Yesterday, while Austin drove through the small town, it struck him as funny how things hadn’t changed since he left well over fourteen years ago. He’d moved his parents to far northern California soon after he’d made some real money, getting them out of the hot desert of Texas that they still called home. Growing up, Austin had always felt a little stifled here. When he was young, he resented the hell out of everyone knowing his business, always telling his dad when he’d done wrong. But, now that he’d been on the true side of hateful, mean spirited gossip, he realized these people down here were the salt of the Earth and never meant him any harm. They just tried to keep him from making too many mistakes, even if their interference sometimes caused his father to take it out on his hide.
There was a time Austin knew what it meant to shine in this town. He’d been the local sports hero, for as much as that said at the time. Their little Division Two school district bussed in kids from as far as sixty miles away. Less than forty kids graduated in Austin’s class. To play football, basketball as well as baseball was nothing for the boys out here. To do it well didn’t really mean much except to the older population who took pride in their school sports. It provided the only real entertainment around. They considered Austin a star even back in his high school days, betting he’d make it to the Pro’s someday. It was those accolades that gave Austin a false sense of confidence, making him think he could handle Hollywood. That he could even belong there. The entire time he grew up, he’d baled his fair share of hay and woken up hours before school to help feed the animals. It taught him the work ethic that made him the movie star he was today.
As he stood out on his back porch breathing in the clean dry air, something from the corner of his eye caught his attention. He took the steps down two at a time. Yesterday, he found out that he’d apparently bought several four-wheelers, and now, two of his crew drove around from behind the barn toward him. He planned to ride out today with his foreman to check the property lines.
The one rule he made clear last night, he didn’t want to be treated any different from anyone else on the ranch. He wanted to be held responsible, and his goal was to work alongside them. A frown furrowed his brow. If he intended to pull his own weight like everyone else, his ride wasn’t supposed to be made ready and brought to him. He’d do it on his own.
The scowl Austin wore said it all as he stalked toward the two riding up. One of the ranch hands jumped off a four-wheeler, tossing him the helmet and took off running back to the barn.
“Mike, I told you, no special treatment!” Austin yelled over the engine.
“Then catch me if you can, old man!” Mike yelled back and tore off on the four-wheeler. In that moment, Austin knew he’d hired the perfect foreman. He slid on his ride, fastened the helmet and took off. He was a little rusty in controlling the vehicle, but quickly got the hang of it, barreling after his foreman.
~~~~~~
The fence line looked good. It wasn’t the standard hand stretched barb wire surrounding the property line like on other ranches. Instead, they’d used a rod iron design, snaking surveillance equipment all along the way. There was a definite difference in the look. Austin hoped anyone who saw it would think ‘successful rancher’, not that Austin Grainger hid inside. Austin took a long drink from his water bottle. It was early October, but still hot as hell. He wiped his bandana across his face, ignoring his foreman’s mocking laughter.
“You know, it’s only eighty-seven degrees out here. I think someone got soft out there in Hollywood.” Mike yelled over the hum of the engine of the idle four-wheeler.
“Yeah, what the fuck ever,” Austin yelled back, and just in case Mike couldn’t hear him, he flipped him the bird while resisting the urge to dump the contents of the water bottle directly on top of Mike’s head as he walked by. “Where’s this pond I bought that jacked up the price so much higher than any other land in the area?”
“We’re on our way to it. It’s on the west side of the property. Runs the length of that pasture. You share it with the Kelly’s.” Mike turned off his engine to help be heard as Austin came to stand in front of him.
“That’s right…we bought it from old man Kelly.” A smile tore across Austin’s face as he remembered his father and Kelly had been sale barn buddies. His dad didn’t always like Mr. Kelly, but he sure had loved haggling with him.
“Mr. Kelly died a few years back. His son has the property now. I went to college with Kitt. He’s the one you bought the land from.” Mike set the story straight for Austin.
“Mr. Kelly died? He couldn’t have been that old.” Austin stopped in mid-motion of getting back on the four-wheeler.
