19. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Matt found himself on a plane once again, but he was headed home so it wasn't all bad. Jon Wells was sitting next to him, having upgraded them to business class with frequent-flyer miles. "We need to discuss a few things, Matt, and in business class, you get more privacy and leg room. I won't charge ya for the fifteen thousand miles I used. I fly the friendly skies often enough I got plenty of miles to use, trust me."

Matt nodded and listened as the good-looking man outlined what he believed to be the best strategy to handle the women who were determined to make Matt's life miserable and maybe do away with them once and for all. It would be great if Matt and Tim could begin to make a life together. The plan sounded good until Jon mentioned getting everyone in the same room.

"Whaddya mean? Like, Bertie, her momma, Rob, DeAnne, Tim, and me? How in the hell would that work?" Matt wondered if Jon Wells' help was money well spent after all.

Jon took a sip of his drink before he turned to look at Matt. "We can do it in Richmond at our offices, okay? With Roberta living in Canada, the proceedings must be in the US, and since Ryan resides in Virginia, they gotta come play on our playground. Colonel and Mrs. Stanford sounded as if they'd be happy to come to Virginia to support you, Matt.

"Mona knows where you live. She called your house at four o'clock in the morning on Thursday. The call lasted forty-five seconds. Did she leave a message?" Jon was visibly upset about the call.

"No. We were sleepin' in a blanket fort in the family room that night because—well, it don't matter why. I didn't hear the phone ringin', but I was tired so I wouldn't be surprised if I slept through it. I can ask Tim. He didn't mention anything about it."

"That's great, Matt. Ask him what she said, okay? Meantime, let's say after the first of the year, we try to get a meeting set between all the parties involved. The Colonel didn't say he had any timing issues, did he?" Jon finished his drink and held up his finger for another.

"No, Rob didn't mention any. He said I should just give him a date to meet, and he'd do whatever we needed him to do to help us out. Look, before we disrupt everybody's lives and subject my son to more bullshit, can you just ask the women how much money it would take for them to go away? I'll give everything I have." Matt didn't want to put Tim or Ryan through anything that would cause them distress.

Jon sighed. "Matt, I know you don't want your personal life put on trial but offering them money—offering your ex-wife more money—will only cause her to come back to the well again. You've given her over a hundred-and-twenty-five-thousand dollars to date, and now her mother is in the picture? They won't be happy until they have everything you own. Is that what you really want?"

Matt considered the man's words for a second and exhaled. "All I really want is my son and my partner. The rest of it doesn't matter."

Matt swallowed the lump in his throat. The prospect of selling the ranch and cattle to pay off Bertie and Mona didn't scare him. He'd started out with not much more than his parents' love and support years' prior, and he hadn't lost it even after he told them he was gay. It was enough of a foundation to start again.

"Please put your seats in the upright and locked position. Secure the tray tables and any electronic devices as we make our approach. The temperature in Richmond is forty-eight degrees, and the sky is overcast. We might hit a little turbulence during landing, so please ensure your seat belts are fastened."

Matt looked at Jon and smiled. "Let me talk to Tim. I need to explain all of this to him, and we need to figure it out together. I'm still tryin' to get used to havin' a partner who loves me and is on my side. I'll call ya on Tuesday, okay?"

The attorney nodded, and Matt closed his eyes as the plane tilted left and right, dipping and rising. The landing was awful, but once they were on the ground, he clapped along with the other passengers who probably thought they were going to die before they reached the ground. It was great to be back home.

Matt found a guy holding a clipboard with his name on a sheet of paper waiting outside at arrivals. Matt followed him to a pickup truck to go to the dealership so he could finish the transaction.

Matt made a draw on the line of credit he had with a bank in Richmond and walked out with the keys an hour later, headed home to his boys. He couldn't wait to see them.

When he turned into the driveway of the ranch, nobody was around. He dropped his things inside the front door and drove over to the Katydid, finding his F-250 in the driveway, along with his mother's Expedition. He saw Josh riding a horse down by the barn, so he waved as he went to the back door off the kitchen and knocked. Ryan was in the kitchen with his grandmother and Katie Simmons, and the boy had flour on his face, which definitely deserved a smile from Matt.

Katie motioned him inside, so he opened the storm door and walked into the warm kitchen, seeing a bunch of cookies resting on some paper on the kitchen table. They'd been baking for a while.

Ryan ran over to him, and Matt didn't hesitate to whisk him up in his arms and hug him tightly. The boy was his heart and soul. If he lost him… Matt had to stop that train of thought.

