Ethan (Alluring Indulgence) (3 page)

“Where
are the twins?” Ethan asked. They should’ve been there for this.

“On
the way. Brendon had to stop and get something,” Sawyer explained, a suspicious
smirk on his face.

As
though that was the cue, Ethan’s attention was snagged by a bushel of color
coming in through the door to the waiting room.
What the hell was that?

A
round of laughter erupted as they all realized Braydon was coming through the
door, hidden behind a wall of balloons as he tried to squeeze in through the
doorway. More balloons than Ethan had ever seen in one place. Bright jewel
tones – red and green and blue and yellow – hovered above Braydon’s head like a
cloud.

“What
the fu–” Travis muttered, the curse word cut off when Kylie placed her hand
over his mouth.

“There
is no way you’re gonna get all of those balloons in that little room,” Kylie
informed them with a beaming smile as the twins made their way toward the
middle of the waiting area where everyone was now milling about.

Braydon
looked up at his collection, then back to Kylie, a grin forming. “No problem.”

Pulling
off one of the strings, he handed a single green balloon to Kylie. When he went
to hand one to Travis, the oldest of them all simply frowned at Braydon.

“No?
None for you? Fine.” From there, Braydon started going from one person to another
– even complete strangers – handing out balloons. There obviously weren’t
enough people in the waiting room, but that didn’t seem to stop Braydon, he
just made his way out into the hall. Ethan knew he’d have all of the balloons
handed out in no time. The guy was crazy.

“What
are you doing?” Another familiar voice sounded from the hallway. A strangled
laugh followed by, “No. I don’t want a damn balloon.”

As
he watched his cousin Jared Walker – also known as the new man in charge of
Walker Demolition – make his way into the waiting room, he considered escaping
while everyone’s attention was diverted. Ethan prepared himself for the
confrontation that he expected to come.

When
Jared looked his way, Ethan nodded in acknowledgement but sent up a silent prayer
that his cousin wouldn’t stop to chat. He didn’t have anything to say to the
guy. Especially after the last couple of conversations they’d had.

Granted,
Ethan respected the fact that Travis had hired Jared to come in and manage
Walker Demolition now that he was fully immersed in the new resort, but that
didn’t mean Ethan liked the guy. Ok, so he liked the guy, he just wasn’t fond
of the ass chewing he had received on Blake’s behalf.

Technically,
up until that morning, Blake was an employee of Walker Demolition and Ethan
didn’t understand why he had to be the one to take the heat every time Blake
fucked up. Which had been frequently, Ethan knew.

Blake
wasn’t the most reliable, didn’t usually come into work on time, and sometimes
disappeared for a couple of days without bothering to even call and let Ethan
know where he was. And despite the fact that Ethan had been dating him – for
lack of a better term – he wasn’t his keeper. Nor was he his boss. Not that
Jared seemed to understand that. So, needless to say, they’d butted heads since
the day Jared showed up right around the first of the year.

Now
that Blake wasn’t working for them, Ethan wondered if that would help the
strained relationship that had started to develop since the first week of
January when Jared had shown up out of the blue. There was a story behind his
cousin’s reason for relocating to Coyote Ridge, but out of respect to Jared,
Ethan had never tried to get to root of that reason. Watching as Jared shook
hands with Travis and then Curtis, Ethan started to wonder why he hadn’t put
forth the effort.

It
wasn’t like Ethan had wanted anything to do with running the family business.
He had more than enough to do in the mechanic shop, and that’s actually where
he wanted to stay. He liked being out of the limelight, staying in the shadows
and not having to deal with any of the political bullshit. Jared seemed to be
suited perfectly for the job, although Ethan knew for a fact that if he needed
his cousin to get his hands dirty and help out in the shop, he’d be capable of
doing that as well.

Hmm…
he certainly wasn’t going to tell Jared that Blake quit, that was for damn
sure. The last thing he needed was some nosy family member getting all up in
his business.

♂♂

Beau
stood in the background, watching as the Walker family rejoiced in the newest
addition to their family. Being in the midst of all of their excitement, Beau
couldn’t help but feel it too. Having grown up as an only child, he had found
himself drawn to the Walker household because there was always something going
on, and he had fit in from day one.

The
Walker family was the exact opposite of his own family. Curtis and Lorrie doted
on their children, spent time with them, and encouraged them in everything they
did – even now, when they were all full grown.

In
Beau’s house growing up, encouragement came when it benefited his father and
only then. Not that it was necessarily a terrible thing because growing up Beau
had worked his ass off to please his father. It hadn’t done much good, but the
best memories he had were those rare times his father looked at him as though
he hung the moon. Never mind the fact that it all came crashing down during his
senior year of high school.

It
wasn’t that his parents didn’t love him, he knew they did. They just didn’t
have much time for him. Growing up, his father had been right there rooting him
on in all his football glory, but, maybe because of that, their relationship
had always been tense. At times, Beau felt like his father was more his coach
than his actual parent. And, when the day came that his football dreams crashed
and burned, an even bigger gap formed between them. Beau had never questioned
it. Having felt as though he let his father down, he never even thought to ask
why their relationship had dwindled as fast as his future had.

