Stars & Stripes (12 page)

She nodded, still mistrustful.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m a princess.”

“Is that right?”

She stepped closer and leaned on him, pushing her sharp elbows against his chest. He gasped. She was so close that he almost had to go cross-eyed to look at her.

“I’m a princess and I got a pony.”

“Oh yeah?” Ty looked around the room, trying to find an adult who might be responsible for the little girl—aside from himself. There was no one. He looked back at Zane’s niece, bewildered by her sudden appearance. How long had he been asleep? “What color is your pony?”

A scowl appeared on her face. “It’s a
pink
pony.” She started twirling a curl around a finger.

“A pink pony? Are you sure?”

“I turned it pink with my wand.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Do you know how to ride a pony?”

“No. Do
you
know how to ride a pony?”

“I do!”

Ty looked toward the bank of windows and beyond at the deck, trying to find Zane. And there his partner stood, leaning on the banister and grinning at him through the window. Alongside Zane was a slim female of Zane-like origin, matching grin and all.

“Want to see?”

Ty returned his attention to Sadie. “Not really, no.” He dropped his voice to a confidential whisper. “I’m scared of ponies.”

Her eyes went wide. “Scared of ponies?”

“Very scared.”

“It’ll be okay, don’t be scared.” She petted his face, her sharp little fingers barely missing his eye. He couldn’t fend her off, so he just squeezed his eyes shut to protect them. Suddenly, she grabbed his face between two tiny hands and pulled until they were nose to nose. “Do you want to play with me?” she asked, her voice full of hope and her eyes wide.

“Sadie, remember we’re just here visiting,” the woman called out as she stepped through one of the open French doors. Ty recognized her voice: it was Zane’s sister, Annie. “Leave Ty alone and come give Uncle Z a hug. It’s time for us to go see Granddaddy.”

“But Mommy, Ty is going to play with me!”

“If you can convince him to play, then that’s just fine. After dinner.”

Sadie hugged Ty’s head closer. “But I want to play now!”

“Sadie.”

“I’m not a Sadie, I’m a princess!”

“Fine, you’re a princess,” Annie said as she came closer. “You’re Princess Doesn’t Listen. Hand out the hugs and let’s go.”

Sadie looked back at Ty, batting those long lashes at him. She put her hands together under her chin. “Please, will you play with me?”

“Oh Lord,” Ty laughed. “Sweetheart, I’ll do whatever you want me to after dinner.”

“Yay!” She jumped up and down, then lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Ty gasped in surprise, and then she was gone, darting over to the deck doors to throw herself into Zane’s arms for a hasty embrace. He laughed as he picked her up, hugging her close even as she struggled to get down again.

Ty sat up and watched them, smiling faintly. He’d rarely seen Zane interact with a child, and Zane was always uncomfortable when he did. He didn’t appear to be now, though, and it was an odd feeling to watch him with the little girl.

Annie smiled and walked over to Ty, offering her hand. “Welcome to the C and G. It’s great to meet you in person.”

Ty stood to shake her hand. It was hard with just the tips of his fingers poking out of the plaster cast, and he kept forgetting to offer his left hand when he was surprised with a handshake. He felt like an idiot giving the weak finger shake, but what could he do?

“You sure pulled out all the stops with the welcoming committee,” he said, gesturing toward her daughter.

“If it makes you feel better, she’s like that with everyone.”

“She’s a little sparkplug,” Ty drawled. He looked at Zane again. He had Sadie propped on his hip, watching her with a smile as she chattered about her pony that she insisted was pink.

Annie laughed. “You have no idea.”

“Mama, I want to see my pony,” Sadie announced.

“What’s your pony’s name?” Zane asked as he set her down.

“Pink Pony!”

Annie laughed at the expression on Zane’s face. Ty glanced at her, but found his eyes going back to Zane.

Zane shook his head and kissed Sadie’s cheek. “She’s your pony. I guess you can name her what you want.”

“Uncle Z had a pony named Tortilla,” Annie told them.

