1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Tim Moran stood in the aisle of Southern States Farm Supply looking at a whole lot of buckets when he felt a tug on the hem of his T-shirt. He turned to see no one standing next to him, so he continued weighing the merits of the five-gallon feed bucket versus the shorter, rounder, five-gallon grain bin. His Uncle Josh had sent him to the store with the farm credit card and a list. Unfortunately, Josh wasn't one to provide many details, so Tim wasn't sure what the hell he was supposed to choose.

He felt another tug to his T-shirt and a pinch to his thigh, causing him to glance down to see a little boy—six, maybe—dressed in full cowboy gear, right down to the ten-gallon hat. "Whatcha doin'?" the boy asked, his cute face showing confusion.

"I'm looking at buckets for my uncle. What are you doing?" Tim asked, smiling at the adorable little boy.

"Lookin' for my daddy. Are you lost, too?" the boy asked.

Tim must have had a stupid look on his face even a child could recognize as a clear sign he was out of his element. Though, he doubted the boy was lost in the same way Tim was lost.

He couldn't hold the chuckle. "Yeah, but for a very different reason, I'm sure. Let's go to the service desk and have them page your father."

" Ryan Earl!" The boy turned to the sound of the shouting, so Tim followed his line of sight, seeing a bona fide stud of a cowboy spinning nervously at the end of the aisle, clearly searching for someone.

The man was tall, dark, and handsome with broad shoulders and muscular thighs that were almost busting out of the Wranglers he was wearing. There was an old wheat-colored, straw cowboy hat tipped back on his head, and as Tim continued to scan his body and enjoy the view, it ended with a pair of beat-up cowboy boots. His ensemble was a sure sign the man didn't play at being a cowboy. He was the real deal.

Of course, Tim's dick got hard… well, as hard as it was going to get in the jeans he was wearing. He was adorned in hand-me-downs from his late cousin, Shane, who had been in the Marine Corp.

Tim was eight years younger than Shane and a lot shorter than his cousin in the pictures that hung on the walls of his aunt and uncle's home. Those pictures of Shane were from when he'd finished boot camp, having traded his cowboy clothes for camo gear. Thankfully, Shane's clothes from middle school fit Tim well—and he was damn grateful to have them.

When Shane was killed in Baghdad, it hit Tim's aunt and uncle hard, but every time he wore one of Shane's shirts, his Aunt Katie would smile and hug him tightly as if she was hugging her son again. It made Tim somewhat uncomfortable, but he'd never say a word because he loved her and owed her more than he could ever repay.

"Over here, Daddy!" the boy yelled back, waving his small hand in the air. Tim heard a faint, "crap," guessing the boy next to him might be the Ryan Earl in question. Tim stared at the attractive brunet barreling toward them and observed the man appeared extremely worried and somewhat pissed off.

"I told you to stay by the water fountain while I went to the men's room. I came out, and you were gone." The man knelt in front of the boy, pulling him into his arms so forcefully, the boy's little cowboy hat fell off.

"Daddy, I was there like you said, but then Tommy Morrow came in with his dad, and we was talkin' about the horse show tomorrow. He needed me to help him pick out new spurs, and when I got back to the water fountain, the bathroom door was open, and you was gone."

The man reached up to dry his eyes with the back of his hands, which surprised Tim, but who was he to judge? He didn't have kids, but if he were in the cowboy's boots, thinking someone had taken the little boy, he'd be worried too.

The man in question picked up the boy's hat and replaced it on his head. "I'm sorry, bud. I worry about ya. I haven't had ya back long enough not to worry yet, okay?"

Ryan nodded and touched the side of his father's face. "I'm okay, Daddy. I missed you while I was gone too."

Tim was cemented to the spot—because he was nosy by nature—and based on their conversation that he was straining to hear, he was intrigued. What had separated the two of them for any significant length of time?

Of course, the cat had his tongue enough that he didn't speak but looking into the sky-blue eyes of the good-looking man in front of him, Tim wasn't surprised that his brain had shut down.

The cowboy stood and took the boy's hand, holding it tightly in his own large one. "I'm Matthew Collins. This is my son, Ryan. Thank you for drawin' his attention so he'd stay in one place where I could find him. You're Josh Simmons' nephew, right? He told me about you the other day when I came over to shoe that bay gelding, Chester, for you to ride," the tall man stated.

