Chapter 1
Early December, High Water ranch
The weight of the day slid off his shoulders as Kevin Robb settled to one side of the double-wide Adirondack chair.
He stretched his legs toward the fire pit as dusky smoke twisted on the air.
It was oddly satisfying to have successfully lit the fire and have flames licking over the wood like bright, dancing sprites.
Coming to work at High Water ranch nearly a year ago had been just what the doctor ordered.
It had given Kevin time to recover from the unexpected attack he’d survived from an unruly patient.
Given him time to get his own head on straight and be ready for when life gave him something better than lemons.
Over the next half hour, the rest of the ranch strolled up in ones and twos and found spots to relax.
Aiden and Petra arrived with Jinx in tow. Or maybe it was the other way around as the seventeen-year-old imperiously pointed to chairs on the right side of the fire, and her newly official parents happily sat as ordered.
“Hey, Kev.” Jinx curled up in the chair to his left, Dixie the golden retriever at her feet as always. “Nice fire.”
“Thanks. Better than the last time I was in charge when it spent more time smoldering than burning.”
She nodded, wiggling her fingers in greeting at the two ranch hands—aka, the current guests taking advantage of High Water’s secret halfway house.
The men dipped their heads politely then sat on the opposite side of the fire.
Were they staying away from Jinx? Or staying away from him?
Kevin wasn’t sure. Not everyone felt comfortable around him, thinking maybe his psychiatric training meant he could read their minds.
Nope, although there were times he wished he could.
Another of their core group arrived. Sydney settled into her chair with a happy sigh. “Declan and Logan are on their way as soon as they finish the dishes. Tansy and Jake are staying at her sister’s after supper, so they and Jeffrey won’t be here tonight.”
“Is Edison joining us?” Jinx asked Kevin.
“Hope so,” Kevin told her.
He and Edison had been dating since last February, more frequently since the summer. Only in the last month or two had Edison finally accepted the invitation to join the High Water family for dinner or the evening afterward.
Petra and Jinx pulled out crochet projects as Aiden tuned his guitar. When Declan and Logan arrived a few minutes later, Edison walked beside them.
A zing of happiness rushed over Kevin, and he snorted softly. It never ceased to astonish him how the mere sight of Edison got to him.
Kevin rose to his feet to greet the man.
Edison’s lips curled with mischief. “Such a gentleman.”
The kiss Edison pressed to his cheek—brief yet warm—made Kevin want to show some decidedly un-gentlemanly behavior with a far more demonstrative kiss.
For now, though, Kevin held back and simply gestured to the open space beside him on the love seat. “Saved you a spot,” he told Edison quietly. “Glad you could make it.”
“Glad to be here.” Edison’s thigh pressed firmly against Kevin’s even as he turned to speak to Sydney. “The adult first-aid class I taught today went well.”
“I spotted no smoke on the horizon, so you didn’t burn down any buildings. Score is in your favour,” Sydney teased.
“I know, right?” Edison dramatically pressed a hand to his chest. “Go me.”
“We can’t all be as destructive as the best,” Sydney offered with a rueful laugh.
Declan shook his head as he poked the fire with a stick. “Where did you teach the class since we don’t have a community hall anymore?”
“The school gave me a classroom,” Edison said. “It was crowded and we had to move the desks twice, but it mostly worked. It’s going to be tough doing without the hall. I never realized how many activities took place there over the year.”
Quiet conversations drifted between people as the low notes of guitar switched from single notes to melody, and Aiden hummed softly as he played.
Guitar music wove around them like a warm blanket that enclosed the group with a cozy, protective feeling.
Gentle conversations and sharing made for a relaxing evening.
Around ten, the group slowly headed off in different directions.
Aiden crooked a finger at Petra. “Come on, baby mama. You need to catch up on some sleep.”
Petra accepted the hand he held to her even as she glanced Kevin’s way and offered a knowing wink. She was sharp enough to figure out Kevin was hoping for a little privacy with Edison.
Both the ranch hands left after offering quiet goodnights. Logan yawned as he waved lazily. “I’m done, too. Night all.”
Declan and Sydney followed a few minutes later.
Sydney offered a teasing glance over her shoulder. “Don’t stay too long, Edison, or you’ll be late to open the clinic tomorrow.”
“As if.” Edison tilted his head. “I’m the punctual prince of medicine, and you know it.”
“You’re a caffeine-fueled menace,” Sydney tossed back. “But I couldn’t do it without you. Good night.”
Only Jinx and Dixie remained. She stretched then swung the reusable shopping bag that held her yarn and crochet project over her shoulder. “I’m calling it a night as well. I’m off to Sasha’s tomorrow to work on a group project on renewable energy.”
“You’re going to nail that,” Edison told her. “You’re the ultimate renewable energy source.”
Jinx laughed as her golden retriever nudged Edison for a pat and got a full-body cuddle in return. Edison murmured something low to the dog before he straightened and accepted the hug Jinx offered.
“You’re a sweetheart, Edison.”
“Takes one to know one,” he offered back, light-hearted joy in his tone.
