He grinned. “My favorite.”
“I know, my boy.”
She gave him one last hug, and they parted ways. Gus walked back to the diner and picked up lunch, his mind a whirl of thoughts. By the time he got back to the lake, it was after one o’clock.
“You okay?” Walker asked, grabbing a burger from the box.
“Don’t know.”
His buddy gave him some serious side-eye. “That sounds ominous.”
His appetite all but gone, Gus stared at his friend. “Do you think this whole thing is batshit crazy?”
Walker took his time chewing and then swallowed. He grabbed a soda and, after a good long drink, turned to Gus.
“I think you needed to be here, so you came. I think your mission isn’t finished yet. I think you’ve been in a holding pattern since I got here and nothing’s changed.” Walker looked as serious as he’d ever looked. “You’re a SEAL. Holding patterns don’t mix with how our brains work. You’ve got to figure out what your end game is and then finish it. I’m fine staying for as long as you need me, but we both have lives to get back to.” Walker shrugged. “Maybe it’s time.”
Gus watched his buddy walk back to the rest of the crew, pissed at himself for feeling so fucking confused. Walker was right. He’d avoided confronting father for weeks. Maybe it was time to come clean. To move on. Go back to the life he’d built and forget about Fire Lake.
The notion should have been an easy one, and yet . . .
What about Faith?
Chapter Eighteen
She felt him before she saw him and turned with a smile. One look and the familiar slow burn began in the pit of her stomach. Breathless, Faith waited as Gus walked toward her, aware that every single female head was turned his way.
And he’s all mine.
“You’re late,” she said, touching his arm because she needed to. He’d come from the cottages, so he was wearing his work boots, and his clothes were spotted and dirty. He had a smear of something black on his right cheek. She touched it and grinned.
“You need a cleanup.”
“I need something.” His voice was low — only for her ears — and that slow burn in her stomach erupted in the kind of heat that made it hard to work. Luckily, she’d just clocked out.
“I’m done early. Cassidy is working a working a double instead of me. She wanted the extra cash. We can order wings and watch the game.” She glanced over his shoulder and frowned. “Where’s Walker?”
“He and the guys are coming later. They were close to finishing up the last roof and wanted to keep at it.” He shuffled his feet a bit. “Do you mind if we head back? I thought I’d grab some steaks and throw them on the barbecue.”
“That sounds great. I’d much rather have you all to myself anyway.” Faith stepped away. “I just need to cash out.”
He nodded and took off his ball cap, then ran his hands through his hair. A simple gesture, but already Faith was thinking ahead to later when she’d have him in her bed and could run her hands through his hair, touch his face, and take him deep inside her.
“Jesus,” she whispered. The slow burn that had settled between her legs was going to make it hard as hell to keepa straight face in Sam’s office. Then there was the ride home. Unless . . .
She grinned.
Unless she ordered him to pull over, and they got down to business on the side of the road.
She couldn’t shake the silly grin from her face, though it dimmed a bit when she walked back outside and spied Gus leaning against the bar. His head was tilted up as if he were watching the game, but she could tell that he was a million miles away. He looked . . . different. Tense maybe.
“Hey,” she said softly as she approached him. “Everything all right?”
Gus looked at her for a few moments and then dipped his head. “It is now.” He dropped a soft kiss to her mouth. “You ready?”
The two of them left The Dock, and she got into his truck while he put her bicycle into the back. The ride home was different. The vibe was different. And for the first time since they’d started up this thing between them, Faith was worried. Gus was too quiet. Too pensive.
She knew she had to shake off whatever it was she felt. But it was harder to do than she thought. While he was in the grocery store grabbing steaks, she sat in the truck, slowed her breathing, and willed the anxiety away.
