“Right. It’s really good. Do you need some?”

  “I’m good. I’ll probably see if they’ll bring us some real food in a few hours….”

  Bleu leaned back, both eyes closed now. “How was your exhibition?”

  “Good. I shredded it.” He reached up to stroke Bleu’s hair, the heavy strands tangling around his fingers. “I’m sorry you missed the big unveiling.”

  “So did Stoney, and Ford had it commissioned for him.”

  “I know.” Shit happened. That was the one constant in life, wasn’t it?

  Bleu shuddered, rocking himself. “I don’t think I did anything wrong….”

  “Tanner said the sled hit a fallen tree. That’s an act of God, babe.”

  “Oh. It was hidden under the snow.”

  “Exactly. That’s why they call snowmobiling an extreme sport.” He grinned. “You just happened not to be on a flat, which made for ack. That’s a technical term, you know.”

  “Yeah? Ack is right. I woke up, and… well, it sucked.”

  Sucked. Yeah, yeah, Mr. Understatement, he guessed so.

  He grinned, shaking his head. That was his Bleu. “You did fab.”

  “Yeah. We all made it. That has to be enough, right?”

  “It is. I mean, Stoney would have died without you, babe.” He thought it was important to note that.

  “He wouldn’t have been out there without me.”

  “Bah. You know that man loves to snowmobile. He goes out constantly. Don’t believe for a second that you were at fault. It was an accident, pure and simple.”

  “I just—someone else would have been able to do more.”

  “What?” Ryan poked Bleu’s arm gently. “Tanner said the sled was a goner. You kept Stoney as warm as you could, found the radio to tell us where you were, used the light sticks to mark your position, and got home in one piece. You did as much as anyone could in that situation, sighted or not.”

  “I didn’t panic. God, I wanted to. I wanted to scream, but I was afraid if I started, I wouldn’t be able to stop.” Bleu leaned into him, skin still too damned cold. “It’s silly, but it’s true.”

  “It’s human nature.” He set the thermos aside so he could crawl into bed with Bleu. He’d forgotten to put clothes on, and it was chilly.

  “Oh.” Bleu snuggled right in, tangling their legs together. “Oh, love. Stay.”

  “I will.” He wasn’t going anywhere for at least a few hours. Maybe all night.

  He kissed the top of Bleu’s head, and he had almost dozed off when he heard Bleu’s words.

  Love.

  Yes. Love. Stay. These were the important things. They had a shit load to talk about, but right now, that was enough.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  BLEU had never been so sore in his whole life. Never. Not even when he’d misjudged the steps in front of the library and gone down an entire flight of concrete.

  “Oh God. Kill me now,” he muttered, trying his damnedest to remember where the bathroom was.

  “Hey, hon. The door is to your left.” Dan sounded subdued, but he wasn’t making a big deal, which was nice.

  “Thank you. Sorry. Yesterday was… rough.”

  “Y’think?” Dan’s voice was dry as dust.

  “Fuck off.” He chuckled, though, because it was true. Yesterday had been… endless. Ryan had been proud, though, and that meant a shit-ton to him. “I need a hot shower.”

  “I’ll come sit with you, make sure you don’t fall.” As he opened his mouth to argue, Dan said, “It’s not like I haven’t seen it all, and your ankle is huge.”

  “Right. Just no ogling.”

  “I don’t find bruises sexy. I prefer my sex symbols in tuxedos and shiny shoes. Bond style.”

  “You are a fucking weirdo, man.”

  “I am. Come on.” Dan took him to the bathroom and even got the water going.

  He stripped down and stepped into the spray, the heat immediately helping the sore muscles, his swollen screaming joints. His foot hurt, but even it was so much better for a night’s rest. He thought Ryan was gone, but then so was Floyd, so maybe Ryan had just taken Floyd out to pee.

  “You know that you could have died out there. Was it worth it?” Dan asked quietly.

  “I could have died here. I could die right now. It was fun, until the accident. It was like flying.”

  “So you’re saying you’d go again? Really?”

  “Probably not today. I’m sore. But again? Yeah. Yeah, I’d try again.”

  “Ryan says I should stop trying to make you less than you are.” Dan laughed, the sound a little torn. “You know it’s just worry, right? I do this to everyone.”

