He heard footsteps and turned toward the door as Eli walked into the room carrying a coffee cup in his hand. Eli saw that Geoff’s eyes were open and he smiled, set his cup on the tray, and hurried to the bed, his arms burrowing beneath him. “I thought… you were asleep for so long….” The pain and worry in Eli’s voice came through loud and clear.
Geoff’s throat was so dry he couldn’t talk, but he used the hand that wasn’t attached to an IV to pat the back of Eli’s head as he closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of Eli’s arms around him.
“I see someone’s feeling better.” Geoff looked over Eli’s shoulder and saw Len walk into the room. Len patted Eli’s shoulder gently, but Geoff motioned that it was all right and continued stroking Eli’s black hair with his good hand. He’d given Eli quite a scare, and he needed to be reassured. Len pressed the nurse’s call button, and a few minutes later a middle-aged nurse with a caring face walked into the room. “Could you let his doctor know he’s awake?”
“Of course, honey, just let me check on him.” She put her hand on Eli’s back, “Sweetie, I got to check him out.”
Slowly, Eli got up, his arms slipping from behind Geoff’s back.
“You gave us quite a scare, young man.” She talked gently while she worked, checking his pulse, taking his temperature. “Almost normal, that’s real good.” She jotted it on his chart and then took out her stethoscope and listened to his lungs. “Those sound much better too.” She took all her equipment with her. “I’ll call the doctor; hopefully we can remove the oxygen. And I’ll bring you something to drink.” Geoff nodded and tried to say thank you but gave up and just smiled. She smiled back and left the room.
Geoff looked at Len, hoping he’d explain what happened and why he’d ended up here. “We found you in your bed with a high fever, sweating up a storm, and brought you to the emergency room. They diagnosed pneumonia right away and got you on antibiotics and oxygen. That was almost two days ago.”
The nurse came in again and took off the mask before turning off the oxygen. “If you have any trouble breathing, you just press the button right away.” Then she left a glass of ice chips on the tray. Eli came right over, sat on the edge of the bed, and picked up the cup. He put a piece of ice to Geoff’s lips. The coolness felt good, and the water slid down Geoff’s throat. The first swallow felt like the walls of his throat were grinding together. Against his better judgment, he swallowed again. The pain was still there but not near as bad.
Eli leaned forward and kissed his still-parched lips. Geoff saw Len’s expression widen, but Len said nothing, just smiled a little.
“I…” God, talking hurt his throat, “woke up and saw Eli sleeping in the chair.” The last of the ice chip melted, and Eli gave him another one.
“You saw me?” Geoff nodded. “But you never moved all night.”
“I just woke up for a few minutes, I think, and then fell back to sleep.” Eli was hugging him again. “I’m sorry I scared you.” Talking was becoming easier, but he didn’t want to push it.
Len stood up. “I need to get back to the farm, but I’ll stop by this afternoon after you’ve seen the doctor, and you can tell me what he says and when they expect to release you.” Geoff lifted his hand and Len took it, gripping it carefully. “You gave us quite a scare, son, but I’m glad you’re all right. I’ll leave you in capable hands.” Len had only called him son a few times over the years and always when he was worried or scared for him. Geoff pulled on his hand, releasing Eli, and Len leaned over the bed, giving him a hug. “I’ll see you this afternoon.” Len then straightened up and quietly left the room, his footsteps fading as he walked down the hall.
“Have you been here the entire time?” Geoff was starting to tire and he yawned.
Eli nodded. “Most of the time, anyway. Len took me home with him yesterday afternoon for a while, but I pestered him and he brought me back last night.” Eli started to sit in the chair, but Geoff patted the edge of the bed and Eli sat there instead.
“When I woke up, I wondered why you were sitting in a chair next to the bed, but I didn’t have the energy to try to figure it out.” Geoff yawned again and felt his eyelids getting heavy.
“You should sleep.”
“So should you.” Geoff scooted over on the bed and made room.
“I can’t do that; I might hurt you.” Eli started to get up.
