Heart of the Woods

by Grant C. Holland

Don Walker smiled. “Well, as Isabel’s name and reputation grows even more, and sadly, it will now that she’s gone, these will become important. They’ll probably even be collectible on their own. Do you know what you want to do with them, Levi? I’m sure the elements have been tough on some of them, but the ones I can see appear to be in good shape.”

  “I’m not sure. I want you to help me find someone to take the cabin down, but I don’t know about the art yet.”

  “I do have some friends in Ely who are trying to get together a permanent collection of paintings by Northwoods artists. They even talk about opening a museum. If you don’t think you need the money, a donation is a possible idea. It would benefit the entire region.”

  Levi said, “I think the most important thing is to figure out how to take care of them properly, and we’ll go from there. Grandma shared enough information on her personal money situation that I don’t think I have to worry about anything for some time now. At least I don’t if what she said about the will is right. You would know that, Mr. Walker.”

  “Almost all of it is yours, Levi. Your grandmother loved you more than anything else in the world, except Walter.”

  29

  Brandon

  Brandon watched as Levi stuck his head inside the refrigerator. The hum of the cooling system muffled Levi’s voice, but the words were clear. “When did you last clean this? What’s that plastic container in the corner? I’m afraid to open it and look inside.”

  “Oh, come on,” moaned Brandon. “I’m bad with refrigerators. I admit it. Gabe always complains, too.”

  Levi shut the refrigerator door and turned around. “Gabe is right. There are some scary things in there. If I’m staying here for an extended time, we’re cleaning it out. I don’t want to be attacked by something in the night.”

  Brandon grinned wickedly and stepped forward to push Levi up against a wall of the cabin. “What if that something is me? I might attack you in the night.” Before Levi could respond, Brandon smothered his words with a kiss. “You know, it’s the middle of the day, but it’s a Saturday. I’m thinking about going back to bed.”

  Levi smiled. “Is that allowed?”

  Brandon glanced around the room. “I don’t see anyone stopping us, but you do have to follow a rule.”

  “A rule? I thought you didn’t like rules. You told me they make you itch.”

  “The rule is if you go back to bed in the afternoon, no clothes are allowed. The bedroom is a clothes-free zone. I think I can follow that kind of rule. What about you?”

  Levi smirked. “Hmm, I’m not sure I can follow that one.”

  Brandon gripped the hem of Levi’s T-Shirt and began to lift it upward. “I can help. I wouldn’t want you to break the rules of the house.”

  Brandon and Levi slowly made their way to the bedroom leaving various articles of clothing in their wake. True to the rules of the house, they were both naked by the time they stepped into the bedroom.

  Brandon backed Levi up against the bed and wrestled him down until he lay on top pinning Levi’s body down. “I think this means I won, doesn’t it?”

  Levi growled. “Yeah, but I sort of let you win. I could get up if I wanted to.”

  “Oh? Go ahead and try.” Brandon pinned Levi’s wrists to the bed and laughed as he watched his boyfriend struggle. “You must not want it badly enough.”

  Levi laughed. “I’m not sure I want to get up at all. So what is my horrific fate since you won?”

  “I think it’s my turn on top.”

  “Oh, I don’t know if I can deal with those consequences.” Levi laughed again as Brandon reached for the condoms in the drawer of the nightstand. “It’s such a sacrifice to let you take control.”

  Brandon shook his head and rolled the condom down over his cock. “You would suck as a porn actor. You’re not in the least bit convincing.”

  “That’s not a problem because I don’t want to act. I want you inside me. That’s all I want right now.” Levi reached up and wrapped his hand around the back of Brandon’s neck pulling him forward. “And I want a kiss first.”

  Their lips met while Brandon reached down and completed the sheathing of his cock. With their tongues tangled together, Levi pulled his legs back and up. Pulling back from the kiss, Brandon asked, “Are you ready for this?”

  “Always. Please.”

  Levi closed his eyes and rolled his head back while Brandon lined up the head of his cock and thrust forward. On the second thrust, he pushed past Levi’s ring and slipped inside.

