15. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Tim woke with a jolt. The house phone was ringing, but it was still dark outside. He prayed it wasn't bad news that made the phone blast off at that hour.

He hurried out of the fort to grab the handset on the end table by the couch. "Circle C." He was surprised to be coherent enough to remember it was Matt's home and not the Katydid.

"Who's this?" The female voice was slurring a little, and it pissed off Tim. Drunk dialing wasn't welcomed at… four o'clock in the morning. Fucking hell!

"Someone who was sleeping soundly before you called. How about you go sleep it off?" He hung up the phone and turned off the ringer in the living room in case the idiot called back.

Tim returned to the comfy, inviting spot they'd created on the floor of the family room and snuggled between Matt, who had moved behind him at some point, and Ryan, who was burrowed into the blankets in front of Tim like a little bug.

The boy looked so damn cute, and as Tim settled into his spot, both of the Collins' men moved toward him. He pulled Ryan into his arms as Matt did the same for Tim, and the smell of the two of them consumed him.

Ryan had that soft, clean, little-boy smell, which put a smile on Tim's face. His Matt smelled of spice and man. It was very comforting.

The next time he woke, Ryan was sitting next to him, slowly poking Tim's forehead. "Why on earth would you do that?" Matt wasn't behind him.

"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 my kitchen 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.

His Christmas list was forming itself in his head without much effort as he continued chopping onions and wiping his eyes. It was gonna be a great year if Tim Moran had any say in the matter.

"Holy… that food was so damn good. Your aunt's an amazin' cook. Momma can hold her own, but Katie seems to add somethin' special to everything. Anyway, I need to put some shit in a suitcase, I guess."

Tim and Matt had tucked Ryan into his bed at the ranch. It had been a long day, but it had been historic. Everyone had a great time, and when Matt said he was grateful for Tim's love for him and his son, nobody at the table fluttered an eyelid. They were accepted, and Tim was beyond grateful.

"When will you be home?" Tim went about unpacking the duffel he'd brought from the farm, placing underwear into the drawer Matt had cleaned out for him.

"I'm prayin' for Saturday, but I'll need to let ya know once I get a handle on things. What're y'all gonna do while I'm gone?" Matt pulled out a few pairs of jeans and a couple of shirts. He started to shove them into a small suitcase before Tim grabbed them.

"I'll pack it, you just get the clothes you want." Matt kissed his lips and went about gathering his things.

Tim packed them into the bag, being mindful of the fact his man wouldn't iron anything, and he had no idea what Matt was going to do in El Paso anyway. It was a lesson in faith, really. Tim knew he had to trust the man he loved. So he did.

"I think Ryan and I might go to the mall in Roanoke. He wants to do some shopping, and he wants to see Santa, remember?"

Matt stopped what he was doing and sat down on the bed, taking Tim's hand between his. "I hate to ask, but can ya hold off on the Santa thing till I get back home? I really wanna be there with him ‘cause this might be the last year he still believes in Santa, plus I need to hear his list. Maybe you can stall him?"

Tim wasn't sure if it was possible to try to stall the boy because he'd talked about it all day, but he knew he'd do what he could. "I'll try. When's his saddle gonna be done? I can pick it up while he's in school and leave it over at the farm. Any news from Uncle Josh about a horse for you?" Tim went back to packing Matt's things. After they finished, Tim and Matt went to bed…naked.

"I'm gonna miss you, Timmy." When the man pushed it inside Tim after a few minutes of direct stimulation, hard cock to hard cock, it felt so incredibly filling, Tim was unable to speak for a few minutes.

Matt seemed to know how to drive Tim crazy with the movement of his hips, and he knew how to graze his cock against Tim's prostate, lighting him up inside.

"I love you." Matt leaned forward to kiss Tim's lips after he hooked his hands over the smaller man's shoulders to anchor him.

It felt so good, Tim couldn't stay quiet. "Oh, fuck, Matty. That feels…" His body got away from him, and before he had a chance to say anything else, Tim shot off between them.

Tim felt the man's cock pulse inside him, and when he leaned forward to kiss Matt, the man's love swept over him. "Fuck, baby, I love bein' inside of ya. It feels better than anything I've ever felt." Matt wasn't usually so forthcoming when they were together, but that night, he was giving Tim all the love he needed.

Matt made love to him again later that night after the pair had slept for a couple of hours. He kissed Tim like they might never see each other again as his thick cock breached Tim's entrance and grazed his prostate, causing him to climax as it hit him like a freight train.

Tim craved the feeling of Matt's hard muscles under his fingers as he wrapped his arms around the bull rider's broad shoulders. The man held him gently and continued to shower Tim with kisses as the two moved against each other in the heavenly dance of lovemaking. It felt so wonderful, Tim sighed as Matt kissed his neck.

As they settled in for more sleep, Matt chuckled in Tim's ear. "I heard a rumor over at the Katydid about you carryin' on with a cute blonde gal. What's that about?"

Tim cleared his throat. "That's about something for Aunt Katie. It's a surprise."

Matt snuggled close to his body. It wasn't a total lie, or so Tim justified. He'd tell the man everything, eventually. It really was intended to be a surprise for Aunt Katie. Until Tim had it figured out, there was no use bogging Matt down with the details. He had enough on his plate.