11. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

"So, how long you been with Matt?" Tim was helping Mickey clean stalls at the Katydid. He was coming to like Mickey, thrilled that Uncle Josh had hired the cowboy after he spoke to Mr. Kessler in Kentucky and received a glowing recommendation.

In the spirit of being overly cautious, Tim had run a background check on the nomadic cowboy too, but he'd asked the guy's permission first, so he didn't feel like he was being underhanded about it. Mickey had agreed with an easy, lopsided grin, saying he understood how careful ranchers had to be in this day and age.

Not surprisingly, Aunt Katie had insisted Mickey take the bedroom next to Tim's because she felt bad for him not having a family of his own. Tim wanted to laugh when she explained herself. He'd known the guy wouldn't be camping in that beat-up truck as Mickey had suggested when he'd first arrived at the farm.

"Not too long. I came home when I finished college, and that's when I met Matt." Tim stepped out of a stall and dumped the dirty sawdust into the wagon parked in the barn hallway.

Uncle Josh was predictable in the way he trained hands at the Katydid. Everyone started at the bottom—cleaning horse shit from the barn—all the while learning how to calculate the amount of straw and sawdust needed for the bedding, along with hay and feed for the horses boarded there.

It wasn't easy work, but it was easily learned. Tim still helped out when he could in the morning before he went to the Circle C to continue the work he was doing there. His life was coasting along, and for the most part, he supposed it was pretty damn good. Well, on certain days, it was really damn good.

"So, you must make a lot of money between the two jobs." Tim gave Mickey a quick explanation of the work he did at the Circle C for Matt along with his job for Uncle Josh. Of course, he laughed at the absurdity of Mickey's statement regarding his net worth. In the words of his mother, Tim didn't have a pot to piss in, nor a window to throw it out.

Tim surmised the young cowboy was inquisitive and trying to learn the dynamics at the Katydid. He wasn't malicious with his inquiries, but Tim sensed there was something else behind his questions that day.

"Here, I work for room and board. At the Circle C, I haven't exactly figured out any kind of salary because Matt's my boyfriend." Tim's explanation made him sound like a sucker but explaining his financial situation to Mickey—especially when Tim hadn't figured it out himself—wasn't exactly on his agenda that day.

Mickey seemed to consider Tim's comments for a moment before he spoke. "Well, he sure has a sweet deal, if you ask me. I mean, you're workin' your ass off to fix him up with a first-rate operation, and he doesn't pay you anything? On top of that, he gets to fuck ya too? Damn, that's a nice setup… or so it sounds from Matt's place at the table."

At Mickey's comment, Tim felt even more as though he needed to defend himself. Mickey's assessment of the situation somewhat chapped his ass.

"It's not like that, Mickey. Matt and I are in a relationship, and I'm trying to help him reach the level of success he deserves. Hell, he earned it before I came along, but now that I'm in his life, I'm gonna do everything I can to help him make the most of his operation because I have a stake in the game, okay? It's really none of your business. When are you bringing your boyfriend up?"

Guilt swamped Tim as he shifted the subject matter to Mickey's life. It didn't seem right to discuss something with a stranger that he was yet to discuss with Matt.

When Mickey slammed the pitchfork into the wooden wall of the stall where Josie resided, Tim jumped as if he'd been shot at. It sent the jenny into a startled fit at the shock of the sound.

"What the fuck, man?"

Mickey picked up the pitchfork, propping it against the wall before he turned to Tim. "I called him last night… The night before… The night before that… And the night before that . He's not answering, so I guess he couldn't wait for me to find a place for us. I'm sorry I'm a prick. I loved Jackie so much, but I guess I was the only one in love."

Tim understood the man's behavior. He was doubting his partner, and that had to be a damn hard pill to swallow. Tim started to answer, but Mickey held up his finger.

"Make sure it's not that way for you, Tim. It happens too fast in a relationship—one minute they love ya, and the next, they're gone without a fucking word." Mickey quietly pushed the wheelbarrow out the back door of the barn to the manure spreader, loading it to spread later that afternoon.

Tim started spreading new bedding around the stall so they could bring Ruby inside. He felt bad for Mickey because it was a shit place to be, losing someone you loved because they lost faith in you too quickly.

Fortunately, Tim didn't have the frame of reference to understand the man's position, and he prayed to God he never would. He could, however, empathize with Mickey's obvious pain.

Tim hoped Mickey would find a new guy to be happy with in the near future. Nobody should walk through life alone.

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, things were bustling around the Katydid. It had been unseasonably warm in southern Virginia, but as everyone knew, the weather could turn on a dime.

The inhabitants of the farm needed to be ready to provide a warm place for the horses, especially the mares who were set to foal in the spring, at a moment's notice. Everyone pitched in to ensure they were ready for the unpredictability that could suddenly occur.

