“What do you mean?”
He pointed toward the trees in different directions. “I’ve got cameras and sensors installed.”
The memory of last night when they’d arrived flashed by in Gray’s mind. He’d spotted Darius turning something on in the tiny closet in the entryway. There’d been a screen of some sort.
“Technology should be invisible,” Darius said. “Not to mention easily operated. That’s why I didn’t have anything to do with the tech myself. Willow helped me. She was horrified when my original plan included a shotgun. For a month straight, she wore a T-shirt that said ‘Save the Bears from my Brother.’”
Gray couldn’t help but laugh. It was a bit overwhelming to hear just how many extra miles Darius had gone to in order to make this place safe, but at the same time, it was intriguing and reassuring. Even when Darius was a bartender at the fish camp he owned, he was still a former PMC down to the marrow.
“She guilted me into buying a tranq gun,” Darius muttered and opened the door to the car. “So once the fences are up—on the off chance a predator gets through—she wants me to sedate the bastards and escort them to the other side. Her words. Meanwhile, she’s never had any issue screaming for us to flush spiders down the toilet.”
Gray snorted and got in the car. “You’re cute when you get all cranky about how whipped you are. I mean, your sisters say jump, you ask how high.”
“Easy, knucklehead,” Darius warned. “You’ve barely spent time with them. You don’t know how they work.”
Gray grinned and shook his head.
He liked seeing this side of Darius. He was talkative and clearly excited about this home he was making for himself, and it was charming as fuck. More than that, for each day that passed, it became obvious that Darius was definitely a family man. Maybe he didn’t want kids for himself, but he would be a big fat liar if he claimed he wanted to be alone in the woods all the time. He loved his family. He prepared for them.
They rode in comfortable silence for a while, and Gray spent most of it watching Darius. Coming home had been so good for him. He was at peace here. He cranked up the volume on the radio a little and drummed his fingers along the wheel. Always only one hand. Gray had probably never seen the man steer with both hands.
The Johnny Cash tune fit Darius’s profile too. Slowly but surely, the puzzle pieces that made up Darius Quinn were coming together to reveal something fucking beautiful.
Gray had to resist moving closer. He wanted to devour the man.
Seriously, fuck this bench seat nonsense. They were a traffic hazard for guys who wouldn’t mind expressing their infatuations with blow jobs on the road.
“What’re you thinkin’?” Darius asked.
Gray sighed and faced forward. “Road head.”
Darius barked out a laugh and gave Gray’s thigh a squeeze. “Am I gonna be able to keep up with you?”
Gray shot him a cocky look at that. “You can try, but…”
“Guess I’ll have to tire you out with manual labor first. Maybe make you take your shirt off. I’ll watch, of course.”
What the hell? Gray’s mouth twitched as he tried to keep from laughing. “That’s the gayest thing you’ve ever said.”
“Well…” Darius shifted in his seat and huffed a chuckle. “Just shut up. I never said I was straight.” He cleared his throat and ignored Gray’s snickers. “You’re different. You’re the first one who’s gotten to see every side of me. Who I am when I take on a case, who I am at home around friends and family, and who I am in bed. I’ve done one and two, never three. Until you.”
There wasn’t an ounce of humor left.
Gray swallowed hard and let the flutters flit through him and settle in his stomach.
Darius puffed out his cheeks with a heavy breath and exhaled. “Evidently, you make me open up, too. Quit it.”
Gray couldn’t find his words. His mind was on the brink of collapse, so all he did was lean over and kiss Darius’s cheek.
It was probably time for Gray to stop denying that he was falling hard for the man.
Which was fucking terrifying.Knowing that Mom was working, Gray sent her a text. It was nearly ten o’clock, meaning checkout time at the inn.
Any chance you still need help at the inn? I’m officially job hunting. I’m gonna call Linda at the bookstore too. Also, can you send me your recipe for cinnamon rolls?
He pressed send at the same time as they drove past the sign welcoming them to Ponderosa.
A beat later, Mom’s face lit up the screen.
“I should’ve known she was gonna call,” Gray answered and smiled ruefully. “Hey, Mom. Aren’t you busy?”
“Hi, sweetie! I am, but this is important,” she replied. “I’ll cut right to the chase. I spoke to Adeline last night—”