Page 36 of For the Love of the Bull Rider

“Cause Gramma Jeri’s already called and said you should call her before we go to Miss Katie’s so we can stop at the store if they need stuff. I liked sleepin’ here with you and Daddy. He made coffee ‘fore he went to the barn. He said we should come down and tell him what time to be at Miss Katie’s house ‘fore we leave.” Ryan grinned, obviously proud of his delivery of the information.

Tim noticed the boy was dressed in jeans and a cowboy shirt, though his snaps weren’t lined up quite right and the sleeves appeared to be a little short. “We need to get you some new clothes, Ryan. You’re growing like a weed.”

Tim hopped up, adjusting his sweats to hide the inevitable morning wood. Thankfully, Ryan was too busy putting the cushions back on the couch to notice.

“I’ll be right back.” Tim hurried down the hallway to shower before they went to help with the Thanksgiving meal at the Katydid.

It took a while for the hard-on to go away because Tim couldn’t resist thinking about Matt’s body pressed against his as they slept. Of course, those lascivious thoughts didn’t help settle things between his legs. As tempting as it was to fantasize about Matt taking him again, Tim knew there was a little boy waiting for him to finish up so they could go to the farm.

After Tim was dressed in a nice pair of jeans and Matt’s sweatshirt since he’d forgotten to bring a dress shirt with him when he packed at the farm, he called Jeri to see if they needed anything from the store.

Luckily, they didn’t, so Ryan and Tim bundled up against the early morning chill and walked down to the barn with two egg, bacon, and cheese sandwiches. The two of them had eaten at the house, but Tim knew Matt hadn’t eaten anything. He wanted to make sure the man had something to tide him over until the big meal later in the day.

The cowboys were out in the pasture supplementing the leftover grass with feed pellets, but Matt was in the barn on his cell phone. Tim smiled to himself, remembering how hard it was to talk the bull rider into getting the damn thing in the first place. Was it sewed onto his head now?

Matt ended the call as he walked over to the duo, picking up Ryan and kissing his forehead before he leaned down and kissed Tim in the same spot. “How are my guys this mornin’? I liked that sleepin’ on the floor together thing, but I think we oughta get some thick pads before we do it again. Maybe we should plan it for Christmas Eve?”

Tim and Ryan nodded in agreement. It was a great idea.

Matt grinned. “I don’t think we can do it on Christmas Eve. Santa needs a clear path to the tree, but Christmas night, we can sleep on the floor, make a fire, and camp again. I like that idea.” Matt’s bright smile had Tim’s heart fluttering.

“Here’s breakfast.” Tim handed Matt the two wrapped sandwiches. “We’re headed to Aunt Katie’s, so keep your phone with you. I’ll call when I have a handle on what time you all should come for dinner. I’m going to guess about four, but it’s only a guess. I love you.” Tim stood on tiptoes and kissed the bull rider’s lips chastely.

Ryan giggled, which made the two men smile as they pulled away from each other. Matt leaned forward and pulled off the Redskins cap on Ryan’s head, ruffling his curls before he kissed his head. “I love ya both, and I’ll see y’all later.”

Tim and Ryan left the barn, hurrying to the little red truck just as the sky began to weep. Tim buckled him into the booster that had become a fixture. “I’m glad we’ll be inside today.”

Tim squeezed Ryan’s arm before he closed the truck door. The two headed down SR-131 toward Aunt Katie’s house. The weather was turning out to be shitty just as it began to rain harder, just as the weatherman had predicted.

An hour later, Ryan was kneeling in a chair at the kitchen table with a pair of safety scissors, cutting out pumpkin shapes from the construction paper Jeri photocopied for place cards. Tim and Josh had added four leaves to the dining room table, along with a card table in the family room for the kids.

Aunt Katie had DVDs to keep the little ones occupied, and both women seemed optimistic the kids would be fine away from the adults for the meal. Tim wasn’t so sure, but it was his first Thanksgiving with a group of that size.

When he was in college, he usually ignored holidays in favor of schoolwork or a job. Tim didn’t go to Holloway very often, much to his aunt and uncle’s displeasure. Based on the phone calls he received before, during, and after a holiday, they wanted him close by.

“What’d that blonde want yesterday?” Aunt Katie asked as she and Jeri busied themselves with their pies.

Tim was chopping vegetables for the dressing, or so he was told. He noticed the women didn’t have recipe cards, just orders for him and Ryan.

Tim was learning to follow their instructions because it saved an argument. He suspected it was the same reason Ryan was quietly cutting out shapes on the construction paper. The boy seemed to have learned quicker than Tim not to question the women.

“What blonde?” Tim’s attempt to evade the question was futile, he knew, but he wasn’t ready to announce his business with Ronni Turnberry. He suspected that he wasn’t going to be able to snow his Aunt Katie with a bullshit excuse for very long.

“Don’t play stupid, Timothy. The little blonde in the tan suit who had Hank Sachs nearly tripping over his tongue when she followed him down to the barn. I saw her pull up the drive as I was cleanin’ the turkey.” Oh, Aunt Katie wasn’t holding back.

Tim glanced up from his task to see Ryan and Jeri were now staring at him too, so he decided to be honest. Sort of. “She stopped by to tell me I’m a millionaire.”

Aunt Katie looked at him and scoffed. “You’re so full of sh… birdseed. Fine, don’t tell me. If Joshua thinks he’s gonna hire some fancy interior decorator to come in and redesign mykitchen while he sends me to Florida to see my cousin, Freda, he’s crazy.

“This kitchen doesn’t get redone without my input, and I don’t wanna go to Florida. You tell him that, Timothy. He’s been threatenin’ it for a couple of years, but now that you’re here, I’m afraid he’ll live up to his promise.” Aunt Katie wiped her arm over her forehead to move the loose hair out of the way.

“Okay, Aunt Katie. I’ll tell him.”

Of course, Tim had another idea he wanted to follow up on. He simply had to figure out how to achieve his goal.

Tim stopped listening to their gossip session as he continued to make a list in his head. The way he figured it, he had a lot to do in a short amount of time.

If he was going to give Ronni any credence with her claims regarding the inheritance, he knew he wanted to use the money for good things. For folks who deserved them most.

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