“Jim’s a lucky guy,” Will said sincerely,setting her on her feet. “You look great.” He turned to Taylor.“Taylor, this is…”
“The famous Madonna,” Taylor supplied.
“Right,” Will said hastily, not at all sureabout that expression on Taylor’s face. “Madonna, this is mypartner, Taylor MacAllister.”
“Nice to mee —” Madonna offered a hand. Hereyes widened. “What happened to you?”
“I walked into a tree.” Taylor shookhands.
“You’re bleeding again,” Will observed,frowning at the scarlet trickling from Taylor’s right nostril.
Taylor touched his nose. “Damn. I am. Do youhave a washroom somewhere?”
Madonna pointed out the way and Taylorexcused himself.
“That’s one nice-looking man. Even with hisface bashed in,” Madonna observed, as Taylor moved out ofearshot.
Will smiled faintly. “Yeah. He is.”
She tilted her head thoughtfully. “So whenyou say he’s your partner, do you mean…?”
“I do, yeah.”
She laughed without bitterness and shook herhead. “Well, that answers one question.”
“I bet it answers more than onequestion.”
Madonna laughed ruefully. “Maybe itdoes.”
Will drew a deep breath, but he didn’t beginto know how to explain, and it was too late anyway, really. “Youreally do look fantastic, Maddy,” he said instead, lamely.
“Thanks. You’re still pretty gorgeousyourself, William.”
“I thought you moved to Chicago?”
“I did. But my dad died two years ago —”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks. And my mom’s getting on, so I movedhome. And then Jim and I started seeing each other. We got marriedlast fall.”
“I don’t know why that seems so…right. Hewas always crazy about you.”
“What about you? You work for the SecretService?”
“Diplomatic Security. Used to. We’refreelance now.” Will heard the restroom door swinging open again.Funny how he never lost his awareness of where Taylor was at anygiven moment.
“Oh wow.” Madonna was smiling reminiscently.“And Grant’s in the Marines?”
“Shipping out to Afghanistan thismonth.”
“It’s so crazy. Sometimes it seems like onlyyesterday we were going to football games and —”
“More football?” Taylor inquired,joining them again.
Madonna laughed. “I bet you’ve heard all youcan take of Will’s glory days. Will’s one of our hometown heroes.Sit anywhere you want, you two. I’ll bring over a couple ofmenus.”
She went out to the kitchen. Will pulled outa chair at a table near the unlit fireplace. “Okay?” he askedTaylor.
“Fine.”
“You sure?”
Taylor gave him a level look.
“You can’t blame me for asking. Thespontaneous hemorrhaging is a little distracting.”
Taylor snorted and then put a careful handto his nose. “Ow.”
Madonna reappeared with menus. “What can Iget you two to drink?”
“What have you got in the way ofmicrobrews?” Taylor asked.
Madonna proceeded to extol the virtues ofOregon’s top three microbreweries: McMenamins, Deschutes, and FullSail.
Taylor opted for McMenamins’ Sleepy HollowNut Brown. Will went for Deschutes’ Cascade Ale.
Madonna said to Will, “You know Jem Dooleyis out?”
“Yep.”
She nodded and withdrew. Taylor said, “She’snot at all how I pictured her.”
“How did you picture her?” Will was tryingto wrap his brain around the idea of Taylor spending a minute’sthought trying to visualize his old girlfriend.
“Blonde. Cheerleader. Not too bright.”
Will spluttered, “Not toobright?”
Taylor shrugged. “She seems smart enoughthough. And nice. And I bet she liked camping.”
Will laughed. “She did. She was a greatlittle camper. Good kayaker too.” He really had loved her. Stilldid in a funny way. His heart had flipped when he’d seen herstanding there. But that was how he’d finally come to terms withbeing gay, because as much as he’d loved Madonna, as much as theyhad in common, he’d finally realized he was not going to be happyor satisfied with her. Or any woman. He gazed at Taylor across thetable and felt such a wave of closeness and affinity to this manwho was his partner in every sense of the word, it startledhim.
The object of all this feeling was frowningover the menu. “No wonder I’m starving. I haven’t had anything toeat since that damn chili last night.”
“You need protein,” Will said. “And iron.Order a burger.” Closeness and affinity aside, the part-timevegetarianism drove him nuts.
“Hell.”
Will glanced up.
Taylor was feeling for his cell phone.“Richard didn’t call back.”
“Bahrain is how many hours ahead? Ten?Eleven?”
“Eleven.” Taylor checked his cell phone.“No. He didn’t call.”
He chewed worriedly on his lip, and Willsaid, “Look, if he doesn’t call we’ll find another way.”
Taylor threw him an impatient look, but heput his phone away, and returned to scanning the menu. Probablyworried they couldn’t afford more than salads.
Madonna returned with their beers, theyordered their burgers, and sat for a few companionable minutessipping their brews.
This was good. This was what he’d wanted onthose occasions Will had pictured bringing Taylor up to Mist Bend.Just this. Just being together. Showing Taylor where he’d grown up.Sharing the things he’d never had anyone to share with before.
“Maybe we should pay Jem Dooley a visit,”Taylor remarked.
“And we would do that why?”
“Be proactive. Head him off at thepass?”
“It might not be heading him off. It mightbe stirring him up.”
“He came looking for your dad thismorning.”
Dooley had, and Will didn’t like the thoughtof that, but things were not always what they seemed. That wassomething he’d learned from growing up with his dad. Over theyears, more than one ex-con had shown up to thank Bill Brandt forchanging or even saving his life.
Not that it was very likely Jem Dooley hadshowed up to pay his respects.
But he hadn’t necessarily arrived to start awar either.
“You want to piss Pop off, hunting troublewith Jem Dooley would be the way.”
Taylor lifted a shoulder. “I just think itwould be better dealt with while we’re all here.”
That struck home with Will — not leastbecause of Taylor’s automatic and unconscious identifying with hisfamily — but the assumption that trouble was inevitable was notincontrovertibly correct. “And that’s another thought Pop would notappreciate. The idea that he couldn’t take care of himself.”
Madonna arrived with their burgers and theychatted for a few more minutes. When she walked away, Taylor said,“Did you notice she looks like the mermaid on the sign outfront?”
Will inhaled his beer and started tocough.
Chapter Six
As they stepped outonto the sidewalk outside Tucker’s Tavern, Will was saying, “Whatwould you like to do now? You want to see where they filmed Ringof —”
Taylor missed the rest of it, his attentioncaught by a glimpse of a broad-shouldered figure in a black leatherjacket, vanishing into the Laundromat across the street. He stoppedwalking.
Will
