The line was quiet, nothing except his and Mason’s breathing. Finally, his lover said, “Thanks. I appreciate that. Jesus, I can’t believe this happened. Do you think you can open the bar today? I’ll be in at some point. There…there’s a few things we need to talk about.”

There was a hitch to Mason’s voice then. Gavin had never heard it there before.

“Yeah. It’s under control. Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

Before Mason could reply, there was another voice in the background. “Mason, you need to get some sleep. You’ve been awake all night.”

Gavin squeezed the phone in his hand. It made sense for Isaac to be with Mason. It did. They were friends, and Isaac was close to Mason’s family. But that didn’t mean he liked it.

“He’s right. I can hardly hold my damn eyes open over here. I’m going to crash for a while, and then go see my dad before I come home. Thanks for helping out.”

Gavin nodded as though Mason could see him. “No problem.”

After they said their goodbyes, Gavin sat on the edge of the bed, his right knee bouncing up and down. It made him an asshole to be jealous right now. Mason’s father was in the hospital, and it wasn’t like Gavin didn’t have things going on in his own life as well. Isaac should be the last thing on his mind, yet all he could think about was the fact that Gavin was here, and Isaac was with Mason, where Gavin wanted to be.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

It took Mason longer in Denver than he thought it would. He’d slept for almost six hours before making it back to the hospital. His mom had refused to leave, but had practically shoved him and Isaac out. She had a pullout bed in his father’s room, so he’d felt okay about leaving her, and he’d obviously needed the rest.

The talk at the hospital hadn’t been easy, but it needed to be done. He ignored the fact that he felt like the room closed in on him, getting smaller and smaller the longer he was there.

Mason was a selfish man. He hadn’t realized that about himself until recently. He knew he had to change it.

And he would.

Finally, after another long day, he made his way back to Blackcreek. He would have been screwed without Gavin there to help the past two days. What would he have done? What would he do now? Because the fact was, he would need a lot more help in the near future.

The sun started to set as he pulled into the parking lot of the bar. There were about ten cars in the lot, which wasn’t too bad. Thankfully this had all happened on a weeknight.

Adrenaline built inside him as Mason made his way to the old, creaky door. This was where he wanted to be. This place was his. The thing he’d chosen his family over. The place he wasn’t sure he would be able to keep.

Gavin stood behind the bar, serving drinks, when Mason stepped inside. His lover didn’t notice him there, and Mason took a minute to watch him. His movements were more confident. He laughed with a couple as he mixed their drinks, obviously telling a story by the way his lips kept moving and the animation in his body.

For the first time since he got the phone call about his dad, Mason found himself smiling. He didn’t know what the hell it was about this man that made him feel so…good, but he did.

And then he thought about his dad in that hospital bed again, and his mom by dad’s side. About the changes coming up and his behavior with his family, and his muscles turned to stone again. His gut cramped up and the smile dropped from his face.

At the same time, Gavin looked up and saw him there. He paused a second, watching Mason, before he jerked his head back slightly as if to say come here.

Mason tried to ignore everything weighing him down and made his way over to Gavin. The couple he’d been speaking with were now in their own conversation as Mason crossed his arms and tried to pretend his life wasn’t changing. “Becoming a bossy bastard, aren’t you?”

Gavin’s posture loosened. He leaned slightly toward Mason, crossing his arms the same way Mason did. “How is he?”

Obviously he wasn’t going to let Mason pretend nothing had happened. That’s what they did, though, wasn’t it? Neither of them let the other get away with shit. They called each other out on it and had this standing honesty between them that Mason wasn’t sure he’d ever had with anyone before. “Same.”

“How are you?” he asked next.

“We’ll talk later.” He grabbed the back of Gavin’s head and pulled Gavin toward him, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “How are things here? I need to check stock and put in an order. There are a few other things I need to make sure get finished up that I missed yesterday.”