14. Kess

14

KESS

I held the ladder as Emery efficiently climbed up to the roof of the barn. Even though my feet were planted solidly in the dirt, my stomach turned to think of him going up that high.

“Don’t throw up on my brand-new ladder,” Emery called down with a grin.

“Tell you what. Don’t fall into a mangled lump on the ground, and I won’t.”

“I only have you here because when I get up on the ladder without an adult around, Woody withholds sex.”

“I’ve accidentally walked up on the house while y’all were finishing up, and I’d hate to deprive you of that man’s ass.”

Emery laughed as he scrambled onto the roof.

“Son of a bitch,” he swore, then climbed back down the ladder.

“Something wrong?”

“Forgot my tool belt.”

“Phrases I have never heard Emery McAvoy say for a thousand, Alex.”

He ran into the barn and returned a few seconds later, strapping a camel leather tool belt to his waist.

He patted my shoulder. “Shouldn’t take too long. Looks like one of the solar panels came loose, which would explain why the car was taking forever to charge.”

“Can I guess that the first time Woody saw this setup, he made fun of you?”

“Something like that,” Emery said, a soft look in his eyes.

“You two are the most improbable couple I have ever met.”

“I think we just get each other, like two puzzle pieces completing what the other doesn’t have.”

“That sounds...pretty damn amazing, man.”

“It is,” he agreed as he disappeared over the roof.

For the next few minutes, the air was filled with banging and cursing as Emery dragged the solar panel back into place, verified it was connected, and secured it to the roof.

Finally, still cursing up a blue streak, he made his way down the ladder, his right thumb in his mouth.

“Dare I ask?”

“Shut up.”

I followed him into the house and he went to the kitchen, where he took the first aid kit out of the cabinet and cleaned up his smashed thumb.

I grimaced. “I’m pretty sure you’re gonna lose that nail.”

He examined it and shrugged. “At least I don’t have to have Woody drill a hole in it like last time.”

I made the vomit gesture, and Emery laughed, slapping me on the back. “That’s country living for you.”

He did a pretty decent job of wrapping his thumb, then reached into the refrigerator for his sweet tea, which should come with a warning label and a bucket of fluoride. He filled two large Rudy’s cups with ice, set them on the big kitchen island, poured them full of liquid gold, then returned the tea to the refrigerator.

He was oddly quiet as he did this, and when he slid the cup of ice-cold deliciousness in my direction, I decided to take control of the situation.

“Okay, Em. Spill it.”

Emery grimaced into his cup, took a swig, and set it down. “I feel like an idiot saying this, but that friend of Rowdy’s you met downtown?”

“Skylar?”

“Yeah, him. Woody wanted to know if you saw anything between him and Rowdy when he stayed over.”

I chuckled. “I had those two over for lunch and we chatted and had a great time. Seems like a good guy.”

“Oh.” Em tapped his fingertips together. “Woody said they were best friends, no benefits. Which made no sense to him.”

“Why not? He doesn’t think two gay guys can be best friends?” I asked, gesturing between the two of us.

Em rolled his eyes. “I think what made Woody hesitate was that he didn’t know Skylar. They’d never met until that moment, though Skylar had clearly heard of Woody.”

I thought back to our encounter at the bar, and then our lunch. “I’m not surprised. I got the sense that Rowdy keeps their friendship close to the vest.”

Em’s expression was careful. “Do you know why?”

I took a long pull of the tea and cursed. “This is the best fucking tea I’ve ever had. What is it about moving out to the country that made you the king of sweet tea?”

“It’s all in the wrist, baby,” Emery said, limping the wrist in question. “And stop avoiding my question.”

Emery knew me far too well to get one over on him, so I decided on honesty.

“I’m avoiding your question because I’ve been asked not to tell you something.” I tapped the island. “But...”

“But, what?”

“Remember how we went round and round about what was going on with Rowdy?”

“Yeah. Fat lot of good it did us.”

“Well, I learned an important detail that fills in a big missing piece. Not everything, but...”

“But?” Em asked, then leaned forward.

“Can you keep this to yourself, at least for now?”

Emery worried his lip for a moment, then nodded. “If it’s bad, though, I need to tell Woody.”

“It’s not bad,” I assured him. I tapped the island again, delaying a bit more before deciding to go in. “Are you aware that Rowdy spends a good deal of his time away—like, maybe almost all of it—doing volunteer work?”

