***
Beck checked the barn to make sure it was safe, even though Cal had likely gone over it multiple times. He didn’t see anything that looked hazardous, but from what he knew of three-year-olds—mostly from his teaching colleagues who were parents—they could turn anything into a hazard.
You can do this. Just show them the barn, let them look at a few pieces of tack, and then bring Lightning out of his stall. He wouldn’t have a lot of time with any one group, and hopefully cooing over Lightning would take up a good bit of it anyway.
His radio chirruped. “Your first group is on the way.”
“Hey! Is this where they keep all the horses?”
Several kids came running, followed by a harried chaperone who was already sweaty and out of breath. He glanced at the radio he’d set on a post and wished he could call Cal to rescue him.
“Are there big horses and little horses here?” a blond boy asked.
Before Beck could respond, a girl with beaded braids said, “Are there cows? I like cows best!”
Several more questions erupted, but they were incomprehensible because all the kids seemed to be talking at once.
“I need everyone to be quiet and listen,” Beck said, attempting to project his voice over the din.
Between a few of the kids shushing the others and their chaperone joining Beck in encouraging them to calm down, something close to silence was finally achieved.
“Good morning, everyone! My name is Beck, and I’m going to show you around the barn.”
“Hi, Mr. Beck!” they all screamed.
One of the horses whinnied loudly, which set off a fit of giggling.
When they’d calmed down slightly, Beck said, “To answer a few of your questions, in this barn, there are small ponies, very tall horses, and all sizes in between. There are no cows on this farm, but there are pigs and chickens.”
A red-haired boy wrinkled his nose. “Chickens stink.”
Beck grinned. “They sure can, but these have a lot of space, so the smell isn’t quite so strong.”
“That’s good,” the girl with the braids said.
“Yes, it is.”
He managed to get through a brief explanation of the different features of the barn: stalls, feed storage, hayloft, tack room. Then he took them to the tack room, where they seemed thrilled to touch one of the saddles and examine bridles and curry combs. By the time he motioned them back into the main part of the barn, he was enjoying himself. Yes, they were chaotic and talkative, but he liked sharing Cal’s farm with them and watching them light up with excitement. Whatever it took, he was going to see that Cal got to do educational tours more often.
“Okay, everyone follow me.”
When they were gathered near the doors again, he attempted to be heard over the sound of their whispering and giggling. “Would you like to see a pony?”
“Yes!” Wow. His ears might never recover from this day.
All the kids loved Lightning, even the girl who claimed to only like cows.
He was surprised when his radio chirruped and Cal told him to send the group on to him. The time had flown.
As fun as talking with the kids turned out to be, by the time all the groups had cycled through, Beck was exhausted.
As he escorted his final group back to the parking area, he was thrilled to have escaped from any difficult questions.
Apparently, with that thought, he jinxed himself.
A boy who’d been indefatigably curious about everything in the barn called to him. “Mr. Beck?”
“Yes?”
“That horse is a boy, right?” He pointed to Jupiter, a stallion who’d been turned out to pasture.
Beck nodded. “Yes, he is.”
“And he’s the leader of the herd.”
He was the only intact stallion, so Beck supposed that was true. “Kind of, but that doesn’t work the same way here as in the wild.”
The boy had stopped listening to him and was poking a girl standing beside him. “See? I’m right,” he said. “That’s ’cause he’s the one with the biggest penis.”
Oh my God.
“No, that’s not right,” Beck said. Shit, he could feel sweat on the back of his neck. What was he supposed to say now? “He’s the only stallion here. Horses are large animals, so all of their body parts are large.”
“But my daddy said—”
The teacher who’d led this group rushed over, looking pale despite the bright sun. “William, that’s enough; come on.”
“Thank you,” he mouthed to her. He turned and saw Cal watching him with a big smirk on his face. The bastard.
“Thank you all for coming,” Cal said. “We have jam and vegetables from the farm for everyone.”
One of the men who worked for Cal handed off a box filled with paper bags to one of the teachers.
“I hope you had a great time.”
“Can we come back and visit the pony?” a little girl asked.
“Maybe. We do teach riding lessons, but you’ll have to ask your parents.”
What were the chances they’d let her visit? Anger burned as Beck thought of these kids being taught hate at such a young age.
When the bus drove away, the farm hands headed into the barn, and Cal walked over to Beck.
“I did warn you.”
“Warn me? I think you cursed me. Everything went smoothly until right then.”
Cal grinned. “Several of the kids raved about how fun it was in the barn with Mr. Beck.”
“After I got used to it, I enjoyed working with them. I’d be happy to help you out next time.”
“You would?”
“Yeah, and I’ve got a few ideas about the tours and other things you could do here.”
“I need to head back to the horse barn,” Cal said. “You want to walk with me and we can talk?”
“Sure.” They started walking, and for a few moments, Beck just enjoyed being with Cal. He could feel the power in Cal’s big, strong body as they climbed the hill side by side. What would it feel like to have all that power on top of him? Inside him?
“You gonna tell me your ideas?” Cal prompted.
“Yeah, sorry. I, uh… I was just lost in thought.” Thoughts of kissing you.
