Chapter 3

Chapter Three

CONNOR

The storm pounded my car, and gusts of rain and wind slammed against the windshield of my SUV. The wipers were working overtime to keep up. It felt like a mission, pushing through the downpour to get to the Lennox Ranch. Normally, I'd relish a good storm, the action-adventure side of me battling the elements—but tonight was different because the destination wasn't some rescue or a mission; it was Quinn's birthday, and there was no getting out of it. Not when Quinn wasn't just my boss but was also a friend. Not only that, but Connor, his warnings, and the almost-kiss made me restless, and my skin felt tight with need.

"Fuck my life," I muttered, then glanced at the gift bag on the passenger seat. Inside was the mug I'd bought in a last-minute panic: World's Shittiest Boss . The Shittiest part was my little addition, a weak attempt at humor. What do you get a millionaire who could buy himself anything he wanted? A joke mug seemed safer than another bottle of whiskey or yet another piece of tech I'd set him up with as part of my job to keep him safe and out of the eye of the media.

The Lennox Ranch came into view through the sheets of rain. On a summer's day, it was a warm, inviting ranch house, the kind of place that screamed family and history, and in the winter, it was lit up like one of those Christmas houses full of candles. Rachel was organizing Quinn's birthday tonight. Hence, the event was in the main ranch house, not my boss's and his husband's place, which is a quarter mile up the mountain. Quinn and Levi spent time in the main ranch house with the people they called family and were so damn happy.

I'm not jealous .

I don't need people.

Yet, here I was, heading into all that found family, the outsider, the lone wolf without a pack. My SEAL team had long since scattered, my family wanted nothing to do with me, my cousin—the only one who continued to speak to me after I'd come out—was gone, and the concept of slipping into life at the Lennox Ranch as Quinn had done was alien to me.

"You're being fucking stupid," I told myself, and the empty car and the mug on the seat, as a powerful gust of wind rocked the SUV, making it slip on the gravel from one side of the road to the other. Even four-wheel drive wasn't keeping me in a straight line, and I frowned at the heads-up screen where the scarlet of the storm still hovered over Whisper Ridge.

I wished the storm was a person I could take down. After feeling so drawn to Neil and seeing him walk away again, I mightn't have felt so antsy if I had control over something like the elements in my life.

Yeah, it's the storm that's making me antsy, not my reluctance at being forced to socialize.

Or Sheriff Sexy cutting me dead.

Shake it off.

As Quinn's security guy, I had a stable career and rented my own place in town over the diner. But lately, I'd been feeling restless, and I put it down to one of two things. The first was when one of my old SEAL team colleagues, Zach, reached out. He'd been up in Canada on some mission and part of a covert team, and he'd approached me to ask if I wanted in. Being part of a team again was tempting as long as I didn't recall the nomadic lifestyle, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to leave this life behind. The crossroads were clear, but the path wasn't.

The second was that I hadn't gotten laid in three months. Or six.

No, wait, Christmas. Shit. Ten months.

Shit. Ten months of using my right hand was why I was antsy. That was my excuse, and I was sticking to it. It had nothing to do with the one man I wanted and couldn't have who simultaneously rocked my world, kept me at arm's length, and spent every moment we interacted shutting me down or being angry with me.

Sheriff Neil freaking Windham and his gorgeous blue eyes that sparked fire whenever he saw me, and his soft dark hair, and his body… I was spending too much time thinking about him and not about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. But had that been a nearly-kiss? Had he actually leaned toward me ?

"Stop fucking moping," I warned myself. "Normal-everyday-Sheriff is not interested in messed-up-former-SEAL with commitment issues."

I'm a badass SEAL who can handle a storm, rejection from a sexy sheriff, and do one stupid party all in the same night.

I parked the SUV and took a deep breath. My exit strategy was planned: stay for cake, mingle just enough to be polite, and then slip out quietly. Years of training had made me good at disappearing when I needed to.

The front door opened before I knocked, and Noah stood there with a wide grin. "Con, you made it!"

Given I lived over the diner Noah owned and ran, and I hadn't been able to escape being told I was coming, how surprised could he be?

He smirked. "Come on in. You're just in time for cake."

I'd seen the cake Noah had been working on this week, a towering confection of chocolate he was so proud of.

"Wouldn't miss it," I lied, stepping inside and shaking off the rain in the entry. The warmth of the house hit me, along with the aroma of home-cooked food. The vast kitchen-diner held a loud group of people, laughter and conversation filling the air. Finn's family and friends were all familiar faces, but there was no one I wanted to stand around chatting to.

The door had barely closed behind me when a small, energetic whirlwind collided with my legs. Laurie, Quinn's ten-year-old nephew, had tracked me down, as usual. His eyes sparkled with excitement as he stared up at me, clutching a notebook to his chest. He loved art and was skilled at drawing, never far from a sketchbook and pencils .

