Page 38 of The Map Home
His eyes opened.He’d been asleep and he was now awake. Wide awake. What had happened with Dakota last night came flooding back. In alarm, Tad flung one arm out and it smacked against a hard chest.
“What the fuck?” Dakota growled, his voice raspy from sleep.
“Um, sorry?” Tad winced, bringing his arm back to his side. “Just checking, er, that you were there.”
“Did you think I’d sneak out in the night? Go sleep at the station?” There was a rustling and Kota’s voice was directlynext to his ear. “I could’ve, you know. You sleep like the dead. Snoring, the whole nine yards.”
“I do not,” Tad said hotly.
He didn’t snore, did he? Surely he would wake himself up if he did?
“Nah, you didn’t last night anyway. But, hey, I do have to get to the station, I’m gonna make some coffee before I go.”
Tad sat up and swung his legs off the bed. “Go take a shower and I’ll make us coffee. I even have a go-cup you can use.”
Standing up, Dakota shot him a suspicious glance. “What does it say?”
Tad refused to let himself be sidetracked by the absolute gorgeousness that was a naked Dakota. “Cups don’t talk, silly.” He rummaged around in his dresser and found a pair of sweatpants that would do for now.
I am not going to freak out, I am not going to freak out.
“You know exactly what I mean,” Dakota countered, still standing there and making it difficult for Tad to want to make him coffee or let him go to work.
I can freak out later, after Dakota is gone.
“I guess you’ll find out once you’re out of the shower, hint hint.”
“Fine,” Dakota said with a grumpy huff as he headed toward the bathroom.
Pulling on a hoodie he’d been saving for the perfect time, Tad forced himself from the bedroom. The sweatshirt had a silhouette of a sexy cowboy riding a bucking horse withPoke Mewritten across the bottom. Dakota would be horrified. Tad was often amazed at what a prude the love of his life could be, but it made it easy to tease him with seemingly harmless t-shirts and mugs.
Whistling under his breath, he made his way to the kitchen and found the mug he’d bought for Dakota. While the coffeemaker chugged away, Tad located his cell phone and logged on to check his email.
His mom wanted to know his schedule for the week, Boone forwarded an obvious scam email for car insurance, and Honey Sweeting wanted to meet with him. Considering his response to that last one carefully, Tad replied that he had time that afternoon and hit Send.
Dakota emerged a few minutes later fully dressed, but his short hair was still damp and all of him smelled like Tad’s shower gel.
“Hey there, you clean up nice,” Tad joked, setting his phone aside, face-down. “I’m going to get used to you being here in the morning over the next couple of weeks.”
“Hmph.”
That response was about what Tad expected. Dakota had never been a morning person—or a person-person—which was why, when he’d seen this particular go-cup, he’d had to buy it for him. Truthfully, Tad understood that Dakota was something of a person-person, or he wouldn’t have decided to become a deputy. He’d just had the bad luck to experience the wrong kind of persons first thing in his life. Until he’d met Tad, of course.
The words on the mug read:There are two kinds of people in this world. Avoid both.
“Here’s your coffee.” He held it out to Dakota with a big grin. “Let’s do the tree thing today instead. Wanna meet back here tonight, or at Jake’s?”
“You have a shift today?” Dakota accepted the cup and read the saying without comment. But Tad thought he spotted a smile hiding behind Kota’s morning grump.
“Yeah, short one. Lunch shift, only a few hours.”
“Let’s meet here after. Sorry, but I’ve got to get going. Ben texted, sounds like we’ve got a busy day already.” Kota startedtoward the door, then paused and lifted the cup. “Thanks for the coffee,” he said and then he was gone, door closed behind him.
Quickly, Tad snatched his phone back up. He didn’t want Dakota to know—yet—that he was digging into Peter Kline’s background, and he needed to talk to Curtis before he found out what Honey wanted.
“The damn nurseswon’t leave me alone. How’s a person supposed to heal if they’re in here waking me up at three o’clock in the morning?” Curtis complained.
Settling his messenger bag across his lap, Tad tried to make himself comfortable on the hard plastic visitor’s chair. Curtis had a point, but Tad figured the care staff had their reasons.