“Nah, he wasn’t more than fifty-five, maybe younger. It was a heart attack. It wasn’t that bad, but we’re so far out. No one found him for a while and that’s what killed him.”
“That’s too bad. He owned lots of land if I remember right. They were kind of the top dogs in the area.” Austin secured his water bottle back in place.
“Yeah, they still are. Kitt’s trying to restore things, bring in the new practices these old timers around here reject. It’s been a struggle.”
“And, I’ve been told that’s why I pay you so much to bring these new practices in...to help streamline my ranch or some shit like that.” Austin reached around for his helmet.
“Pretty much. Now, if you’re rested enough let’s get back on it. We’re killin’ daylight,” Mike yelled louder as he started his engine.
“Lead the way!” Austin yelled, already loving the guy. Mike could no more care about his fame than his agent did.
The terrain leading to the pond was tricky and required Austin to navigate closely for fear of flipping his ride. As he drove and jerked over deep ruts, he failed to see how anyone thought this land was worth double the price of the normal acreage in the area. He actually got a little pissed off as he realized he’d been cheated. As the anger built, he tried to talk himself down. It was only money, and he had too much of that to even deal with. But damn, he hated to be taken advantage of. As they drove over the second hill, a half a mile or so from his house, he finally saw a crystal blue spring pond stretched over several acres, sitting in some of the greenest pastures he’d ever seen.
He’d been told it was a natural pond, not man-made, and it stretched through a small valley. It was more like a small hill surrounded three quarters of the pond, but for this flat land, it was considered a valley. His new fence reached across the water separating his part of the pond from the Kelly’s. A log cabin sat just on the other side of the water.
Austin’s men who worked the fence participated in a heated discussion with three other men on the opposite side of the fence. One being a muscular, shirtless cowboy who towered over two other men who stood behind him. It was the tall cowboy who caused Austin’s eyebrows to rise in unexpected speculation.
The guy looked good. Real good.
All of a sudden this land purchase seemed to have turned out to be a far better deal than he’d ever expected. If that was what lived on the other side of the fence, life was getting better by the second.
A cowboy hat angled back on the shirtless guy’s head, and his hands gripped the sides of his hips as he listened to Austin’s security team. Austin watched his facial expressions and body language and finally clued into the conversation. It didn’t seem to be going too well.
“Does the fence separate the property?” Austin asked, bringing the four-wheeler to a stop at Mike’s side. Mike turned off the engine and unbuckled his helmet before speaking.
“Yep. And I think your men have just met the immoveable object named Kitt Kelly.”
“Mr. Kelly’s son?” Austin followed Mike’s move as he stood.
Normally, he’d sit back, stay hidden behind the helmet, but the show going on in front of him was just too good. The hard body across the fence from him needed to be fully surveyed. Austin had been pretty certain he’d given up regular sex by moving out here, but one thing he’d learned ov
er the last few years, you just never knew who was who until you tested the waters.
“Yep. Most people think Mr. Kelly was a hard, unmoving man, but they hadn’t met Kitt. He gets something in his head and that’s how it’s gonna be.” Mike swung his leg off the four-wheeler.
“Huh. So what’s this about?” Austin followed Mike as they walked the distance between them and the men still in battle. All of them completely ignored their arrival.
“Don’t know, but we should probably intervene if you wanna maintain a friendly neighbor relationship. And trust me, you want that. We need him. Shit, Kitt’s brow just lowered, he’s pissed. They’re about to see…” Mike jogged the last few steps to the men, drawing their attention toward him.
Austin followed keeping his set pace as he monitored the situation. His men looked relieved to see him. Forced into the role of an Alpha for too many years, he was known for being a hard-ass himself. Funny how that man inside him had already begun to fade away since he moved back here.
“Hey, brother, what’s goin’ on?” Mike called out speaking directly to Kitt.
