Chapter 2
CHAPTER
TWO
Ugh. The last thing Shannon wanted was to make himself presentable to go to the horse-riding school to look at a possible room to rent. However, he also wasn’t ready to go looking at rentals and sign leases—they felt a little too permanent—and he was over living in the motel.
So even though he’d stormed off, leaving LA behind, starting over was not as easy as he’d expected. He’d forgotten what it was like to start a new job. To be the one who didn’t know the routines everyone else could do in their sleep. To have to ask a question what seemed like every other minute.
At least on a call out, he knew what he was doing.
Though aside from one kitchen fire, one fall in the shower, and a dog bite, his first week in Foggy Basin had been pretty low-key. He had to keep reminding himself that it was exactly what he wanted.
The whole point of moving was to get away from the hectic, desperate energy of LA…as well as his ex.
At least he’d kept his promise this week and not slipped and fallen on another dick. He bit his lip and turned the corner, and the sun almost blinded him. He swore and adjusted the visor blocking most of it.
In his defense, it had been Pride and the guy selling knives and chopping boards had been looking for an excuse to hook up. He may have implied that he was passing through, but it didn’t really matter as he wasn’t going to hunt him down for round two.
He drove past a sign that said ‘Nicks and Cuts’ and his map told him he’d arrived. Err, no. He was looking for the horse place.
He drove up the road a bit further, hoping the map was out by a few hundred yards. Nothing. Shit. He used a dirt driveway to turn around and headed back to ‘Nicks and Cuts’. On the back of the sign was a very faded picture of a horse.
“Weird name for a horse-riding school, but okay.” He turned into the dirt driveway and followed it up the hill, wondering if this was the start of a horror movie where he was playing the role of dumb blond… His mother would be thrilled it was actually a film.
The house came into view, and it did not look like it was owned by a serial killer or possessed by demons. It had a friendly ranch vibe with a big wrap-around deck, complete with pot plants and a swing.
He’d been told to park around the back. Given that there was a sign pointing to parking, that was what he did. There was one other SUV, and in what appeared to be stables someone was moving. The serial killer vibes were back…
He was meant to be meeting a man called Dante. Was that him?
A man stepped out. He was dressed head to toe in black, and there were dark smears on his arms. Arms that he’d seen on either side of his head last weekend.
“Fuck.” He was tempted to throw the car into reverse and flee. That was the smart thing to do.
His anonymous hook-up lifted his hand in greeting.
“Fuckity fuck.” His own personal horror movie.
This was going to go down as well as a match in a gas leak. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be renting a room from a man the memory of whom may have entertained him in the shower more than once since their hook-up.
Be polite, agree that this isn’t going to work, and come up with a new plan.
He turned off the car and wiped his hands on his jeans as he pocketed his keys before getting out. The man’s face hardened immediately, all pretense of welcoming gone.
“You’re Shannon?”
“Yeah.” His parents had given all their kids gender neutral names, thinking they were cutting edge without considering how it may impact their kids. “New paramedic…errr… We met at Pride.”
Or should he have kept his mouth shut about that?
The man pressed his lips tighter together. If there were a scowling contest, he should be representing the state.
“You’re Dante?”
The man nodded but made no effort to walk over or change his expression.
Shannon hooked his thumbs into his belt loops and drew in a breath. “I can go. This is obviously…” weird because Dante was making it weird. “Awkward.”
“You said you were there for Pride.”
“I was.”
“You were meant to leave.”
“Um, no, I’m pretty sure my contract says I need to stay. It’s fine. I’ll find somewhere else to stay.”
Dante sighed and shook his head. “You came out, so you might as well see the room.”
However, he didn’t seem pleased about it.
Sure, check out the room in the house owned by his hook-up, who was ex-military and made knives. He was deep in horror movie territory and far too aware he was a natural blond.
“Besides, the other guy in town who lets out rooms is a rowdy drunk.”
Shannon had been warned about that, which was why he’d messaged Dante first. Dante walked over to the house and pushed open the back door. Shannon followed him to the mudroom and watched as Dante took off his boots.
At the last second, he toed off his runners and shoved them to the side.
Dante stared at them, then looked up at him. “Rack.”
Shannon picked up his shoes and set them on the rack next to Dante’s boots. He padded after him in his socks and into a big farmhouse kitchen before turning right and stopping at a locked door.
“Only one room. It’s lockable so your things are safe. It has an ensuite. Only shared areas are the kitchen and lounge room if you want. You don’t go to the other end of the house.”
Dante stared at him.
“Understood.” He liked that the room was locked and that he could use the kitchen. He was sick of the motel microwave.
Dante unlocked the room and stepped aside, letting Shannon go first.
I am not about to be locked in the bedroom. Though if it led to round two… No.
Dante clearly had issues, and some things were best left at once.
Shannon walked in, not expecting much. The room was clean with the curtains and window open, letting in the breeze and sunlight. Even the mattress looked in better shape than the one in the motel. The bathroom was definitely an upgrade. It had a tub and a shower and no signs of mold.
He wanted to take it. What was the point of looking if he didn’t?
“It’s really nice, bigger than my motel room.
