Cut and Run 6 - Stars and Stripes

overnight bag and walked through muggy mountain air across the gravel and up the porch steps to his parents’ house, stopping when he realized the rocking chair was occupied.
    “Grandpa?”
    “You’re an observant one, ain’t you, boy?” Chester Grady grumbled.
    Ty smiled as he looked over his grandpa, sitting in his rocker, shovel in place over his lap. “Love you too.”
    “Damn fool federal agent,” Chester mumbled as the screen door squeaked. “Where’s your damn fool partner?”
    “He’s getting his damn fool bag out of the truck.” Ty slipped him a smuggled cigar as he bent to hug him. “What are you still doing up? I thought you old folks went down with the sun.”
    Chester waved him off, grumbling and smirking. Headlights caught them as another car pulled up to the front of the house, and Chester’s eyes shone with mischief.
    Ty turned to watch Deuce get out of the car, squinting past the headlights.
    “Hey.”
    “Hey,” Deuce called back, sounding just as tired as Ty felt. He thumped up the steps, carrying a small overnight bag just like Ty’s. He greeted Chester with a hug, then turned to give Ty one as well. Ty hugged him tight. He nodded at the black Lexus in the driveway.
    “Is that a new car?”
    “Like it?”
    “No.”
    “Me either,” Deuce grunted with a curl of his lip. He turned toward the door.
    Ty laughed as he followed. “Where’s Livi?”
    “Morning sickness. We figured it was best for everyone if she stayed home.”
    “Good plan.”
    “Where’s Zane?”
    “Wearing his invisible suit,” Zane called from the driveway. His shoes crunched on the gravel, and soon he materialized out of the darkness, joining them on the front porch with his bag.
    They left Chester sitting on the porch and headed inside. Ty hadn’t been home since he’d been attacked by the mountain lion last fall, and he was surprised when a jitter of nerves ran through him. He’d been sure someone would figure out that he and Zane were so much more than partners, that he was gay—a revelation he’d feared since he was seventeen. He still feared it, even though he’d started wishing he could tell his family the truth. He would have to soon, before they found out on their own. Zane was too important to him to hide anymore.
    He hadn’t told his mother Zane was coming, and while he wasn’t surprised that Deuce had inquired about his partner’s whereabouts, it did strike him as odd that Chester had done the same. Maybe they were already starting to figure things out on their own.
    He took a deep breath to calm himself.
    “Hello?”
    They heard footsteps from the back of the house, and soon Ty’s mother came around the corner and smiled brilliantly. “Come here and give your mama a hug before I have to go back outside.”
    Ty and Deuce moved toward her, hugging her obediently. She had to stand on her tiptoes to put her arms around their necks, and she squeezed them both tightly. Ty couldn’t help but smile.
    “What are you doing outside this time of night?” Deuce asked when he let her go.
    “Zane,” Mara demanded, ignoring Deuce’s question and holding her arms out for a hug from Zane as well. Zane smiled and moved to obey. “You look better than the last time I saw you!” She pulled away from him and held him by his shoulders, looking up at him with a critical eye. “Such a handsome boy,” she said as she patted his cheek. She turned her eye to Ty again. “You could use some work. Come on.” She turned and headed toward the back door.
    Ty huffed and followed. “What are you doing outside so late?” he repeated.
    “Helping your daddy,” Mara shot over her shoulder.
    Zane held out a hand toward Ty. “Want me to take the bags upstairs?”
    “No. Wait, what? Hey, Ma!” Ty trailed after his mother, bag still over his shoulder. “What is he doing?”
    “Cutting up the four-by-fours we got for the roof.”
    “Oh hell,” Zane said under his breath as he followed the crazy train out the back door, reaching for the strap of Ty’s bag. Ty shrugged it off with a glance back at Zane, but his attention was on his mother.
    They thumped down the steps in the dark and followed Mara around the corner of the house, where a pole stood in the middle of the yard. In the pool of light at its base were several stacks of tin roofing, wooden planks, crates, and Earl Grady with a large electric saw.
    “Earl, the boys are here,” Mara announced.
    “Boys,” Earl greeted without looking