Chapter 29 Stone
Stone
Because it’s after hours, it takes me longer than I would have liked to call in the findings and change the blasting schedule. My team has tomorrow off, so unfortunately, it requires me to send a text to Logan with the updated instructions.
I’m not surprised when I get no response, but I have faith he’ll follow the new directive.
When I get back out to the Tahoe, Hanlon is damn near curled into a ball, his fists drawn into his chest as his body is wracked with shivers.
“Fuck. Han. You okay?” There’s no masking the worry in my voice this time.
“Mmm,” is all he manages to say.
Goddammit. I knew I shouldn’t have let him talk me into going back up there, even if he was right and we need to trigger that avalanche before Mother Nature does it herself.
The landscape of the ski resort is different from the backcountry because of the action it sees. The use of electricity, heat from the skiers, snowmobiles, etc., make our ground temperature rise and cool much faster than the wilderness, increasing the risk of avalanches.
When I checked the digital thermometers and snowfall maps of the section of backcountry we monitor, everything was stable, which is good news.
I run my hand over Hanlon’s thigh in a comforting gesture, but all I notice is the lump of muscle coiled beneath his pant leg.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
His muscles are cramping, which I know is extremely painful for him.
“Han, focus on me, okay?” I coach as I squeeze his thigh, trying to get pressure to the proprioceptors in his muscles so they release.
“I’ve got you. We’re almost home, and once we’re there, I’m going to draw you a bath and massage every muscle until your body is loose and comfortable.
Then, I’m going to get you into bed and feed you soup, so you’re warm both inside and out.
And then I’m going to crawl in next to you and drape myself across your body so my body heat bleeds into you all night long. Okay, baby?”
He moans again, and I know it’s the closest thing to an answer I’m going to get.
When I’m about five minutes from the house, my phone dings with an incoming text, but I don’t bother to look because I don’t want to remove my hand from where it’s currently kneading the muscles in Hanlon’s leg.
It’s probably just Logan sending a thumbs-up emoji.
Or at least that’s what I think until I notice a car in my driveway.
This is Montana, and most of us don’t live in neighborhoods. We have carved out patches of land in random spots along flat roads at the base of mountains. I don’t have neighbors, and I can see my house from a mile away down Route 155.
“Han, you expecting anyone?” I ask.
“No,” he manages to groan.
Begrudgingly, I remove my hand to check my phone and see if that text provides any insight. Most of us out here also have guns, but I’d rather not use one when I could just keep driving. I love my house, but there’s nothing in it worth taking a life over.
Besides, my number one priority is getting Hanlon somewhere warm and safe.
Dad
Do you have plans tonight?
Oh, fuck.
“Han, I think our parents are here.”
When all he says is “Okay,” I press the pedal a little faster and tap the garage door opener. This is going to be a shitshow, but nothing will stop me from giving Hanlon what he needs.
I pull into the garage, not even sparing the people in the parked car in my driveway a glance. I leave my work bag and all the other gear in the backseat and race toward the passenger door.
I hear my dad’s voice grow louder as he approaches the garage. “Well, hello to you, too, son,” he says in a slightly passive-aggressive tone.
“Hey. Sorry. Kinda busy. Give me a minute.” Leaning into the SUV, I quickly rub Han’s ankles and knees, doing some fast but gentle range of motion of the joints before slipping an arm around his waist. “Come on, baby,” I whisper so our parents don’t overhear. “I’ve got you.”
Hanlon tries to extend his leg to step down out of the car, but has difficultly and I catch all his weight. Han and his newly found muscles aren’t terribly light, but I was ready for him.
“Ohmygod!” Lana cries. “Hanlon? What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Swinging her worry toward me, she asks, “How did this happen?” The accusatory tone in her voice makes it very clear that she thinks this is my fault.
Hell, I guess it is since I let him convince me that going to run that test was a good idea…but to be fair…it was.
