4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

As the group was finishing their lunch at the Katydid, after the Stallings' mare was put into her stall to await the vet, there was a knock on the back door. Uncle Josh yelled, " Come on in!"

Everyone turned toward the door to see a tall, strawberry blond guy who couldn't have been too much older than Tim. The guy looked a little sunburned, having more than a few freckles on his handsome face. He appeared to be assessing Tim, so he gave the guy the up and down in return.

"Hi, Mr. Simmons. I'm Cory, Melinda Stallings' stepson. She asked me to pick up Princess for her. I've got the trailer here. Is the blacksmith finished?"

Matt stood and extended his hand. "Matthew Collins, blacksmith. I've got Princess ready to go."

The cute guy reached into his T-shirt pocket and handed a check to Matt. "Mel said to tell you thanks for doin' it on such short notice. She and Dad are goin' on a trail ride with a large group this weekend, and she wants to take Princess. I'll be happy they're gone so I can have a party." Cory addressed the group with an easy smile.

Everyone laughed before Aunt Katie offered him something to eat and drink. He declined the offer of food but accepted the sweet tea.

Uncle Josh looked at Tim and gave a sly wink before he turned back to Cory. "I'll call Doc Grant to go to your place to check Princess, so you don't have to wait, Cory. Tim, would you take Cory down to the barn and show him Melinda's tack? Load up with some grain and five of the bigger hay bales. It'll save Melinda time when she's leavin' and should hold her over for the weekend."

Tim grabbed his and Ryan's plates, dumping the bones before he rinsed them and put them into the dishwasher, turning to his short friend. "Ryan, it was fun. Get your dad to drop you off some time so you and I can go riding again." Tim hugged the boy.

"I'll remind him, Tim. Thanks again. I had a lot of fun," Ryan responded.

Tim started for the door. "Hey, Tim, would you ever babysit Ryan for me? It would help me out if I gotta do somethin' and Mom's not available. I'd pay ya."

Should Tim be insulted or happy at the prospect that Matt Collins was asking him to babysit his son? Tim truly liked the boy and had enjoyed the time they'd spent together. In truth, he wouldn't mind babysitting if Matt was working late.

He would, however, draw the line at babysitting if the bull rider was going on a date or something similar. Tim didn't need to witness the man dressed for a date with someone else because he was sure his heart would shatter, though he really had no reason to feel that way.

"Well, I'm kind of busy around here but if it's an emergency, I'll try to work it out. Just call the house." Tim's response was half-hearted at best.

He turned to follow Cory out the back door toward the barn where the truck and trailer were parked outside the front sliding doors. Tim wondered where the rest of the hands were, but he remembered Uncle Josh had given them Saturday afternoon, Sunday, and Monday off for Labor Day.

"So, you live here in Holloway?" Tim asked Cory, trying to make some sort of small talk which he wasn't great at. He was trying for the sake of Uncle Josh's business.

"I'm just here for the summer since I finished my masters' degree. You're Mr. Simmons's nephew, I guess. Melinda's mentioned how cute you were based on when she's stopped by to ride. I can see she wasn't wrong," Cory explained with a bright smile. That was unexpected.

"Yeah, well, I just got back here myself not so long ago." Tim then explained his project to modernize the farm to make life easier for his aunt and uncle. "I was an IT major. How about you?" Tim led Cory to the barn where the tack room was located.

Cory smiled as he leaned against the doorframe. "You busy tonight? I'd love to have you come over for the party. We have a pool, after all. Clothing optional when the ‘rents are gone." The hot guy added a wink that surprised Tim.

"Guest list?" Tim went into the tack room and carried out Melinda's saddle on the first trip, placing it on some hay bales in the hallway of the barn.

The second trip had his arms full of saddle pads, bridles, a few of their lead ropes, and a hay bag. Tim wasn't sure they'd need it all, but he was familiar with the supplies Uncle Josh sent with boarders when they were taking a horse off the property.

"I went to UVA, so there are a few of my friends who are going to show, but my boyfriend invited some of his friends from NYU. You're a member of the clan , right?" Cory cocked flipped his wrist, which brought a laugh from Tim.

"You caught me. Aren't you worried about getting your ass stomped out here in the country? People in town aren't exactly accepting of our community."

"You'd be surprised what money can do, sexy. Bring your own condoms and lube. I'll have everything else. I can guarantee you a good time, Tim. I can already see a few of my friends falling on their knees for you. You are quite the yummy snack." And there was another wink.

In Tim's estimation, the tall guy was definitely full of shit because in keeping with the computer geek stereotype, he was on the thin side with very little definition along with his dirty blond hair. Since he'd started working in the office to implement the new system, he didn't get the physical workout he had earlier in the summer, and his once tanned skin had reverted to its usual pasty shade of antique white.

Tim was about five-nine and weighed about a buck-fifty, having his mother's and Uncle Josh's high metabolism. Nothing about him said sexy.

It wasn't often Tim thought anyone cruised him as Cory seemed to be doing there in the hallway of the barn. The guy had said he had a boyfriend, but Tim wondered how serious they were if he was studying Tim's ass as if it would be the subject of a final exam.

Tim loaded hay into the trailer and made sure there was enough grain for the long weekend. He also loaded watering buckets and a picket line for them to tie Princess outside when she wasn't being ridden.

