by Trina Solet
"That's why you had to leave your home town," Theo said. He hated that Seth had to go through all that, but he tried to set his feelings aside and started thinking it through. "OK. I don't think this sheriff has it in for you. But it is possible she checked up on you and got an earful from the sheriff in Waterfield."
"So I can expect trouble here too," Seth said looking forlorn.
Theo shook his head. "I can't be sure, but I didn't get that impression. Let me check something." Theo got out his phone and dialed. "Hi, Wyatt. Hope this isn't a bad time. What kind of person is Sheriff Jackson?"
Wyatt answered straight away. "She's smart, fair, good at her job." He didn't ask why Theo wanted to know.
"That's good to hear. Thank you. I'll let you go now," Theo told him.
Seth was staring at him in disbelief. "You just..."
He didn't finish so Theo went with what he had to say. "From what Wyatt said, the sheriff here isn't likely to be easily fooled. I don't think you should worry too much about her hassling you for no reason."
Seth still looked uneasy.
"Living here, you're going to see the sheriff pretty often. Maybe you should consider moving back." Theo couldn't believe he said that. He was just using Seth's anxiety about the sheriff as an excuse to invite him back, and he was hoping he was going to say yes.
"I would be crowding you," Seth said. "And maybe I don't have any reason to worry here. But thank you for offering. I was afraid you might think I had to be guilty of something if the sheriff had it in for me."
"I don't," Theo told him. He should have some doubts about Seth, but he didn't. He had a strong impression that Seth wasn't used to being trusted or worried about. He was always thinking about what Ace and Theo needed, and at the same time, claiming he was fine and didn't need anything. "I might be mad at you, and I don't understand you sometimes, but I know you're a good guy at heart."
At that Seth smiled. His eyes were shining. His smile was bright and warm, and Theo had to clench his fists or he would have grabbed him and kissed him for all he was worth.
Chapter 22
Being away from Theo and Ace wasn't getting any easier. When he saw Theo at work it only made it harder for him to be alone when he went to his room, but that's how it had to be. He had to have some independence so Theo wouldn't think everything he did was so he could stay with him and Ace.
That didn't mean Seth could keep away from Theo. Seeing him at the inn just wasn't enough. Those were just glimpses while he was talking to guests or other people working there.
Theo's hair was tied back at work, and it looked good and all, but he was more himself when his hair was free. When he wasn't working, Theo didn't smile as much, but Seth liked his serious eyes and that he only smiled when he wanted to.
What he saw at the inn was Theo's professional face and professional smile, and he wanted the real man. Even if Theo scorned him and doubted him, Seth still couldn't go without seeing him.
Saturday, Seth had a day off, the weather was nice so he got himself over to Theo's and got to work on clearing the driveway. Theo had to work but he had Ace to help him out.
Theo did try to stop Seth, telling him, "It's your day off, and you want to do hard labor?"
"I'm keeping in shape," Seth said, but Theo didn't buy it.
Once Theo went off to work, Seth and Ace got to work digging up and pulling out bushes. Ace actually had fun with it, yelling every time they yanked out a bush by the roots.
By the time Theo came back, they had made the driveway look more like a driveway. "Looks good. Did you guys have lunch?"
"I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," Ace said then he tattled on Seth. "Seth didn't have anything. He was all, 'I'm good. I wanna keep working.'"
Seth laughed while both brothers shook their heads at him. He wanted to do as much as he could before Theo got back. Like always, Seth was looking to impress him.
"I'll make us lunch," Theo said.
"Can we eat at the picnic table?" Seth asked. As dirty as he was, he hated to go inside. "I stink pretty bad."
"I was helping. I stink too." Ace then raised his arms. "Smell me, Theo."
"No, thank you. But you can go wash your hands and face," Theo told him.
Theo put together some ham sandwiches with lots of lettuce inside. But when he brought them out Ace scowled.
"You made the sandwiches green," Ace said as they all sat down.
"You need to eat healthy, so you get salad in your sandwich and that's whole wheat bread," Theo told him.
"The bread is OK, but there's too much salad in the sandwich," Ace objected.
"No, it's good," Seth told him after taking a big bite. "There's still mayo on it. I think it's a fine sandwich."
"OK," Ace said and ate it grudgingly at first but then saw it wasn't so bad.
"Healthy tastes good too, remember that," Theo lectured him.
"I think the driveway used to be edged with rocks, but they got scattered. I was thinking of putting them back and gathering some more that are just lying around," Seth said to Theo.
"You want to do more work?"
"I like seeing a job finished. And there's still more bushes to pull up," Seth told him.
Theo looked like he might try to stop him, but then he gave up. "I guess I better roll up my sleeves too."
With the two of them working together, they moved fast until they only had one big, stubborn bush left. There seemed to be no end to its roots. Seth was thinking they might need to use the truck to get it out, but first he wanted to give it one more try.
"You stand clear, Ace," Seth warned him as he and Theo took hold of the thickest branches and started pulling. They were right next to each other giving it their all, and Seth started to feel the roots coming loose. Then just as they got them half out, Seth's foot slipped. He was falling to one side with his foot sliding toward Theo. He was going to bring Theo down with him. Seth wasn't going to let it happen. He twisted away from him. Theo stayed on his feet, but Seth landed funny and felt a pain in his ankle.
