Home Coming

Chapter Three

Brandon pulled into the parking lot in front of the Davis & Adams Remodeling business office. His friend and business partner, Walker Adams, was standing in front of the window having a smoke. The lean, wiry man was in good shape for his age, except for a little bulge around the middle. He enjoyed a few too many beers in front of the TV each weekend, not that Brandon had any room to talk.

When Walker saw Brandon get out of the truck, his eyes widened and he flicked his smoke onto the pavement and hurried inside the office.

Brandon growled and narrowed his eyes at his friend's retreating back. p***y.

"What's up?" Walker asked as Brandon sat down in front of his desk.

"You know damn well what's up. You were supposed to find a cheap and easy remodel for our first flip. We're trying to grow the business, not tank it."

Neither of them said it out loud, but with the economy in the tank, their remodeling business had slowed way down. Flipping broke-down houses was a huge risk in today's market. Most frustrating for Brandon was that while he stressed over it, Walker seemed to take it in stride.

"Man, it was a f*****g steal, though. I got it for a quarter of the value. We'll make a profit no matter how much we put into it. Stop worrying about everything all the time. Christ, you're gonna give yourself a f*****g ulcer."

"Did you even see the place before you bid on it?" Brandon asked as he rubbed the knot on the back of his neck. He rolled his head back and forth until his neck cracked with a series of snaps.

"No. But I got a flyer," he said. He pulled out a sheet of paper with pretty pictures, likely from an attempted sale before it fell under foreclosure. "How bad can it be?"

"Well, I'm sure it looked like that before Norman Bates took it over and rented it out to the Munsters."

Walker burst out laughing and Brandon couldn't help but laugh with him.

Walker shook his head at his friend. "I'll have Jess go over there first thing today to draw up the plans."

Walker cleared his throat and Brandon swore his cheeks started to flush. Brandon smirked to himself. Walker had the hots for the young architect they sub-contracted to, but for some reason was too chicken s**t to ask her out, even though it was apparent that she was interested.

"Good. I want to get the permits finalized and start demo next week. And ask the woman out already, you pussy."

As Brandon sat down on the couch, Toby jumped up and laid his head on his lap. Brandon reached down and scratched at the little Schnauzer's neck. This is what a dog was supposed to look like. Toby was just too cute. That ugly little thing over at the flip house was just not right.

Benji held out a bottle of Bud Light to him, and Brandon took it and tipped his head back and drank a long pull. "Thanks, little bro."

"You're welcome," Benji replied. He cleared his throat nervously and then sat down on the other end of the couch as far away from Brandon as he could, without trying to be obvious about, or so he thought. "Ben should be back any minute."

Brandon nodded and took another drink of his beer. He kept his eyes on the ground as he quietly spoke, "Benji... About yesterday—"

Benji shook his head. "It's okay."

"No. I just wanted you to know that I'm not— I wasn't trying to hit on you... It's just that..." He let out a sigh and glanced over at Benji. The little man had his hands in his lap and was wringing his fingers. Brandon knew he had to get this out and do it right. He couldn't have the little guy be scared or nervous around him. That would just kill him. "It's been a long time," he said quietly.

Benji looked up at Brandon, surprise clearly written across his face. "Oh. I thought..."

"No. I haven't really been with anyone since my ex-wife. I make up s**t for Ben's sake. It's better if he thinks I'm some kind of p***y hound." Benji cringed at the vulgar word and Brandon couldn't help but smirk. "Then he won't worry about me. So when you held me like that... Well, it made me feel..." Brandon rubbed a hand over the stubble of his crew cut, trying to come up with the right word...

"Horny?" Benji offered.

"No. Well, maybe a little. I was thinking more like... special."

"Oh." Benji gave Brandon a genuine smile for the first time since he arrived. Benji slid closer and Brandon felt the stress leave his shoulders. "I understand, Brandon. You are special. You're a really nice guy. Any woman would be lucky to have a guy like you."

"Yeah? You think?"

"I know," he said. He pressed his index finger into the middle of Brandon's chest. "Under all that gruffness is a sweet guy who's loyal and protective and loving. You've got a big heart."

"What makes you so sure? I can be a mean bastard."

"Because you're my Ben's best friend and you helped raise him and make him the man he is. He's wonderful because you are."

"Delivery!"

Brandon was relieved to hear Ben's voice as he walked through the front door. The conversation was getting too intense. But Benji was back to his normal self, smiling and not afraid to come near Brandon, so it was worth it. And spending time with his brothers was better than sitting home alone.

Brandon looked down at the doggy bag that Benji gave him. It was literally a doggy bag. While playing with Toby, Brandon thought about the ugly little mutt at the flip house and asked for a bit of Toby's food.

Benji just about burst into tears at Brandon's gesture. "See, I told you," he had said. "You have a big heart. Not everyone would feed a stray mutt. You should take him home with you."

"f**k that!" he had replied, nearly choking, making Benji descend into a giggle fit.

He pulled into the driveway of the flip and shut off the engine. He grabbed the ziploc baggie filled with kibbles and walked around to the back door, making sure to avoid any landmines left by the little squatter.

Brandon noted that the electricity had been turned over, since he could see light spilling out of one of the windows. Someone must have left the bathroom light on. Brandon opened the back door and made his way into the house.

He expected little ugly to come running as soon as he walked in. Brandon whistled and he heard the pattering of the little dog's feet. When he saw Brandon, he yipped softly and wagged his tail.

"Hey there, little ugly. I brought you some food. Don't say I never done nothing for ya."

Brandon shook the baggie of kibbles and the little dog yipped and ran out of the room.

"Come back here."

Brandon followed the dog into the living room, who padded down the hallway towards the bedrooms. When the pup got to the master bedroom he stopped and looked back at Brandon and then ran inside.

Brandon followed him down the hall and froze when he stepped into the room. Something was different. The bathroom door was open and the light from the vanity overheads spilled into the bedroom. The little dog was standing in the middle of the room wagging its tail back and forth as if he was pleased with himself. He barked again.

A soft voice called out from the bathroom, "What is it, boy?"

A skinny young man walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. When he saw Brandon, he gasped and covered his chest with an arm, while the other clutched at the towel.

Brandon dropped the dog food and raised his fists as he took a step closer. "Who the f**k are you and what are you doing in my house?!"