"Connor! I've got something to show you!" Laurie's voice was a mix of excitement and admiration.

"Hey, kid," I said, ruffling his hair. "What's got you so hyped up?"

"I made a cartoon book!" Laurie flipped open his notebook, revealing a detailed drawing of a Navy SEAL action adventure. "Look! I made this. It's about a Navy SEAL called Connor, who has to rescue a hostage from a secret base under the well in our barn. Isn't it cool?"

A SEAL called Connor? I glanced over the drawings of a tall, dark-haired man who looked suspiciously like me, and the meticulous planning he'd put into his story.

"Is that me?"

"Sure is," Archie announced from his side. Where Laurie was, Archie was never far away. Closer than brothers, they were the light and life of Lennox Ranch, and I loved their absolute focus on cartoons, art, horses, and having fun.

Although enthusiastic exploring had led to Laurie getting trapped down a well, and that was maybe pushing fun too far. You'd better believe that well was concreted tight now.

I bent down to talk closer to Laurie's ear. "You're not going anywhere near the well, right?"

He went scarlet, as did Archie.

"No, sir," they chorused and stood to attention.

I chuckled. "At ease."

They both relaxed before I returned to checking out the strip.

"It's awesome, right?" Archie asked. "Like really good." He was so proud of his best friend's work .

"Sure thing, buddy. Laurie's got a real talent for making strips."

Laurie's face went more red. "Do you really think so?"

"Absolutely," I said, genuinely impressed. "Tell me more about this mission," I prompted. Anything to avoid talking to the adults

Laurie launched into the details. Was it wrong that I felt more at home talking about comic adventures with a ten-year-old kid than I would when I was forced to make small talk? Maybe. But in that moment, with Laurie and Archie beaming up at me, it didn't matter.

I was gutted when Rachel called time on our chat and encouraged everyone over for cake, which lured the boys from my side. I stuck to my plan, hanging around behind Noah until the massive chocolate cake was cut and served, and we did the whole happy birthday singing thing. I had a slice, complimented Noah's baking, and edged toward the door.

As I moved, I caught snippets of conversation about old times, new ventures, and plans for the future, and it all felt a world away from my current limbo. Not that I wasn't happy—nope, I was settled, had a roof over my head, and wasn't having bad dreams anymore. Yeah, I was a little lonely, particularly since Quinn had married Levi, and they'd moved to their new place. He didn't need my stringent security. He didn't want it, but I was still in charge of his team.

His team consisted of me and his best friend, Molly, who maintained the social media side of Quinn's charitable foundations.

"You're not leaving, right? "

I stopped dead and faced the man himself, Quinn staring up at me, his lips in a perfect pout, his pink hair soft and fluffy, and his eyes rimmed with kohl.

"I just need to … y'know."

He shoved at my chest, this itty-bitty man who couldn't push me if he tried. "You're escaping the party, and I know it."

"I just…" What? What could I say about Quinn's extended family? Just that it was his and not mine, however friendly everyone was, and however much I loved talking to Laurie and Archie. My family was what I'd made when I'd joined the Navy—my parents out of my life. My former team was growing smaller with each death, and my cousin Natalie, more like a sister after my parents had done the whole disowning-because-I-was-queer thing, was dead.

Quinn was about the only person I could call family, but even being with him didn't make me feel like hanging around.

"Jesus, Con, you look so serious. Go, I'm just teasing," Quinn announced as he pulled me in for a hug, which I leaned into, complete with back pats.

Quinn was tactile, and I might not be that way inclined, but it felt right with Quinn all happy in my arms. I opened the door, and the sound of the torrential downpour and heavy storm was deafening, with the relentless pounding of the rain on the roof and windows creating a constant roar. I stepped outside when the ground shook.

A screech of wind tore through the air, followed by a crack of thunder so powerful it made the door vibrate. The earth moved with a sudden, terrifying force, a deep, rumbling growl that grew louder, almost like a freight train barreling toward me. The ground beneath my feet began to tremble, then shift, as if the very earth was being torn apart. The noise was deafening—a chaotic mix of crashing rocks, snapping trees, and the relentless roar of water. I felt the vibration through my boots, the earth shuddering and sliding, shifting in a violent, unstoppable wave.

I dropped into a crouch to steady myself.

What the fuck?

Levi shouted behind me, and I glanced back to see him talking fast and low to Micah, both shrugging on coats as others joined us—Scott checking his phone. What had I missed?

"What's up?" I asked because whatever they had going on might be an excuse to get me out of there and into some action.

"Landslide," Micah announced.

"Need to check," Levi muttered, and Micah nodded as if they'd had a complete conversation.

"Flash flood," Levi added.

