The Egg Hunt

Chapter 2: Lumberjacks and Macchiatos

“Oh, thank God, you found him, Tom.” Aiden came dashing towards them as soon as they’d crossed the threshold, his hands waving and his curls bouncing with each step. It was a shame Aiden was with his hick of a boyfriend; Jason should’ve f****d him while he was available. He was such a cute little thing, just the way Jason liked his guys.

They’d never talked much while Aiden lived in Whiteport despite working together, but after Aiden had left, they’d started texting each other, talking more than ever before.

Jason’s rescuer—Tom, he assumed—shrugged before nodding an acknowledgement to everyone inside. While they greeted each other, Jason took in his surroundings. The black-and-white-chequered floor, the turquoise benchtop, and the white walls in dire need of a paint job, made him grimace. A red-haired little boy was sitting behind the counter, doing homework by the looks of it, and four men were sitting on white plastic chairs around one table. They were all dressed the same way as Tom, suggesting they, too, worked in the forest.

The place was crawling with lumberjacks.

The two middle-aged women at the table in the corner looked like they’d been there since Christmas. Colourful balls of yarn and coffee cups covered most of the table top in front of them, and both had knitting needles in their hands. A thin, red-haired woman, presumably the boy’s mother, went from table to table, topping off everyone’s coffee cups. Last, but sadly not least, Aiden’s boyfriend, Tristan, was sitting by the table placed in front of the TV.

“Come, sit down.” Aiden gripped Jason’s arm and steered him towards Tristan.

“What are we doing in here?” Jason couldn’t believe they were going to sit in a shabby café and drink coffee when it was almost dark outside. Biscuit was lost in the woods, for heaven’s sake. “What about Biscuit?”

“We’ll figure something out. Just come sit for a little while. You must be frozen to the bone.”

Well, yeah, it’s freezing, but that meant it was freezing for Biscuit, too. “But Biscuit—”

“One cup, then we’ll regroup.”

Jason slumped down on one of the plastic chairs and rubbed the stubble on his chin. Tom sat next to him, and as the warm light from the lamp above fell upon him, Jason noticed a smattering of barely-there freckles on Tom’s cheekbones. Jason wondered if they extended down to his shoulders. It wouldn’t have surprised him; Tom’s beard was more copper than brown, although his hair and eyes were both dark. For a brief moment, Jason’s thoughts flitted to what colour the hair hidden under Tom’s clothes was. Probably dark, too.

“All good?” Tristan smiled at Tom but didn’t as much as glance in Jason’s direction. That was fine by him.

Tom nodded, before seeking out the red-haired woman with his gaze. “Could we have a cup, love?”

She practically floated over to them, placed cups on the table, and started pouring.

“Erm…could I have a macchiato, please?”

Everyone around the table, including Aiden, stilled. Jason glanced around, trying to figure out what had happened.

“Sorry, we don’t have that here. Coffee—” she held up the pot “—tea, or would you prefer some juice or maybe a soft drink?” She smiled and stroked away a lock of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail.

No macchiato? “I’ll have a cup of tea, then, please.” He smiled his most charming smile and out of the corner of his eye noticed how everyone relaxed a fraction. Did they expect him to throw a fit? He had manners.

The woman scurried away, and Jason turned back to the others. “So what do we do about Biscuit? I can’t leave him out there all night.”

Tristan grumbled something, which was followed by Aiden stamping on his foot under the table.

“Ouch! Why did you do that?”

“Because you’ll help find the dog.”

“If anyone had mentioned a dog in the first place—”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t think, all right? I just assumed it would be fine.”

“How can you—” Tristan started, but Tom’s deep voice stopped him mid-sentence.

“Erm…Can someone fill me in?”

Tristan gave Jason a dark look before shifting his attention to Tom. “Jason here is Aiden’s friend from the city—” the word was said with such distaste Jason wanted to punch him “—who is visiting for the weekend. It’s just no one mentioned there being a dog included. They got here, and Jason simply let the little mutt out of the car. And Og being Og…”

“Oh…” Tom sipped at his coffee, acting as if all was well with the world.

“Oh? My dog is gone and you say oh?” Jason’s voice rang through the run-down café, making everyone else go silent.

Tom shrugged again, and it was starting to get on Jason’s nerves. “You can’t bring a dog to another dog’s house, especially not if they’re both males. Even I know that. Cookie was intruding.”

“Biscuit.”

Another shrug. Jason gritted his teeth. Tom stroked his beard, which was even longer than Tristan’s. Were they too lazy to shave, or was it the fashion around here? Jason suppressed a snort. Did they even have something to call ‘fashion’? Unable to stop himself, he rubbed a hand over his chin—not clean shaven, but short and well-kept.

“Just help me find the dog so I can go back home.” Jason was thankful when the red-haired woman arrived with his cup of tea. If he had to look at the two broad-shouldered, bearded lumberjacks calmly drinking their coffee for much longer he would punch someone.

* * * *

Tom took another sip of his coffee as a heavy silence descended over the table. He didn’t mind all that much. In the month and a half since Aiden moved here, he’d already witnessed more than one fight between him and Tristan, and Tom enjoyed it. It livened things up.

