Page 25 of Something Unavoidable

She’d grown up. It had been six years, so of course she had. She was twenty-five now, married—which he knew because his parents had tried to forward him the wedding invitation—and expecting her first child, which he’d just learned from her post. A little girl.

She was letting the USEO save face by claiming the baby was her reason for finally coming forward. That she wanted to bring attention to abuse in sports in hopes of making the world a better place for her child. But Izzy was sure stopping them from putting Josh in the eventing hall of fame was at least part of it.

She’d left Izzy’s name out of the message, though she’d mentioned Josh’s other students supporting her at the time.

Izzy wanted to smash his phone to pieces so he didn’t have to read any more. Had he? Had he really supported her? Had he done enough? He’d abandoned them all in the end. Running, like he always did. As well as a guy with a shattered leg and a rod in his femur could run.

He’d laughed at the hospitalist who suggested therapy. Moving on was the best therapy he could think of. Why should he spend hours a week dredging up and reliving the past? Josh was dead. Izzy never had to think about him or his lies again.

He’d spent a week in the hospital and months in rehab after the accident. He wouldn’t have made it through without Micah. Micah had saved him. At least, he’d saved Izzy’s ability to walk normally…or possibly bullied him into saving himself—it was unclear. Izzy had tried to quit. He didn’t care if his leg wasn’t one hundred percent. He wasn’t going to ride again anyway. He’d wanted to put everything behind him.

But Micah had made him keep going, promising him a job at Split Rock Ranch if he stuck it out until Micah finished college and they could move home. Izzy had never understood Micah’s commitment to someone he barely knew.

Micah had seen the video of his accident and showed up at the hospital to check on him. When he found out that Izzy had kicked everyone out, including his parents, Micah had stayed.

Izzy still wasn’t sure why he’d let him. At the time, they’d been no more than two guys who were from the same small town and had some common interests. Namely, horses and hot oldermen. They’d gone to the same primary and secondary schools, but they were in different grades and only knew each other in passing. Izzy had been caught up in his career, while Micah had been caught up in Ryan Astor.

Micah had married his obsession, while Izzy had destroyed his.

Fuck. He needed to get out of his head.

It was still too early to get drunk. Well, day-drunk was a thing, but he didn’t like to drink alone, and he couldn’t think of anyone willing to get day-drunk with him without asking a ton of questions.

Sex was his backup plan and was equally problematic. He didn’t have a regular fuck buddy he could call up—Braxton might say yes, but he had work, and fucking a hot mess into the mattress wasn’t the kind of thing you could put on a time-off request. The apps were out too. With the black hole in Izzy’s brain, he didn’t trust a stranger.

Eventually, he grabbed an overnight bag, so he’d have a change of clothes later, and tossed it in his car. It had been a while since he’d driven anywhere, so the poor thing wheezed painfully before it started. If it weren’t for emergencies like this, he would just get rid of it. He only ever left the ranch to go to the bar or the grocery store, and it was easy to get a ride to the bar and call Archer the next day to pick him up. Maggie would drive him to the store if he asked.

Eli was dressed in a ratty hoodie and jeans, his fingertips black from metalwork when he opened his studio door. He had dark circles like he’d been up all night, so Izzy assumed he was working on a deadline. If he was surprised at Izzy showing up in the middle of the day, he didn’t mention it. His jewelry-making space was above the gallery where he worked as a part-time manager. It had been his studio apartment too, but that had only lasted a few months until he’d moved in with Hunter, his Daddy.

Izzy had no interest in that kind of relationship, despite three of his friends—or maybe he should call Finn and Ev Micah’s friends—having hooked up with Daddy-type men. He could see the appeal, but he knew he’d bristle and fight the controlling aspect. He might enjoy being held down for a hard fuck from a toppy guy—and he fuckinglovedspanking—but the bedroom door was where he drew the line.

Izzy’s life and the way he ran it were no one else’s business. Especially not a Daddy Dom who thought he knew what was best.

Eli didn’t ask questions after Izzy gave him some story about a surprise day off and being bored. He was powering through a massive pile of restock orders and not in any position to turn down free labor. He put Izzy to work, polishing finished jewelry, then boxing things up for shipping. The jewelry was gorgeous and polishing was satisfying, but Izzy especially liked boxing orders. It made him concentrate since the last thing he wanted to do was fuck up his buddy’s business by sending something to the wrong customer. The polishing was meditative and gave him too much time to think.

Hunter showed up around lunchtime and did a double take at Izzy, but Eli gave him a look and Hunter kept his mouth shut. Izzy could have kissed him for that. Luckily for all of them, Hunter did the kissing.

It got a little heated.

“If you want a lunchtime quickie, I can wait in the bathroom,” Izzy offered helpfully. Then added, “Or watch, if that’s your thing.”

Eli blushed like crazy and called him an asshole. Hunter grinned and didn’t look opposed but sadly turned him down. Instead, he took them both back to the Lookout for lunch. Izzy didn’t even care if he was a third wheel. Hunter was a good cook, and he would never turn down free food—or booze.

After they ate, Hunter sent his boy upstairs for a nap. By then, other regulars were showing up, so Izzy stayed in the bar, throwing himself at anything that could be considered a distraction.

The pool table was covered for protection in the evenings, but it was popular with the afternoon crowd. Izzy drank and played until his thigh started to ache from the repetitive bending and stretching. By then, no one would let him at the dartboard, so he started trolling the room for a hookup. He was past tipsy and feeling fantastic when he spotted a possibility. The guy was good-looking and alone, sipping a beer at the bar. Izzy hadn’t noticed him before, so he couldn’t have been there long. Izzy slid up next to him, waved down Damion for another drink, and then shot the guy a “Can I suck your cock?” look.

The guy smiled and Izzy moved closer.

“Hey,” Izzy purred.

“Hi, Izzy,” the guy replied.

Izzy frowned. Did he know him? He squinted, trying to clear his blurry vision. Then he got distracted by the glass set in front of him. Water. Ew.

“Hunter says you need a break,” Damion told him.

Izzy made a face. “Tell Daddy-Hunter to go to hell.” He turned back to the stranger. “Buy me a drink? Hunter doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” He paused. “Also, he’s not my Daddy. He’saDaddy, but he’s Eli’s Daddy, not mine. I’m not into that shit.”

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