  Levi opened his eyes and gasped for air. “Every time it’s so amazing. That moment. It’s the moment when my body lets you inside. Oh man, fuck me, Brandon.”

  Rocking forward and back, Brandon slowly drove deeper. Levi’s hisses turned into howls, and he reached down to grip his ankles holding himself wide open for his lover’s conquest.

  “Please, I want to cum with you,” moaned Levi. He released an ankle and reached for his cock.

  Brandon pushed the hand away and replaced it with his own fingers. He wrapped them tight around Levi’s cock shaft and began to stroke. At first, it was slow, but he soon increased the pace. Levi rocked his hips forward in rhythm.

  Brandon wanted to make love to Levi for the next hundred years. He knew that he’d never get tired of it. The intimacy was the most intense that Brandon ever experienced. He had plenty of sex before Levi, but he knew that he’d never truly made love.

  Levi grunted, “Oh, fuck, I’m close. Are you close? Please tell me you’re close. It’s the edge…”

  “I’m close.” As the sensation of the inevitable orgasm swept over his body, Brandon growled, “Cum! Cum with me, Levi!”

  Levi’s body convulsed as he shot hard. His body clenched Brandon’s cock tight, and it was enough to push Brandon over the edge. A moan erupted from deep inside while his cock slammed deep and hard.

  They both shuddered before Brandon slowly pulled out and lay down at Levi’s side. He said, “It’s always great, isn’t it? Sometimes it might be better than others, but it’s always excellent.”

  Brandon watched Levi’s chest rise and fall. Levi said, “It takes my breath away. Now I know what that saying means. I get to the edge, and I literally can’t breathe until the orgasm comes. It’s wild.”

  “It’s going to get even better, too. As they say, practice makes perfect.”

  “Oh fuck, really? I don’t know if I can handle that. You’ll have to scrape me off the ceiling.”

  Brandon laughed. “And I’ll never get tired of it.”

  “I won’t either. I once thought to paddle a canoe was the best thing in the world. I didn’t have a clue.”

  30

  Levi

  Levi squeezed his fists tight at his side while Brandon’s arm around his waist held on firmly. “I told myself I’m not going to cry about this. We took all those photos, and I can look at them any time. This is the right thing to do. I’m sure Grandpa never intended it to be permanent anyway.”

  The small demolition crew continued to swing sledgehammers into the walls of the little cabin and pull boards and logs down one by one. All of the furnishings were gone, and it was already only a shell of a building. It didn’t take long. The pile of discarded lumber grew, while the walls remaining looked less and less like a home.

  Brandon said, “I’m sure both of your grandparents are looking down at you with pride. After all, you took care of the paintings well enough that only 6 out of 122 suffered damage beyond repair. That’s astounding, Levi. Grandma Dale’s legacy is assured.”

  “I’m glad I didn’t sell them.”

  “Me, too. The museum will make sure everyone can enjoy them, and we’ll get a big economic boost around here once the news spreads. Art experts and students from around the country will make the trek to the Northwoods. I can’t wait for one of our clients to say they found their way to Arrowhead Falls out of curiosity about Isabel Daley. We’ll take them to Lone Cedar Lake, and you can share stories.”


  Levi said, “Oh, that reminds me. I’m taking my first group out solo next Tuesday. Kyle said that I’m ready, and I can’t wait. It’s a couple from the St. Louis area, too. I’ll bring my Cardinals T-Shirt just in case, you know, the company one gets wet or something.”

  Brandon poked Levi playfully in the side. “You and your baseball fixation. Are you going to take me to a game sometime?”

  “We should check and see if the Cardinals come to play the Twins during interleague play. I would love to take you to a game. We’ll eat hot dogs, drink beer, and sing ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game.’”

  Both Brandon and Levi stood silently for a few moments while the crew continued to work. Brandon said, “It will be a little strange to have everything gone and an empty clearing in its place. We might have to come up here in a canoe from time to time and bring the sleeping bag to the clearing to relive old memories.”