“You can’t go back. You’ve just got here.” Aiden’s green eyes were wide with worry. “And the temperature is dropping, the roads will be slippery, and it’s already getting dark.”

Tom watched with interest as Jason’s gaze softened when he looked at Aiden. He couldn’t have stopped the smile on his lips even if he’d wanted to when he met Tristan’s annoyed gaze. This weekend could turn into a real treat.

He’d figured he’d be depressed since it was Easter, and what was more depressing than a soon-to-be thirty-five-year-old spending a holiday alone? He had the egg hunt on Sunday, and for the rest he’d be working, but this sure looked like it could turn interesting. It gladdened him that Tristan was going to have an even crappier weekend than him. He tried to hide it by taking a sip on his coffee, but in the end, he gave in to the chuckle.

“What are you laughing about?” The stern look Jason gave him sent a shiver travelling through his body. Tom ignored it. He didn’t act on reactions like that, not in this town.

“Nothing.” Tom kept sipping and tried to keep his face blank, but he could feel his eyes crinkling at the corners as he looked at Tristan again.

“Something funny, Tom?” Tristan’s voice took a growly turn.

He shrugged. “Nothing you’d appreciate.”

“Figured as much.”

Tom needed to change the subject before he said anything that might further increase the tension. “So, the dog? What breed, and how long has he been gone? What do we do?”

“He’s this tiny little Jack Russell terrier.”

Tom almost choked on his coffee, and Tristan gave him his trademark one-raised-eyebrow look.

“Yeah, just a tiny little Jack Russell,” Tristan confirmed.

“He is tiny!” Aiden looked between Tristan and Tom. “Why are you two looking at each other like that?”

“Well…” Tom hoped Tristan would cut him off with some smart comment, but the amused twinkle in his eyes dashed those hopes all too fast. “Jack Russells were bred for hunting in dens. They go up against foxes and badgers underground.”

“Biscuit wouldn’t do that. He’s never hunted anything in his life.”

Somehow Tom found that hard to believe, but he shrugged to calm Jason down a little. “What I mean is he’s not a fragile little thing. But…” Tom trailed off as Aiden reached for Tristan’s arm, and a wave of envy washed over him. He shook it off. “But it’s still cold, so no matter what, we need to find him.” And the ice was not reliable this time of year, not that Tom was going to say it out loud, but it was still the case.

Tristan patted Aiden’s hand. “Why don’t the two of you—” he nodded at Jason “—go back to the cabin and see if he’s come back. Maybe check the forest around it.”

“Okay.” Aiden downed the last in his cup and held out his hand for the car keys.

Tom didn’t say a thing while the two men got up from their seats and headed for the door. He watched them go to Tristan’s car, hop in, and then the lights came on.

“You’re okay with that?” He was still watching the car as it pulled away from the café. He turned back to find Tristan studying him through narrowed eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“If Aiden were mine—” He nearly choked on his words. He should not be saying things like that. “I’m not entirely sure I would let him out of my sight with that guy around.”

Tristan paled a bit, and Tom instantly regretted his words. He’d forgotten all about Paul, Tristan’s ex-husband, for a moment. How could he be so insensitive? It had taken years for Tristan to recover from Paul cheating on him. The worst of it was that people had known and said nothing. Tom hadn’t known about it, but he liked to think he would have spoken up.

“I have to trust him.”

Tristan’s strangled whisper made Tom’s stomach ache. So much hurt, which was why he’d never even consider getting a partner. It wasn’t worth the gossip, and it certainly wasn’t worth the pain if things didn’t work out.

“I was only joking around, Tris. Aiden would never…” And he prayed to God that was true.

“I need a favour.” Tristan gave him a serious look.

“Anything.” He had to offer after having ripped the old wound open.

“I need you to let Jason stay with you.”

“What?” Once again, the hum of the voices in the café diminished, and every pair of eyes turned their way.

“I can’t ask Jen to take him in. They don’t have the space, and if we ever find the darn dog…” Tristan shook his head. “If we ever find the dog, he can’t stay with us. I’m not sure which dog would rip the other to pieces, but I’m not risking a bloodbath.”

Tom could see Tristan’s point, but he wasn’t in the mood to have a stranger living with him over Easter.

“I’ll owe you one, and Aiden will give you a free massage tomorrow morning.”

So much for working through the weekend.

“Does Aiden know that?” Tom had considered going to Aiden several times, but he’d always backed out. It was the whole getting undressed and then touched by another man thing. What if he got an erection? How the hell would he explain that?

“He was the one who suggested it when I told him what would happen if we locked two dogs in the living room. It would be like dropping them into a fighting ring.”

“Yeah, okay. But only if we find the dog, right?”

“Sure.” Tristan put down his empty cup.

Tom was still optimistic he’d get out of it, and maybe he wouldn’t have to have the massage.

“Tris?” Jen appeared next to their table. “John called. He has some kind of terrier at his place. Is it the dog you were looking for?”

Fuck. Tom didn’t want the dog to freeze to death, but he’d sort of hoped…Well, he’d hoped he’d have the weekend to himself, just like every weekend.