  “You’re a good man. You always have been. A bit of a dork, but a good man.”

  “Thanks.” Dan chuckled, this time with more humor. “I was scared to death, but Ryan was a champ. He was amazing.”

  “He is. I love him.” He rinsed the shampoo out of his hair so he didn’t have to worry about Dan’s response.

  “Are you listening to me?” Dan asked when he was back out of the rushing water.

  “Nope. Not that I ever do.”

  “Asshat.” Dan said it fondly. “Your towel is in the warmer.”

  “Thank you. How was the party? Have I asked that already?”

  “Nope. It was amazing. The response to your piece was stunning. I can’t wait for Stoney to see it.”

  “Me either.” He smiled at that thought. “Have we heard whether he’s okay? Does Ryan have Floyd?”

  “I assume Ryan has Floyd, yes. I’m not sure. Stoney is okay, though Ford is making him go to the hospital today.”

  “That sucks, but it’s probably for the best. Is it still snowing?”

  “Nope. It cleared off about five this morning and is viciously cold out there. I was—do you think we could stay on another day, at least? I’d like the roads to get cleared some.”

  “That’s fine with me. I’m not ready to move on yet.” He wasn’t ready to leave Ryan, although who knew? Maybe Ryan left today.

  “Oh, good.” Dan’s relief was so palpable, Bleu felt bad. “Here. Towel.”

  “Mmm, warm.”

  “Indeed. That’s the nice thing about towel warmers.”

  “Shut up, turd bucket.”

  He heard Dan’s snort, and didn’t that make him cackle?

  “Hello?” Ryan’s voice came from the main room. “Dan? Bleu?”

  “In the bathroom, man,” Dan called out. “I was worried he’d slip.”

  “Is everyone naked?” Ryan was laughing, and Floyd burst through the partly open door, his nails clicking on the tile.

  “Only Bleu, and he has a towel.”

  “You mean you’re not naked, Dan?” He put all his sarcasm into the words.

  “No. I am not.” Dan sounded so prim.

  “Well, come on, naked and not. I brought breakfast. Geoff sent enough for all of us. For a week.”

  “Yeah? Cool. I’m starving. Is there bacon?” His nose was stuffed up. He fucking hated that.

  “Bacon, sausage, and ham. Eggs and waffles. Cinnamon rolls. Hot syrup and butter.” Ryan was just as cheerful as, well, Tanner had been yesterday.

  “Waffles….” He stepped out of the tub and into Ryan’s arms. “Oh, hello.”

  “Hey. Dan traded me. He’s out there arranging breakfast into beauty, I have no doubt.”

  “Uh-huh. Kiss me.” He knew they couldn’t linger, but he wanted a kiss. Maybe he needed one.

  Ryan held him up easily, letting him wrap his arms around Ryan’s neck. The kiss was slow but deep, really exploring him completely. Bleu let himself melt, let Ryan hold him and keep him warm as they moaned together.

  “Ahem.” That wasn’t Dan. “Come on, horndogs. Breakfast.”

  “Phil, who let you in?”

  Phil was clearly not where he could see anything or Ryan probably wouldn’t sound amused.

  “Dan the man. We’re having breakfast together. You should get less wet.”

  “Go to the other room, Phil. My wetness is not for your edification.” Bleu didn’t snap, but he did say it firmly.

  “True fact,” Ryan agreed. “Scram.”

  Phil stomped away, and Ryan helped dry him off. “Clean jammies or sweats?”

  “Sweats. Are you leaving today, Ry?” Can you stay? Will you stay?

  “No, I can stay as long as I need to.” Ryan rubbed his arms. “Come on, babe. Clothes first.”

  “Right. Clothes. Breakfast.” Then the hard part. Maybe the good part. Wasn’t it time for the good part by now? He wanted their fairy-tale ending.

  Ryan helped him dress. “Do you want the crutches?”

  “God no. I would kill Floyd or something.”

  They both laughed, but his ankle wasn’t as bad as all that—tender and swollen, yes, but not as bad as when he’d hurt it playing baseball in school.

  “Okay, breakfast ho!” Ryan felt so good, arm around him, hip pressed to his.

  The whole main room of the cabin smelled like heaven. Syrup and pastry, bacon and sausage.

