14. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

" Tim!"

Tim hurried to the hallway in time to see Ryan drop his backpack and take off his fleece jacket. He tossed his baseball cap on the bench by the front door and sat down to remove his sneakers.

"How was school?" Tim picked up the boy's jacket, going through the pockets to pull out the crap little boys kept on them all the time. Keys to nothing, spare change, a small, plastic dinosaur, a green rock, and some sort of animal tooth were placed on the bench. Tim chuckled at the collection. The kid was something else.

"I'm gonna wash your jacket so it's ready for after the break. It's supposed to warm up tomorrow and the weekend, so you won't need it." What Ryan didn't know was that they were planning to take him to DC for the weekend because neither of the men wanted to answer a million questions. He had a dressier jacket Tim was going to insist he wear.

Tim was looking forward to the time away. Hopefully, it would help him get a little perspective he was sorely lacking on the latest bombshell dropped on him earlier that day. Inheriting a fortune was definitely an unexpected surprise... and a possible burden.

"Good. It smells funny," Ryan told him, so like a moron, Tim held the jacket to his nose, wincing because the odor was gag-worthy.

"What the hell is that?" Tim fought to keep his coffee down. He hadn't eaten all day because his stomach was in knots due to the earlier revelations. The smell permeating Ryan's jacket, which was a cross between a rotting animal carcass and a cesspool, was enough to put him off food for the rest of the day.

"My hook and cubbie are next to Rocky Whipple. He hung his coat on top of mine today because one of the other boys took his, and his jacket smells. See, he don't getta take a bath or shower cause they don't got hot water or ‘lectricity sometimes. He said his momma's been too sick to boil water for him to wash so he just washes up a little at school. His momma's got a disease." Ryan explained the situation with a scrunched-up nose.

He smelled his little polo shirt and stuck out his tongue. "My shirt stinks, too."

Tim leaned forward, sniffing the boy, wondering what a sucker he'd turned out to be when the scent of Ryan turned his stomach. "Okay, God. Let's get you a shower and some clean clothes because your dad should be home pretty soon. He had to go to Richmond, but he thought he'd be home before dinner. You have anything we need to worry about for school?" Tim ushered the boy upstairs.

Tim wasn't racing to "officially" move in because of the Mona situation, but he spent a lot of time at the ranch with Matt and Ryan. He'd brought clothes with him for the next day because he wanted to get to the Katydid early and ready for work on the Thanksgiving feast.

Aunt Katie insisted on doing the turkey herself, so he wasn't expected to show up until ten, but he wanted to get there early to watch how she performed the magic. He'd tasted the bird over the years, and he wanted to know the secrets to keeping the bird so damn succulent.

Tim wanted to be able to put satisfying, nutritious meals on the table for Matt and Ryan, and he was certain Aunt Katie and Jeri Collins would give him all the help he needed with that mission.

Tim turned on the shower in Ryan's bathroom and walked to the boy's bedroom where he was stripping off down to his little boy briefs. They were light blue with navy trim. He looked so cute, but Tim knew better than to say anything. Boys at that age were always self-conscious…or Tim remembered being so.

"School work?" Tim put the backpack next to Ryan's desk.

"Nope. I just gotta write in my journal over the vacation. Are we goin' shoppin' on Black Friday?"

Tim chuckled, amazed at the things the boy could come up with without any encouragement at all. "Where'd you hear about Black Friday?" He picked up Ryan's clothes and followed him to the bathroom to check the shower water, so the little cowboy didn't scald himself.

"Miss Blankenship ‘splained it to us today in class. Her momma's comin' to Holloway for Thanksgivin' and they always go to Roanoke for Black Friday. It's a tradition. I'm s'posed to write about traditions in our family for Thanksgivin', but I don't ‘member any because I was little when me and Momma moved away. Last year, we went to a church where they were havin' a dinner for a lot of people we didn't know. Momma said it would be nice to meet new people, but we didn't talk to nobody, really."

Tim was pretty sure Ryan was referring to a shelter, and his heart pounded in his chest. To think that Ryan was having Thanksgiving at a shelter when his father and grandparents would have loved to host him was nearly too much.

"I did getta talk to Santa, and he gave me a candy cane. I told him I wanted to see my daddy for Christmas, and he said he'd try. I didn't get to see him at Christmas, but I gotta see him pretty soon after." Ryan climbed into the shower, pulling the curtain closed. He tossed his little briefs out from behind it and Tim saw the boy's hand reach for the body wash.

"Don't use that on your hair. Use the shampoo." Tim left the room, wiping away a stray tear. He went to the laundry room to put Ryan's jacket into the washer, and as he was walking into the kitchen, Matt's big truck stopped on the driveway.

Walking to the kitchen window, Tim watched the bull rider drive down to the barn and hop out. Danny, the foreman, walked out at the same time, and the two stopped to speak. Tim could see him smiling as Matt explained something, pointing to the little farm truck of Uncle Josh's parked on the driveway by the house. Heaven only knew what they were saying.

Matt shook Danny's hand and waved toward the barn where Tim saw the two part-time hands, Stevie and Carl, walking out as they waved back. They all went their separate ways, and Tim went to the back door to meet Matt, listening to ensure the shower was still running.

When the handsome man walked up on the deck, Tim walked out to greet him in stocking feet. "How was Richmond?" He placed a soft kiss on Matt's cheek.

Matt wrapped his arms around the younger man and held him tightly, taking off his cowboy hat to hook on the deck post. "I missed ya. I shoulda taken ya with me." Matt nuzzled Tim's neck affectionately.

