Page 38 of Sins of the Fathers
“Rollins has good instincts, or he wouldn’t have lasted this long,” Denny replied. “I don’t think he’d put up with that kind of thing—if he knew. Could someone lie to him? Probably, but not forever.”
“How do you want to play this with Gibson and Tucker?” Dawson asked. “I think they could be allies, especially if the case they’re investigating is tied in with the deaths in our family. But then again, we don’treallyknow them, and I don’t want to accidentally confess to too much illegal stuff in front of federal agents.”
Denny finished off his whiskey in one slug. “Good question. Here’s what I think we ought to do. Accept their help and find out what they know. At the same time, we go through the files and journals that Frank, Ethan, and Aaron left behind and see whether we think that their reasoning made sense. Wouldn’t be the first time a hunter saw a conspiracy where there was just a run of bad luck and poor choices. Then if we think there’s a solid case to be made for the witch angle, and if the feds are going down a similar track, we share what’s relevant. Sound good?”
They all nodded. Denny got up and walked his glass out to the kitchen. “Better get a good night’s sleep, boys,” he said when he returned. “Because we’ve got a shit ton of files to go through in the morning.”
Denny left them and headed to bed. Dawson wondered if it was a ruse so that he didn’t have to answer more questions or talk about a subject that clearly still brought back the grief of losing so many loved ones.
Everyone else needed time to let the disturbing information settle. Colt and Knox slid to one side of the big couch while Grady and Dawson took the other end, and they streamed a favorite action flick. Wrung dry by Denny’s revelations, they actually watched the familiar movie instead of making out with their partners. Angel snuffled in her sleep and rolled onto her back with all four paws in the air.
When the credits rolled, Colt and Knox stood. Dawson noticed that Knox seemed a bit unsteady. Colt wrapped an arm around Knox’s waist immediately, stabilizing him and saving his dignity.
“That was one hell of an after-dinner conversation.” Colt tried to sound nonchalant and managed to just sound exhausted. “I’m beat, and Knox is supposed to get plenty of sleep, so we’re going to call it a night.”
“Yeah, I guess we should too,” Dawson agreed. “Early morning, long day from what Denny said. But if we don’t have a hunt, Grady and I need to spend the morning at the auto body shop. I appreciate people covering for us, but I don’t want anyone to feel taken advantage of.”
“I’ve already spoken to the assistant manager at the hardware,” Colt said. “Knox is on medical leave for as long as it takes.” Colt’s job as a programmer enabled him to work from home, giving him the flexibility to look after Knox. The two shuffled down the hallway, and Dawson heard their door click shut. Angel followed, nosing open the door to Denny’s room.
“Come on,” he said, wrapping an arm around Grady. “Let’s get some shut-eye.”
They got cleaned up for bed and slipped beneath the covers. Grady rolled toward Dawson and snuggled into his side. Dawson brought his arm up over Grady’s shoulders and tangled their legs together.
“Tell me what you want,” he murmured and kissed the top of Grady’s head.
“This. I need to be all wrapped up in you, feel you, breathe your scent. I’m too stressed out for anything else, but I want to feel safe,” Grady whispered.
Dawson’s heart broke for the vulnerability he heard in Grady’s voice, and he gathered him closer, angling their bodies so he knew Grady could hear his heartbeat. “I’m here for you—however you need me,” he promised, tracing slow circles on Grady’s back like he was soothing a child roused from nightmares.
Grady made a satisfied snuffle and wriggled even closer. Dawson held him tight, trying not to relive his terror over Grady’s near miss in the forest and his panic at seeing the fae-glazed look in his lover’s eyes.
He could have died. He might have survived but lost his mind and self to the moon people. My parents loved each other, and their time together was cut short. They had the chance to show the world how much they loved each other and make it official. I want that with Grady so badly.
Should I ask him soon, despite everything crazy that’s going on? Our lives are never normal, but right now things are insane even for us. Maybe it’s not a good time for a life-changing question.
But what if something happens to one of us? What if I wait for a better time and lose the chance completely?
Grady’s even breathing told Dawson his partner had fallen asleep. He knew he would be sore in the morning from the awkward angle of his arm. The warmth of Grady’s body was already raising a sheen of sweat despite the cool night, but Dawson didn’t want to break contact or move apart.
I’ve got to protect Grady first, or the rest doesn’t matter. But once this nightmare is over, I’m going to make sure the whole world knows that he’s mine.
6
GRADY
“I’msurprised that so many ghosts have stuck around here after all these years,” Grady said as he and Dawson walked the grounds of the long-defunct Cragmont Sanitarium.
“Maybe they’re afraid to move on. Or maybe they were here long enough it’s home.” Dawson carried a shovel and a duffel bag, and Grady had a shotgun with rock salt rounds in case any of the Cragmont’s “guests” decided to get rowdy.
“It’s just so sad that they came here to get well and never were able to go home,” Grady mused.
The Cragmont sat on the ridge of a hill, a large four-story wooden building with a gabled roof and wide porches circling the three main floors. Back in the early 1900s, tuberculosis patients came to these mountains hoping that the clean, cold air would ease the damage to their lungs. Before antibiotics, the incurable disease eventually claimed its victims, many of whom died in their twenties.
The annual trek to make sure the ghosts of Cragmont stayed in their resting place always made Grady pensive. The big building looked more like a grand lodge than a hospital and must have had beautiful views when the surrounding area remained largely unsettled.
“How long have you been coming out here to walk the pipes?” Grady asked as Dawson used a metal detector to follow the iron pipes filled with salt that had been buried around the entire perimeter of the old building to keep its ghosts inside.
“Since high school,” Dawson replied, intent on the pings from the detector that let him know he was following the right trail. “I started coming out here with Dad, then later…after…with Uncle Denny.”
