Deacon
PRESENT DAY
It’s a beautiful day for a trip to the dog shelter. Do I need a dog?
No.
Am I interested in adopting one at this exact moment?
Also no.
But it happens to be the place I know I’ll find Tanner Holiday, and this particular Sunday seems like a good time to ask him out.
Again.
A lesser man might have given up already, but there’s something about Tanner that lights me up inside. My presence alone seems to fluster him, the tips of his ears heating adorably whenever I walk into Vetted Paws.
The towns of Clementine Creek and Blackstone Falls, in our little corner of Tennessee, don’t make for a large pool of available gay men interested in settling down.
Before, I would have driven farther outside of town, sometimes all the way to Nashville if I had an itch to scratch, but I’m staring down thirty-seven and I’m tired of the game.
With my brother settling down with his girl and a baby on the way, I think it’s high time I do too.
Taking a breath, I grab the coffees I picked up and push out of my truck, my boots crunching on the gravel parking lot.
The sun is warm on my face as I make my way to the front door.
Vetted Paws, with its white exterior and heavy iron sign, is the temporary home to dogs from all kinds of situations.
Sorren and Tanner have worked tirelessly to match each animal with their forever person or family, and I witnessed it firsthand when my brother took home a silver lab with bright blue eyes named Dez.
The dog is perfect for Jude, and while I’d love to have one someday, I’m just not at a place where I can commit to giving a dog the attention it deserves right now.
Taking a breath, I pull open the door and smile as the bell overhead announces my presence. Tanner looks up, presumably to welcome me to Vetted Paws, and freezes, his lips parting slightly before he presses them together and swallows hard.
He looks sexy as hell in a polo shirt and jeans, his eyes darkening as his gaze sweeps over me. It’s hungry and shy and the combination lights me up like a Christmas tree. He wants me but he’s holding back, and I want to know why.
“Mornin’,” I drawl, setting the cup down on the desk in front of him with a smile. “I wasn’t sure how you take it,”—I pause, watching as his pupils dilate—“but I’d love to know.”
He hasn’t spoken a word since I came in, but his eyes have said plenty.
“Thanks,” he manages, clearing his throat as he straightens his shoulders. “What, uh, brings you by today?”
“You.” His cheeks flush as his gaze darts around looking everywhere but at me.
“Listen, I know—”
“Let me take you to dinner. Hell, I’ll settle for lunch or a midafternoon coffee.” I grin and his blush deepens. I wonder what he looks like when he comes…
“Deacon.”
I love the way he says my name, the breathy rasp going straight to my dick as I try not to shift my weight. “Tell me to stop, Tanner, and I’ll be gone.”
“That’s not what I want. It’s just—” He startles as the door flies open behind me and Cal Spence walks in like a man on a mission.
Bypassing me, he moves around the desk toward Tanner. “Hey, you got a minute?” he asks in a way that sounds rhetorical as Tanner gapes at him.
“Oh… I mean—”
“Great.” Cal doesn’t let him finish, instead putting his hand on Tanner’s chest as he backs him into the office.
The fact that they’re friends doesn’t bother me, but then I hear Tanner’s voice, the comment teasing. “We’ve already tried this, remember?”
It’s the last thing I can hear before the door slams shut.
“We’ve already tried this, remember?”
It’s my turn to gape as I replay that entire thirty-second scenario in my mind.
The teasing.
The familiarity between them.
I thought Jude said Cal hooked up with someone at the baby shower. Was he cheating on Tanner? Did I read this wrong?
“Do you need help with something?” Sorren’s voice is a low grumble, his steps barely audible as he joins me in the lobby.
“Uh, no. I was just leaving.” There’s an odd timbre to my voice like I’m not sure about the words, and honestly, I’m not.
Except the leaving part. I’m definitely doing that.
His gaze slides from me to the closed office door and back but he doesn’t say anything, just looks at me and then the coffee mug in my hand matching the one on the desk.
I can see the unanswered questions forming in his mind, and it’s enough for me to finally head toward the door.
“I’ll see you around,” I mumble halfheartedly, and he nods as I make my escape. The day is no less beautiful, but somehow when I step back into the sunshine, there’s no smile because with each step, my heart sinks a little more at what I’ve left inside.