by McCoy, SJ
He picked up his pace as the old road climbed a little. There were hardly ever any cars out here, but he kept to the edge anyway. At the top of the rise he could see a big black pick-up truck parked in the shade under the trees. As he approached a man stepped out, leaving the door open and standing in Dan's path, arms folded across his chest. His eyes were shadowed by his black cowboy hat. Dan slowed to a jog, not sure what to make of this. The guy was taller than him by a good few inches. He was probably thirty pounds heavier too—thirty pounds of solid muscle. From his intimidating stance, it didn't look like he was after a friendly chat either. Dan slowed to a walk as he got closer, trying to make out the face under the brim of that hat.
“Afternoon,” he said, deciding that an attempt at conversation was preferable to a silent staring match.
“Are you the kid that's been seeing Missy?”
That caught him off guard—and riled him. He wasn't a kid and he wasn't just seeing her. They were living together, hopefully she was going to marry him—when he figured out how to ask her. He stilled himself and balled his fists, every instinct telling him he was going to need to fight. “I am. What's it to you?”
“What if I told you to leave her alone?”
“I'd tell you to go fuck yourself, cos that's not going to happen!” Dan surprised himself with his words and his tone, which came out sounding like a threat. He was even more surprised that the guy started to laugh.
He tipped back his hat and Dan saw light silvery-blue eyes, crinkling as he laughed. He stepped forward holding out his hand. “Nice to meet you Dan, I'm Chance.”
Dan pursed his lips, but smiled in spite of himself as the adrenaline receded. He shook Chance's hand. “Yeah. Nice to meet you too. Sorry about that. I didn't know who you were, or what to make of you.”
Chance laughed again, the sound raspy, as though he were out of practice. “No, I'm sorry, Dan. I didn't know what to make of you either. I thought you were some little geek-boy, sniffing round my sister. Wanted to see how easy you might scare off.”
Dan met his gaze. “I'll admit I was scared of you, but not you, or anyone, or anything is going to scare me away from Missy.”
Chance nodded. “I can see that. I'm glad to be wrong about you, kid.”
Dan frowned. He didn't want to push his luck, but he didn't want Chance to think of him as, or call him, kid. “I'm glad you weren't what I thought either, but do me a favor?”
“What's that?”
“Don't call me kid.”
Chance narrowed his eyes and gave him an appraising look. “Why not, kid?”
Dan wasn't going to back down now. “Because you don't know me. In your sister's eyes, I'm her man. In Scot's eyes, I'm becoming a kind of father figure. Can you respect how they see me, what I am to them?”
Chance pushed his hat back off his head and ran his hand through unruly black hair. He nodded slowly. “In my book, respect has to be earned, not just given.”
“I'm with you. I'm asking you not to disrespect their faith in me. As for you respecting me, I'll earn it over time, or I won't.” He smiled. “If I don't then you can call me kid and I won't argue.”
Chance smiled. “Fair enough. So what do I call you?”
“Dan, nerd, geek.” Dan smiled. “See, it's not about ego, I'll accept being called what I am.”
Chance grasped his shoulder. “I think we'll do just fine, you and me, Dan. Now, do you want a ride back into town?”
“Sure. Missy and Scot have gone to your dad's. You could drop me on the way if you want to go there?”
Chance's face changed so fast it took Dan by surprise. His smile was replaced by thinned lips, his eyes narrowed and hard. He got back into his truck. Dan went around and climbed in the passenger side and waited, not wanting to question the sudden change. Chance turned the key in the ignition, then looked across at him. The anger was gone, but he looked pained. “I'd sooner come hang with you ’til they get back. You can show me this house she's been raving about.”
“Sure.”
“Do we need to pick up some beer?” asked Chance as he put the truck in gear.
“No.” Dan smiled. “We've got plenty, and they're stinging cold.”
“I'm liking you more by the minute, kid.” Chance shot him a quick grin. “Dan, I mean Dan!”
