A Change of Pace (12 page)

Chapter 12

Don’t go around your elbow to get to your thumb.

Ridge Huntington

The following Friday, Ridge was putting away his tools when one of the other carpenters poked a head in the doorway, looking for Ridge. Spotting him where he stood at the gangbox, which stored the company’s tools and equipment during off hours, the other guy waved a hand.

“Hey, Ridge! We’re heading over to The White Horse. You going to join us?” The White Horse was a nearby tavern. The crew had been heading there on Fridays since they’d started the job at this location a couple of months ago. “Boss man said he might be there later.”

Ridge considered the invitation. “Yeah, maybe I will.” He hadn’t gone with the crew in several weeks. “I’ve got to finish up here, though. I’ll meet you in a few.” He nodded to the carpenter and finished closing up the gangbox. He hadn’t seen Tony Lopez in a while. It would be nice to talk to him again.

Drew had said he’d be tied up for a while the last time they’d talked, earlier that afternoon. The city boy had been close-mouthed about whatever his new job was, hadn’t wanted to talk too much about it. He knew Drew had been out to the barn quite a bit to check on how his horse had settled in, plus Drew had been working on plans for the move to the Dugan house. Ridge had been quite satisfied to learn that Drew had indeed wanted the place immediately. The twenty-acre site was a treasure, and it probably would have been snapped up quickly, even in the down market they were experiencing.

The two of them had been together a couple of nights at Ridge’s apartment. Ridge had gotten dinner from the inn kitchen and a movie from Netflix on one occasion, and Drew had brought takeout on the second. Both times, they’d managed to squeeze in some hot, naked man-love. Ridge shivered with remembered pleasure.

Tonight, though, he didn’t know if he’d see Drew. And damned if he was going to wait around to find out. Maybe he’d give Shelby a call from the bar and see if his man-panion wanted some company.

Half an hour later, Ridge was sitting at a table with three men from his crew. Carrie Underwood was playing from the jukebox on the far wall, and the guys were raucous as ever. They were ribbing each other and laughing while passing around the bar snacks, and sipping their beer. Since he usually went home to work on his projects, he didn’t socialize with them too much. Once in a while, though, he did hang out to celebrate the end of another workweek.

Ridge usually felt at home with the crew while at work -- although they didn’t know he preferred men -- and he really hadn’t heard any of them knocking gays. Sure there was the occasional snigger about fags, but there wasn’t much that the guys didn’t ridicule. Nothing was sacred on a construction site. Nothing.

Jack, the carpenter who’d come to get him earlier, leaned over. “So, what’s been going on with you lately? You don’t usually come out with us on Fridays.” Jack was a nice enough guy, Ridge supposed. They worked well as a team on the job. Jack was fairly quiet and did his work well.

Ridge liked that because he was the same way. Now, he shrugged easily. “I don’t know. Just felt like it tonight. I wanted to say hey to Tony anyway. I haven’t seen much of him lately.”

“Yeah. I heard he brought in a partner or something. Maybe we’ll meet the new guy tonight.” Jack leaned forward and grabbed a handful of pretzels, then sat back and began munching.

Ridge nodded as he took a sip of his draft. “Mmm, this does taste good, I do have to admit.”

He looked around the bar, taking note of the people around him. The office workers were just starting to come in, since their day ended later than the construction crew’s did. He saw some of the guys eyeing the women as they walked in, and he grinned to himself as the women eyed the men right back. He gulped, though, when he noticed one of the newcomers staring at him and smiling.

Jack whispered to him. “Looks like you’ve got a fan, boy.”

Ridge slid down in his chair and brought his glass to his lips, hiding behind it, mumbling.

Grinning, Jack gave him a look. “What?”

Ridge peeked over at the woman and saw she was still watching him. She motioned to her friends and they walked over to the crew’s table. “Do you boys mind if we join you?” At the hasty nods from the rest of the crew, the three women settled into chairs the men quickly pulled over for them.

The woman who’d spoken sat down at Ridge’s left, her chair snugged up against his in the tight confines around the table. She was blond, pretty, looked about thirty, and was nicely dressed in a jacket and skirt.

“I’m Sharon.” She smiled nicely. “This is Bailey, and that’s Rhonda.” Sharon gestured in turn to the two other women. “We usually try to come in on Fridays, but I don’t think I’ve seen y’all here before.” She smiled as she turned back to Ridge, directing her last comment to him. The rest of the crew snickered into their beer, and the other two women giggled at the construction workers.