Since
he’d had the welcoming arms of the Walker family, Beau had simply continued to
put one foot in front of the other, finding himself spending less and less time
at home and more time at Zane’s. At first it was strange because growing up,
Zane was as much a part of Beau’s family as he was Zane’s. Surprisingly, Zane
hadn’t questioned the rift between him and his father, but that’s probably
because Zane hadn’t understood it either. After all, Curtis Walker was the opposite
of Ben Bennett.

Where
Curtis was supportive, Ben was critical. Where Curtis laughed with his boys,
Ben frowned, never understanding the joke or the reason for so much happiness.
And Beau’s mother, Arlene, was very much like her husband.

And
now, considering the direction that Beau’s life had taken, the revelation he’d
made about himself, he couldn’t imagine sharing his innermost secrets with his
parents. He knew how they would react if he ever had the guts to tell them he
was gay. After having spent a lifetime not caring what people thought of him,
for some reason, Beau cared what they thought. Which meant their relationship
would continue to be strained because Beau had no intention of letting them
down again.

So,
as long as they accepted him, Beau would continue to find comfort within the
Walker family, celebrating their triumphs, mourning their losses and everything
in between.

Beau
turned and smiled like a fool as Zane approached. He refused to bring down the
celebration, and he knew the first person who would suspect he was dwelling on
thoughts better left alone was Zane.

“What’s
up?” he asked casually, readjusting his stance, but not moving from his
position against the wall.

Zane
glanced around the room and then back at Beau like he was expecting someone to
sneak up on him.

“You
wanna grab something to eat?” Zane’s question was said in a conspiratorial
whisper, which was a dead giveaway that the man was up to his mischievous ways.

“Why?
Cafeteria food calling your name?” he asked Zane as he watched Braydon
disappear out into the hallway again, Brendon and Jessie right on his heels.

“You
know it,” he answered with a grin.

“Liar.”

Zane
laughed.

Beau
had known Zane long enough. Knew how his brain worked. And the last thing Zane
was thinking about was hospital food. In fact, the way Zane was eyeing V, Beau
knew he was craving something a lot more appetizing.

“Nah,
I think I’m gonna hang here for a few more minutes. Then I’ve got to head into
work. But I’ll catch up with y’all later. Maybe we can get a beer after work.”
Beau declined the invitation to their rendezvous as nicely as he could.

Beau
knew that Zane was still trying to lure him back into his relationship with V,
from an extracurricular perspective at least. He couldn’t blame him,
necessarily. The sex had been phenomenal. Especially at the end when… nope, not
going there.

He
understood Zane’s reasoning because the threesomes had been satisfying and
interesting, and Beau might’ve been inclined to accept the offers had it not
been for the fact that his life had changed dramatically ever since the night
he had been with Zane. What happened between them had only solidified the
reason for all of the confusion Beau had been living with in regards to his
sexual orientation.

That
night had changed him. It also clarified that what he felt for Zane, which he’d
originally thought was more than friendship, was merely infatuation. Although
he’d experimented, walking away from Zane and V had been easier than he
thought. Mainly because it left him open to find what he’d been missing. Love.
True love. Something that wasn’t only based on physical attraction.

Because
Zane and V had found that deeper connection with one another, it hadn’t been a
difficult decision for Beau to back out of the threesomes. In fact, it was
easier to walk away than it would’ve been to deny himself the fulfillment he
knew he would never find with them.

And
with V’s support, Zane had backed off, but Beau knew his best friend was merely
trying to keep things from becoming awkward between them. If Zane had picked up
on Beau’s fascination with his brother Ethan, he might just be a little less
worried. And maybe he had, but Zane wasn’t one to talk about those types of
things.

Now
that Beau had finally found his footing in the world, and V seemed to
understand him, they were letting the significance of what they had all three
shared before turn into a comfortable, platonic friendship. For that, Beau was
thankful.

“Well,
if you change your mind…” Zane let the sentence hang, but his attention was now
fully on V.

“Go.
Have fun. Maybe you can start with dessert.”

Zane
turned back to face him, his blue-gray eyes glittering with devilish intent. “I
think I might just do that.”

“Right.
Like you hadn’t thought about that before.”

Zane
slapped Beau on the shoulder. “You know me all too well, Bennett.”

That
he did. He knew Zane better than just about anyone else.

“All
right then,” Zane said, looking back at him, his expression turning serious.
“If you’re sure you’re not hungry…”

Beau
laughed. “I’m positive.”

“Then
we’ll catch up with you later at Moonshiners,” Zane said as V stepped up to
join them.

“You
two have fun. Don’t get caught.”

“Never,”
Zane laughed.

V
grinned, looking over her shoulder as Zane led her away and Beau overheard her
say, “What were y’all talking about?”

As
they moved closer to the exit, Beau laughed at Zane’s response, “He suggested
that we go get dessert.”

