"Someone you know?" he asked, glancing at Jared.
"Mick."
"Were you expecting him?"
"No. He must have found out I was back, or he's just popped round on the off chance." Jared's jaw was tight, and the hands gripping the steering wheel were even tighter.
"Is there a problem?" He didn't like the way Jared was so tense; perhaps he didn't get along with the visitor.
Jared glanced at him. "There could be."
"Why, what's wrong?"
"He's going to see us together."
"And?" Kyle didn't want to believe Jared was going to balk at the first hurdle. Jared had promised he wouldn't hide who he was. Had he been lying, or was this just too soon or just the wrong person to come out to?
Jared's face was pained, and for one long, disappointed second, Kyle thought Jared was on the verge of stopping the car, turning around, and getting the hell out of there before they were spotted. "Jared, we can do this," he said, hoping he sounded encouraging and not accusatory.
"Says the man who didn't even want to come here in the first place."
Sucking in a sharp, hard breath, Kyle turned on Jared, stunned. "What did you just say?"
"Fuck, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."
"You won't forgive me, will you?" Jared's silence hurt more than Kyle thought possible, and as Jared slammed his foot on the brakes, Kyle acted on impulse and threw open the door. "You said you wanted to give us a try!" he said, inelegantly climbing out, turning as Jared clamped hard fingers on his arm.
"I do, but he's going to ask so many questions," Jared pleaded.
"And does that matter?"
"Of course it matters!"
Kyle pulled his arm free. "Fuck you, Jared. You asked me here, you said you wanted me to stay. Well you're not going the right way about persuading me," he yelled before storming off.
"Kyle! Fuck!"
Ignoring Jared's shout, Kyle was about halfway to the house when he realized how immature he was being. He knew he had a right to be angry, but he didn't have the right to have a temper tantrum; however, before he could turn around and go back to Jared, he just about collided with a man emerging from the side of the house.
The old man stopped short, puzzled.
Shit, no! Kyle instantly recognized the man as one of his grandfather's friends who lived on the neighboring farm: Mick Jacobs. If there was one man in this town Kyle didn't want to run into right now, it was him. The man was a nosy old coot with a jaw as loose as the teeth in his mouth and a tongue as sharp as the knife he always carried strapped to his belt. Kyle thought he would have been dead by now. No wonder Jared had been unwilling to face him.
Mick squinted at him, his grizzled face lining even more. In that moment Kyle realized the old man hadn't identified him, and for half a second, he contemplated not telling him who he was. But despite the argument he'd just had with Jared, he still wanted to be with him, and if he was going to stay, he needed to get this kind of thing over and done with. Trapped and knowing there was nothing else for it, Kyle stuck out his hand.
"G'day, Mick. It's Kyle. Kyle Swanson."
The old man's face brightened in recognition, and he grasped Kyle's outstretched hand. "My God, Kyle! Never thought I'd see you back here."
Why? Kyle wondered. What had his parents said? He glanced at Jared again, relieved to see him walking toward them, though Kyle could see he was upset.
"G'day, Mick." Jared greeted the old man, his voice only a little strained. "What brings you here?"
"Heard you was back. Thought I'd let you know I checked up on them cows like you asked."
"Thanks, Mick, but you didn't need to come round."
"Just driving by." He turned back to Kyle. "So what brings you around these parts? Thought you was overseas or something."
"Um..." Kyle felt Jared's scrutiny and knew what he was thinking. He'd told Jared his parents hadn't wanted him at their funeral. What he hadn't told him was they'd told anyone who asked he'd gone to America. One part of him knew he was lucky they hadn't told everyone he was dead.
"Shame what your folks did," Mick continued before Kyle had a chance to explain any further.
"Did?"
"With the house. Bit odd if you ask me."
"It was their choice." He noticed Jared's curious look and guessed he would have to explain in more detail, but later.
"Still odd." Mick's astute gaze traveled from one man to the other, and Kyle realized that while the man was old and his vision not like it used to be, his mind was still shrewd. "You stayin' here long?" Mick asked.
