Stars & Stripes (14 page)

“Ty and I . . .” He looked at his father, the fear and uncertainty skittering through him. “We . . .”

Out of the corner of his eye, Zane saw the compass rose around Ty’s neck. He’d worn it almost every day since Zane had given it to him. He would do anything for Zane, and he deserved the same. Ty bit his lip and looked down at the table as Zane hesitated, and though Zane caught only the briefest glimpse of his lover’s expression, he recognized it: disappointment. It burned its way through his body and settled uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach, pushing him toward the words.

“Ty and I . . . we’ve been dating for about a year now.”

Ty’s head shot up, and Annie glanced between them, eyebrows climbing so high her bangs hid them.

“Dating?” Harrison echoed.

Zane met and held Ty’s gaze. “Ty isn’t just my partner at work. He’s my boyfriend. I love him.”

“Oh.” Harrison sounded thoughtful. “Well, that explains it.” He went back to cutting the churro on Sadie’s plate, and Zane and Ty both stared at him, incredulous.

“That’s it?” Ty blurted.

Harrison shrugged and chewed a piece of the sweet bread Sadie had stuffed into his mouth. “Had a gay bull I had to sell last year. That was a damn nuisance. Gay son? That don’t cost me nothing.”

Ty laughed before he could stop himself. He had one of those boyish, infectious laughs that made the people around him giggle too no matter why. Soon they were all laughing raucously, the sound ringing through the massive house like bells in a cathedral.

Ty stood in the foyer, looking up at an oil painting tucked away in one corner of the grand entryway. He’d seen the painting before dinner, a fascinating vista of browns, oranges, and pinks that made up a surreal look at the Hill Country outside the door.

It was pleasing to the eye, and the colors were well-suited to the décor, so Ty couldn’t understand why it had been shoved into this alcove where no one would see it unless they made a concerted effort to do so.

He cocked his head and took a sip from the wine he was trying to finish before Zane came back from talking with his father and sister.

“You like it?” Annie asked as she came up behind him.

Ty turned and gave her a confused smile. “It seems familiar to me and I’m not sure why.”

“Are you a connoisseur of art?”

“Hardly. I’m more a photograph person, if anything.” He cocked his head the other way, examining the colors and brush strokes. There was an element of profiling to looking at a painting if you knew enough about art, but Ty didn’t.

“You’re familiar with the artist.” Annie stopped at his side and looked at the painting with a smile.

“No, really, I can only name like five painters.”

“I bet you can name this one.”

Ty looked at her sharply, and then turned his eyes back to the painting. He pointed with one of the fingers holding his wine glass. “Zane painted this?”

Annie nodded.

“You’re shitting me!”

She laughed, and Ty looked around with a wince as his words echoed off the marble floors.

“That’s incredible,” he added, quieter. He studied the painting again. Careful strokes, meticulous details that still somehow formed a sloppy likeness of the sun setting over the desert. There was calm beneath the vibrant surface, like Zane in reverse.

“You didn’t know Zane could paint?”

Ty shook his head, still gazing at the brush strokes.

“He’s quite a talented artist. His charcoal sketches were heartbreakingly beautiful.”

“I never knew he could do that.”

“Even so. You recognized this as his.” She patted his shoulder and Ty felt her move away. He licked his lips and set his wine glass down, eyes still riveted to the painting. He had to force himself to look away and followed her to the front door.

Annie slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. They strolled through the yard, the temperature surprisingly comfortable. It was still hot, but there was a breeze that seemed to be apologizing for the sun trying to melt them all day. Ahead of them, Zane and Harrison were trailing along behind Sadie, who was fluttering like a butterfly, chasing lightning bugs.

“Why do you tease him like you do?” Annie asked.

“You want the real answer or the one I’d give his sister?”

“The real one.”

“Fair enough. Because I enjoy it,” he said with a sideways glance. “And so does he.”

“So . . . foreplay.”

Ty barked a laugh.

“And the answer you’d give his sister?”

“I don’t know, I’d have had to stall to come up with one. Probably would have tripped you or something.”

Annie laughed. “Well, Ty Grady, I bet he has his hands full with you.”

“God, I hope so.”

“I’m glad he has someone. I worried about him for so long.”

Ty nodded, his mood turning more somber. They walked in silence a moment, and Zane and Harrison slowed their pace until he and Annie came abreast of them. Harrison was moving well, but seemed to tire quickly. He had his hand on Zane’s arm, and when they caught up he took Annie’s arm instead, freeing Zane to fall in next to Ty. Sadie was a few dozen yards away, dancing, twirling, and skipping around the yard.

They ambled along, content in the silence. Ty stopped and stared as the sun melted into the ground ahead of them.

“That’s spectacular.”

“Everything’s bigger in Texas,” Zane whispered, a smile in his voice.

“Oh God.”

Zane laid his chin on Ty’s shoulder to watch the sunset. His familiar scent and his comforting presence were wonderful, and Ty turned his head to touch his cheek to Zane’s. He was aware of how close they were in front of Zane’s family, and though he was enjoying the moment, he could feel his shoulders tensing.

Harrison cleared his throat. “Now, I believe we need to discuss this situation a little more seriously,” he said as the landscaping lights began to flicker on around them.

“You mean, should we tell Mother that Ty and I are screwing?” Zane asked, voice flat.

“Oh, look,” Ty said. “Horses.” He took a step and made to escape.

Zane reached out and grabbed him by the back of the neck, and he flailed and stumbled as Zane’s fingers snagged his collar.

“No wandering off, Grady. This is your problem now too.”