***
Missy was thrilled to see Chance's truck parked in the driveway when they got back to the house. She looked across at Scot. “Looks like Dan's met Uncle Chance already, huh?”
Scot nodded, his face solemn. “Do you think they'll be okay?” he asked.
“We'd better go find out. Come on.” She'd been looking forward to seeing Chance, looking forward to him meeting Dan, seeing the house, but now he was here, she was a little afraid of how he might react. What he might do if he took a dislike to Dan. She hurried up the steps and into the house, Scot following her closely. From the look on his face, he shared her concerns. “Hey! We're back,” she called. The house was silent. Scot looked at her, she shrugged. They checked the media room—no one there. She went out to the patio and, to her relief, heard the sound of laughter. She beckoned to Scot to follow and they made their way down to the workshop down by the dock. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw both doors standing wide open and inside they weren't working on a boat or even a motorcycle as she might have expected. Oh, no. There was a pool table in there! The two of them were playing pool and drinking beer!
Dan was the first to spot her. He grinned and came over to her while Chance took his shot. “Hey, Miss! Can you believe this? I'd never bothered looking in here, thought it was just a boat shed. We got a pool room instead!”
She smiled and pecked his lips. “Wonderful. I see you found my brother too.”
“Oh. Yeah.” Dan grinned.
“In fact,” said Chance, once he'd taken his shot. “I found him.” He came around the table and Missy threw herself into his arms. Chance lifted her up so her eyes were level with his own. “Good to see you, Miss.” He set her down and turned to Scot. “Hey, Shorty!”
“Hey, Uncle Chance.” Scot looked a little unsure of himself until Chance held an arm out.
“Got a hug for me?”
Scot grinned and gave him a quick hug. When he let go, he went and wrapped his arms around Dan's waist. “So how did it go? Did you enjoy Vegas?”
Chance caught Missy's eye and nodded. Seemingly he approved of Dan. Although it should be none of his business, Missy was relieved—and pleased.
“It was great, champ. You would have enjoyed it.”
Scot pulled a face at him.
“Don't look at me like that. You would. You can't knock it ’til you've tried it. But how did it go at Ethan's? Did you two have fun?”
“We did. Is it okay if he comes here tonight, so we can keep working on it?”
“We'd best check with your mom.”
Dan looked at her and Missy smiled. “I said we'd need to ask you.”
Dan looked puzzled. “Why?”
She could feel Chance's eyes boring into her. “Because it's your house.”
Dan frowned, hurt brown eyes fixed on her. “It's our house, Miss. You don't have to ask who can come over.”
Scot grinned. “See, Mom! That's what I said.”
Missy stared at them, not knowing what to say, until Chance laughed. “Take it easy on her, guys. She might need a little time to get used to this.” He turned to her. “Don't take too long though, Miss. You've found yourself a good 'un here. Now, are we playing, or not? It's your shot, Dan, and you're not going to beat me this time.” As Dan went to take his shot, Chance looked at Missy. “You could have warned me he was hustler!”
She laughed. She would have if she'd known. It was just another of his many hidden talents she was learning about.
***
Miss still looked tired. It was starting to really get to him. They'd had a great weekend, first Vegas, then hanging out with Chance. He'd stayed the night and Dan had gone to get them all breakfa
st and the papers this morning. Missy had wanted to take Chance to see the gang for breakfast at the restaurant, but he wasn't keen to be around people. Dan could relate to that. Tonight, Chance had gone to stay at Missy's. He'd said he didn't want to interrupt the Sunday night, back to school routine. Dan suspected he just needed to be alone.
