Page 23 of To Have and To Hold
“We’re damn glad you’re back,” Reese told him.
Slade waited with everyone else, expecting Atticus to flirt with Brantley as he usually did. Slade had sensed from the beginning that Atticus only did it to get a rise out of Reese, and it usually worked.
But he didn’t flirt. He said, “You find me a partner yet?”
“Unfortunately, no. But we will.” Reese glanced at Brantley, then back to Atticus. “We’re makin’ a few adjustments to the team, so we’ve got some time.”
“Adjustments?” Baz asked, coming back down the stairs, holding only one coffee mug now.
“Yep. Hopefully, for the last time,” Brantley told him, then shouted toward the loft. “Hey, JJ! You wanna come down here? Or you want us all to come up there?”
“I’ll come down,” she hollered back.
“We’ll start mappin’ it out,” Brantley explained, “while we wait for the rest of the team.”
Again, Reese looked at Brantley before looking at Atticus. “I’ve been tryin’ to find you a place to live, but unfortunately, I haven’t come up with a solution yet. I thought an apartment in town was comin’ up soon, but it hasn’t yet. For now, I figure—”
“You can stay with me,” Slade blurted before thinking about it.
All eyes shifted to him.
“I mean, I’ve got a spare room. You could rent it for as long as you want. Unless you have somethin’ else in mind.”
He could tell by Atticus’s wary expression that he wasn’t keen on the idea. Not that Slade blamed him. He did sort of just throw it at him.
And yes, Slade was aware of how desperate he sounded, but it wasn’t the first time he’d thought about it. He knew Atticus would need a place when he got back, so he’d actually spent some time sprucing the room up since he’d used it for overflow storage for the most part. Painting the room and laying new laminate flooring had given him something to do that didn’t involve obsessing over Atticus and Carson. Not that he obsessed over Carson. He was past that. His anger was a living, breathing thing, and he found the best way to deal with it was to pretend Carson didn’t exist. It wasn’t that difficult to do during daylight hours. It was the long, lonely nights that sent Slade spiraling into the past.
“You sure about that?” Brantley asked when no one said anything.
Since he was looking at him, Slade assumed he was talking to him. “Yeah. It’s not an inconvenience. Plus, I could use the financial help,” he lied. The house was paid for—he’d purchased it as is by a family who’d been renting it out for years—so his bills were minimal, but it sounded good.
“I can go back to the motel,” Atticus said, avoiding looking directly at Slade. “I really don’t mind.”
“I told you. It’s time you put down roots,” Reese countered. “It’s definitely a short-term solution. We can keep feelers out. Once somethin’ comes available, you can move.”
All eyes were now on Atticus, and Slade felt like an ass. He hadn’t meant to put Atticus on the spot.
“We can talk about it more,” Slade told him. “You can come by the house. I’ll show you the room.”
Atticus’s lips pursed, but he finally nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”
Luckily, the door opened as more of the team filtered in. While Luca held the door, Tesha snuck in, barreling past him. She raced headlong toward Atticus and practically knocked him down.
“I think she’s glad you’re back, too,” Brantley mused.
Atticus squatted down to pet her, laughing as he did, and Slade’s chest expanded.
For the past few weeks, he had tried to convince himself that what he felt for Atticus was all in his head. He tended to fall fast and hard, and he told himself he’d conjured it all up. It couldn’t possibly be real.
But it was. Very real.
Everything he’d felt for Atticus was still there. Still as strong as it had been that one night.
He got the feeling Atticus was a heartache in the making, but that didn’t stop him from wanting him. Now more than ever.
Brantley clapped his hands. “All right. Let’s get this mapped out. We want everyone’s opinions on the matter. Then we’re gonna set this shit in stone.”
“I shoulda got more donuts,” JJ told Baz.
