Afire (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Grace Jameson

His voice startled her out of her thoughts. She turned toward him and struggled to paste a smile on her face. He looked at her sadly and shook his head. “Don’t. You don’t have to smile when you’re really upset.” He watched her face intensely for a few moments. “You’re worried I’m going to freak out and end it again.” He sighed when she hesitantly gave the faintest nod.

  Cal rolled toward her until they were facing each other just inches apart. He cupped her face and rubbed his thumb on her cheek. “I did this. I broke your trust and I have to earn it back. But I want to be clear about a few things. I love you. I want you here. I see us in matching rocking chairs. I’m in this for the long haul. So as I see it, the only person who can split us up, is you.” He put a finger on her lips when she started to object. Her frown made him smile and he teased, “Now, just nod that you understand.” Whatever she saw when she looked into his eyes must have convinced her, because she nodded. Then gave his finger a quick, hot lick.

  His eyes narrowed with sexual interest, and he ran his finger over her plump lips, anticipating the feel of them wrapped around his cock later. But he couldn’t let her distract him. They needed to sort this out once and for all.

  “You think I’m upset about Solly being here?”

  She licked her lips nervously. “Look, I want to believe you’re confident about us, but I don’t think you can just forget your concerns that easily and that fast. So, yeah, I’m a little nervous, and if I’m honest, I guess I’m walking on eggshells. I don’t want to do anything or give you any reason to end this. Now I’ve added Solly to the mix, and that’s an awful lot to take in a short period of time.”

  Cal listened thoughtfully and pulled her closer. “Only time will make you believe I’m not going anywhere. I’m not worried about Solly. He seems like a nice kid, and you obviously really like him. I knew what I was doing when I invited him here, so he’s welcome to stay as long as he wants or needs. We’re in this together, and we’ll deal with things as they come.”

  In for a penny…, she thought. “You get that his mom may never come back? And even if she does, I’m not sure I’m willing to just let him go back. I can’t send him to a group home. I won’t. I want him to stay with me. Indefinitely. Are you ok with that? It could be months. Or longer.”

  He kissed her temple and smiled. “I understand the situation. I don’t have much experience with people with Down Syndrome, though, so you’ll have to teach me.”

  Jenny grinned. “He’ll teach you, not me. Don’t let his cuteness fool you. He’s like any other teenager. He can have temper tantrums and bad moods and pitch fits when he doesn’t get his way.” She shrugged. “But he really is a great kid. He smiles a lot, he’s very affectionate, and he wants to be helpful.”

  “If he wants to stay, then I’m sure we can find lots of ways he can help. My main worry is his safety. I’d feel better if he wasn’t around the cattle just yet. Maybe get him used to living on the farm and our routines first.”

  She nodded. “I agree. He’s used to the horses, so he can help me in the stable for now. But I need you to promise me that if this gets to be too much, you’ll tell me. I really need you to be honest about this, okay?”

  Cal rolled on his back and pulled her so her head rested on his chest. “I promise to tell you. But I really think it’s going to be okay. At some point, we should probably talk to a lawyer about his rights and custody and stuff. For now, though, let’s get some sleep. It’s been an eventful day.” Jenny snuggled into his hard body and let herself drift into sleep, confident that they would make this arrangement with Solly work.

  * * * *

  Will was torso-deep in the fridge looking for something for breakfast. The farm had been quiet when he pulled up, but he knew it wouldn’t be long before Tony and Eddie arrived to start morning chores. He suspected that Cal and Jenny were still sleeping…or otherwise engaged. While he was happy that they’d reconciled, their sex life meant he wasn’t being regularly fed. The clanking of moved jars and bottles covered the sound of flat feet approaching, and Will banged his head hard on the fridge roof when someone started hollering.

  * * * *

  Solly had woken up to Swiss Miss’s snoring and realized she’d taken up most of the bed. No amount of shoving moved her large furry butt, so he headed downstairs to get his orange juice. Someone was already in the kitchen, and Solly watched him try to steal food from the fridge.

  Knowing he had to get help, Solly bellowed, “Thief! Thief!” while pointing an accusing finger at Will and bouncing on the balls of his feet in nervous excitement. His cries of “Steal, steal, steal!” grew even louder when he saw the bacon and orange juice pitcher in the startled man’s arms.