“These your men?” Kitt’s tone held a hint of threat as he asked the question he already knew the answer to. The words emerged more an accusation than a question, and in that moment, something happened to Austin. His heart picked up a beat, his body hardened and his eyes focused fully on Kitt’s face. He remembered Kitt from high school. Kitt played on the Varsity baseball team during Austin’s senior year. His dick stirred to life as Kitt turned his angry gaze toward Mike. No one but his security men paid Austin any attention, and he clearly saw they waited for him to take control of the situation. An arrogant assumption on their part, and after being treated like an elitist for so many years, Austin liked being ignored.
“They are. What’s goin’ on, man?” Mike repeated calmly as he came to the fence line separating them.
“This pond feeds all my animals. I can’t have it destroyed with a fence built from the bottom up. That’s just fuckin’ ridiculous! And, absolutely no electrical wirin’s gonna run across it. I’m not takin’ the chance of any of my herd gettin' electrocuted after the first fuckin’ storm exposes a live wire to that damn water. Mike, you need to get a hold of these people and teach them right from wrong. Some dumbass citified pretend cowboy’s not gonna fuck up everything I own because they’re a stupid motherfucker!” Kitt sneered the last sentence, aiming his furious gaze toward the group of men who pissed him off. It issued a challenge and Kitt’s shoulders involuntarily rolled as his fist clenched. He appeared ready to take them all on, no questions asked. He was fuming mad, no mistaking it. Mike held up his hands, trying for calm, and began to walk a little more cautiously as he moved forward to the water’s edge.
“Kitt, buddy, I’d like you and Jose to meet the new owner.” Mike turned his eyes back to Austin who finally made his presence known, stepping out from behind Mike.
Kitt, the cowboy, was sweaty, covered in dust, and hot as freaking hell. His chest was bare, showing broad sculpted shoulders leading down to a thin waist and a tight six-pack. The dusty blue jeans he wore rode low on his hips, revealing a hint of the waist band of his underwear. Andrew Christian underwear! Austin immediately lifted his gaze while trying to hide his smile.
The brand was greatly favored by gay men; they proudly wore their Andrew Christian’s. Of course, straight men wore them too, but Austin’s gut told him the man standing fuming in front of him was gay, thereby automatically making him the perfect neighbor. Austin’s day skyrocketed to fan-fucking-tastic.
Recognition hit the two men standing beside Kitt, but he didn’t see any change of expression in Kitt’s face. Those red hot angry eyes focused on him, and he seemed to be prepared to do whatever necessary to stop such a clearly ludicrous act. At least, it was ludicrous to Kitt.
“I’m Austin Grainger, nice to —”
He was cut off as Kitt raged at him, all control on his temper gone. “I don’t give a fuck who you are! You aren’t gonna put my herd in danger for any reason. Our contract was very clear. You aren’t to mess with the integrity of this pond for any reason. Period!” Kitt bellowed as he stalked toward both Austin and Mike with just the current barbed wire fence separating the three of them. Kitt’s hand moved in Austin’s face, a finger pointing directly at him. Kitt stated very clearly in both word and action as to what would happen to this piece of land and how he planned to back it up. Austin held up a hand to his men who were paid to protect him.
“You know, your dad got me in some serious trouble when he found me and Wanda-Sue Atkinson parked somewhere back here smoking pot and having se…fun. If I remember correctly, it was probably right here at this pond. She brought me out here, and I didn’t know where we were until your dad showed up. You sound just like him. I appreciate that memory...” Austin said, looking down for a minute with a small smile spreading on his face. Unlike everyone else around, he wasn’t intimidated by Kitt’s outburst at all. His wet dream in a pair of Wranglers had his dick rigid, almost dripping with anticipation. Austin needed to diffuse the situation.
“He told my dad about it, but honestly, I still think I was more scared of your dad than mine. I knew my dad wouldn’t physically kill me, but your dad…yeah, I wasn’t quite so sure about him.” Austin said it still smiling with his real grin, not the fake one he usually plastered on his face. He hadn’t thought about that memory in years and years. He’d been fifteen to Wanda’s eighteen, and she’d taught him well…well enough for him to know he didn’t like girls at all.