Kyle froze and immediately felt like a moron. After giving Jared an ultimatum, he was hesitating in revealing their relationship--and wasn't that the absolute in irony--but Mick was not the man to confide in. He was too old and set in his ways to understand or accept, and he was also one of the biggest gossips in Kyogle. It would be all over town in days, and though Kyle wanted it known he was with Jared, he didn't think he wanted it told the way Mick would tell it. So what did he say? No and give them some breathing space, or tell Mick the truth and hope it didn't go any further?
Kyle bit his lip. He needed Jared's help on this, but he didn't want to look at Jared again, didn't want to see the anxiety in his eyes or the trepidation in the way he avoided Mick's gaze, so he did the only thing he could think of.
"I don't know."
The speculation on Mick's face was obvious; so too was the unqualified livid expression on Jared's.
Well fuck that.
"Well, nice to see you again." Mick turned to Jared and nodded. "You let me know if you need them cows seen to anytime soon," he said before ambling to his four-wheel drive.
Kyle watched him go, the vehicle bellowing a plume of white smoke as it bounced down the driveway. Jared faced him, the glint in his eyes dark and dangerous. "You don't know? What the fuck do you mean, you don't know?"
Jared was furious and Kyle knew he shouldn't provoke him, but he didn't feel like backing down, not right then, not over this. "If you'd backed me up instead of trying to avoid the issue, I would have known what to say. How the hell am I supposed to deal with something like that on my own?"
"If you hadn't stormed off, we might have been able to deal with it together. Or is that always going to be your reaction when you don't like something: you walk away?"
Gritting his teeth, Kyle stared into Jared's deep and damning gaze and felt a flare of matching anger. "Don't you dare fucking put this on me. You freaked out when you saw Mick's car. He didn't even have to know we were a couple, but you couldn't get over the fact that he might find out. If you don't want people to know about us, Jared, what the fuck am I here for?"
The intense blaze in Jared's eyes stunned Kyle to the core. His anger suddenly drained away as he witnessed that same hot blast he'd felt earlier, the one that had him feeling like he'd been pulled apart and roughly put back together.
Then Jared took a step back, the heat replaced by hurt. "You haven't figured that out yet?"
It took Kyle far too long to understand what Jared meant, and when he did, it was too late for him to respond; Jared had stalked off.
Kyle didn't think he could feel any worse or any more like an idiot, but he just hadn't expected Jared to feel that way, not yet, not when there were so many issues they had to sort out. Tightness spread quickly over Kyle's chest, uncomfortable, confining, unsettling, making him suddenly unsure and insecure. Seeing Mick had not been the easy experience Kyle thought it would be. Part of it was because it was Mick, but Kyle wasn't stupid enough to think that was the only reason. There would be people in this town who had been friends of his parents, and though Kyle didn't give a damn who knew he was gay, for the first time he worried about what they would think when they found out his parents were so ashamed of him they had lied about where he'd been.
And of course there would be the controversy of why he hadn't been at their funeral. His name would be mud, and th
at wasn't something Kyle thought he could stand. Stupid, really, when he didn't normally care what people thought of him. But he shouldn't have to put up with pointed fingers, whispered words, and angry glares, and it wasn't fair to make Jared endure it either. Jared didn't deserve having someone like him ruining his life, but Kyle didn't think he could give up trying to make a go of living here, not yet.
Turning in time to see Jared enter the house, Kyle sighed. He had a lot to think about, a lot to decide, and now even more to make up for.
Gripping the handles of his crutches, Kyle started toward the house. Maybe Jared had been right about being cautious. They didn't need to announce what they were to each other; it was enough they were together, and if people found out, then so be it, but there was no need to cause any aggravation by trying to force the issue. That was the last thing Kyle wanted to do, especially to Jared.
He'd just reached the front door when it was yanked open.
"What the fuck!"
Startled, Kyle took a half-staggered step back. Jared caught him, but his attention was on something else, not on Kyle.
