Stars & Stripes (Cut & Run 6)

He hung up as he headed back toward his dad. When he sank into the chair beside him, the phone was still in his hand and he was staring out at the land, unseeing.

“Everything okay?”

“Hmm?”

“You look like you got bad news,” Harrison observed, his sharp eyes looking Zane up and down.

Zane smiled and told himself to pull it back together. “Yeah, just . . . my partner got loaned out to another agency. I can’t get in touch with him.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“It’s dangerous, sometimes. Bad, I guess.”

Harrison nodded. “You worried about your partner, Z?”

“Yeah, a little,” Zane admitted.

“That’s good. Last time you were here, you weren’t even worried about yourself.”

The echoed chime of the front door saved Zane from having to respond. That was one conversation he did not want to have.

“Sounds like someone left the gate open,” Harrison said.

Every ranch in the Hill Country, big or small, had a gate. Sometimes that was all there was—just a gate on the driveway with no fence to back it up. But the Carter Garrett Ranch had fences galore.

“You better get it. Juanita’s at the store.”

Zane nodded and went inside. The door chimed again as he jogged down the stairs. The house around him brought back all kinds of memories, some good, some not. Parts of the house had been comfortable and homey, mostly the parts frequented by his father or Zane and the other kids, while others had been museum pieces meant for magazine shoots and society functions. He got to the door and nudged the dog out of the way so he could open it.

What he saw left him speechless.

Ty grinned. “What, it’s the butler’s day off?”

Zane just stared, taking in the face that had filled his dreams for nearly a week. “How are you here?”

Ty’s smile softened into something more intimate, and he shrugged. “You sounded like you needed me.”

It sunk in with another heartbeat, and Zane stepped forward to wrap his arms around Ty and held him tight. “Yes,” he whispered. “Yes.” He squeezed his eyes shut, hardly able to believe it. Ty was here. In Texas.

Ty hugged him hard, laughing.

It was a long minute before Zane could make himself step back, though he didn’t pull loose of Ty’s arms. Ty’s tanned face and a day’s worth of stubble was possibly the most beautiful thing Zane had ever laid eyes on. “How?”

“Well, see, first I took a plane. And then I rented a car. And then after getting lost twice, I found a sign that said ‘Garrett,’ scaled the big-ass gate down by the road, and hitched a ride on a prairie dog here.” He gave a mock frown. “Those things are not as cute and cuddly as you’d think.”

Zane snorted and pulled Ty inside. “Funny guy. Hell, I don’t care how.”

“I caught the first flight out this morning,” Ty said as he stepped into the marble-tiled foyer. “Called in a favor. All my favors, actually. I explained what was going on to Dick, and he’s claiming me for as long as we need to be here so I don’t have to use any comp time. And Alston took the case I was working in exchange for a personal favor of unknown origin later on.”

Zane hugged him again, stunned by the lengths to which Ty had gone to be with him. Ty laughed, his long fingers sliding down Zane’s back. Zane had to force himself to let go. He pushed the door shut behind them and looked down at the red and white Australian Shepherd sniffing at Ty’s ankles.

Ty watched it warily. “Why do they like me?” he whispered in exasperation. “It’s like they smell that I was almost food once.”

“Bullet likes everybody, even me.” Zane leaned over to scratch the dog’s ears and then shoo him away. The dog headed for the stairs, seeking out Harrison. When Zane straightened, it struck him all over again. “I can’t believe you’re here. And I can’t believe how much I missed you.”

“I missed you too. Not enough to trek my ass to Texas, but you sounded . . . I just figured I needed to be here.”

Zane hugged him again. He couldn’t help himself. “It’s just a shitty situation,” he said, glancing toward the kitchen as he released Ty. His mother was around here somewhere. Maybe upstairs in her suite, or in her office. He was surprised she hadn’t come out when the doorbell rang. “But I am so glad you’re here.”

Ty ran his hand down Zane’s arm. Then he shook himself and shrugged his bag off his shoulder, handing it to Zane. “I’ll just make myself at home then.”

Zane took it and dropped it on the floor next to the door. At Ty’s raised eyebrow, he said, “We won’t be staying here. We—”

His mother’s voice rang out from upstairs. “Zane? Who was at the door?”

Zane glanced to Ty and made a rude gesture toward the stairs. “A friend of mine’s here,” he called back, and within a few moments, Beverly Carter-Garrett appeared at the banister halfway around the second floor.

“A friend?” she asked, looking down at them from on high. She paused for effect, and then made her way down the polished wooden staircase, a polite smile in place.

She cut a severe figure on the spiral staircase, her graying hair dyed a harsh black, her smile not touching her blue eyes. She hadn’t been expecting company today, but that hadn’t stopped her from donning a designer pantsuit, high heels, and a string of pearls; her entire life was about outward appearances, and always had been.

“Ma’am,” Ty said with a nod as she came down the stairs.

Beverly tipped her head to one side as she looked Ty over. He was wearing jeans and a plain white T-shirt, probably to ward off the blazing heat, and every inch of him was dusty. No way would he pass Beverly’s inspection. He wasn’t wearing a tie, after all. She turned her gaze to Zane as she stopped two stairs from the bottom—a tactic with which he was familiar. It put her at about his eye level. He’d gotten his height from his father and grandfather, so she’d come up with a way to compensate.

“Mother, this is Special Agent Ty Grady. Ty, my mother, Beverly Carter-Garrett.”

Beverly held out her hand, like royalty. Ty took a single step forward and took the tips of her fingers in his, bowing his head in a formal greeting that, for some reason, Zane was shocked to see his partner knew how to do. By the look on his mother’s face, she was both surprised and pleased.