Braden nodded, knowing that even though it wasn’t much, Wes had just given him something.
***
Wes opened the fridge and grabbed two more beers. Really he just wanted a minute to himself, some space to hopefully make that suffocating feeling in his chest ease up. The holidays—he wasn’t even sure where that thought had come from all of a sudden, or why he shared it with Braden. But the truth was, they did linger around the corner, and he had a little girl sleeping in the other room who he had to make them special for. Who he wanted to make them perfect for.
Another truth singed the edges of that thought. He’d never spent a Christmas with Jessie. He hadn’t spent one with Chelle or Lydia in years. Work was always an excuse. They knew, though. Knew that he’d come to see them less and less, which pretty much made him a bastard.
Wes shook his head. Jesus, he’d been feeling sorry for himself a lot lately. Not just lately; years, it seemed.
After twisting off the lids to their beers, he tossed them into the trash before heading back to the porch. “Here you go.” He handed the bottle to Braden and took the seat beside him.
“It’s relaxing out here.” Braden kicked his feet up and rested them on the railing.
“It is. Would be a nice place to paint.”
Wes felt Braden’s eyes on him, so he turned to face him and made himself grin. “What? That surprises you?”
“Nah. Totally used to you being a completely open book and sharing pieces of your life like that. You paint?”
He remembered Braden’s words from the kitchen the other night, winked, and repeated what he said. “I’m a man of many talents.”
Braden laughed. “Always bustin’ my balls. You’re lucky I like you. Especially when you’re like this.”
Wes almost asked him what he meant but realized he might already know. He wasn’t even sure when the switch had flipped inside him, changing his mood. “You make it easy,” he teased.
“Easy to bust my balls, or it’s easy to be in a good mood around me?” He swallowed a mouthful of beer, looking at Wes over the bottle. The bastard. He had that cocky glint in his eyes, the mischievous curl to his lips. “I think you like me, too. One of these days you’re going to admit it.”
Wes rolled his eyes, realizing he tried to hold back a smile. “Don’t hold your breath.”
“Would you give me mouth-to-mouth?”
He couldn’t fight it this time and let out a chuckle. “Now you’re moving into cheesy territory. You should stop while you’re ahead.” But then, Wes wanted to hold onto the lightness around them, too. Wanted to cling to it for once in his life because it felt a whole lot better than the alternative.
He took another drink. “It’d probably be easier than getting rid of the body.”
Braden let out a loud laugh. “Fucker. I’ll remember that. I guess we should change the subject, then. I wouldn’t want to get too cheesy on you and force you into mouth-to-mouth or digging a hole. When do you start work?”
A little sting of regret burned him at the subject change. “This week. I’m on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. I’m probably going to have to put Jess in daycare for a couple hours on Wednesdays, which I fucking hate. Lydia works a little later that day. I was hoping to get it off but it would screw up their rotation.” It was another change for her. She’d never been in daycare her whole life. Chelle and Lydia had always been able to work their schedules so they could help each other out.
“Can I ask where her dad is?” Braden leaned forward, rubbing a hand on Jock’s head before sitting back again.
“Died. She couldn’t have been more than a few months old. Life is really fucked up sometimes. She’s not even five and she’s lost both her parents.” He shook his head, set the bottle of beer down, then leaned forward. What was with their family and losing everyone who meant something to them? Alexander may not have died but he walked away from Wes and never looked back.
Wes tensed when he felt Braden’s hand at the back of his neck. “I work Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.”
Wes turned Braden’s way, the man’s rough hand still against his skin. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t.”
“You can’t want to. That’s a lot of responsibility every week.”
“Are you kidding me? She’s a blast. She just might be the only person who can keep up with me, anyway.”
Braden brushed his finger through the hair at the nape of Wes’s neck, and damned if desire didn’t make Wes’s cock start to rise.
“Say yes.” Braden’s voice went deep. “Don’t overthink it, don’t worry. I’ll take a background check for you if you need me to. I want to help. Just say yes.”