As though celebrating the announcement, Brantley’s stomach growled, and Reese laughed, then proceeded to make Brantley’s pancakes and several sausage patties, two of which he stacked on two pancakes and positioned on the plate to create the number eight.
Chapter Five
Atticus sat up straight as he crossedthe town limits. The sun was just rising, a growing glow in the distance as he continued east, making his way to HQ. He’d spent a good portion of the drive in the rain, but it appeared the storm was moving away from them.
It’d been four weeks since he last laid eyes on this little town he’d come to think of as home. Exactly thirty days spent in Dallas, going through Sniper 1 Security’s rigorous onboarding program now that he was a full-time employee of the Off the Books Task Force. Although he’d been reluctant initially, Atticus had given himself entirely to the program, shutting off the rest of his life to ensure he soaked up every drop of training they were willing to bestow on him.
While he had enjoyed himself immensely and benefited even more, that much time away had actually made him a tad homesick. Funny since he technically didn’t have a home to feel sick about. Until a couple of months ago, Atticus considered himself a wanderer, and he figured he would never settle down in one spot.
For the twenty-five years of his existence, Atticus had been in limbo. Even now, he didn’t have a place to live, but for some reason, it wasn’t that big of a deal because he had people who made him feel like he mattered. Brantley and Reese, JJ and Baz, Evan, Becs, Luca, Darius, Jay, Charlie, Holly, Elana … the list had grown longer than he’d ever expected. And he couldn’t forget Slade and Carson. He wouldn’t pretend that they weren’t the real reason he was giddy to be back. He’d missed them all, but he’d missed Slade and Carson the most.
Not that he would admit that to anyone. He’d left at a critical time in their budding relationship, and while he didn’t regret going, he’d started to wonder whether his absence had changed things. He hoped not.
But all in all, it was good to be back in Coyote Ridge. Really good.
True, it would be even better if he happened to know where he was going to lay his head tonight. When he left, he’d been staying in a motel just outside of town. Before Reese sent him off to training, the man told him in no uncertain terms that he needed to put down roots. As for what that meant, he wasn’t sure because he’d put off thinking about it for the past four weeks.
He texted Reese half an hour ago to let him know he was heading back because Z had kicked him out early. He wanted to believe it was because he’d aced everything they’d thrown at him, but he knew better. Truth was, the reason was even better than that. Evidently, JJ insisted that Atticus be back not only for the wedding but also for the surprise bachelor party. Because it kicked off first thing in the morning on Saturday, Z suggested Atticus head back early so he wouldn’t miss all the fun.
Granted, Z had also warned him that the bachelor party would last a couple of days and likely entail some major hijinks. Z intended to ensure his baby brother experienced everything during his last few days of bachelor life. Atticus wasn’t sure what exactly that meant, but he was looking forward to it.
Of course, the training hadn’t completely altered him. He could say he was only thrilled at the prospect of celebrating the last days of single life for the grooms-to-be, but that wasn’t true. His reason was far more selfish than that.
He was looking forward to seeing Slade and Carson.
It had been a whole month since he’d seen either of them and nearly that long since he’d talked to them. His fault, though. He’d purposely put some distance between them, using his training as an excuse after he attempted to push Slade and Carson toward each other so they could figure out their issues. The last thing he’d heard, Carson had invited Slade to dinner. What happened after that, Atticus didn’t know because he’d turned off his cell phone. It was the only way he knew he could get his head on straight and keep it that way. But not a single minute had passed that he hadn’t thought about them.
It hadn’t occurred to him until now that there was a good chance they’d both moved on. He noticed this morning—after he finally turned his phone back on—that for the first few days after he implemented his temporary hiatus from the two men who were plaguing his every thought, he’d gotten text messages from both of them. Those had trailed off after a few days of him not responding, so it was possible they’d shoved him to the back of their minds and moved on with their lives.
Refusing to let that get him down, Atticus headed for HQ. For the time being, he had a destination. What the day would bring was anyone’s guess. As for where he would sleep tonight … well, Atticus would figure that out as the day progressed.
By the time he pulled down the driveway leading to Brantley and Reese’s house, the sun had broken over the horizon. The clouds were shifting away, leaving a clear blue sky in their wake. He felt a bit giddy. Like for the first time in his life, he belonged somewhere. Brantley and Reese were the ones who had given him that. They’d brought him onto their team and made him feel as though he had purpose.
It was still early, but he wasn’t surprised to see several cars parked in the small lot that had been added as extra parking for their relatively large team. Although Brantley and Reese resided in the house on the property, the Off the Books Task Force officed out of the remodeled barn behind it. It looked like nothing more than a storage for hay and animals, but inside, it was a high-tech haven.
Looked like JJ and Baz were there, as well as Evan and Holly. And also … Slade.
His stomach flipped at the notion of seeing him.
Atticus swallowed hard and squared his shoulders. It wasn’t like he could avoid Slade forever. Nor did he want to. He just wasn’t sure that he was ready to see him. A little advanced notice would’ve been good.
“You’ve got this,” he muttered as he turned off his truck.
That was his new mantra. His training had not only shored up his shooting skills, it had skyrocketed his self-esteem. He owed Z for that. Reese’s older brother had taken Atticus under his wing and gotten him through the past four weeks by showing him what he was capable of. He wasn’t sure how he would ever be able to repay the man for that.
Forcing himself not to stall, Atticus got out of the truck and started toward the barn. He glanced at the back of the house to see if the curtain on the door was closed. If it were, that was a signal that Brantley had a migraine. It was open. As he continued, he scanned the area, searching for Tesha. She was usually out and about, sniffing and doing her business. He didn’t see her, so he focused on his destination.
His feet didn’t slow as he approached. He didn’t hesitate as he keyed in his code to get inside. He even managed to open the door.
He was greeted by the scent of sawdust and coffee, a familiar smell that he’d missed.
“Well, look who it is,” Baz said, stepping out of the small kitchenette holding two mugs of coffee.
JJ appeared at the top of the stairs, a wide grin splitting her face. “Atticus! You’re back!”
“I’m back.” He canted his head and gave her a quick once over. “You look good, Momma.”
Her smile widened. “You say the sweetest things. I knew there was a reason we missed you.”