Tim swallowed, knowing it was his turn to speak. "Yes, sir. I just got here Wednesday afternoon, myself. I graduated from Penn State, and Aunt Katie and Uncle Josh got me a U-Haul van so I could bring my stuff with me when I moved down. I didn't have much because my apartment was furnished, so it was just my clothes and books and stuff. I'm here this summer to help Uncle Josh at the farm while I start my job search." Tim was babbling nervously, certain he was making an ass of himself, but finding it very hard to shut up.

The cowboy chuckled. "I'm not really old enough to be a sir . What'd you study in college?" The lopsided grin on the man's handsome face was nearly more than Tim could handle.

"Computer programming and network security." Tim's was surprised he'd been able to answer because he was mesmerized by the man.

The cowboy's grin grew into a full-size smile, which nearly brought Tim to his knees. "So, you're a computer genius?"

Tim felt the blush begin at his neck and work its way north. "I don't know if I'd say that, but I can hold my own, I guess. I'm at the Katydid to help Uncle Josh modernize his operations. I'm here because this is where he shops and aside from getting everything on this list, I need an idea of the things he uses so I can set up an automatic inventory and order system. Once that's done, he won't have to… Well, it's kind of boring, but I'm excited about helping him. How about you?" Tim was eager to hear more about the handsome man in front of him.

Tim supposed it was his way of torturing himself by asking about the details of the cowboy's life, but at the end of the day, the man was fucking hot, and Tim was dying of curiosity for any information the guy would volunteer.

"Well, aside from doin' some farrier work for a few close friends, I own a cattle ranch. Instead of college, I chose to ride buckin' bulls, first in the amateur ranks on the rodeo circuit, then on the professional circuit in the Pbr. I retired from it, and I'm settled down with a son, so I breed and sell cattle." Matt placed his hand on the boy's shoulder protectively. The resemblance between the two was uncanny, right down to the blue eyes. Tim genuinely wondered what the mother looked like.

Ryan pulled his dad's hand, so the man leaned down and listened to the boy's whispers. When he was finished, the father smiled and nodded as he stood in front of Tim in all his six-plus-foot glory. "Me and the boy, here, we'd like it if you'd come out to our place sometime. Maybe you could come out and look at the business if you're lookin' to do a little freelancin'. I'm sure you could come up with ideas to update my operation and make it run smoother. If you have the time and any interest, ask Josh to give ya my number. I'd be happy to have ya take a look."

"Uh, sure, Mr. Collins. Maybe next month? I'm still kind of getting settled with Uncle Josh's operation." Tim was overcome with nerves at the prospect of being alone with Matthew Collins. But then again, any red-blooded gay man would feel the same if they got a look at him.

The hot cowboy laughed. "Mr. Collins is my daddy. I'm Matt. I hope to hear from ya when you got the time." He turned to the boy and smiled. "Let's go, Ryan. Tell—I forgot your name." Matt's cheeks turned pink, which only made him more handsome.

Tim stuck out his hand as his late mother had taught him to do since he was a little boy and offered his name. "Timothy Moran." As he shook the man's hand, Matt smiled, and Tim melted. Matt Collins was too gorgeous for Tim's own good.

" Timmy! "

Tim was in a hot barn with a bandana over his mouth and nose because the smell of horse shit made him nauseous. It always had, and he feared it always would.

Every chore on the farm wasn't a cakewalk—especially cleaning the horse stalls. Tim hated cleaning the stalls, though he did it for his Uncle Josh because, truth be told, he'd do anything for the man.

Over the years, Josh had developed a way of talking Tim into doing things he'd never imagined he'd do. This particular thing involved shit—actual horse manure—and cleaning the horse barn just because Josh said it needed to be done.

Tim stuck his head out to see Uncle Josh and Hank, the foreman at Katydid Farm, standing at the end of the barn by the sliding doors. "Yeah?" Tim walked out with a pitchfork full of manure, dumping it into the manure spreader in the hallway.

Cleaning those stalls seemed to show the cowboys on the Katydid that Tim was willing to work alongside them for the betterment of the farm, so they didn't give him any trouble about being Josh's nephew, or so Tim believed. He'd determined before he could get down to business regarding automating the archaic operation, he needed to understand how everything fit together. It meant Tim needed to learn all the jobs, regardless of the unpleasantness. Uncle Josh seemed proud of Tim for taking the bull by the horns, or so he'd heard Josh tell Aunt Katie one night when he was coming downstairs for dinner.

In all honesty, Tim thought himself lucky because it was early summer, and Uncle Josh had about ten head of his own horses out on pasture. It was a breeding/boarding/training/selling operation, and there were only eight in the barn at night. They were board horses, or horses Josh was training, so the hands took extra, special care of them because they supplemented the income at the Katydid, as well as the money made from the sales of the American Quarter Horses Josh bred and trained.