  “It’s not all going away. I made sure of that.”

  Brandon gestured toward the buildings. “What do you mean? Both the cabin and the shed are half gone. Do you mean the stump where we chopped wood will be left behind? I wasn’t counting that since it’s a natural part of the forest.”

  Levi shook his head. “No, I wasn’t thinking about that either. It’s the flowers. I specifically told them to be as careful as possible with the flower beds. They’re going to leave them behind.”

  Brandon grinned. “Oh, that’s fantastic.” He pulled Levi closer. “We’ll have to come back here and check them out. Maybe we should even plant new seeds every spring in Grandma Daley’s memory. We can do that until the forest takes over.”

  “I think that’s a perfect idea. When the blooms hit their peak, we can cut a bouquet and carry them back to Arrowhead Falls in the canoe. Grandma Daley would be proud of us.”

  After a few more minutes of watching the crew work, Brandon asked, “Are you ready to go home?”

  Levi nodded. “I think so. I like how that sounds.”

  “How what sounds?”

  “Home. You talked about us going home. You didn’t say going to your place. It’s our place now, and it is my home. When you’re there, it’s the most like home that I’ve ever known.”

  Epilogue

  Brandon slumped in his seat and grumbled. “I can’t believe I let the two of you drag me here. It’s all going to rattle around in my head for the next month. I can guarantee that right now.”

  Levi gripped Brandon’s hand and said, “Oh, you’ll be fine. I’ve never seen him sing before. Elle said it’s a rite of passage for everyone who lives in the area, and I wouldn’t want to come to see him without you. I listened to a few of the songs online. They’re fun.”

  Brandon turned toward Elle. “By the way, how did Gabe get a pass on this? I’m sure he could have gotten a backstage pass if he wanted one. He might have even been offered a private tour of the dressing room.”

  Elle giggled. “He was planning to come. He growled and groaned when I dropped off his ticket, but he agreed to be here. Unfortunately, he got an emergency call at the last minute.”

  “An emergency call?”

  Levi heard the word “emergency” and leaned around Brandon to listen. Elle said, “Yeah, this sounds like it’s possibly a bad one. A private plane went down in the woods about five miles northwest of Iron Crossing. Gabe told me it would be rough going getting to the site. The road doesn’t come closer than two miles away.”

  “Why didn’t he call me? That sounds scary. I hope he’s safe.”

  Elle shook her head. “How did you get to be so predictable? Gabe said that he wasn’t going to call you because he knew that you would sound all worried over the phone. I promised that I would explain his absence and keep you calm.”

  Levi asked, “Do they know who was on the plane?”

  Elle nodded. “Gabe said it’s some local Minnesota politician. He said that he couldn’t share a name. He was bound by his job to keep that private until they have more details on the crash and the condition of the man in the plane. I asked if it was a solo flight, and Gabe didn’t know for sure.”

  Brandon shook his head. “What’s to know about the condition of the man in the plane? The trees will tear it apart like it’s a toy. There’s no way he’s surviving the crash.”

  Levi sighed. “Damn. I hate when things like this happen.”

  Elle said, “I’m sorry to be such a downer. I have something else from the lighter side that might help cheer you up. Actually, two things.”

  Brandon said, “Well, you’d better hurry up because this show is going to start in about five minutes.”

  “Well, the first is that Nate and I are having a party on Saturday, and you’re both invited. He finished his back deck, and we thought we should share it with friends. He’s flying in special ribeye steaks from the Twin Cities. It will be a gourmet blowout.”

  Brandon smiled. “I’m so happy for both of you. I often think about the two of you up there in Nate’s cabin cooking up unique gourmet food. He’s a phenomenal chef. Tell Nate that he needs to give Levi and me a few pointers. We have some of the basics down, but if you can’t pan-fry it in a skillet, we’re lost.”

  As Elle laughed and tried to catch her breath, Levi asked, “What’s the other news? You said you had two things.”