"How are ya?" he asked with a smile.

"Oh, man, we've been so busy. We're makin' cookies, but we gotta put ‘em in the freezer. I get three of each to take home for now, but the rest gotta wait for Christmas. Why'd you go to El Paso?" Ryan played with the back of Matt's brown hair. The boy always played with his father's hair when Matt held him. Matt assumed It was comforting to both of them.

Matt decided to wait until they were alone to try to explain it to his son, so he changed the subject. "Where's Tim?"

Jeri walked into the room and hugged her son. "Why did you go to El Paso, Matthew?"

"Momma, not now, okay?" He gave her a stern look to quell any additional questions she might have. All of it could wait.

"Tim's at the barn, in the office," Katie announced as she pulled a tray out of the oven and put it on top of the stove to cool.

Matt smiled at her and winked. He turned to his son and ruffled his short hair. "You finally got fleeced?"

The boy frowned, tugging at Matt's heart. "Tim said it was time. I liked it long cause it was warm, but he said I looked like a shaggy dog, so he took me when he got back from Blacksburg with Mr. Josh."

"Why'd they go to Blacksburg?" Tim hadn't mentioned anything about it to him when they'd spoken on Saturday.

Katie hurried over and took Ryan from his arms, putting him on the ground. "We have cookies to ice, young man."

She turned to Matt and ushered him toward the back door. "Josh went to look at a horse for one of the boarders. I think he bought the damn thing, but I'm not sure. Anyway, your man is at the barn, and he's very excited to see you." She ushered Matt out the back door.

Once he was outside, he heard the women laughing. He had no idea why, and he didn't care. His dick was pointing him toward the large horse barn where his lover was waiting, and he was in a hurry to get the fuck home.

"No, baby, not like that." Matt pulled Tim up his body until they were face-to-face. He wanted to make love, not get a blow job.

When Tim was securely on top of him, Matt didn't hesitate to seal his mouth to Tim's. Their tongues swirled, getting reacquainted after the short absence. Matt felt goosebumps on Tim's back as he continued to stroke his hands along the man's spine. Their hard cocks were nestled together with their balls touching. Matt was in heaven.

He pulled away gently and gazed into Tim's bright, hazel eyes, happy he'd left a bedside light on. "I missed ya, Timmy."

Tim reached out to the bedside table and opened the top drawer, pulling out a condom and a bottle of lube to place them on the bed next to where they were reclined. Tim moved to sit up on Matt's hips, strategically placing his ass on Matt's hard cock.

Matt gazed up at Tim and saw a coy smile. "You gonna tell me why you went to El Paso? I've got some things to tell you myself, but you go first."

Matt thought about it for a moment. "I wanna make love first, then we'll talk for a bit before we go to sleep. How ‘bout that?"

Tim nodded and started to back his sleek body down Matt's bulkier frame before Matt caught him. "Na-ah. Move up." He was in a commanding mood, moving the man up to his chest so he could take his lover's cock into his mouth while he got Tim ready for him. He blindly reached for the lube because giving Tim pleasure as he achieved the goal of loosening him up was what he wanted.

After Tim moaned and groaned as Matt sucked his cock while he was lubing his entrance, Tim pulled out of Matt's mouth before he came. "I wanna come while you're inside me."

Once the condom was on, Tim sunk himself down slowly onto Matt's cock. After the bull rider was seated deep inside, the two languidly kissed and nibbled on each other. Matt sucked on Tim's nipples as he moved the man's body up and down his shaft to give him the love and pleasure that they'd both missed.

The gasping, moaning noises coming from the bedroom would have alarmed Matt if he wasn't the one making them as Tim moved on his cock, bringing them both to climax. He pulled his lover down to seal their mouths as Tim's release provided the lubricant between their writhing bodies.

They slowly pulled back to catch their breath while studying each other's faces. Matt held his lover to him and whispered, "God, I missed you."

Tim looked up and reached to sweep Matt's hair off his face. "I missed you, too, cowboy. I have a few things I need to tell you…. Well, it's actually, one big thing. I don't want this to change anything between us, Matty." Tim's voice was soft and trembly.

Matt held the condom as his fat cock slipped out of his lover's body. He settled it on his thigh so as not to disrupt the discussion it seemed Tim wanted to have as he relaxed on his side. "Okay, baby, tell me what's goin' on."

Tim sat up and reached forward, carefully removing the condom. "I'll be back."

