The Growing Season Read online

  Danny felt his heart sink. He’d thought the grounds were his. They’d all talked about it, agreed to it. He didn’t have much in the way of savings from his job in L.A, so all he could really contribute to the restoration of Neverwood was the yard and kitchen gardens, and Cal, Devon and Will had told him it was more than enough. The conversation had taken place just the weekend before, but apparently Will had changed his mind. Had Cal known about it? Just when he’d started to trust his brothers... He looked at Sam, who was pointedly avoiding his eyes. The uncomfortable silence stretched out.

  “And you called him?” Danny tried to mask his hurt with gruffness.

  “Well, yeah.” Will looked confused. “I thought he—”

  “Fine.” Danny smacked the sub down on the counter. “Fine.”

  He slapped his hand in the middle of the door, his plan to exit with as much drama and noise as possible. He was pulled unceremoniously to a halt. Looking back, he found Devon had linked a finger through his belt loop and was restraining him.

  “Let go,” Danny growled.

  Devon shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think you need to stay and hear what Will has to say.”

  “I don’t need to hear anything. I get it, okay?”

  Will was looking back and forth between them. “Well, then maybe you could explain it to me. Because I’m confused.”

  Danny exhaled with an angry huff. “Clearly, you decided you needed someone with more expertise to handle the grounds. I get it. I mean, what could I possibly know? I’m only twenty-one, right?” His voice gained momentum as his hurt and anger grew. “Let’s completely forget that I spent two years working for the top landscape architect in L.A., which might just be a bigger market than, oh, gee, Washington? Let’s forget I spent three years out there with Mom, helping her lay out the beds every fucking one of those three years.”

  “Danny,” Will started. “I didn’t—”

  “You didn’t? Because it certainly looks to me like Mr. Best Landscape Architect in Washington is standing right there.” He pointed, irritated that his hand was shaking.

  “Danny.” It was Cal who spoke. Neither too loud nor too firmly, but his voice put a halt to Danny’s sarcasm.

  “What?”

  “Will called Sam, but not to ask him to take over the work on the grounds. He didn’t even know Sam was in town. When he realized you’d started trimming, he called to see if Sam knew any local guys we could get to come out and help. Even you have to admit the workload is too much for one man.” His hazel eyes were infuriatingly calm. “Right?”

  Danny’s anger died a quick death as embarrassment slinked through his stomach, making him queasy. And he was blushing. Shit.

  “Oh.” He couldn’t think of anything more articulate.

  Devon chuckled. “Way to go, Dan. I’ll give you one thing—you make a hell of a first impression.”

  Danny gave him a sour look, which only seemed to heighten Devon’s amusement.

  “Fuck you, Devon. I’m going back to work.” He tried to pull away again. “Let me go.”

  Instead, Devon yanked him in closer and Danny felt his mouth near his ear. “Don’t you think you really ought to stay? Will only called to get you some help, and if you storm out of here now—”

  He let the sentence hang, but Danny didn’t need him to spell it out. If he stormed out, Will would feel bad. And Danny didn’t want that. He’d been pissed off, but Will hadn’t meant any insult. He sighed heavily, pulled away and crossed his arms, staying put. Will caught his gaze, and Danny could read the uncertainty and apology in his eyes.

  “Danny—” Will said tentatively.

  “Relax, Will. It’s cool.” He could almost see Will’s square, rawboned shoulders sag in relief.

  “So, Sam,” Will said. “We really were just looking for some guys to help Danny out. You must’ve seen the yard when you came up to the house. It’s pretty clear Audrey didn’t feel up to tending it the last couple of years.”

  “Yeah, it’s going to be a big job,” Sam agreed. “If you want to get any vegetables into those beds with a decent yielding season, it’s going to need to happen pretty soon.”

  “I thought I’d start some flats in the shed.” Danny lifted his chin. “No point buying seedlings when we have room to do it. Audrey did it every year.”

  Sam glanced over and Danny felt the look clear to the soles of his feet. “That’s a good idea. But if you’re trying to clear the overgrowth out there alone, I doubt you’ll get to it.”

