"Uh, no, but I'm sure I could get it from Declan. What's up?"
"I only have a few things left to take care of and then I'll come out. Hopefully, it'll only take a few days, but I can't make a guarantee."
"All right," Grady replied. "I'll get back to you, then."
Jared disconnected his cell and dropped it on his desk before crossing to his sideboard and pouring two fingers of brandy into a fresh glass. He stared at the amber liquid for a moment before downing the alcohol. He cringed at the burn.
"You've been restless since you've been back and I've never seen you drink this much." Jared turned at Raul's comment. His friend flopped onto a sofa and sprawled. "It's been almost two weeks since you returned and you still haven't accepted another job. What's up with you?" he asked, waving a hand at the shattered glass and lifting a brow.
Jared crossed his arms over his chest and leaned a hip against his desk. He took a deep breath and popped his neck. "I fell in love," he replied bluntly.
Raul spit out the sip of rum he'd just put in his mouth. "What?" he sputtered, once the coughing stopped and he could take a breath.
He shrugged. "Not what you were expecting?" Jared asked, smirking. The other man's response and gaping mouth answered his question easily enough. "Well, here's something else then. Not only did I fall in love, I fell in love with a man."
"Well, what the hell, Jared?" Raul ran a hand through his thick red hair. "I didn't even know you liked men!"
"Me neither," Jared admitted, shrugging. He pushed off the desk and walked to the fire. He rested his hands on the mantle and stared into the flames. "Carson is one of a kind."
"Well, that's … wow." Raul came and stood next to him. "What are you going to do? Does he return your feelings?"
Jared glanced toward his friend before returning his focus to the flames. "I didn't know I felt this way until I had to walk away from him," he admitted. "I know he'd prefer to have me with him, but he doesn't approve of my choice of occupation."
To his surprise, Raul snorted. "Not many people would," he commented.
"You do have a point." He turned and rested an arm along the wood to stare at Raul. "You seem awfully calm about this."
"This?" Raul asked, waving a hand vaguely and lifting a brow.
Smirking, he stared at his friend for several seconds, but Raul's expression gave away none of his friend's thoughts. "The fact that I just told you I'm seriously entertaining the possibility of a relationship with a man."
"Oh, that," Raul scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I have a nephew that's gay. Very, very gay, actually," he added with a chuckle. "My oldest sister's son came out three years ago. She flipped. I had to explain that it wasn't anything she did. It's just the way nature makes some people." He shrugged.
"Yeah, nature," Jared whispered. At Raul's questioning look, he shook his head. "I guess I'm going to have to find something else to do with my time." He frowned and stared into the fire again.
Raul slapped him on the back. "So where are we moving?"
Jared turned his head to stare at his friend. A slow smile curved his lips. With Raul's support, the idea of uprooting his life, especially for Carson, suddenly didn't seem so daunting. "Thanks," he whispered, wondering when he'd come to depend on his friend so much.
Raul grinned back at him. "Come on, man. After everything we've been through? This is small potatoes."
"I guess you're right, but what the hell am I going to do with myself?" Jared frowned. That question had plagued him ever since he'd gotten home. Stepping off that plane, he'd already known he'd end up returning to Colorado eventually, but he didn't want to do it until he knew what he'd do when he got there. Jared just wasn't the type of person to sit around and do nothing and he knew it. He'd go crazy within a month.
"Don't worry about that so much," Raul replied. "You're rich. It doesn't really matter. Now where are we moving?"
Jared grinned, suddenly feeling relieved he had a friend who could put it into perspective. "Stone Ridge, Colorado."
"I can't believe you talked me into coming in here with you," Raul snapped.
The tension in his friend's shoulders told Jared exactly how uncomfortable the man was to be walking into a gay bar. "Aw, come on," he teased, hiding his own unease. It wasn't so much having to walk into a gay bar that bothered Jared, it was the fact that somewhere amidst these dancing, gyrating bodies was his mate. "Are you afraid some cute twink will catch your eye?" At Raul's glare, Jared laughed. "Oh, sorry. Didn't realize you were looking for a bear."
"Shut the fuck up, man. I don't want either and you know it!" He shoved his hands into his pockets and shouldered between men to lead the way to the bar. When the bartender, a muscular brunet probably in his late twenties gave him the once over, Raul hunched his shoulders, growled his request for a Heineken and looked away. "And I'm perfectly fine with my masculinity," he grouched.
Jared slapped him on the back and chuckled at his friend's hissed comment. "I know. I appreciate the support you've shown me over the last few days." He took the two beers from the bartender and handed one to Raul before paying. "Now, drink your beer and loosen up." His gaze swept the dance floor and then the tables, trying to make out features in the darkened interior. "Grady said they'd be here tonight," he muttered.
"An Indian, right? Is that him?"
He followed his friend's line of sight. He spotted Declan's bald head first. He could make out Lark tugging on his hand, obviously trying to convince him to dance. To Jared's amusement, he watched the big mate's pleas, heave himself off disappear amongst the gyrating bodies.
That's when Jared spotted him. He was dancing with Dagus and another wolf, whose name he didn't remember. A shot of jealousy speared through him and he growled. "Yeah. That's him."
"Dude, you okay?" Raul gave him a concerned look.
Taking a deep breath, Jared nodded. "Yeah. Guess I better go say hello." He pointed at the booth Declan had vacated. "If you don't want to join me on the dance floor, that's my friend Grady and his husband, Gordon. Feel free to interrupt them."
Raul turned to look where he pointed at the kissing couple. "Shit. I don't think so. Now that you've found your man, I'm going to … "
"Hey there." Both men turned to look at the speaker. A five foot eight-inch brunet with shining green eyes and a big grin was staring at Raul like the man was a steak and he hadn't eaten in a week. He boldly rested a hand on Raul's arm, which to Jared's amusement, caused his friend to tense. Their new friend didn't seem to mind. "I'm Bobby. You want to dance?"
"Okay, you gotta admit he's cute," Jared said to Raul. Bobby beamed up at Jared for a second before returning his focus to his friend.
alpha wolf cave to his the booth's bench and
He watched his friend pale slightly, making his red hair and freckles stand out just a little more on his skin. "But I'm straight," he squeaked.
Bobby shrugged. "Does that mean you don't know how to dance?" He rubbed his hand up and down Raul's tense arm. "Oooo, nice." He grinned. "I promise not to bite."
Jared snorted a laugh and slapped his friend on the back. "Go dance with the man," he cajoled. To his utter amusement, Raul downed the rest of his beer, handed Jared the empty bottle and then Bobby led his obviously shellshocked friend to the dance floor.
Setting the empty on the bar, Jared headed through the crowd in the direction he'd glimpsed his mate.
Chapter Twelve
Carson downed the shot of tequila Grady handed him. Only a few were privy to the reason why Carson had been so tense the last two weeks. The alcohol sent a burning trail down his throat to settle in his stomach. It was his sixth shot of the evening and since it took far more alcohol to get a shifter inebriated than a human, he appreciated that the tiger shifter kept them coming between beers.