Taking advantage of the absence to grab a tissue and wipe up the residue, Matt thought about how to explain his visit to El Paso. The things about Bertie, Mona, and the Colonel. He regretted not telling Tim about the trip sooner and the reason for it in the first place, but until he had a handle on things, he didn't want to worry the man he loved.

He rose from the bed because he needed to relieve himself, and as Matt approached the bathroom, he heard Tim talking. "You can do this. It won't matter. You've got to be honest."

Matt's heart sunk in his chest—Tim had met someone, and he'd either had an encounter with the guy or he wanted to.

The hallway bathroom across from Ryan's bedroom was empty, so Matt went there to piss. After, he grabbed a washcloth to clean himself before he turned off the light and walked back to the master bedroom. He crawled into the bed and pulled up the covers over his waist, waiting for Tim to return from his prolonged trip to the ensuite.

Tim walked into the bedroom, flipping off the light, and Matt could see the worry on his face. "You already cleaned up?" Tim gave him a fake smile.

Matt nodded and flipped back the covers, having turned off the bedside light. The full moon lit the bedroom so they could see each other. When the smaller man climbed in, Matt pulled him into his chest and looked into his gorgeous hazel eyes. "I love you, Timmy. You should know you can tell me anything."

He hoped to hell it was the opening to hear what had happened because he was really prepared to forgive anything the man told him. The two of them hadn't formally agreed they'd be exclusive before Matt took off for El Paso, so if Tim had gone out with someone else, Matt knew he didn't really have a leg to protest on because he hadn't taken the step to solidify the relationship.

His lover was entitled to go out with someone else. If Tim had gone out with another man but it wasn't serious, Matt would make certain to take the steps to make them exclusive, so it didn't happen again.

Tim cleared his throat and looked into Matt's eyes. "Okay. Now, uh, this shouldn't become a big deal between us, okay? I mean, we love each other, right?"

Matt nodded.

"So, um, if I was to tell you about something that happened to me… which I didn't expect at all… you'd withhold judgment until we could discuss it and how we think it might impact our relationship?" Tim's was clearly worried. Once again, Matt nodded, feeling his gut clench.

Finally, he couldn't take it any longer. "You're killin' me, baby. Please tell me what happened." He truly loved Timothy Moran with everything inside him. In his mind, there wasn't anything that would be a deal breaker. He just needed to hear the truth.

"The blonde woman you heard about coming to the Katydid is my new lawyer, Ronni Turnberry. She came by to explain to me about my grandmother, Joanne Moran, leaving me some money in a trust, along with a few properties. I don't want it to come between us, Matty. You mean more to me than the money, and I'll give it all away if it bothers you." The tone of Tim's voice told Matt the man meant every word he said.

Matt was a little confused. "Joanne Moran? I'm sorry, baby, but I don't know what you mean."

He listened to a short explanation of the hierarchy of Tim's family, so far as it included his grandmother, a mean bitch, as Tim described her. "Okay, so she left ya some money. That's not a bad thing, sweetheart. Your money is your money. Not a big deal."

Tim cleared his throat. "She left me five million dollars, Matty. I'm not sure…"

Matt sat up and looked at the gorgeous man in front of him. He pulled Tim into his body and laughed. "You're worried about how I'd take the money? I mean, I won't take the money, but good for you, baby. You're a rich man." Matt showered kisses over Tim's face, happy the secret wasn't nearly as bad as he'd speculated.

Tim pulled away and placed his hands on both sides of Matt's face, studying him carefully. "I know you won't take my money, but I don't want it to come between us. It won't change anything between us, alright? I love you and you love me, end of story. Now, I want to know why you went to El Paso."

Matt's gut clenched because it was definitely the wrong time to discuss the situation about Ryan. He knew for a fact Tim would try to give him money to hire attorneys and private investigators and whatever else was necessary, but he wasn't going to accept it. "You wore me out, baby. Let's talk about it in the mornin', okay?"

With that, the two of them settled into bed together. Tim nestled into his chest and fell asleep, but Matt knew he wouldn't sleep for a while. On one hand, he was happy for Tim because he believed the guy deserved the best after everything, especially with the shit hand he'd been dealt with losing his folks the way he did.

On the other hand, Matt's problems with Bertie and Mona would spur Tim to action and if necessary, Tim would give them all the money he'd just inherited to go away. It wasn't Tim's place to make the sacrifice.

Matt loved the blond, but he was a proud man, and he needed to be the one to take care of his family. He just couldn't let Tim bail him out.

He didn't want the money to come between them either. It was like walking a damn tightrope, and while Matt wasn't afraid of heights, he wasn't too good at walking a fine line when it came to his stubborn male ego.