  He sat, taking the coffee mug Dan offered him with thanks.

  “Mmm. God, I could just get super fat here,” Phil said.

  “I think the people who work here work so hard they need the calories.” Bleu shrugged. He wasn’t concerned. He ate when he was hungry and when the food smelled good.

  “Yeah.” Ryan’s voice was a little strained. “I used to be that way when I was working out eight hours a day.”

  “And now you can breathe, love. You’re an artist now, not a competitive athlete.” He leaned into Ryan, cuddling close. “Share waffles with me?”

  “Yes. That sounds perfect. Do you still like lots of butter and a little syrup?”

  “You remember.”

  “Butter is…,” Phil started, and Bleu held a hand up.

  “Proof there is a God and He loves us. Don’t harsh my mellow, man. This is breakfast.”

  Dan chuckled. “Bleu is passionate about his breakfast.”

  “I am.” He nodded happily. “I love it all. Well, except smoked salmon. No way is fish acceptable for breakfast.”

  Ryan snorted. “Unless it’s trout caught and cooked right out of the river.”

  “That’s a camping thing,” Bleu pointed out. “I haven’t gone camping since… well, you.”

  “We’ll have to go.” Ryan said it so easily, which gave Bleu hope. There would be an after this. A soft bit of bread touched his lips, so he opened up his mouth to take in a bite of waffles.

  “Mmm…,” Bleu hummed, the mixture just perfect.

  “Jesus, does he know he looks like he’s being fucked when he eats?”

  Ryan cleared his throat. “Inappropriate, Phillip.”

  “Do I? Really?”

  Dan snorted. “Of course not. Obviously Phillip here has never seen someone truly lost in passion. You look like you are enjoying your meal, but when you’re making love, it’s better.”

  “Also inappropriate, Dan!” Ryan sounded strangled.

  Bleu started chuckling, tickled pink. “Right. No one needs to talk about how anyone looks during sex or eating because I’m at a disadvantage.”

  They all hooted then, and Ryan squeezed his hand before feeding him a bit of bacon. Wow, he was having breakfast with the ex he was getting back with, the ex’s ex, and his other ex….

  Wait, was Phil the ex’s ex if Ryan wasn’t an ex anymore?

  If Ryan wasn’t an ex, did that make him a why?

  Christ, he had a headache.

  “Hey, here’s your coffee.” Ryan wrapped his hands around a mug.

  “Mmm. Thank you. I do love Geoff’s coffee. It reminds me of Santa Fe.”

  “You know that’s where Ford’s second office is, right?” Ryan told him.

  “I do. I’ve met him in town often to check out the sculpture. I just never put Santa Fe and coffee here together.”

  “I haven’t been to Santa Fe in years.” Ryan stroked his hand.

  “It hasn’t changed much,” Dan murmured. “The stores on the plaza change….”

  “It’s Santa Fe. I want to go back home to Boulder and see.” Boulder had been where he’d become a man, where he’d made his first steps outside of his folks’ house, where he’d learned his hardest lessons.

  “I would love that. Can you take the time and come back with me?” Ryan sounded so… hopeful.

  “Phil?” Dan’s voice was soft.

  “Hmm?”

  “This is our cue to go find something amazing to do in the main house.”

  “But….”

  “Now, buddy.”

  “Oh.” Phil laughed. “Right.” Chairs scraped, and then the door opened and shut.

  “Was that bad, love?” He didn’t think so, but he needed to make sure.

  “No. I think Dan is just more, uh, sensitive than Phil. We’re having a life discussion here.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, okay. Good. We’re both on the same basic page, then.” He ate a piece of bacon, the salt just so good. “I love you. You know that, right?”

  “I think I do. I love you too. I know it sounds crazy, but I think now is our time.”

  “I would come with you, to learn your place. I haven’t found one of my own yet. I—I want you to know that I won’t be a burden to you. I do okay on my own. I’m not looking for a caretaker or a driver.” He needed Ryan to know that. This wasn’t about being scared for him. This was about being brave.

  “Babe, I would put you and Floyd up against anyone. I’m so proud of how you’ve taken the reins and run with them. I’m not worried, and I want you to know I’m not scared of hooking up with the blind guy.” Ryan kissed the corner of his mouth. “Mmm. Butter.”