  “Will’s right. I can see the need for more help.”

  Sam studied him impassively. “I could get you some of my crew. If I’m not working they aren’t, and they could use a paycheck. If it’s in the budget.”

  “We’ve got funds set aside for the gardens.” It was Cal who spoke, and Sam nodded.

  “You aren’t working?” Will frowned. “I thought you’d have jobs lined up six months out.”

  The expression on Sam’s face underwent an interesting transformation, or maybe Danny had been so irritated he hadn’t noticed the sadness. There was no missing it now.

  “My mom is sick.” His voice was flat. “Ovarian cancer.”

  Heavy silence followed.

  “How bad is she?” Cal asked finally, his eyes shadowed.

  “Bad. She just had surgery last week, but it’s spread. They plan to send her home on Friday.” He hadn’t said “to die” but the words hung unspoken.

  “I’m sorry,” Will murmured.

  “She wanted me to come home, and once I saw her—” He shook his head. “Well, there’s no way I’m leaving now, so that’s that. My sisters are handling most of the heavy lifting, but I can at least be here. Actually, getting your call was about the only good news I’ve had in a week.” Danny thought he looked suddenly anxious, his fingers moving on the outer seam of his jeans, as if they wouldn’t be still. “Listen, I wouldn’t charge anything like my usual rate, but I’d like to help out. I can dig out dead beds with the best of them, and I’ve had a lot of experience with the old-growth perennials.”

  “You don’t have to sell me on your credentials, Sam,” Will said.

  Sam looked at Danny. “But I still have to sell you, don’t I?”

  Danny was startled by the unblinking regard. “I believe Will when he says you’re good.”

  “If you let me help, I won’t try to take over.” Sam began to speak more rapidly, and he took a step toward him. “I’ve always wanted a chance to work in Audrey’s garden. I used to look at those grounds when I was a kid and think they were the most beautiful thing on earth. It was like she had a magic touch or something.”

  “What a lovely thing to say.”

  The breath of sound made the hair lift on Danny’s neck and he stiffened. He had to scramble for a moment to remember his train of thought.

  “I do have one question.” He was determined not to let them get ahead of themselves. “What about your father?”

  “His father?” Cal raised a dark brow.

  “The good councilman,” Devon provided. “Bernard Ignatius.”

  Cal leaned back against the counter, his expression thoughtful. “Ah. I’d wondered.”

  “You cannot blame the son for the sins of the father.” The soft voice teased Danny’s ear, and he fought a shiver. “I believe I told you that once.” The sound made his skin crawl, and he looked at the faces around him. No one heard her but him. It was an isolating thought.

  “It is a pretty uncommon name.” Sam exhaled roughly. “Look, my dad and I don’t...we pretty much just avoid one another. I’m home because my mom asked me to come. But she’s only up to visitors for an hour or so a day, and there’s stuff a son just can’t do for his mom...” He ran his hand through his hair. Danny was beginning to think it was an indication of anxiety. On closer inspection, Sam seemed to be one raw nerve ending. Danny understood that feeling. “The fact is, I’m used to working. And all of this inactivity is driving me insane. I can call my guys and have a crew o
ut here tomorrow. But I’d really like to come with them.”

  Everyone in the kitchen turned to stare at Danny, waiting, including Sam Ignatius. It was kind of a heady feeling, being deferred to by a room full of men.

  “Is your father going to be hanging around if you’re here?”

  Sam let out a short, harsh laugh, but he didn’t sound amused. “If I’m here, he’s more likely to stay away.”

  Danny’s lips curved. “Well, there’s at least one reason to let you come.”

  Devon huffed out an abbreviated chuckle, swallowed in his coffee cup.

  “I guess I don’t have any problem with it,” Danny conceded finally.

  The tension in Sam’s body melted, and he smiled slowly. The transformation was startlingly glamorous, and Danny swallowed against a suddenly dry throat. Sam had an alluring mouth, and his two front teeth were slightly crooked. It didn’t detract from his looks one bit; if anything, it made him more appealing. Danny didn’t want to find Sam Ignatius attractive, but damn him, he was.

