Before Braden could reply, the man hung up. Damned if Braden wasn’t smiling again. He wasn’t sure why Wes’s words made him feel so good.

A couple days later, Braden jumped into his truck and headed over to Cooper’s house. Braden had the day off and he was bored as hell. Since Noah worked today, and Coop wasn’t back to the firehouse yet, they’d decided to hang out.

His buddy answered the door quickly. “Where’s the sling?” Braden asked.

“Fuck off,” was Coop’s reply, and Braden couldn’t help but laugh.

“Bet you wear it when Noah’s around.” Noah was a good guy, and obviously crazy in love with Cooper. Braden didn’t know him too well, but he did know that if the doc still wanted Coop in that sling, Noah would make damn sure he had it on while around.

“Again, fuck off. It’s driving me batty. I’m starting rehab on my arm this week. If I can handle that, I can handle not wearing the thing for a few hours.”

Braden laughed at Coop’s surly voice as he followed him into the living room. Cooper sat in the chair and Braden the couch. “It’s driving you bat-shit crazy not being at work, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Yeah, I miss it. I need to get my ass back out there. I’m driving Noah crazy, too.”

Braden nodded, because he got it. He always needed to keep busy. If he wasn’t working, he needed to be doing something. He played on a local soccer team, worked out a lot, and went out a lot, too.

As a kid his mom always used to say he spent all his time looking for the next best thing. That wasn’t really what it boiled down to, though. He just hadn’t found anything that held his attention for long. Wasn’t his fault. “I’m sure you’re not driving Noah crazy.”

Cooper cocked a brow at him. “What about you? Are you driving Wes crazy?”

“Not even close to the same thing, man.” Braden still couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the fascination with Wes really was. There was something about him that made Braden curious, though—made him wonder about the distance Wes had in his eyes, despite the big heart he obviously had. Braden saw it when he looked at Jessie, saw it when he helped Noah and Cooper out, yet when it came to himself, he always pulled back.

There was that part of him that just wanted to push the more Wes tried to pull, though. His mom would give him hell for that. His parents were still happily married after almost forty years. His siblings were all happily hitched, but again, he’d never met someone who held his interest, despite how much his mom wanted him to.

He’d never had a relationship that lasted longer than a couple months, and even then he’d only had two. The longest lasting had been Gavin. They dated when he was eighteen, but were much better as friends.

He was twenty-nine years old, and since he moved from home at eighteen, he’d lived in four different states. He just hadn’t found anything that made him want to stick.

Cooper grinned. “That doesn’t mean you’re not driving him crazy.”

Shaking his head, Braden replied, “Fuck off. What’s the point if it’s not the kind of crazy that leaves us both sweaty in bed together?”

“So move on.”

Move on? What the hell did he mean by that? “It’s not like I’m stuck on him. I’m not waiting around for him, either. Just because you went and fell in love, don’t start looking for it everywhere else.”

Cooper laughed. “I’m giving you shit. But you have to admit you haven’t been going out as much.”

Picking up a magazine from the table beside him, Braden threw it at Cooper. “That’s because my dumbass friend nearly got himself killed, and then I was trying to be a friend to Wes. He lost his sister and gained a kid. Gotta be tough.” He’d talked to Wes one other time since he apologized, having called him up to check in. He wasn’t kidding when he said that’s how his mama raised him. You were there for your friends; at least, Braden was.

“Now can we shut the hell up and turn some sports on or something? You need to get your ass back to work to keep yourself busy. You’re turning into a damn gossip.”

Coop laughed and hit the power button on the remote.

“And just so you know, I’m going out tonight.” Cooper was right. He hadn’t been out in too long. It was time to change that.

***

“What am I supposed to do, Lydia? I have an interview in an hour. I need to get a job. We have bills to pay.” Wes paced the living room, his heart dangerously close to breaking through his rib cage.