Page 55 of For the Love of the Bull Rider

Tim knew her to be the head of reason, but in his heart, he knew he’d done the right thing by purchasing the animal. The stallion was a gift given with love. That had to mean something.

He took a calming breath before he spoke because he knew she was only thinking of him. “Aunt Katie, please don’t worry about it. I told Matt I wanted a Kenny Chesney CD for Christmas, and I meant it. I don’t care about him reciprocating, trust me. I’ve got him and Ryan, so I’m all set with gifts,” Tim explained with a splitting grin on his face. He meant every word.

He went back down to the barn, leaving Mickey and Katie in the kitchen with their cooking chores. The Christmas Eve celebration was set to be at the Katydid. Christmas Day was scheduled to be at Jeri and Marty’s house, after Matt, Tim, and Ryan spent the morning together before joining the families. Tim had offered his lover time alone with his son, but…

“So, uh, I was thinking maybe I should stay at the Katydid on Christmas Eve to give you and Ryan time alone on Christmas morning. He might appreciate it being just the two of you, and then I’ll see the two of you later,” Tim suggested as the two of them were working in the office in the house one day in early December.

Matt glanced up from the computer screen where Tim was teaching him how to go about updating the website in the event of changes on the ranch if Tim was unable to handle the task himself. The look on the bull rider’s face wasn’t exactly happy.

Matt pushed the chair away and pulled Tim into his lap, staring deeply into his eyes. “Why do I gotta learn this shit? You’re not goin’ anywhere, right? We said we’d sit down and discuss how much I owe you for the work you’ve done here at the ranch after the first of the year. You ain’t gonna leave us, right?”

Tim was alarmed by Matt’s inquisition, so he hurriedly answered, “No, Matty, not at all. I just wanted to make sure you could. I was thinking about a ‘what-if’ scenario. If I was hit by a bus, could you continue to maintain the system hereand keep things up to date? That’s all, baby. I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

“Well, that ain’t exactly true now, is it? You don’t wanna be here when Ryan opens his gifts on Christmas mornin’. I still don’t understand why?” Matt bemoaned before he pushed Tim off his lap and hurried to stomp down the hallway.

Tim followed after him, finding him in the kitchen pouting like Ryan. The man looked so sad and adorable. Tim wanted to smack himself for hurting him. “Okay, stop pouting. I’m sorry, Matty. I just wanted to give you and Ryan this holiday together because I know he’s been gone for these last few Christmases, and I thought the two of you would want time together without me. I love you both so much, and I honestly don’t want to be away from either of you, but I don’t ever want to infringe on your father-son time.”

Matt set his jaw before the large man took Tim’s face into his hands and stared into his eyes, mesmerized. “I’ve told you I love you. You’ve told me you love me. We fuck like rabbits when we can get a hot fifteen minutes because we love each other and want to show each other how we feel, right? Is there somethin’ I’m missin’?”

Tim laughed. “No, baby. You’re right about all of it. I’m sorry.” No more talk was had about Christmas plans. They were set and they included the three of them living at the Circle C.

Tim ended up in the barn office trying to catch up on a little work while he waited for Charlie-the-stud to make his appearance. He was excited about the arrival of Matt’s gift, so he pushed Aunt Katie’s words out of his mind and prayed he wasn’t making a big mistake by purchasing the huge stallion for the man he loved. God knew he wasn’t exactly confident in his choices all the time.

When Hank knocked on the door of the office, Tim saw a smile on the cowboy’s face. Tim hurried from behind the desk to meet the man on the step and eagerly asked, “Is he here?”

“If you mean a huge black stallion with four white socks and a long mane and tail, then he’s here. There’s also a man here who’s expectin’ a little cash,” Hank told him. Tim went back to his coat and grabbed the envelope from the pocket because he’d taken out a few thousand dollars as backup.

He walked out of the office to see Uncle Josh chatting with Stan Hanson. Tim walked up and smiled, shoving his hand toward Mr. Hanson. “Pleasure to see you again. How’s Charlie?” he asked as he walked to the side of the trailer where the stallion was standing patiently.