"Seth! No! You got hurt," Ace yelled, looking scared as Seth hissed at the pain.
"Oh, it's nothing. If I get up all right, you can go ahead and laugh at me," Seth said but Theo stopped him from getting up.
"No. Stay put," Theo told him and kneeled next to him. "Did you fall the other way so you wouldn't trip me up?"
"Just a little," Seth said then he winced as Theo helped him move his foot. "That's not so bad."
"You hurt your ankle," Theo said. "It looks like a sprain, but you should have it looked at."
"No. As long as I can move it, the damage isn't that bad," Seth told him and showed him.
"OK, OK. Don't push yourself. Let's get you up carefully." Theo pulled Seth's arm over his shoulders and hoisted him up.
"I wanted to help," Ace complained while Theo kept a tight hold of Seth as he stood on one leg and tested out if his other leg could hold him up.
"I think I can limp on it," Seth decided.
"OK, Ace, you can help," Theo told him. He then looked toward the porch and told Seth his plan. "I want to keep working. You can sit on the porch and rest your ankle, and I can keep an eye on you? Ace, go unfold one folding chair."
"I can just sit on the porch steps," Seth said, but Ace was already running to do what his brother said.
In the meantime Theo took his time getting Seth over to the porch. "I can't believe you got yourself hurt just so I wouldn't get hurt. Damn it," Theo grumbled as they went, then he corrected himself. "I mean, thank you."
"It wouldn't be right for me to let you get injured because of me," Seth told him.
Theo still looked unhappy with him. And when Seth looked up, he saw that Ace looked mad at him too.
"Guess I got myself in trouble with Ace," Seth said, and Ace confirmed it.
"You did. You are not allowed to get hurt." Ace made a fierce face at him.
"Sorry," Seth told him but he was touched at how much he cared.
&nbs
p; The porch steps were a struggle, and Seth leaned on Theo heavily. His hold was comforting even if he did glare at Seth worriedly as he helped him sit down.
"How's that?" Theo asked after he had Seth settled into the chair.
"Not bad, but I'm useless just sitting here."
Theo leaned over him to stare sternly into his eyes. "You're letting that ankle heal, and don't you even think of getting up without me here to help you."
"Yeah!" Ace added on top of his brother's warning then he stomped away, ready to help Theo.
It was kind of fun to watch them work together, Ace always trying to do too much. Butter came over to climb all over Seth, but some petting got her to curl up on his lap.
"I've been feeling real lazy watching you guys working hard," Seth said when Theo and Ace came over. They were done for the day and ready to go in, but first they had to get their sneakers off.
"Am I paying you for all this hard work you're doing?" Theo asked Ace.
"I don't know," Ace said but looked hopeful.
"I could pay you in brownies," Theo offered.
"Yay!" Ace said, running inside.
"Brownies?" Seth said.
"The oven is fixed. Finally." Theo pulled him up to stand, and Seth couldn't help but enjoy the contact between them. "Now I'm the one who stinks," Theo said.
"You smell fine," Seth told him and Theo gave him a sideways look.
"I'm thinking about removing a few of these bushes near the house, but some of them might be plants we want to keep. I just can't tell yet," Theo said as they slowly went inside.
"Spring is coming. I see plenty of buds. When the leaves and flowers come out, you'll be able to tell what's what," Seth told him. "There might be a whole garden hiding out here."
Making sure Seth was sitting down on the couch, Theo went to take a quick shower. He expected Seth to keep sitting there even after he got back and went to the kitchen, but Seth couldn't sit still. He limped into the kitchen where Ace was feeding Butter, and Theo was looking into the fridge.
"You're a bad patient," Theo told Seth as he came in and Ace huffed at him.
"I'm gonna bring Seth a chair," Ace said. "I'm the chair guy."
Opening the oven door, Seth leaned down to peer inside though there wasn't anything to see. He straightened and bit his lip. "Uh. Can I... can I bake something in it?" He was inviting himself to stay and cook dinner, but it wasn't the first time. "I want to make you roast chicken, but for now I could just bake up some pasta."
"You're hurt. I'm making baked pasta. Red sauce or mac and cheese?" Theo asked.
Ace had an answer for him as he dragged in a chair for Seth. "Red sauce."
"There'll be cheese either way," Theo said. "And I finally get to make some brownies."
"Make them in a skillet," Ace said and Theo stared at him.
"We have a working oven now."
Sitting and watching Theo cook, Seth kept wanting to jump up and help, but he knew better than to try it. As it was, he was getting warning looks from both Theo and Ace if he so much as shifted in the chair.
When Ace was out of the kitchen, Theo told Seth, "I hope you know you're staying here tonight."
"I don't want to crowd you guys," Seth said.
Theo sighed. "You're not going to try and argue with me?" Theo said and shot him a glare over his shoulder.
"I guess not," Seth said.