"What?" he asked, twisting to face the direction Jared was glaring.
"Sally." Grim-faced, Jared stared down the driveway where another cloud of dust was heading toward them.
"Your sister?"
"Yes. Goddamn it, I told her to give us a few days."
"You told her about me?"
Lips compressed, Jared didn't answer, his eyes inscrutable. Deciding it might be better if he was to disappear, he edged toward the house, but Jared's tight grip stopped him. "Don't bother; she's here to see you."
Suddenly nervous, Kyle had no choice but to wait as a dark blue utility truck roared closer. The woman didn't actually drive the truck as much as bully it. It came to a skidding stop, and the driver opened the door before the dust had settled. The person who climbed out was surprising even though Kyle had no preconceptions about Jared's sister. Petite, dynamic, and ignoring her brother completely, she launched herself at Kyle and gave him a resounding kiss on the cheek.
"You must be Kyle," she enthused.
Kyle glanced at Jared, who bit his lip. "Um, yes."
"Wow, you are beautiful."
"Sally," Jared growled in warning. The grip on Kyle's arm tightened, and Kyle wondered how much Jared had told his sister and what he'd told her.
Kyle stared into almost gray eyes that shone with bright intelligence and sharp humor, and quickly relaxed. Despite Jared's assurance that Sally was here to see him, Kyle suspected she was also here to needle her brother.
"Thank you," he said, accepting Sally's compliment and wondering if Jared really did think him beautiful.
Sally grinned, then bounded back to her truck, pulling open the passenger door. "Meet my daughter," she said, holding out her hand to help down a young girl who was a smaller version of her mother in every way.
"Uncle Jared!" With long hair flowing, the little girl came running over to Jared and jumped into his arms. "Did you bring me back a present?" she asked hopefully.
Jared frowned. "Chloe, I was only gone for a week."
"But it was a long week."
Kyle watched her try for a pout and saw the way Jared was affected by it. Surprised when the man dug in his pocket and handed over ten dollars, Kyle wondered if he could learn to perfect a look that would get what he wanted from Jared. He quickly turned his face, hiding a smile he didn't think Jared would appreciate.
"You give in to her too much," Sally admonished.
"She's just pushy, like you. Didn't I ask you to give us a couple of days?"
"Kyle looks like he's recovering. What did happen to you?" she asked, turning her attention back to him.
"Broken ankle," Kyle answered, giving her the abbreviated version.
"Which was bad enough that Jared asked you to come home with him." It was a statement, not a question.
"He was kind enough to invite me," Kyle answered ambiguously.
"And are you staying?"
Instinctively Kyle glanced at the dark-haired man at his side, who stared back at him, his expression inscrutable, his eyes guarded. If he didn't answer this the right way, all hell could break loose, but with the way Jared was looking at him, Kyle didn't feel like answering at all. They both needed to apologize to each other, both needed to discuss the problems they were going to face, but this wasn't the time to do it. Frustrated, Kyle didn't know what to say, but was saved from saying anything when Jared abruptly turned and headed into the house.
"What's up with him?" Sally asked, staring after her brother. "You two have a lover's tiff or something?"
"Or something," Kyle told her, not sure how safe it was to confide in her.
Sally rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Stubborn idiot." Then she smiled, a sweet and disarming smile that had Kyle reasonably worried. "So you're the man who managed to capture my brother's heart."
Chapter Nine
Jared watched his sister go with a mixture of relief and disappointment. She'd pretty much grilled Kyle until the man was hoarse, but Kyle had managed to avoid answering any of the questions Jared had been interested in. Frustratingly, Jared was no closer to knowing what Kyle's intentions were, and now he had to face Kyle with the last thing he'd said still hanging between them.
He turned to look at Kyle, surprised when he smiled. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"She's pretty full on, isn't she?"
"She's a menace," Jared grumbled.
"But you love her."
Jared stiffened. So it was obvious to Kyle how he felt about his sister and niece, but it wasn't so obvious how he felt about him? Disheartened, Jared tried for nonchalance. "She's still a menace."