Cal smirked at him. Did he know what Beck was thinking?
“Have you thought about having the kids make something after the tour, like ice cream with berries if fruit is in season or some other type of snack. Something hands-on like that would be great to bring everyone back together, and it would give you a chance to debrief with the chaperones and hear firsthand what worked and what didn’t.
“Hmm.” Cal took several long strides before saying anything else, giving Beck a chance to study his thighs encased in tight denim.
“Actually that’s a really good idea.”
“Thanks. You know what else would be great?”
Cal glanced over at him. “What?”
“Summer camp.”
Cal shook his head. “No way could I have kids running around the farm all summer.”
“No, not all summer, just a week in June, before there’s much to harvest. If that went well, then maybe something else for older kids, possibly even an internship.”
“I’m not really qualified to run a camp,” Cal said as they entered the barn.
Beck snorted. “I saw you with those kids, Cal. You’re great at this.”
Cal checked on a few of the horses before turning back to Beck and shaking his head. “I’d never get enough kids signed up. Do you know how many schools won’t even return my calls or emails?”
“But obviously some of them do, and once the kids see the farm, they love it. Don’t you think a lot of those kids would enjoy spending more time here, like four hours a day for a week?”
“Do you know how many of their parents wouldn’t even consider it? Just because they let them come for a tour with school doesn’t mean they’d be willing to drop their kids off with the town pariah.”
; Beck sighed. “Well, what about events like birthday parties or—”
“What do I have to say to make you understand?”
Beck tried to tell himself Cal wasn’t really angry at him, but at his situation. “Would it really hurt to try?”
Cal ran a hand through his hair. “Just back off, okay? I have to run my farm my way.”
Beck’s chest tightened, and he took a step back. Why did Cal’s dismissal have to hurt so much?
Cal must have sensed he’d overstepped. “I know you’re trying to help, but do you really think it’s that easy? That somehow people are going to magically decide they’re okay with me being gay when their preachers and their politicians tell them I’m going to hell?”
“No, there’s nothing easy about it. I just lost my job, a job I loved, because of who I am. What I think is that you have to keep fighting.”
“Because it’s my job to change the world? See how well that went for you?”
Beck forced himself to keep his voice soft. “You love this farm, and you want to make it grow. I might’ve ultimately left my school, but I changed people while I was there because I was willing to fight, to push, to make them admit there was no reason to get rid of me other than their goddamn prejudice.”
“But people here—”
“People here are no more ignorant than the assholes I encountered in Roswell, who thought hating me was God-ordained. But there were students and faculty who softened their attitudes toward LGBT rights because they saw that a gay man can be a good teacher, and gay kids saw that they can have a future.”
“One where they get fired.”
“One where they win a settlement, get an apology, and quit.”
“Wait. You quit? But you said you lost your job.”
Beck sighed. “I’m not going to pretend it would’ve been comfortable to stay, but after I won, they would’ve let me.”
“But you were practically in Atlanta; this is Ames Bridge.”
Atlanta had sometimes seemed further away than it actually was. “That doesn’t mean minds can’t be changed here too.”
“Have you seen some of the minds around here?”
Beck smiled. “I have, and I’m not saying a miracle is going to happen. I’m just suggesting things I think you’d enjoy, and which could bring in more revenue.”
Cal shook his head. “Right now, the farm is succeeding when so many don’t. I can’t risk what I’ve gained by speaking up too loudly.”
“Encouraging schools to rethink their stance on visiting your farm and having people speak up for you isn’t like waving pompoms while marching in your jock strap,” Beck said. “Not that I have any problem with that.”
Cal snorted.
“Cal, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile as much as you did today.”
“I smile.”
“You smile to greet people or to try to convince me to sell you the pastureland.”
He scowled.
“Yes. That’s the expression I see a lot of. But today you smiled at those children and you looked truly happy.”
Cal shrugged. “So I like working with kids.”
Wow. Was he actually blushing? “Yes, you do. And it didn’t kill you to admit it. You don’t have to be hypermasculine to meet everyone’s approval.”
“Hypermasculine? Now there’s a city word if I ever heard one.”
Beck rolled his eyes. “I’m just saying you don’t have to be a hot-shot athlete or the guy who can lift six bales of hay at once.” His gaze strayed to Cal’s perfect biceps. “To prove yourself.”
“Is that how you’ve always thought of me, like some dumb jock?”
Was he serious? “Do you remember how you treated me when I was a kid?”
“Do you remember how you thought you were so much better than the kids here?”
“I didn’t—”
Cal raised his brows.
Fine, he had. “But you thought you were so cool, and you—”
“Acted like a fucking idiot like most teenage boys. But you never really knew me at all.”
Cal took a step toward him.
“I went along with those idiots I hung out with, because I couldn’t let anyone know how much I wanted to get into your pants.”
“You… You what?”
Tension stretched between them until Beck couldn’t breathe. His cock hardened, urging him to do something about it. So when Cal’s gaze dropped to his lips, he licked them deliberately.
Cal moved forward, crowding him until he hit the tack room wall.