“You know what? I’m real fuckin’ glad for your trip down memory lane, but your men have me good and pissed off. This barb wire fence is the only thing I’m allowin’ over this water and I’m only allowin’ it because I live right there. I can monitor it and fix it before anything bad happens to any of our animals.” Kitt stepped up closer to Mike and Austin, hooking his thumb toward the log cabin while he spoke. The barb wire had to be cutting into his jeans, but Kitt didn’t even seem to notice it. Once he was done speaking, Kitt turned back to glare at Austin’s security men. Austin got the distinct impression Kitt was ready to throw down with them all right now. End all discussion and duke it out. The idea of this sexy ass man going to blows to protect his animals turned Austin on like nothing ever had before.
“There’s no problem with that. We can work within those guidelines,” Austin said easily. He lifted his hand as Sam, his head security guard, started to speak. “I think we need to get together though. Go over things. See what we can work out. I have a high-end security system designed to keep—”
“To keep my cows from crossin’ this pond? It’s about fifteen feet deep and an acre wide. The barb wire’s enough.” Kitt said as if Austin was stupid, but his focus returned to Austin. Exactly where Austin wanted it to be.
“As I was saying, it’s designed to keep trespassers off my land, and as a result, off yours too.” Austin never took his eyes off Kitt as he spoke.
“I’ve never had a problem with that this far back,” Kitt shot back. The look on his face was clear; he thought Austin was a first rate nut job.
“You haven’t lived next door to me before now, have you? They’re just here trying to keep us both private. For now, no one knows I’m here. If that changes, they need to be ready. Why don’t you come over, tonight, tomorrow or whenever, and we can talk through it all. See what we can do to keep anyone off your land. What do you say?”
“There has never been a problem with anyone gettin' back here. We butt up against Hunt’s twenty thousand acres and the National Forest after that. I can’t see where it’s a problem or why it needs any further discussion. If you weren’t set with the terms, you shouldn’t have signed the damn contract.” Kitt refused to back down, his anger clearly fueled him.
“Really, Kitt, Austin’s on the up and up. Come listen to what he has to say. He’s extending the olive branch, man, and just told you the barb wire was enough,” Mike reiterated Austin’s words.
Kitt turn
ed his heated gaze to Mike, and then cocked his head to the security men who looked disgruntled as hell. Lastly, he looked back at his own men who stood a little further back behind him. One of them nodded at him, and Kitt looked as if he visibly forced himself to calm down. Then, he did something no one had ever done to Austin before: he turned around, not saying another word, and walked away. Kitt just dismissed him.
Austin’s eyes riveted to the Wranglers. He watched Kitt’s ass swing with each step he took as he let the moment settle inside him. He appreciated being treated normal, he liked to not always be the center of attention, but dismissed? He wasn’t so sure about that one. Kitt’s men followed him. They all made their way to the log cabin sitting a few hundred feet away.
“He’s a good guy, I promise. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him like this. Really not since college, but he came over and helped me set up your barn. He’s also the insemination specialist I told you about.” Mike was clearly trying to sell Austin on Kitt’s finer points.
Austin’s gaze stayed glue to Kitt’s ass until he stepped up on the porch. He let everything go and focused on his choice of underwear. The brand was more pronounced as he walked up each step. Austin realized his heart was pounding and his dick jerked, begging him to go after Kitt. It had been a while since he’d had sex and he desperately wanted some of that hot, angry cowboy, to work him over in all the right ways.
“It’s fine, I get it. He’s protecting what’s his. Can’t blame him for that. I’ll give it a day or two and try to talk to him again. Mike, if he’ll listen to you, please ask him not to tell anyone that I’m here. It’s in the contract we signed. I just want to make sure he remembers the clause.” Austin didn’t wait for Mike’s reply, but turned back to his four-wheeler and rode back to the barn. His mind stayed on Kitt the entire way back.
Texas Pride Page 4