Kevin didn’t move. Didn’t speak. But when Jinx turned and gave him a nod—brief, quiet, but absolutely deliberate—something loosened in his chest.
Edison resettled a moment later, legs folding underneath himself with that relaxed grace Kevin had come to love. Without a word, Edison slipped his hand into Kevin’s, and they both stared into the fire.
Thoughts raced through Kevin’s head like a train at top speed.
“You know that hug means a lot, yeah?” Kevin finally said softly.
Edison twisted to face Kevin, his wide brown eyes shadowed by the firelight. “Yeah. I think so.”
“Jinx doesn’t do that. Not with men outside her family. Not easily.”
“She’s healing. You can see it in the way she stands straighter now.
Trust comes slowly, but…when it comes, it’s real.
” Edison’s voice was quiet, no louder than the wind pushing against their backs.
He stared into Kevin’s eyes. “You guys did that. Made a place for her to become strong. It’s been a privilege to watch her bloom, even from the sidelines. ”
Kevin looked at him—at his tousled curls and soft sweatshirt, eyeliner smudged slightly at the corners after the long day. Gorgeous, but also so much more than the visible flamboyant outer shell. Edison’s warmth was like a candle burning through frosted glass. People noticed it. Trusted it.
“I can see why she picked you,” Kevin said.
Edison leaned closer until his shoulder bumped Kevin’s. “You’re a cutie, you know.”
A slow smile curved Kevin’s lips. “I know.”
They sat in silence for a while, just watching the fire.
Kevin didn’t mind silence. He often lived in it, professionally and personally, but with Edison it never felt empty. It was just a different kind of conversation.
Eventually, Edison stirred. “There’s a new exhibit opening at Gabrielle’s art gallery soon. The flyer said it’s called Winter’s Wonderland or something poetic like that.”
Kevin hummed. “Holiday-themed?”
“I guess? I’m picturing cozy snow scenes and glittery icicles. Knowing how Chance tries to make the shows community friendly, I bet there’ll be at least one painting of a grumpy Santa stuck in a chimney.” Edison squeezed his hand. “We should go.”
“I’d like that.”
More silence. Then—
“Hypothetically,” Edison said, far too casually, “what’s the best Christmas gift you’ve ever gotten?”
Kevin didn’t answer right away. Instead, he let himself lean back more fully into the chair, Edison curled against his side, hand warm and steady in Kevin’s.
Childhood Christmases had been solid but not lavish. A new bike. A winter coat. A game that he’d really wanted. In his adult years he’d discovered he was drawn to a more minimalistic lifestyle and leaned toward spending money on events and adventures rather than things.
For a while, the consumer-driven focus of the holiday had annoyed him—it had taken deliberate work to let that judgment go and allow others to celebrate how they pleased and find his own joy in the season again.
He didn’t want to say any of that. If the little knickknacks and sweets and other things he’d offered Kevin over the past months were any hint—
Edison’s love language was gifts.
“I think the best one I ever got was a copy of Into the Wild,” Kevin said finally. This wasn’t the time to explain why such a book about such a terrible, tragic idea was so important. “From my dad. I still have it on the shelf.”
Edison made a pleased little noise. “Books are good. Thoughtful. Personal.”
“Thinking of giving me a book?”
“I wasn’t thinking of giving you anything.” Edison offered the cheerful lie. “Although I would love it if you had another scarf to look sexy in.”
Kevin chuckled. “You think I’m sexy in scarves?”
Edison tilted his head and batted his lashes. “Kevin, I think you’re sexy wearing a disapproving scowl. Add a scarf? You’re lethal.”
It couldn’t be resisted. Kevin curled his hand around the back of Edison’s neck and drew him forward for a kiss.
Warm lips pressed to his, Edison eagerly took the offering, opening his mouth with a sigh.
Kevin kept it in control and deliberately light because tonight wasn’t the time to be getting hot and heavy. But this kiss? This moment? It was as necessary as breathing as Edison’s sweet taste rushed in and sent a thousand dreams flying.
Kevin didn’t want a book. Not this year. What he wanted was this—Edison’s laughter and light and the way he looked at Kevin as if there was a future waiting for them.
Kevin’s gut clenched. But as much as he wanted that future, it wasn’t what Edison had signed up for.
Since day one, Edison had made it clear he wasn’t looking for permanence. His past was full of complications, he’d said, so he chose to live in the present—joyfully, deliberately, beautifully.
Kevin understood that. Hell, his job meant he was trained to respect that with every inch of his soul.
But tonight, with Edison beside him and the holiday season closing in on them, Kevin wanted more than good intentions and warm blankets. He wanted to give Edison something that mattered.
Something that didn’t say I love you and throw the other man into a panic, but said I see you. I get you. I’m here.
I’d like to always be here.
Kevin wasn’t sure what that gift looked like yet, but he’d figure it out. Soon, because Edison was the best thing that had happened to him in a long, long time.
And Kevin? He was more than willing to fight, quietly and carefully, for someone worth holding on to.