by Andrew Grey
The old kitchen phone on the wall began to ring. Ky had thought many times of taking it out, but just hadn’t gotten around to it. He pulled the receiver off the cradle.
“Archer—” He recognized Jacob’s voice immediately.
“What do you want?” Ky was angry, and his hand shook at the thought of talking to this asshole after what he’d done.
“Do you know how easy it was to get them to come out? All it took was a phone call. You should accept my offer on the ranch, and then all three of you can get the hell out of town and start over somewhere else. I’ll even up my price to make your decision easier.”
Ky growled, his arms shaking, anger raging through him. “I’ll be damned if I’ll sell anything to you for any reason. I’d rather die than have this land go to someone like you.” He slammed the phone back into the cradle and sat in one of the chairs, his leg shaking as he wondered how in the hell he was going to possibly keep everyone on the ranch safe with an asshole like Jacob Tyler snapping at his heels. For a second, he thought about the offer and what it represented, but he dismissed it again. No fucking way was he giving up on what his family had built because of a lying snake. There had to be another way, and Ky was going to find it or die trying.
The house was quiet, and he went down the hall to Emily’s room. The bed had been made, and Brodie sat with her, telling a story as her eyes slid closed, the dogs in place around her. That was a sight and something worth fighting for.
C hapter Eight
Ky held him all night long. The few times Brodie got up just to check that Emily was still asleep and in her bed, Ky was waiting, his arms enfolding him as soon as he returned to bed. His dreams were ones of terror, with Emily being taken away from him time after time.
“It’s okay,” Ky whispered, and Brodie patted the now-empty bed next to him. “You go back to sleep. I have some work to do. Emily is still in her bed with her security guards watching over her.” Ky kissed him and left the room.
Brodie closed his eyes with a sigh and must have gone back to sleep.
Yips woke him, and Brodie climbed out of bed and pulled on an old pair of sweatpants. He went into Emily’s room to find her climbing down out of the bed. The dogs were all watching, their tails wagging. Brodie petted each of them. “You did good.” King seemed proud of himself, and got an extra pat before Brodie got Emily changed. There were so many things that he wanted for her, but the most important ones they seemed to have. “Ready for breakfast?” He bounced Emily slightly, and she curled into him, not quite awake.
He let her rest and got her some juice before putting her in her chair. She drank and ate some Cheerios and a few pieces of egg. Mostly she dropped the food on the floor, much to the dogs’ delight.
“Hey,” Ky said brightly.
“Emily doesn’t seem to be hungry,” Brodie said, worried.
“Maybe she wants something different.” Ky got out some bacon, bread, and the eggs, put the bacon on a sheet pan in the oven, and got the rest of the food going.
“How can you eat all that every day?” Brodie asked, looking down at his belly. “If I ate that way, I’d get as big as a house.”
“I’ve already worked for two hours this morning, and I have plenty yet to do. I thought that we could go for a ride after we eat. Ben is going to come in and watch her for an hour so we can go. I have some things I need to check, and I thought you could come with me.”
“Uk Bee,” Emily said with a grin, patting her tray. She seemed excited about the possibility.
Brodie was hesitant, not only because he hadn’t ridden a horse in a while, but about leaving Emily. After the drama of last night, he was unsettled as hell. “I guess.”
“It will only take an hour. Bring your phone so Ben can call if anything happens.” Ky tickled Emily before returning to his cooking.
Ben joined them about the time that the food was ready, and they all sat down to a hearty breakfast, with Emily eating two pieces of bacon and some toast with jam that mostly got smeared on her face.
“Uk Bee,” Emily called as she reached to him with a piece of her toast.
“Y-you eat it,” Ben said, and Emily grinned at him before giggling as she dropped the toast for the dogs.
“Emily, you need to eat,” Brodie told her, handing Emily another piece of bacon. That she ate. His sister loved her bacon—not that he could blame her.