They'd seen Scotty off to bed and now they sat in their bedroom, by the fire. It was time to see if he could persuade her not to work so hard all the time. He reached out to touch her cheek. The dark smudges under her eyes were still visible, even though she thought she covered them with her makeup. It made Dan feel sad. Sad that she worked so hard and wouldn't let him help. Sad because it reminded him of his mom and the black eyes she used to try to hide in the same way. When Missy smiled at him, like she was doing now, he felt like he could conquer the world for her. The only trouble was, she was too stubborn to let him. To be fair though, it had only been a couple of weeks. Like Chance had said, she needed time to adjust. He hoped that tonight he'd be able to persuade her to see things his way.
“You look tired, beautiful.”
“I am.” She smiled and placed her hand over his. “Can we save the talk for another time, and just go to bed?”
He frowned, not knowing if she was too tired, or trying to get out of the conversation they needed to have.
She moved her hand from his cheek to his chest and slipped it inside his shirt. “I know we need to talk Danny, but I am tired. I don't think I've got the energy to talk and....” She slid her hand down to the waist of his jeans and tugged on his belt.
All his hesitation disappeared when she slid down to the floor and pulled her top off over her head.
“We don't have the rug yet, but this carpet is nice and soft.” She wriggled out of her jeans and smiled at him.
All thoughts of conversation left him as he unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off. He knelt on the floor facing her, caging her against the chair with his arms. She fumbled with his zipper and got him out of his jeans. Seeing her breasts overflowing her bra, he ached to be inside her. He freed them and buried his face in them, teasing her nipples with his lips and fingers until she moaned. He turned her around to lean on the armchair and pulled her panties down. Kneeling behind her, he spread her legs. She leaned into the seat of the chair, her hands grasping the arms when he reached around to touch her. She moaned and pressed her ass against him. He had no choice but to hang onto her hips as her heat yielded to him. He saw her knuckles turn white against the chair as he settled into her. He'd have to take this slow. He was already on the very edge, and the sight and sound of her panting shoulders threatened to take him over at any moment. He leaned forward and filled his hands with her breasts as he withdrew a slightly. She moaned as he fingered her nipples and slid back home. He moaned with her as she closed around him, she was so wet and tight. He set a slow, steady rhythm, feeling the pressure build each time he thrust deeper. She clutched the cushions, moaning as she moved with him. He slipped a hand down between her legs to touch her. The way she moaned his name and pressed back against him touched the fuse that had him thrusting deep and hard, the pressure building, and building until he could no longer contain it. He let go, seeing stars as he clung to her, throbbing inside her as she writhed beneath him, gasping her own pleasure. She really was a perfect fit for him.
***
Dan lay on his back, staring out at the water. It still sparkled in the darkness, even though there was no moon and only a few stars to reflect. He was getting used to this bed, this view of the lake. He curled his arm tighter around Missy. He was getting used to sleeping like this too. He lay on his back, she lay on her side, head on his shoulder. His arm was around her waist, her leg wrapped around his. It felt so comfortable, so right. He didn't know how he'd slept without her ’til now. Didn't think he'd ever be able to again.
“G'night, Danny,” she murmured.
He dropped a kiss into her hair. “G'night, beautiful. Tomorrow we talk. Don't think I've forgotten.”
She nodded and snuggled closer, but said nothing. He wrapped both arms around her and held her tight.
***
Missy pulled the minivan into the driveway. She was happy to see that Chance's truck was already there. Even happier at the way he and Dan had hit it off. Dan had seen more of her brother this week than she had. It seemed the two loners enjoyed each other's company. She was glad of it, even though it didn't make much sense to her. She smiled as she got out of the van; being together with Dan didn't make much sense either, but they were getting closer every day. He'd insisted that he'd be in charge of dinner tonight, since she'd worked late.
She let herself in, wishing she could just go take a shower and lie down. She was still so tired. She was starting to think there must be a way to do as Dan said, and find a compromise that would mean she didn't have to work so damned hard all the time. She found them in the kitchen. Scot sat close to Dan, as he seemed to whenever he could these days.
“Hey, Mom!”
“Hey, sunbeam. How was your day?”
“It was good.”
