Well, two things really, but since they’d already indulged once today, he figured some time at the range would be a welcome interruption. And while the idea of some down and dirty sex was rather intriguing, Reese knew they wouldn’t find the privacy necessary. Here at the house, there were too many people waiting for them, and unless they were going to get a hotel room or attempt to contort themselves in the truck, they had very few options. Plus, neither of those set the mood, no matter how spontaneous.
So sex was out of the question. For now.
He got up from his desk, walked across the open area to Brantley’s office, leaning on the doorjamb.
“I’ve got a suggestion,” he said, keeping his tone teasing.
“Yeah?” Brantley’s eyes widened.
“Somethin’ you love to do,” he baited.
Brantley leaned back in his chair, smirked. “Oh, I do love to do you.”
No matter how hard he tried, Reese couldn’t keep his cheeks from heating. He should’ve been used to Brantley’s sexual innuendo by now, but it still got him every time.
“Let’s go to the range for an hour,” he said, chuckling when Brantley’s face fell.
“The range? Seriously?”
“Yes.”
Brantley sighed heavily, and Reese couldn’t help but smile to himself. He knew what Brantley was hoping for, and Reese had every intention of getting them both naked in the near future, but first things first. An hour at the shooting range would give Brantley time to center his focus, which would hopefully help him to deal with the new hires they would encounter later this afternoon. As far as Reese was concerned, everything flowed better when Brantley was centered, which was why he worked so hard to help out.
“Fine,” Brantley finally stated, closing his laptop before rising from his chair. “But after the range…”
Reese chuckled.
Most definitely after.
An hour at the range turned into two, but it had been worth it. Not only did they get time with some paper targets, Reese also had the opportunity to talk to Matt Logan, the owner of the place. With so many new people on the task force, Reese had been hoping to get Matt on board with allowing them to block time each month for those who needed it, as well as implementing a contract for pricing that was fair for both Sniper 1, who would be footing the bill, as well as for Matt. To Reese’s relief, Matt had been more than happy to oblige, assuring him they would have first dibs on the underground range and giving him a more than reasonable dollar amount.
“Where to now?” Brantley asked when they were once again back in the truck.
“Like it or not, we’ve got to make an appearance at HQ. You do have to make the official offers if you want to hire these people.”
Brantley did not appear pleased by that.
In an effort to keep him in a decent mood, Reese added, “But I was thinkin’ we’d invite them out tomorrow night. Moonshiners? Give us a chance to get to know ’em better.”
Another sigh from Brantley, but this one wasn’t quite as distraught. “Dinner. Our house.”
Reese frowned. “What?”
“You cook.”
Reese stared at Brantley as though he’d lost his mind because there was a good chance he had. “You want me to cook dinner for all of them? Tomorrow?”
“Why not? You’re the one who wants to spend time with them. Plus, you’ve got a grill.”
“The bar is more convenient,” he countered.
“Our house is more … personable.”
“Yeah? And where do you suggest we seat them?” he asked, a subtle reminder they had yet to put a table in their dining room.
“We’ll go shoppin’ in the mornin’.”
Reese barked a laugh. “You want to go shoppin’?”
“I like to shop.”
“You do not.”
Brantley smirked. “I like to shop with you.”
“No, you don’t,” he stressed.
“But I will if you ask nicely.”
Reese sighed, realizing he was the one who’d set this all in motion. Teach him to make suggestions again. A night at Moonshiners, a few beers, some laughs … that was a far cry from him cooking dinner for the new task force.
But he would do it because Brantley had suggested it.
And he could only hope the lack of notice would have at least a few of them unable to make it.
Chapter Three
Saturday, September 4, 2021
Brantley had to admit, he hadn’t expected Reese to pull off a get-together so quickly. He’d said it as a joke, trying to get a rise out of Reese. Instead, the man had agreed to a cookout for the entire task force.
Guy was a saint, that was for damn sure.
Then again, Brantley hadn’t expected every single member—new and old—of the team to agree to dinner at their house. He’d honestly expected at least half of them to decline for one reason or another.
Nope. Even Decker Bromwell had driven down from Dallas specifically for this event.
And now their usually empty house—complete with what Reese referred to as a brand-new dining room suite—was full.
If Brantley was being honest, it wasn’t as awkward as he’d expected it to be. Even now, as he sipped his beer and casually watched everyone interacting, there was what he would call a relatively normal vibe to the organized chaos.
Evan Vaughn was standing half in the kitchen, half in the living room, watching as his daughter, Sophia—who had turned eight last month—had an animated discussion with Rebecca Richter’s seven-year-old daughter, Carly. From the instant the two girls had been introduced, they’d been chattering away about things only little girls understood.
Standing near the back door, Holly and Elana were laughing about something on Holly’s phone. At the breakfast bar, Jay, Allison, and Charlie were deep in a discussion about some of their more exciting moments doing police work. On the back deck, Trey, Luca, and Slade were talking Reese’s ear off while Reese manned the grill. In the yard, Tesha was keeping JJ busy throwing the ball, while JJ talked to Darius and Rebecca, a.k.a. Becs, about things only the geek squad was familiar with. And last but not least, Baz and Deck were sitting at the patio table, drinking beer and watching everything around them.
They’d gone from three members originally, then quickly to six, then on to nine, and now to sixteen in just under a year, and Brantley couldn’t deny he was looking forward to seeing what they could accomplish. Last night, he’d called RT, updating him on the status. Brantley’s boss had seemed relatively impressed that the team had come together so easily. Brantley wasn’t sure easily was the right word, but it had come together, and in the coming weeks, as the newbies started to trickle in full time, they’d be off and running.
He figured it was too early in the relationships to determine whether or not this group would result in a cohesive unit. Only time would tell that, but if they were lucky, it would work itself out. He’d already picked up on a few distinct personality traits—Allison liked to believe she was in charge, Slade enjoyed the flirtatious banter that could very well cross a line if they weren’t careful, and Becs was the mother hen. But Brantley knew all too well how those personality traits could give way to others as a group of people tossed together became a team.