“So do you,” Ky said as he placed a plate in front of him. “We work hard here, so we have to eat enough to keep going. Remember what you did to repair the paddocks while I was sick? Now imagine work like that every day.” He pushed the plate closer to him, and Brodie just ate. He didn’t want to argue, and the food tasted really good.
Once they’d finished, Brodie cleaned up Emily, and Ben took her into the living room, where they started playing peekaboo and patty cake.
“Come on,” Ky told him, setting the dishes in the sink. “We only have an hour or so.” He guided Brodie outside to where the horses were already saddled. Once Brodie had mounted, Ky did the same and led the way out of the yard and across the open range. “How are you doing?”
“I’m remembering the basics, I think,” Brodie answered. Ky watched him with a smile, and Brodie felt his cheeks heat slightly. “I forgot how much I liked it.”
Ky led the way across the range and over toward the west.
“What’s this way?”
“You’ll see,” Ky answered, and they continued their ride for about fifteen minutes as a group of trees grew closer. They passed under the large boughs and into the shade.
“This looks more like home, with all the trees,” Brodie said, looking around. Ky drew to a stop and dismounted, waiting for Brodie before tying up the horses and leading him farther on foot. “Is this the spring?” Brodie asked as they stepped into a clearing with a pool of water about forty feet across filling most of it.
“The water bubbles out from the bottom and then runs off to the creek right there.” Ky pointed to the side. “Eventually it meanders and joins the river.” They walked along the side of the pool and then down to the creek, following it for a while under the shade of the trees.
“How far does your property go?” Brodie asked, his gaze following the water.
“About another mile or so. Past that stand of boulders over there.” Ky pointed and glanced at Brodie. “All of this is so green because of the creek and the way rainwater runs toward it.” He smiled and put his arm around Brodie’s waist. “We’re going to need to head back soon. But I wanted to take you riding and show you this.”
Brodie nodded. “You know, this is sort of a bowl. It’s not real deep, but see that rise there, and then the one on that side? I bet someone could build a small dam and make a lake here. They do that a lot in Illinois. Mom used to take me swimming at a lake when I was a kid, and she said it was there because of a dam. I bet you wouldn’t be allowed to do it because of the water rights, but….”
“There are so many regulations regarding anything with water that it could never happen.” Ky tugged him closer. “I used to love this spot as a kid. Since the water is from a spring, it’s really pure, but sort of cold for swimming. I used to come down here in the summer and do it anyway. I was a kid, and it was so hot that it didn’t matter what the temperature was. Now I don’t think I’d dare get in.”
“I didn’t have anything like this. We had a small house on a city lot. At least the house I first remember had a fenced-in backyard, so Mom would let me go out and play and she didn’t have to worry that I’d get into the street. But that was all.” So many memories welled up all at once. He leaned against Ky’s shoulder. “What I would have given to have all this as my backyard.”
Ky turned to look at him and leaned forward. Their kiss was slow at first. Brodie hadn’t meant for anything other than something gentle to happen, but the heat soared between them and Ky held him tighter, their lips pressing harder. Brodie shook in Ky’s arms, and Ky steadied him.
“Ky,” Brodie whisp
ered. “How long do we have?”
Ky gently guided Brodie down into the thick grass, holding him. “Long enough,” he breathed against Brodie’s lips, popping open his jeans and pushing the fabric to each side. Brodie was so filled with energy, and it only grew more intense as Ky pulled his jeans down and wrapped his hands around Brodie’s hard cock.
“Oh God,” Brodie whimpered, sensation rolling over him.
“You can say whatever you want and make all the noise you need to. There’s no one to hear but me.”
Brodie shook. “Yes!” he cried, and Ky stroked harder, slamming his lips onto Brodie’s. From the energy and the way Ky touched to him, he wasn’t going to last long, and that was fine. All Brodie wanted was to just let himself go and to be able to put his pleasure in Ky’s hands… literally.
