Page 63 of For the Love of the Bull Rider

He didn’t dislike Jon Wells, but he felt the man deserved some of the blame for the agony he and Tim had endured while they tried to find Ryan. It was time to do something about it once and for all.

As he made himself a cup of coffee from the fancy machine, Matt heard the delightful giggle of his son. “Stop, Corky. My feet are ticklish.”

Matt laughed as he filled the side tank on the coffee maker with more water and put in a small foil-covered cup to fix a coffee for the man he loved. He continued to listen to Ryan laughing, which was a fucking great sound to hear, considering Matt, at one point, wasn’t sure he’d ever hear it again.

As he’d told Ryan about Tim more than once, the sound made his heart happy.

After Tim’s coffee finished, Matt made hot chocolate for Ryan. He went to the cookie jar his mother had put on his counter and pulled out a handful of sugar cookies, putting them on a plate. He grabbed a big baking pan to use as a tray, putting the mugs and the cookies on top to carry them into the living room.

He saw Ryan and the dog snuggled together with Tim watching the two of them as they appeared to be dozing.

Matt smiled. “Merry Christmas, baby.” He sat, juggling the pan. He held it out for Tim, who sat up to take his cup of coffee and a cookie.

Suddenly, Ryan’s eyes popped open. “Is that hot chocolate I smell?”

“Yeah, but before you get it, go to the john and then get your dog some water. I’m gonna call Papa Marty to pick up some dog food for Corky. We fed him ham last night, but he can’t eat a steady diet of it. We’ll get him a proper bed and stuff on Monday, so he doesn’t have to stay in the box.

“When you take him out to do his business—and he isyourdog so you’re gonna be responsible for him—you need to put him on a leash until we can get a different kind of fence around the back yard so he can’t get to the cow pasture. The cows would step on him and hurt him. We also need to get him an appointment with Doc Grant to check him out. I’ll call on Monday. Now, scoot. The grandparents will be here at nine.”

Ryan gave him and Tim smacking kisses on their cheeks before he ran up the stairs with Corky stumbling up behind him. Matt scooted into the fort next to Tim and kissed his cheek. “How’d you sleep?”

Tim yawned and smiled. “Okay, but we gotta get those damn sleep pads. This hardwood is hell on the back.”

Matt thought for a minute and decided to pursue a line of questioning he never imagined he’d consider. “Would you rather have carpet in here? I mean, we can get carpet if you want, or do you wanna redo the whole place? We can paint or put new tile in the kitchen. We can get new furniture, too, Tim. Whatever you want.

“I want this to be a home you want to come hometo. I love you, Timmy, and I want you to live here with us. Please, move in.”

It wasn’t really in Matt’s DNA to beg for anything because he was used to being an alpha male where things came easily to him. Recent events taught him it was smart to appreciate the people in his life, and after all, Tim had come through for him in spades more often than Matt could have ever anticipated.

The shit he did to bring Ryan home was beyond Matt’s comprehension, but he knew Tim loved the boy as much as he, and Matt wanted the three of them to share their lives. It wasMatt’sChristmas wish.

“Keep your eyes closed,” Matt told Ryan as he carried the boy down to the barn on his shoulders. They’d left the dog in the laundry room for a few minutes because he’d likely scare the horses, who were already trying to adjust to their new home. Matt knew Corky would have to get used to the animals on the ranch, but that would come with time. Right now, it was the moment for great surprises.

“Where we goin’?” Ryan asked, excitement evident in his voice as he held his hands over his face as he’d promised.

“Don’t you worry about it. Just keep your eyes closed. Santa made a special trip to deliver your gift last night, so let’s be grateful.”

Tim looped his hand through Matt’s crooked elbow as the three walked up to the barn. Tim opened the door and glanced in, turning to smile at Matt and Ryan.

They all walked into the barn, and Matt stopped in front of Josie’s new stall. He reached up and took Ryan down from his shoulders, holding him against his hip. He saw the boy’s nose wrinkling as he sniffed, and he was pretty sure Ryan was onto the surprise, so Matt said, “Open ‘em.”

Ryan dropped his hands and climbed from Matt’s arms onto the gate to see the little female donkey inside with a red and green bow tied around her neck. She was eating from a grain bin Matt had hung low on the stall wall. Ryan looked at Matt and Tim, and then back to Josie as if he didn’t believe it was true.

“Oh, Daddy!” he gasped as he threw himself back into Matt’s arms and hugged him tightly. Matt felt tears on his neck, and he gave a watery smile of his own. It was exactly as he hoped it would be.

They all heard a snort behind them, so they turned to see the huge stallion Matt wasn’t supposed to know about. “What the hell is… Where’d that come from?” Matt tried hard to keep a curious look on his face.

“Surprise?”

Tim’s half-hearted response was nervous as the three of them stepped over to the stall. The stallion walked over to Tim and swung its head over the side of the gate, whinnying softly as Tim stroked his head.

“Matty, this is Ebony Prince Charles. I’ve been calling him Charlie, but you can call him anything you want. He’s a Kentucky Saddler, and Uncle Josh says he’s an amazing ride. I haven’t ridden him yet because he’s yours. Merry Christmas.”

Ryan looked at Matt and grinned, announcing, “We both got horses, Daddy. This is the best Christmasever!” Matt had to agree.

The rest of the day was full of surprises for the family. Somewhere along the way, Tim had the foresight to ask Aunt Katie to drop off the gifts for Cindy and Rocky Whipple on Christmas morning. She took footage on her cell phone and showed it to them later that afternoon.

Rocky opened the front door, running back inside, and returning with his mother, who started to cry as she saw the red, crushed-velvet bag. There weren’t many dry eyes among the group as they all watched the scene unfold on the cell phone screen.

---