Detour (The Getaway Series Book 5)

by Jay Crownover

“I’m not going anywhere.”

  It was the first time I’d ever said those words. It was the first time I’d found a place I wanted to stay, and the first time I’d met someone I couldn’t leave behind.

  Rodie

  “What did you say to the mayor at the town hall?”

  There was a lot to process at the moment. The unreal sex. The fact Wyatt said he wasn’t going anywhere. Knowing my job wasn’t immediately in danger once the town really knew who they were voting for. And the message that just came across my phone from one of my deputies: the mayor had suddenly pulled his name from the election. With no rhyme or reason, and no explanation, all the gossip in town was now centered around him instead of me.

  Wyatt stretched his arms above his head and let out a yawn. His blue eyes looked sleepy and sexy, but the smirk on his face was smug and had me even more intrigued.

  “I told him it would be a good idea for him to drop out of the election if he didn’t want anyone to find out that he was scamming the town.”

  I felt my eyebrows twitch as I pushed up so my back was resting against the headboard. “I thought I told you to leave it alone.” I should’ve known he was going to ignore my request. The man couldn’t stand by and watch an injustice happen. It just wasn’t in his wiring.

  “You told me not to play dirty, and I didn’t. I looked into some of the promises the mayor made during his campaigns, and some things didn’t add up. I know a couple agents at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation from when they were investigating Webb, and asked around to see if there were any complaints lodged against him. They managed to dig up information in places I can’t access any longer. When you hate an entire group of people for no reason, it follows that you’re probably prejudiced against others, as well. The mayor made repeated promises to fund various scholarships and education programs for children on the reservations surrounding Sheridan. It was a repeated message in all of his campaigns and a key talking point of his fundraising initiatives. Good, honest people gave him money thinking he was going to help those kids.

  “Do you think anyone on any of the reservations around this town have seen a dime?”

  He rolled over in the tangled sheets and braced his head on one of his hands, watching me carefully.

  “He took that money and did Lord only knows with it. Various groups from the reservations lodged complaints about never seeing any improvement in the education systems, but no one ever took action because the mayor kept insisting he was putting together a special task force. Marginalized voices often get overlooked like this. People are far too conditioned to turn a blind eye to those in need of a little bit more love and support. But now I know, and you know, and soon this entire town will know about it. Hopefully something good will come from that bigoted asshole going up against us.”

  I rubbed a hand down my face, disappointed, but not surprised by this information. “You managed to find all of that out in two days?” And he said I was dangerous. It was a good reminder that Wyatt was so much more than a pretty face. The man was a formidable opponent and could be downright scary in the right circumstances. How lucky was I? He even said the mayor had gone up against us. I had no idea such a tiny little word could take up so much room inside my heart.

  Wyatt chuckled. “I just asked some questions and made myself a nuisance until I got answers. I’m sorry I was late to the town hall. But it was worth it to put that idiot in his place.”

  “I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to go through with it until I saw you.” I was being honest. My determination wavered when it came time to face my ultimate fear, but knowing he was there, that I could rely on him no matter the fallout, made a huge difference.

  He reached up and dragged the tip of a finger down the bridge of my nose. I was going to get addicted to the casual, confident way he showed simple affection. As someone who had been denied basic human contact and warmth throughout my formative years, the way he put his hands on me meant everything.

  “You would’ve been fine, even if I wasn’t there. I knew you wouldn’t let Cam get caught up in that nonsense. I didn’t doubt for a second that you would sacrifice yourself to save him. You’re a really good guy, Rodie. If you weren’t, I don’t think I would have considered what life would be like if I stuck around Sheridan.” He tapped the end of my nose and rolled over onto his back. He crossed his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. “It’ll be interesting to see who steps up to take the mayor’s place now that the position is about to be vacant. Hopefully it’ll be someone more open-minded, someone looking to represent every type of resident Sheridan has.”