Emery pulled back. “What do you mean?” he asked, a line appearing between his brows. “He gets laid and then...what? Volunteers at a shelter?”

I made a so-so gesture. “Maybe? Or maybe he’s been staying at Skylar’s place this whole time, and the volunteer work is the point of the visit.”

“Are you saying that Rowdy, who Woody’s known his entire life, might not actually be fucking his way through the entire Central Texas gay community?”

I nodded along with his inquiry. “I think that’s a real possibility.”

Em held up a finger. “That very first pasta night Woody came to. Rowdy and I were talking about him after he left.”

“Typical.”

Emery shot me the finger. “I'm trying to tell you—Rowdy warned me that the Lockwood family doesn’t do casual. I’d focused on what that meant for Woody, but now I’m wondering if he was including himself in that.”

“That actually makes sense.”

Emery wrinkled his nose. “But then why would he do everything to make us believe he got around? What about the texts he sends you? Why the long con?”

“I dunno. I’m telling you—we’re still missing something.”

He rapped his knuckles on his head, like knocking on a door, asking for answers. I was familiar with the sentiment.

“What I don’t get is the fact that he’s said nothing about this volunteer work. These organizations always need more people and more money. Hell, you know I’d send Stevie out with him in a heartbeat.” Em grimaced and shot me a look. “Unless you think he needs a break from her.”

I immediately cut off that line of thought. “Rowdy has all the time in the world for Stevie. But I just get the sense...”

“You get the sense what?”

“It’s like I said before—I keep getting the sense that none of us really knows him at all.”

“You think he’s hiding something else from us? Like, on purpose?”

I tapped the side of my nose, the gesture Em liked to use when I sniffed out a lie. “Been sensing something’s off for a while now, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

Emery took a long drink of tea, his eyes never leaving mine.

“What?”

“How’d your third date—the raincheck guy—go?”

“Shut up.”

He crossed his arms over his chest.

Fine . “I went. Begrudgingly. Then bailed after cocktails.”

Emery’s all-knowing gaze was making my eye twitch.

I gestured at him. “Go ahead. Say what you’re gonna say.”

“You’re completely occupied—to the point of both distraction and inability to see anyone else—because you can’t figure out what Rowdy’s hiding from us. From you .”

“Well, aren’t you? Like, why the hell wouldn’t he tell us about the volunteer work? And what the fuck else is he hiding?”

“Have you considered volunteering with him?”

A smile spread across my stupid mouth before I could stop it.

“What? What have you done?” Em asked, leaning in.

I hesitated until his eyes were practically bulging, then admitted, “I found out from Skylar that Rowdy’s going to a youth group meeting this week, and I was thinking of joining him.”

“Why don’t you?” He frowned. “And wait, are you friends with Skylar now?”

“Maybe.” I drummed the surface of the island for a few seconds, then let him in on what I knew. “Rowdy’s worried about this one kid. Actually, it’s a mother-son duo, and they’re in a spot of trouble. I’ve been asking around, and I think the situation is even worse than Rowdy knows.”

“Tell me.”

“You remember that shitty trailer park over by the old high school they had to redo because of the asbestos?”

He closed one eye. “Vaguely. It’s the kind of place that you go a little faster when you’re passing it, right?”

“Exactly. Which probably means more people should pay attention.”

“Damn. And this mom and kid live there?”

“Yep. Worse, if someone doesn’t show up at her job, she gets called in to work and has to leave the kid alone.”

“What a nightmare for her,” he said, instantly understanding the problem.

“And Rowdy is trying to figure out a way to get them out of that place.”

“Really?” Emery asked as I took a sip of tea.

“Yeah.” I set the cup on the island, wishing I could find an answer in its depths. “There’s a shady situation with the guy who runs the park. I don’t think anything’s happened, but they’re worried he’s gearing up to...I dunno. Rope them into something?”

“In what way?”

“He’s being overly nice.” I shuddered just thinking about it. “Like a kidnapper with a puppy.”

Emery’s jaw tensed and he fisted his hands. I’d witnessed some of the conversations he’d had with Stevie about stranger danger, and that shit was terrifying to contemplate.

“What’s Rowdy’s plan?”

I sucked in a breath. I still felt weird about giving up Rowdy’s secrets, but this was serious.

“You remember that crazy bastard who lives next door to Rebel Sky?”

