“Charleston.”
He tried not to laugh at Adam’s sigh. “You can’t ski in Charleston.”
“Nope.”
He did laugh that time. “Oh, boy.”
“Yes. Indeed. You’re sure about the part-time thing? Maybe Sky needs a business partner.”
He watched Sky talking on the phone. His man couldn’t have looked less like someone who needed help. Sky was all over this rodeo gig. “He might need some part-time help around the event, but I think he’s golden otherwise. Sorry. Get a hot tub. If it can keep my Texan happy, maybe it can keep Trish happy.”
Mhm. Hot tub.
He looked out the window at the snow-covered everything and flipped the switch to turn on the heat lamps and the towel warmer. It had taken one good soak in the cold for him to convince Sky the extra expense for luxuries was worth it.
Next up, a sauna.
“Hello? Beckett?”
Oh. Damn.“I’m sorry, Adam. You uh…you were breaking up,” he lied. He’d been fantasizing about Sky sweating it out in a sauna.
“Liar. You were thinking about that young man and the hot tub.”
He gasped, joking. “Good thing that young man is my husband, Adam. I’ll tell him you called him young, it’ll make his day.”
“He’s at least fifteen years younger today than he was when I met him. At least.”
“I hear you. I bet he thinks so too. Go kiss your wife and buy some sunglasses for Charleston. I’m not hiring you.”
“Ingrate.” Adam laughed. “Trish is going to invite the two of you to dinner soon. I think she plans to cook. Consider yourself warned.”
“Gotcha. Good night, old man.”
They hung up and he leaned in the doorframe, watching Sky on the phone. Walter came over and head-butted him on the way to his bed near the stove, and he bent down to give a little love. Crazy cat. It was impossible not to love him.
Sky grunted to the guy on the phone and scribbled down a few notes; then he hung up the phone and stretched. “Lord have mercy. Got the hotel confirmed, finally. Can I be off work now?”
“Yep. You’re off work. It’s Saturday.” Beck put an arm around Sky and danced him over to the sliding glass doors to the patio. “I turned on the heat lamps.”
“My hero.” Sky had learned to adore their daily soaks and pouted mightily if something disturbed them. “How’s Adam?”
“Bored and trying not to move to Charleston. He asked me for work, and when I said no, he asked if you needed a business partner.” Too funny. Trish was going to win this one, he knew it. Adam knew it. “We might need to let them come visit sometimes so Adam can ski.”
“We have a guest room. They’re welcome to come. Trish and I can drink hot buttered rum and point and laugh.” Yeah, Sky wasn’t a skier, but he was happy to be out in the snow and had proved himself an evil snow sculptor.
“Sounds like a plan.” He and Adam were both very capable skiers; there wasn’t anything to laugh at really. Unless one of them got tangled up with a novice or a little kid or something. “What are we drinking for our soak today?”
“Mmm…I opened that Cab you love. I thought it sounded good. That work?”
“Perfect. I love that you have it breathing already. We’re getting good at this playing house thing.” He took Sky for a quick spin to the music in his head.
“Funny, isn’t it? You wouldn’t have thought I would be happy as a pig in shit, being home and settled.”
“No, I would not have.” Beck snorted. He hadn’t ever thought that. His feelings on that issue were part of what had kept them apart for so long, after all.
But their years-long mistakes were feeling further and further away now. He felt they’d each said their piece and been heard, and forgiveness and compromise had been both harder and easier than he’d thought. They were solid now.
“We need our robes and shoes.” He danced them to the foot of the stairs and then scooped Sky up in his arms. His husband was a little heavier these days now that Sky wasn’t on an official bull rider’s diet, but he would never be a big guy.