  “Really?” He chased Ryan’s kiss. It had almost killed him to walk away from Ryan the first time.

  “Mmm-hmm. Definitely butter.” Ryan kissed him again, this time full-on. He opened up, his fingers tangling in Ryan’s sweater as he held on. “Come home with me. Then I’ll come home with you. Then we’ll decide where home is, together.”

  “I like the sound of that.” Neither of them had a permanent home right now. Maybe they really could find where they could go together.

  “So do I.” Ryan hugged him with one arm. “These are really good waffles.”

  He found a bite with his fingers and fed Ryan the bit of sweet. Someone had been watching Ryan’s every bite, but food should be sensual and happy, not guilty.

  Ryan moaned softly, taking the bite and then licking his fingers clean. “God, babe. Another?”

  “As much as you want.”

  “More, then. It tastes better from your fingers.”

  “Are we basking?” He thought they were basking.

  “I think so. We should. You had a near-frozen experience yesterday.”

  “I did.” But he’d been okay. He’d done well, right? They’d lived.

  “So we get to be all mushy.” Ryan fed him more bacon. “Besides, we have to recover some before we have sex, so why not bask?”

  “Can we stay a few days? Here, I mean? Together? I want to make sure Stoney is okay, and I want to be there when he sees the statue.”

  “I asked Ford this morning. Everyone is clearing out today, and we can move to a cabin of our own. Dan wants to stay until tomorrow, but Phil is leaving this afternoon.”

  “Good. Maybe one with a hot tub?” He wanted champagne and hot tub time with Ryan. He wanted to know that his hot tub time with Ryan would end with orgasms.

  “Yeah, they’re giving us the honeymoon cabin.” He heard the laughter lurking in Ryan’s voice, and he had to chuckle too.

  “Tell me there’s a heart-shaped bed.” His momma had told him about that, about how motels had honeymoon suites with heart-shaped magic-finger beds.

  “I think it’s a lodge pine king. We’ll find a heart-shaped bed when we go to Vegas. I do a show there every year.”

  “Oh, I’ve never been there.” He’d love to go.

  “There are amazing restaurants and all sorts of crazy shows you could hear as well as experience.”

  He loved that Ryan just accepted that he could come along, that he would be welcome. “Thank you.”

  “You know it. I have a few things in February, but we’ll figure out schedules, huh? I don’t want you to get behind on work.”

  Bleu loved the sound of that. February and beyond. “We’ll find a studio, or a place where I can have one.” That was always best.

  “Yeah. Someplace with lots of space, right? You do some big pieces.”

  “I do.” He fed Ryan another bite, tracing his lover’s lips.

  “Then we find something with the right kind of studio.” Ryan said it firmly, and he grinned.

  This was definitely lovers basking, but Ryan was absolutely right. They totally deserved it.

  After all, he’d damn near froze his nuts off just yesterday.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  THEY had a wee unveiling party Monday afternoon for Stoney and Bleu.

  Geoff made pizza, Ford mixed crazy hot Bloody Marys, and Bleu got to be there the first time Stoney saw the statue.

  Ryan was about to bust a gut, he was so proud. Bleu couldn’t see Stoney’s face, but his expression was one of pure awe.

  The statue was Ford’s and Stoney’s hands, their wedding rings clear, clasped over the nose of Stoney’s mare, the main house underneath the horse’s chin. Stoney’s lips tightened as he reached out, touching their clasped hands. “Well… I’ll be goddamned, honey. Look at this.”

  Bleu grinned, and Ryan could see that no one needed to tell Bleu he’d done good. Bleu heard.

  “It’s great, yeah?” Ford held Stoney’s hand. “It’s us. The ranch. Everything.”

  “It’s beautiful. Seriously. It’s…. Thank you.” Stoney looked up to Ford, who cupped the angular bruised face and took a long, deep kiss.

  Ryan almost felt like an intruder, at least until Doogie and Quartz burst out with an “Ewwwww!”

  Bleu nudged him. “What did I miss?”

  “Stoney and Ford playing movie heroes and kissing. Very dramatic.” He forgot Bleu needed the play-by-play.

  “Aww. Yay! That’s the best ending.”

  “Sap,” Tanner muttered.

  “Duh,” Bleu shot back.