  “Just one thing.” Danny’s voice was as firm as he could make it.

  “Okay.” Sam looked wary.

  Danny narrowed his eyes. “Don’t call me kid, ever again.”

  A smile teased the corner of his lips as he nodded. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  Danny studied the rugged face for signs he was being mocked, but didn’t find any. The tiny smile seemed just that, a smile. His dark eyes held nothing but a friendly warmth. “Okay, then we’re good.”

  “Good,” Sam echoed.

  “Good.”

  Danny startled, and very nearly rolled his eyes. Even in death, Audrey had to have the last word.

  Chapter Four

  Danny worked until the sun slipped below the horizon, and then spent another hour in the shed checking the grow lights and putting potting soil in trays. It wasn’t until a frigid breeze slipped through the doorway and made gooseflesh rise on his arms that he flipped off the lights and made his way toward the house.

  Moving toward the back door in shadows cast by the towering trees along the drive, he saw a car slow to a crawl as it passed the open gates. The street was far enough from the back door that Danny couldn’t see the driver, but he recognized the make and model. It was a white Mercedes. His eyes narrowed. Eric Angus’s Mercedes was white.

  Eric Angus had been the bane of the brothers’ existence since they all returned to Neverwood. He worked for a company called Pac Western Real Estate and Danny wasn’t certain what he actually did, other than hang around Neverwood and harass them all. The Elk Ridge City Council had apparently backed Audrey into an agreement with Pac Western, stating if she was unable to repair the building to code by a certain date, Pac Western could take the house and the property around it to do with it whatever they wanted. The brothers had nearly lost the house, and Danny still felt guilty that his own juvenile arrest record had been part of the reason their first loan had been denied. It made his skin crawl, thinking about how someone could have gotten access to a juvenile record that was supposedly sealed. It was just one of the things that kept him up nights.

  At the last moment Devon was able to secure a loan to do the work that needed to be done on the house. Neverwood was slowly returning to its former glory, and it was apparently driving Angus nuts. He seemed way more invested in the whole thing than could be explained by his working for Pac Western, almost as if he had some sort of personal stake in the outcome. And it wasn’t the first time Danny had seen a car just like his driving past the house.

  The vehicle stopped completely, fog lights on, idling in front of the gates. Danny stepped from the shadows, and when the porch light shone down on the top of his head, the driver accelerated off down the street. Danny cursed under his breath. He’d need to let his brothers know about this.

  No one was in the kitchen, even though it smelled of something savory. Danny lifted the lid of a large covered pot on the stove, inhaling the scents of pot roast and potatoes and herbs. A cookie sheet on the counter held browned, yeasty rolls lined up in neat rows. More than ready to eat, he fought the urge to help himself and went in search of his brothers.

  The door into the dining room moved soundlessly beneath his hand, and he stepped through only to stop when he saw two figures entwined near the bay window.

  Lots of small outward indications suggested that Cal and Will were a couple, aside from the fact they shared a bedroom. Small brushes of fingers and secret smiles, although no overt PDAs. Danny was the one more likely to make out with some guy in the lounge. Had, in fact, on more than one occasion. But he couldn’t imagine Cal ever doing such a thing so it was a surprise to see Cal and Will wrapped in one another’s arms.

  They were standing by the window seat, kissing. Slow, leisurely kisses that looked more relaxed than passionate, as if the kiss was the destination and not a journey to somewhere else.

  Danny felt a tug in his chest. He was glad for Cal. Will was great, and they seemed so right together, but he couldn’t help but envy them. His own love life had been one cluster-fuck after another, his choices all bad. In his experience men wanted him for one of two things—to fuck him or to own him. It had been the curse of his looks from the moment he’d entered puberty. He was the quintessential twink, someone always wanted a piece of him. Seeing a couple so clearly in love was bittersweet. He couldn’t begrudge his brother his happiness. He just wished he’d had a chance to experience it, even once, before...well, before he decided it was better if he swore off men completely.