"You ‘bout done?" Uncle Josh asked.

Josh had a white-blond crew cut and lots of freckles from too much sun on his pale skin, along with a crooked nose from too many face-plants from the back of a rank horse. That being said, there was no denying Josh's caring disposition made the man someone that everyone wanted to know. He was the kindest person Tim had met in his lifetime. That was something no one would dispute.

Uncle Josh… Well, he and Aunt Kathleen were exceptional people. They didn't give a shit about the fact Tim liked boys, and Aunt Katie had tried to find him guys to date the few times he'd visited during college, even though he begged her to let it go.

Eventually, she gave up, and Tim was genuinely grateful. Being at their place in Holloway became his haven. They took him in after hell broke loose with his folks, and they let him know every day he was loved and a part of their family.

"Just about finished. What's next?" Tim was ready for anything Uncle Josh had to throw at him, especially since the man had saved him from his father who wanted to beat Tim to death because of his sexuality.

His dad, Harold Moran, had beaten the crap out of Tim before his mom, Sherry, returned home from work. After she saw the damage done to her son that night, she called her brother, Josh Simmons, who drove from Holloway to Pittsburgh to help them. Josh also made sure Sherry got the hell away from her abusive bastard of a husband for all the good it had done.

"Matt Collins called your Aunt Katie. He's havin' trouble with his computer, and he asked if you'd be able to come over and take a look. Claims you two ran into each other at the feed store."

Tim had mentioned meeting the man the afternoon when he'd returned to the farm. He'd tried to be nonchalant about it, ignoring the fact that he'd been jacking off to the memory of meeting Matt Collins for weeks. He was so damn good-looking that Tim couldn't help himself.

Before swallowing his tongue, Tim coughed to buy a little time. "Sure. It's probably nothing." He finished filling the spreader without looking up for fear of giving away the excitement at Matt Collins' call for Tim's help. It wasn't Tim's job to empty it, so he didn't waste time in the barn once it was done.

"Where does he live?" Tim followed Uncle Josh toward the house. He sure as hell needed a shower because he smelled as ripe as the barn, but Tim wanted to hurry so he could see the handsome cowboy again.

He was trying his damnedest to play it cool because he didn't want Uncle Josh to know he was infatuated with the hot bull rider, but it wasn't easy. Acting like a giddy fanboy was going to give him away pretty damn quick.

Josh gave Tim the directions and sent him to the house to get cleaned up so he could head over to the Collins' place. After Tim dressed in Shane's jeans and a shirt with snaps up the front and on the pockets, he pulled on the pair of boots bought with his first paycheck at the Katydid. The boots weren't fancy, but they were becoming more comfortable with every wear.

Tim combed his blond, wavy hair, making a note to get it cut soon, and splashed on a little of the aftershave his aunt had bought for him one birthday. As he looked in the mirror, he was grateful he had his mother's hazel eyes and looked nothing like his worthless father.

If he had to look into a mirror and see the man's face every day, Tim wasn't sure how he'd have survived after the evil bastard had killed his mother. The nightmare was never too far from his mind, but he no longer cried out in the middle of the night. It was definitely a sign of progress.

Tim walked downstairs into the kitchen to get a drink of water, surprised to see Aunt Katie at the counter, wrapping a pie. He judged it was apple, based on the amazing smells in the room. She looked up and smiled brightly at him as she usually did when Tim walked into a room where she was busy.

"Take this with you, please? Little Ryan likes apple pie, and I made two of them today. Sit for a minute, will ya, hun?"

Tim couldn't turn down Aunt Katie for anything either. She'd been so unbelievable to him when he didn't have family left. In his mind, the universe brought Katie Simmons into his life to keep him from wasting it because Tim was headed down the road to just give up.

He'd sincerely thought he had no reason to really exist, so Tim considered ending his life. After Kathleen Simmons got ahold of him and took him into her home, any thoughts he'd had of an early out fled.

Katie had encouraged him to go to college to make something of himself. Tim speculated she'd likely have tanned his dead hide if he followed through on his death wish, so he backed off those thoughts and buckled down in school to make her and his uncle proud.

"Sure. What can I do for you?" Tim asked her.

Kathleen Simmons was a beautiful woman, not looking her age at all. She had dark auburn hair, attributed to her O'Hare heritage. Katie had bright, green eyes and was a little round, but Uncle Josh loved her like the stars loved the moon. It showed on his face when she walked into his line of sight.