As
more people filed out of the L&D waiting room, Beau fell into step,
following them down the hall to the nursery where they would all receive the
first glimpse of Kaleb’s and Zoey’s son. He made sure not to get caught up in
the crowd, lingering behind as he kept an eye on Ethan. Something he found
himself doing often.

At
first, Beau had tried to play off his attraction to Ethan. Having lived nearly
twenty-six years of his life being confused about what he wanted, forcing
himself to fall in with the norm and not understanding why he couldn’t seem to
find happiness, he had been a little overwhelmed by the initial draw he had to
Zane, and now Ethan. Only with Ethan, Beau’s intrigue was magnified by a
million, and he found his thoughts overwhelmed by the man. Sometimes, at the
most inopportune times. But it was that original pull that made him realize
exactly what he had been avoiding all his life.

In
fact, the night he had been with Zane was when the weight of the world had
fallen from his shoulders, understanding finally dawning. Did it hurt to
realize that he was infatuated with his best friend? Damn straight it did.
Worse that Zane was his best friend. But Beau knew going in that he wasn’t in
love with Zane, just curious, so in a way, experimenting with Zane had been a
blessing. Zane and V had offered him a safe environment that allowed him to
understand himself more so than if he’d been with a stranger that he didn’t
care about.

So
what did he do after that whirlwind realization? He went on a date, of course.
With a guy.

What
a fucking disaster that had been.

There
he was, shy as hell, nervous that he was actually at a turning point in his
life that he finally understood, but had absolutely no clue as to how to handle
it and he found himself on the worst first date in the history of dates. Aside
from the fact that he spent an hour of his life that he would never get back
talking to a man who wanted to do nothing more than figure out the mechanics of
how the two of them could actually
be together
, Beau had found they had
nothing in common.

Nothing.

After
an awkward dinner with Joe, when Beau assured him that
yes
, he would
probably
fit
, however,
no
, he didn’t actually want to try, Beau
had thought his night couldn’t get any worse.

He’d
been wrong.

As
he was planning his escape, Beau saw a man he recognized sitting in a booth at
the opposite end of the row. Blake Henley. The lying, cheating bastard was with
a man – one that very much was
not
Ethan – at the very same restaurant.
And yes, Blake was all over the mystery man. Had the two men been any closer,
it would’ve been considered public indecency he was sure.

 So,
Beau could thank Joe for turning him off of potentially dating. And to this
day, he hadn’t talked to anyone about it. V had tried to persuade him to talk a
time or two, but he damn sure didn’t want to clue her in on the clusterfuck
that had been that evening. He wanted to pretend it never happened and try the
whole first date thing again.

One
day.

Maybe.

That’s
when his hang up with Ethan Walker began. Whether it was because he had finally
embraced his attraction to men, or whether he was just concerned because he had
seen Ethan’s supposed boyfriend with another guy, Beau found himself thinking
about Ethan. All the damn time.

By
the time he had mustered up enough courage to talk to Ethan, he realized too
much time had passed to share the little secret he harbored. And now… Well, now
he would look like he was just trying to interfere.

Had
it not been for the fierce passion he had witnessed in Ethan’s beautiful
blue-gray gaze on more than one occasion, Beau might’ve given up on the man.
But the chemistry was there. And it was intense. Far stronger than anything
he’d ever experienced in his life and it irked the shit out of him that Ethan
was being so damned stubborn.

Not
only did Beau find himself physically attracted to Ethan, he found that –
thanks to the few occasions he’d had the opportunity – he could talk to him.
Based on Beau’s limited experience, he knew that was rare.

Speaking
of Ethan…

Beau
eased behind the crowd gathered in the hall, keeping to the wall opposite the
glass windows that offered a direct view into the nursery where it appeared a
nurse was taking care of baby Walker. The oohs and ahhs from everyone were a
dead giveaway.

Glutton
for punishment that he was, Beau continued to make his way to the far side of
the group where Ethan was standing alone, doing his best to resemble a post –
holding up the wall he was leaning against.

“You
ok?” Beau asked in an attempt to make conversation, not looking directly at
Ethan, instead pretending to be watching what was going on in front of him.

Too
bad he could barely focus as soon as he got a whiff of Ethan’s rich, spicy
scent. Not to mention, he could see Ethan in his peripheral vision. The tension
that settled in Ethan’s shoulders was apparent, but Beau pretended not to
notice the way the bulky muscles bunched. He let the silence consume them until
he wanted to fidget from the discomfort.

Risking
it, Beau looked over at Ethan, admiring the chiseled features of his face, the
heat – whether it be anger or desire – that smoldered in his seductive eyes. He
wanted to touch him, to put a hand on Ethan’s shoulder, something to let him
know that he wasn’t a threat.

After
a painfully long second, Ethan jerked to face him. Beau swallowed hard, but
forced himself not to be offended by Ethan’s affronted reaction. He’d come to
expect Ethan to be defensive around him. It was actually one of the things that
turned him on, oddly enough.