9. Seth

Chapter Nine

SETH

There was something satisfying about working side by side with Aiden again. He was energetic and playful but focused when something needed his attention. The work felt lighter, and the hours seemed to fly by for the first time in years.

It wasn't until that evening, while Seth stood in the kitchen, shaping ground beef into burger patties, that he finally realized he wasn't exhausted. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had something left in his tank by the end of the day. He'd been so distracted by Aiden's antics that he hadn't noticed the load being lifted from his shoulders—and Aiden still hadn't left.

He sat at the kitchen table, hat resting by his elbow, his blond curls springing up wildly all over his head. He'd ditched his wet boots and jacket at the door and unbuttoned the top buttons of his collar, making himself right at home, just like old times.

Despite himself, Seth's reluctant gaze kept drifting toward the deep V and the flash of smooth, tan chest beneath his shirt. He watched from the corner of his eye while Aiden dug around in his pocket and produced a bit of cut twine, dangling it over the head of Tessa's fat ginger cat.

"Here, kitty-kitty," Aiden cooed, swinging the twine back and forth. The cat clocked the motion with the golden eyes of a serial killer.

"That cat don't play," Seth warned. "She's gonna scratch your face off."

"She likes me. Nothing with a pulse can resist my powers of persuasion," Aiden shot back cheekily. As he spoke, he bopped the string just a little too low. The cat lashed out with a vicious swipe and sank her claws deep into his wrist.

"Damn!" Aiden cried, knocking his chair over as he scrambled backward.

Seth knew it was coming, but his head still came up with a jerk when Aiden yelled. "I warned you," he said harshly.

"You didn't say she sharpened her claws on a frickin' table saw!" Aiden clutched his wounded wrist to his chest, eyes comically wide. "What is she? Part tiger?"

"Demon," Seth corrected, lips twitching. He grabbed a clean dish towel from a cabinet and took Aiden by the arm, dragging him over to the sink and turning the faucet on blast. "You never know when to leave well enough alone."

"It's part of my charm," Aiden said between thin lips. He winced as he thrust his bleeding wrist under the faucet, watching the watery, pinkish blood streaming down the drain. The sun had drained from his complexion, leaving him a few shades too pale.

"Recklessness doesn't combine well with a low pain threshold," Seth chided.

Aiden stared forlornly at his wound and complained, "I think she opened a vein."

His lashes were so long. Seth had never noticed a man's eyelashes before, not even back when he was a walking bag of hormones and used to pop a boner over the sound of heavy breathing. But he was noticing now. It felt dangerous, allowing Aiden into the only safe space Seth had left. The kitchen was suddenly too warm and far too small. Seth swore he could smell the salt on Aiden's skin. Unbidden, his thumb stroked over the flickering pulse in Aiden's wrist. Just once.

Aiden's eyes shot to his face.

Seth cleared his throat and glanced away. He tore the dish towel into two long strips with his teeth, wrapped the wound, and tied it off. "You'll be fine," he said brusquely. "Just keep some pressure on it while I grill the burgers."

"You mean I get to stay for dinner?" Aiden asked.

The surprised, hopeful note to his question was like a kick in the gut. It reminded Seth of the scrawny kid he used to watch hoofing it across town every day, skipping homework just to load freight at the hardware store until midnight. The kid who'd never been certain of where he belonged until Seth had taken him under his wing and showed him. Here, he'd wanted to say, you belong here.

"Were you planning on leaving?" Seth's tone was harsh with guilt.

"No." A dimple popped in Aiden's cheek. "I was going to force you to kick me out. Besides, I feel woozy now. You don't want me headed back down the mountain with low blood sugar."

Seth chuckled despite himself and only reluctantly dropped Aiden's wrist once Tessa wandered from the living room.

"I have a literary question," she announced, rubbing a kink from the back of her neck. "In Dante's Inferno , which circle of hell is reserved for organic chemistry?"

"I thought you were taking a break from school?" Aiden asked.

"I squeezed in a distance learning class," she murmured distractedly. Her eyes flickered between them, clocking the tension immediately. Seth didn't like her speculative expression. Before he could say anything to explain, she noticed the blood and cried, "Oh, no! Did Mr. Whiskers do it again?"

