Page 16 of Something Unavoidable

All three dogs wore bright-orange harnesses and had trackers in their collars. Keegan’s land wasn’t large as far as mountain properties went, only twenty acres, and it was surrounded on three sides by the national park. This time of year, it was deserted, apart from a few more determined hikers. Hunting wasn’t allowed at any time in the park, but Keegan knew three big animals bounding out of the woods could be frightening, and he didn’t want anyone to get hurt.

Two days of hiking in winter solitude and a peaceful evening in his cabin with a crackling fire and a good book recharged Keegan. He would have liked to stay longer, but he had another full week coming up, and he wanted to check on the rescues before he headed home. Besides, Micah would fuss at him if he missed Sunday dinner at the ranch.

Hopefully, Izzy would be back to his normal, bratty self. Keegan preferred their sniping to the tension-filled silent treatment from Saturday morning.

Mass destruction would have ensued if he left Chance in the car long enough to eat dinner, so he drove home first to drop off the dogs, then swung by the store for the local beer he and Ryan enjoyed.

Sunday dinner was more crowded in the winter months. It was the only part of the year where they were forced inside. Even in the fall and early spring, they took advantage of the beautiful outdoor space and view of the mountains. A few strategically placed heat lamps keep things comfortable all the way intoOctober. Snow, however, meant gathering at the long table off the kitchen.

Things had gotten tighter with the addition of Finn and Xavier, bringing the total to ten—sometimes eleven when Micah’s dad joined them, twelve with Finn’s grandfather. Ryan joked about building a bigger table if anyone else brought home a significant other.

The detour home meant Keegan was the last to arrive at the ranch. Inside, he greeted everyone before claiming the open seat at the table. Usually he sat at one end, with Maggie at the head of the table, Alice next to him, and Finn and Xavier across from him. But tonight, Alice had taken his usual seat, and Archer had taken Izzy’s, leaving Izzy and Keegan trapped between them. Keegan narrowed his eyes. It wasn’t unheard of for the twins to split up, but this seemed a little too convenient. So did Alice’s overly normal greeting. She didn’t have a subtle bone in her body, and the fact that she didn’t overexplain the new seating arrangement was a dead giveaway that someone—either her brother or Micah—had coached her.

Keegan let it go. He wasn’t the one who had a problem. Izzy could deal with them being too close for comfort for an hour or so. Though Keegan did question what the twins were thinking. Had Izzy told his friends what happened the other night? Or was this just an inconveniently timed attempt at forced proximity?

The space was tight, and the passing of plates made it even tighter. Keegan was hyperaware of Izzy next to him, close enough to feel his body heat but with an invisible, impenetrable boundary between them. The one time their arms brushed, Izzy startled so hard he nearly dropped the potatoes. Keegan had to steady them as the spoon rattled.

Izzy didn’t acknowledge the help, his eyes trained on the food, but Keegan caught the shiver that went through him. He triednot to wonder. For all that Izzy proclaimed his hatred, he’d been doing a piss-poor job of showing it.

Finally, everyone was served. Keegan took a bite of Maggie’s famous pot roast and made an appreciative sound as the slow-cooked beef melted in his mouth, the flavors exploding across his tongue. Damn, that was good. Better than any restaurant, that was for sure.

The conversation flowed. Everyone at the table was family. Finn was the newest addition, but the shy young man fit right in. “Have you given any more thought to your idea?” Keegan asked Finn during a lull. They’d spoken on New Year’s. Finn was trying to decide what he wanted to do with his life. Getting together with Xavier had allowed for opportunities that he hadn’t had while working in his grandfather’s general store. Xavier had suggested volunteering with the rescue, but Finn had something bigger in mind. He wanted to help animals find their forever families and then make sure the animals got to their new homes—which were often in other parts of the country—safely.

Finn started twisting his napkin between his fingers at Keegan’s question. Without pausing his conversation, Xavier palmed the back of Finn’s neck and began rubbing small circles with his thumb. Finn’s tension melted away, even as his cheeks went pink. “Um…” he said, then paused to lick his lips. “Xavi thinks it’s a great idea. He’s going to lend his jet and help introduce me to other people who might help.” Finn had stars in his eyes as he smiled at his boyfriend and got an absent kiss to the temple in response.