  * * * *

  Spooned behind Jenny, Cal thrust into her tight channel. Her lush bum cushioned his strokes and her wiggles inflamed him further. He tugged on her nipple and felt her muscles clamp down on him. She cried out as her climax overtook her, and his own loud groans threatened to drown hers out. Another shout joined their chorus but it definitely wasn’t a cry of delight. It took a moment for them both to realize that the other voice was Solly. They threw on whatever they grabbed off the floor and ran downstairs.

  Cal came to an abrupt stop in the kitchen, causing Jenny to plow into his back. Craning around him, she started to laugh at the scene before them. Solly, one side of his black bed-head hair standing on end, was pointing and yelling in agitation at a very startled Will, who was now covered in the orange juice he’d dropped on the floor. Jenny leaned her head on Cal’s back and laughed. Cal relaxed as his mind finally caught up with Solly’s reality.

  “Solly. Solly. Solly, buddy, it’s okay,” Cal said loudly, trying to cut into Solly’s thoughts, “This is Will. It’s okay for him to be here.”

  “What the fuck is going on? He almost gave me a heart attack!” Will groused, wiping at his wet pants.

  Solly gasped at Will’s cursing and pointed in accusation again. “Swear! Swear! Swear! Swear!” he hollered.

  Jenny was nearly bent double, but Solly needed to be reassured. Will could probably do with a few calming words, too. Cal looked over his shoulder at her in mock disgust, and she shrugged.

  “Will, this is Solly. He’s a friend of mine. He’s staying here for a while.” Turning to Solly, she held out her hand. “Solly, Will is a friend of mine. He was trying to make breakfast for us, not steal anything. But thank you for watching out for us. Now, how about everyone sit down and I’ll get breakfast.”

  Jenny started cooking, aware that Solly and Will were eyeing each other suspiciously. Will finally headed to the porch, and Solly stood across the room twisting his hands. Cal reached around Jenny to start the coffee and muttered “Holy shit, I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I need any caffeine to wake up. Let’s hope this was a one-off.”

  Turning to Solly, Cal explained that sometimes he needed to help Will because he was older and lived alone. Like a grandpa. Solly nodded in solemn understanding before heading out to the porch. In no time, the table was set, there was more juice in the glass than on the floor, and Solly was much calmer. Cal thought they’d turned a corner until he heard Will give a startled yelp. He wasn’t able to hold his laughter when he saw the intense concentration on Solly’s face as he gently led Will into the house.

  “What are you doing? What is he doing?” a seething Will asked Cal when Solly didn’t answer him.

  Solly surprised all of them when he pulled Will’s chair out, helped him sit then patted his shoulder awkwardly. “Cal said you need help because you’re old.”

  “Did he now?” Will questioned sharply, keeping his narrowed gaze on Cal’s red face.

  “Neutral corners, boys,” Jenny said as she plunked platters of food on the table and sighed silently in relief when the men finally put their mouths to better use.

  * * * *

  “Oh, my God, she’s like a mother duck,” Tony muttered, waving Eddie over to watch the scene in the corral. The brothers stood watching the scen
e in dumb amazement, and that’s where Cal found them a few minutes later.

  “What’s going on?” Cal asked, just knowing that Jenny was somehow at the center of it. He nudged his way past them and shook his head. Oblivious as ever to her audience, Jenny walked through the corral lugging a bale of straw in each hand. Solly followed in his awkward gait, dropping more straw than he carried. A prancing Napoleon brought up the rear, dragging the bale’s string in his teeth. Not content to follow, Napoleon darted in front of Jenny, tripping her. She stumbled, caught herself, and snapped at the irritating tiny horse. “Shit. Bad, Napoleon. Bad.”

  As Solly passed Napoleon, he dropped his small handful of straw and wagged his finger. “Bad, Napoleon. Bad.” The horse spun in circles and nickered in what Cal assumed was horsey for “up yours.”

