Chapter 4 #2
Thaddeus’s gaze shifted from Tap to me. “I feel better, thank you.” His attention returned to Tap. “Hi there. I’m—”
“Thaddeus, yes.” Tap proffered his hand.
“I’m Tap. And I can see you’ve met Ziggy.
” He grinned at the dachshund doing a fair impression of a bouncy ball at Thaddeus’s feet as he begged to be picked up.
“Ryder gave me a quick rundown on your . . . adventures last night.” He grinned.
“It’s not often Ry has company for breakfast.”
Thaddeus’s gaze shot to me, and he blushed to the tips of his ears. “It was good of him to invite me. I think breakfast, yesterday, was the last time I ate.”
Tap shot me a shit-eating grin. “Yeah, that’s our Ryder for you. Generous of spirit to a T. Always quick to put out the welcome mat.”
Which was so patently untrue it was laughable. I had little use for most people, preferring to share a beer and my evenings with a few pots of geraniums instead. Mostly, they made a lot more sense. I gave Tap another warning kick, which he dutifully ignored.
Thaddeus shook Tap’s hand. “Just Thad—” He glanced my way. “—contrary to opinion.”
I shrugged. “Personally, I like the longer version. And since you’re the trespasser and I’m the trespassed upon, I’m gonna stick to my guns.”
Thaddeus laughed. Tap, on the other hand, gave me an irksome smirk that I wanted to choke him with.
“Here, I’ll take those.” I indicated the bundle of mud-stained clothes Thaddeus carried and he handed them over.
“When we’re done eating, I’ll bag them for you to take home.
And like I said, you can ditch the ones you’re wearing when you’re done with them.
” Our eyes met for long enough to feel awkward and it was Tap who came to the rescue.
“Grab a seat.” Tap gestured Thaddeus toward the table and picked up the conversation. “I understand I have you to thank for this feast. I’m lucky to get a slice of toast most days.”
Returning to the kitchen, I snorted my disgust at his lie and carried the plate of pancakes to the table. Sliding them out of his reach, I said, “If you’re not careful, that can easily be arranged.”
Tap immediately mimed zipping his lips, which made Thaddeus laugh.
“I find it best to ignore him,” I told the younger man. “Responding only encourages the behaviour. Now, please, help yourself.”
Thaddeus’s gaze swept over the mountain of food. “You really shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble. This is way too much food.”
“Less talking, more eating.” I passed him the plate of bacon. “I love any excuse to cook, don’t I, Tap?” I aimed another solid kick at my friend’s shins, hoping to encourage a suitable response.
He blurted, “Oh yes, absolutely.” He scraped a mound of scrambled eggs onto his plate, adding, “Ryder here is the valley’s more attractive but slightly less accomplished answer to Julia Child.” He smirked my way. “Remember that whole banoffee-cross-pecan-pie-disaster thingy?”
A comment that earned him another boot.
Thaddeus looked between us. “Sounds . . . interesting.”
“No, it’s really not,” I answered before Tap could. “My best friend has a habit of exaggerating. I like to cook but I’m no expert.”
“Hear, hear.” Tap grinned. “Especially to that last part.”
I groaned and pushed the bacon his way. “I’m sure you can fit some more in that big mouth of yours, friend.”
Tap smiled and stuffed three rashers of bacon into his gob at one time.
After giving Tap time to chew and swallow, Thaddeus said, “Tap’s an unusual name. Not sure I’ve ever heard it before.”
And I could’ve kissed him. “It certainly is.” I shot my best friend an amused look. “Care to explain?”
Tap’s gaze narrowed, and he groaned. “Not particularly, but I know you will.”
“Well, since you asked so nicely—” I turned to Thaddeus.
“—when Tap started working for me, it became abundantly clear in a very short amount of time, that if there’s a water main or any underground piping to be found at a job, Tap will inevitably hit it with his spade, backhoe, pickaxe, rotary hoe, basically whatever he has in his hand that day.
You name it, Tap can strike water with it.
I swear, the man missed his calling as a diviner. ”
Tap’s dark olive skin turned a pretty shade of burnt umber, and he grumbled, “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, arsehole.”
Thaddeus gave a toothy grin. “I think it’s kind of awesome.”
Tap all but preened. “See?” He looked at me as he pointed his fork Thaddeus’s way. “Finally, some appreciation.”
“It’s more that I can somewhat relate,” Thaddeus clarified. “At the risk of being evicted from your property forthwith, I cannot lie. If you give me a plant, I can kill it. It’s my one and only superpower.”
I gasped in mock horror. “And I invited you to my table? What was I thinking? Now who’s the serial killer?”
Thaddeus grinned and raised his hands. “Busted.” Our gazes locked for a little too long, and Tap didn’t miss it.
He considered Thaddeus for a long moment, and I recognised that mischievous look. “Ry said you had a tough day yesterday and that it’s your car in the compost heap.”
Thaddeus looked my way, and I held up my hands. “He saw it as he drove in.”
Thaddeus groaned. “Not my finest moment. And yes, it wasn’t the best of days. It’s not a secret or anything, just embarrassing.” And with that, he continued on to give Tap a summary of his day, including the best friend fucking his boyfriend part.
By the end of it, Tap was nodding in sympathy.
“Well, that sucks from beginning to end. Your boyfriend—” He shot me a glance as he emphasised the word.
“—sounds like a total jerk. And your so-called best friend isn’t any better, just saying.
” He sat back in his chair and studied Thaddeus.
“So, you don’t have a job or an apartment to go back to? ”
Thaddeus didn’t answer immediately. He flicked me a glance like he was weighing his answer, then shrugged and said, “It is what it is. Things will sort themselves out.”
Tap nodded sagely. “They always do. Gotta pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep going.” His gaze flicked to me. “We’ve all been there, right, Ry?”
A crease formed between Thaddeus’s brows, and his attention switched to me. “What happened to—” He didn’t get to finish, his question lost to the familiar beep-beep-beep of a truck backing somewhere outside.
“Did you already call for a tow?” I checked with Thaddeus.
“No.” He shook his head. “I was going to ask you for a recommendation.”
I caught Tap’s eye. “Jesus Christ. That better not be—”
“Oh, hell no.” Tap was on his feet and running down the hall before I’d even pushed my chair back.
Thaddeus’s eyes sprang wide. “What’s happening?”
But I was already on the move, grabbing my coat as I jogged to the front door.
“Ryder!” Thaddeus ran behind. “What’s up?”
I stepped onto the porch and reached for my boots. “There’s Klingons on the starboard bow, that’s what.”
Thaddeus stopped abruptly beside me. “What?”
“The council,” I huffed, shutting Ziggy in the house before following Tap down the front steps. “It’s the fucking council.”
“We’re leaving later than usual,” Tap muttered over his shoulder as he hoofed it down the path.
“Yeah,” I grumbled. “The bastards didn’t count on that, did they?”
Thaddeus’s bare feet padded across the deck after us. “What the hell are you guys talking about?”
I spun to face him. “If you’re coming with us, then you’ll need those.” I pointed to my spare pair of gumboots. Thaddeus screwed up his nose like I’d asked him to dive back into that compost pile. He shot me a look and I shrugged. “Your choice.”
“But I don’t understand.” He grabbed the oversized boots and slid them on with a barely concealed shudder. “Going with you where?”
“To battle, my trusty trespasser.” I headed off after Tap, punching the air. “To battle.”