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“Froze my nuts off, what do you think?” he joked. “So where’s Zac?”

  “Sick,” Collin answered. “He called me yesterday and asked if I could cover for him.”

  Weird. Zac had been one of his best friends since they were in elementary school. If he was really sick it wasn’t like him not to call for some San Antonio babying. Sammy suspected he was taking time off to be with Terry, so he didn’t say anything that could get his friend in trouble.

  He turned his attention to the television. “Mind if I watch my show?”

  Jakob shrugged and tossed him the remote. Sammy turned Pirate’s Cove on and settled into the corner of the sofa.

  “Damn, I haven’t seen this show in months,” Collin mentioned.

  “Sacrilege!” Sammy barked.

  “Sorry,” Collin chuckled. “It’s not like we have cable up on the mountain. And Abe thinks buying a satellite dish would be a waste as well.” Collin grinned. “He has other ideas on how to spend the evening hours.”

  Sammy didn’t need to ask what they did all the time without TV. He hadn’t known Collin long, but it was obvious how in love he was with his partner, Abe. Hmmm, Sammy wondered if he’d be willing to give up Pirate’s Cove for Leo. Sweat started to pop out on his forehead. Hopefully, he’d never be put in the position, since he didn’t plan to move to the side of a mountain anytime soon.

  * * * *

  “So’d you talk to Nate about the expansion plan?” Leo asked.

  George leant back in his chair and nodded. “Yeah. I tried to talk him out of it, but he’s pretty determined to get it passed through the council.”

  Nate’s plan to release a large section of land on the edge of town for new homes was sure to be a hot topic around Cattle Valley in the weeks to come.

  “I mean, I know he’s been inundated with emails from people asking what is available in the way of housing, but do we really need it?” George shook his head. “I’m just not sure.”

  “Sammy said something about Kyle’s business being way down. In this economy, I think folks are rethinking every purchase they make. I agree with Nate. If we want the town to survive, we need to do everything we can to help the local merchants.” Leo didn’t usually get involved in political issues, but he was finally feeling at home in Cattle Valley. It was too promising of a town to just let it go down the tubes.

  “Maybe. At least he’s been talking to Hal Kuckleman about being the contractor. Hal won’t let a bunch of cookie-cutter houses go up.”

  Leo nodded his agreement. “With that many new houses, he’ll have to hire new employees. Where’re they going to stay?”

  “Right now the plan is to turn the top floor of City Hall into a dorm-like setup,” George explained.

  Leo’s nose wrinkled. “And have construction workers tromping up and down the stairs all hours of the day and night? Surely there has to be a better solution than that.”

  George chuckled. “Well, you get right on that. Other than the lodge or the B&B, we’re out of options.”

  “How many people are you figuring to house?” Leo asked.

  “Around forty, including labourers, plumbers, electricians and general construction workers.”

  “I’ll think on it.” Leo stood. “By the way, I haven’t received an entry form from you or Trick for the chilli cook-off.”

  George laughed and waved his hands. “No way are we getting involved in that. Carol’s due any day. We’ve got our hands full trying to keep that woman happy.”

  “That’s why I prefer to fuck men. No unexpected surprises.”

  “Shut up, asshole. We’re excited about the baby,” George said defensively.

  “Good for you.”

  “Speaking of fucking, I found a condom in the trashcan in the bunkroom. Any idea how it got there?” George asked, an evil grin on his face.

  “What the hell are you doing going through the trash?”

  “Emptying it. You fucking Sammy?”

  Leo felt like a deer caught in the headlights. “Is that a problem?”

  George shook his head. “Nope. You know my stance on dating someone you work with. Just make sure it doesn’t interfere with your duties.”

  “It won’t.”

  “Great. In that case, I’m happy for you. Sammy’s a great guy.”

  “You’re not going to say anything about him being too young for me?” Leo asked.

  “Why would I? It’s not like he’s too young to know what he’s getting into. He’s thirty for Christ’s sake.”

  Leo shrugged and walked towards the door. “Maybe I’m the only one who thinks eighteen years is too wide a spread.”

  “Get over it. Enjoy the man, not the age.”

