Safe Harbor (Pine Cove Book 1)

by HJ Welch

  But Dair had been naive to think his new coworkers could ever fill the void left by the loss of his Marine family. Having no real biological family and being single for the first time since high school, Dair had hoped to find his place in the world here at the auto shop.

  As more crude laughter rang across the garage, he was reminded how much that hadn’t happened.

  Then he thought of home.

  He smiled and leaned back against his chair. He did have his housemates now, didn’t he? It wasn’t the same as having a girlfriend or a wife, but it was sort of like having a family. Peyton was really cool, but Dair especially liked Robin. Maybe because he was quieter and a harder challenge to get to know than Peyton.

  In fact, Dair had spent the entire first month thinking Robin didn’t even like him. He still wasn’t sure. They had appeared to get along when they’d met at his interview, but for the first few weeks, it was like Robin turned into a mouse and scurried off with a squeak every time Dair was home.

  Slowly, though, Dair had won him over via his stomach with his mom’s trusted macaroni and cheese as well as his special chicken Kievs. Then he’d asked Robin if he wanted to play Black Ops 4 on the PlayStation. Seeing as he was a software developer, Dair figured he must be into gaming too. He’d been right.

  Nowadays Robin was still extremely shy, but it was like when he forgot himself, he opened up the floodgates with rambling streams of consciousness that Dair thought were funny but also really cute. Was it too much to hope that the two of them would become better friends with time? Dair was sure Robin’s buddies at work were much smarter than him. But despite the fact they had nothing in common, Dair couldn’t help but feel they’d get along just great given time.

  In fact, wasn’t Robin’s vacation starting tonight? Yes, because Dair had made a mental note to swing by the store on his way home to get supplies to cook something special. Probably Thai. That was what they all loved most in the apartment. But just his luck, right at that moment another emergency customer crawled into the auto shop with a banged-up trunk and bumper from a small accident.

  Naturally, seeing as it was almost the end of the day, the rest of Dair’s coworkers melted away into the back rooms.

  Dair didn’t mind, though. The old boy driving the car was pretty rattled, having been shunted by a young kid he suspected had been drinking. Dair worried the other guys might have belittled the older man, but Dair took his time to assure him everything would be fine and they’d have his car back to him by tomorrow. Dair waited with the gentleman for his son to come pick him up, then got to work.

  By the time he’d finished the repairs to the dinged car, Dair was the only one left in the garage. He didn’t really have time to go shopping for ingredients as well as cooking. But this was Robin’s special vacation. Peyton said he was going home to his ten-year high school reunion. That didn’t happen every day.

  After closing up the garage doors on the shop, Dair checked his bank balance on his phone. It wasn’t pretty, especially once the payment from today came out. But screw it. He could put a takeout order on his credit card. That wouldn’t be too much to pay back next month.

  This was his chance to show Robin that he wasn’t so intimidating. That they could be real friends. Dair knew him being straight was a bit of a barrier for one reason or another to Robin, but Dair honestly didn’t care about that kind of stuff. His coworkers were all painfully straight, and look at what assholes they were.

  Besides, Robin worked too hard. Dair knew he himself never took vacation either, but he hardly ever had a reason to. Robin would no doubt have to be dragged away from his laptop for an event he’d been planning for months. In Dair’s short time in the apartment, he had found food to be the best method for this. And beer.

  He already felt a little better as he walked to where he’d parked his truck, swinging his keys around his finger. If he was going to do this, he decided to go all out. He didn’t have work the next day, after all.

  He may not have his own family or girlfriend, and his coworkers were jerks, but he was lucky to have a couple of unlikely friends. Time to prove to Robin that Dair was there for him, that he could count on him.

  Like the old saying went, the best way to a man’s heart was through his stomach.

  2

  ROBIN

  “PEYTON! HEY, NO! GIVE THAT BACK!”

  Robin Coal leaped helplessly from the sofa as his best friend snatched his phone away from him and danced away. “Nuh-uh! This is supposed to be the start of your vacation.”

