Tag Team (30 page)

“It looked like you were having fun,” Bobby inquired as they made their way to the front door.

“I did. They were all really amazing guys. They’ve invited me to play cards with them on Monday.”

“Wow, are you going?” Rig asked cautiously.

“I’d like to.” He smiled up at Rig happily. “That is, if it’s okay with you, sir?”

Rig’s eyes went wide, and he looked at Bobby who was smiling just as broadly as Mason was. “Absolutely,” Rig chuckled and hugged Mason to him. “Absolutely,” he said again.

“You seemed to have taken a shine to Micah. I saw you spending quite a bit of time talking with him.”

“He’s awesome,” he told them as Bobby helped him with his coat. “I had a hard time following him sometimes. He’s a little random, but he made me laugh a lot. He has social issues too. You wouldn’t think so by looking at us, but we actually have kind of the same problem.”

“How so?” Rig asked, head cocked to the side, brows furrowed.

“Well, when I meet new people my mind starts going a mile a minute, a hundred different questions being thrown at me until I freak, like a little mini explosion inside my head. Micah does kind of the same thing, except he rambles the question off, out loud, and the person he is talking to gets to experience the head-exploding thingy.” Mason shook his head. “Micah said I need to get better at tossing my explosives.”

“That’s a damn good way of looking at it,” Bobby chuckled. “But you do realize Micah gets in a lot of trouble with Tackett for his naughtiness, right?”

“I know.” Mason waggled his brows. “He’s my new hero.”

Bobby and Rig looked at each other with mirrored stunned expression and then high-fived before laughing. Mason shook his head again and joined them.

“Anyway, I’m glad Micah and I hit it off. Ty was busy chatting with Aiden. Did you know they know some of the same people? In fact they had met each other before and didn’t even realize it until tonight?”

“Oh, yeah?” Rig asked.

“Mmm hmm. Apparently Aiden and Ty were at the same wedding back in Oklahoma.”

“Wow,” Bobby commented and pushed the door open, holding it for Mason.

“I know, right. Just goes to prove how small the world is,” he said over his shoulder.

Mason slammed into a solid wall. His head whipped around and blinked, his eyes level with a leather-clad chest. Cautiously he raised his eyes. Holy fuck, the wall was at least six and a half feet tall and over twice as wide as Mason was. It also had a long dark beard, long brown hair, and was wearing a black beanie. Mason gasped and took a step back as the massive man frowned at him. “S…. S…. Sorry,” he stuttered.

Rig instantly pulled him close, sensing Mason’s distress. “Hey, you lunker, watch where you’re going,” Rig growled.

Mason’s eyes went wide, and he clutched at the hand around his waist and tried to push Rig back. Rig was a confident and sometimes arrogant man, but Jesus, he wasn’t actually going to pick a fight with this mountain of a man.

“You know, Rig. One of these days, Jamie is going to squash you like a bug and I’m going to laugh my ass off.” Bobby stepped up to the man and shook his hand. “Hey, Jamie, how’ve you been?”

Jamie winked at Mason and shook Bobby’s and then Rig’s hand. “Doing good. No complaints. Welcome back.”

Mason let out the breath that had been stuck in his throat as relief flooded him. He trusted Rig with a lot of things, but taking on someone the size of Jamie, he had his doubts.

“Thanks, good to be home.” Rig scanned the area, which wasn’t an easy task with Jamie blocking the sun, or moon, whatever. “Where’s your better half?”

Mason gasped at the thought of this man being only
half
of anything. Mason was pushed back hard against Rig’s chest when Jamie was shoved forward. He caught himself on the doorframe at the last second, probably saving Mason from being crushed to death.

“What the hell is the hold up?” someone growled from behind Jamie.

“Speak of the devil,” Bobby snorted.

Jamie turned to the side, revealing another mammoth man, not quite as tall as Jamie but just as wide. His longish dirty-blond hair and goatee made him kind of look like Jesus on steroids.

“Rig, Bobby, damn, man, good to see you back. You here for the party?”

“Hey, Tek.” Rig shook his head. “We were just leaving.”

“You’re going to miss a hell of a party. Tackett and Micah are the main event,” he said with a sly grin. “Hey, is this Mason?” Tek asked, pointing at Mason.

“Tek Cain, Jamie Ryan, meet Mason Howard,” Rig said, the pride once again evident in his voice. To Mason he leaned in and whispered. “Don’t let their size fool you. They’re big ol’ pussy cats.”

Panthers, cougars, and lions were big ol’ pussy cats too
, Mason thought and swallowed hard.

“Hey, Mason,” they both said in unison. Tek added, “Welcome to New York.”

Mason waved meekly, but thankfully didn’t have to respond.

“Good seeing you guys. Nice to meet you, Mason,” Tek pushed past them. “Sorry, Blake will have my ass if I’m late again. We’ll catch up soon,” he tossed over his shoulder, then disappeared into the club. Jamie waved and followed Tek.

“I can’t believe Blake would be brave enough to hand that man his ass,” Mason muttered and shivered.

“You’d be surprised what Blake can do,” Bobby laughed. “Tek’s a bouncer here at the club, and Jamie just comes along to keep an eye on his man and enjoy the festivities.”

“They’re an actual real-live couple? Hope they have a really, really big bed,” Mason mused, and both Rig and Bobby laughed.

As they made their way to the parking lot, Bobby and Rig once again flanking him, this time from the cold, Mason thought back over the night. He’d surprised himself tonight. He’d come to a club, spent time with practical strangers, and other than the one slight freak-out, had the time of his life. He knew it was all because of Bobby and Rig. They had swooped into his life, tag teamed him until Mason could stand on his own two feet. They made him feel as if he could accomplish anything. And maybe he could.

Mason reached up and lovingly stroked the worn collar around his neck. Maybe he’d been wrong; maybe, just maybe, Ty was right and there was a higher power at work here. There wasn’t a day that had gone by that he hadn’t thought about Gregory and Charles and missed them so much it hurt. But with Bobby and Rig at his side, Mason would never be alone again, nor would he ever have to carry the burden of loss by himself.

Rig opened the passenger side door and held it open for Mason. Before sliding into the car he pressed a kiss to Rig’s cheek and then Bobby’s and whispered, “Thank you.”

He still had a hard road to travel, a lot of tears he was sure he’d shed, and tough decisions to be made, but he’d face them as they came without worry, because with Rig and Bobby to help him, he may be able to overcome any obstacle.

Mason settled into the seat and fastened the seatbelt. He looked up into the star-filled night and nodded. Yeah, no maybe about it; he
could
do anything.

About the Author

SJD P
ETERSON
, better known as Jo, hails from Michigan. Not the best place to live for someone who hates the cold and snow. When not reading or writing, Jo can be found close to the heater checking out NHL stats and watching the Red Wings kick a little butt. Can't cook, misses the clothes hamper nine out of ten tries, but is handy with power tools.

Visit Jo at http://www.facebook.com/SJD.Peterson;

http://sjdpeterson.blogspot.com/;

https://twitter.com/SJDPeterson; and

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4563849.S_J_D_Peterson.

Contact Jo at [email protected].

Guards of Folsom from
SJD P
ETERSON

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Also from
SJD P
ETERSON

 
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Whispering Pines Ranch Novels
from
SJD P
ETERSON

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Romance from
D
REAMSPINNER
P
RESS