Thebarwasempty,fifteen minutes to closing time. But Diego raised his hand and waved at the bartender. “One more round, Gene? We’ll be quick,” he said to the large bald man and pointed at the table where he sat with Nolan, Noah, and Chance; the men he’d spent the most time with during his formative twenties, the men who’d helped him become the man he was today.
Gene nodded with a sad smile, as if he knew this was a special night. End of an era, that’s how Brewsters marketed the show: Steel Horse’s last performance in Houston before heading to Nashville. “No problem, D. I’m gonna miss you guys,” he said as he slid two bottles of Lone Star, a White Claw raspberry hard seltzer, and an orange soda onto the bar.
Nolan snorted as he picked up the drinks and carried them to the table. “It’s not like the rest of us won’t be stopping by to see a show and meet up. Not all of us are abandoning you for the wilds of central Texas.” But the smile on Nolan’s face as he handed Diego his soda spoke volumes. His friends were happy for him—this Diego knew without a shadow of doubt.
It didn’t stop the butterflies in his stomach every time he thought about his future in Cielo Springs with Brody and the boys in Brody’s home—no, his home now, too.
Wow, that was still strange to think about.
“Anyway,” Diego said, continuing his story from earlier, “Audra, who trains the dogs, just found out that she’s pregnant. She’s going to show me the ropes so that she can take as much time off as she needs when the baby comes. There are a couple certifications and training that I’ll need to do, but—” Diego shrugged, and took a sip from his soft drink, “I think I’ll do a good job.”
“You’ll do a great job. You’ve always had an expert touch with the puppers that we fostered.” Nolan patted him on the back.
Chance took a sip of his beer and laughed. “So, what’s it like, jumping in and becoming a parent? Got any good stories for us yet?”
Diego snorted. “I’m getting a crash course in Parenting 101, that’s for sure. Most of it’s been good so far. There’s been a couple times that I’ve had to make a decision that they didn’t like, but the kids understand that Uncle Diego just wants to keep them safe.”
Noah snorted. “Uncle Diego, that’s great. Gotta admit, I never pegged you for the Daddy type, either the gay way or the actual way. Never thought you’d be the first of us to have kids.” He got quiet and ran his thumb over the lip of his bottle. “Levi talks about it sometimes. Having kids, I mean. He knows we’re not ready but—” He shrugged his shoulders slowly and smiled. “I think it’ll happen one of these days.”
“Fuck.” Nolan’s gray eyes widened in shock. “I mean, that’s great. Oh, that means I get to be Uncle Nolan. Ahh, I’ll be an amazing Uncle Nolan, you all know this. I’ll get the rugrats all those toys and games that you guys won’t buy them, and then take them to the amusement parks and get them all full of candy and shit and drop them off at your house tired and cranky.”
“No, you won’t, but thanks for the support.” Noah rolled his eyes at Nolan’s words, then paused. “One other thing I wasn’t gonna mention tonight, since this is Diego’s big fiesta, but…” He took a deep breath. “Levi and I might be making the move to Dallas permanent.”
Diego glanced at Nolan first, who couldn’t hide the shocked look on his face. He knew his best friend’s connection to his twin had its ups and downs, but they had always been close. “That sounds great, Noah.” Diego raised his bottle of soda. “Congrats.”
Noah had seen the look on Nolan’s face as well and flushed as he accepted Diego’s toast. ”It’s not a hundred percent yet, but his family’s business is taking off up there, and there are several universities where I could find a teaching position. Don’t look at me like that, Nolan,” Noah said to his brother, still shell-shocked by the news that his twin might be moving. “You started all of this when you found yourself a serious relationship and moved in together like a proper grown-up.”
“That’s not quite the same.” Nolan’s voice dropped low as he leaned over to hug his brother. “I’m okay. This’ll just take some time to get used to not having you around whenever I need you. And I’ll be up there visiting all the time, just so you know. It’s not that far of a drive, I guess.”
“Nolan, how’s the new house?” Chance leaned back in his chair. “Last time I saw you, you guys were getting ready to paint some walls.”
Nolan grinned wickedly. “We did. At least, we started, and then Harry remembered that he’s rich and doesn’t like to paint, so we hired some people to finish it for us. Nary a white wall in the whole place.” Nolan’s eyes darkened. “By the way, Chance, I’m sorry to hear about your grandma. I know you two were close.”
Chance took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Thanks guys.” They all nodded at him, Diego’s hand resting on Chance’s arm. “She was a special woman, and I know she loved me a lot.”
“You were her favorite grandchild, so I guess you’re a gazillionaire now.” Nolan reached out to ruffle the back of Chance’s hair.
Chance pushed Nolan’s hand off playfully. “Not quite. But besides all that—I think the expectation is that I’ll take a larger role in the family’s charitable foundation. But I love my job, working at the vet clinic, so figuring out a balance is going to be tricky these next few years. We’ll see, I guess.”
Noah raised his beer bottle. “If anyone can do it, it’ll be you. Or just give all your money to the End of the Rainbow Rescues and let Jessica figure out what to do with it.”
Chance laughed. “That’s an idea. But speaking of moving, let me know who your realtor is and if you like them.” Chance blinked as every eye on the table shifted to him again. “Not for me, not really. I’m not moving, at least not yet. But Luke and his sister are talking about selling their house. I don’t know if it’ll happen. I’ve just about talked Luke into moving in with me.” His cheeks flushed a rosy pink. “Jess wants to keep the house for her rescue work, but Luke doesn’t like the idea of her living there with all those animals by herself.”
That caught Diego’s attention. “Tell her to talk to Ash if she needs a roommate. He’s gonna stay in our apartment until the lease is up. I don’t know about after that, but he’s a good roommate. Only thing is that he’s a cat person and I know Jess likes dogs.”
“That doesn’t matter. Look at all of us.” Nolan pointed at the table. “We all found someone to love who’s practically the opposite of us.” He touched his chest. “A young ingenue in the springtime of her life who found an older dashing gentleman who swept her off her feet.” He pointed at his brother. “Noah and Levi are the definition of grumpy loner and loving family man.”
Noah’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t—”
“Yes, you are. I’ve deemed it so.” Nolan paused, staring at Chance as if stumped. After a moment, he said, “Well, you’re stupidly rich and Luke isn’t.”
“That one’s a bit of a stretch as far as opposites attract.” Chance snickered and took a drink from his beer.
Nolan tilted his head. “Maybe. I’ll circle back later if I come up with a better contrast. But then we have Diego here, our tattooed musician who fell in love with a cowboy soldier.”
Diego shook his head with a laugh. “Technically, I fell in love with him in high school, before all that happened.”
Nolan waved his arms dramatically. “Details. I stand by my point. Cats and dogs, it doesn’t matter. You find your person and you hold on as tight as you can.” They all looked at each other and raised their glasses once more, in a silent toast to their loved ones at home, waiting for them.