Tim was reminded how tall the man really was when Matt had to bend over to slick his velvet tongue across Tim's neck, caressing the spot that drove him crazy. It nearly paralyzed Tim because he had a hard time imagining Matt was his lover, but the fact remained…he was. Nevertheless, if Tim had gone with him to Richmond, he'd have missed out on Ronni's visit. He wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse; his mind was split, fifty-fifty, on the matter.

"What did your lawyer say?" Tim gently stroked the man's dark, wavy hair, enamored by its softness. He noticed Matt had gotten it cut on the way to meet with his lawyer, and he wished he'd have thought to take Ryan for a haircut the previous weekend. The boy's hair had a little curl to it, so it wasn't totally unruly.

Matt kissed him silly, as he was known to do without much provocation. Their tongues tangled together, and Tim could taste cinnamon from the gum the bull rider liked to chew when he was nervous.

Tim laughed at the man's chomping when he was trying to teach Matt how to use the new software programs that Tim had written to assist with ranch business. The more frustrated Matthew became, the faster he'd chew. Tim thought it was cute.

Matt finally gave Tim a little breathing room and guided him toward the screen door, stopping to take off his dress boots before he went into the house. Matt wasn't a fan of mopping the floors, as Tim had come to learn.

"My lawyer's name is Jonathon Wells in case he calls here. I told him ‘bout the call from the lady lawyer, and he took down all the stuff I could tell him about Janelle Rowland and Mona Stanford. Based on what we were able to find out, I'm gonna need to cancel our trip to DC. I gotta go to El Paso on Friday mornin' with him." Matt looked concerned.

"What the hell is in El Paso?" Tim couldn't for the life of him figure out why Matt had to go to El Paso, but if he did, then he did. Tim just wanted to know his lover wasn't going to get himself into trouble.

Before the bull rider could answer, Ryan came running into the room in sweatpants, a long sleeve T-shirt, and thick socks. He hurled himself at Matt, who scooped him up and kissed his temple. "How was school, little man?"

The two of them chatted while Tim went to clean up the bathroom mess, which wasn't as messy as he thought it would be. Ryan had even stretched out his damp towel over the side of the bathtub to dry before it went into the laundry basket. Regarding them living together, things were heading in the right direction.

Matt built a fire in the fireplace and the three of them roasted hot dogs using the tree switches cut from a white ash in the back yard. After the impromptu campout dinner, they made a pillow fort/bed on the living room floor and listened to music instead of watching television.

Tim read two chapters out loud in the mystery book he and Ryan had been reading together, and the three of them discussed it while they had ice cream with chocolate cookie sprinkles. They all settled down on the floor, insisting it wasn't bedtime, as they watched Ryan trying to hide his yawns.

Ryan turned to his side to look at his father. "Can we go to the mall in Roanoke on Black Friday? I have money I saved from doin' chores at Gramma's house and my ‘lowance. I wanna buy somethin', and I need to see Santa." Ryan was very serious.

Matt moved Ryan to sit on his stomach and motioned his head for Tim to move closer to them. Once the three were settled, Matt looked at his son and smoothed back his curly hair. "You need a haircut, little man. Tell me, what do you need to buy? Do you have your letter for Santa ready so soon?"

The boy shook his head. "I wanna go to a store where they sell warm coats, and I don't need a letter to Santa ‘cause I don't want nothin' this year. I got what I wanted last year. This is for somebody who don't get to go see Santa, Daddy."

Tim remembered the earlier discussion. "Is this about Rocky Whipple?" He took Ryan's hand and held it. Matt turned to look at him with a cocked eyebrow, so Tim knew he needed to explain.

"Ryan has a classmate, Rocky Whipple. It sounds as though his mother's ill, and the family is having a hard time with finances. I don't know them, but I don't know too many people in town. Do you know them?" Tim glanced at Ryan to see his eyes were drooping a little, so he pointed toward the boy.

Matt nodded and pulled Ryan down to his chest to spread out. "I know Cindy Whipple from Bertie. They were in the same class in school. Seems Cindy moved up to Northern Virginia to go to hair dressin' school and ended up in the family way. She moved back after the boy was born and from what I've heard, she's had a hard time ‘cause her folks wouldn't help her out. Rocky's biracial and her parents don't approve, apparently.

"Cindy's stuck around here since she don't know anywhere else to be, kinda like me. I can check on her to see if there's somethin' I can do." Matt glanced down, smiling at Tim when he pointed to the sleeping boy. They situated him between them, tucking him in tightly.

"We don't have to sleep on the floor, do we?" Matt started to get up.

Tim pulled him back down. "Actually, babe, we do. Ryan needs traditions to record in his journal for school, so we're going to make some. We're sleeping in the fort tonight. Tomorrow, I'll take him over to Aunt Katie's to help with Thanksgiving dinner while you and the boys do whatever you've got planned here.

"On Friday, we'll take you to the airport and then go to the mall to shop. Those can be some new traditions, though I hope you don't always have to go to El Paso on the Friday after Thanksgiving." Tim allowed himself to be drawn into the blue eyes which seemed to be able to see into his soul.

"I'm gonna go change then. I'll be right back, okay?" Matt quietly rose from the cozy pillow and blanket fort they'd made with couch cushions, bed pillows, and some homemade quilts. The fire was burning low, but it was just enough light to spread a glow throughout the little house.

After Matt left them, Tim snuggled up closer to Ryan and studied him. He was the most remarkable little person Tim believed he'd ever met, though he hadn't met many. The boy had a heart of gold, and Tim wanted to make sure nobody, and he meant nobody , tainted it. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep the boy from the evils of the world forever, but he'd watch over Ryan Collins and keep him from the dregs of society as long as possible.