“Later,” I grumble, moving him toward the door.
“I’m f-fine. J-just c-cold,” Hanlon struggles to say.
“You are not fine,” his mom shoots back, following us into the house. Once we’re inside, Lana and my dad try to take over. “Here, we’ve got this,” my dad says, attempting to edge me out of the way.
“Let us get him,” Lana adds.
“No,” Hanlon says, clinging to me as best he can.
“I’ve got him,” I tell our parents. “I’ll be back after he’s settled. Make yourselves at home.”
I get Hanlon down the hall to our room.
Oh, shit. Our room.
His stuff is all over my bedroom, which means it isn’t in the guest room, which is where it should be if he’s living with me. Where our parents will be staying, because they always use that room when they come for a visit.
Oh well, I’ll deal with that later.
I get Hanlon propped up on the bed and race into my bathroom to fill the standalone tub I never use. I’ve thought several times about ripping the outdated thing out, but right now, I’m thankful as all fuck that I never did.
I start peeling Hanlon’s clothes off, but it’s a challenge because of how tightly his muscles are coiled.
After a significant effort from us both, he’s naked.
It takes so long that the tub’s ready at the same time.
I need to help him into it to make sure he’s steady and doesn’t slip, so I remove my boots and throw one leg into the hot water, not even bothering to remove any more of my clothes.
“Come on. I won’t let you fall.”
It’s a little sketchy because there isn’t much room for us both in here, but we make do, and I lower him into the tub.
Soaking my floor, I kneel down next to the bathtub and plunge my hands inside, grabbing one ankle and then the other, rubbing firm circles around Hanlon’s joints.
Then, I palm the sole of his foot and gently move his foot up and down and side to side.
He moans in response, his head lolling against the back of the tub.
Beneath the water, I see him trying to work his fingers open and closed, but he can’t do it quite yet.
Finishing with his ankles, I massage his calves on my way to his knees.
“How you doing, Skittles?”
“Better,” he breathes, although his voice is still too strained for my liking.
“I’m sorry I let that happen to you,” I apologize, swallowing hard.
“It’s not your fault. I’m a grown man,” he says, and I sigh in relief that his teeth aren’t chattering anymore, even though he’s still in pain. “Don’t baby me,” he adds.
“I would never,” I tell him honestly. “I know you can do anything you set your mind to. This isn’t babying you,” I say, massaging his thigh.
“Oh, really? What would you call it then?” he asks, cracking an eye open at me.
“Copping a feel,” I say with a smirk.
His tired smile and huffed laugh relieve the tension that’s been building in my own muscles.
“I think you’re doing it wrong,” he says, slowly reaching his hand forward, nudging mine toward his dick.
“Hanlon,” I whisper. “Have you forgotten our parents are in the living room?”
His eyes open fully. “Fuck. Yes. I forgot. I’ve been kind of out of it for the last hour.
” Then his eyes widen even further, and he tries to sit up, but I push him back down with a hand to his chest. “You have to get out of here! Ohmygod, all my shit’s in your room! How are we going to explain that?”
“Relax. I’ll handle it.” I lean over the tub and press a kiss to his lips. Pulling back, I tell him, “Let me see you wiggle your toes.” He does. “Good, now move your feet.” Again, he complies, and I can’t help myself. “You’re such a good boy for me, aren’t you?”
Hanlon makes a gagging sound that unfortunately goes straight to my dick. “Never fucking say that again.”
“Hmm, you’re probably right. Too much,” I agree. “Okay, bend your knees.” He does it with a bit of difficulty, but it’s far better than when I brought him in here.
“I’m going to go get my ass chewed out by our parents now. I want you to take as long as you need in here, okay? I’ll put some sweats on the counter for you.”
Once I know Hanlon is okay to finish on his own, I brace myself for the verbal ass beating I’m about to receive for putting my stepbrother in such a dangerous position.
If only they knew how pissed I already am at myself.