Deserted - Auctioned

It was more like nine minutes in the end, because Gray didn’t drive like a lunatic, but whatever.

He parked in the empty driveway and killed the engine.

It was a quiet street where all the houses were painted red, had white shutters and rosebushes leaning up against the picket fences. Only the house at the end of the street stood out. “Run-down” would be kind. Gray assumed no one lived there. There were no windows, the paint had peeled off, the roof was full of holes, and the yard consisted of mud and patches of dead grass.

Darius seemed to be thinking about the house too. “Someone actually bought it.”

“Huh?”

Darius pointed to it. “There’s a Sold sign stuck to the mailbox.”

“Oh.”

Opening the gate, Darius admitted, “I thought about buying it at one point. Fixing it up. Then I realized I was fucking stupid and wised up.”

Gray laughed. “Nah, you belong in the woods. I wouldn’t be able to call you mountain man otherwise.”

Darius threw an arm around Gray’s neck and kissed the side of his head. “You’re a mountain man now too, don’t forget that. You’re an idiot if you think we’re gonna revert to occasional dates and spending the night on weekends when this hell is done with.”

Gray smiled curiously as Darius opened the door. Did they just officially become live-in partners? Because that’s what it sounded like, and it felt…hmm. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but are you telling me not to get my own place eventually?”

“You have a place,” he stated. “It’s with me, and we have a home. End of discussion.” Except, then he hesitated, and it seemed it wasn’t the end at all. “Do you mind living there? I know you’re a big-city kid.”

Big-city kid…? For crying out loud! Their town didn’t even have 100,000 residents, and Gray had grown up hiking and camping. “That’s a bit of a stretch,” he replied wryly. “But no, I don’t mind. I actually like it. Besides, once I make something out of myself—and I have an income—I can pull my weight by making sure we move the cabin into this century.” He much preferred the lighter tension. Something was niggling at the back of his mind, and he didn’t wanna go there.

“The cabin’s plenty modern,” Darius said, entering the house. “In fact, I just installed a twenty-one-year-old power machine who can grow tomatoes when I get arthritis.”

Gray hid his laugh behind a cough into his fist.

Darius scratched his eyebrow. “That’s still unbelievable to me, you know. Sure, you act like a kid sometimes, but seriously. I’m older than your mother.”

“Oh my God, stop it.” Gray fisted Darius’s hoodie and pulled him in for a kiss. “The reason we get along so well has to be because you’re being so childish all the time. Me? I’m an old, very wise soul.”

“You’re funny, at least.” Darius grinned and kissed him once more.

“Darius!” That yell came from upstairs, and it had to be Willow. “Is that you?”

It was actually the first time Gray had heard her voice. She’d relied on sign language and notes last time.

“Aye, comin’ up.” Darius nodded toward the stairs.

Willow started talking as if they were already in the same room. “Okay, so I’ve been looking at satellite images of the area, and there’s nothing around for miles. Four point six, to be exact. The closest neighbor, in that sense, is Joshua Tree National Park.”

They were going to California, then.

“There’s no place to hide your car,” she went on. “I suggest driving to Twentynine Palms, renting ATVs there, and driving as close as you can once it gets dark. Let me know if you want me to make a reservation at a hotel.”

At that point, they reached the landing of the stairs and entered Willow’s domain.

Gray stayed in the doorway while Darius headed over to his sister. He ruffled her hair and eyed the two computer screens she was using. One of them showed a map.

“Twentynine Palms is out,” he replied.

“Why? Do you even know it?” Willow asked.

Darius inclined his head. “Ry was stationed there for a while before he transferred to Pendleton.” He pointed to the town on the map. “Biggest Marine base in the US right there. Which means we don’t wanna get too close. We can bank on them having intelligence in the area.”

Willow giggled. “Marines… Intelligence…”

Darius barked out a laugh, then bent down to kiss the top of her head. “Remind me to pass that one on to Ryan.”

“Okay, when?” Willow picked up her phone from her desk, having clearly taken Darius’s words literally.

Darius humored her. “Two weeks from now.” Then he refocused on the map and asked her to zoom out. “What else have we got? Can you put the map on one screen and the fucker’s house on the other?”

“Duh.” She did as asked, and Gray took a couple steps toward them to see clearer. “I don’t know. I guess Palm Springs if you wanna go with a bigger town…?”