He held up his hand and lovingly gazed at the rose gold engagement band on his finger. Kane’s grandfather was a talented jewelry maker, and he also saw the love he must have had for Jonah in every twisted detail of the ring. He was going to get married.
He was still somewhat shocked that Kane asked him and that they were going to go through with it, especially after what happened that day. Cole suspected that it was his fear about becoming a father that caused him to act so emotional. The closer he got to his delivery date, the more terrified he became.
I’m going to have another human being come out of me, what a terrifying thought.
He sighed and turned away from the door. He was needed at the bakery even though it would be his last day for a couple of months. He got in his car and drove to the bakery, letting himself in the back door. The scent that hit his nose made him smile even brighter. He'd started leaving his assistant manager, Gene, in charge, since she was going to take over for him after he had his baby.
"Hey," Gene said when she walked into the kitchen.
She was a bit shorter than him with bright red hair and sparkling green eyes. She was married to one of the hands that worked on the ranch and loved to bake. She wasn’t trained the way Cole was, but he took a liking to her the first time she interviewed for the job. Not only that, but she was a quick learner.
“I was just about to call you," Gene said to him.
"Why, what's up?"
"There are two men from the FBI waiting for you."
"Really? FBI?" he asked. "Did they say what they wanted? Or why they want to talk to me?"
"I don't know, they wouldn't tell me."
"Okay, call Kane while I go see what they want, please."
She nodded, and Cole walked into the shop. He didn't have to wonder who the men were, they were the only two that had on dark suits, sitting facing the room and watching the activity of the cafe. He walked over to them. “Hi, I’m Cole Bradford, I was told you wanted to see me."
They turned and looked at him. One stood and extended his hand. "Colton Bradford? I'm Michael Singer. And this is my partner, Randall Abbott."
Cole shook both their hands. “Please, it’s Cole, and now that we’ve been introduced, can you tell me why you need to speak to me?"
Abbott reached into his front pocket and pulled out a notebook while Singer spoke. "Can you tell us where Ryker Christensen is?"
At hearing his ex's name Cole froze. He hadn't thought about the other man in months. Not since he and Kane had gotten serious about each other. "Ry-Ry-Ryker," he stuttered. "I . . . I haven't spoken or seen him since the day he left me for dead." Neither man reacted to what he just said, it was as if they knew that Ryker had beaten the shit out of him.
"What the hell is going on here?" Cole sighed in relief when he heard Kane's voice. "Are you okay?" Cole stood and walked over to him.
"I am. These men are from the FBI and they just asked me about Ryker."
"He hasn't seen that fucker in months," Kane told them.
"Yes, he's established that, Mister . . ." Abbott looked down at the notebook in his hand then back up to Kane. "Cartwright."
"Okay, so you know my name, now tell me what the hell you're doing on my property and why you're harassing my pregnant fiancé," Kane snapped at them.
"Mister Christensen is a suspect for murder," Abbott said to them not mincing any of his words. Again, Cole noticed they didn’t react to Kane calling him his fiancé.
Cole's eyes widened and Kane's fingers gripped his shoulders.
"Who do you think he killed?"
"Mister Ezra Thomas," Abbott said as if he was reading an item off a grocery list.
Upon hearing his ex-best friend’s name, Cole's knees buckled. He was thankful that Kane was there to catch him. He felt hot and cold at the same time, and the next thing he knew, he was pulling away from Kane and running to the bathroom. Bursting in the first stall, he threw up the contents of his breakfast.
Once he was sure he wasn’t going to throw up anything else, he flushed the toilet. Sitting on the floor, he wiped his mouth as tears started falling down his cheeks. He felt grateful and sick at the same time. It could have been him. If he hadn't run when he did. He could have been Ezra.
"Are you all right?" He looked up when he saw Kane looking down at him with worried eyes.
"No," he answered honestly.
He pushed himself up off the floor and reached out a hand for Kane to help him up the rest of the way. He stumbled over to the sink and washed his face and rinsed out his mouth. He took the napkins that Kane offered him, dabbing his face dry. Kane didn't say anything but the hug he received said it all.
"Does it make me a bad person that I'm glad it wasn't me?"
Kane kissed him on the side of his head. "No, because I was thinking the same thing. I'm glad you aren't the one that's dead, so if you're a bad person then so am I."
"I guess we should go back out there."
"Not yet, I want to make sure you're okay first," Kane said to him.
He raised his head and looked at Kane. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“Everything is going to be okay, I hope you know that.”
“I want to believe that, Kane. But all I can think of right now is that Ryker is out there somewhere waiting to strike.”
“Listen to me.” Kane cupped his cheeks gently. “I’m going to protect you. I’m not going to let some crazy asshole come on my property and try to harm you or our baby.”
“You can’t be with me twenty-four seven. As much as I would love that, you have a ranch to run.”
“We’ll figure it out, I promise.”
“We can call the wedding off until they find him.”
“No, you and I are going to get married in two days and nothing or no one is going to stop that from happening.”
“Okay.”