  Leo left the office and looked around. The shift change had occurred and Sammy and Collin were the only ones in the TV room. “Where’s Jakob?”

  Sammy met Leo’s gaze and smiled. Leo refused to acknowledge the spark that gorgeous dimpled face had on him.

  “He said he had to make a phone call,” Collin answered, taking his eyes from the television screen.

  “I need a volunteer to go grocery shopping with me,” Leo announced.

  Before Collin could even answer, Sammy was off the couch and walking towards him. “I’ll go.”

  “What about your show?” Leo asked. He couldn’t keep the grin from his face.

  “Collin can catch me up. Won’t you, Collin?”

  “Sure, but I’m still trying to make sense as to why Jesse won’t just tell his Maître d’ he wants him.”

  “Jesse thinks his business will suffer if people know he’s gay,” Sammy explained, getting into his coat.

  “So he’d rather just be miserable? That’s fucked up,” Collin observed.

  “Yep,” Sammy agreed.

  Leo stopped by the office and grabbed a radio on his way to the parking lot. Instead of taking his own vehicle, he unlocked the Emergency Rescue SUV and got behind the wheel. Before Sammy buckled his seatbelt, Leo pulled him in for a quick, but deep, kiss.

  “Mmmm.” He removed his tongue from Sammy’s willing mouth and sighed. “I needed that.”

  Sammy reached down and squeezed the front of Leo’s uniform pants. “I need this, but I guess I’ll have to just dream about it for the next few days.”

  Leo chuckled and started the SUV. “You and me both. By the way, George knows. He found a rubber in the trash.”

  “Was he pissed?” Sammy asked.

  “No. He doesn’t care as long as we still do our jobs.” Leo wanted to reach across the seat and put Sammy’s hand back on his cock. Of course he wanted to do a lot of things to Sammy, but he’d have to hold his libido in check for the next two days.

  “Cool.”

  * * * *

  Sammy casually rubbed his foot across the front of Leo’s pants as they sat on the couch watching yet another movie. Leo could pretend all he wanted, but the longer Sammy rubbed, the harder his lover’s cock became.

  Eventually, Leo reached down and grabbed Sammy’s foot, pressing it harder against his erection before moving it off his lap. “Be good,” Leo mouthed.

  Sammy grinned and spread his legs enough for Leo to see what the sly foreplay had done to his own cock. He stood, and started to ask Leo if he’d join him in the kitchen when Leo’s phone began to ring.

  As soon as Leo started to talk, Sammy could tell it wasn’t good news. He ended the call and jumped to his feet.

  “Domestic disturbance at six-five-four Grand Avenue

  . The caller suggested rescue personnel.”

  “Why didn’t they announce it over the intercom?” Jakob asked.

  Sammy felt like someone had knocked the wind out of him. “That’s Zac’s place.”

  “Fuck!” Jakob screamed and took off running towards the bay.

  Sammy felt a comforting hand on the small of his back and looked up into Leo’s eyes. “I should’ve known something was wrong.”

  “Don’t.” Leo bent and brushed a kiss across Sammy’s mouth. “Deputy Nash
is the one who made the call. He didn’t want it broadcast in case there were others listening in on the emergency frequency, but he knew you’d want to be there.”

  “Damn right.”

  * * * *

  Instead of taking the fire engine, they opted for the ambulance and the SUV. The ride over was torture for Sammy. “Zac’s the biggest baby when it comes to being sick, so I knew he wasn’t. I should’ve called and checked on him.”

  “He’s a grown man.”

  Sammy nodded. “He’s also my best friend.”

  Leo’s hand landed on his thigh. “I’m not sure what’s happened, so we may be jumping the gun.”

  Leo pulled up to the kerb across the street from Zac and Terry’s house. There were two cruisers out front, both with their lights off. “Try to stay calm.”

  “Sure thing,” Sammy said, rolling his eyes. He jumped out of the SUV and ran towards the front door. As he passed one of the cruisers, he noticed Terry sitting in the backseat with his head bowed.

  Sammy slammed the side of his fist against the window. “What the fuck did you do?”

  When Terry refused to answer, Sammy pounded again.

  “You’ll need a stretcher,” Roy yelled across the yard to Jakob.