Blushing, Ridge took another drink of his beer, downing half of the glass while he tried to think of something to say. He never knew how to act around the women who came onto him. He didn’t do anything to attract them, yet they wouldn’t leave him alone. That was one of the real reasons he didn’t socialize with the guys much after work.

They liked to play in the bars and Ridge didn’t. Simple as that. If he was going to play, it would be when he was out with Shelby, and even then, he was picky.

Half an hour later, he had finished his second glass and was seriously considering leaving before Tony arrived. Sharon was playing with his hair and wouldn’t stop talking to him.

“So, what do you think? Should we get out of here... maybe head to my place?”

Ridge kept taking refuge in his beer glass, but he didn’t know how much longer he could keep that up and still drive home.

“Hey, guys. How’s it going with y’all?” Tony’s warm, gruff voice rose slightly over the music.

Jerking his head around to the left, Ridge saw his boss standing near the table. His eyes lit up as he spotted Drew standing next to Tony. He hadn’t known the two men knew each other.
Whoa. Is he the new partner Jack mentioned?

The beginnings of a smile turned down as he saw turquoise eyes glaring back at him.

Suddenly noticing she had lost Ridge’s ear, Sharon canted her head around Ridge to look at the newcomers. Ridge watched as Drew shifted his icy gaze to her. In the background, he could hear as Tony chatted casually with the crew.

What is going on?
Ridge felt a pang deep inside as he tried to figure out what had Drew so pissy. Did he not like learning that they were working for the same company? Was he afraid the men around them would learn about them?

“And guys, I want you all to meet my new head of operations... Drew Cunningham.” Tony gestured with his hand, waving Drew up closer to the table.

For an electric moment, Drew’s blazing eyes stayed on Ridge and Sharon before he blinked and stepped up next to Tony.

Released from that hard stare, Ridge watched as the other man shook hands with the crew and chatted briefly with each guy, then nodded his head casually as he was introduced to the three women. When he got to Ridge, he spoke briefly to Tony. “We’ve met.”

Tony nodded in acknowledgment, not noticing that Drew didn’t actually speak directly to Ridge. But Ridge definitely noticed.

“That’s right, I’m sure you’ve seen each other around at the Grove.” Tony turned back to the men. “Drew is staying at the Grove until he can move into his new house.”

While the crew sized up Drew, clearly trying to figure out what he’d be like to work with, Ridge eyed his lover. He wasn’t sure what the hell was happening, but something was. He frowned. What the fuck?

They hadn’t spent much time together since Sunday. Both of them had been busy. Other than the two evenings in his apartment, in fact, Ridge hadn’t seen Drew come and go.

Right now, Drew was answering a couple of questions about where he’d lived before and what he’d done for a living, but his answers were brief and fairly uninformative. He hadn’t looked at Ridge again since that first moment after he’d come into the bar.

What the hell was his problem?

“He doesn’t look very friendly, does he?” Sharon leaned toward him to whisper.

Pushing back away from Sharon a bit, he could only shrug. It was true. Drew didn’t look like the most approachable man in the bar.

Just then, Tony spoke again. “Drew, what can I get you?” He was motioning toward the bar as he pulled out his wallet.

Drew stepped back and held up his hands briefly, palms out. “No, thanks, Tony. I can’t stay. I just noticed what time it is... I’ve got to get out to the barn.” As he spoke, he turned toward the door. He looked back to wave briefly at the table, then turned to look at Tony. “I’ll see you on Monday morning.”

Tony looked confused at Drew’s abrupt departure before his attention was caught by a question from Jack.

Ridge pushed back his chair, determined to follow Drew and find out what was going on. He dodged Sharon’s outstretched hand as he stood, pulling money out of his pocket to lay on the table. “Y’all, I’ve got to get back to my shop. See y’all Monday.”

Jack looked knowingly at him, smirking at the disappointment on Sharon’s face. Ridge smiled back, knowing Jack thought he was escaping the eager woman. He shrugged in a
what can I say?
manner, then headed out of the bar with a wave.

