At that moment, Reese’s gaze swung his way. They locked eyes for a second and Brantley could practically see the man’s thoughts. He had figured Reese would spend a tremendous amount of time picking apart what they’d done the other night. And he had vowed to give him the space necessary to do so, hoping against hope that Reese would embrace this thing between them. After all, Reese had told him he was all in. Only, he’d said that in the heat of the moment, before the inevitable had happened. Now that they’d crossed that line from friends to lovers, he doubted it was that simple. Not for Reese anyway.
“Hey, you got a minute?”
He was dragged out of his thoughts when Travis appeared in front of him.
“Of course.”
“You mind gettin’ Reese, meetin’ me out front?”
He studied Travis’s face for a second as though he could read his thoughts. When it didn’t work, he offered a nod, then sauntered over to Reese.
“Well, there’s the big, bad SEAL who saved my niece,” Zane said. “Glad you could make it. Your seat at the table’s been empty the past few Sundays.”
“He does have his own family,” Kaleb inserted. “Probably gets tired of seein’ your ugly mug, wants to spend it with people he actually likes.”
Brantley chuckled. “Been a little busy.”
“Savin’ the world,” Zane noted, his face turning serious. “We honestly can’t thank you enough, man.”
“I do what I can.” Embarrassed by the praise, he glanced over at Reese. “Travis would like to talk to us.”
Reese nodded, excused himself, and fell into step with Brantley as they made their way through the throng to the front door.
As he gripped the knob, he resigned himself for more thanks, not realizing what was about to come at him was going to change the entire course of his life.
***
When Brantley said Travis wanted to talk to them, Reese expected the man to offer his thanks again, so he was a little surprised to find Travis standing outside with another man, one he didn’t recognize. Before the front door could close behind him, someone tugged on it and then Curtis appeared, following close behind.
“What’s goin’ on?” Brantley asked, glancing between Travis and the other man.
“Brantley, you know Gerard Greenwood, the governor of our great state.”
It wasn’t a question, Reese realized.
Brantley nodded. “Good to see you again, sir.”
“Governor,” Travis said, “this is Reese Tavoularis. He’s currently the man who’s runnin’ Walker Demolition for me and my brothers.”
“Nice to meet you,” the governor said, offering his hand.
Reese shook it as was the polite thing to do. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“The pleasure’s all mine, I assure you.”
The governor glanced at Curtis, then stepped over to him, smiling as he did. They engaged in one of those hugs men who’d known each other a long time did. A couple of slaps on the back, although gentler because of their age, before they stepped away from one another.
Evidently, the governor of the great state of Texas was good friends with Curtis Walker. Didn’t surprise Reese in the least.
Governor Greenwood turned his attention to Brantley. “Dante told me what you did, how you tracked down Travis’s daughter and brought her home safely.”
“I merely played a part in it,” Brantley said, his tone lacking any warmth.
Reese figured his lack of interest in seeing the governor had something to do with Dante. He had yet to learn what Brantley’s problem with Dante was, but evidently it extended to the man’s father.
“I heard that, too.” Governor Greenwood glanced between all the faces, then met Brantley’s stare again. “I honestly didn’t mean to interrupt the Sunday festivities, but I felt this was a discussion I couldn’t afford to hold off on.”
Reese looked at Travis, noticed the way the man’s expression was masked completely.
“What can we help you with, Governor?” Brantley asked, the chill in his voice not subtle.
The man exhaled slowly, then relaxed, making his way over to the porch rail, staring out into the night.
“When Dante told me what was going on with Travis’s daughter … it brought back a lot of memories. Ones I’d thought I’d made my peace with. Turns out, they’d simply been hiding beneath the everyday hustle of life.” Governor Greenwood glanced over at Brantley, who had stepped up to the rail beside him. “I’m sure you remember my daughter, Corinne.”
“Of course.”
“Perhaps you even remember Cori’s best friend, Lauren.”
“I’m sorry, no.”
“Yeah, well, Dante is quite a bit older than his sister, so it’s understandable that his friends didn’t know Cori’s. Anyway. Lauren lived across the street from us when Cori was growing up. From the time they were old enough to talk, they were inseparable. That was the case through elementary, middle school, and into high school.”
Reese had a feeling he knew where this story was going and he wasn’t sure he was ready to hear it, but he listened intently.