“That’s it. Just relax and stop trying to hold on to everything. I’m here for you, and everyone else is just fine. So give yourself over to me. Show me how you like it.” Ky sucked at the base of his neck and tightened his grip, adding more friction.
Brodie’s breathing became shallower and more intense. “Ky… I’m….”
“I know. Stop trying to control it and let yourself feel and just go with it,” he whispered, sucking on Brodie’s ear as he shook, then tensed and cried out his pleasure, carrying it out over the land.
Brodie collapsed against Ky, his eyes closed. He felt completely debauched and didn’t mind in the least. Ky held him and stayed still, letting Brodie recover. “What about you?” Brodie asked once he began to come back to reality.
“How about you make it up to me later?” Ky whispered, and seemed to steady his breathing, letting Brodie put himself back together. “We really need to get back.”
“I suppose. But I like it out here. It’s so peaceful. The ranch is generally kind of quiet, but there’s no sound out here, just the wind.” The breeze blew around them, rustling the leaves and grass.
“I know. There are times when I’m on a horse and everything around is so still. I used to pretend that I was a cowboy a hundred years ago and it was only me and the cattle. Of course, then I’d come home and the first thing I did was use the modern shower and bathroom.” They shared a grin. “There are some things I’m just not willing to do without.” He lightly patted Brodie’s butt. “Come on. We need to get back and make sure everything is okay.”
Brodie nodded, and they turned back the way they came.
C hapter Nine
Ky was quiet on the ride back, and Brodie seemed content as well. It was nice that neither of them seemed to feel the need to fill the space with chatter. In the yard, Ky took charge of the horses once they had dismounted, and Brodie kissed him before hurrying inside. Ky led the horses into the barn and got their saddles off before putting them out into their paddocks.
“D-d-did you have a g-good ride?” Ben asked as he came in. “Emily was a g-good g-girl.”
“She usually is. Can you imagine her as she gets older?” Ky asked, and Ben nodded without saying anything more. Instead, he went right to work with the horses in his usual quiet way. Ky had things he wanted to get done, including checking out the fences that ran along the road. Before starting, he went inside to check on Brodie and Emily. He found them in Emily’s room.
“Yes, this is your bed,” Brodie was telling Emily. “All for you.”
“I think there could be other things in the attic. I don’t really know. Once the sun goes down, I’ll go up and see what’s there.” Ky knew right then the attic would be an oven.
“Are you heading out?” Brodie asked.
“Yeah. I’ll be checking fences and things like that. There’s plenty of food in the house. Later I need to spend some time with the books.”
“I can probably help with some of that,” Brodie offered, and Ky nodded. He really hated that part of the business. “Maybe we can go over it when you get back. At least it’s something I can do while I’m in the house here with Emily.” Brodie lifted the little stinker off her feet, and Ky hurried out of the house to get to work.
The heat was oppressive, but not something he hadn’t experienced almost every day of his life. Still, he checked the fences to make sure the herds would stay where they were supposed to before heading in for lunch. Ky was covered in sweat, his clothes sticking to his skin. He wanted nothing more than to get somewhere cool and out of the sun for a while. It had been difficult for him to concentrate on the task at hand because his thoughts kept turning to Brodie about every two seconds.
After parking his four-wheeler near the house, he hurried inside. The house was quiet and still. He hurried down the hall to find Emily napping in her bed. When he returned to the kitchen, he found his lunch in the refrigerator with a note. Ky knew Brodie would never leave Emily alone. He continued through the house and found his office door cracked open. Ky peered inside to where Brodie sat at the desk.
“How can you make heads or tails of all this?” Brodie asked as soon as he stepped in the office.
“How did you know it was me?” Ky asked, a little miffed that Brodie was in his office without talking to him first.
Brodie chuckled, swiveling around in the desk chair. “Don’t you know that I could tell it was you by your scent? You’ve been working in the sun, so you’re covered in deep, musky sweat. I’d know you anywhere.” He smiled. “I put Emily down for a nap about an hour ago and thought I’d see what you’ve been doing with your books. I need to be useful. I can’t just stay here and eat your food and stuff without doing something. But this is going to take a magician to figure it all out.”