“That’s a silly name for a pony,” Sadie said with a frown.

Zane shot Annie a look before glancing at Ty. Ty smiled warmly when their eyes met. Zane looked back at Sadie. “All right. Go see Pink Pony, and I’ll see you for dinner at Granddaddy’s house, okay?”

“Okay!” she answered, hugging Zane around the leg before running for the door.

“Did you say good-bye to Ty?” Annie called after her.

She didn’t stop running, merely blew him a kiss over her shoulder and followed it with a trailing, “Bye!”

“See you guys later,” Annie said with a wave before jogging after her runaway.

When they were gone, peace and quiet again descended. Ty watched the door for a minute longer, and then looked at Zane with a raised eyebrow. “Wow.”

“Sorry she woke you.” Zane moved close and slid his arms around Ty’s waist. “She promised to stay quiet.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen that type before. She’ll never be quiet again.”

Zane laughed.

Ty put his hands on Zane’s shoulders. “It’s okay, I love the creepy feeling of waking up to someone staring at me.”

“Did you get any rest?”

“Some. You?” He gave Zane a tug and started backing toward the couch.

Zane went along, keeping his arms around Ty. “I sat and stared at you while you slept.”

“Look who thinks he’s funny.”

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Zane said as he held tight to Ty and rested his chin on Ty’s shoulder.

“I just came to get a hat.”

Zane laughed and kissed him, bending him backward just enough to force him to hold onto Zane so he wouldn’t fall. It made the butterflies start churning in his chest. He loved when Zane did that to him.

“Then you’re in luck,” Zane said against his lips. “I know just the place to find one.”

“How far away from dinner are we?” Ty asked roughly.

“Formal dinner’s at eight. Drinks beforehand. So we’ve got about thirty minutes. What have you got in mind?”

“I was just wondering if anyone else would be stopping by to look through those big-ass windows or if I could ride you down here on the couch,” Ty said, forcing his voice to sound nonchalant. Zane’s breath caught on a sharp exhale, and Ty plucked at one of the buttons of Zane’s shirt. “Too bad I don’t have a hat, though. Can’t ride without a hat.”

Zane caught Ty’s good hand and placed it on his chest. “Sure you can.”

Ty tried not to smile as he met Zane’s eyes. “Better safe than sorry, huh?”

“No one else will come by,” Zane growled. Then he shrugged and added, “And if they do . . .”

The invitation tugged at Ty, and he took a deep breath as he mulled it over. He didn’t want Zane to come out to his family by being caught in a reverse cowboy on the couch, but the idea had its merits all the same.

Ty’s body was responding, anyway.

He exhaled to calm himself, kissing Zane again as Zane finally straightened up and loosened his hold. They both knew thirty minutes wasn’t enough time.

“Zane?” Ty said, voice more serious. “What do you plan to tell your family about us?”

Zane stared out the bank of windows for a few moments before looking back at Ty. “I’d like to tell them the truth. Can I rent Chester, do you think?

Ty laughed and pushed his fingers through Zane’s hair, fighting against the bout of nerves that fluttered through him.

“I’d like to tell Annie, for sure. She already knows about me; it’s just telling her about you. I think . . . I hope Dad would be okay with it. He’s pretty laid back.” Zane rubbed his cheek against Ty’s shoulder like he could burrow deeper. “If I had a choice, I wouldn’t tell Mother.”

“I’ll follow your lead. I don’t mind telling them we’re just partners if it makes your life easier.”

“I know,” Zane whispered. “But I’m tired of easy. Like you said, we deserve better.”

Ty kissed the side of his mouth, then ducked his head for more.

Zane’s grip tightened on Ty’s hips until it was almost painful. “I love you, Ty. More than anything.” He took a deep breath, as if steadying himself. “But it’d be smarter to wait until things have settled down here.”

“Whatever you think is best.”

Zane nodded, looking drawn and worried. Ty slid his fingers down his lover’s face. He knew where the stress was coming from.

