Stay
Authors: Riley Hart
STAY
A Blackcreek Novel
By: Riley Hart
Copyright © 2014 by Riley Hart
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without prior written permission of the author except where permitted by law.
Published by
Riley Hart
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Edited by Making Manuscripts
Cover photo: "wings of desire"
by jackson photografix
Dedication:
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To the Riley’s Rebels Facebook group. Thanks for all the support, conversation, and good times. You guys are the best.
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O
ne after one, Braden Roth watched as people trickled out of Wes’s sister’s home.
He hadn’t seen Wes in a while, which didn’t really surprise him. Wes avoided him as much as he could ever since the one and only night they spent together. The night Wes snuck out on him while Braden slept.
Still, he continued to linger, hoping for a minute alone with Wes.
Which was a fucked-up hope in itself. Why did it bother him so much that Wes wanted nothing to do with him?
“You sticking around?” Cooper, his buddy from the firehouse, stepped up beside him, his arm in a sling from a fire he’d gotten injured in.
“Yeah, I figure so. He might need some help or something.”
Coop shook his head. “He has his other sister here for that. Do you really think it’s a good idea to hit on the man the day he buried his sister?”
Braden clenched his jaw, fighting not to grind his teeth the way he used to as a kid. “No shit, man. I just...”
Think he needs a friend... He looks lonely...
“Can you blame me for asking? You have to admit, you’ve been relentless in trying to get him into bed again.”
“That was before I knew the whole story. I’m not a total asshole, Coop.” Even though he really was one. The truth was, Braden had never had a man
or
a woman sneak out on him after sex. Even if he hadn’t sensed something different about Wes, that fact alone made him curious. Maybe that made him sound like a prick, but it was true. The harder it had been to find Wes, the more he’d wanted him, and that made him an asshole.
When he
had
found him, Wes made it obvious he wasn’t interested in a repeat of their night together. It started as a game, hitting on him despite the rejection, just to see Wes fluster. Then Coop dropped the bomb about his dying sister—that Wes had only moved to Blackcreek, Colorado to take care of Chelle and her daughter—and Braden won the ‘Asshole of the Year Award’ for the way he’d pushed him. Maybe that’s what kept him coming around when Wes made it obvious he didn’t want him. Braden had two sisters and a brother; it would kill him to lose one of them.
“I know,” Cooper said. “But he’s Noah’s friend, and—”
“Look at you, protecting your boyfriend’s friend. If you don’t remember, I ended up taking Wes home that night because you went postal thinking he wanted your man.”
If he said that to anyone else it probably would have earned him a punch to the jaw, but Cooper knew him. Knew that Braden liked to stir up shit and give people a hard time.
Cooper winked. “It was my plan all along. Was just looking out for ya, man. Helping you get laid, since you obviously can’t do it on your own.”
“Well played, you bastard.” Braden chuckled. When Cooper’s boyfriend, Noah, joined them, Braden added, “I’m serious, though, I only want to tell him I’m sorry for his loss, and to be his friend. I’m sure he could use one of those right now.”
Noah gave him a small nod before leaning over to kiss the top of Cooper’s dark blond hair. “Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Yeah. Sure.”
“Go home and heal your ass up so you can get back to work,” Braden teased, making both Cooper and Noah laugh.
“He’s milking it. You should see him at home.” Noah hooked a finger through Coop’s belt loop.
“That’s because I’m not stupid. It gets me my way.”
Braden had a feeling it didn’t take an injury for Noah to do anything for the guy.
“And soon, you’ll owe me.” Noah’s voice went deep, sexy, making Braden see how Cooper, who’d always considered himself straight, had fallen for him.
“See ya later.” Noah nodded at him again before leading Cooper away. Braden looked around the small living room to see he was alone. The brown furniture was older but still in good shape. There was a fireplace on the far wall, with a mantel, full of pictures. Braden walked over, his eyes roaming images of Chelle laughing, and Jessie, her little girl, playing. She had a headful of blond curls, much lighter than Wes’s dark hair, and his hair was straight.
There were pictures of Wes’s other sister, Lydia, who he met for the first time today, with her husband and kids. At the end sat a picture of Wes, leaning against a tree. It was the only image of someone alone.
Braden rubbed a hand across his jaw, studying the picture. Wes’s tall, muscular body. The way his head tilted down, showing a jaw that looked like it could cut stone. The jeans hugging his long legs. He really was sexy as hell, and there was no question that he’d been a good fuck, but those things didn’t explain why he stood in the man’s sister’s living room right now.
“Did you need something?” Braden turned at the sound of Wes’s lonely voice. “If you haven’t noticed, everyone’s gone.”
Braden smiled at him. “Everyone except me.”
He didn’t get the return grin he’d hoped for. “Which is my point.” Wes crossed his arms.
Damn. This definitely wasn’t going to be easy. He figured since they’d gotten along okay while helping Noah when Cooper got hurt, Wes would have gotten over whatever his aversion to Braden was. Obviously not. Braden shrugged. “Thought maybe you’d need some help. Cleaning up or whatever. I’m sure you don’t want to deal with that shit right now.”