“It’s not that hard. That pile over there are the bills and invoices that I’ve paid and processed. Those there have yet to be paid and recorded. That pile is the feed bills, and those are for taxes and insurance. I’ve put the herd records in the computer.”
“And all these?” Brodie asked, pointing to a stack of papers.
“All the processed invoices are in the computer, so those are the ones I still have to do,” Ky explained.
Brodie nodded. “I got that much. But what do you do with the records so you can find them?” He blinked up at him, and Ky shrugged. “Let me guess—that’s what the various piles are for?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Then what’s in the file cabinets?” Brodie asked.
Ky swallowed hard. “Those are all of my mother’s records. I didn’t want to mess up what she was doing, so I sort of figured things out for myself.”
Brodie went over to the cabinets. “Is it okay if I go through and file all the paid invoices? Your mom seems to have had it really organized, and I think I can figure it out. That way, we can go over what you’re doing for the bills and get them up to date. If you show me which program you’re using, maybe we can run some reports so you know where your money is going.” Brodie seemed a little pale, but determined. “I’m sorry if I overstepped what you wanted me to do.”
Ky sighed and then leaned close. “I guess I was just surprised. I shouldn’t have been, though.” He patted Brodie’s shoulder. “If you can help me make sense of all this, then I’d appreciate it. I’ve only done what I needed to in order to get by.” Ky hated that he really didn’t know much about what he was doing. He made sure that the bills got paid and that he didn’t spend money he didn’t have. But that was the extent of his record-keeping abilities. He could manage cattle and horses, be a good steward to the land, but accounting was never his strong suit.
“I’ll look things over, get the old invoices filed, and then we can go over what you want me to do going forward.” Brodie turned back to the computer. “There’s some lunch for you in the kitchen, and I made some iced tea. It should be really cold by now.” He turned with a happy smile. “Do you have to go back out in this heat?”
“Not for a while. I thought I’d rest a little and wait to start outside again until late afternoon.” Ky went and got a lunch of sandwiches and a fruit salad, carried the plate to the office, and sat in the old chair his father used to
use when he was working with his mother. He ate happily as Brodie looked through each of the file cabinets and then began putting things away. The labels had faded, so Brodie made new ones, slipping them over. It was like he didn’t want to replace what Ky’s mother had done.
Eventually, Ky heard Emily stirring and went on down the hall, where he found her standing on her bed, grinning as soon as Ky came in the room. “Uk Ky,” she squealed, launching herself at him. He caught her as Brodie came in.
“Someone needs a change,” Brodie said, and proceeded to get her cleaned up and then set her on her feet. She ran out of the room and down the hall, calling for the dogs, who all hurried behind her like they were her vassals.
“I’ll watch her for a while,” Ky offered. Anything so he didn’t have to do the bookwork, and if Brodie was willing to straighten out his mess, then he could watch Emily.
Ky sat in the living room while Emily played on the rug in the center of the room. He watched her and settled on the sofa, the cool air making him comfortable. Ky drank some more tea as fatigue from the heat caught up with him, and he dozed, listening for any sort of trouble.
“Uk Ky,” Emily said, patting his belly.
He lifted her up and turned on the television. Ky found Mickey Mouse, and Emily settled on the sofa to watch.
Ky put his head back, wondering how his life could have changed so much. He couldn’t help wondering if he deserved it. He hadn’t killed Mason; he knew that. But Ky hadn’t protected him either. They both had known that Jacob would never accept that his son was gay and that there would be hell to pay if Jacob ever found out. Ky should have made sure they were much more careful. Instead, Jacob had found them, and the fighting, the things Jacob had said to his own son—Ky tried not to think about them, but the words hung in his mind. The anger, the vitriol, the hatred. He’d felt each word like a physical blow, and damn it all, Ky knew that Mason had to have as well.