He'd get a smile, and he'd walk over to her, regardless of when or where they were. He'd pull her into his strong arms and kiss her like they'd been apart for years. She'd eventually pull away, breathless, and she'd giggle and gently slap his chest. It gave Tim comfort to see people who actually loved each other demonstrate it. It hadn't happened in his own family.

In fact, it had been quite the opposite. After Sherry and Tim relocated to New Jersey for his senior year of high school, Sherry filed for divorce. For a while, things were calm, and Tim and his mother had a decent life in Trenton.

Unfortunately, Tim's dad tracked her down after he was served with the divorce papers and acted out a murder/suicide scenario, though not successfully. Sherry was dead, but his father was in a coma.

At the end of the day, Tim's grandmother, Joanne, was the one to pull the plug on the son she didn't like. Of course, she was less than happy to find out her grandson was queer after her son was dead, so Tim was nothing to her. He didn't want anything to do with the bitter old woman either.

"Before you go over to the Collins' place, I should give you a little background. Matthew is one of the most sought-after bachelors in the county. Unfortunately, he has some baggage that puts him off the idea of any kind of relationship, I suspect. After Matt graduated high school, he started ridin' bulls full-time during the season. He'd done the amateur circuit during high school, and he was good at the task, so he advanced to the professional ranks after a few years, and he did well for such a tall guy, or so Josh tells me.

"Matt started seein' a girl from town when he was home after his third season in the pros. He'd done well over the years, but he was yet to rank above the top fifteen in the world, so he wasn't exactly famous. However, Matthew was on his way to becoming a world champion in the not too distant future, and he was only twenty-four.

"The girl's name was Bertie Stanford. She was fresh outta high school and worked as a waitress at Pete's Place. The girl had always been bad news from what I heard around town, though I try not to listen to gossip too much, Jeri, Matt's momma, didn't have any kind words for her .

"When Matt came back to recuperate after he broke his arm on a devil bull that season, Bertie saw her shot at hookin' up with a cowboy— permanently . In the process, she got pregnant and demanded that he marry her."

Tim got it. Matt was straight. It wasn't a surprise.

Katie continued. "Matt, bein' the kind of man he is, did the honorable thing and married her, even though we all speculated he didn't love her. He bought ‘em a place outside of town with a cute white farmhouse and a fair piece of land, and in the off-season, Matt apprenticed with Old Ed Marshall, the blacksmith back then. When rodeo season came around again, Matt went back to bull ridin' and left Bertie at home to have the baby with his mother lookin' after her.

"Long story short—when Ryan was three, Matt quit the circuit because Bertie complained about bein' a single mom. She got mad at him because his quittin' wasn't what she had in mind. She wanted to go on the circuit with him and leave Ryan with Matt's momma. It was more important to him that the boy should have a normal life with a mother and father at home, so Matt quit rodeo. Bertie didn't take it well, so to punish Matt for spoilin' her dream of bein' a buckle bunny, she took Ryan and ran off. Matt looked for the two of ‘em for three years."

Tim was surprised someone would go to such lengths as to take away a child to punish their spouse for a change of vocation, but Matt's comment at the co-op about just getting Ryan back made more sense.

"She'd call Matt demanding money, and he'd send it every time, but she never stayed in one place long enough for him to find her. All he wanted was that little boy. She finally brought the boy home six months ago for no reason anyone's ever heard, and Matt gave her divorce papers. Supposedly, Matt wrote her a big check to sign ‘em, and she left town after the papers were filed. As far as I know, nobody's seen or heard a thing from her since." Aunt Katie stopped to take a breath.

She took Tim's hand and squeezed it as she looked into his eyes. "Son, Matthew was hurtin' somthin' awful until that little boy was safe at home. He's a good man, sweetie, but he's in a mess right now as he's tryin' to figure out a life for the two of ‘em."

Tim took a deep breath. "Aunt Katie, I'm not going to corrupt the hometown hero, I swear. I'll go over and try to figure out his computer problem, and I'll be home for supper."

She smiled and laughed. "I'll keep you a plate."

With that, she left him alone. Tim had no idea what the hell she thought he was going to do with Matt Collins, but Tim wasn't one to hold out the vain hope he would be bumping into Matt at a local gay bar—if there was such a thing. The bull rider was hot, and Tim didn't believe that the man would give him the time of day, even with the baggage Aunt Katie had just explained. Matt had a computer-related problem, and Tim was a techie. Nothing more, nothing less.