  One of Will’s big hands slid slowly down Cal’s back, curving over his hip and pulling their lower bodies together. Danny heard Cal make a needy sound low in his throat. Realizing it was probably time he made his presence known, he took a step back into the kitchen, letting the door swing closed between the two rooms.

  “Anybody home?” he called out, and waited.

  There was a pause, some hushed conversation and a soft laugh. “In here,” Cal called, and Danny waited another beat before pushing through the door.

  “Man, it’s gotten cold out there.” He rubbed his arms theatrically. “Damn near froze my nubs off.”

  Will sat on the window seat, one foot propped in front of him and his leg bent. Danny fought the urge to smirk. He knew what Will was hiding with that bent leg. Cal was leaning over the large dining room table, rolling up blueprints. “Are you ready to eat?”

  “More than. It smells really good.”

  “Yeah, well, Marie Callender and I can work wonders. Besides, I figured it was time for something other than takeout.” He slipped the plans into a large tube and leaned it in the corner. “Help yourself.”

  “Okay.” Danny started to bring up his Angus sighting, but Cal sent Will a secret smile, the love in his eyes unmistakable. Cal looked content, and Danny didn’t want to see the lines of strain reappear around his mouth and eyes. He and Cal might still have little to nothing in common, but he wasn’t that big of an asshole. “Where’s Devon?”

  “His darkroom, I think. Holler up the stairs to him, will you?”

  “I think I’ll just go get him. Deflect the charge I was actually born in a barn.”

  Cal chuckled. “Suit yourself.”

  Everything on the second floor was dark, but there was enough light filtering through the windows for Danny to see where he was going. He ambled across the lounge to Devon’s room, and began to hear the soft sounds of music filtering from the closed door.

  It was Fleetwood Mac. Danny recognized the smoky sound of Stevie Nicks’s voice, and the melody lines of the song. He’d have to rib Devon about old music for an old man. He paused outside the door, hesitating. He’d never been in the workroom. It seemed, more than anyplace else, Devon’s private domain.

  “Devon?” he called. “Hey, Dev.” There was no answer. He opened the door cautiously and peered around the edge. The room was dark but for the light reflecting from a large HD monitor on the wall. Devon was standing against a tall table, his back toward the door,
looking at myriad images that flashed on the screen. He used his wireless mouse to click on one, then another, and another.

  The images were of dozens of kids. Street kids, Danny realized. He stared at the faces, too drawn and tired for their age. God, they looked familiar. He took a step into the room, his gaze rapt. “Are those from Seattle?”

  Devon glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah. They are.”

  Danny walked closer, his eyes riveted to the screen, the faces, the eyes.

  The kids looked so...lost, wrapped in layers of mismatched jackets and hats and gloves. They’d been taken in February, Danny remembered. Devon had been on assignment for the Seattle Times, and had been gone for the better part of two weeks. February in Seattle, on the streets. Christ. He’d grown up just outside of Seattle; the winter months could be brutal. At least in L.A. it had been warm. He studied the face of one kid, hair too long, eyes too big in his angular face. He had a look Danny remembered, the dead eyes of someone who’d seen too much too young. Devon’s large hand came to rest on his shoulder, and Danny jumped.

  “Did you need something, Dan?”

  Danny looked up and found Devon’s eyes on his face, their expression almost—understanding. Danny took a step back, and Devon’s hand fell away.

  “I was calling your name.” Danny wiped his hand on the denim covering his thigh. His palms were sweating, and his lungs felt constricted. Devon clicked the mouse again, and the screen went dark.

  “I didn’t hear you.” Devon leaned over and flicked off the iPod.

  “Might have something to do with Stevie Nicks.” Danny struggled to regain his footing. “Dude, do you have anything on that thing more recent than ‘Leather and Lace’?”

  Devon shot him a wry look. “Don’t knock Stevie, brat. She’s the only woman I ever considered turning straight for.”

  Danny snorted. “Probably because she sounds like a dude.”

  “I won’t even dignify that with a response.” Devon turned back to the table and slipped the mouse into a charging dock. “Did you want something?”