Hurrying out the door, he spotted Drew just pulling out of the parking lot. Cursing softly to himself, he jogged to his truck and jumped in, starting it up. Jerking the gearshift into drive, he stepped on the gas, heading south on the road behind Drew, buckling his seatbelt as he went.

He caught up to Drew quickly, but he wasn’t sure if the other man knew he was there. The early evening sun was still shining brightly and the windows of the Navigator were tinted, preventing him from meeting Drew’s eyes in the rearview mirror. He managed to stay a few car-lengths behind as Drew headed east to cross the river. Expecting the city boy to keep heading in that direction for a couple more miles, he almost ran into the back of the other truck when Drew suddenly slowed to turn. Puzzled, Ridge quickly turned to follow, frowning again when Drew turned onto Riverside Drive. His frown switched to a smile when he realized Drew was headed back to the Grove.

A few minutes later, he pulled to a stop at the Grove, and spotted Drew just entering the inn’s doorway. He threw his truck into park and hopped out. “Drew!” Blowing out a frustrated breath as Drew disappeared up the stairs, he followed quickly.

He reached Drew’s room and banged on the door, starting to get pissy himself. Through the door, he heard Elsa’s soft woof. When the door was suddenly yanked open as he raised his fist to bang again, he jerked back slightly in surprise.

“What the hell’s going on, man?” He stared at Drew, trying to figure it out. “I was calling you as you came upstairs. Didn’t you hear me?” He pushed past Drew, coming to a halt and swinging around near the end of the four-poster bed. “And I thought you were going to the barn...”

Elsa lay just beyond the bed. The room was fairly spacious as inn rooms went, but right then, it didn’t feel that large as Drew and Ridge stared each other down. The big shepherd started to move, stretching from her afternoon nap beneath the window. “Well?” Absently, he reached down to pet the shepherd as she stood up.

Drew remained motionless for another few seconds before shoving the door closed, and stalking to the mini-bar. Pulling it open, he grabbed a bottle of water, then swung back around to face Ridge as he cracked open the seal. “Well, what?” He threw back his head and gulped down half the bottle, then wiped his lips with the back of the hand that held the bottle. He stared challengingly at Ridge. “You looked busy in the bar. I’m surprised you’re back so soon.”

Surprised and confused, Ridge looked back at him. “Huh?”

“Don’t you want to go tap that?” Drew waved a hand in the air as he sneered the words. “And here I was thinking it was just guys you hadn’t fucked before now.”

The insulting words hung in the air a few seconds before Ridge’s brain processed them.

“What?” He shook his head slowly. “Are you accusing me of something?” His voice got a little louder. “And why would you think that?” He looked at Drew in disbelief. “So, now you’re saying I was getting it on with that chick in the bar back there? Is that it?”

He stepped closer, ignoring the slight growl from Elsa, who watched the two men closely. Ridge stared hard at Drew and was gratified to see the Yankee back up a pace as Ridge approached.

You should back up, asshole.

“Listen, dickhead.” He kept his voice soft with effort. “The only reason I’m not pounding you right now is that I figure you’re a jealous prick who doesn’t know any better than to get pissy and act like an idiot.” He ignored the snort of disbelief from his angry lover and continued walking forward as he spoke, stopping within inches of Drew.

Drew jerked his head back as Ridge got right up in his grill.

“What... because we had some fun, you think you have the right to judge what I do?” Breathing heavily, he clenched his fists to keep from swinging them. He could feel the blood pounding through his veins as he attempted to keep a hold on his temper.

Elsa made a noise behind him. “Elsa -- quiet!” He slapped his hand into Drew’s chest, shoving the larger man back a pace. Drew hit the wall behind him with a small thud, which gratified Ridge. It wasn’t often he could push such a big guy around. “She knows I’m not going to really hurt you, even though I have a really good reason right now.”

“You? Hurt me?” Drew’s voice was scornful, but he was still against the wall with Ridge a few inches in front of him, so the comeback lacked a little something.

“Yeah. Me. Hurt you.” Ridge leaned against him, placing his hands flat on the wall next to Drew’s shoulders.

Ridge paused as a thought flashed through his head. Surprise made his mouth drop open for a second before he took a deep breath. “You know? I think I’m getting it now.” He cocked his head a little to the side, examining the scowling face of his lover. “I’m thinking that I
can
hurt you -- but not physically. I think it’s more emotionally... and you don’t like that. Do you, city boy?”