Page 31 of The Long Game

“Can I ask another question?” Barnaby said hesitantly.

“Sure,” Grady said, hoping it was about his family and not the whole hand-holding thing. He didn’t have any answers about that. Generally he had a policy against talking about his family and what they’d done to him, one he’d adopted after over-sharing with his college boyfriend, Trent. He’d loved the man so much he’d come out to his family, hoping they’d love and accept them both. He’d been an idiot, and Trent hadn’t been able to stick around past six months of the fallout. Grady couldn’t even blame him.

“Where did you grow up?” Barnaby asked.

“Not far from Calgary, in a little town where a lot of us were related in one way or another and the whole community revolved around the one fundamentalist Christian church. I’m sure you can guess their objections to what they considered mylifestyle choices.”

Even his one-handed finger quotes at the end were bitter.

Travis looked sympathetic. Barnaby looked angry, which Grady appreciated but knew was useless. Getting worked up about it was like howling at the moon. It might make him feel better for a little while, but it wouldn’t change shit.

“So Colton didn’t know you were here,” Barnaby said.

“Colton didn’t know I wasalive.He was as shocked to see me as I was to see him. Practically sent him running from the arena.”

“Actually,” Jack said slowly, like he was turning it over in his mind, “it was more than that.”

“What do you mean?” Grady asked.

Jack grimaced. “He was terrified. I could be wrong, but I think it was because he thought you were his brother coming to get him.”

They all considered that for a few seconds.

“So Colton thinks your family is searching for him,” Travis concluded.

Grady frowned. “Maybe. He told us he left home two years ago.”

“And he definitely doesn’t want to be found,” Jack added.

Grady’s stomach dropped. “Oh fuck.” He jumped to his feet. He was such a fucking idiot.

Jack stood, too. “What? What is it?”

“I have to get to Pathways before he takes off.”

Jack put his hand on Grady’s arm. “It’s okay. He’s still there.”

“How do you know?” Grady asked, heart racing.

“I checked in with Gabriel a little while ago and he volunteered that Colton was helping to make dinner. I don’t think he can say much more than that, but he said I could call tomorrow, too.”

Legs weak with relief, Grady collapsed back onto the couch and Jack immediately sat next to him again. Grady put a hand on Jack’s knee, pressing his palm to the worn denim, and took a deep breath when Jack’s hand curled over his and held on.

The hand-holding wasdefinitelybecoming a thing.

Grady would worry about that later.

Barnaby raised his hand again and waited for Grady to nod. “So, some part of your family may be searching for Colton. Do they know whereyouare?”

“They do if they want to. Last I knew, my older brother, father, and an uncle were all RCMP. I’m sure a bunch of my cousins are on the force now, too. And probably my younger brother, for that matter.” Grady smiled grimly. “I guess you can say it’s something of a family vocation.”

“I’m surprised you decided to follow in their footsteps,” Travis said.

Grady shrugged. “I was almost done with my degree when they cut me off. I finished my last year in school and walked through the first few years afterward on autopilot.” He didn’t tell them how he’d dreamed of being on the force his entire life, or how he’d idolized his older brother to the point of worship. Without that autopilot, he wasn’t sure any of that would have mattered anymore.

It certainly shouldn’t have.

At least he could say he had no regrets. Plenty of people left the RCMP long before the decade mark, but Grady had hit a dozen years and still loved it.

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