Ace came through the kitchen again to see if Theo was making the brownies yet. "The pasta is in the oven. I'm starting the brownies now. And Seth is staying over."
"Oh yeah!" Ace did a little dance.
"Are you celebrating the brownies or that Seth got hurt?" Theo asked him.
"Not that he got hurt, but Seth is here, and that's good," Ace said.
Spending the evening with Theo and Ace always reminded Seth how much he wanted to stay with them all the time. Tonight was no different.
Working outside got Ace to go to sleep right at his bedtime. "Out like a light," Theo said as he came to the living room and sat next to Seth on the small couch.
"I can stay out here tonight," Seth said.
"No. You need to lie down properly." Theo gestured to his ankle.
"I don't want to push you out since you're moved into the other room now," Seth said though he couldn't help thinking about sharing the room with him.
"I haven't been using that room much. I'm still staying with Ace most of the time. Sometimes he has nightmares if I'm not there to wake him. He isn't over everything that happened when he was living with our aunt. Some stuff that happened with her and her boyfriend."
"I'm sorry to hear that. He seems like a happy kid most of the time," Seth said. "I hate to think about Ace being scared, having nightmares like that. I had them when I was a kid."
"What were they about?" Theo asked.
"I had nightmares about being thrown in jail like my folks, and nightmares about my grandpa driving away in his truck and me running after him yelling, begging him to come back or to take me with him. Not to leave me."
"Sorry," Theo said. "When Ace has nightmares I try to remind him of good times with our parents. I show him videos and play Dad's music. I just wish we had more from that time. I..." Theo stopped, and his expression was so sad Seth couldn't let him go silent.
"What is it?"
"We lost our parents so losing things that remind me of them, that I could share with Ace..." Theo trailed off but then continued. "Whenever Dad would go to the store, he'd buy some little thing for Mom, just silly things that they put by the registers. Dad would give them to her and she loved them. Sometimes it was candy then she would eat it all sneaky. I told you she had a raging sweet tooth. She kept a whole box of little things Dad had bought her. Once she was gone, I wanted to keep those things, but our aunt threw it out while we were at school. Like it was garbage."
"That had to be hell for you." Seth could see it on his face.
"Hell. That's about right. I wanted to scream at her and cry, but Ace was already crying, and for his sake, I had to act like it was all right."
Without even thinking, Seth took his hand. "The most important thing is that Ace has you." Tightening his hold on Theo's hand, Seth drew him closer and put an arm around him. "Is this OK?"
"It's more than OK," Theo told him and leaned his head on Seth's shoulder.
They stayed like that for a little while with Seth not daring to move an inch. When Theo pulled away, Seth didn't want to let him go, but he knew it would be wrong to offer him comfort and then ask for more.
It wasn't long before Theo decided to go to bed. First he helped Seth get up, and his touch was like fire that wouldn't go out.
A little later, sitting on the bed, Seth was surprised to see Theo at the bedroom door. "I have my stuff here. I wanted to get something to sleep in," Theo said as he came in.
Having him there, Seth was yearning to tell him how much he thought about him, how much he wanted to be with him all the time, that it hurt not to see him.
"Theo. I know I don't always do the right thing with you. I can't help what I feel," he started to say, but Theo shook his head.
"Don't give me excuses."
If he didn't want to hear it then Seth wasn't going to say it. But maybe he could show him. As Theo passed by him, Seth grabbed his hand.
"Can you stay?" Seth asked, looking up into his beautiful, dark eyes. With only the light from the hallway shining in them, Theo's eyes were unreadable to him.
Afraid to breathe, waiting for the answer, Seth didn't let go of his hand.
***
His hand in Seth's, the way Seth was looking up at him, Theo didn't have the will to move. But he had to. Freeing his hand Theo went to the door and shut it then locked it.
"Thank God. I thought you were leaving," Seth said.
Theo turned to him but couldn't see him clearly. The only light came from the new window. It wasn't much, but Theo didn't have any trouble finding his way back to Seth. He placed his hands on Seth's shoulders, b
ut he wasn't sure what to do next.
Feeling Seth pulling away from him, Theo asked, "What are you doing?"
"I want light," Seth told him and he tried to get up.
Theo didn't let him though. "What for?"
"I like looking at you."
His words made Theo's breath hitch in his throat, but he remembered his ankle. "Stay put. I'll turn the light on."
The lamp was on and Theo was back standing by Seth's bed. With more light to see by, Theo knew what he wanted. "Arms up," he said and took off Seth's hoodie then the t-shirt he had on underneath. Seth's bare chest held his gaze too long, but it was so gorgeous and Theo was glad the light was on. His eyes moved to his abs, then to the erection tenting his sweatpants. Somehow he managed to remember to be careful with Seth's sprained ankle.
"Get comfortable," Theo told him.
Already flushed with desire, Seth nodded and pulled himself up to lie on the bed. Theo wanted his sweats off but couldn't just follow his instinct to yank them off. Carefully, he slid them down Seth's powerful legs then dropped them off the side of the bed. His boxers were next, but Theo didn't rush. He pulled the waistband down first and watched his cock pop free. At the sight, his mouth watered.