  Solly entered the stable empty handed, then re-emerged seconds later behind Jenny again. For the next few minutes, the men watched as Jenny led a merry, if rather short, band back and forth to the stack of straw bales. Jenny separated bales into lighter pieces for Solly, but even so, he left a steady trail of straw in his wake. Cal doubted he’d successfully moved the equivalent of one bale, but Jenny praised him like he’d moved the small mountain all by himself. Solly’s face lit up, and he slapped his thighs in happiness. Cal was overwhelmed once again by her incredible capacity to love and humbled that she’d chosen him to bestow it on. She focused it on him.

  He sensed the moment she became aware of him, and he gave her a broad smile when she turned in his direction. Her returning smile was blinding, and she headed toward him. Without even thinking, he opened his arms, and she walked right into them. He distantly heard “aw” and kissy sounds, but he ignored everything but the amazing feel of her tight against him. Tony and Eddie drifted away, but he stayed cocooned with her for a while longer. He’d waited for her all his life.

  * * * *

  Cal wasn’t nearly as happy a few hours later when his enticingly erotic dream about Jenny was interrupted by the insistent, shrill jangle of the telephone. He was even unhappier at the caller’s boundless energy in the dead of night. “Hey Cal! Were you sleeping? Why are you sleeping? Don’t you have to milk cows? Um, Cal?! Cal? Are you there?” Cal was still groggy, but that smooth voice and rapid speech could only belong to one person.

  With his face still half in the pillow, he asked, “Fatima? Fatima, what did I ever do to you? It’s still dark out.”

  She laughed. “Well, since you’re up, I really need a favor from you, and I know you have a lot going on right now and that things are really busy, and I hope things are going well with Jenny, but I would appreciate it if you could help me out.”

  Cal’s brain was cramping. “Shorter words. Shorter sentences. Slower.”

  The exasperated sigh down the line brought an unwilling smile to his face. Fatima was incredibly organized and exceptionally capable, so patience with others’ mental plodding wasn’t always her virtue. “Wake up, bucko. I need to talk to you. You remember Gabriel from the hospital?” Cal could almost hear her blush. “He’s in a hip-to-toe cast, but some bright-light doctor signed his discharge papers last night. He’s on loan from Ontario, and he’s renting an apartment with a bunch of other guys, but they’re not home very much, and he can’t maneuver in the apartment, and he needs to have someone with him because of the cast. I can’t…Cal, I can’t take him home to papa’s. You know how he’ll react. He already thinks I’m a slut, I can’t imagine what he’d do if I brought Gabriel home. I know this might be an imposition, but I wondered if he could stay at the ranch? It would be for about three weeks. He doesn’t need entertaining, just somewhere to stay and someone with him in case he needs help. He won’t be an imposition, and he’s pretty easy-going, and he won’t steal the silverware or anything and…”

  “Fatima, stop. He’s welcome to stay. We have a room on the main floor, so it’s easier for him to get to the washroom and kitchen.”

  “We?” Fatima asked with sharp interest.

  Cal chuckled. “Yeah, we. This is Jenny’s home, too.” He heard a quick intake of breath behind him, and warm lips press against his back. “I’ve got to go. Bring Gabriel out this morning.” He started to turn towards Jenny and felt her arm snake around him to grasp his growing cock.

  “My home? Oh, honey, you are so getting laid.”

  * * * *

  Jenny had just finished laying out a mid-morning spread for the men when Fatima’s sensible car came down the laneway. Jenny headed out to greet her, wrapping her in a big hug when Fatima got out of the car.

  “Thank you,” Jenny whispered, and felt Fatima’s knowing smile.

  “I take it things worked out. I’m so glad. For both of you.”

  From the group of men heading toward them, Fatima heard an eager male voice mutter, “Awesome. Some girl on girl action.”

  “That’s our sister, asshole,” Tony said, giving the man waiting patiently in the car a withering look. Eddie and Tony turned to the car’s open window when they heard a man laugh. The handsome man leaned out the window, watching Fatima with an intense, mischievous gleam.

  “Oh, I forgot about you,” Fatima said, flustered.

  Gabriel chuckled at her blush. “I’ll try not to let that crush my manly pride.”

  Tony and Eddie carried Gabriel into the house and settled him in the kitchen. Cal brought in a wheelchair and crutches while Fatima and Jenny unloaded several bags of groceries. Jenny looked at all the bags on the counter and chided Fatima, “You know you didn’t need to do this.”

