Chapter Twenty-Two

Brian called his office and left a message on his machine for his assistant. "Cancel all my appointments for tomorrow and the next day, please."

Brian hung up a second later and set the cordless phone on the couch cushion next to him. He had a bag of puffy, cheesy goodness that had stained his fingers orange. He couldn't bring himself to care beyond licking the dust off.

Guilt ate at him, but at the same time he knew he hadn't done anything wrong. He'd never really suffered from low self-esteem, but something about Greg had made him question himself and his actions. Well, his self-confidence hadn't been the greatest in high school, but that had more to do with not coming out right away. Fear had caused a lot more issues than getting his ass kicked by Brad Flynn probably would have.

Well, he shouldn't have sat on Jackson's lap. Given their friends with benefits history, it seemed wrong. Brian had put Greg in the boyfriend category even though they hadn't had that discussion yet. Flirting with Jackson wasn't a good move. That part was his fault.

The rest of it was Greg reading more into the scene and flying off the handle instead of asking questions and listening to answers.

The man had a temper. Greg had told him as much at one point.

Brian hoped that when Greg calmed down, he would listen to Brian's explanation.

The front door opened, and Andrew came inside, shutting the door behind him. Brian ate another cheese puff and ignored him. He didn't even care that he sat in his underwear and nothing else.

Andrew took one look at him and raised an eyebrow. "Wanna talk about it, vato?"

Brian shook his head and turned back to the movie marathon he had started as soon as he'd gotten home. His choices were to drown in movie drama or to overthink the shitshow with Greg. He had chosen movies, and he wasn't ready to switch to overthinking yet.

He grabbed the remote and paused the movie, heading into the bathroom without a word, passing Andrew, who followed him with his eyes the entire time.

He used the toilet and washed his hands before going into the kitchen and starting a pot of coffee. He knew the caffeine would keep him awake, but sleep wouldn't come easy, so why bother. As he watched the brown liquid drip into the carafe, he couldn't help the tears that gathered. The ones that spilled over, he wiped with the back of his hand. His chest ached, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

The phone rang as he stood there, but he didn't bother answering it. He heard Andrew speak in the living room right after the ringing stopped.

Andrew came into the room with his hand held out.

"I don't want to talk." Instead, he grabbed his favorite mug and set it on the counter.

"It's Leonard."

At first, Brian thought about refusing, but Leonard had never called him before. He probably wouldn't unless something had happened to Greg. "Please tell me he's all right."

"We can't find him." Leonard had a slight southern accent that sounded thicker than usual.

"He's not here." Brian's heart pounded heavily in his chest.

"Well, get your ass to the farm and help us find him." Leonard ended the call.

Please be okay. Please be okay. That was Brian's mantra as he raced to his bedroom to get dressed.

Brian grabbed his keys off the kitchen table and headed for the front door.

Andrew already stood there, waiting for him. "I'll drive."

The ride over was silent as Brian replayed every word Greg had said to him the last time they'd spoken.

Brian was so lost in thought he didn't remember the drive, but he came to when they pulled onto the farm. The barn lights illuminated the yard, creating shadows everywhere else.

Brian flew out of the door and straight into Jaron's open arms. "Travis and Neil are searching in the pastures."

"Who was the last person to see him?" Andrew asked, his cop's mentality already kicking in.

Brian felt a level of calm knowing Andrew took charge. The chief would find Greg.

Leonard came up beside Andrew. "I was. He was looking in the shed for some tools to fix the fence."

"All right, let's give them some more eyes." Andrew peered around, his eyes landing on Greg's truck. "Does that truck have 4-wheel drive?"

Leonard said, "Let me get the spare keys."

"I'm going too." Brian thought someone would protest, but no one did. When they got into the truck, Brian noticed that it smelled like Greg, like his cologne.

Leonard guided them to the fence, and they rode the outside of the fence line. Leonard pointed out the section Greg was supposed to fix. It was hard to see in the dark.

They took extra time shining lights around that area but moved on when they saw nothing. They drove slowly, to slow for Brian's nerves, although he never said anything. He wrung his hands as he focused his gaze out of the window. They followed the fence until they came to Travis' truck. The lights were on and shining down a slope.

Brian let out a little sound when Andrew pulled the truck up alongside Travis'. The four-wheeler lay upside down. The lights from the truck illuminated the scene. Travis and Neil moving around the small vehicle, crouching down as if assessing the situation. Then Neil knelt closer and his lips moved, although Brian couldn't tell what he said.

When Brian got out of the truck and ran down the slope, the first thing he saw was Greg's dark blond hair glistening in the truck's headlights of the truck as he lay still in the grass.