Page 11 of Bear the Burden

Had it suddenly grown hot in the kitchen? Shit! Wesley quickly averted his gaze, his face catching fire when he noticed Hyett grinning knowingly at him.

Busted.

“You’re going to tell him why you scarfed down his food,” Killian said as he and another guy strode through the back door, carrying at least half a dozen large pizza boxes and four plastic bags with the Papa’s Pizza Nest logo on the front of them.

The other guy looked like the rest of Hyett’s family, which meant he was related in some way. Probably their brother.

“You could have bought him some more while we were there,” the brother replied.

The two stopped when they noticed Wesley. Then the other guy turned to Hyett. “Dude, I might have eaten your order from earlier, but dickhead said he wasn’t replacing it since you abandoned him like a litter of kittens on some fire station steps.”

“You ate it, so why should I be the one who pays to replace his food?” Killian argued, but Wesley noticed how the other guy was curiously staring at him.

“Because you insulted my mate,” Hyett growled. “Consider yourself lucky I didn’t run your hairy ass over instead of just leaving you in town, jackass.”

Mate? Wesley wasn’t sure if Hyett was referring to a friend or a lover. If it was the latter, why had the guy flirted with him and massaged his leg?

Wesley wasn’t a poacher. If Hyett was taken, his partner needed to know what a lowlife the man was. And why did the thought of Hyett with someone else make his chest ache?

As Hyett and Killian argued, the other guy drew closer and grinned. “I’m Ryker, the eldest brother of Jackass One and Jackass Two.”

“Hi, I’m Wesley.” He furrowed his brows as he watched Killian and Hyett snarl at one another like they were about to exchange blows. Their faces were so close they were breathing each other’s air. “Are they about to fight?”

He hoped not. One, Wesley didn’t like violence, especially among family members. Two, their sheer sizes would demolish their beautiful kitchen.

“If they do, Killian deserves an ass-kicking for insulting you.” Ryker stood there grinning at his siblings, as if he honestly hoped it would come down to that.

Wait. Hyett was referring to Wesley as his mate? The guy had to have been calling him a friend. “What insult?”

Hyett snarled at Ryker. Damn if that deep, rumbling sound didn’t remind Wesley of an animal.

“All I said was that you were acting like a meanie,” Killian said to Wesley. “How is the truth an insult?”

“One more word,” Hyett warned in a low, threatening tone.

Wesley blinked at the two of them. “I was being an asshole. Not that it’s any excuse, but I was in a lot of pain and took it out on Hyett, which I’m truly sorry for.”

“See.” Killian jerked his hand toward Wesley. “Even he admits it. And I said it before I found out he was your mate.”

“Dude! You said it five seconds after I told you he was my mate, you goddamn liar,” Hyett shot back.

Okay, now Wesley was certain it meant something other than friend. They were putting too much emphasis on it.

“What’s a mate?” he asked Ryker.

The room fell silent, and although Hyett and Killian were still glaring at each other, no one answered him.

Snatching the pizza boxes from Killian, Ryker took them to the counter, where Quinton had started grabbing plates from one of the cupboards. Killian set the bags on the large table then grabbed some drinking glasses.

Nope, that wasn’t suspicious at all.

Wesley glanced at Hyett. “Are you going to tell me or pretend you’re suddenly too busy like your family is currently doing?”

One of the three stifled a laugh.

“Hang on, hon.” Hyett grabbed a mega-sized plastic container and piled food inside of it. Then he tucked a stack of napkins under his arm before heading back to Wesley. “I had to rescue our food from those hungry bears.”

Wesley wasn’t an idiot. It was obvious Hyett and his family were hiding something. “Well?”

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