“Money isn’t coming in like it should, yet hours are high. They’re busy, but the cash is going somewhere. We might need to let him go,” Isaac replied.

“How do we know it’s him? We need to figure out what’s going on first.” Which meant a trip to a city six hours away for who knew how long. There weren’t many options on who could do it—his dad, Isaac or Mason.

Only, he had the bar now. He couldn’t make a trip like that. “Shit.” Mason groaned, and rubbed his hand over his face. He couldn’t leave his family out to dry, either.

“We’ll figure it out,” his dad said as Mom nodded.

“Yeah, that’s enough work talk for tonight.”

Mason felt like he had a hand wrapped around his throat for the rest of the evening. He didn’t like the idea of his dad traveling for business. He wasn’t sure what made him feel it, but things were off where his dad was concerned. That left him two restaurants here and one in Boulder if Isaac went to Durango, and Mason didn’t like that, either. His dad looked more tired than he used to. He didn’t move around as fast.

Finally, when his brain wouldn’t stop running around, Mason had enough. He pushed to his feet, “I’m tired. I still have a long drive ahead of me.”

“Why don’t you stay here?” There was a slight, pleading tone to his mother’s voice.

“Not tonight. I need to stop in and make sure things are okay at the bar, anyway.” Which was true. Mason had a hard time leaving it in control of someone else.

“I’ll walk you out.” Isaac stood as well.

Not in the mood to argue, he let it go and said goodbye to his parents. They made it all the way to his SUV before Isaac asked, “Still letting the bartender fuck you?”

Christ, he should have known this was coming. “Do we really have to do this again? You’re starting to look needy.” That was something he knew Isaac wouldn’t be able to handle.

“No, I just know what I want. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Mason stifled a yawn. He didn’t have time for this. “Have a good one, Isaac. I need to get home.” He climbed into his SUV and turned it on. When Isaac knocked on the window, he groaned but then rolled it down.

“Don’t stress on Durango. I’ll figure it out.”

He cocked his head a little and looked at his ex. He hadn’t expected that one. “You know I’ll still worry, but thanks.”

He went to put the vehicle into gear when Isaac spoke again. “What is it? That you see in the bartender, I mean?”

Mason leaned back in the seat and let out a deep breath. “He’s not really a bartender. He is, but he won’t be forever. He teaches, and…” Mason shrugged. “He’s a breath of fresh air. He could be jaded by the world but he isn’t. He pays attention to things I never have. It’s like he suddenly woke up and realized he’s alive… It’s incredible to experience.” When he caught Isaac’s eyes, the man looked at him like he’d never seen Mason before. It made his gut tense up. “And he fucks like a God. Best I’ve had in a long time.”

He winked at Isaac, who shook his head. “Asshole. We know that’s not true.”

“Think what you will.” He nodded at his ex and then drove away. He spent the whole drive worried about his parents and the business, and wondering why in the hell he was having such a hard time with this. In the back of his mind, Gavin was there, too, and he couldn’t help but worry about how Gavin’s day had gone, hoping it went better than his.

***

Gavin sat on his living room couch, in the dark.

She’d asked him to leave. He couldn’t believe his mother had asked him to leave. No matter how many ups and downs they had over the years. No matter how many tears there were, or prayers that would never change who he was, and meetings with church members, and fears and anger over Braden when he was a kid, he’d never been asked to leave.

They loved him, they worried about him, but they would never cast him out.

In a way, she’d done that very thing tonight.

Gavin didn’t move when he saw lights travel across the wall. Then heard a car door slam, and then finally a knock.

Damn it. There was no one it could be except Mason. If he was being honest, part of him was glad the man came here. His whole body went rigid when he thought about Mason spending time with Isaac, laughing with his family the way Gavin would never be able to do with a man he dated and his own parents.

And he really didn’t like Isaac all that much.