“Not if he can help it.”
“In my defense, I had other things on my mind,” Brantley stated. “But I could tell they’d been working.”
JJ laughed. “Right.”
Reese nodded his head in the direction of the door. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
He led the way, Brantley walking beside him, Tesha trotting along at their feet.
Once inside, they headed for the stairs. As they scaled the last few steps to the second floor, Tesha darted ahead of them, nose to the ground.
“Holy shit.” Brantley stopped at the top.
Reese smiled to himself because there was awe in that tone and he understood why. The entire upstairs had been transformed. It was no longer barren. It now resembled that of an office space worthy of a day’s work.
“Who did this?”
“Travis’s crew. They started on Friday afternoon, right after we left,” Reese explained. “Travis said they finished up on Sunday.”
“The same one that worked on the conference room?”
“No. They’re good, but not that good.”
Then again, Reese knew there hadn’t been much to do for this space. Closing up the walls was the hardest part.
“And the furniture?”
“That was all me.”
Brantley’s eyes darted over to him. “You bought all this?”
“I did. It’s my contribution to the household.”
“I told you I’d buy whatever you wanted.”
Reese laughed. “And you thought I’d be happy bein’ a kept man?”
That got him a laugh, and he felt some of the tension drain out of both of them. It had been touch-and-go all morning, and Reese knew Brantley was worried about him. Telling him he didn’t need to be would’ve gotten him nowhere, so he was grateful they had this to come back to. This was part of their new life together.
“Go on,” Reese urged. “Check out your office.”
Brantley headed across the game room, which was empty for the time being. Reese wasn’t sure what they would do with the space, but he figured they’d find something eventually.
A bark of laughter had Reese heading to Brantley’s office.
“A couch?” Brantley’s blue-gray eyes glittered with amusement.
“I’ve got one comin’ for downstairs, too. A little nicer.”
“Reese, I told—”
He held up a hand. “Don’t worry. I put that one on your credit card. It was our deal, after all.”
Brantley’s expression warmed. “This is great,” he said, walking around behind the desk. “Not too fancy.”
“I thought it suited you.”
“What about yours?”
“Mirror image of this one,” he admitted. “After I picked all this out, decided I liked it for me, too.”
Brantley scanned the space from his seat behind his desk. “They closed in the old door.”
“Wasn’t gonna half-ass it.”
Brantley reclined back, studied Reese. The scrutiny had Reese fighting the urge to fidget.
“You don’t half-ass much of anything, do you?”
“Try not to, no.” Reese perched a hip on the edge of Brantley’s desk, stared at him. “Told you I was all in. I’m tryin’ to live up to it.”
Brantley got to his feet, walked around the desk, and stopped in front of Reese. They remained like that for several heartbeats, their eyes locked together.
“If you ever wanna talk about it,” Brantley said softly, “I’m here.”
“I know.” Reese reached for Brantley, nudging him forward with a hand on his hip. “Same goes.”
Brantley smiled. “Is it wrong that I’m seriously thinkin’ about breakin’ in that couch?”
Reese returned the grin. “I was thinkin’ the same thing, so no, I wouldn’t say it was wrong.”A few hours later, they were heading for the capitol.
The trip down to Austin was taken in two vehicles, Brantley driving one, Baz the other. Reese would’ve preferred to drive because he could’ve used the distraction. The mere thought of seeing the governor had his stomach in knots. He had no idea whether they were going to get commended or reprimanded for their efforts on the Dallas case. He could see the reasons for either or both, which didn’t help his nerves any.
“Did he sound upset when he requested us?” Reese asked Brantley.
“Who?” Brantley glanced over. “Oh, you mean the governor?” He shrugged one shoulder. “Didn’t talk to him. Rhonda called.”
Well, that didn’t help.
“It’s gonna be fine, Reese. Whatever it is he wants to say, we’re grown-ups. I don’t know about you, but I was dressed down plenty of times in the Navy. We can take it.”
That was a valid point. Again, it did nothing for his nerves.
By the time they reached the state capitol, Reese was aware of the cold sweat trickling down his spine. Outwardly, he ensured no one saw he was on the verge of an anxiety attack. If he was lucky, Brantley would be the only one who knew how much he disliked being put on the spot like this. If the others found out, he figured he would be in for a lifetime of harassment, so he did his best to look cool and collected.
They made their way up to the second floor where the governor’s office was.