“Shhh… I’ll be fine.” Two shoes hit the floor, and then Eli was resting next to him, his head on Geoff’s shoulder. Regardless of how tired he was and the fact that he was in a hospital bed, his body reacted immediately, and he had to move so Eli wouldn’t feel his arousal. After getting comfortable and thinking of unsexy things, he sighed softly, happy that Eli was here in his arms, and they both drifted off to sleep.
Geoff was having a lovely dream, the warm summer breeze blowing across their bodies as they held each other close, Eli’s lips on his, the horses nearby, a huge shade tree above them, its leaves rustling peacefully.
“Well! What do we have here?” Like a needle scraping over an old record, he was jerked out of his dream and into a nightmare—or daymare. Opening his eyes, he was confronted by the frowning countenance of his Aunt Janelle. Geoff closed his eyes and counted to ten, hoping she’d be gone when he opened them again, but no such luck. Eli had heard her voice and jerked out of the bed, trying to find his shoes, his face red with embarrassment. Geoff reached out and took Eli’s hand in his.
“Hello, Aunt Janelle.” He saw his Aunt Vicki and his Aunt Mari enter the room, his Aunt Vicki putting a huge vase of yellow roses on the tray where he could see them before leaning over the bed and giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Hi, Aunt Vicki, thank you for coming.” She stepped back and his Aunt Mari gave him a hug as well, and he whispered in her ear, “Couldn’t leave her home, could you?”
Mari kissed him on the cheek and whispered back, “I tried.” He kept from smirking as she stood back up. “I’m so glad you’re feeling better. I was here yesterday, but you were asleep with a guardian in the chair the whole time.”
Aunt Janelle had planted herself in the chair by the bed, looking like she was making herself comfortable. Eli brought chairs for the other two aunts, and he sat on the edge of the bed, by Geoff’s feet.
“The flowers are beautiful. Thank you.”
His Aunt Vicki smiled; the flowers had obviously been her idea. “Have they said what happened?”
“They told me that it was pneumonia, probably brought on by a severe cold, but I’m feeling better, and they took me off the oxygen this morning. The doctor hasn’t been in yet, but the nurse said I’m doing much better.”
His Aunt Janelle interjected in her usual way, like a buzz-saw at a symphony. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, but what I want to know is what you were doing with him in your bed?”
Geoff could see Eli trying to disappear. “Aunt Mari, Eli has been here for almost two days straight; would you take him to the cafeteria? He’s got to be hungry.” Eli stood up, looking dejected and miserable. Geoff put out his arm. Eli came close, and Geoff pulled him into a one armed hug, whispering, “It’s not you. I just don’t want you to hear her spite.” Then he hugged him close. “I want to kiss you, and I would if I could.” He made a note to himself to be sure they talked after his aunts were gone.
Eli got up and gave Geoff a small smile. Aunt Mari stood too, smiling brightly. “Let’s get you something to eat and have a little chat.” Mari winked at Geoff as she and Eli left the room.
“So are you going to answer my question? Are you and that boy… together?” Janelle made a face like she’d just smelled rotten fish. Geoff rolled his head against the pillow and looked at the ceiling, deciding how he wanted to answer. “Well?” Her voice was starting to get shrill.
“The answer to that question and any question that deals with my personal life is none of your business.”
“As your father’s sister it certainly is my business.” That haughty tone was trying Geoff’s pati
ence.
“No, it’s not. My personal life is none of your business, the farm is none of your business, and Eli is certainly none of your business.” Geoff turned to his Aunt Vicki. “I haven’t had a chance to see Jill and Chris. How are they doing?”
Vicki’s face lit up. “I think Jill’s getting engaged soon, but I expect you know that, and Chris will be a sophomore in college.”
“Tell them to come out to the farm sometime. I’ll take them riding. You too—I remember you were quite a good rider.” That got him a smile from one aunt and a scowl from the other, but Geoff ignored Janelle, concentrating on his Aunt Vicki. Geoff rested back on his pillow as his aunt told him some of the exploits she and Geoff’s dad had gotten into when they were kids. Mari and Eli returned and Geoff patted the edge of the bed. Eli sat down, a huge smile on his face. Geoff guessed that Eli and his aunt had had a good talk. They continued to visit for the next half hour, and Janelle even let go after a while and joined in the conversation.