  I reached out so I could ruffle his messy hair. The strands felt like silk between my fingers. “What about you? You’re gonna have to find something to do with your free time if you’re staying. You can’t be unemployed forever.” I was just teasing him. I would gladly let him stay at home and support him if that was how things were going to play out.

  Wyatt leaned into the slight caress, vibrant eyes sliding closed in contentment. “I’m not cut out for politics. Too many rules, too many people breaking them for their own objectives. But I have been giving a lot of thought to what my future should look like.”

  “Oh yeah? What does it look like?” As long as there was a place for me in it, the details didn’t really matter to me. I would stand by him regardless. Like he’d just done for me.

  “I think it looks bright, maybe even happy. I’m not sure, because I’ve never really seen things that way before.” He blinked up at me and flashed a shy smile. “Webb and Ten bought a huge piece of land with the dirty money my worthless father left for him. They’re going to build a house, and Webb asked me to put some roots down right next to him. I don’t think I’m ready to be so close to my little brother all the time, but it got me thinking. I wasn’t planning on touching the money from our father. I didn’t want anything to do with it, or him. But there are so many people out there the money could help, it’s selfish for me to keep pretending like it doesn’t exist. How can I justify ignoring kids like Cam, who have no one and nowhere to go? Or those kids on the reservation who get overlooked and forgotten. A little attention and financial backing can go such a long way.”

  I made a soft sound of agreement as I continued to pet him. “Not just kids like Cam. Kids like you and Webb, too. There is no reason for any child to be tossed out on the streets, starving and desperate.”

  He turned his head slightly, blue eyes blazing with deep emotion. “And kids like you, who feel like they have no one who understands them, no one to rely on. You may have had a roof over your head, but it was just as cold inside those four walls as it was for us when we had to sleep on the ground.” He cleared his throat and gave a little nod. “I want to help kids who need it. Webb has been learning the dude ranch business from Cyrus and Lane. I’ve been thinking about some kind of camp, or some kind of retreat for LGBTQ kids. Some kind of safe haven for those marginalized voices. I want them to know they are seen and heard. I want them to know someone out there cares. We can give them a roof over their heads, three square meals a day, life skills training, and even therapy. I was hoping I could talk to Cyrus and Leo about it. I think if I can figure out a solid business plan, I could convince the Warners to partner with me and Webb on the project down the road.”

  It was clear the idea had been percolating for a while. He spoke with confidence and assurance, as if he’d finally figured out his true calling. I wasn’t at all surprised his endgame was to help others who were in deep need. We both had the driving desire to make sure no one else went through the things we did when we were younger. Our childhoods sucked, but there was no denying they’d helped turn us into the compassionate men we were today. We suffered so others wouldn’t have to. He was the one who was a really good guy.

  “So, you were planning on staying before I asked?” I was happy it meant I got to keep him and got more time with him, but if I was being honest, I was a little let down I hadn’t been part of his dec
iding factor. I wanted to be as important to him as he was to me.

  Wyatt moved so fast I almost forgot he was still healing from some serious injuries. I was manhandled back to the mattress, and ended up with a big, blond former special agent propped on top of me, pinning me to the bed. Blue eyes blazed into mine, and his pretty features were set into fierce lines.

  “I wanted to stay, but I was looking for a reason. Watching you go to bat for Cam, knowing you were going to stop living in the dark, made up my mind for me. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to walk away when you came out to the town. There was no way I was leaving you alone to deal with that. When I realized I couldn’t leave you behind, it got me thinking about what I was going to do with myself in the middle of nowhere. You inspired me, Rodie. Don’t ever doubt it.”

  “Good to know.” He inspired me, too. He made me want more than just a paycheck and a place to call home.

  We were both still naked, so the fact he was on top of me, and the way he was handling me, forced my body to respond almost instantly. My dick got hard, and I felt his swell and lengthen against my stomach. The intensity of his gaze took on a new dimension, and the way he was holding me down switched to something else in the span of a second. His hands went from pressing down on my shoulders to skimming across my chest and brushing across my nipples. I sucked in a sharp breath through my teeth and arched my neck when he lowered his head to kiss his way across my jaw.

