Borrowing Trouble by Kade Boehme Page A

himself.
     
     
     

 
    Chapter 10
 
                  By unspoken agreement, after they’d righted their clothes and tucked themselves away, Landon went home. He was surprised when Jay wrapped his hand behind Landon’s head, carded his fingers through the hair back there, and pulled Landon’s head down to place a soft kiss on Landon’s forehead.
    The kiss felt like a goodbye, an apology. And Landon feared what that apology might be for. He’d driven around the dirt roads behind their houses for hours trying to make sense of what had happened.
    It’d been almost scary how much he’d needed to be with Jay, how much Jay had needed in return. He’d felt every tremor, every gasp from Jay. The energy had been intense. Their goodbye had been as charged as the sex.
    Landon feared he’d fucked up, royally. Now he knew how Jay tasted, how sweet he looked when he came. Landon craved the man with a fierceness that hurt.
    So when Jay called out on Monday, telling Ms. Lynne he was sick, Landon prepared to mourn the friendship. He knew Jay wouldn’t say anything to anyone. But he was horrified Jay might hate him, even though he’d said he didn’t.
    Tuesday rolled around with no word from Jay, and Landon decided it was probably best to forget their encounter ever happened. It’d been an emotionally charged moment and Jay’d not gotten laid in forever. Maybe shit just got carried away.
    Either way, it made no sense and Landon felt like garbage. Of course, he figured that was what it got him for hooking up with a straight man, or at least, one who was so buried in the closet he didn’t know he was gay or bi, himself.
    But, it started the deep down itch to maybe get the fuck on out of Stewart, Mississippi, once and for all. He’d helped out as long as he could, and his mama and Jay were right. He was wasting his abilities and his brains, and he’d never find someone to be with if he stayed there. Hell, he didn’t even have a friend’s shoulder to cry on right then, unless he wanted to drive a couple hours. Since he had to work so early the next morning, there was no way to go see Mitch.
    He grimaced as he looked at himself in his bathroom mirror Wednesday morning, realizing he should at least tell Mitch that Brittany hadn’t hooked up with Jay. He knew Mitch probably had given her some kind of shit for it on his behalf.
    After he got ready for work and armed himself with a thermos of coffee, he set out in the dark, early morning. One thing he disliked about his job, he had too much time to think, to be alone. Once upon a time, that’d been ideal. It kept him from having to be around some of the local guys that worked for his dad. Unfortunately, too much time to think right now was not doing much for Landon’s psyche.
    He drove down the deserted stretch of Highway 82 until he reached the turn-off for the saw mill. He parked his truck in the usual place beside the office and gathered his jacket and thermos. Before making it to his rig, though, he noticed a light on in the office. He wondered briefly if someone stayed late, but that was unlikely.
    After he tossed his things in his rig, checked his log books, and made sure his trailer for the morning was loaded down and ready for the three hour haul down to Laurel, he made his way to the office to make sure it’d been locked up, at least.
    He frowned when he found the door unlocked. If his dad made it in first, there’d be hell to pay. He pulled the door on open and twisted the lock on the knob, but came up short when he heard the light sounds of music coming from one of the offices. He stepped in, wondering if maybe his daddy had come into work early. He couldn’t recall the last time his daddy pulled an all nighter since Landon’s mama put her foot down a few months back. Now that they had Jay around to manage the mill, his daddy needn’t lose sleep.
    He walked back and realized quickly that his daddy wasn’t in, his office was still dark. But the door to