Up in Smoke (Hotshots 4)

“Me too. I know she’s alive because Macy says Shelby will be in touch when she’s ready. I like to think Macy would at least text if she was in a bad way.” Shane had known Macy a number of years, ever since he first started getting gigs on the festival circuit as a teen. She could be flighty and temperamental, but she did seem to care about his sister. He hoped.

“Yeah. I hope so. Speaking of Shelby, I talked to Cameron.” Brandt’s mouth twisted as he mentioned the lawyer. “She’s working on those court papers. If your sister’s not going to communicate with either of us, I probably have no choice but to file, but damn, I wish there was another way.”

“Me too.” Shane huffed out a long sigh and buried his face against the baby. The heaviness of the conversation was getting to all of them—baby squirming, Brandt looking like he’d gone a few rounds with a monster truck, and Shane feeling like no one was going to come out a winner in this thing. Time to change the subject. Forcing a smile, he brightened his tone. “Let’s see this sewing project of yours. Gonna model it for me?”

“I think you like me showing off a little too much.” Brandt waggled his eyebrows at Shane.

“After the other night? Hell yes.” All damn day he’d been haunted by the memory of Brandt’s face as he’d climaxed, the way his big body had bowed and the sounds he’d made. He’d needed Jewel to sleep, and soon, so he could indulge in another mental replay. “But let’s stick to a G-rated show right now.”

“You got it.” Standing, Brandt pulled the new sling over his shoulder before scooping the baby off Shane’s lap and settling her in the pouch. “I think she likes it.”

After tightening the sling, Brandt gave a spin, which had Jewel grinning.

“Having been strapped to you, I can testify to it being a little fun.” Shane gave him a pointed look, one that had color rising up Brandt’s neck. Knowing he remembered the parachute jump that fondly made Shane’s insides warm and melty.

“Yeah, it was.” Brandt held his gaze until Shane was the one blushing and looking away as Brandt added, “And hey, it’s been almost a year, right? Do you have a birthday coming up?”

“Soon. No big deal.” Shane had never been the type for a party, even when younger, leaving the yearning for a big crowd to Shelby. “Jewel will be three months then too. Make a fuss over that, not me.”

“We’ll see. Maybe I should get you your own toy.” Brandt’s eyes sparkled as he laughed.

“I think you’ve got plenty of options for both of us.” And damn, now Shane really wanted the baby to sleep so he could watch Brandt with a different one maybe. Or replace the toy with his own fingers or better yet, his cock. His list of things he wanted to do with Brandt kept growing, not shrinking.

“Damn right I do. And I’m dying to—”

Jewel let out a fussy noise, like she’d had enough of both the sling and their flirting.

“Someone says our chances of getting lucky tonight just went down.” Shane headed to the kitchen to make the bottle.

“Good thing she’s cute.” Following him, Brandt added some bouncing to his steps which seemed to work to distract Jewel. “And so are you.”

“Me?”

“Oh yeah.” Somehow Brandt managed an appreciative once-over even while trying to calm the baby. “What’s your favorite flavor of cake?”

“Choc—wait.” Shane wagged a finger at Brandt, trying to channel some of Brandt’s playfulness into his ambivalence over birthdays. “No way. I said I don’t want anything.”

“Fine. Have it your way.” Brandt shrugged as he accepted the bottle, but Shane had a feeling the subject wasn’t truly dropped. “Are there more cookies left?”

“Yeah, I’ll get you one if you want to do the feeding.” After grabbing the cookies from the pantry, he followed Brandt to the couch and waited until the baby was happily cuddled up with her bottle in the crook of Brandt’s arm before holding the cookie so Brandt could take a bite.

“Thanks.” Grinning up at him, Brandt kissed Shane’s hand before sneaking another bite of cookie. “We make a good team.”

“We do.” And therein lay Shane’s biggest problem. They had a good thing going, but good things never lasted.

* * *

“Damn fine day for a jump.” Bronco bounced on his feet like a hyper puppy and was about as good at listening. “And some actual work.”

“Word.” Brandt might not be jumping around, but he was psyched to get to head deep in the forest to deal with clearing out dead timber that had been flagged as a potential summer hazard after some damage in a lightning strike. The clear blue sky awaited their jump, and he was ready for the chainsaw workout.