Beck watched his own hand rise to Cal’s face as if someone else were controlling it. He skimmed his fingers over Cal’s jaw and then whispered, “Kiss me.”
Cal leaned down slowly, slowly, until Beck thought he might pass out from the anticipation. Then Cal kissed him. There was no slow build, no sweet tease. It was a kiss that demanded Beck open for Cal’s questing tongue. He did so, gladly, as Cal slid his tongue along the roof of his mouth. So hot. So good.
Cal’s lips were as soft as Beck had imagined. He clung to Cal’s shirt, sure he’d fall down if he didn’t. Cal growled and ground himself against Beck, so he could feel the hard line of Cal’s cock. He wanted more. He wanted to fucking surrender.
Cal teased Beck’s lower lip and then bit down, making Beck groan. He wrapped one of his legs around Cal’s thigh and thrust against him.
“More,” he panted when Cal turned his attention to Beck’s neck.
“Cal! You in here?”
“Fuck!” Cal jerked away.
Beck began fiddling with one of the saddles as if he were checking it over.
“I’m in the tack room,” Cal called. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Beck?”
He fought to control his breathing as he turned back to face Cal.
“Come over tonight around six if you want to finish this.”
José, a man who’d worked for Cal’s family back when Beck visited regularly, appeared in the door of the tack room.
“Hey, Beck. I didn’t know you were still here.”
“Yeah, I was…just…”
“He was just helping me straighten up.”
No, that was definitely not what he’d been doing, but Beck wasn’t about to argue. “I need to head home now. I’ll see you later.”
“Later,” Cal called.
“See ya,” José said.
As Beck walked home, he pondered whether he’d show up that night. Fucking Cal was a good way to get hurt. Cal would expect them to keep things secret and would insist they were nothing more than fuck buddies. Beck had been crushing on this man for fifteen years; could he really keep feelings out of it if they slept together? Probably not. The real question was, would the pain be worth it?
CHAPTER NINE
“Come in,” Cal called when Beck knocked on his door that night. He’d gone back and forth about whether to show up, and finally decided if he and Cal didn’t fuck that night, it would happen eventually. No way in hell were they going to spend the next few months as neighbors without doing something about the sexual tension crackling between them. So stupid or not, he was giving in to what his dick wanted.
“I’m in the kitchen,” Cal said, but it was unnecessary. Beck saw him at the sink, rinsing dishes to put in the dishwasher. His gaze drifted down to Cal’s well-rounded ass, his thighs, his calves. Damn, his legs looked hot in those worn jeans. He was barefoot, and somehow even that was sexy as hell.
Cal looked over his shoulder when Beck entered the kitchen. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Neither of them seemed to know what to say next.
“Um…I’ll be done with this in a minute.”
“No problem. You want me to put those away?” Beck gestured toward a cluster of glasses on the counter.
“Oh, I forgot those when I was unloading, but you don’t have to—”
“No problem; do they go in one of the cabinets above them?”
“Yeah, the one on the left. Thanks.”
/> Beck put the glasses in the cabinet in neat rows, glad to have something to occupy him, because otherwise, he might’ve just jumped Cal to keep himself from chickening out and taking off for home.
As he tried to fit the last two glasses into the crowded cabinet—Cal’s parents must have left all their dishes here—he heard the dishwasher come on.
Suddenly, Cal was right there. Beck turned around, and their eyes met. For the space of a breath, neither one of them said anything. Beck’s cock swelled as he stared at Cal. Finally, he swallowed and forced out some words.
“You said we could finish what we started.”
“What exactly did we start?”
“This.” Beck reached for him, gripping the back of his neck and pulling him down. When their lips met, he groaned into Cal’s mouth.
Cal ground against him, moving his hips so his cock rubbed against Beck’s. The kiss grew sloppy, desperate. Cal pushed his hands under Beck’s T-shirt and kneaded the muscles of his back.
“Need you,” Beck murmured.
Cal sank to his knees, and Beck reached back to grip the counter as shock dizzied him.
Was this really happening? Was Cal McMurtry going to suck his cock?
Beck’s mouth hung open as Cal unfastened his jeans, pushed his fly open, and then nuzzled—fucking nuzzled—against his cock, which was now rock hard.
“Cal?” His name was more of a breath than a word.
He looked up.
“You don’t have to—”
“Shut up.”
Beck did exactly that, and he didn’t dare move when Cal pulled his cock free of his underwear and wrapped a big, rough, strong hand around it. Oh my God.
Cal stroked him then, slowly. Up and down. “Fuck. That’s…wow.”
Cal smiled as he leaned closer and took the tip of Beck’s cock into his mouth, making Beck squeeze the counter so hard, he feared it would crack.
A cool breeze ruffled his hair, easing the heat Cal had stirred in him. Oh shit! The window behind him was wide open. Was there anyone else on the farm?
“Cal, what if someone—”
Cal met his gaze, and Beck couldn’t have said another word if his life depended on it. He eased Beck’s cock from his mouth and gave it a long, slow lick. “I’m going to suck you, and you’re going to enjoy it. Afterward, if you still have complaints, you can register them.”
Down on the Farm (Ames Bridge Book 1) Page 7