Geoff began to tire, and his aunts got up to leave. His Aunt Janelle said a quick good-bye and left while Mari and Vicki took more time. His Aunt Vicki gave him a hug and promised him she’d bring the family to the farm. Mari told him the same and gave him a hug too. “You know this isn’t over as far as Janelle is concerned. She’s just biding her time. She can be extremely spiteful.”
“I know.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.” They said their final farewells and left the room.
The doctor came in a few minutes later. “Mr. Laughton, I’m Dr. North. It seems you’re doing much better.” He checked his patient’s chart and then pulled the curtain around the bed, leaving Eli outside. He listened to Geoff’s chest and felt around a little. “You’re doing very well. We’ll have the IV removed and some dinner sent up. You should be able to go home tomorrow, provided you don’t do any strenuous activity for the next week.”
“Can I go riding?” Geoff was anxious to restart their morning rides.
“Riding in a car shouldn’t be a problem.” He never looked up from the chart.
“No, horses.”
That took the doctor by surprise. “As long as it’s not too strenuous, and definitely not for a few days.” Geoff nodded, and the doctor pulled the blankets back around him and pushed the curtain back against the wall. “I should be in tomorrow morning, and I’ll decide then if you can go home.”
“Thank you.” The doctor left, and a while later they brought him a lunch tray. He was starved, and to his surprise, the food wasn’t too bad. “What did you and Aunt Mari talk about?”
Eli sat back in the chair. “You, mostly, and your Aunt Janelle. Mari told me to not pay any attention to her, that she’s just a bitter person.”
“She is.” Geoff continued eating, suddenly famished. “I didn’t mean to sound like I was sending you away, but I didn’t want her to be mean to you. She tried, but I wouldn’t hear any of it.” He ran his hand down Eli’s arm. “She can be a spiteful, vindictive person.”
“I don’t doubt it. She has the same look that Papa gets when he wants to show us who’s in charge.”
“That’s it exactly. Janelle is used to being in charge, and if people fight her, she schemes or bullies you into going along with her.” In the back of his mind, he wondered what she’d do next.
Geoff finished his lunch, and the nurse returned to remove the IV and bring him some more water. Once she was gone, Geoff had Eli close the door part way to block out the noise. “I’m so sleepy.”
“Then rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Geoff stretched out his hand, and Eli held it as he fell back to sleep, thinking of how nice it was going to be at home, where he could hold Eli properly.
Chapter 10
GEOFF WAS restless, majorly restless. He’d been cooped up in the house for three warm, beautiful, summer days. He wanted to go riding and spend time with Eli, but mostly, he just wanted out of this house. He’d already brought the farm records up to date and finished computerizing all the accounts. But most of all, he was tired of sleeping alone. He hadn’t been able to hold Eli properly since that afternoon in the hospital when he’d napped with him.
His last night in the hospital, he’d had to convince Eli to go back to the farm with Len instead of trying to sleep in the chair in his room for the third night. Besides, now that he’d awakened, he’d doubted the hospital would allow it anyway.
He heard the back door open and close and footsteps in the house, and then Eli’s bright face poked into the office. “What are you doing up? You’re supposed to be in bed.”
“I can’t stand it anymore, and I’m just working on the accounts, nothing strenuous.” He actually held his hands up in a sign of surrender. His quiet, Amish, non-confrontational boyfriend had turned into an instant drill sergeant the minute he’d gotten home, making sure he took his medicine, rested, and obeyed the doctor’s orders to the letter.
Eli’s face became stern and then softened. “See that you do; I want you better.” Those blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “If you’re good and rest, I thought that tomorrow we could go for a ride.”
Hallelujah, fresh air, a chance to ride Kirk, and maybe be alone with Eli. That was almost enough to convince him to spend the rest of the day in bed… almost. He was feeling pretty good, and his breathing was solid with no shortness of breath. “Okay, I’ll take it easy, I promise.”