” He shouldn’t have reminded Dante that he’d seen it.
Oh well, it was too late now, and they were both adults.
It wasn’t as though Shannon had never bumped into previous flings; sometimes, they even became friends, or at least occasional fuck buddies.
Not only that, but it seemed there was barely two degrees of separation between him and an ex.
That was the whole reason why he’d put several hours between him and the ex this time.
Something needed to change, and given that he was the common denominator in all the problems in his life, the easiest solution was to change what he was doing.
He’d tried that in the past, but it was very hard to change when everything around him was still the same.
Maybe that said something about him…he was sure that his mother could recommend an excellent astrologist or past life regression therapist, while his father would tell him he just needed to put in more effort before mentioning an opportunity which was perfect for him.
He was one hundred percent sure that while his parents loved him, they didn’t know him.
He was the odd one in a family where everyone else was always auditioning for ads or teaching gym classes or selling real estate while waiting to be noticed.
While his job wasn’t nine to five, it was the closest thing that anyone and his immediate family had, and that included his grandparents.
One set had worked in a circus as aerialists, and the other set had been all in on any marketing scam they could get their hands on.
It would be easy if he could say that he came from a family of grifters, but they weren’t lazy…
They just didn’t have much to show for their hard work because they were always waiting to hit the jackpot.
He, however, had realized in primary school that he had more chance of being hit by lightning. He’d also been rather too fascinated by what lightning strikes did to human bodies, which had led to survival stories…and that was pretty much the easiest explanation for how he ended up where he was.
He glanced at Dante, knowing that he was not going to be lucky enough to get him naked again. Dante acted like a man who’d decided it was safer in the closet.
Though given the success of the town’s first Pride parade, Shannon wasn’t sure that was true. Dante was the kind of man who should have had men dropping to their knees and opening their mouths.
He swallowed, pushing the thought aside.
Dante gave him a half-lidded look as if he was remembering the motel room. “The carpet is newer and so is the bed.”
“Thanks. I really needed to remember how much action the bed has seen.” At least the motel didn’t have bedbugs, and despite its age, it was clean. Of course, if people didn’t use the fan or open a window when they showered, there was going to be a damp problem that encouraged mold growth.
“It is only a short-term let. I don’t want anyone here permanently.”
Shannon nodded. “By short term, do you mean weeks or months?”
Dante considered him for several seconds. “Weeks is unreasonable, as it can take time to find a suitable rental. Three months is reasonable. After that you’ll be sick of me, and I’ll be sick of you.”
Shannon smiled, unable to help himself. “I doubt that.”
“If you’re working nights, you’re going to need earplugs because I will be out there working, and on Saturdays and Sundays, I have classes.”
“Classes?”
“People want to learn how to make knives or chopping boards. I have a mix of options.”
Right, the knife making. Was that going to involve power tools?
Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. His gaze he drifted around the lovely room, the golden afternoon light streaming through the window and the trees just beyond, and the ensuite with the bathtub.
“I can get earplugs. It’s a rotating roster. ”
“As long as you keep everything tidy and don’t leave a trail of destruction in the kitchen, I don’t really care.”
“I am completely house trained.” Unlike his ex. “I have a trailer…can I park it somewhere or is that going to be a problem?”
“You can park it next to the workshop, so it’s not taking up a spot in the parking lot.”
“I can park in the parking lot?”
“Yeah.” Dante’s gaze flicked over him again.
Which gave his body the entirely wrong idea about why he was there. No hooking up with the landlord.
No hooking up.
That was the promise he’d made himself. New town. New habits.
Same old Shannon. He couldn’t outrun himself.
“So I can rent the room?” Did he sound too desperate?
Sure, he could call up real estate agents and start looking at places to rent, but that meant signing a twelve-month lease, and while that had been his original plan, as that gave him a reason to stay, right now his feet were a tiny bit cold.
He’d thrown himself out of LA in a fit of spite and fury, and now he wasn’t sure about his footing.
However, he was not going to crawl back and let his parents and siblings gloat about him not being able to make it in a small town because he liked to be needed.
If he went back, nothing would change. His brother would be asking for a loan, he’d fall into old social habits, and then, before he knew it, he’d be two years into another dysfunctional relationship where he was taping it up and stitching it together. He liked to be needed, sure, who didn’t?
And he liked to be useful, but he also wanted someone to hold him, to want him and not because he was financially stable-ish and had his life kind of together-ish.
He had to dig in and prove they were wrong and that he deserved more.
Didn’t he?
Dante was thinking about this for far too long. It was too weird for him, or was it too tempting?
It would be very hard to say no if the opportunity came up…
But he would because he wasn’t going to start making the same mistakes in a new location. Was it a mistake?
Dante wasn’t another struggling artist; he had a house and a business.
Shannon cracked first. “Look, I get it. It was a one-time thing, and you never expected to see me again. If you let me rent the room, I’ll make sure to stay out of your way.”
Dante winced and crossed his arms, which only accentuated his biceps and chest, making it very hard to look away. “It’s not that.”
Shannon lifted his eyebrows, sure that it was exactly that. Dante didn’t want anyone to learn his secrets.