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Aiden looked worn and exhausted. His jaw was unshaven, his eyes puffy from lack of sleep, and when Seth rested a hand on his back, large tension knots shifted beneath his palm.
"Here's to our one chance to see each other this week," Seth said, lifting Aiden's coffee cup and taking a sip in a mock toast. "Next time, let's try for somewhere quieter."
"I told you, it's exposure therapy." Aiden's grin barely reached his bloodshot eyes. "But I've got to admit, a deserted island sounds pretty good right now. No cell phones, no side jobs. Just you and a bottle of tequila."
"How about the back porch and a bottle of wine?" Seth suggested, resting his hand on Aiden's denim-clad thigh and giving it a squeeze. "You're burning the candle at both ends. You need to slow down.
"Naw," Aiden said, stretching out in the booth and deflecting with his good ol' boy grin. "I've got energy for days, ol' son. I can't afford to turn down work right now. Mom's roof isn't going to fix itself."
"It's not broken," Seth pointed out.
Aiden was too busy gulping down the rest of his coffee to reply, but he waved the point away as if it didn't matter. Maybe it didn't. Aiden's mother wasn't concerned with practicality; she was forever searching for the magic improvement that would make her feel satisfied with life. Once the roof was upgraded, she'd move on to the next project, and Aiden would be busting his ass over something else. Family was complicated. Seth understood that better than most; he wouldn't be the one who pressured Aiden into turning his back on the only kin he had.
"How's Bandit?" he asked, changing the topic.
Aiden's shoulders instantly relaxed. He smiled, then twisted his face into an expression of theatrical frustration and complained, "I took him for a trail ride the other day after I finished replacing the belt on Mom's washer. He's getting barn sour. Wouldn't stop trying to nip at every clump of sagebrush we passed."
"He just needs to be ridden more."
"Yeah." Aiden sighed. "It's tough, you know? The more I stop by Mom's place, the more chances she's got to screw with me. I've got to keep my distance. I just wish…"
He trailed off, but he didn't need to finish his sentence. Seth knew how much he loved that horse; he felt a flash of guilt whenever he thought of how lonely Aiden must have been over the years. He'd lost Seth, Bandit, and his second home at the Double Jay in one fell swoop as soon as he turned eighteen. The impact must have left him reeling. He hid it well—no one would guess there was much going on behind that flashy grin—but Seth knew that all Aiden wanted was a home and family of his own. Seth had been so mired in guilt and loneliness over the years that he'd never stopped to think about how much Aiden was suffering.
A bell jingled over the door, tugging him from the morose twist of his thoughts, and Tessa walked in with the Jensen kid all over her. Riley bolted to attention like a little toy soldier the second he laid eyes on Seth. Tessa lit up when she spotted them, waving enthusiastically as she made her way to their booth.
"Hey, double date!" Tessa exclaimed, sliding into the booth opposite Aiden without waiting for an invitation. Riley slid in beside her, practically on her ass, and Seth's eyes narrowed in annoyance.
The only thing that kept him from knocking the kid around a little was the way Tessa beamed with happiness. She was like her own sun these past few weeks, filling every space she entered with infectious warmth. So much like Aiden. Maybe that was what love did to a person. Seth itched to take out his camera phone and flip it around to see if his own face was stamped with the same happiness. It had to be. He was happier than he could remember. With Aiden at his side, the world felt right.
"Hi," Riley said, giving them a nervous nod before abruptly averting his gaze. Seth was tempted to let him squirm, but Aiden read his mind and jabbed an elbow hard into his ribs.
"Hey," he grumbled reluctantly.
"Don't mind him," Aiden said, rolling his eyes. "It's just that he can't piss all over his territory, so his only option is a bad attitude. He thinks he's doing us a favor."
Riley chuckled awkwardly. "Ned acts the same way around our little sister. I guess maybe I do, too."
"Yeah, but she's fifteen," Tessa protested. "I'm a grown woman."
Seth had been trying to behave himself once he realized how serious his sister was about this guy, but he couldn't resist a condescending snort. It just slipped out. She glared and opened her mouth, but before she could start up the same old argument, their waitress appeared with a pen already poised above her pad.
"The usual, Aiden?" Miranda asked, snapping a wad of bubblegum and writing down the order before Aiden even had time to nod. She glanced at Riley next, sizing him up immediately, and asked, "You work today?"
"Yeah," Riley said, adjusting his ballcap as if he was embarrassed. "Double shift."
"So, you want the platter?"
He nodded. "Extra bacon, extra guac, extra?—"
"Oh, I know, sweetheart," Miranda interrupted, flicking her fingers at him to shut him up. She was a plain woman a few years younger than Seth, and she'd been waitressing at the diner since she was just a skinny girl with braces. Her lively humor was as much a draw for the diner as the pancake stacks and chicken fried steak. "You've been coming here five days a week since graduating. It's a burger and fries with a chocolate shake on your days off. After work, it's the cowboy platter with all the extras. You think I can't keep that straight?"
"I might change my mind someday," Riley said with a bashful grin.
"Not many folks around here do," Miranda said wryly before raising an eyebrow and turning to Seth. "Except maybe you. I haven't seen that delicious backside of yours in one of my booths in years. It was sorely missed, I must say."
She clucked her tongue, running her gaze down his chest and then tilting her head as if trying to see beneath the table. She would be able to see Seth's hand resting on Aiden's thigh, but he felt no urge to remove it. Even if he'd wanted to, he couldn't once Aiden latched onto him and threaded their fingers together. Seth looked down at their twined fingers and then up into a pair of summer blue eyes. He smiled faintly.
Miranda watched their interplay and sighed. "I should've known," she said forlornly. "Every guy I ever had a crush on turned out to be batting for the other team. I sure can pick 'em."