  I was usually the aggressor, not that I was complaining about Wyatt stepping up to take the lead. As much as I appreciated his submissive side, I liked when he got fierce and demanding. It wasn’t often I was with someone who could give as good as I gave. It was another sign Wyatt really might be the perfect man for me. I wasn’t sure what I’d done to deserve him, but I was sure happy with my reward.

  And he seemed pretty happy with his.

  He shifted his hips, pressing his erection more firmly against my stomach. His teeth latched onto my ear as his quick fingers returned to the sensitive points on my chest. Muscles flexed and tightened as breaths quickened and blood heated. We weren’t teenagers any longer, so we shouldn’t be amped up and recovering this quickly after that energetic round of sex we’d just had, but it seemed like none of the old rules were going to apply to us when we were together.

  All it took was a few wet, hungry kisses, and the brush of eager hands over hard flesh to have us both panting and subtly grinding against one another. I was waiting for him to turn the tables on me. I was slightly breathless, waiting for him to start telling me what he wanted me to do, but the demands and orders never came. Instead, he seduced me silently with his lips and hands. Before I knew what was happening, I was a quivering, shaking mess of anticipation underneath him, wordlessly begging for him to put me out of my misery.

  He held our cocks together in one wide palm and slowly worked them up and down. He was very good at stimulating both of us at the same time, so I closed my eyes and sank into the sensation. I felt his teeth on the side of my neck and realized he was marking me the same way I’d marked him. We were declaring ownership of each other, and nothing in my life felt as significant as this singular moment. I’d never had anyone to call my own. And more importantly, I’d never had anyone step up and do the work required to call me theirs.

  In the heat of the moment earlier, he said he was going to ask me to ride him, so I shifted restlessly waiting for him to put the words into action. Instead, Wyatt brought us both to the very edge of completion with just his hands and mouth. Right when I was about to burst out of my skin and order him to finish us off, he suddenly moved between my spread legs. My eyebrows shot up in surprise. In all my years as sexually active adult, I couldn’t recall a time I’d ever made love with someone face to face. Regardless of my position during the most intimate of moments, facing whomever I was with in the dark made me feel far too vulnerable and exposed.

  There was none of that with Wyatt. He saw through any mask I tried to wear, and I’d never managed to keep a single secret from him. He saw right through me from the start, so I had no trouble looking him right in those beautiful blue eyes as he moved my legs where he wanted them to get both of us ready.

  My body twitched and softened around his probing fingers. My dick throbbed in anticipation as pleasure coiled tightly at the base of my spine. Wyatt took his time, and he was careful with the way he stroked me. He was good at reading my body language, but he was fixed on my eyes. He must have been able to see how close I was to losing it, because right before I came all over my own hand, he pressed inside of my very ready opening. All it took was that first stretch and give of interior flesh and muscle for pleasure to explode inside of me. Normally, I’d be embarrassed about being so quick on the trigger, but Wyatt was right behind me. It only took a few hurried thrusts and my body instinctively clamping down on his for him to groan my name and collapse in a satisfied heap on top of me.

  We were quiet in the aftermath because words weren’t needed.

  Nothing more was needed.

  Here, in the middle of nowhere, we had it all and then some.

  We were going to do great things together… for ourselves, and for others.

  If anyone told me I would have to go back to the very beginning where I thought it all went wrong to find everything that was right, I never would have believed them. And just like I’d sold this place to Abe when I was convinced I hated it, I was going to move forward with Wyatt. I would make sure others who needed to heal knew this place was special. They had a place here among people who genuinely cared about them.

  Under the wide open, pristine sky, wonderful things managed to happen. I could see them all now.