  “Oh, right! That’s relevant right now. I talked to Larry’s people, and I told them tonight is a special occasion for the two of you.”

  Brandon groaned. “You didn’t.”

  “A first-year dating anniversary only happens once. Yes, I did. They told me they would talk to Larry, and they were sure he would do something special.”

  Brandon held his hands up to his face. “If he calls us up onstage, I’ll never live it down with Gabe. You know that, don’t you?”

  Elle shrugged. “I don’t know if that’s what will happen.”

  Levi said, “I think it sounds exciting.”

  Brandon sat on the edge of his seat through most of Larry Liston’s concert. He was worried about the content of the shoutout for his dating anniversary with Levi. For the first half of the show, the local audience hooted and hollered and sang along with every song. Brandon remained stoic and gripped the arms of his seat while Elle poked and prodded trying to convince him to join in with the festive atmosphere.

  For some reason, an hour into the show, Brandon’s resolve began to crack. Three songs later he found himself singing along with songs he remembered from childhood. He looked to his side to see Elle and Levi singing, too. The choruses were so simple that Levi could sing along even though he was hearing the words for the first time.

  When it looked like Larry was wrapping up his show, Brandon breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that perhaps Elle’s request got lost in the shuffle. Larry had plenty of loyal fans. He didn’t need to concentrate on two guys who grudgingly enjoyed his music.

  Larry introduced his final song. He said, “This is a brand new one, and I wrote it for my friends Brandon and Levi. I think they are sitting right down there.”

  The crowd roared while spotlights swung around to shine on the three friends sitting twelve rows back from the stage. Elle reached out to grip Brandon’s thigh. “Here we go.”

  Brandon cringed. He braced himself to hear ridiculous lyrics about two guys named Brandon and Levi. He wondered how they would rhyme. He also wanted to be anywhere but in the audience for a Larry Liston show.

  To Brandon’s surprise, the tribute turned out to be not only understated but tasteful, too. Larry closed the final song for his latest comeback show singing the words, “And as I cast my eyes to the shore, the lone cedar stands once more.”

  Thank you for reading Heart of the Woods. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it for you.

  Sign up for my newsletter at the link below and receive a free story “Distance Education.” I never send spam to my mailing list, and you will receive updates on all of my books, free stories, and recommendations for great books by other authors of gay
romance.

  https://claims.instafreebie.com/free/xcUet

  Private Hearts - River Town Book 1

  Reviews

  “There is something so incredibly heartwarming about a friends to lovers story and, in my opinion, when two people have been friends for as long as Dak and Brody have it lends an intensity to the intimacy of new lovers. There is so much going on for these two besides discovering a possible future for themselves that they never envisaged which makes this so much more than just a simple love story.”

  “The two MCs are just beautifully crafted, feel very real and you can't help rooting for them from page one. Each have their own faults and imperfections, but that just makes them that much move lovable.”

  “This is a wonderful start to a new series. The story is sweet, a bit steamy, has a little mystery, and romance. I enjoyed getting to know these characters and spending time with them. I couldn’t put the book down.”

  Dak Preston is a deckhand on a Mississippi river towboat. That means four weeks on the river and two weeks onshore. It also means men willing to stick around for a relationship are hard to find. He's learned to keep his heart protected from the chaos of men drifting in and out of his bed. Lewis, his latest boyfriend, is on the way out, and Dak faces a new month on the boat with no one waiting for him at home.

  Brody Sexton, his best friend since elementary school, is reeling from the sudden illness and death of his mother. He calls on Dak to help him move into the house she left behind. While storing items in the attic, Brody stumbles upon a set of photos that changes the way he sees his family. Secrets of love were hidden far away in the heart of a relative he barely knew.

  Both men are vulnerable when they get together to celebrate Dak's last night in town before he joins the boat for another month on the river. The usual pizza, beer, and movies lead to an unexpected kiss, and their lives are changed. They have a glimpse into what could be, but Dak's ties to the river and the mystery of Brody's family threaten to intervene. Will they find the way to set their private hearts free?