“He’s doin’ just fine. I was gonna have him shod for ya, but I talked to Josh, and he told me Matt’s a farrier, so I just had him perdied up a bit. I got him vet checked before I brought him over, so here’s the health certificate along with the registration transfer papers. You can sign ‘em and send ‘em to ASHA. Where do ya want him?”

Tim looked at Uncle Josh, who chuckled before he responded. “It’s the American Saddlebred Horse Association, which y’all will wanna do if you’re gonna breed him. We got stall three ready for him.” Tim followed Stan to the trailer. When the large horse backed out, Stan handed Tim the lead rope.

He froze for a second, but he remembered not to allow himself to show fear around the stallion. Horses picked up on nerves and reacted in kind, as Uncle Josh had explained to him more than once, so Tim took a few calming breaths before he turned to the stallion, rubbing his right hand along the horse’s neck. “Well, Charlie, welcome to the Katydid. Your home is gonna be at Circle C, but that will take a few days,” he whispered to the gorgeous animal as he moved to brush his hand over Charlie’s face and nose.

The horse snorted, but he didn’t move an inch, which made Tim relax even more. He’d made a wise and wonderful purchase.

Thankfully, when Tim walked down the hallway with the large stud horse following behind, there was no uprising amongst the other occupants of the large barn. As Tim looked around for the first time that day, he could see there weren’t many horses in the stalls, not full as it had been the day before when he was helping. He turned to Josh and spun his finger. “What gives? Where’s everybody else?”

Uncle Josh chuckled. “You’re bringin’ a huge stud horse in here and some of the boarder mares are in season. I don’t want him takin’ down my barn to get to ‘em.” His uncle wore his usual smart-ass grin.

“Shit, am I going to have to worry about that with Josie?” Tim asked, not having thought about the female donkey who would be residing at the Circle C after the holidays. He’d considered the stalls in Matt’s barn, and they weren’t bad. They were solid, but if the stallion really wanted out, he doubted the cedar boards would contain him.

“Since you brought it up, I’ll just tell ya. In the future, itwillbe a problem, but that stallion can spend a lot of time out in the pasture over the winter if he has a blanket on him. He’ll grow his winter hair, and he won’t give a shit about the cattle.

“Now, when it gets icy, Matt needs to bring him inside, so he doesn’t fall and break a leg. Just keep Josie at one end of the barn and Charlie at the other or take her up to Marty’s for a few days when she’s in season. She gives off a different scent, and she’s too small to breed to that stud. It should be fine, son,” the wiser man explained.

Tim looked at Uncle Josh and took a deep breath. “Did I make a mistake buying Charlie for Matt? I mean, if he and Ryan can’t go riding together, why’d I buy him the horse?” At that point, he felt totally defeated about his Christmas surprise, but he’d madehis bed, and it was time to lie in the damn thing. Josh didn’t offer him an answer about making a mistake before Stan and he left the barn to go to the house for coffee. It only made Tim feel worse.

After Stan Hanson left the Katydid, Tim walked down the hallway of the barn to stall number three where Ebony Prince Charles seemed to be getting acclimated to his new surroundings. The stall was much larger than the one at Stan’s farm. Tim was happy the horse seemed to be at ease with his new digs.

“I know you’re a big stud, but so is my boyfriend, which is why I thought the two of you would be well-suited. I didn’t take into consideration the fact you’re used to getting lucky on a regular basis but that won’t be happening too much for you in the future unless I can come up with an idea to find you a little company. I suppose I didn’t think things through very well.” Tim felt like a total failure about finding the appropriate gift for the man he loved.

Tim jumped when he felt a hand on his back, turning to see Mickey Warren standing beside him. “He’s a prime piece of horseflesh, that stallion. I’d bet Matt Collins would be thrilled to have such a fine animal to ride.” Mickey joined Tim at the stall door.

They could see Charlie was perfectly calm as he grazed on the hay Mickey had left for the horse earlier. He took a drink from the water fountain mounted in the stall before he lazily walked over to the door, hooking his head over the top and snorting at the two of them.

“Dude, that’s just gross,” Mickey teased as he wiped the snot off his jacket onto Tim’s coat.

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