Eli bounded over to him. “As long as you promise to be good.” Then he leaned over and kissed Geoff, Eli’s tongue teasing his lips until they parted for him. Up till now, their kisses had been soft and gentle, with Geoff as the initiator, but this was different. Eli as the initiator was stunningly arousing, and man, could he kiss. Geoff felt Eli’s hand on the back of his head as the kiss deepened, and he couldn’t suppress a small whimper. Eli’s eyes looked like deep lakes as he pulled back from the kiss. “Remember your promise.” If that was the reward for being good, he could be freakin’ angelic.
Shutting off the computer and putting away the records, Geoff moved to the living room, turned on the television, and spent a few hours napping through the late afternoon talk shows.
Geoff was awakened by the scent of dinner cooking in the kitchen and the weight of someone sitting on the sofa. He expected Eli but woke to Len’s brown eyes looking down at him. “Dinner will be ready soon.”
Geoff nodded and started getting up. “I’ve been thinking. We used to raise a steer to enter in the county fair.”
“Yeah, that was one of the things we gave up when your dad got sick. Why?”
Geoff squirmed on the old sofa, trying to get comfortable. “I think I’d like to start doing that again.”
“Do you want to share with me what you’re thinking?”
Geoff thought out loud as he told Len the outline of his idea.
“I think that’s a great idea, we’ll put it to him and see if he’s interested.” Len patted Geoff’s shoulder and started walking away. “Oh, I found out that the Winters are looking to sell their pastures and fields.” The Winters’ fields were adjacent to many of theirs and would be a good fit for the farm.
“Find out how much they want, and I’ll run some numbers to see how much we should pay. Then we’ll decide if it makes financial sense,” Geoff said.
Len smiled proudly as Geoff got up from the sofa and went into the office so he could start putting numbers on paper.
Dinner was quiet, but Geoff noticed that Eli kept looking at him and smiling, giving him an “I know something you don’t know” look that had him curious. After dinner, Geoff insisted on doing something, so he finished the dishes and then headed up to bed.
He’d just turned out the light and gotten into bed when his door opened and a sliver of dim light shone into his room for a second and then disappeared. “Eli?”
“I’m here, Geoff.” The room was so dark, he couldn’t see much, but he felt when Eli sat on the bed. Lifting the covers, he felt Eli’s body press and m
old to his. The way Eli moved against him was different. In the past, Eli had been careful to shield his arousal from Geoff, but this time, he could feel Eli’s considerable shaft pressing against his own. “I thought I was going to lose you, and I promised myself that if you pulled through, I was going to show you, show you how…” Eli’s voice faltered, “how much I love you.” The words were barely above a whisper.
Geoff felt his body tighten; Eli had just told him he loved him. He’d known for a while how he felt about Eli. “I love you too.” His tone matched Eli’s very soft and intimate admission, meant for his ears only.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He couldn’t see Eli’s face, but he could feel his breath against his lips.
“I was afraid I’d frighten you, and I didn’t want to pressure you.” Geoff expected a kiss but heard and felt a slap as Eli hit him on the shoulder.
“There you go again, thinking I’m some sort of fragile flower you need to protect.” Eli’s voice had just the slightest edge. “Well, I’m not. There are things I don’t know and I may need your help with, but I’m not fragile and I don’t need protecting, at least not from you.”
To emphasize his point Eli crashed his lips into Geoff’s, kissing hard, showing Geoff in no uncertain terms what he wanted. Geoff got the message loud and clear, returning Eli’s kisses. His body was maneuvered on the bed until he was lying flat on his back with Eli hovering over him, kissing his breath away, that tight body rubbing and vibrating against him. “I want to see you.”
“You want to put on the light?” Eli sounded scandalized.
“No, but give me a minute.” Eli rolled off him, and Geoff got up, shuffling through the familiar room to his dresser. Finding the matches he kept there in case of a power outage, he struck one and lit a small candle he kept on the dresser. The light illuminated the room just enough that he could see Eli’s eyes shining with reflected light. Geoff walked back to the bed and lay back down. “Where were we?” He gently tugged Eli back on top of him, and Eli leaned forward and captured his lips again, picking up where they’d left off.
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