Walker gave a wry smile. "We’re as bad as they are, gossiping about them."
"They were the diva of teams. They live for gossip."
"I don't think Jake is happy," Walker admitted.
"Why do you say that?" Mark gave him a curious glance, but he didn't make a snide remark as Walker half expected he might.
"We fucked up, but Jake hates being stuck in training. He loves being out in the field. Even that stupid Valentine exercise gave him a taster of what it was like again. He’s talked about leaving. It doesn’t help that Mitch loves being top dog, and Ruiz is the right man to be his assistant."
"So there's no place for Jake with Mitch."
"No. Del could take Jake's place but what would Jake do?"
"You really care about him, don't you?" Mark asked.
"I do."
"Is that guilt?"
Walker gritted his teeth. "You think if we hadn't been dicks he'd be happier in the role?"
"Don't you?" Mark challenged.
"Maybe, maybe not. There was always gonna be one asshole team."
Mark's sudden laugh broke the tension. "You're right. There's always one."
"Do you think he'll come back here?" Walker asked.
"Back to the bar?"
At Walker's nod, Mark shook his head. "No. It would be like going back to the agency. He’s got no place here; besides he's sold his share to Si and Howie. He'll stay with Mitch. He needs to carve out his own space, either in or out of the agency."
Walker nodded, turning his chair around to lean on it and watch Mark put the cottage pie together. It was soothing watching him cook. Walker lived on take-out at home or whatever they served him in the mess at the agency. He wasn’t fussy about the food he shoveled away as long as there was plenty of it.
He looked up and caught Mark’s amused expression. “What?” he asked, suddenly self-conscious.
“You’re eyeing the cottage pie like you’re a lion and it’s a juicy antelope.”
“I eat a lot,” Walker admitted. He patted his belly. “There’s a lot of me to fill.”
“Yes, there is.”
Walker swallowed at the predatory purr in Mark’s voice. If anyone was the lion in this relationship, it was definitely the man standing in front of him wearing the apron and mashing the potatoes. He had a sudden memory of his father at the dinner table, ranting about the queers on TV and how none of them were real men. His sisters had rolled their eyes, and Walker had kept his head down. He must have been about nine at the time, and even then he’d known he was different from his friends. He also knew he could never tell anyone, especially his dad. Twenty years on and there was this alpha man making him dinner. Mark was a real man; he was all man.
“Hey.”
Walker looked up to find Mark standing in front of him. “Hi.”
“What were you thinking about?”
“My father.”
“Not a happy memory, from the frown.”
“He’s a good man.” Walker automatically defended his father because he was a good man. “Just old-fashioned and rigid in his thinking of what a real man is. He would never accept a gay man as his son.”
Mark nodded as if he understood the warning Walker was giving him. He wouldn’t be coming out to his parents any time soon, if ever.
“I’ve met the type. My father isn’t like that. He grew up with hippy parents. They lived on a commune, and he ran wild for the first fifteen years of his life.”
Walker blinked, unable to imagine that kind of childhood. “It must have been paradise for kids.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t really prepare you for the real world as an adult. He couldn’t read or write, and math was beyond him.”
“Couldn’t he have just stayed on the commune?”
Mark kissed Walker’s forehead and went back to the potatoes. “Dad wanted to be a mechanic. He taught himself and kept the commune’s vehicles running. But what he really wanted was his own auto garage. When he tried to get into college to get qualifications, he discovered they wouldn’t take him without a GED.”
“What did he do?” Walker asked.
“He studied for his GED and worked at an auto repair shop.” Mark grinned at him. “He met my mom when she brought in her car.”
“Love at first sight?”
Mark chuckled. “He thought he wasn’t good enough for her, but she kept coming back with minor faults.”
“Let me guess. There was nothing wrong with the car, but she liked him?”
“She wore him down in the end. My mom is very stubborn. She didn’t give a crap about his schooling. She could see a good man when she found one.”
Walker looked up to see Mark gazing steadily at him. “Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to tell me something?”
“Because you’re not stupid?” Mark leaned on the masher. “I don’t care what you do in the agency. It doesn’t matter to me. You take orders, you do your job. You’ll be a good operative.”
Walker couldn’t see any deceit in his eyes, but he had to know. “Is that story about your dad true?”
“Yep, and my parents have been married over forty years.”
“Does he have his own auto shop?”
“A chain of them.”
“Your mom picked the right man.”
“She did, and neither of them could give a crap that I’m gay. They’re just waiting for me to bring home the right man. I’ve never taken anyone home to meet them. I think they’ve given up hope.”
Walker was glad Mark had his back to him for that moment, so he couldn’t see the absolute longing in Walker’s eyes to be the right man, to be the one taken home to meet his mom and dad.
Chapter 6
They ate until even Walker had to declare defeat. Mark eyed the small amount of cottage pie left in the dish with amazement. “I usually get six meals out of this.”
“I’m sorry,” Walker muttered.
“Don’t be. My mom is gonna be ecstatic that a nice boy liked her recipe.”
Walker pulled a face.
“What’s the look for?” Mark asked.
“Nice boy always sounds so boring.” Walker had spent his entire life being a nice boy.
Mark furrowed his brow. “I thought we’d discussed that earlier.”
“Your dad had an amazing start to life. I’ve been Mr. Average my entire life.”
Mark huffed out a breath. “Walker, have you seen you? There is nothing average about you. I’m a middle-aged man. Why are you interested in me?”
“Because you’re gorgeous,” Walker blurted out without hesitating.
It was Mark’s turn to blush. “Thanks.”
“I mean it. I took one look at you, and I knew.”
“Knew what?” Mark asked.
“Knew I had to get to know you,” Walker mumbled.
Mark leaned forward and curled his hand around Walker’s. “I took a risk.”
“On me?”
“Yeah. You know my history. I’ve only given my heart to one man before.”