Chapter 8

MAX

‘The boy is coming with me,’ Tobias snarled. ‘And I’m not asking. I’m telling.’

Max looked across to Cam and tried his best to reassure the boy with a look of determination and resistance. Tobias was clearly trying to intimidate them both and lay down his authority, backed up of course by a small gang of his circus crew.

‘Well you’re in Eagle Ridge now,’ Max answered, clenching his jaw. ‘And what you say here isn’t the law. The boy’s got free will. He can go where he wants and do what he wants. And his choice is to be with me.’

Max didn’t want to inflate things any more than they needed to be but at the same time knew that he had to lay down a firm marker from the get-go. He could tell that Tobias was a classic bully and would walk over anyone who gave an inch – and Max was determined that he wouldn’t fall into that category.

However as Max eyed up the four thugs alongside Tobias, he could sense that no matter how steadfast he was, this very much had the potential to turn ugly. Being outnumbered two to five was far from ideal, and while Max was sure that Cam was more than capable of handling himself, the odds weren’t good on them coming out on top by themselves.

‘It looks like we have a problem,’ Tobias replied, a snarl on his face and a wild look in his eyes. ‘You see, Cam knows what happens to people who try and run away from me. It’s a career killer. And Cam loves working in the circus. The last thing the silly boy wants is to throw away everything he’s worked for. Isn’t that right?’

Max could feel the rage building up inside him, but he knew that he needed to control himself and not show any sign that Tobias was getting to him.

Focus on the solution, not the problem.

We’re outnumbered, but I need to hold my position.

My only priority is Cam…

Max looked at Cam and could see that his darling boy was finding this difficult.

‘I… I… I want to leave,’ Cam said, his voice trembling but still full of intent. ‘I w-w-w-w-want to go my own way. With Max. Here. In Eagle Ridge. I want to live here now.’

Max felt a surge of pride at how well Cam was doing. It wasn’t easy, but his Little acrobat was standing up to his circus master.

‘I guess we’re doing this the hard way then,’ Tobias sneered, shaking his head and clenching his fists. ‘Men, take the boy! And do whatever you need to do to his boyfriend if he stands in the way.’

‘Daddy, no!’ Cam squealed, clutching on to Max as the four circus thugs stepped toward them with their firsts balled and menacing looks on their faces.

‘It’s fine,’ Max growled. ‘Trust me, Daddy’s got this.’

‘Or should that be The Eagle Ridge Daddies have got it,’ Kipp said, walking up behind Cam and Max along with Axel, Zane, Beau, Trey, and Jack McPherson too.

Suddenly the odds were looking very different.

And judging by the looks on the faces of Tobias’ circus minions, they knew that the situation had changed in a heartbeat. The sudden appearance of six of the toughest, tallest, and gruffest looking men in town had decidedly swung the odds from one side to the other.

‘So who’s got the problem now?’ Max asked, standing with his arms open and a look of steely focus on his face. ‘This can go one of two ways. You guys can leave peacefully, or you can force us to defend ourselves and leave in an ambulance. It’s your choice.’

Max knew that being backed up by his friends was going to make all the difference in that moment. There was no denying that while Max would have put up one hell of a fight by himself, the odds were always stacked too highly against him. But a gang of six Daddies? That was a whole different equation – and it seemed like Tobias knew it too.

‘You smalltown assholes think you’re so tough,’ Tobias said, furious but knowing that the game was up in that moment. ‘Don’t think this is the end of the matter. Fuck no. Keep the boy. Do what the hell you like. I don’t give a shit. There’s a million acrobats out there I can hire. But one thing… don’t think for a moment that you’ve heard the last of me.’

‘Hey, we won’t be thinking about you at all,’ Axel said, stepping forward and pointing the thugs away from them. ‘Eagle Ridge is our town. So enjoy your stay and have a great time getting the hell out of here once you’re done.’

With that, Max and the Daddies all stepped forward once more, just to make it crystal clear to Tobias and his men that they were ready for any trouble at the drop of a hat.