After those things were safely in the trailer, the two men added the tack and saddle, and Tim went to get Princess from the stall where Uncle Josh had put her after she'd been shod.

"Hey!" Tim was following Cory and the mare toward the front of the barn. He turned to see Matt Collins trotting toward him with a pissed off expression. Tim waited for the cowboy because he was curious about why the man was chasing him.

"You need something? You're finished with her, right?" Tim asked, pointing toward the mare in the hallway. Cory continued down the long hallway and stopped outside the trailer to wait for Tim.

"Yeah, um, you're not gonna go to that party, right?" Matt seemed nervous.

Tim stared at the bull rider, trying to understand what business it was of Matt Collins' if he went to the party or not. Cory Stallings was a hot guy, and it seemed he thought some of his friends might be interested in Tim. That was enough reason to go to the party, as far as Tim was concerned.

Tim knew his crush on Matthew Collins was ridiculous and that he needed to find something else to focus on instead of the bull riding cowboy. The party sounded like just the ticket to help him maintain his sanity on two fronts—forgetting Matt and finally losing his virginity.

"It's a swim party. We don't have a pool, so I might go for a while to have some fun. It's hot here, you know." Tim slowly turned to head toward the front of the barn again.

Matt seemed about ready to protest, but then, Ryan ran out of the house yelling for the two of them. Ryan flew through the back doors of the barn, nearer where Matt and Tim were standing, and he jumped up, launching himself into his father's arms with an excited look on his face.

"I called Gramma Jeri. She said we can come swimmin' at her house tonight and stay over. She and Papa are goin' to Front Royal for a party, but they'll be back for the cookout on Monday. Can Tim come over?" The boy caught both men's attention with his excited demeanor.

Matt chuckled as Aunt Katie walked into the barn with a smile on her face. She had the cordless in her hand, and she handed it to Matt. "It's your momma."

He walked away so Tim headed toward the horse trailer, waiting for the horse and the hunk. Just before he was out of the doorway, Aunt Katie stepped in front of him, clearly having something to say.

He stopped, checking to see if Cory was paying attention to mayhem. When he was sure the man was busy talking on his phone as he held the lead rope for the mare, Tim looked at his aunt, warning her off of the impending tirade he could see brewing on her face. "Don't get mixed up in things of the gay variety. I'm not about to chase a straight man." Tim walked past her without waiting for a response.

Cory stood at the back of the trailer with the door open, so Tim led the mare inside and tied her close so there wouldn't be a problem hauling her back to the Stallings' place. He patted her on the back as he walked out of the trailer and closed the back door.

"So, what's the address? I'm not sure if I can get away, but it sounds like fun," he told Cory as he leaned against the trailer.

"Can I have your number? It'll be easier to text you the directions than to explain it to you, and I'd really like it if you'd come."

Tim took the phone to enter his number. He returned it to Cory, who offered another wink before climbing into the white Dodge Ram flatbed hauling the fifth-wheel stainless trailer.

As the truck and trailer left the driveway, Tim felt a hand on his shoulder. When he turned his head, he came face to face with Matt Collins' chest. The bull rider was quite tall to Tim's five-nine, but he'd never seen a chest so attractive. Even through the T-shirt the man wore, Matt's muscles were right there and enough to bone Tim up from zero to sixty.

After a sniff of the man, Tim swallowed the lump in his throat, finally able to speak without his voice cracking. "Can I help you?"

Matt's laugh was deep, which sent a tingle down Tim's spine. "Tell me you're not goin' to that party. From what I've heard ‘round town, they shuffle from one partner to another, and you know you're better than that, Tim."

For a sexual first timer, it was more than a little intimidating to think of more than one partner in one night, though Tim knew guys who loved a good orgy. If what Matt was saying was true, it wasn't Tim's scene at all.

Matt stared at Tim for a moment before speaking up again. "Why don't ya come over to Mom and Dad's place for swimmin' and steaks. I think the three of us could have a good time gettin' to know each other better." Matt seemingly put Ryan in the picture so Tim didn't mistake his intentions as anything more than friendship.

Tim laughed and shook his head. "So, my choices are attending a hedonistic bash with what I'm sure will be a lot of hot bodies in various stages of undress as we drink ourselves into beautiful oblivion, or I spend the evening getting to know your son better so he'll feel comfortable with me when you go catting around town to find some girl to fuck? Wow, imagine my dilemma." Tim sarcastically moved his hands up and down like a set of scales.

Matt Collins laughed as he grabbed Tim's arm and led him back into the barn and over to the tack room, out of sight of anyone watching from the windows of the house. "I'm not invitin' ya so you'll babysit Ryan while I go out sometime. I'm asking you not to go to that party, Tim. Come with Ryan and me. The parties at the Stallings' place are notorious for turning into orgies, or so I've heard talk around town about ‘em. You're a better guy than that, I can tell. You don't want your aunt and uncle to hear rumors about you when they go shoppin' or get pie at the diner, do ya?

"You know for a fact I'm not gonna be hookin' up with a girl. You've peeked into my world, and I think we should talk about it. I'll leave it up to you." Matt walked away, leaving Tim a little breathless.