A huge, three-story log cabin. A couple of sheds and some other buildings were partially hidden behind the house. Smoke drifted out of chimneys, and a warm glow came from the windows. Two of the guest cabins appeared to be occupied, judging by the light.

Off to the side of the property was a wide carport that Darius steered toward. Only three vehicles were parked there.

“You’ll see better in the daylight,” Darius said. “The shooting range and obstacle course are on the other side of the house.”

Gray fucking loved obstacle courses. There was always one at hockey camp.

Someone had cleared a path in the snow, and as soon as they’d parked under the roof, Jayden jumped out and ran toward the—oh, hell no.

“Jayden, wait!” Gray slipped out of the Jeep—and Jesus Christ, it was frigid—grabbed Jayden’s jacket, and walked over. The kid was about to dive straight out into the four-foot-deep snow next to the path. “Put this on, please.”

“Can I jump? Can I jump?”

Gray couldn’t deny the boy. He looked so excited. “Once,” he bargained. “Tomorrow, when we’ve gotten you better clothes, you can jump all you want.”

“I gotta make it good, then.” Jayden wrestled into the jacket and zipped up.

Gray smiled to himself and brought out his phone to take a picture.

Jayden ran for all he was worth and dove with a victory yell.

Too fucking cute.

He almost disappeared in the snow, though his laughter made it very clear where he was.

Returning to the car, Gray let the sliver of contentment flow through him, and he opened the trunk to grab his and Jayden’s bags.

Darius joined him with a pinched expression.

“You okay?” Gray wondered.

He nodded. “Just a headache.”

Gray frowned and reached up, placing a hand across Darius’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm. But you’ve been driving most of the day. How’s your leg?” He was still worried about the risk of infection.

Darius wasn’t exactly known for letting wounds heal properly. “It’s fine.” He smiled slightly and picked up his duffel. “You’re sweet when you fuss, though.”

“Heh.” Gray withdrew his hand earlier than he wanted to, and he felt a bit awkward.

As he pushed that aside, it made him think. It wasn’t only Gray who needed help; it wasn’t just he who had to work through nightmares. Darius had his own issues to deal with, and Gray had done fuck-all to help.

That had to change right away.

“You can see if Jayden needs help out of his snow grave,” Gray said and grabbed Darius’s duffel from him. “I’ll carry this.”

“I’m perfectly capable of—”

“Shut up. Let’s go.” Gray aimed for the path that led up to the main house and passed Jayden just as he poked his head up from the hole he’d dug for himself. Gray couldn’t help but grin. “Come on, goofball. There will be plenty of time to play tomorrow.”