Kane pressed a kiss on his lips and Cole fell more in love with his man. The kiss was filled with so much promise that Cole couldn’t help but fall into it. They separated from their kiss much to his disappointment. He wanted to stay hidden and not deal with anything Ryker-related, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“Come on, let’s go out there and deal with this so that I can take you home.”
Cole nodded and Kane wrapped his arms around his waist as they walked out of the bathroom and back over to the two agents that were waiting for them.
“I want to apologize on my partner’s behalf. He should not have sprung the news of Ezra Thomas on you like that.” Singer looked at Abbott out of the corner of his eyes. Cole nodded. “But from your reaction, we can assume you knew him?”
Cole leaned back in Kane’s embrace, soaking up some of the strength he was offering. “I assumed from all the questions you asked earlier you knew everything else about me. But to answer your question, I did. We used to be friends, or I thought we were until I found out he was sleeping with Ryker.”
“When was the last time you spoke to Mister Thomas?” Abbott asked.
“A few months ago. I’d called him to tell him I was okay.” He looked down at his hand. He needed a few minutes before continuing. “Ryker and I had a fight that turned into him using his fist to get his point across before he went on a business trip. I ended up in the hospital and when I was able to walk, I got the hell away from him.”
“How long were you together?” Singer asked him.
“A couple of years. I worked at his restaurant as his head pastry chef.” They stared at Cole for a few minutes and it made him feel edgy. “What? You two are staring at me as if I said something wrong.”
“What do you know about Mister Christensen’s other businesses?” Singer asked.
“What other businesses? I know he owns three more restaurants. One in New York where I worked, Chicago, and Maine.”
“Mister Bradford,” Abbott said leaning closer to him. “I need you to think carefully before you answer this next question.”
“Okay.”
“Have you ever heard the name Vincent Silver?” Abbott asked him as he stared hard in his face.
“No, who is he? Do you have a picture? I might have seen him around the restaurant.”
Abbott reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture, sliding it over to Cole. He stared at the older man in the photograph. Vincent Silver was handsome with gray hair and blue eyes. He slid the picture back over to the agents and looked up at them.
“No, I’ve never seen him before.”
“Are you sure? He’s a very dangerous man and someone Mister Christensen is indebted to,” Singer said to him.
“I’m sure. To be honest, I never met or knew most of Ryker’s friends. I met his parents and some of his family members. But that guy, I would remember.”
“Has Mister Christensen tried to contact you since you left?” Abbott asked him.
“I wouldn’t know if he did. I got rid of my phone after I left. And I got another phone. After I found out about Ezra and Ryker, I got rid of that phone as well.”
The agents leaned back and looked disappointed, but Cole didn’t care, he’d made a clean break from Ryker and wanted nothing to do with the man. He reached for Kane’s hand that was resting on his lap and held on tight to it, taking the comfort that he was being offered.
“I don’t mean to pry, Mister Bradford,” Singer said.
“Cole, please call me Cole.”
“Okay, Cole,” he said. “May I ask when is the baby due?”
“In a couple of weeks, why?”
“So it’s safe to say this is Mister Christensen’s baby?” Abbott asked.
“No.” Cole snapped his head to the side and looked at Kane. “The baby he’s carrying is mine.”
“Is this true?” he heard Abbott ask. Without turning to look at the man he continued to look at Kane who was staring at him. “Yes, it’s true.” He rested his free hand on his stomach. “Kane is the father of my baby.” Kane smiled at him then kissed him on his forehead. He turned to look at the two agents. “If that’s all, I would like to get home. I’m feeling a bit tired.”
“Yes,” Singer said. Abbot looked as if he wanted to ask more but stopped himself.
Cole and Kane stood along with the agents. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to sleep unless he knew the answer to a question that was bugging him.
As if knowing that Cole wanted to ask a question, Singer raised an eyebrow. He seemed like the nicer one out of the two. “Is there something else?” Singer asked.
“Yes,” he answered. “How did he die? Ezra. How was he killed?”
Singer looked away from him for a few seconds then back again. “He was beaten to death.”
Cole gasped and flattened his palms on the table, telling himself to inhale and exhale. It wasn’t whether he believed Ryker did it or not. He didn’t need to ask the question because he knew in his heart that he did. Familiar hands touched his back, and he stood, leaning against Kane and drawing strength from his lover.
“I hope you find him,” Kane said.
“We will,” Singer said and handed Kane his card. “We’re sticking around for a couple of days. Hopefully, he won’t show up here but we just wanted to be certain.”
Cole nodded and turned, they walked out of the shop and were heading to Kane’s truck when he remembered that he’d driven his car. “What about my car?”
“I’ll have one of the guys bring it to the house.”
He nodded and got in and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his pregnancy, or his life, worrying about Ryker and if he would show up. He looked to his side when Kane got in his truck and started pulling away from the curb.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“For what?”
“For being there for me today. I really appreciate it.”
“You don’t have to thank me for anything. I love you, and supporting you is a part of that.” He rested a hand on Cole’s stomach, rubbing it.
