Chapter 2

Wrapping the blanket the rest of the way around the being, Jason lifted him up, cradling him close and picking his way back to Set. “Hey, Set, kneel down, would you?”

Set obeyed the command easily for such a big horse, making it a simple matter to lay the stranger across the animal’s wide back. He crisply snapped the reins; Jason got Set to his feet without difficultly.

A roll of thunder cracked the quiet night. Jason hopped into the saddle and rearranged the man to lounge against chest, head tucked under his chin and body held tightly in place. “Let’s get home before this storm breaks. And I’ll get you something nice for all the extra work you put in tonight.”

The horse whickered to Jason, in thanks or exasperation was anyone’s guess, and Set gave them a smooth ride home.

* * * *

“Please tell me the reason you wrapped that piece of man up is because he’s naked under there.”

Jason rolled his eyes. His brothers would be the death of him one day. “No, he’s not naked. Get your ass over here and help.”

Adam sighed, but obeyed, coming up to Set’s left and steadying the stranger as Jason dismounted. Happily, Adam was almost as big as Jason himself, tall and solid as a brick wall. Four years of military service had cut almost all of the fat off the third Thomas brother, but it couldn’t touch the baby-faced, band boy look from Adam. It sure as shit didn’t touch the green eyes and ash blond hair—a gift from their mother. With a little maneuvering, the man was back in Jason’s arms in no time. “Any chance you could get Set bedded down?”

Glaring half-heartedly at him, Adam clucked at the horse and he followed the human to the little stable like a puppy. Damn, Jason loved that horse.

The sky broke open in a downpour not a minute later, just as Jason was unwrapping the being on his bed. The huge wings were caked in pumpkin guts and mud, so he left the horse blanket under the bird-man. He found the fastenings on the strange armor-looking shirt. It ended up being simple leather ties at his sides, just below the armpit and at the shoulders. Jason pulled the ties apart, gently working the covering out from under his unconscious guest.

He left the odd skirt thing in place for modesty’s sake and riffled through the linen closet in the spacious hall for towels and washcloths. Clomping boots echoed through the house and Jason was already issuing commands before he saw Adam. “Grab the stock pot out of the kitchen and bring it full of warm water!”

Not waiting, he strode back into his room, dumping his load of fabric on the bed. It took a minute to find the tiny, barely used wastebasket hiding next to his bed, but by the time Adam wandered in with the water, Jason had already set to work.

Crashing into the pumpkins had sure made a mess. Jason took his time, pulling big, mashed pieces off the inky blackness, revealing more feathers than he could count in a lifetime. They shone in the bright light of the room, an iridescent shimmer spanning the rainbow every time Jason moved the wings. It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. Of course his younger brother had to butt in.

“What in the hell?” Adam barely breathed the question; the quietest Jason had heard him in years. Looking over, Adam was ghostly pale, green eyes so wide Jason was afraid they would fall out of Adam’s head.

“No idea. Found him out in the middle of the patch.” He shrugged and took the water from Adam before he dropped it. “I saw a meteorite going over and tried to follow it to where it fell. Found this guy instead.”

That got him a slack-jawed look and a near hysterical chuckle. “You found an angel in our field and didn’t think to mention it before bringing him home? Are you out of your mind?” Adam shook his head. “Wait until Dan and Levi found out. They are gonna freak. Hell, the whole world will shit itself when they find out about this guy!”

“No.” Jason didn’t know where the low growl in his voice came from, nor the near paralyzing fear, but he rolled with it. “Absolutely no one except for us, Danny and Levi will know about him. He’s hurt and we are going to fix him up and wait until he’s awake enough to explain what he’s doing here. After we get him back on his feet, he can tell the world if he wants.”

“But—”

“No.” Giving Adam a pointed look, he asked, “Now, are you going to help me clean him up, or not?”

Adam frowned, but helped, dunking washcloths in the pot and wringing them out as Jason needed

Eyeballing the appendages, Jason started with the left wing at the top, where the wings sprouted from what looked like the shoulder blades and collar bones in a fluffy cascade. It took an unbelievable amount of time to wipe the dirt away. Still, seeing the glossiness underneath was a reward in its own right.