Page 17 of Fixer
“I was born a farm kid and loved the life,” Zay said.“Shawn got a taste for growing things with his foster moms.Here, hang on a minute.”He jumped to his feet and jogged to the house, returning with four glass bottles.Once he’d set them in an arc on the table in front of me, he pointed to the labels.“Green Meadow Sweet Cider, and Wild Meadow Hard Cider.Regular and apple-blackberry.”
“The blackberries are a bonus,” Shawn told me.“They grow wild around here.Try it.”
Zay slid a bottle opener out of his pocket and passed it to me.
I reached for the apple-blackberry sweet cider.The last thing I needed right now was alcohol, no matter how little it affected me.I popped the cap off, lifted the bottle to my lips, and took a sip.Sweet fruity goodness flowed across my tongue, the flavor rich and bright as sunshine.“Mm, that’s good.”
“We can’t take too much credit,” Zay said.“The old couple we bought the business from had everything worked out— the recipes, the bottling contract, the distribution.They’d wanted to pass Meadow Cider to their kids, but the kids weren’t interested.A national business chain would’ve bought them out, but the corporate goons were going to change the orchard’s name and mess around with the product.Dustin convinced the owners we’d run it exactly like they had, maintain their legacy.”
“Dustin?”I glanced his way.
He shrugged.“The guys do all the hard work, but no one’s going to sell a business to nineteen-year-olds.I was the figurehead, paid the down payment out of the money my dad left me.They run the orchard.I stop by now and then.”
“Not often enough,” Zay said.“Quit being such a loser.”
I blinked at a skinny human calling a powerful werewolf a loser, but Dustin grinned like he enjoyed the teasing.“I’ll have more time to come by now.”
“More time?”I asked.
He stared off across the orchard.“I spent some hours here and there trying to find you.”
“Hours.”Shawn scoffed.“Months.Years.All your time.”
“Because you asked him to,” I pointed out.
“Nah.Because he felt like shit for tricking you.”
Dustin said, “Because I owed you the truth and an apology.And because… well, that was the big reason.”
I suddenly wanted to know what other reasons he’d suppressed, but a shift in the breeze brought me Shawn’s scent again, that confirmation of a brother I’d thought I’d lost.My eyes welled up and I blinked hard, downing a few swallows of his excellent cider to cover the pang.When I felt steadier, I turned to Shawn, ignoring Dustin and my confusion for something better.“So,” I told my brother.“Sock it to me.I want to know all about the last seven years.”
Chapter 5
Dustin
Sitting on the end of that wooden bench near Wade, as he and Shawn caught up from the seven-year separation I’d caused them, brought an odd mix of satisfaction and distance.Finally—finally— I’d given them back to each other, and the task I’d worked on since leaving my pack was done.Neither one needed me anymore, except as Shawn’s bankroll.So what now?
I could head back to Chicago and my PI business… although I owed Wade a ride home first.Or I could step back from my life completely and do something different.Travel, maybe.Find a cause to work for.Find a Zay of my own, someone who’d put up with my shit the way that Zay did for Shawn.
My wolf rose inside me in hidden protest.Wade.Pack.
I shushed him, although he paced restlessly before settling.I wanted to push Wade, to see if the attraction I still felt each time I was near him was shared, but that was unfair.I’d shattered his world, and mending it didn’t mean the cracks weren’t there.He’d given me no confirmation that he was gay.Suspicions didn’t count.I needed to leave him alone, and if he was interested, he could come after me this time.
Sitting back and letting things happen wasn’t in my nature, but for Wade, I’d make an exception.
After an hour, Zay was visibly shivering, and Shawn insisted we move inside.Their house was neat but cluttered, the space of two men who spent a lot of time working.It had been the owners’ house, and was big enough for a family of four.I had a room I used when I visited, and Shawn assigned Wade to the spare room next to mine.I was sorry we weren’t in tight quarters, forced to share, but no doubt Wade would be more comfortable in a separate room.
Zay had some farm issues he wanted to show me, so we ducked out to the press room to check the new filtration equipment.Zay was sharp and ingenious, and I always enjoyed spending time around him.Between us, we figured out a solution to a piping problem.We returned to find Shawn and Wade cooking dinner together.As we watched the two men in the kitchen, both wearing aprons, bumping shoulders and joking while they teased each other about their lack of skills, Zay’s face was a study in affection.
I didn’t know what my face was doing, but I stepped back into the hallway so no one could see, and went to unpack my bag.
Halfway through the meal, Zay asked, “Are you all going out running tonight?”
“Not if you don’t want to be here alone,” Shawn said quickly.
“Why wouldn’t I?”Zay grinned at Shawn.“I can watch my favorite TV show without ongoing critique from the bored boyfriend.”
“I’m not bored.I get embarrassed for those people.They’re ridiculous.”