  Robin knew she was only teasing and meant well, but his eyes darted anxiously to his cell. “Um. About that…”

  “Nope.” She shook her head as well as the phone. “You did your handover. You’ve got the whole week off. They’ll survive without you.”

  Robin bit his lip. “Well, see there’s this thing about the build server being down, so they want to compile locally and push to production. But that would be a seriously bad idea, and they don’t seem to be getting that! So I just thought I’d-”

  “La la la!” Peyton skipped away from him toward the kitchen area of their open plan apartment. “I told you I’d bully you if I had to, so this is me being your bestest friend ever.” She opened the fridge and chucked the phone in by the milk and Dair’s protein shakes.

  Robin squeaked.

  “Um…what if Dair calls? He’s already late. I’m worried about him.” It was a feeble attempt to get his phone back, but Robin tried it anyway.

  Sure enough, Peyton blew a raspberry. “He’s a big, tough Marine. I’m sure he’s fine. Stop trying to change the subject. You’re going to this reunion.”

  She was right about Dair, of course. And about Robin. He’d booked this time off work months in advance. But now he’d left the office and signed off from his current projects, the panic was starting to creep into his chest. He was never not on call. Being a software developer for Ticking Clock Entertainment might not seem that vital to most people. They operated a small chain of high-end leisure facilities in the Seattle area, including arcades, bowling allies, and escape rooms. But without Robin and his team, the whole business would crumble.

  “I just promised I’d keep an eye on things,” Robin tried to protest. Peyton crossed her arms and cocked a sculpted eyebrow at him. He squirmed. “Actually, I’m not even sure I’m going to go home-”

  “I knew it!” Peyton cried. She pressed her hands to her head and looked horrified. “Robin, no! This is your ten-year high school reunion. Your brother has been working on this for half a year! You’ll break his heart. But more than that, when was the last time you even went home?”

  Guilt pulsed through Robin and he chewed his lip. He talked to his twin brother, Jay, almost every single day, and he was fully aware how much heart and soul he’d poured into the reunion. Not to mention that it had been months since Jay’s last visit to Seattle due to work and Robin was going stir crazy not seeing him.

  “I know,” he agreed, raising his hands. “But the office is crazy right now and I think it’s just too much to leave them in the lurch. I’m sure Jay will understand. I’ll just-”

  A squeaky bark interrupted him. Robin looked down to see a small ball of fluff sinking his surprisingly sharp teeth into the hem of his jeans, then begin to tug with little grunts.

  Peyton laughed. “See, Smudge agrees with me. Don’t you, Smudgy?”

  The little ball of fur growled and tugged some more, his tail wagging furiously. Robin sighed and picked up the latest addition to Dair’s menagerie in his arms to pet. They weren’t technically allowed pets in the building, but their superintendent almost never came over.

  Robin and Peyton had been at their wit’s end trying to find someone to fill the third room in the apartment after the last guy moved out. Everyone they’d interviewed had been a total weirdo. Then Dair had walked into their lives and was an instant yes. As an ex-Marine, Peyton’s own military family loyalty had demanded they take him in. They’d both liked that he had
a steady job and just generally didn’t seem like an asshole. Plus, his favorite food was also Thai, so that had sealed it.

  It didn’t hurt that Robin thought he was hot as all hell in a scruffy, unpolished sort of way. But he was also straight, so there was no danger of anything happening or getting awkward. Even Peyton didn’t know about his silly little crush.

  Dair was more than a hunk, though. He was funny and kind. Perhaps a little too kind, as the small zoo in their apartment attested. But they’d only realized he was a package deal after they’d offered him the room. Neither Robin nor Peyton had wanted to take back the offer, so they just risked the three cats and two dogs that Dair had taken in over the years.

  Apart from the new puppy, Smudge, the others had come all the way from Afghanistan, where Dair had served a number of tours in the Marines. It seemed like strays just flocked to him like he was a Disney Princess, if Disney Princesses benched two hundred pounds and ate more in a day than Robin usually managed in a week. It was worth it for those insane washboard abs…

  …and Robin was locking that thought safely back in his secret crush box which no one ever needed to know about.

