But whatever.
If Reese remembered correctly, that story was something they were teaching in school these days, the history of what had once been owned by the Walkers in its entirety. Of course, the Walker generosity had ultimately allowed for the land to be parsed, sometimes sold, other times given away, until it became what it was today: a small town consisting of … well, hell, he wasn’t the Census Bureau. He had no idea how many people made up the town, but it was enough to still be considered small.
Reese brought his truck to a stop, glancing over at the bay door, which was open. This was another of the Walkers’ legacies, a demolition company formed by none other than Curtis Walker’s oldest son, Travis. It had since changed hands because Travis had moved on to bigger and better things. And Reese was in charge of the whole kit and caboodle, hence the reason he was stopping by.
Just inside, he could see someone moving around. After tapping on his horn to alert them to his presence, Reese climbed out of his truck and sauntered toward the door.
“This is fair warnin’,” he called out, pausing before he went inside. “If anyone’s naked in there, speak up now so I can take my ass elsewhere.”
A laugh sounded before Kaden Walker appeared in the doorway. “Beau and Ethan aren’t here.”
Translated to: the risk of naked men galivanting around was thankfully null.
Reese exhaled in relief. He could still remember the last time he’d stopped by to check on things. He’d found the two men in a compromising position. And while he didn’t give a shit what they did, he had encouraged them to put a do not disturb sign on the door because there were some things that shouldn’t be witnessed by others. It probably wouldn’t’ve been so bad if Ethan and Beau hadn’t been like family to Reese. In fact, he’d go so far as to say it might’ve been a bit … intriguing.
Not that he would think too long or too hard about that. Reese had never gotten off on seeing two men together, yet he still could see it in his head and his reaction wasn’t an adverse one.
Shaking off the thought, he turned his attention to Kaden. “Where’s Keegan?”
“He ran up to help Lorrie with the kiddos. She’s havin’ Kate and Mason for a sleepover. Keeg offered to pick ’em up.”
Reese peered around the shop. “You need any help in here?”
“Nah. All good. Was about to shut it down. Why? You got somethin’ for me?”
“Nope. Figured I’d stop by, tell y’all I was cuttin’ out for the weekend.”
“Big plans?”
Reese grinned. “If sittin’ at home with a cold beer’s considered big, then sure.”
“Great minds think alike. That’s been my plan all week.”
“And you think you’ll get Keegan to sit at home for even a minute?”
“I bought him a game for the Xbox. Until he gets bored with it, I’m golden.”
Funny how Kaden spoke of his identical twin like he was referring to keeping a five-year-old boy entertained instead of a thirty-seven-year-old man.
“Well, if you’re all good here, I’m tappin’ out till Monday,” Reese told him. “See you then.”
“Have a good weekend.”
“You, too.”
Fifteen minutes later, Reese was behind the wheel, making his way through Coyote Ridge to the highway that would lead to the neighboring town. Considering how much time he’d been spending at the gun range lately, Reese probably should consider opening one of his own. Hell, he had nothing better to do. When he wasn’t working, he was doing exactly as he’d told Kaden, sitting on his ass.
Sure, there were the times when Travis reached out and asked Reese to do something for him. The requests usually revolved around doing some digging and then confronting whoever it was Travis had it in for. Thanks to all those favors, he’d had his fair share of run-ins with the riffraff. And Travis definitely owed him. Reese figured he’d be sitting high on the hog in his golden years when he cashed them all in.
The thought made him smile.
Not that he had any intentions of cashing in his favors with Travis. The man was a good guy, one Reese highly respected, and if he asked for something … well, there wasn’t much Reese wouldn’t do for the guy. Or any of the Walkers for that matter. He considered them family.
Speaking of family…
Reese hit the button to call his brother, fully expecting the damn thing to go to voice mail as it had too often in the past year. Z’s entire world revolved around Sniper 1 Security, and it seemed the jobs he was taking these days were keeping him out of the country with his husband, Ryan Trexler.
“What’s up, kid?” came the gruff voice through the speakers in his truck.
An automatic smile curved his lips. “Been a long damn time since I was a kid.”
