“You’re here now. Cole and I are grown men who can take care of ourselves.” He patted Josh on the back and took a step back. “Just don’t jump ship again without telling us,” he teased. “We at least need to know where to forward your mail.”
“Wise ass.” Josh lightly punched him in the arm.
“You know what?” He started to laugh. “I am wise. So don’t you forget it.”
He gave Josh one more hug goodbye then started the trek up to Holden’s house. Holden lived with Skyler and Noah and their young son Carson. A few months back Holden came to town and dropped the bomb that he was Carson’s uncle. Wouldn’t have been a huge shock if it weren’t for the fact that Carson’s mother had drugged Noah in order to become pregnant.
Holden came to Nehalem when he learned that his father had discovered that his sister’s baby stilled lived. Holden’s father was the alpha of their pack and a crazy son of a bitch to boot. The man had ordered the death of his daughter then wanted her son dead as well. Holden being the good guy that he was tracked Noah and Carson down and was there the night his father attacked. Luckily none of them got hurt but Holden’s father and his men had been killed in the battle. Not much of a loss in Jake’s opinion.
But since then Jake had become good friends with Holden. Holden was there to listen to Jake when he was dealing with his father’s death and his brother’s abandonment. Jake poured his heart out to Holden and shed more than a few tears on his shoulder but Holden didn’t judge him. A bond formed between them and Jake was happy to call Holden a friend.
Skyler and Noah’s property backed up to the Carsten family’s. The walk only took about fifteen minutes. If he were to shift he could cut the time in half but he enjoyed making the walk on his human legs. He loved the way the night breeze would brush against his face and the smell and sounds of nature all around him. It gave him time to just be him and to relax without the constant prying eyes of his brothers.
As he walked out of the trees he could see the lights on in the kitchen. Skyler stood at the sink washing dishes. He jogged up to the back door and knocked. Skyler glanced over his shoulder, smiled, then waved for him to come in.
“Hey, Sky.”
“Hey, Jake.” Skyler turned around, drying his hands on the towel. He had a worried look on his face. “Can I ask you something?”
Jake could feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to rise. “Sure,” he said slowly, not sure he wanted to hear what Skyler’s question would be.
“Do you and Holden have something going on between you two?”
“Excuse me?” Jake’s eyes widened at the question. Did he like Holden? Yes, but he didn’t think beyond that. No one ever asked Jake if he preferred men over women and he never discussed it with anyone. It was none of their business. If he had to label himself he’d have to say he was curious but still he never thought of Holden in that way. They were friends and neither of them wanted to jeopardize that.
“I’m not insinuating anything thing. I’m just curious,” Skyler rushed to say. “I mean just because your brothers have joined the club doesn’t mean you’re a member by association.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” At times he felt Skyler talked in a language only Skyler could understand. He often wondered how Noah kept up with his mate’s antics. “What club?”
“Oh you know.” Skyler twirled the towel in his hand around. “The we love cock club.” Jake rolled his eyes and Skyler began to laugh. “But seriously I’m just asking because Holden has a friend over. And if something is going on between the two of you, I wanted to forewarn you.”
“Sky, we’re just friends.” He wanted to put Skyler’s nerves at ease. And he also didn’t want Skyler to think he and Holden had something going on and that Holden was being unfaithful or some shit. “He can do whatever he likes.”
“Oh thank God!” Skyler sighed dramatically. “Ever since that guy showed up I’ve been sweating bullets. I didn’t want to be the one to break it to you if you guys were, you know, hooking up.”
He totally didn’t get Skyler’s logic. “Even if we were why would an old friend coming over to see Holden automatically imply that he’s cheating?”
“Because the guy is gorgeous. If I weren’t with Noah, I’d be trying to get me some of that.” Skyler’s eyes fell shut and he made a humming sound.
“Dude, you need help.” Jake pointed toward the hall. “Is Holden in the TV room?”
“Yes, and trust me when you meet Seth you’ll want to drool down your chin. Yummy!” Skyler snapped his fingers then turned back to the dishes he was washing in the sink.
Jake shook his head as he walked down the hallway. He admired the way Skyler could speak his mind so freely. Skyler knew who he was and didn’t make excuses for it. Jake hoped to one day be that confident in his own skin.
As he neared the room he could hear voices coming through the door. He could make out Holden’s voice and another. They were talking in low tones and Jake couldn’t decipher what they were talking about. He stopped at the door and knocked once.
“Jake,” Holden said when he opened the door. “Did you get held up by Skyler again?”
“Of course,” he answered as he stepped into the room. His eyes immediately landed on the man sitting on the couch. And he had to admit that Skyler was right. The man was beautiful. He looked like an angel who
