Slippery Slopes (Winterhaven Series - Vol. 1)

Chapter 24

"I have to grab my coat from the back." Lizzy's face was lit up like a Fourth of July sky as she disappeared through the swinging door.

"She's going out with Rodney Castle?" Nolan stared at the door as it rocked back and forth. His eyes shifted to Drew. "Really? That's her big date?"

Drew shrugged. "Apparently."

Both their attention was drawn down the bar to where Todd and Lane perched on stools. Rodney had made his way over to the two men. The guy wasn't hard on the eyes; at least six foot with wavy brown hair slightly long on top tapering down into a short, neat clip at the nape of the neck; hard body accentuated by his snug white shirt and even snugger dark blue pants; handsome face and a smile that could be quite cock-hardening if Nolan found him appealing at all. He didn't.

Nolan's face screwed up in an uncertain expression. "What does she see in him?" About time the words left his mouth, Nolan saw the irony. But Drew ran with it nonetheless.

"What did you see in Lane Cassiter?"

Nolan groaned as his eyes settled on Lane's tense face; he didn't seem overjoyed about the Hot Rod's sudden appearance. "Beats the fuck out of me," he sighed. "But...at least with Lane...there is a good guy in there somewhere." He looked at Drew. His friend's undivided attention was locked on Todd—that look creeping back in ever so slowly.

"Maybe there's a good guy somewhere inside him, too," he mumbled absently.

"Just needs someone to go in and root him out?" Nolan mused.

It took a moment for Drew to shift his focus to Nolan. He smiled. "Maybe." He shrugged. "But not me. I'm through digging for treasure."

Nolan laughed softly. "Yeah, well...why continue to dig for treasure when you've already struck gold?"

Drew caught his stare, then look away. "Nolan..." he said quietly with a strain. "Don't."

"I saw that look on his face when he noticed you were here," Nolan said. "That wasn't a...negative look."

"Babe." Drew turned on him abruptly. "Just stop, okay? What happened, happened. It didn't mean anything. It's over."

Nolan stared at him. The emotions surging and churning behind the man's eyes insisted it was anything but over. "Okay," he whispered with a nod and glanced down the bar. Lane refused to look his way. He knew he should accept that it was over for him, too. But Lane's final words to him remained fresh and impressed on his heart. It would take him a little longer to condition himself to the reality that he may never see "that" Lane Cassiter ever again.

♦

"Something stinks," Lane drawled and twisted the empty beer bottle. "Who the fuck tracked in dog shit?"

Todd leaned back and lifted his foot. "Wasn't me." He looked up and feigned surprise. "Oh hey, Rod. Your...aroma precedes you."

The force of keeping his eyes off Nolan was becoming a physical strain for Lane, causing a dull throbbing headache. Rodney Castle's sudden appearance enhanced it like an ice pick to the temple. What the fuck was he doing here?

"Still trying to be funny, aye, Todd?" Rodney's smirk was audible, and Lane could see it plastered across his face though his back was to the fucker. "I got something pretty funny to tell you, too," he said and took the stool on the far side of Todd. "At least I thought it was funny as fuck. But I don't know if you have my sense of humor."

Todd remained half-twisted on his stool, away from Rodney, his eyes on Lane. He held his cool, but his tension suddenly shot up by leaps and bounds. Lane's, too; what the hell was Rodney talking about?