Seth laughed, and the tight knot his heart had been twisted into ever since he'd dragged Aiden from the frozen lake began to relax. It felt like he could breathe again. Fairweather friends meant nothing to him; the only two people he cared about were Tessa and Aiden, and tonight, they were both safely within arm's reach. As they settled down to share a meal in the cozy glow of the kitchen, he felt almost…happy.

That was when Aiden sprang it on him—Seth had almost forgotten he'd had something he wanted to talk about.

"You're going to do what?" Seth asked, beer bottle frozen halfway to his lips.

Aiden looked up from his burger and licked at a smudge of mustard at the corner of his mouth, momentarily disarming Seth. He reluctantly tore his gaze away and demanded, "Say that again. I must not have heard you correctly because it sounded like you said you were planning on letting a horse yank you around on fucking skis."

"It's a real sport," Aiden said defensively. He dug a crinkled flyer from the back pocket of his jeans and slid it across the table. "It's not like I'd be skydiving without a parachute."

"Might as well be," Seth grumbled, smoothing wrinkles from the paper and reading the fine print. "What the hell are they trying to do down at city hall? Turn Winterfest into the next Burning Man?"

"Could be fun," Tessa piped up, grinning impishly when Seth pointed a silencing finger in her direction. She was only picking at her burger, pretending to eat while her eyes danced between them like she was in the front row at Wimbledon.

"When did you learn how to ski?" Seth asked.

Aiden shrugged. "A few years ago. I tagged along with Nate Silva and Will Preston when they headed to Mount Hood for Will's bachelor party. That week is still a little fuzzy, but I remember a blond with the biggest?—"

Seth cut a glance toward Tessa, and Aiden abruptly veered his runaway mouth onto another track. "—personality you ever saw."

"Nice save," Tessa said dryly.

Aiden winked at her before returning his attention to Seth and adding, "I also remember being damned good at the skiing part. I'm fearless on jumps."

"You're crazy."

"For ten grand in prize money, I could get a hell of a lot crazier," Aiden declared, tipping his chair back on two legs and grinning like a fox.

"Judging by that fancy truck, you're not short on cash," Seth said slowly, giving his suspicions time to fully form. "You haven't had trouble finding work since leaving us, so why the sudden need for money?"

Aiden shrugged. "No big mystery. Who wouldn't turn down extra money?"

Seth studied him closely, taking in the tightness of his jaw and the way his pretty blue eyes couldn't quite meet Seth's gaze, and he connected the dots. The years might have added some extra scars and laugh lines, but they hadn't changed the core of what made Aiden Doyle the man Seth would give everything to protect. Aiden was stupidly loyal…even when people didn't deserve it.

"You still paying your mom's bills?" he asked, though it wasn't a question.

One corner of Aiden's mouth jerked, more grimace than smile, and he set his burger back on his plate with a wistful look. Seth tried to ignore the way he licked grease from his thumb.

"It's not like I pay her rent anymore," Aiden said uncomfortably. "She just needs some extra help now and then."

"She's a white-collar professional, and you're a beef slinger," Seth pointed out. "How is she so bad at handling money? What's she doing with her own? Trips to Vegas?"

A muscle was starting to tick in Aiden's jaw, a surefire hint that he was beginning to lose his temper. "It doesn't matter," he said stiffly. "I'm her son, and I'm the only man in her life. It's my responsibility to help if she asks for it."

"Well, if that don't beat all…" Seth shook his head.

Everything old was new again. Aiden was sitting at his kitchen table, rehashing the same argument they'd had a dozen times, and Seth already felt the irresistible impulse to fix all his problems. The disastrous loss of his father's herd had been a wake-up call, a warning that they needed to grow up and take accountability in their lives. But Seth was starting to think people didn't ever really change. They just got better at hiding their dysfunction.

He'd never liked Barbara Doyle, ever since the day they met, when she'd looked down her nose at him and sniffed like he'd carried something in on his boots. She treated all of Aiden's friends like dirt but hated Seth the most because she saw him as competition—for her son's attention, affection, and influence. Aiden wasn't stupid; he understood his mother's tricks better than anyone, but he could never bring himself to stand up to her.

"I can't believe you're still busting your ass for her," Seth said, running an aggravated hand through his hair. "She's a grown woman. You aren't responsible for taking care of her or making her happy. You know it's never going to happen."

The sunshine in Aiden's eyes dimmed and frosted over, and he looked at Seth with barely concealed hostility. "I owe her."