  The request drew Sammy’s attention back to the house. He turned away from Terry and ran towards the porch.

  Roy Jenkins held up his hands to stop Sammy from entering while he opened the door for Jakob and Collin. “Let them take care of Zac’s injuries. They aren’t life threatening, but he’s lost too much blood to be steady on his feet. Zac’s refusing to press charges. We thought you might be able to talk some sense into him.”

  Leo came to stand next to Sammy on the porch. “What happened?”

  Roy adjusted the hat on his head before pointing towards the house next door. “Neighbour said she’d heard yelling coming from the house for several days. Tonight when it started up, she said it seemed more heated than usual. When she heard the breaking glass, she called us.”

  Sammy tried to push by Roy. “I need to see him.”

  “I’m sure Collin and the new guy will be out any minute with him. Do you think you can talk some sense into him?” Roy asked.

  “I won’t know until you let me in.” Despite his smaller size, Sammy squared his shoulders and pushed against Roy’s arm blocking access to the door.

  “Let him in,” Leo said.

  Roy reached behind his back and opened the door.

  Sammy couldn’t quite figure the situation out. Roy had always been one of the nicest deputies in town, why suddenly was he being a prick? Sammy entered the living room and stopped in his tracks. The first thing he spotted was blood, lots of it, along with a shattered glass coffee table.

  Jakob’s broad back obscured Sammy’s view of Zac. With a deep breath, Sammy moved forward. He couldn’t tell the extent of Zac’s injuries, but Collin was looking a little green around the gills, holding a thick stack of gauze pads against the side of Zac’s face as Jakob worked to get an IV in.

  “Call Isaac,” Collin ordered. “Have him meet us at the clinic.”

  “I don’t think that’s something Isaac can fix. Take him to Sheridan,” Sammy suggested, kneeling beside Zac.

  “Isaac needs to stop the bleeding first,” Jakob barked.

  Sammy’s jaw dropped. He’d never heard Jakob yell. He was so stunned he stared at the man for several seconds.

  “I got it,” Leo said from behind Sammy.

  Sammy glanced over his shoulder in time to see Leo walk away with his cell phone to his ear. Returning his attention to Zac, Sammy reached out and laid a hand on his friend’s thigh. “It’ll be okay. Do you want me to call your dad?”

  “No!” Although muffled by the thick gauze pads Collin kept swapping out, Zac’s wish was definitely made clear.

  Despite what Roy wanted, Sammy knew it wasn’t the time to talk Zac into pressing charges against Terry.

  “Get the other end while Collin applies pressure to the wounds,” Jakob ordered, indicating the gurney.

  Sammy stood and helped Jakob set the legs into place before wheeling it towards the front door. As they passed Roy, Sammy gestured to the cruiser with his chin. “You’ll have to keep him locked up until Zac’s in a position to think straight.”

  Roy nodded. With Leo’s help, they carried the gurney down the steps and to the waiting ambulance amidst a growing crowd of concerned neighbours.

  “I need to go with them,” Sammy told Leo.

  Leo nodded. “I know. I’ve already called George. He said to send you with the ambulance. I’ll go back to the station, and he and I’ll handle things there.”

  Sammy squeezed Leo’s hand before getting in the front passenger seat of the ambulance. He rubbed his eyes, unable to get the image of Zac’s blood out of his mind. As soon as Collin got behind the wheel, Sammy started questioning him.

  “How bad is it, really?”

  Collin shook his head. He turned on the lights and siren and pulled away from the kerb. “I don’t know for sure. He’s going to need a lot of plastic surgery though.”

  “Do you know what happened? I mean, I saw the coffee table. Was he pushed or did he fall?” Sammy prodded.

  “He won’t say. But he’s lucky. Another inch and the glass would’ve slit an artery.”

  Sammy’s hands started to shake. He wondered just how close he’d come to losing the best friend a man could hope for.

  * * * *

  It was four in the morning when Leo heard the return of the ambulance. He got out of bed and reached for his pants and T-shirt just as George started to stir. “They’re back.”

  George yawned and sat up. “Toss me my clothes, would ya?”

