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whole office breaks
out with laughter."
    Connor
smiled and took a sip of his drink. The waitress brought out their burgers and
they started eating. Connor made it halfway through his burger then put it
down, his gaze intense. "So, did he get the date?"
    "Yeah,
but she was a dud. All fun and flirty at work and a total meanie at home. David
doesn't eat at the diner with the guys anymore."
    "That
sucks."
    "Yeah,
but you know how it is. Those straight guys get so hung up on pride and
embarrassment."
    Connor
smiled again then picked up his burger and continued eating. When they finished
their food and after they'd paid, Mike led Connor outside. "Come on. Let's
go for a walk."
    They
strolled down the street, the sun felt good on his back. "I was thinking
of going to for a trail ride. You know, over at Crazy Hills they have that
option now. Just one day and you can have fun." Connor stopped walking; his
face didn't look so good. Mike reached out a hand to steady the big guy.
"What?"
    Connor
closed his eyes and shook his head. "I can't go over there."
    "Why
not?"
    "It's
Lane and Gresh's place. I said some nasty things to them a few weeks ago and
told them to stay away—I threatened to call the cops."
    Mike
grabbed Connor's hand, stroking his thumb over the palm. "They'll forgive
you. Trust me, you need to go see them."
    "I
don't know. You haven't talked to them or anything?"
    "Nope,
I didn't even know that Crazy Hill's was theirs. I'll go with you."
    "I
don't know."
    "Let's
call them and set up a time for this weekend. That will give you the rest of
the week to clear your head and get all the alcohol out of your system."
    "I'm
not still drunk."
    "No,
but you want a drink."
    Connor
dropped Mike's hand and took off walking again. Mike followed but at a
distance. Getting Connor to come back to the living would be difficult. Some
might think it was a lost cause, but he didn't want to give up on the big guy
yet. He only had a few weeks of vacation time, after that he hoped Connor was
well on the way to recovery because he hated to think what would happen if he
couldn’t break through to this beautiful tough guy.
     
     
    *~*~*
     
    On Friday night Jamie was so nervous he almost threw up when
Kip walked into the dining hall. It had taken him two weeks of talking to
convince the preacher that what he and Kip had was natural. They'd prayed, read
the Bible, studied the original language and finally, after he'd about given
up, Pastor Roberts had agreed to do the ceremony. Now he needed to ask Kip. He
should have talked to him about it before, but he didn't want Kip to get his
hopes up. It wouldn’t be legal, but he and Kip would know about it and that's
all that mattered.
    Cookie had made some amazing dishes for tonight and the
chocolate cake was hidden in the back with the words Congratulations scrolled across the middle. God, he hoped the cake wouldn't go to waste.
    The other cowboys filtered in and Kip still hadn't come over
to say hi. He kept shooting Jamie looks, some pained, others filled with
promise. The man suspected something. Jamie had been acting strange and Kip
wasn't stupid.
    They all took a seat and Kip almost didn't come over to sit
beside him, but Sterling told him he had to. Cookie brought out the main
course, a huge brisket that Lane cut and began to serve. When everyone had
meat, Lane stood and raised his glass of wine.
    "This year has been filled with ups and downs for all of
us. Gresh surviving that crash has made me the happiest of you all. That I get
to spend more time with the love of my life is amazing. Being with Gresh is the
best thing that has ever happened to me."
    "Hear, hear." The cowboys said in unison and raised
their glasses to drink.
    Lane took a sip and cleared his throat. Jamie's palms were
sweating and his head spun. Lane knew and Gresh did too, but no one else really
knew what he was planning tonight. They might have guessed. Michael had caught
him at the church talking to the pastor, but Kip had no