Page 30 of Laying Low

Reg nodded, staring into those dark eyes, and tried to breathe.

Anthony gave him a smile—not that devastating grin, but something a little subtler.

“I really liked waking up next to you,” he confessed.“We’ll have to try it with more nakedness sometime.”

Reg nodded, not even aware he was doing it, and when Anthony placed a careless kiss on his forehead, all awareness whatsoever disappeared.

Then Anthony was gone, heading for his own knapsack, calling over his shoulder, “But youdohave to get a move on.I tried to time us so we could hit the showers before Dean and your mom!”

Oh shit.If nothing else did,thatgot him out of bed and moving.

BREAKFAST WASa full-court-press affair—a farmer’s breakfast, with sausage, eggs, cheese, toast, fruit, and giant travel mugs of coffee.Dean listened to Reg’s input about meeting in Blaine instead of Vancouver and nodded approvingly.

“Sorry, my own brain wasn’t up and running last night.You’re right.Blaine makes more sense.Let me ask Val if there’s a smaller town there, somewhere we can meet and switch passengers and not catch any attention from border patrol—Val’s our gold standard.We’ll talk with Dad, back and forth, and if one of us is out of reach of the other, let him relay info.Let’s not stick to any one route.We don’t know what’s going to be closed for roadwork or whatever.”He glanced at the boys, who were busy eating like only teenagers could.“Let’s say five days.I know Google says we could do it in three or four, but….”He huffed out a breath.“I would have eaten the headrest of my car if we’d tried to make that trip in three days when I was that age.”

Reg nodded.Dean would have lost his shit.So would Sal—and possibly Chance, although Chance had been one of those wonderful children who had fallen asleep the minute the car hit sixty.

“We’ll plan on five, and that way, we can stick to side roads and give Portland a miss,” Reg said practically, and Dean sucked air in through his teeth.

“That’s too bad,” he ruminated.“Portland’s wonderfully weird.”

“Yeah, but maybe not the safest place right now,” Marcus said, although he sounded melancholy too, and Reg met eyes with Bailey, both of them wondering exactly how much havoc Dean and Marcus had raised the last time they’d blown through Portland.

Judging by the annoyed look in Bailey’s blue eyes, Reg would put money on it being alotof havoc, and of Dean and Marcus never saying a word about it.

Was it any wonder Reg worried?

“Play it by ear,” Dean said, shoving a piece of toast with egg on top into his mouth.“I know those aren’t your favorite words, Reg, but we need to be flexible.Guys?”

Ilia and Reynaldo glanced up from their almost clean plates of food as though coming out of a trance.

“Excellent breakfast, Mrs.Royal,” Reynaldo said politely.“I’ve never eaten this much in the morning before.”

“Same,” Ilia said.“I’m going to have to have second naps after this.”

Reg’s mom smiled and dropped a casual kiss on Ilia’s head and then Reynaldo’s.Probably not strictly PC, but both boys seemed to open up, like flowers to the sun, and Reg figured they’d both been surrounded by enough maternal love for some casual affection to not blow their minds.

“You boys are welcome at my table any time,” she said gently.“And I’ll be sure to tell your mother and your aunt that you both behaved very well.”

“Thanks, Miss Julie,” Reynaldo said, but Ilia had that sad, wary expression in his eyes that said he was worried—very worried—about betrayal from that quarter of his life, and Reg glanced unhappily at Dean, who grimaced.

“We’ll keep an eye out,” Dean said.“I don’t like the idea of you guys heading into a trap any more than you do.”

Reg nodded, reassured—but more so by the idea that hewasn’tcrazy and hewasn’tparanoid than by Dean’s statement of intent.

Sometimes it was nice to trust your own instincts.

A quick twenty minutes later, Reg, Anthony, and the boys were loaded into the SUV, with a wistful look from Bailey, who apparently had been excited about driving his new-to-him vehicle that week.

“If you go with Dean and Miss Julie,” Anthony offered, “you can pick up my truck and drive that.”

Bailey perked up.“I’m from Texas,” he said.“What kind of truck?”

“Ford F-150 Extended Cab,” Anthony told him proudly, pulling the keyring out of his pocket.“White, big wheels, nice rims—I swear, it wouldn’t get you beat up in Texas.”

Bailey gave Dean an almost relaxed grin.“Now see?”he said, as though finishing another conversation.“That’sthe way to make it up to a guy.”

“I’ll remember that,” Dean said dryly.“We appreciate it, Anthony.And I’d say guard the car with your life, but I’ve wrecked vehicles before.I’d rather you guard your lives with your life and give us plausible deniability in case anything happens to the car.We can declare the thing stolen.It’ll be fine.”