  Cuddling with Smudge had bought him a few seconds, but Peyton wasn’t letting up.

  “Rob, I know you’re like a computer wizard and they’ll struggle without you. You have the vacation days – use them before you lose them! I promise I’ll give you back your phone if you go so you can check in. But right now, it’s Saturday night, and we’re going to have some fun.”

  Robin sighed. Smudge (so called because his nose was black but the rest of him was tan) wriggled around so he could lick the end of Robin’s chin. He couldn’t blame Dair for rescuing him from behind that dumpster. He was an adorable mutt, even if they had no idea what breed he was other than ‘floofy.’

  He and Peyton had music playing, so they didn’t hear Dair approach until he rattled his keys and opened the door to the apartment. “Hey!” he called out, grinning at them both as he kicked the door closed, his hands full of bags of Thai food. “Hello, hello! Yes, I know!”

  Robin’s heart flipped at the sight of Dair’s stunning smile. Damn. He actually had been worried that Dair was late. Robin needed to watch that this crush didn’t get out of hand.

  At his entrance, old Jimmy the bulldog had bumbled over to greet his dad, slobbering over his sneakers. The cats, Spot, Trixie, and Jolly Roger, all unfurled and came to investigate too. The poor things were all missing bits of ears, toes, and tails, even an eye in Roger’s case. But Robin thought they were all gorgeous. He couldn’t help but smile at the way huge Dair cooed over them. He probably knew ten different ways to kill a man, yet here he was making kissy noises at his fur babies.

  That silly crush tried very hard to push at the lid of the box in Robin’s chest, but he kept it firmly closed.

  “Sorry I’m late, but I bring food,” Dair announced, depositing the bags on the kitchen counter. He also clinked two six-packs of beers down. “Happy start of vacation, Robin!”

  A mix of embarrassment and pride flushed through Robin at Dair paying special attention to him. He gratefully helped himself to one of the beer bottles to distract himself.

  Dair popped the lid off his own drink. “I tried to call to say I was getting takeout rather than cooking, but there was no answer.”

  “Takeout is always good,” Peyton informed him through a mouthful of cracker.

  Robin smiled sheepishly. “Peyton put my phone in the fridge, sorry.”

  Dair blinked. “In the fridge?”

  “Yeah,” said Payton. “He was being a doofus. Oh, is that crispy squid?”

  The delicious smell of hot noodles, rice, and curry made Robin’s stomach growl, so he was glad to use food as an excuse not to talk about what was bothering him. He delved into the food boxes, finding his favorites to dish up, purposely avoiding eye contact with both Peyton and Dair.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go home. It had been a crazy amount of time since he’d last visited, after all. But the thought of abandoning his work was making him feel kind of sick. As he weighed the decision up again, the few mouthfuls of tangy noodles and beers swirled in his belly, making him feel suddenly a bit queasy. Damn, he couldn’t go. He just couldn’t.

  “Robin?” Dair asked as they dropped into their sofas around the coffee table. “Are you all right?”

  It made Robin’s insides flip at the best of times when Dair used that concerned tone on him. The man had no clue how hot he was when he turned that efficient, proactive Marine thing of his on.

  Robin found it crazy that a guy like that even wanted to be friends with someone like him. Initially, he and Peyton had tried looking for someone else gay, but that hadn’t worked out, and it didn’t seem to bother Dair that they were both queer. Dair was always happy to cook for them or test Peyton when she had exams or play video games with Robin. He was a good guy.

  Robin sighed, poking at his food with his chopsticks, suddenly not hungry. He couldn’t keep distracting himself with Dair. He had to face facts about the reunion.

  His twin, Jay, would be devastated if Robin bailed at the last minute. Jay was on the reunion committee and had been working twenty-four seven organizing a whole week’s worth of activities. The thought of that much socializing made Robin nervous. Both at work and play, Robin preferred to be hidden behind a computer monitor. But it really was his job that was causing him to consider not going back to Pine Cove.