Tim had been scrubbing the oiled canvas stable blankets they used on the horses in preparation for when the weather turned. He was wet and felt disgusting from the sweat he'd worked up, so after he had them spread on the fence that enclosed the round pen outside so they could dry, he walked up to the house and straight to his room.

Grabbing his cell from the dresser, Tim called Matt, who answered on the second ring. "Hey, whiz kid. You done with chores?"

Tim exhaled a troubled breath. "You love me?"

The need to get reassurance from the bull rider that he felt the same way was coursing through Tim for reasons he couldn't pinpoint. He guessed it was because he'd been watching Mickey moping around the farm for the last few weeks after he told Tim about his breakup, and Tim guessed seeing how heartbroken the cowboy appeared to be had taken a toll on his confidence in his own relationship with Matt.

Mickey had been so certain of Jackie's love when he first arrived at the farm, it was hard to watch the poor guy fall apart when it ended. It didn't help that Tim had been so busy at the Katydid and wasn't spending as much time with Matt and Ryan.

Matt had more help at his ranch than Uncle Josh did at the farm, so Tim had been working more from the Katydid as was needed. He missed seeing Matt during the day as he'd become accustomed when he worked at the Circle C.

Matt hummed in response and Tim grinned. He'd learned the big bull rider made the noise when he was trying to figure out the right thing to say because, as Tim came to know, Matt was as much a newbie at a romantic relationship as him, regardless of the fact Matt had been married to that ' wretched woman, ' as Tim called her in his head.

"Hell yeah, I do. Why don't you pack your shit, Timmy? Move here with Ryan and me. I know you love your aunt and uncle, but we need you here with us because you're a part of our family, too. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone other than my son," Matt whispered over the phone.

Tim took a breath and exhaled as a sense of relief encompassed him. It was everything he needed to hear. "I'll be over after I get cleaned up, and we'll talk about it, okay? I don't want Ryan to think I'm… I don't know how we explain us to him, Matt. I wanna be with you so much, but I don't want to traumatize the boy. He's so damn great." The lump in Tim's throat proved to him he was all in with Matt, and Ryan was a fantastic addition.

When Matt laughed, it caught Tim by surprise. "Aw, now darlin', the boy ain't stupid. Just come over. We'll all talk about it, and I'm pretty sure he'll explain it to us ."

An hour later, Tim drove up the driveway of the Circle C and parked next to Matt's large truck. He hopped out of his red work truck, walking to the front of the house and ringing the bell. When Ryan opened the door, he greeted Tim with a bright smile on his cute face.

It reminded Tim that he wanted to ask Miss Jeri to show him pictures of Matt when he was a little boy. "You got a key, don'tcha? You're movin' in, or so Daddy told me. Why the heck would ya ring the bell?"

Tim picked Ryan up and tossed the boy over his shoulder as they headed into the house, both laughing. " SHHH!" Tim turned to see Matt on the phone in the living room, so the two of them stopped talking.

He carried Ryan into the kitchen, placing the boy on the counter. "Can I have a soda? Daddy said there's beer in there." Tim glanced into the living room, seeing the big cowboy nod as he headed down the hallway toward the bedroom.

Tim retrieved two beers before he picked up a can of root beer to open for Ryan. He poured it into a glass, contemplating the fact the young boy seemed completely unaffected by the prospect of Tim moving in. He sat down on a stool at the counter next to the little cowboy, watching as Matt returned and paced around the family room uttering only " uh-huhs."

When the bull rider looked at Tim, the exasperation was evident. Tim took a deep breath because he really had no idea what was to come, but in his heart, he knew he'd be there for Matt, regardless of the circumstances. He loved the man, after all.

"Who's he talking to?"

Ryan responded between sips of his soda. "Somebody named Janelle Rowland. I can't figure out what the hell they're talkin' ‘bout." Tim hid the smirk at the boy's slip.

"Now, let's watch the language. Your grandma would have a cow if she heard it." Matt walked down the hallway toward his office again, slamming the door. Trying to avert the boy's attention, Tim asked, "You eat anything?"

Ryan was enthusiastic with his response. "Daddy pulled out some hamburgers Gramma Jeri put in the freezer. I know how to start the grill."

Tim hauled Ryan off the counter to follow him outside to the deck, beer bottle and glass of soda in hand. He noticed a new gas grill in the corner, so he followed Ryan over to it where the little boy pointed to the handle that turned on the gas.

After they had the grill settled to heat up so they could cook the burgers, Tim turned to Ryan. "So, you want me to move in? Why?"

Ryan studied him for a few moments before he answered. The boy sat down in one of the chairs set around a black iron and glass table, smiling at Tim. "You make my daddy happy, Timmy. He talks about you all the time when you're not around, and if you lived here, maybe he'd talk about other stuff."