"For what? Breathing?"

Aiden shoved his chair back so abruptly that it made Tessa jump. He scooped his hat up one-handed, flipped it around, and jammed it on his head, but he wasn't so angry that he left without clearing his plate. He carried the dishes to the sink, set them down gently, and rinsed them. Well trained.

Seth leaned back and hooked one arm over the rung of his chair, waiting patiently. It was never over quickly once Aiden got riled. Sure enough, Aiden whirled on him, gripping the sink behind him, and said, "I've done stupider things than strap on a pair of skis."

"What the hell does that prove?" Seth asked, flabbergasted.

Tessa muffled a laugh behind her napkin, then used it to cover her uneaten burger and excuse herself—probably to video call Riley Jensen. Seth didn't like it; he was certain her newfound interest in that particular boy was the reason she hadn't finished her dinner or breakfast that morning.

Seth stood as she left and pushed her chair in for her once she was gone. He guessed he was also well trained, except when he did something wrong, his daddy had only ever given him a stern look or a smack to the head. He didn't verbally castrate him like Aiden's mother did to her son.

Once they were alone, Seth said, "Don't you think you've pulled enough crazy stunts for at least a month or two? That bruise ain't even healed yet."

"You ever going to let that go?"

"No."

"Look, I only mentioned it because I need a rider I trust to pull me, and you're one of the best horsemen I know. I figured we could split the prize money. Win-win."

"If you think I'm going to help you strap yourself to the back of a galloping horse for a few bucks, you've lost your damn mind," Seth said fiercely. Angrily. Seth's blood still ran cold every time he remembered how cold and limp Aiden had been when he pulled him out of that lake. He couldn't even pretend not to care. Just thinking about it drove him crazy. Everything he'd done to protect Aiden in the past was pointless if he was just going to keep trying to throw it all away.

Aiden's face took on a mulish, stubborn expression. "If you don't want to do it, just say so. I'll find someone else. Calvin Craig's no stranger to extreme sports."

"Calvin Craig can barely walk most days," Seth snarled. "Even I know that."

"Fine!" Aiden threw his hands in the air, exasperated. "I'll ask West. He rides broncs. It shouldn't be much of a hardship for him to sling me around the snow for a bit."

"Like hell you are." Seth threw his dishes into the sink with far more force than Aiden had. He planted both hands on the side of Aiden, boxing him in against the counter, and leaned in close. So close that he could see the moment Aiden's pupils dilated. "Babyface West- fucking -Owens? Are you kidding me? Christ, it's like you're asking for another dent in your skull."

"I like my skull the shape it is," Aiden said, licking his lips nervously. "Makes my hair look real nice. That's why I asked you."

"Why?" Seth's voice dropped to a growl. "Why me?"

"Because I trust you," Aiden said simply. "Always have."

Seth opened his mouth, but Aiden interrupted him. "—and because we always made a great team. Don't you miss that?"

God, yes, he did. Aiden would never know how much.

They stared at each other, unblinking. Seth's mind flashed to earlier that morning when he'd stood naked before Aiden and invited him to look his fill. The way Aiden had looked at him—if he'd given even a hint of that expression back when they were teenagers, so much between them might have been different.

"Hanging around with me won't do anything good for your reputation," Seth warned. "Folks around here have long memories."

"Luckily I've got a short attention span," Aiden cracked. "Besides, hiring a know-nothing kid like me didn't do you any good back then, and you still did it."

"Yeah, well…you fit in great with the rest of our strays," Seth said, smiling slightly.

Aiden shoved his hands into his pockets, but not before Seth caught the slight tremor in his fingers. "So, you gonna do it?" he asked.

"Fuck." Seth dragged his hands through his hair. "I'm not a joiner , Aiden."

"You never were." Aiden clapped him on the shoulder to lighten the mood and rested his hand there for a beat too long. "Look at it this way—the whole town is going crazy for this Winterfest thing. If we win, we'll be local heroes. It'll be your dramatic comeback, and I'll have enough cash to keep mom off my back for a while. What's the worst that could happen?"

"You could break your neck," Seth said darkly.

"Just another reason for you to be there."

Seth blew out a frustrated breath. "You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?"

"Yeah," Aiden shot back, grinning widely, "but that's why everyone loves me."

He was right; that was the most terrible part.