  Three Years Later

  I was exhausted when I finally got back to the small house in the center of town I’d called home since I’d moved in with Rodie a couple years ago. My younger brother was still holding out hope I would change my mind and build a bigger place on the compound that now included a fully operating halfway house for all sorts of displaced youth. However, I liked Rodie’s immaculately decorated house. I appreciated the time and care he put into creating something of his own. I liked that it was actually located in Sheridan and not on the outskirts of everything. It meant well-meaning friends and family couldn’t just drop in whenever they wanted, which was also nice. I hadn’t given up my mile-wide independent streak just because I was now surrounded by people who loved me unconditionally. While I would never fully adjust to the quiet and lack of smog and traffic, I was slowly getting used to small-town living.

  I’d been out at the property Webb cheerfully dubbed Runaway Ranch late this evening. We’d gotten a new group of kids and they’d been delayed due to the weather. Webb and I waited until they were all warmed up, fed properly, and situated in the space before going over the rules and regulations of the property. Often times, the kids balked when they heard about the strict requirements, one of which was daily counseling, in order to stay at the ranch, and it took us hours to convince them to stay. Such was the case tonight. There was a young man, probably around the same age Cam had been when he came to Wyoming, who was absolutely defiant and ready to leave as soon as he arrived. I knew a lot of the kids had never had anyone reach out and try and help them before, so they didn’t know what to do with the kindness and care when there was suddenly an abundant supply of it.

  We never forced anyone to stay, but we refused to put them in danger, so they couldn’t go anywhere until the weather was better. Fortunately, the young man this evening eventually calmed down and agreed to sleep on his decision to leave. I was relieved, but the drive back to my own home took a lot longer than normal, and by the time I walked in the door, I was dead on my feet.

  Rodie called twice to make sure I was okay on the drive, but I could hear how tired he was, as well. There had been a series of sexual assaults across the county over the last few months, and both Rodie and Ten had been handpicked to be part of the taskforce investigating the crimes. He had a lot going on. We bo
th did. But there was one reason we both made it home every single night, no matter what.

  That reason was currently curled up in her crib, one thumb tucked into her pouty little mouth, looking like a perfect little doll as she dreamed. I reached out a finger and touched her baby soft cheek, fighting back the sting of tears as she curled into the touch and cooed adorably.

  I’d always wanted kids, wanted the dream idea of what a family was supposed to look like, but it never seemed like it was something I was going to have. Then Rodie Collins burst into my life, all flirty and ferocious, and suddenly nothing seemed impossible. Because families could look like anything as long as they had love.

  At the beginning of the year, we’d taken in a young girl. A girl too young to live on the streets. A girl far too young to sell her body to survive. A girl way too innocent to have first-hand knowledge of what it was like to be used and abused by someone older. A girl too young to be responsible for a baby. She was a sweet kid who felt like her life was over and that she’d reached the end of her rope. I was terrified she was going to end her own life and take the life growing inside of her, too. It was one of the most complicated cases we’d faced since opening the ranch.

  Luckily, she pulled through with a lot of help from our staff psychiatrist and support from other kids who had faced similarly horrible experiences. Knowing she wasn’t alone, and that she wasn’t the only one going through something so traumatic, pulled her through. Before the baby came, she pulled me aside and asked me to look into adoption options for her. Excited she was fighting to keep living for herself and her baby, I readily agreed. I hadn’t planned on Rodie suggesting that he and I adopt the baby. At first, I believed he was just being his typical problem-solver self, but he persisted, and once he put the idea in my head, I couldn’t let it go. We spoke to the young woman, making sure she had the support she needed in the event she wanted to turn us down. Only, she’d been ecstatic at the idea and had promptly burst into tears, claiming she wished we could adopt her, as well. While taking on an emotionally distraught teen and a baby at the same time would prove challenging, Rodie and I determined we were up to the challenge. The fact that he didn’t even blink when I suggested taking both of them in solidified that he was the only man I was ever going to love and want to share a home and family with. After the baby came and papers were signed, and all the legal mumbo-jumbo was out of the way, the baby’s mother decided she didn’t want to stay in Wyoming. I found a lovely foster family in Florida willing to take her in. She left, but we all agreed to keep the adoption open so she could always come back if she wanted a relationship with her daughter.