  When he didn’t respond to Dair’s question, Peyton did. She was a nurse, so Robin was stuck with two caring, protective friends. Damn them. “Robin’s seriously considering not going to his high school reunion.”

  She reached over and squeezed his knee with a sympathetic look. The back and sides of her head were shaved close, leaving an inch or so of hair swept toward her eyes. On someone else the look might have been harsh, but Peyton’s slim frame and androgynous aesthetic made it look stunning. Or so Robin thought.

  “Wait, what?”

  Dair raised his eyebrows at Robin. He was sitting on the other sofa with his pack loitering around him. In fairness, all of them apart from Smudge had settled down to nap. But that little fluffball was hopping around Dair’s feet in the hope of catching any scraps of shredded beef that dropped to the floor.

  “But…” Dair continued, still looking at Robin, “you’ve been planning this for months.”

  “Work’s just crazy right now.” Robin sighed, his heart heavy. Peyton made a noise at the back of her throat and narrowed her eyes at him. “What?”

  She edged slightly further away along the couch. “Don’t be mad…”

  Robin frowned. He couldn’t think of a time he’d ever been angry with her. “Why would I be mad?”

  “Do you think you not wanting to go has anything to do with Mac also attending?”

  Robin hadn’t heard that name in a long time. His insides dropped as he shook his head in confusion. “No. No. I mean, I don’t…no. That’s got nothing to do with it.” He’d been trying his very best to not even think about seeing him again. He felt like he’d jumped into a freezing lake, and shivered.

  “Who’s Mac?” Dair asked. His attention was so focused on Robin he’d even put his food down (on the table, away from Smudge’s reach). Robin couldn’t remember seeing Dair abandon food in the whole time he’d been living with them.

  Peyton sighed. “Mac is Robin’s psycho ex-boyfriend.”

  Robin spluttered. “‘Psycho’s is a bit strong, don’t you think? I mean, he was kind of an asshole. But-”

  “If he didn’t get his way, he had a meltdown!” Peyton cried. She’d never met him, as she and Robin had become friends later at college. But she’d heard a few stories from Robin. He suspected she’d heard even more from Robin’s other siblings too, since she knew them all.

  He bit his lip. “Okay, yeah. There’s a reason we broke up. But it was as much my fault as his.”

  “Bullshit,” Peyton said angrily. “He used to go through yo
ur phone without asking and text nonstop if you went out. He had strict rules for eating tacos. He called you ‘Binny.’ He punched you after losing at a goddamned video game!”

  Dair’s head snapped around to Robin. “What?”

  “It wasn’t like that!” Robin fanned his hands, trying to get them both to calm down. “Okay, look. We were, like, seventeen. I came last at Smash Bros, so I started tickling him so we’d both be last together. I stupidly thought it would be sweet and funny. When he lost, he pinned me down and thumped me in the ribs. There wasn’t even any bruising. And I shouldn’t have dragged him down just because I was bad at the game myself.” He looked between them both.

  Dair blinked slowly. “He hit you.”

  “More than once,” Peyton muttered under her breath. Dair’s expression was horrified.

  Robin laughed and tried to break the tension from the room. “Guys. I swear it wasn’t that bad. I’d honestly forgotten he was going to be at the reunion. He wasn’t what was making me think about not going.”

  He was mostly sure that was true. Almost.

  “Look, whose relationship is perfect as a teenager? We broke up when I went to college and he didn’t. That was it.”

  That wasn’t it, but that was what he told people. The real truth was too painful. But it was also irrelevant, so Robin didn’t see the need to elaborate.

  Peyton scoffed. “You mean you dumped his ass.” She leaned over and clinked her bottle against the one he was still holding. “Well done you. But still – do you think it’s possible that’s part of your reluctance to go home? That you don’t want to run into him again?”

  Robin opened and closed his mouth. Now he was being forced to really think about it, it had been years since he’d gone across the state to visit his family. They generally came to see him in small groups, and they spent their holidays away in California or Hawaii.