  Gabriel spoke up before Fatima could. “It was the least I could do. I know it’s probably not convenient to have me here, so I really appreciate you agreeing to it.”

  Jenny’s eyes misted, and she and Cal shared a look that Gabriel didn’t understand. Clearing her throat, she said to Gabriel, “We had to evacuate our farm a few weeks ago because of the forest fires. For all I know, you were hurt protecting our farm. I’m glad to get the chance to maybe pay you back a bit.”

  Fatima broke the emotion in the room by rolling her eyes and advising Jenny. “Take the food. Believe me, you’ll earn it. He’s been a pain in my ass.”

  Gabriel winked at her and murmured, “And what a beautiful a—”

  “Don’t finish that sentence.” Eddie growled. “She’s our sister, not one of your bimbos.”

  Gabriel looked him over thoughtfully. “I didn’t see the family resemblance. Clearly, she got all the looks. This young man agrees with me,” he said, nodding at Solly.

  He’d been so quiet, Cal had almost forgotten he was there. Solly was standing at Fatima’s side, utterly fascinated by her luxurious chocolate ringlets. He lifted a stubby digit and with great focus, tried to slip his finger inside one of the curls. Fatima turned to face him, unfazed by his attention. “You must be Solly,” she said, cupping his face tenderly. “It’s good to meet you. I heard you like chocolate milk, so we brought some out for you.”

  Solly beamed, slapped his thighs in happiness, then threw his plump arms around her. “I like her,” Solly announced in his thick speech. “She’s pretty.”

  Fatima blushed at his compliments and turned even rosier when Gabriel agreed. Eddie had had enough of this...this…interloper…making moves on his sister. He stood abruptly and pulled Gabriel to his foot. Tony jumped to support the man’s other side and the trio followed Jenny to a quiet room at the end of the hallway. Not bothering to lower the man gently to the bed, Eddie leaned in nose to nose with Gabriel and warned him. “Don’t fuck with our sister. In any sense of the word. She’s been through enough, and she doesn’t need some asshole like you doing a ‘wham, bam, what’s your name?’ She’s gone above and beyond helping you out—now leave her alone.”

  Gabriel dropped his easy-going veneer and told Eddie directly, “I’m not playing. She’s amazing, she’s beautiful, and I suspect world domination is within her grasp if she really puts her mind to it. She’s allowed to be happy, and I want to be a part of that.” Gabriel noticed Ton
y hadn’t said a word, but was watching him thoughtfully. He got the impression that was a rarity. Maybe this brother would believe him. He sure as shit hoped so. He wanted a chance with Fatima and he didn’t want to go rounds with two churlish obstacles.

  Solly appeared at the bedroom door and broke the tense silence. “Jenny said you should just measure them. Then you have to come for lunch.” Solly left as abruptly as he came, and the men gave reluctant smiles as they helped Gabriel into the wheelchair.

  Jenny noticed that Cal got quieter as the house filled with people, and went to snuggle beside him. He rubbed her hip and kissed her hair. “It’s good to have our friends here, hon.”

  Jenny snickered. “Good, because here come two more. Tim and Will just arrived.” Growing more thoughtful, she watched Fatima struggle not to blush under Gabriel unrelenting attention. “I hope that Gabriel being here means we’ll see more of Fatima.”

  They watched in amusement as Solly jumped up to help an able and exasperated Will into the house and up to the table. The farmhands looked on in confusion, but Will just shook his head at them. Cal pulled Jenny onto his lap and wrapped his arms securely around her waist. “Let everyone fend for themselves. I want you right where you are.”

  “Really?” Jenny whispered cheekily, nipping his earlobe. “You don’t want me somewhere else? Doing something else?”

  Cal groaned as he felt his cock fill and press against her perfect ass. “You are going to pay for that later. Now you have to stay put or everyone will see what you do to me.” Jenny was only too happy to stay on her perch and bask in Cal’s affection.

  Lunch was a loud affair with the clanking of plates and cutlery and each man trying to be heard over the other. Jenny winked at Tim as he shifted his chair a hair closer to Eddie. Solly laid his head on Fatima’s upper arm and played with her fingers while Gabriel did his best to charm her with his smooth voice and twinkling eyes.