Page 16 of Road to a Cowboy

So what did he want in London that was keeping him there?

Austin smiled wanly. “Maybe. I figured I’d give him a few more months. If, by then, he still sounds like he wants to crawl under a tree and hide, then yes, I’m going to get him.”

“I’ll come with you,” Cal said.

“Me too,” Paul added.

The kitchen door squeaked open again, spitting out Denise MacIsaac. “Hi, boys.”

Austin tilted his head back to smile at her, exposing the long length of his tanned neck.

Cal swallowed hard.

“Hey, Mom,” Austin said.

She came over in sensible boots with a short heel, looking put together in jeans and a cream sweater. She kissed the tops of their heads, one after the other—Austin, then Paul’s bald head, then Cal—and Cal’s heart clenched at being included as one of her “boys.”

“I’m going out for lunch with Carol, Linda, and Whitney. If you’re hungry, there’s leftover spaghetti and meatballs in the fridge from last night. I’ll see you boys later.” She headed back inside with a wave over her shoulder.

Paul braced one hand on Austin’s shoulder, the other on Cal’s, then levered himself up with a groan.

“You okay, Dad?” Austin asked.

“I’m fine,” Paul said, waving the question away. “Just starting to feel my years. I’ll warm us up some lunch.” He too went inside, leaving Cal outside with Austin in companionable silence. Somewhere, the Stellar’s jay squawked again.

Austin braced his hands behind him and leaned back, stretching out his long legs, and it was all Cal could do not to stare.

“Did you know your dad birdwatches every morning?”

“Yeah.” Austin chuckled. “He’s got an app and everything. Cute, right?”

“It’s very Paul MacIsaac, that’s for sure. Can you imagine doing nothing for three hours except looking for birds? Not sure I could sit still long enough.”

“I think you could,” Austin said lazily, a thick drawl to his voice that made Cal’s dick twitch. “If you had the right partner to do it with.”

His gaze landed on Cal’s, steady and weighty. There was a hidden message behind his words, and behind those aquamarine eyes, that Cal couldn’t decipher.

Was Austin saying that he wanted to be the right partner for Cal?

But that couldn’t be right.

Sitting up straight, Austin scooted closer to Cal, a fire lighting his eyes that Cal had never seen before. “Cal, I?—”

Another squeak as the kitchen door opened yet again. Paul poked his head out. “You boys coming? I’ve got lunch ready. Even found some bread to soak up the sauce.”

“Yeah,” Austin said. He stood, his smile flat and resigned. “We’re coming in.”

“Hey.” Cal stopped him with a hand on his arm. The muscle flexed beneath his palm, and Cal tightened his grip. “What were you going to say?”

For reasons Cal couldn’t name, he needed to know what Austin had been about to say.

But Austin looked from him to the kitchen door and shook his head. “It’ll keep.” He gently slid his arm out of Cal’s grip, and before disappointment could settle in too deeply, Austin slid their palms together and held tight. “Come on. Let’s eat.” And he led the way inside, Cal’s hand in his.

Chapter Six

Cal lived in a three-bedroom, one-story house with the tiniest kitchen known to man and low ceilings that made him feel like a giant at six foot two. But he was home so infrequently that the space he slept in was almost inconsequential. It was his, and that was all that mattered. What did he care that the area between counters in the narrow kitchen was so small that he could barely fit inside if he stood sideways? Or that the front room didn’t get enough light? Or that the bathroom was painted an interesting shade of turquoise best saved for tourist sea vessels?

He didn’t.

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