Page 53 of For the Love of the Bull Rider

After they both finished their drinks, Matt took Tim into his arms and pulled his smaller body atop his long frame. He felt Tim’s hard cock against his belly as he gently pulled him down for a kiss, and when their tongues entangled, Matt relaxed for the first time that day.

They kissed, lining up their erections through their night clothes. After a few minutes, Tim pulled away, gasping. “I wanna feel you inside me, Matt. Do you think we can make love here without getting caught?”

Matt glanced at the clock on the cable box and smiled. It was midnight, and Ryan was a sound sleeper. “Yeah, baby, I think we can. I brought another blanket and pillows. We need to get those damn sleeping pads, but I’ll tough it out for tonight. Maybe tomorrow you can give me a back rub. You know, ridin’ a bull all those years takes its toll on a body.” Matt winked.

“Let me make that assessment on my own, cowboy.” Tim announced reached under the couch where Matt had hidden the supplies. That night, Tim rode the bull rider, and he stayed on longer than eight seconds. He started fast and rough, but when he was near his climax or he sensed Matt was near his, he sloweddown and rode the man like a mechanical bull set on slow speed. Matt was about ready to accuse him of cheating, though he knew it wasn’t true.

“Fuck, Timmy,gah...” Matt couldn’t hold the moan as he raised his hips to meet Tim’s downward plunge on top of him. His hands were on the smaller man’s hips, and as his pubic bone stroked Tim’s perineum, Matt’s cock stroked his prostate. Matt was enjoying the pressure and the pleasure, and he didn’t want it to stop.

“I can’t hold back, Matty.” Tim gasped as he picked up speed, grinding in circles on the bull rider’s hard cock. Matt was meeting him stroke for stroke, and the two of them shot together—Matt into the blasted condom, and Tim on his chest. It had been the most amazing ride of Matt’s life.

He pulled Tim down onto his body and held him tight as the two of them caught their breath. Matt listened to hear whether Ryan had been awakened because they might have been a little loud. He didn’t hear anything, so he relaxed, happy to feel the weight of his lover on his body. It was a huge comfort.

After the two men cleaned up the family room and Matt closed the doors to the fireplace, they hurried back to the bedroom to climb into the nice, king-sized bed. They cuddled together in all their naked glory with Tim’s head on Matt’s shoulder, and they both fell asleep.

Matt knew there would be questions the next day because he hadn’t really provided any answers regarding El Paso, but as a family, they’d had a wonderful day. He prayed it was one of many.

Shopping for family members was nearly done, and not surprisingly, Matt was the only one who had any shopping left to do because he’d neglected to find anything for his parents, even with Tim’s help. Ryan was at the Katydid to work with Ethan Sachs one last time before Josie was moved to the Circle C.

The stalls in Matt’s barn were finished, and it was decided Chester would join Josie at the ranch. Tim had suggested adding one more stall ‘just in case,’ so Matt had four stalls built out for the horses, totaling eight at the barn, counting the wet stalls for birthing calves if necessary. It was all shaping up nicely. Matt considered moving his office down to the barn from its place in the house, but he decided to put it off until after the first of the year.

Matt was busy testing the automatic watering system he’d installed in the horse stalls, so he didn’t hear Danny come into the barn until the man cleared his throat. Matt turned to smile at his ranch foreman who’d been around since he’d bought the farm back in the day. They had a great working relationship, or so Matt believed.

Danny had a daughter, Kayley, who was about four or five, though Matt had no idea how the child came to be Danny’s. Matt couldn’t remember the ranch foreman ever getting married or even talking about a girlfriend. There had never been any discussion of an ex-wife, either. “Somethin’ on your mind, Dan?” The man didn’t appear to be too happy.

“You know that I know nothin’ ‘bout horses, Matt. I had a pony as a boy, and we used to feed him grain and peaches from the orchard we had where we staked him out. It’s a wonder he didn’t die, but he lived long enough to be sold. How many horses do I gotta care for?” Danny’s voice was gruff.

Danny Johnson was two years behind Matt in high school, but they knew each other pretty well from playing football. Dannywas a running back, and Matt was a defensive tackle, but the team was a tight-knit group.

Danny went into the Army after graduation while Matt went to the rodeo. Danny got injured in a training exercise his first year in and was honorably discharged, while Matt continued to take a beating on the circuit.

When he bought the ranch, Matt tracked down Danny because the guy grew up on a cattle farm and knew more about the day-in workings of it than Matt. They’d been working well together for years.

Getting back to his original question, Matt smiled. “Just Chester, the cuttin’ horse of Tim’s, and Josie, the little Jenny. I only built the extra stalls because Tim said it was a good idea. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the horses. You keep up with the cattle. How’re they doin’?”

“We only have four who are outta sync with our breeding cycles. One of the younger bulls slipped through a fence hole and into two heifers who weren’t ready to breed, along with two older cows. I had Stevie and Carl herd him into a little lot we made with cattle panels. He’s an Angus-Brahman mix, and he’s pretty damn sleek, so the calves oughta be somethin’. Come take a look at him.” Danny walked out to one of the Gators they used on the ranch.

Matt followed behind and jumped in, ready to enjoy the ride. When they pulled up next to the makeshift pen the hands had created in a little clearing near a creek, Matt wondered how he hadn’t seen the large animal when he’d been out in the fields checking fences. There was a stock tank full of water inside, and it appeared they’d been leaving hay and grain for the bull. He was a big one, Matt saw, and he had an idea about what to do with him.

“He gentle?”

Danny chuckled. “Nary a bit. We’ve left him alone down here because he’s a mean bastard. I’m shocked he hasn’t taken down the panels.”

“Good. Keep him down here by himself but move him closer to that tree so you can string up a tire. Make sure he has plenty of feed and water but leave him alone. I want you to be the only one to check on him, Danny. He’s gonna be a hell of a buckin’ bull.” Matt observed the bull’s reaction when he tossed a few clumps of dirt at it. The damn bull had a fit, bucking and spinning in the little pen. Matt knew he had a winner.

“You gonna register him for rodeo stock?” Danny tossed a few clumps of dirt at the animal as well, both of them laughing as the bull bucked and spun.

“Yep, I am. Somebody’s gonna buy him, I can guaran-damn-tee it. His name is Smokey Joe. I’ll have Timmy look up his sire and get it all fixed up. Good job, Danny.”

A good start in the direction he wanted to take the ranch. He didn’t know too much about anything, but he knew bucking bulls, and he had one on the ranch. It was the beginning of the future at the Circle C.

A few days later, Matt drove up to the barn in the Gator after checking fences and counting calves for the year-end inventory to get his taxes in order. Death and taxes were two things a body could count as perpetual, and Matt wasn’t immune to the necessity.

Tim had told him he didn’t need to do the physical count because they kept immaculate records. For Matt, it was a habit he couldn’t shed.

As he walked through the barn, he saw a trailer from the Katydid out front. Tim was in the hallway with Mickey Warren as they were settling Chester and Josie into stalls. It was the day before Christmas Eve, and all Matt had to do was keep Ryan busy enough to stay away from the barn after he got home from school. Josie was Ryan’s big surprise, and Matt wanted it to be exactly that.

“I put the saddle in the other stall to hide it, along with my saddle.” Tim appeared to be rather sheepish.

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