They were sweet.

For the last year or two, various people had made attempts at setting Keegan up with Finn—notably Micah and Finn’s grandfather, Mac. It had been a bit of a relief when Xavier had come into the picture. Finn was a great kid, but Keegan would never be able to see him as more than shy little Corey Finnegan,Mac Finnegan’s grandson. He’d been a preteen when Keegan met him, and though he’d matured into an attractive young man, Keegan still saw the little boy. It was partly due to Finn’s demeanor—he was just so damn sweet and innocent. Keegan was much too prickly for someone who wore their heart on their sleeve like Finn did.

If Keegan somehow ended up with a partner, it would have to be someone able to push back when Keegan got in one of his “hate the world” moods. Someone who wouldn’t wilt if Keegan said the wrong thing at the wrong time. Someone who didn’t mind that Keegan could be pushy and intense in order to get what he wanted.

And as much as Izzy’s proximity to Keegan at the table was magnetic, he refused to admit that Isaac King, of all people, checked a few of those boxes. Izzy was a hot mess, and Keegan didn’t need that kind of complication in his life.

Objectively, though, it was interesting to note that he’d also met Izzy as a teenager. He’d been around thirteen when Keegan had come to Split Rock for a vet school internship and realized he didn’t want to leave. Keegan didn’t see that boy when he looked at the man. Maybe because Izzy had left during high school to live closer to his trainer and returned years later as an adult. When he turned up working at the ranch, nothing about him reminded Keegan of the boy he’d been. At the moment, he was grateful for that, considering he’d had his cock in Izzy’s mouth two nights ago.

“Do you think he’ll get nominated?” Nick was asking. “It was a strong performance.”

“It’s likely,” Xavier replied. “And as much as he’d rather the movie succeeded on its own merits, the scandal only endeared him to the public.”

“It has to suck for your work to get overshadowed like that,” Micah said. “He’s an amazing actor, and he seems like agood guy too.” He nudged Nick playfully. “Hey, maybe you can introduce us next time we’re in New York?” He waggled his eyebrows, getting an amused smirk from Nick.

They had to be talking about Remy Dalton. The famous actor was one of Xavier’s clients—which meant Nick also knew him since he had been married to Xavier once upon a time. Remy had been outed by an ex-boyfriend a few months ago, and even Keegan, who didn’t pay attention to things like celebrity gossip, had heard about it.

Next to him, Izzy’s knee was bouncing. Keegan could feel the vibration through the floorboards. Without much thought, he reached under the table and gave it a squeeze.

Izzy jumped. His fork, which had been mangling a chunk of potato, clattered to the plate. The noise caught a few people’s attention, but Izzy tossed out a sarcastic quip, and they went back to their conversations.

Keegan didn’t. Izzy seemed rooted by the touch. His body was strung tight and his chest rose and fell quickly, but he didn’t pull away. After a minute, he let out a long, slow breath and resumed eating, shooting an occasional, confused side-eye in Keegan’s direction.

Keegan didn’t know why he’d done it, or what his plan was now, but he didn’t remove his hand.

Izzy stared at hisplate, unseeing, his entire focus on the contact between them. He couldn’t remember what he’d been doing or thinking thirty seconds ago. Eating, maybe? He swallowed hard. What the fuck?

What was Keegandoing?

It was bad enough that his friends decided tonight was the night to change up the seating arrangements, forcing Keegan and Izzy to sit next to each other. The table had never felt so small—even when there was twelve of them. Every shift of Keegan’s body brought him dangerously close to Izzy’s personal space bubble. Izzy would have been hanging off the far side of his chair, except Archer was on that side, and he’d given Izzy an unimpressed eyebrow when he’d tried it. Instead, he was trapped, Keegan’s sleeve cutting through the air and coming within centimeters of him, lifting the hair on Izzy’s arms, making his skin crawl.

This was Micah’s fault. He was the only one who kept pushing Izzy to get along with Keegan. He’d even made that joke about locking them in a room together until they worked their shit out.But Micah didn’t know what had happened the last time they’d been alone in a room together. Izzy had lost his composure, all of his restraint, and his goddamn mind. He was desperately trying not to think about that night. Nothing good would come from dwelling on it. It wasn’t ever going to happen again. It shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

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