Zane discovered that Ty was basically a squirrel.
After the initial shock of being alone, he started branching out further, trying to find out more about himself instead of Ty. He went to a few Orioles games alone, immersing himself in the intricacies and inches that had so fascinated him as a child. He started putting his knife skills and love of puzzles to good use and taught himself to cook.
He stood outside of a bar in Fell’s Point with dozens of others and watched the news as it was announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed. For the first time in over a week, Ty called him. They watched the same newscast, sharing it together, neither saying more than ten words.
He escorted Clancy to her sister’s wedding, pretending to be her very charming and wealthy boyfriend for her overly nosy mother in exchange for the honor of a few tangos. Clancy wasn’t a half bad dancer.
He helped Alston move out of his girlfriend’s condo, all the while dodging Alston’s possessions being chucked at them from the top of the stairs. They bonded over hot wings, discussing all the ways the job f**ked up their relationships.
Perrimore got engaged, and Zane was shocked and slightly panicked when he asked Zane to be his best man. He had never planned a bachelor party, but when his mind turned to Ty, to the obvious person to ask for help, Zane pushed it away. He could do this.
He’d driven to Philadelphia to see Deuce, Livi, and their baby girl. Amelia Rose Grady had been born a few weeks before Christmas, and at five months old, she was already pulling Deuce around like he was on roller skates. She had her mother’s white-blonde hair, and her eyes appeared to be turning that particular Grady green that seemed to serve as nature’s warning to other creatures.
He had spoken to Ty every week.
It had been a good month. A good start. Zane was proud of himself, and he realized that he hadn’t been able to say that in a very long time.
He finished up his paperwork and packed it away. He was the last one in the office, and as he was walking to the elevator, he turned to look at the stairwell. He still wondered what the hell had happened a month ago. He believed Ty now when he said he hadn’t known that Burns was in Baltimore the night of Zane’s twenty-year party, but Zane knew he’d seen the man.
It frustrated him not to have all the answers.
His steps echoed in the empty parking garage. His leather jacket creaked as he slid his arms into it. It was times like this, times when he was alone, when the world was quiet, that he thought of Ty. It would be just like Ty to show up now, maybe sitting on his motorcycle with a smirk, reminding Zane that his birthday was in a few days. That was the type of entrance Ty would make.
Zane grinned at the thought. He found his bike sans Ty, but the thought still made the ride home a good one.
He parked in the backyard, behind the lovingly covered Mustang, and clomped up the steps to the door, humming to himself. When he stepped inside, he set his helmet down on the counter nearby and dumped his keys into the bowl next to it.
“Honey, I’m home,” he said wryly to the empty row house.
“It’s about damn time.”
Zane’s head shot up. Ty was sitting on the arm of the sofa, smiling. He was more tanned than he had been, and he certainly looked healthier. His hair was shorter, and the western style shirt he wore seemed to stretch across the taut muscles of his chest and arms.
“Ty,” Zane breathed.
“You look good.”
Zane took a few steps closer and Ty stood, his smile growing softer.
“You look really good, Zane.”
Zane lunged for him and wrapped him up in a hug. The smell of Old Spice permeated Zane’s senses for the first time in a month.
“How are you?” Ty asked as they hugged.
“I’m good,” Zane managed. He pressed his nose to the scar on Ty’s throat. “You?”
Ty nodded jerkily. He didn’t let go of Zane. “Are you ready for me to come home?” he asked, voice breaking.
“Yes,” Zane answered before Ty had even finished the question. He grabbed Ty’s face in his hands and kissed him, over and over until Ty was laughing and trying to fend him off.
At last, Zane took a step back to examine him. “How have you been? How’s Kelly doing?”
“He’s good. They sent him home, and I think his ex-wife plans to take care of him, so he’s desperate to get better so she’ll leave. My suspension’s been revoked. They’re letting me come back next week.”
Zane grinned. He grasped Ty’s hand and moved around the sofa to pull him down with him. “Tell me everything.”
Ty licked his lips, smirking.
Zane grinned widely. “And then I’ll show you the new sheets I put on the bed.”
Ty laughed and crawled onto the couch with him.
Zane wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into his lap instead. Ty straddled him, sitting back and cocking one eyebrow at Zane.
“What’d you do while you were down there?”
“I sang. I stayed with Kelly. With Ava gone, I was the closest thing to a relative Murdoch had left, so I took care of his estate.”
Zane frowned. “The bar?”
Ty bit his lip and nodded. “It’s mine. I uh . . . I closed it up. Looking into selling it. I’ll donate whatever it makes to one of the groups trying to rebuild. There was a kid who used to bartend there, had real talent with the bottle juggling and mixing and stuff. I saw him at Murdoch’s funeral. His boss is interested in buying it.”
“You don’t want to keep it?”
Ty shook his head. “It wouldn’t last long as it is, not without Murdoch and Ava there. Her voice was what brought them in. He was what gave it life.”
“I’m sorry.”
Ty shrugged it off and nodded.
“Did you ever get the curse lifted?” Zane asked.
“Yes. Yes, I did,” Ty drawled, but he frowned as he patted Zane’s chest.
“What’d the priestess tell you?”
“She told me I had dark days ahead.”
Zane didn’t want to believe in any of it—the voodoo, the mysticism, the incredible coincidences Ty said were fate. But the words made his stomach flip. “Do you believe her?”
Ty met his eyes. “Do you believe we met in New Orleans because we were meant to?”
Zane’s mouth went dry. “Yeah, I do,” he whispered.
Ty nodded, looking grim. He leaned forward and brushed his lips over Zane’s. “We’ll be okay.”
“More than okay,” Zane said. “We’ll be us.”