Page 64 of The Long Game

Grady paced his apartment,restless and annoyed at himself for not being able to settle. It had been a long, draining day but he wasn’t going to be able to relax until Jack was back. He filled the time by making a list of questions to ask the lawyers and another list of what they’d likely need to know, including his work schedule for the next couple of weeks so they could arrange any in-person meetings. He also dropped a line to the company that owned the building. The first-floor apartment had been vacant and intermittently under construction for most of the last year,but he was pretty sure it was a larger unit. It was a long shot, but he liked the idea of staying in the old Victorian, close to town and his job and, for Colton, the Dipsy Doodle Dangle. Having Travis and Barnaby right upstairs didn’t hurt either.

The busy work helped him pretend he had a measure of control over the shitstorm to come and not think about the fact that pursuing custody of Colton meant some form of contact with his family, even if only through lawyers and the courts. He’d enjoyed living under the belief that they had no idea where he was and didn’t care to learn.

A thump through the ceiling made him pause on his thousandth loop around the apartment, then he was out the door and charging upstairs.

He pounded on Barnaby and Travis’s door. “Hey, guys! Got a second?”

Travis opened the door and arched an eyebrow at Grady. “You okay there, bud?”

“Sure,” Grady said, realizing too late that maybe he should have glanced in the mirror before leaving his place. He’d been running his hands through his hair nonstop for an hour and he felt slightly unhinged. Based on Travis’s expression, he looked it, too. “Can I come in?”

Travis stepped aside and Grady entered the apartment, pausing to kick off his shoes, and only then realizing he’d failed to put them on.

God, he was all over the place. The day had been…a lot. Theweekhad been a lot.

Travis settled on the couch next to Barnaby, who had his laptop balanced on his legs and a raft of papers by his hip.

“Hi, Grady. How are you?” Barnaby asked with a smile.

Rather than sit in the overstuffed chair across from them, as any sensible person would do, Grady hovered, indecisive.

Why was he even up here?

Barnaby’s welcoming smile faded to a look of concern. Travis studied Grady curiously.

“I need to talk about feelings,” Grady blurted out.

Travis grimaced.

Barnaby sat up so fast he bobbled his laptop, barely dumping it onto the coffee table before it could hit the floor.

Grady understood both of these reactions to be signs of their unwavering support.

“You can tell us anything,” Barnaby assured him, a tad too enthusiastically. He, of course, had been trying to matchmake for months, though he’d managed to be subtle about it. Mostly.

“I have them,” Grady said.

Barnaby cocked his head. “You have…what, exactly?”

“Feelings.”

Grady grimaced.

Travis grimaced.

Barnaby frowned at Travis. “Why are you making that face?”

“Becausefeelings,” Travis explained.

“You have feelings all the time,” Barnaby pointed out. “And you tell me your feelings quite frequently.”

“That’s different.”

“How so?” Barnaby asked.

“We’re naked together.”

Grady nodded. Because Travis got it. That was a big difference.

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