I headed straight to the pile of ranch wear in the boot room, snagging the largest coat right from the rack, zipping and buttoning as Micah's husband, Daniel, and his brothers joined us, Noah not far behind, wearing slickers. It seemed like this was an all-hands-on-deck situation, mainly when Quinn made to follow us outside.

I blocked him. "No fucking way, you need to stay here, Quinn?—"

"Don't you stop me," Quinn warned .

The last thing I wanted was for him to put himself in danger, but then again, he had me right alongside him.

"Then you stay right next to me," I snapped, and he rolled his eyes.

"Okay, listen up," Levi spoke over both of them. "The second stream broke its banks yesterday." He gestured toward the looming Wind River mountain range. "We were expecting the storm to hit us again tonight. It's mostly the west side of the property at risk, but the natural barrier stones from the last landslide have moved. We did what we could today, but they never told us the storm would stick here…" He shook his head and pinched the top of his nose, clearly worried about what to get the rest of us doing.

The place emptied. The only ones staying behind were Chris, Rachel, and the kids. Chris because there was no way he could get up the mountain after a recent operation on his hip, and Rachel only stayed after her husband Scott reminded her that the kids were scared and, oh yes, she was pregnant. Rachel went scarlet, and given the stunned silence from everyone else, this was news to them all.

Micah gasped and went to hug his sister, but she shoved him away.

"No time for that!" she said with an eye roll. "Get out there."

"I'll call 911!" Chris called after us.

I glanced back at Laurie, Archie, and little Oliver with Rachel. We were leaving vulnerable people here, and I hated that.

"The house is okay, right?" I asked Micah. "You want me to get them into town? "

"It's all good," he managed, but whatever he added was lost as the wind carried our voices away.

We leaned into it and headed up from the ranch. An overhang protected the house, and deep channels redirected water from it to a pond and runoff below. Also, whatever danger we were heading to was a thirty-minute stumble-run-hike up a loose graveled path, slipping and sliding on the streams rushing downhill.

The wind howled through the trees like a wild beast. Now more of a torrent, the violent waters shoved the rocks from a previous landslip. Beams of flashlights converged on one spot, a hole carved into the side of the mountain, land drifting from the weight of the rain, destroying what I knew was a natural boulder wall created from the last landslip here over thirty years ago.

"Shit!" Levi shouted over the rain. "Move these rocks!"

We all worked together to shift what we could, to form another barrier against the torrent of water, but the ground beneath us rumbled. The sound was unsettling—a low vibration of moving earth rocked us all.

"It's moving! Run!"

Panic surged through us as everyone scattered. The earth split beneath our feet, a terrifying crack that echoed in the storm. I lost sight of Quinn amidst the chaos then heard him yell. My heart pounded as Micah grabbed me, and I watched Levi stumble over the sliding mud, but he was too far away to get to Quinn.

Without thinking, I sprinted over chasms and through rushing water, my boots skidding on the mud-slicked debris. The landslide was a cacophony around me, but I focused on my mission .

"Quinn!" I shouted; my voice barely audible over the roar. He turned, eyes wide with fear and confusion. I didn't waste a second. I reached him as the ground beneath his feet gave way.

Grabbing his arm, I tugged him with all my strength, yanking him from the collapsing earth as the edge crumbled into a dark, churning void.

"Get back!" I yelled, shoving him away from the danger zone with every ounce of muscle I had.

Quinn stumbled to safety, but as I pushed him away, the hole opened up, and I was swallowed. I clawed at the collapsing earth, trying to find anything to hold on to as mud filled my mouth, the taste bitter and suffocating, my grip faltering as the force of the landslide pulled me down.

Time seemed to slow, and the noise around me was a blur of chaos and destruction. I hit rocks and debris, pain shooting through me, but I focused on survival, on clawing my way back to the surface. At the point my strength began to wane, a hand grabbed my wrist, yanking me upward.

Gasping for air, I surfaced, pulled up by strong hands—Quinn, Levi, and others. They dragged me to solid ground, the earth still rumbling but stable.

"Connor, you okay?" Quinn's voice was urgent, his face pale but determined.

I nodded, coughing out mud and trying to catch my breath. "Just doing my job," I managed to say, a weak smile tugging at my lips.

The ground had stopped shifting, but the landscape was changed. Half the pasture had subsided, leaving a new scar on the earth where the boulders had tumbled down, creating a new course for the stream.

I stood, legs shaking, but alive. I'd been trained to dive into situations and protect those I cared about, no matter the cost. The relief in Levi's eyes as he hugged Quinn closer was worth every bruise, every scrape, every terrifying second.

"Fuck, that was insane," Daniel yelled over the rain, Micah at his side, as we all moved away from the edge and onto stable ground.

Nature had reshaped the land in all her fury, and fuck, I felt high from the adrenaline. My muscles ached, and the near-death experience left me buzzing with a strange exhilaration.

I'd missed that rush.