“Do you have to tell her at all?” Annie asked. She looked genuinely concerned. Ty wondered how many members of Zane’s family would give a damn if Zane was gay. It seemed the real problem on everyone’s mind was what Beverly would do. Ty was beginning to think that perhaps all this family money was hers. If not the money, then definitely the power.

“She’ll find out through the grapevine soon enough,” Zane said as Ty tried to shake him off.

“Well, yes, I suppose she will,” Annie said, wincing.

Harrison lit the cigarette he’d rolled before dinner, and Ty gave one last swat with his cast before he stopped struggling against Zane’s fingers.

“You prepared for what might happen when you mother finds out?” Harrison eyed Zane’s grip on Ty’s collar, shook his head and smiled. “Let your friend go, Z.”

Zane released Ty’s shirt collar, and Ty squared his shoulders and straightened his shirt, giving Zane a glare. Zane smiled serenely when he met Ty’s eyes.

“I say let her find out when she finds out,” Zane said. “I told the important people.”

“If that’s the way you want to play it,” Harrison said. “But I do have one question.”

“Okay . . .” Zane said.

“Not for you.” Harrison nodded at Ty instead.

Ty raised his chin and braced himself for whatever Zane’s father could throw at him. After facing down his own father, he didn’t think anything could scare him now.

“You know anything about horses, son?”

Ty raised an eyebrow and leaned closer, not sure if he’d heard right. “Not much, sir,” he answered. “I know how to get on one, and I know how to fall off one.”

Annie snickered and Harrison nodded. “Well, then. I guess we can’t all be perfect.”

Ty narrowed his eyes at Harrison. “I have a question.”

“Fair enough.”

“How in the hell do you do that with your mustache?”

Harrison gave him a grin and wink as he turned away.

Zane and Annie watched in total exasperation as Ty spent most of the evening teaching Sadie how to jab a pressure point with two fingers, and where the most effective pressure points were located.

Zane could only laugh as Sadie jabbed at Ty’s carotid and Ty sprawled in the grass, complete with his tongue hanging out for effect. Sadie was enjoying it a little too much. But then, so was Ty.

It was well past dark when they returned to the guesthouse and Zane finally had Ty to himself. As soon as they walked in, Zane pulled Ty toward him and kissed him, taking his time, drawing it out.

Ty grinned against his lips. “How does it feel?”

“Damn good,” Zane growled as he squeezed Ty’s ass.

“That’s not what I meant.”

Zane laughed. He didn’t let Ty go, but he nodded. “It feels good. I can’t believe my dad took it like that.”

“Your dad is pretty epic, Zane.”

Zane laughed again, harder this time. He met Ty’s eyes, taking in the whole package. The hat brought out the hazel, making them sharper, shadowing them and giving Ty that mysterious cowboy aura that so many people tried and failed to achieve. Ty could almost pull off the hat better than he could and Ty’d only had it for a few hours. The way Ty had handled himself tonight, the way he’d charmed Annie and Harrison and even little Sadie, and held his own with Beverly, made Zane proud.

Having someone to be proud of was an indescribable feeling.

“I love you,” Zane said as he gazed into Ty’s eyes, reveling in the truth behind the words. Every step they took as a couple felt so damn good.

Ty smiled, eyes bright. Then his expression fell and he smacked Zane’s chest. “Why didn’t I know you can draw?”

“What?”

“I saw your painting. And Annie said you do charcoal sketches.”

“I—”

“You are going to draw me something, and you’re going to do it tonight.”

Zane laughed. “What?”

“You should draw me a tattoo!”

Zane raised an eyebrow, arrested by the thought. He hadn’t drawn in years, hadn’t even thought of it, but the idea of using Ty’s skin as a canvas was appealing in so many ways. “I might have to do that,” he rasped.

Ty nodded. Zane pulled the hat off Ty’s head and stepped in close to kiss at the corner of his mouth. Ty reached to tug him closer, but stopped when his cast got in the way. He couldn’t grip Zane’s arm, couldn’t drag his hand over Zane’s back, couldn’t even work at any of Zane’s buttons. Zane huffed in annoyance and started on his own shirt buttons.

Ty grunted and turned his hand over.

“How much longer are you in that thing?”

“Couple more weeks, at least.”

“That’s really going to cause some chafing if you’re not careful.”

“Zane, come on, that’s just mean.” Ty didn’t sound too amused, but then, a broken hand had to drive a man like Ty nuts. Especially since it was his dominant hand.

Zane looked from Ty’s eyes to the cast with a sinking feeling. He knew what Ty was thinking.

Sure enough, Ty bent and extracted the Strider at his ankle.

Zane squared his shoulders and pointed. “Tyler Grady, don’t you dare cut that cast off.”

Ty put the blade to the edge of the plaster, eyes wide and innocent, as if he were hurt that Zane would think he’d do such a thing.

“I’ll take it from you, Ty.”

Ty narrowed his eyes, then turned and took a few steps away. “Try it, Lone Star,” he said as he shoved the knife under the padding and started sawing at it. He hunched his shoulders when Zane took a step toward him.

“Ty! Do not cut that cast off!”

“It itches!”

Zane grabbed his hand, pulling it and the knife away from the cast.

Ty slithered away and held the knife out to the side, blade pointed away from Zane. “Quit it!” he said, holding out his hurt hand as if to keep Zane at bay. He stayed there for a second, a standoff as they stared at each other, then took a quick step back and began to saw at the cast again.

Zane darted close, grasped Ty’s cast, and yanked it to the side, away from the knife. Ty held the knife out again, stepping closer to Zane to hinder his movements rather than trying to pull away from him. He couldn’t get the cast out of Zane’s grasp, though.