"Like what stuff?" Tim was trying like hell to hold the laugh at the boy's comment, and his curiosity got the best of him. He was fascinated with the way the boy's mind worked.

"Like when Josie can come live here." Tim loved the sly look on Ryan's face.

The boy's father often had the same damn look on his face when he'd shove his hand down the back of Tim's jeans as the couple was making out somewhere. The two Collins men were always scheming, as Tim was learning.

"Now, why would Josie want to come live here?"

Ryan giggled a little. "‘Cause I'll love her like my daddy loves you. He told me you make his heart happy, so I figure since Josie makes my heart happy, she should come live here, too."

Tim had to give it to the boy—he had a pretty good command of making an argument for his cause, but knowing the little jenny was a Christmas gift, Tim felt the need to deflate the expectations a little to compound the upcoming surprise.

"Well, I don't think Uncle Josh is ready for Josie to leave the Katydid quite yet. He likes having her around. Maybe in the spring, we can borrow her for a little while? I'll take you over to the farm to ride anytime you want, okay?"

Before Ryan could respond, Matt came out onto the deck with a frustrated look on his face. "I started the grill." Tim watched Matt drain his beer.

Matt took a deep breath and exhaled. He stood with his eyes closed for a minute, finally opening them to gaze at Tim with a tender smile.

"Thanks, babe." He turned to Ryan and walked over to the table, picking up the boy and placing him in his lap.

"That lady I was talkin' to was a lawyer. Your Nana Mona wants you to come live with her. Your mom moved to Canada with some guy named Vic. You ever meet him?"

Tim didn't like the direction the conversation was heading because it sounded like maybe the grandmother was going to fight Matt for custody. If that happened, would having Tim in their lives be detrimental to any legal action the woman might bring?

Tim was well aware of that shit from a friend of his late mother's back in New Jersey. Custody issues were a brutal mess. Nobody came out a winner.

Tim saw the expression on Ryan's face, and it wasn't happiness. "He's mean. When he stayed at the ‘partment, they locked the door to Momma's room, and I had to be quiet and not make any noise. I couldn't even watch cartoons. Nana doesn't like havin' kids around, Momma told me, so we couldn't go to her house. I don't wanna see her, Daddy." The little cowboy laid his head against Matt's chest, crocodile tears gliding down his cheeks, which broke Tim's heart.

Tim stared out into the yard, knowing there was only one right thing to do. "Okay, so let's table any discussion of me moving in for the time being, and let's get some dinner going. I'll search around and find a lawyer—the best one I can because I won't let anyone take you away from your daddy. I have some friends from college who were the kids of lawyers, so I'll start looking there." Tim's appetite diminished at the mere thought of Ryan being taken away from a father who loved him. That was unacceptable in Tim's mind.

Matt kissed the top of Ryan's head and looked at Tim with that lopsided grin. "Timmy, I've got a lawyer outta Richmond. He represented me during the divorce, and he knows all the ins and outs of the situation. I'll call him tomorrow. Now, we ain't gonna let Mona stop you from movin' in with us, are we little man?"

Ryan appeared resigned. "Nope. You belong here, just like Josie."

Tim started laughing at Ryan's relentlessness, feeling the tension leave his body. The boy was certainly entertaining, especially when he was on a mission. "Nice try, kiddo. Let's get the burgers for your dad to grill while you and I make something else to go with ‘em."

Tim finished his beer and rose from his seat. Ryan kissed Matt's cheek and hopped down, grabbing his soda cup to follow Tim inside.

Tim quickly returned with the burgers after he set Ryan to tearing lettuce for a salad. When Tim walked out to the deck, Matt was scrubbing the grill with a wire brush, totally lost in thought.

"You okay?" Tim whispered as he walked up behind Matt after putting the plate of burgers on the nearby table.

Tim wrapped his arms around the bull rider's waist and held him tightly, just absorbing the feel of Matt's muscular body. Holding the man felt so good, Tim hated the thoughts racing through his mind. He truly didn't want to give up the Collins' men, but he would if it was going to cause a problem with the custody of Matt's son. Tim loved Ryan too much to see him jerked away from the father he only just got back.

Matt's large hand clasped over his own, resting on the cowboy's hard abs. "I had a thought about how to diffuse the Mona situation. I really don't think she wants Ryan because she loves him, but I can't say that in front of him. That's his grandma. My gut tells me this is money."

Matt closed the lid on the grill and turned in Tim's arms, resting his forearms on Tim's shoulders and leaning forward to kiss Tim's forehead, nose, and finally, lips. It was like the breath of life had been breathed into Tim.

Pulling Matt closer, Tim tightened his grip on the man to enjoy the closeness while he could. Letting both of them go would kill Tim, but it wasn't really about him. It was about the little cowboy in the kitchen making a salad. It was all about Ryan Earl Collins and the father who loved him.