“Your baby?” Hartman frowned as he stopped walking. “The one that’s been making you all distracted and doubled your coffee intake? Thought I heard Rich say someone was bringing her to the demo today.”
“Oh. Yeah. My...the baby’s uncle.” Damn it. He was undoubtedly going to have to introduce Shane today, and he really needed a better explanation for his presence beyond babysitter. It wasn’t fair to Shane to minimize his role in Brandt’s life, but hell if Brandt had the right word for it, especially on the fly like this. “He’s staying with me, helping out.”
“That’s right. I thought you’d mentioned that before. How’s that working out?”
Amazing. Incredible. Shane was the one with the poetic vocabulary, not Brandt. “Okay. We...get along.”
“That’s good.” Hartman nodded, then stepped closer, lowering his voice further. “Wilder? Brandt?”
“Yeah?” He matched Hartman’s whisper.
“You know you can talk to me, right? I’m sorry about mentioning the baby where Bronco and the others could hear, but if there’s something on your mind, I’m here to listen. As a friend, not your coworker or the jumper in charge.”
Oh. Maybe Brandt wasn’t doing such a good job of playing it cool. And if anyone could understand Brandt’s mixed-up state, Hartman might. At least he wasn’t likely to judge Brandt for harboring feelings for Shane.
“Thanks. It’s complicated. Do you think—”
“Are we ready?” Rich chose exactly that moment to pop his head out of the hangar.
“Yup.” Brandt wasn’t even sure what he’d been about to ask. It wasn’t like Hartman had a Magic 8-ball and could predict how long Shane might stick around. And there wasn’t any test for Brandt’s feelings, no scientific way to judge whether this was simply a byproduct of all the proximity or whether this might be something real. Confession might be good for the soul, but in this case, it was probably just as well that they’d been interrupted.
He followed Hartman into the hangar, where a number of their fellow jumpers were gathered. A few of the supervisors were there too, and Hartman spared a last speculative look for Brandt before he went to stand near Reid as one of the senior trainers addressed them.
“We’ll all greet the visitors, but then Reid and some of the others staying on the ground will give the visitors a tour of the facilities while the designated jumpers take the plane. After the plane circles back around, the jumpers will parachute in and show off some climbing and chainsaw skills. Easy day, but let’s keep it safe.”
“Will do.” Brandt answered along with his fellow jumpers. They spent the next chunk of time laying out gear to show the visitors so they could watch a few of them gear up for the jump. Brandt and Rich agreed to demo, getting ready while Hartman did the explaining.
Shortly after they finished setting up, Reid and the supervisors led the group in. About twenty or thirty kids, assorted adults, and then a few families he recognized like Cameron and her kids, and some blond tweens waving at Hartman—undoubtedly some of his many nieces and nephews. And there was Shane and Jewel next to Cameron, both of them smiling at something Cameron was saying. Shane was wearing the baby in the sling Brandt had made, and the blue made his eyes even sharper. Catching Brandt’s gaze, Shane smiled wider and held Jewel’s tiny hand to make her wave at him.
My people. Brandt’s ribs ached as he inhaled, too much emotion flooding him along with the oxygen. And maybe equally necessary. He’d spent years avoiding dwelling on what he was missing, what he’d never had, right up until this moment when he had it and he wasn’t sure how he’d lived without it. Reflexively, he waved back. Shane’s eyes were nervous though, like he still wasn’t sure he was supposed to be there.
Brandt wanted to go over to him, but there wasn’t time for that with Hartman already going over the equipment for the audience. He took his spot next to Rich, gearing up way slower than usual as Hartman explained each step.
“See how Brandt and Rich check each other’s connectors? We always double-and triple-check before a jump.”
Check away. The memory of Shane’s voice echoed over the months that had passed since their jump. Lifetimes really. But he could still remember those electric touches and Shane’s laugh as they landed. Sex tended to rev Shane up like that too, make his voice all shot with adrenaline and pure wonder, but Brandt wanted to give him something outside of the bedroom that made him that loose and happy. He’d wasn’t sure he’d ever obsessed over a birthday present this much.
Taking him on a jump was the obvious answer, but the new overprotective parent part of Brandt balked at the idea of both of them leaving Jewel behind on the ground. Simply because he knew how to do it safely didn’t mean the risk was zero.