  “If you weren’t such a neat freak and dropped them on the floor beside the bed, like the rest of us, you’d be dressed by now.” Leo opened George’s locker and pulled out the folded clothes he’d had on earlier.

  “Hey, don’t bust my balls this early in the morning.” George caught the clothes Leo threw at him. “Go on. I’ll be there in a second.”

  Leo made his way to the bay. Other than two brief phone calls from Sammy, he hadn’t heard much.

  “Where’s Sammy?” he asked Jakob.

  “He wouldn’t leave the hospital. Zac’s refusing to talk to anyone, but Sammy wanted to be there in case he changes his mind.”

  “What’s the verdict on Zac’s condition?” Leo asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

  Jakob shook his head and disappeared into the main living area. Leo turned his attention to Collin. “What’s up with him?”

  “He’s taking this whole thing really hard, nearly had a meltdown when Zac refused to see him.” Collin opened the back of the ambulance and began restocking the supplies. “Zac’s got a cheek full of stitches, but I have a feeling the injuries go a hell of a lot deeper than that. He seems to have shut down. I don’t know what went on between him and Terry, but he told Ryan he wasn’t going to press charges as long as Terry got the fuck out of his house.”

  “How long have the two of them been together?” Leo asked.

  “Close to a year, I reckon. They met shortly after Terry moved here.”

  George strolled into the bay. “Why don’t you go on home, Collin. I called in two of my newest volunteers to come in and help me out.”

  Collin shook his head. “As long as I can grab a couple hours of sleep in the bunkroom, I should be fine. I think you might offer the same deal to Jakob though. With the mood he’s in, he’s not gonna be much good around here anyway.”

  George turned to Leo. “Where’s Sammy?”

  “Hospital,” Leo answered. He was starting to worry about his lover. “I thought I might call and see how he’s doing?”

  George nodded and walked back into the station.

  Leo pulled his cell out and punched in Sammy’s number. Sammy picked up on the first ring.

  “Hey,” Sammy answered.

  “How’re you holding up?” Leo walked outside to get
some privacy.

  “Okay. Zac’ll probably kill me, but I called his dad, so he’s on his way. I wouldn’t wanna be Terry when Mr. Alben gets here. I’ve known Butch all my life and he still scares the shit out of me.”

  “I thought I’d take a couple of hours off later and drive up to get you if that’s okay?” Leo asked.

  “Yeah. I don’t want to leave until Butch gets here though. Can I call you?”

  “Sure. I’m going to talk to George about the two of us taking the night off. He said he had two volunteers coming in, so it shouldn’t be a big deal.” Leo scraped the toe of his boot over a lingering patch of ice near the road. He wanted to tell Sammy he missed him, but didn’t want to put himself out there just yet.

  “Did you manage to get any sleep?” he asked Sammy instead.

  “No. I tried, but the chairs suck. Thanks for the offer to come and get me,” Sammy said.

  “My pleasure. I know you’re there for your friend, but take care of yourself, too.”

  “I will.”

  “Bye, babe,” Leo hung up the phone and stuck it in his pocket. He went back inside and found George in the kitchen making a pot of coffee. “Mind if I take some time off this afternoon and evening? I need to pick Sammy up from the hospital. I can come back tonight, though. I wouldn’t want Carol and Trick to get too comfy without you.”

  George slapped Leo on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine here for the night. Trick had to go out of town and Carol’s so late into her pregnancy, she’d rather not even look at a man.”

  Leo grinned. Carol was one feisty woman even when she wasn’t suffering from swollen ankles and, from what he’d heard, hourly trips to the bathroom. He couldn’t imagine what she was like at nine months pregnant. “Thanks.”

  * * * *

  After asking for Zac’s room number at the front desk, Leo stepped into the elevator. He hadn’t heard from Sammy since their phone conversation earlier, so he hoped he wasn’t pushing the boundaries of their relationship by arriving early.

  When the elevator opened, Leo glanced around the small waiting room. Not spotting Sammy, he wound his way to room three-sixteen. The door was open and he peeked inside. Sammy sat in a corner chair, looking rather lost while the biggest man Leo had ever seen stood beside Zac’s bed. Leo shook his head. Butch Alben could be Ezra’s bigger brother.