Kyle's blue eyes regarded him solemnly. "Do you want to come for a walk with me?"
"A walk?"
"Yeah, I want to show you something." It was the way Kyle looked at him that had Jared interested. It was a mixture of caution and expectation, as if Jared's decision to go with him was the be-all and end-all.
"Where?"
Kyle's eyes lit up, and he smiled again. "Come on." Kyle stood a little awkwardly but determinedly and led them out the back door.
"Where are we going?" Jared asked again as Kyle started toward the field on the left.
Kyle glanced at him, his expression almost mischievous. "Trust me, you'll like it."
The slight incline brought them to the top of a low rise, which in turn led them higher onto a craggy hilltop. Several Mugga Ironbark gum trees spread their deciduous branches over the short grass where Kyle paused.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Jared looked around him. The land was beautiful--it was one of the reasons he'd bought it, that and the potential to expand to the five hundred acres next door, but he couldn't see why Kyle had brought him to this particular spot any more than any other.
"Why here?"
"You'll see in a minute." Kyle sat down and patted the spot next to him. "Come and sit with me."
Jared did as he was told, intrigued. Kyle leaned against the trunk of the tree, and as Jared sat close to him, Kyle reached out and laid a hand on his thigh, squeezing gently.
Heat from both the physical closeness and the knowledge that Kyle still wanted to touch him flared along Jared's thigh and into his groin. Hiding the resulting bulge was pointless. Kyle knew what being close to him did, and Jared wondered if that had been Kyle's intention. Bright blue eyes locked on his, a smile within their depths along with a flash of purpose.
"Look, over there," he said, pointing to the west. Jared followed Kyle's directions, though he didn't see anything different from what he'd always seen: a thin line of lemon-scented gum trees, their white trunks standing along the horizon like sentinels.
"I don't see anything."
"Watch." Kyle angled his body a little so he was within the circle of Jared's arms. Deciding to take advantage, Jared pulled Kyle into the vee of his parted thighs, hugg
ing Kyle to his chest. Warm hands linked with his, and with a small sigh, Kyle rested against him. Jared waited, his attention more on the man in his arms than his surroundings, but after a minute, he noticed the setting sun begin to spread long orange fingers across the sky. The clouds, which had been flitting along on the gentle breeze, seemed to be suddenly bathed in gold, while the trees, standing statue still, began to glow flame red.
As the minutes slowly passed, the sun changed to a deep magenta that darkened into a rolling burgundy, the concentrated hue causing the trees to flicker and twist as if they were on fire. Soon the visage receded and then was gone as the red orb of the sun disappeared beyond the ragged backdrop of the mountains.
"Beautiful, wasn't it," Kyle said, the deep rumble of his voice vibrating against Jared's palm where it rested on his chest. Jared nodded, bringing his lips close to the shell of Kyle's ear.
"I used to come here as a kid and play at being a pirate. I'd climb up those trees, and when the sun hit them like that, I'd pretend my ship was on fire and I'd have to bail out, throwing my treasure overboard."
"What was your treasure?" Jared asked, delighted and surprised at the memory Kyle wanted to share with him.
"Anything sparkly I could get my hands on. One time I took my mom's gold earrings. Took me days to find them afterward."
"Was she mad at you?"
Kyle shook his head, the softness of his hair caressing the side of Jared's cheek. "No, I managed to put them back before she found out, but I was shit scared the whole time. My dad had given them to her for her birthday."
"So you were an adventurous rebel." Supple fingers stroked lazily across the back of Jared's hand, sending tingles to race over his skin. He couldn't suppress a shiver of awareness, and though Kyle paused for a moment, he didn't stop.
"I'd forgotten how peaceful it is out here. After the noises of the city, this is like heaven."
"Really?" Whether Kyle heard the hope in his voice or whether he already knew what was going through Jared's mind, Kyle turned slightly to look him in the eyes.
Bringing Him Home Page 15