“Hey, beautiful,” Dan's face was full of concern. “You look beat. Come and sit down. Do you want a drink?”
“I'd love a glass of wine, thanks. I am beat today.”
Chance turned to her. “So why not give it up, Miss? You shouldn't be working your ass off when your man here wants to take care of you. You're being stupid.”
Missy stared at Dan, shocked. Dan, who had gotten up to get her wine, stopped dead and shifted from one foot to the other, looking very uncomfortable. She'd managed to avoid having the conversation with him since Sunday night, but she was shocked, and a little hurt, that he would have talked to Chance about it. “What have you said?”
Chance cut in. “He hasn't said a word. He doesn't need to. Any fool can see what's going on here, Miss. He's trying to give the two of you a life, and you're clinging to your independence.”
She looked at Chance. “I am not stupid! We only just moved in together. We're still figuring out how things are going to work. And you need to butt out, thank you very much!”
Chance continued as if she hadn't spoken. “I'm not going to watch you work yourself into the ground when you don't have to. I'm not going to watch you mess things up with Dan here. He's the best thing that's ever happened to you, and to Scot. You've never known someone to be there for you, take care of you. I'm partly to blame for that, but Dan's different. He's here for you. He's not going anywhere and he wants to take care of you. Let him, Miss. We all know you can do it all by yourself, but you don't have to anymore.”
Missy looked from Chance to Dan. He smiled at her, nodding his head.
“Yeah,” Scot piped up. “It would be nice if you weren't always working.”
That stung! “But, Scotty! I always try to be home for you.”
He smiled at her. “I know, and you are, but you're always too tired to have any fun.”
She sagged in her chair. She couldn't deny that. Just now she'd been wishing she could rest instead of looking forward to the evening ahead. She put her head in her hands. Dan was at her side in an instant. He put his arm around her shoulders.
“Leave it guys. We'll work it out with time.” He tipped her chin until she looked up into big brown eyes. “We care about you, Miss, that's all. We want you to be happy, not exhausted.” He winked at Scot. “We're being selfish, too. We want more of you for us.”
She nodded; she wanted more of them too.
Chance stood up. “Come on, Shorty. Come see if you can beat me at pool while these two talk about it.”
Scot patted her shoulder as he followed Chance out the French doors.
She looked at Dan. “What do you want me to do?”
“Selfishly? I want you to quit cleaning. Quit working. Get yourself some rest, have time to hang with Scot, time to hang with me. I'd like to see you taking classes online, working towards your degree so that eventually you'll be able to work as a guidance counselor, do s
omething you love that won't exhaust you. But that's me being selfish. What matters is what you want to do, Miss. Do you know what you want?”
She nodded slowly. “I want to rest. I want to have the energy to have fun with Scot.” She touched his cheek. “And with you. But Chance was right. I've never known what it's like to have someone there for me. I only know how to do it all myself.” She shrugged sadly. “Even though I don't do it very well.”
He closed his arms around her. “Miss, you do brilliantly. You've raised a wonderful young man, kept your head above water. I could never have done what you have.”
She let out a little laugh. “And you know damned well, I could never have done what you have.”
“Exactly. We're so different, we fill each other’s gaps. You and Scotty are giving me a life I would never have imagined possible without you. Can you see that?”
She nodded; she could see the truth of it.
“I'm asking you to let me do the same for you. I think we'll work best when we learn to lean on each other, Miss. I'm already taking the risk. I'm leaning on you for a family, a home. For the things I've never had that come naturally to you. Can you trust me? Lean on me for the things that you've never had that come naturally to me?”
She rested her forehead against his. “I want to, but it's scary, you know?”
“I do know. It's scary for me too, but I trust you. Can you try to trust me?”
“I am trying.”
“I know, beautiful. Listen, would you be angry if I told Ben you need to take a few weeks off? We can do what we did last time. I'll pay him to find someone to cover for you. You can get some rest. I'll talk to him when I go pick up dinner.”