Cowboy Logic - B.A. Tortuga Page 0,33
had been had, Mason was asleep, and Amanda was nodding off. “We need to get on.” Bailey smiled at Dougie. “I’ll bring you a change of clothes when I come get you, huh?”
“Ellie, you need to go grab a bag of stuff. Toothbrush and toothpaste and a brush, please. And clean clothes. All of them. I have extras,” he told Bailey. “And some old jammies of Travis’s.”
“If anyone forgets anything, I can run it back and forth,” Anderson murmured. “I’ll be there in a few hours, huh?”
Bailey nodded, whispering. “I bet Doug comes home. He’s still so little.”
“I’m easy.” He kept it down too, because Dougie looked so excited. If he had to, once Anderson left, he would sleep on the couch and have a slumber party with the boys.
“It’s not like we don’t know where we live, buddy.” Bailey winked at him. “Supper was amazing. Thank you.”
“No problem. Thanks for the tea and dessert.” It had been a hoot having them all there.
“Ready!” Ellie trotted down the stairs with her Moana backpack, beaming.
“I’ll get everyone in the car, Momma.” Darcy was such a little helper, ushering everyone but baby Mason outside, the dogs wagging and following.
“You want to come to my room and play video games, Doug?” Trav offered.
It would be way sweeter if he didn’t know that Travis was avoiding cleanup.
“Yes, please!” Dougie hopped up, and the boys disappeared like smoke, feet pounding on the floor.
“Night, y’all.” He waved off the ladies, and when the dust settled, it was him and Anderson, staring at each other.
“Come on, I’ll help you with the dishes.” Anderson grabbed a stack of plates.
“Thanks. I cleared out the dishwasher, so all I have to do by hand is the big stuff.” That was also why he’d done so much ahead. Stuff things in the wash and be finished. Just in case.
“Excellent. I’m all over that.” Anderson chuckled at him. “The pork honestly was amazing. You did a great job.”
“I was real pleased. Even the kids ate well.” They both went for the sink, bumping hard. “Oops.”
“I’ll rinse, you load.” Anderson’s eyes were bright green, so clear. Not emerald. More like spring green.
“I can do that.” His breath caught at how amazing Anderson was up close, but delaying cleanup could be a disaster in a house as busy as his.
“Cool.” Anderson brushed a kiss against his cheek, the caress sweet and somehow blistering.
A soft moan escaped him, and he touched the spot right above Anderson’s belt, slipping in a caress before moving to the dishwasher.
Anderson sang as he washed the dishes—random bits of songs Jericho knew, some he didn’t, but it was adorable. Sometimes he even hummed along, but since he wasn’t a singer, he kept his lips closed.
“Do you have a speaker? Something we can play music on?”
“Yeah. It’s in on the screened-in part of the deck. Be right back.” He loved music to clean to. They had a lot in common, oddly.
Or maybe not. The biggest difference so far was that Anderson was smarter than him—smart enough to get out of East Texas, smart enough to make a career. Jericho was just a hayseed. A shitkicker, even if he wasn’t as bad as Quint Bellamy.
“Hey, sorry about Quint. Trav’s science teacher was saying he was bragging to his friends about you and they were accusing him of lying.”
“I get it. I told him telling the truth trumps my need for anonymity. After all, if I didn’t want anyone to know, I shouldn’t have told anyone.” Anderson shrugged. “Not really a secret I could keep, truth be told.”
“I appreciate it. I can tell he felt bad.”
“Yeah. I’m going to read Bailey the riot act when I get home.”
“You are?” He blinked.
“Yeah, I mean, she was trying to start shit without thinking. And it’s not like I’m some sort of asshole who’s going to ruin your life.”
“No. No, of course not.” Shit, he didn’t want to cause problems between Anderson and his sister. He tapped his hands on his legs, worried.
“Shh. We go through this, all the time, huh? It’s one thing to have the big gay hanging out on the West Coast. It’s a little different to have it on the ranch.”
“Right. I mean, no. It sucks.” He chuckled. “Sorry. Anyway, I guess you’re out all over again.”
“I’m good with it.” Anderson kept washing. “And I’ve never outed anyone in my entire life.”
“No, no, I know.” Jericho blew a line of frustrated air. “I’m just scared of what my kids would go through