Zane rested his head on Ty’s shoulder and Ty rubbed a hand down his back. “Let’s go get ready.”

Zane held on tight. “Not letting go,” he whispered.

“Okay.” Ty drew out the word with a frown. “But that’s going to make dinner awkward.”

They drove down the private road that serviced the Carter Garrett Ranch, arms hanging out the windows. The land was wide open on both sides, surprisingly green with those strange, knobby little hills and scrub trees, dotted with cactus flats and brush. It seemed tame, but Ty could see just how difficult it would be to traverse, either on foot or in a vehicle.

The land wavered with heat, even as the sun descended. Summer evenings in Texas were apparently blazing hot right up until the sun went down, when they became merely uncomfortably warm.

Zane was so quiet that the silence started getting to Ty, who fidgeted and squirmed more and more. He took his baseball hat off and messed with the bill, then put it back on and removed his sunglasses, wiping them clean before putting them back on and finding something else to mess with. He moved the air vents around and fiddled with the radio buttons, flipping through station after station of static before turning it off altogether.

“Aren’t I supposed to be the nervous one here?” Zane asked.

“I’m afraid I’m going to say something that screws things up for you,” Ty admitted as he slouched down in his seat and propped his booted foot on the dashboard.

“You? Say something untoward? You would
never
!”

“Okay, smartass, make fun of me.”

“Just be yourself, Ty,” Zane said, glancing over and offering him a warm smile. “I don’t care what you say to Mother and neither will anyone else.”

“What’s your mom’s deal?” Ty took his sunglasses off again and frowned down at them. They had scratches he hadn’t noticed before.

Zane snorted. “She’s just . . . very determined.”

“So are you, but you aren’t a frigid bitch. Usually,” Ty added as he slid his sunglasses back on and scrunched up his nose when they wouldn’t fit right. The frames seemed to be bent.

“Ugh.” Zane shook his head and slowed the truck to pass over a burbling creek. The wheels hit a metal grate in the road, jarring the vehicle. It wasn’t the first grate Ty had seen; they were all over the main roads too. And while he’d been walking up the driveway he’d stopped to stand on one and look down into it, thinking they all might be over water or something. There was nothing under most of them.

“What are those?”

“Texas gates.”

“What?”

“They’re cattle guards. They keep the livestock from passing over them. We call them Texas gates.”

“Cows won’t cross those?” Ty glanced over his shoulder to look at the receding grate. It went from one side of the road to the other, met on both sides by the creek bed. Most were flanked by barbed wire fencing.

“Cows won’t even cross bridges. But nothing else will cross the cattle guards either. Sheep, goats, pigs. The grates are far enough apart that their feet go through.”

“So you use them instead of gates you have to open and close. Smart.” Ty glanced over at Zane and plucked a wad of cotton out of the end of the bright green cast on his arm. “So, wait, do those ring the property? Is that how the trespassers are gaining access?”

“Probably. Stop messing with it.” Zane said as he swatted at Ty’s hands. “I don’t want to take you back to the damn emergency room to have another put on.”

“You realize I’ll be cutting this thing off with my Strider in about two more days, right?”

“You cut that thing off, Grady, I will break your other hand.”

“You can try, Hoss.”

Zane was quiet a long moment as he stared out the windshield.

Soon enough, Ty was drumming his fingers against his leg. The truck topped a small rise and the main ranch sprawled in front of them. Three massive barns, two corrals, miles of white fencing leading off over the hills, and the three-story white colonial-style house that towered over the spread. Ty hadn’t taken the time to look around when he’d arrived this morning, too concerned with seeing Zane and finding air conditioning to think of anything else. It was an impressive sight.

He began whistling “Home on the Range.”

Zane shot him a glare and reached out to thump his chest. “Asshole,” he said as he steered into the drive.

“Ow!” As soon as Zane put the truck in park, a man walked out of the barn. “Is that your dad?”

“What the hell is he doing out here?” Zane opened the door and headed toward the barn, and Ty trailed along behind him at a safe enough distance to give them privacy if they needed it.