he’d
labeled the thing with Shane a crush.
He’d lied to himself back then. Even known it deep down. But
it’d been safer to believe that wanting Shane wasn’t a permanent affliction.
And at first there’d been a body of evidence to suggest it could be a
temporary infatuation.
Hadn’t he imagined himself in love with Cady and Erin and
Lyric? Hell, he and Lyric had played doctor as kids and experimented as teens,
not that they’d ever become lovers.
Madison leaned forward, blocking the view of Shane and
making Tyler go hot then cold at what she might have seen in his face. His
pulse fluttered and sped. Usually he was a lot more careful than this.
Not daring to check her expression, he touched the piece of
paper lying on top of the sketchbook he’d been working in before they’d
arrived. “The clue?”
Madison nodded.
He read: From coast to coast, 2903 miles mark the
distance. By air, by train, or on asphalt highways, the bounty of the San
Joaquin travels. Two thirds of it is hidden from sight, but offer the first and
the rest is revealed.
“What did you and Shane come up with so far?”
“Nothing. His brain hurts and mine goes numb. Does anything
jump out at you?”
“A movie set maybe, or somewhere close where they’re
shooting scenes for a film.”
The beer bottle left Shane’s mouth. “Say what?”
“ By air, by train, or on asphalt highways . It made me
think of that old Steve Martin movie, Planes, Trains and Automobiles .”
Shane leaned forward, causing Daisy to abandon his lap. “Could
be there’s a shoot going on in the San Joaquin somewhere.”
Madison tapped her finger on the word bounty . “If
there are more than one, maybe something with a bounty hunter, or with a plot
that has a bounty on someone’s head.”
Tyler stood. “I’ll grab my laptop.”
He got it, for all the good it did them.
They ended up with nothing. Even after brainstorming possibilities
through take-out Chinese.
“Enough,” Madison finally said. “I’ve had enough. Bio-dad
has gotten enough of my attention for today.”
Shane leaned back on the couch. “Sounds good to me.”
Tyler moved the clue and laptop to the counter separating
the living room from the kitchen. He grabbed another round of beers, handing off
the bottles and taking his seat, his arm settling along the back of the couch.
Madison tilted her head, resting it on his arm. A shiver of
heat traveled from point of contact to his dick.
His fingers twitched with the desire to draw a picture of
her. With the desire to grasp her long blonde hair and guide her mouth to his.
His eyes locked onto the bottle against her lips. Then
locked onto Shane, watching her too, the slight flush across his cheekbones all
the tell Tyler needed to know what was going on in Shane’s head—not that
it kept him from glancing downward, at the erection pressed against the front
of Shane’s jeans.
Shane wanted Madison. He wanted Madison too, and his gut
told him she was comfortable enough with her sexuality to be with both of them,
separately, together—
Heat swept through him, his heart putting on an
explosion-burst of speed.
Together would be ecstasy. Together would be disaster.
Together it would be impossible to hide that he wanted Shane.
Whatever else happened, he had to keep that secret.
The best day of his life was when the Social Services Department had placed him
in a group home where going to school meant becoming friends with the Maguire
and Montgomery kids.
He couldn’t lose the closeness. He couldn’t do anything to
jeopardize the feeling of being part of their families.
Not that they’d ostracize him if they knew he was bi. Or if
he came on to Shane. But if he actually had a relationship with Shane and that
ended—
His gut cramped and his chest tightened. He’d seen what
happened when there was a break-up. It always left one person standing on the
outside, looking in and remembering the good times, aching to have them back.
That’s
labeled the thing with Shane a crush.
He’d lied to himself back then. Even known it deep down. But
it’d been safer to believe that wanting Shane wasn’t a permanent affliction.
And at first there’d been a body of evidence to suggest it could be a
temporary infatuation.
Hadn’t he imagined himself in love with Cady and Erin and
Lyric? Hell, he and Lyric had played doctor as kids and experimented as teens,
not that they’d ever become lovers.
Madison leaned forward, blocking the view of Shane and
making Tyler go hot then cold at what she might have seen in his face. His
pulse fluttered and sped. Usually he was a lot more careful than this.
Not daring to check her expression, he touched the piece of
paper lying on top of the sketchbook he’d been working in before they’d
arrived. “The clue?”
Madison nodded.
He read: From coast to coast, 2903 miles mark the
distance. By air, by train, or on asphalt highways, the bounty of the San
Joaquin travels. Two thirds of it is hidden from sight, but offer the first and
the rest is revealed.
“What did you and Shane come up with so far?”
“Nothing. His brain hurts and mine goes numb. Does anything
jump out at you?”
“A movie set maybe, or somewhere close where they’re
shooting scenes for a film.”
The beer bottle left Shane’s mouth. “Say what?”
“ By air, by train, or on asphalt highways . It made me
think of that old Steve Martin movie, Planes, Trains and Automobiles .”
Shane leaned forward, causing Daisy to abandon his lap. “Could
be there’s a shoot going on in the San Joaquin somewhere.”
Madison tapped her finger on the word bounty . “If
there are more than one, maybe something with a bounty hunter, or with a plot
that has a bounty on someone’s head.”
Tyler stood. “I’ll grab my laptop.”
He got it, for all the good it did them.
They ended up with nothing. Even after brainstorming possibilities
through take-out Chinese.
“Enough,” Madison finally said. “I’ve had enough. Bio-dad
has gotten enough of my attention for today.”
Shane leaned back on the couch. “Sounds good to me.”
Tyler moved the clue and laptop to the counter separating
the living room from the kitchen. He grabbed another round of beers, handing off
the bottles and taking his seat, his arm settling along the back of the couch.
Madison tilted her head, resting it on his arm. A shiver of
heat traveled from point of contact to his dick.
His fingers twitched with the desire to draw a picture of
her. With the desire to grasp her long blonde hair and guide her mouth to his.
His eyes locked onto the bottle against her lips. Then
locked onto Shane, watching her too, the slight flush across his cheekbones all
the tell Tyler needed to know what was going on in Shane’s head—not that
it kept him from glancing downward, at the erection pressed against the front
of Shane’s jeans.
Shane wanted Madison. He wanted Madison too, and his gut
told him she was comfortable enough with her sexuality to be with both of them,
separately, together—
Heat swept through him, his heart putting on an
explosion-burst of speed.
Together would be ecstasy. Together would be disaster.
Together it would be impossible to hide that he wanted Shane.
Whatever else happened, he had to keep that secret.
The best day of his life was when the Social Services Department had placed him
in a group home where going to school meant becoming friends with the Maguire
and Montgomery kids.
He couldn’t lose the closeness. He couldn’t do anything to
jeopardize the feeling of being part of their families.
Not that they’d ostracize him if they knew he was bi. Or if
he came on to Shane. But if he actually had a relationship with Shane and that
ended—
His gut cramped and his chest tightened. He’d seen what
happened when there was a break-up. It always left one person standing on the
outside, looking in and remembering the good times, aching to have them back.
That’s
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