Angelfall: Theosophi Box Set

Chapter 1-3

The next morning, his guest had not so much as twitched from where Jason had laid him. In fact, Jason felt a misplaced moment of blind panic until he checked for the being’s pulse. Adam laughed when Jason told him about it, but the unnatural stillness from the guy was unnerving. Jason didn’t know any better, but he would swear the man was in a coma because he was so still.

Danny and Levi waltzed through the door that afternoon, trailing rain water and bickering about their trip, and was welcomed as the distraction Jason needed. Also, dreaded. Jason had no f*****g clue what they were going to say about the new house guest.

It figured that smart, observant Levi would pick up Jason’s mood first. “What did we miss?”

“Well…” He scrubbed a hand over his face, still not quite himself after the troubled sleep he had. He was stalling and both his brothers could tell, if the sharp looks they gave him were anything to go by. “You see, there was this thing that crashed in the middle of the pumpkins. I saw the damn thing fly over and tried to find it, but I ran into something else first.”

“No.” Danny dropped his bag as his voice took on a hard edge. Danny towered over them all, despite being second born. His face had a natural hard, fierce edge to it unless he smiled like a sweet country bumpkin. His eyes were just as hazel as Levi’s and Jason’s, hair a toffee brown and another brother who chose the Army, built to match. Danny would’ve probably stayed in the service if an IED hadn’t torn up the right side of his body, and the scars still caused Jason to flinch at times. He never should have let his brothers go. That went double when Danny put on his drill sergeant face, like he was now. “You didn’t bring home another one of your strays, Jason.”

And f**k, Danny had a point, but the tone rankled. “I was not about to leave someone defenseless out in this storm! Besides, the people I help aren’t that bad.”

“The last one almost ate us out of house and home within a day.” Crossing his arms, Danny’s narrowed eyes pinned him to the spot, like a misbehaving child. “Then, he got so sick from over eating, we had to take him to the hospital in Jonesboro.”

He winced. “Well, he was heading towards Jackson anyway, so it was actually a good thing.”

“We lost two days of planting because of that stunt! Damn it, Jason.”

As if things couldn’t get any more complicated, Adam waltzed in from the kitchen, sipping from a cup of coffee with a smile plastered on his tattletale face. “He’s never brought a person home that had wings though. That has to count for something.”

Levi gasped, color fading from his face so fast, Danny had him sit down. Not that Danny looked much better. “Wings? Seriously?”

Strangling Adam just moved to the top of Jason’s to do list. “s**t, Adam. Timing.”

“What? It’s not like they weren’t going to find out.” Chuckling, he added, “Not like you can keep that angel tied to your bed the whole time.”

He blushed, gaping at his brother as Danny whipped his head around to stare at them both. “Angel?”

Best to get it over with. “Follow me.”

Like ducklings, they trailed behind him, even Levi, whose aversion to being led was legendary. It was pretty fantastical, once Jason let himself think past the need to help the being and his own fascination. They eagerly clustered around his bed and Jason inched the blanket aside, just enough to show the top half of the man curled up in his bed.

Thankfully, none of them attempted to touch the guy. “So, what do you think?”

Levi spoke up first. “What’s his name?”

Jason chuckled as he tucked the blanket back in place. “Not a clue. I found him unconscious right before the storm started.”

“You didn’t wake him up?” The disapproving frown on Danny’s sharp face left a sour taste in the back of Jason’s throat.

“I figured if being manhandled onto horseback and riding back with the saddle pommel jabbing him in the ass couldn’t wake him, I’d let him do that on his own.” Jason scrubbed a hand through his brown hair and sighed. “Besides, what was I supposed to do? Smack him across the face?”

“Good point.” Suddenly, Danny grinned. “An angel, huh?”

“No.” Groaning with frustration, Jason leveled a finger at his brother. “We don’t know what this guy is, but honestly, an angel falling into our pumpkin patch? It’s absolutely ridiculous. He’s probably an escapee from a secret testing lab.”

“But he looks like the angels from those old art books Mom used to show us as kids,” Levi murmured, hazel eyes lighting up at the idea. Levi was the youngest of them all, barely into adulthood. Blond hair bounced around his face as Levi’s petite frame practically vibrated with suppressed excitement. Levi was like a tiny, excited pixie that liked to bite people who annoyed him. Because of that, he was content with a tiny circle of people, brothers included.

“Maybe. However, I refuse to believe this guy is an angel sent by the same f*****g Lord that would happily smite us all.” Jason winced at the venom in his tone, especially when all three of his brothers flinched. All of them, down to a man, had bad run ins with the church types over the years, simply because, by some fluke of nature and genetics, all four of them were queer. None of them were ashamed of it, but being told all their lives that being who they were was going to send them to hell and the constant drag on their emotional wellbeing made him a bit defensive.

Lips thinning in a grimace, he dropped the attitude. “Okay. The guy seems pretty harmless. I can’t stand the thought that he really is an angel though.” Reaching out, he yanked Levi into a hug, squeezing tight. “It means I brought a danger into the house with you guys and there is no way I could live with myself if I did.”

Jason held in a sniffle when Levi hugged him back. Over Levi’s head, Jason locked eyes with first Danny, then Adam, hoping for understanding, almost sagging against his littlest brother in relief when both smiled and nodded. They got it.

Levi’s arms tighten for a second, and then he stepped back. “So, we wait until he wakes up. We can do that.” The other two murmured in agreement. “Any guess at how long that will take?”

Jason and Adam shared a look. “He’s been out since I found him yesterday afternoon. Except for a nasty scar on him, I haven’t found anything else that’s keeping him asleep.”

A cackle burst from Adam. “Must have hurt when he fell from heaven.”

“Shut up,” Jason bit out.

Danny chortled. “To be fair, he is that pretty.”

“Keep your hands to yourself, Danny, or so help me—”

“And there it is.” Levi flashed an impish, little grin. “You’ve gone so long without a date that you’re crushing on an angel.”

Embarrassed at the trap they’d laid, Jason started shoving his brothers out of the room, face scarlet. His brothers knew him too well. “I am not, but I know you pervs. A hot guy comes into town and it’s like Friday night at a brothel. All of you will keep your d***s to yourselves.”

Stumbling over each other with laughter, Jason was able to manhandle them out of his room. “Now come on, knuckle heads. We might not be able to work the fields today with all the rain, but we’ve still got housework to do. Let’s get to it.”

He shook his head with fond exasperation and moved to the kitchen. He loved his brothers, but damn, sometimes they were too perceptive for their own good.