Wes didn’t budge. “Lydia and I can take care of it.”
“I’m sure she doesn’t want to do it, either. It’s not a big deal. I—”
“Why?” Wes interrupted him.
Braden took a few steps toward him. Flirtatious words on the tip of his tongue...
To be alone with you. Because you’re sexy as hell.
He fought to find that filter everyone told him he didn’t have and answered, “Because my mama raised me to be nice and help people when they need it.” Which was true.
Wes’s body stiffened so hard, he rivaled marble. “I don’t need your pity. If
that’s—”
“Pity? What are you talking about, man? I can tell you, pity is the last thing I feel when I look at you. If you want, I can prove it to you.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he was screwed. Where the fuck had his filter gone?
Braden sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to hit on you. I just...”
“Uncle Wes! Uncle Wes!” a little girl’s voice called, getting closer and closer.
“If you couldn’t tell, I’m dealing with shit a whole lot more important than your cock. You can show yourself out.” He turned away.
“Wes,” Braden called out, but Wes kept going, through the kitchen and toward the back door.
Braden dropped his head back. “Damn it.” He’d really fucked that up.
***
W
es paused at the door, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. The last thing he needed to do today was let something Braden said get under his skin. He got Braden. From the first night they met, he had the guy’s number. He’d never had a hard day in his life. Funny, gorgeous, everyone liked him; the kind of man who commanded attention.
He was used to getting what he wanted, and the night they spent together, Wes wanted the same thing Braden did: Sex. Release. And for Wes, a night to forget that Chelle was dying, and that she wanted him to raise Jessie. That once again he was losing someone he loved.
He’d fucked up by leaving before Braden woke up, though. That made him a challenge for Braden, it made him interesting, when Wes didn’t want to be interesting to anyone. He had more important things to deal with and didn’t have time for playing games.
And he definitely didn’t want pity.
“Uncle Wes. Hurry!” Jessie called, her voice all four-year-old happiness. Did she understand the fact that she’d lost her mother forever? She was young, and soon the memories would fade. They always did. She would forget Chelle’s smile, her laugh. She wouldn’t know what it felt like to have Chelle’s unwavering support. She wouldn’t have her mom to talk to. She would have...
Wes
.
What had Chelle been thinking by leaving her to him? The single, gay guy who left his job behind to come here, who sucked at opening up to anyone, and had a habit of losing everyone who meant something to him?
Shaking his head, he hoped to leave those thoughts for another time. Wes bound down the stairs for Jessie before the little girl came for him. And she would. She and her mom had had that in common.
Lydia, her husband Stan, and their two sons, Brent and Bruce, sat around the picnic table. Next to it was a swing set so different than the one Wes hung from a tree at home. Chelle had been able to lie on her bed and watch Jessie fly on that homemade swing, though. Now Wes would be watching her on it.
“Push me, Uncle Wes!” Jessie called.
“What? None of you could do it?” Wes winked at his family, hoping they didn’t see his nerves setting him on edge. “Make me come outside when you’re all sitting here.”
“She wanted you. When Jessie wants something...”
Jessie cut Lydia off with another, “Uncle Wes!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Fall leaves crunched under Wes’s feet as he walked over to the swing and gave Jessie a push. Lydia had tied Jessie’s hair back for her today, but the curls were already springing from the band as she flew through the air. How would he do her hair every day? He didn’t even know how.
“Higher! Higher!” she called out.
“I’m trying.” Wes hoped his voice sounded lighter than he felt. Behind him, Lydia laughed as Jessie screamed in happiness as he made her fly.
He pushed her for what felt like an hour but was probably closer to fifteen minutes before she finally got tired. When she climbed down, Stan offered to take the kids on a walk, which Wes knew was really an excuse for Lydia to talk to him. They steered clear of the woods behind the house, and walked around to the front. As soon as they disappeared, Lydia asked, “How are you doing?”
He sat across from her, the bench creaking when he did. “I would guess the same as you. We lost our sister.”
Who was more like our mother.
“You know that’s not true, Wes, so don’t pretend it is. My heart is broken. I miss her already, but...”
“I’m fine. My loss isn’t any bigger than yours.”
Her eyes softened, and he knew exactly what they said. That she knew he’d loved Chelle more than anyone in the world. That Chelle was the sister he’d talked to, the first person he’d come out to. He had always assumed he’d have her, and now he didn’t.
Lydia’s eyes said she worried about him. She worried about Jessie.
“But I don’t keep everything locked inside. You’ve been alone a long time, brother.”
He smiled at that.
“She always called you brother. She was so proud to be related to you.”
Wes dropped his eyes to the table. He had no idea why, but Chelle had been. She thought the sun rose and set on him, and damned if that hadn’t felt good.
After a few minutes of silence, Lydia asked, “Who was the guy?”
“What guy?” He knew exactly who she meant. Dammit, Braden. He’d caught Lydia’s attention.
“You know what guy. He watched you all day.”
He had. Wes hadn’t wanted to, but he’d watched Braden as well. “And you know who he is. Blackcreek isn’t very big, and you’ve lived here for years.”