He received a kick, causing Cole to grunt. Lately, his son’s kicks hurt more than normal. “I swear this kid is going to be a kicker for a soccer team.”
Kane chuckled. “And maybe he’ll be a rancher.”
“I don’t see it.” They pulled up in front of the house, Cole was about to get out when Kane stopped him. “What’s up?”
“I don’t want you to start worrying. I can already tell that you’re thinking all kinds of things in that head of yours.”
He sighed and nodded. They got out of the truck and walked into the house arm in arm.
The next morning, Kane woke up with a warm body pressed against him. His cock hard and perfectly snug in between his lover’s ass. Cole moved back more and rubbed his ass against his cock. He moaned and bit his bottom lip.
“Kane,” Cole whispered his name in that tone that he loved.
He leaned forward and lightly bit on the nape of Cole’s neck, jerking his hips and pushing his cock further between his butt cheeks. Cole reached with his free hand, grabbing his hip. Kane reached around gripping Cole’s cock jerking it to the rhythm of his hips. His lover’s needy moans spurred him on more and more.
He wanted more than just being rubbed off. Letting go of Cole’s cock he reached behind him fumbling for the bottle of lube on the night table, knocking things to the floor in his haste. He pushed the blankets down off their bodies and pulled back a bit, hissing when the cool air hit him. He popped the cap and squirted lube on his cock, letting the liquid drip down. Throwing the bottle to the bed he pumped his cock a few times, soaking his fingers at the same time.
Cole grunted when Kane slowly pushed one of his fingers inside of his ass. He buried his face in the crux of Cole’s, breathing him in. Gods, he feels good.
“Kane,” Cole moaned.
Pushing in another finger, joining the first. Cole had gotten used to taking his cock the more they made love, but he enjoyed watching his lover get himself worked up as he fucked himself on his fingers.
He removed his fingers and gripped his cock. “Lift your leg a bit.”
Cole did as he ordered, giving Kane the access he needed to line his cock into his hole. He pushed the head of his cock inside and stopped. They both groaned at the contact. Kane held onto Cole’s leg as he pushed in further before stopping again. His lover’s flesh tightened around his cock causing him to moan. He kissed his man’s neck and up to his ear nibbling on it. The tight hold loosened and that time he pushed all the way in, bottoming out. His balls brushing against Cole’s.
Cole moaned and turned his head to the side meeting his lips. He licked and kissed his mouth as he slowly started to move his hips in and out, drawing out his strokes. Sweet ecstasy filled him, he was definitely not in a rush that morning.
There wasn’t anywhere important he had to be than right where he was, loving his man and bringing him to heights of ecstasy. Cole’s breathy moans and grunts were music to his ears. Never before had he had the pleasure of feeling so loved and wanted by one man that all he wanted to do was make him happy.
“I love you,” he said against his lover’s mouth.
His hips picking up speed. With each thrust, he repeated the words until he felt his orgasm building. They came together. Kane grunting loud and long. And Cole’s nails digging in the back of his neck.
Sweet words and kisses followed them into their afterglow. He held Cole close to him even when his cock softened and slipped from his lover’s hole. They held onto each other falling back to sleep, closing out the world beyond their bedroom door. Nothing else mattered.
“It’s been a while since we spent some time together,” Cole said to Marla. They were sitting in her living room watching television.
“Well, that’s because you’re all about Kane these days and have become completely domesticated.”
“I am not.”
“Oh, yes, you are,” she giggled. “You two act as if you’re already married.”
“No, we don’t, we don’t act as if we are married.”
“But you will be tomorrow. So, are you nervous?”
Cole smiled brightly, in less than twenty-four hours he was going to be Mister Cole Cartwright officially. Everyone who worked on the ranch already referred to him as boss number two or Mister Cartwright. He hated it and loved it at the same time.
“No, I’m not,” he finally answered. “I’m excited and ready to start our lives together.”
“I like seeing that smile on your face,” Marla said to him. “I’m glad you’re happy. If only I could get my cowboy the same way you got yours. Without the baby part, of course, no offense. I love babies but none for me yet.”
“None taken,” Cole said. “Hank still hasn’t come around?”
“That man is so damn stubborn I want to wring his neck so that he would see reason.”
Hank Shermann was one of the horse wranglers on the Black Meadow and was twelve years older than Marla. They’d been seeing each other for a couple of months. But Hank had been hesitant to take their relationship further because of their age difference.
“He’s afraid, Mar.”
“No, he’s being a jackass.”
“He thinks he’s too old for you.”
Marla rolled her eyes, it wasn’t the first time they talked about this. “I’ve told you and him that I don’t care about his age. I could kill him sometimes, but if I did that then I’d miss him too much.”
“You really love him, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
He leaned over and kissed her on her cheek. “He’ll come around. I see the way he is around you, he can’t keep his eyes off you.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am,” Cole said resting his head on her shoulder and wondered if he sounded like her the first time he’d complained to her about Kane.
Cole moaned but didn’t open his eyes when soft but firm lips pressed against his. “Kane,” he whispered when his lover kissed his way up to his ear making him giggle when warm breath tickled his ear.
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