“If you’re talking about the Bash family, you’re gonna hafta be more specific. Ain’t no one in that gene pool known for their sanity.”

“Exactly,” I said, shaking my head. “And he was going to call in a favor to see if Anders, of all people, could help.”

Emery’s eyes widened. “Oh... shit . He has no idea what Anders is about.”

“Hell, I don’t think we do, either.”

“No, but I can guarantee it’d be like calling in a Bradley to bomb a cockroach.”

“Even if all the stories about that bastard are half myth, half overexaggeration, I still don’t want him anywhere near Rowdy.”

“Neither do I.”

I bared my teeth. “Which is why I said I’d check into what we can do for this kid and his mom.”

Emery gave me a look that rivaled his daughter’s. “Bj?rn Maria Kessler, what the fuck are you doing?”

I shot him the finger. “First and middle name, eh?”

I was named after both of my grandfathers, which...yeah.

“Seriously, Kess. You don’t know these people.”

I swallowed thickly. “I know a little. The son is only thirteen, but he’s six foot three. Which is probably why the shitty guy from the main office has his eyes on him.”

“Wait. The kid is thirteen and six foot three?”

“Yeah.”

“So... sports?”

“Maybe?” I held up my hands. “We know they don’t have the money for that.”

“Yeah, but there are nonprofits that help impoverished kids join sports teams—hell, I know you and I’d be more than willing to cover his expenses?—”

“But that doesn’t solve the problem of the dangerous shithole they’re living in,” I said, talking over him. “In my mind, you can’t do one without the other.”

“What are you thinking?”

“That I need more information.” I blew out a big breath. “Which is why I’m going to force my way into Rowdy’s car this week and go with him to that youth group thing. I want to meet this kid.”

Emery nodded. “True—you need more information. Not just on the kid, either.”

“Agreed. Rowdy insists his mom is great, but she’s in a terrible situation right now. He wanted to see if he could get her into Kit’s place, but Kit already went and hired a land manager. I also called some of our contacts, but nothing they have available would be a good fit.”

Emery’s expression was thoughtful. “I like the dude ranch idea. Don’t give up on that angle—there’s always plenty to do at a place like that, especially for an overgrown teenager.” Em swirled his Rudy’s cup on the counter, shaking the ice inside. “Go check things out at this volunteer thing and then come back to me. For sure there’s something we can do that doesn’t involve Anders Fucking Bash.”

“Will do.”

I knew Rowdy would pitch a fit if he found out that I’d more or less immediately told Emery everything, but I was relieved to talk it out with him. While I was remembering all the things that made me grateful for Emery’s friendship, his face shifted into a smile.

Red flag.

“What’s this smile about?”

Emery nodded. “So, apart from figuring out how to help this kid and his mom, what’s your strategy with Rowdy? Aside from, you know, inviting yourself along?”

I rolled the sweating cup between my palms. “You’re gonna think I’m an idiot.”

“No, I won’t.”

He very much will.

Ah, well.

“Clearly, I need to do something about this attraction to him.”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” He rolled his eyes. Ass. “What are you planning?”

I ran my hands through my hair until it was a mess.

“Kess?”

“I thought I’d start by making him a pretty headboard.”

Emery crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes blazing. “You have never once made me something from your wood shop, Kessler. And I’m starting to take it personally.”

I imitated his stance. “That’s because my skills are simple, and your tastes are not.”

“Fine, but I’m noting this in the friendship log.” Em rubbed his hands together. “That’s actually...a really nice gesture, though.”

“That’s what I’m going for—nice gestures.”

“Agreed. He still seems interested, even after he backed off that one time.” Em gave me a good, hard look. “Tell me again, why did he back off? Were y’all too drunk?”

I shook my head. “I mean, that may have had something to do with it, but mostly I think it’s because I went in strong.”

Em looked as confused as I’d been feeling for weeks now. “Which I would’ve assumed he’d have liked.”

“Exactly, but it was the opposite.” I stared at my friend for a second. “There’s something about him that seems a little...softer…than I originally thought? So maybe...”

“Maybe what?”

“Maybe I should woo him?”

Emery gaped at me.

“Oh, shut up with that face, Em.”

“Sorry, but did you say woo him?”

“Call me crazy, but there’s something about him that feels vulnerable.”

“ Oh .” Em scratched his head.

“What do you mean, oh ?”

“It’s like you said. I wonder if I know Rowdy at all.”

“Welcome to the club.”