And, as expected, Tobias and his crew had no answer. Instead, they simply turned and walked away – presumably back to the circus ground to tend to their damaged pride.

‘Guys, thank you,’ Max said, smiling with relief and a sense of satisfaction. ‘I really didn’t want a black eye for Christmas this year!’

‘Hell, we were ready to rock and fucking roll if we had to,’ Zane replied.

‘How about a couple of beers back at The Tap House?’ Trey suggested. ‘I’ve got a new seasonal Bavarian lager from Germany that is pretty damn tasty. And I think we’ve all earned it, right?’

Max looked at Cam to judge his mood. There was a chance that a moment like this might have been traumatic for him, and Max didn’t want to force his darling boy into socializing when he might simply need some quiet time.

‘What do you say?’ Max asked, putting his arm around Cam.

‘I say yes!’ Cam giggled. ‘I’m already messaging the Littles to tell them to meet us there!’

‘Well that settles it!’ Kipp bellowed. ‘Beers all round!’

With that, the Daddies and Cam began to stride down the Eagle Ridge strip and make their way toward The Tap House. Max knew that Cam was probably still caught up in the moment and the pair of them would need to have a conversation at some point about what the future would hold. But for now, it felt like the right thing to do to simply enjoy the victory and let the seasonal beers roll.

With Cam staying in Eagle Ridge for the foreseeable future, all that was left to make it a perfect Christmas was to make sure that the Christmas Feast was the best it had ever been – and with Cam as his assistant, Max was sure that the residents of Eagle Ridge would be treated to the best Christmas Feast ever…

With Cam having taken up residence at Eagle Ridge Ranch, the days before Max’s Christmas Feast flew by. But it wasn’t all sexy romps and Daddy and boy time. Far from it. Max worked extra hard to prep enough food for the feast and ensure that every single person who wanted to stop by the diner would be able to indulge in some tasty and wholesome treats.

And as Max walked along the snow-covered sidewalk toward the diner on the night before Christmas, he let out a big sigh of pure satisfaction.

‘Damn, it all worked out,’ Max said, almost chuckling at how well everything had slotted together. ‘Bye-bye Tobias and hello a new life for me and Cam. Wonderful. Just wonderful .’

Max was only stopping by the diner to ensure that everything was set up ready for the morning. Having shut the diner early that day, Max and the other staff had gone into overdrive in order to add the finishing touches to the decorations and make the nicest, most Christmassy displays as they possibly could – and with Cam and his other new Little friends on duty too, it had been a job well done.

It was with a smile on his face and joy in his heart that Max took his keys out of his pocket ready to place in the diner door – but as soon as he saw that the door was ajar his heart skipped a beat.

‘What… the… hell… happened…’ Max said, initially dumbstruck as he surveyed the sight of the diner, totally trashed, broken plates everywhere, the decorations torn down from the walls, and worst of all… ‘My food. It’s all… ruined.’

With all the pre-prepped food squished and smashed across the floor, Max felt himself go weak. This wasn’t right. It couldn’t be real.

‘No! No! No!’ Max bellowed, smashing his fist down on the diner’s service counter. ‘Fuck! Who would do this?’

But Max didn’t have to think for too long about who the culprit might be. The circus had left town that evening, a couple of days early, due to many of the residents cancelling their tickets when they either saw or heard about how Tobias had behaved. This was clearly the work of Tobias and his band of thuggish cronies.

And worst of all, there was nothing that Max could do about it.

But it wasn’t even a case of caring about retribution for Tobias. What truly hurt Max was the fact that his annual Christmas Feast had been ruined. Max could maybe have stayed up all night and got the place looking clean – but the decorations were all torn to shreds or smashed. The sight of Max’s favorite battery operated Rudolph on the floor, shattered into tiny pieces, was enough to make Max want to bellow in pure rage.

And worst of all, there was the undeniable issue that the food was totally ruined. Max walked into the kitchen area and saw that Tobias and his men had made a terrible mess in there too. Everything was gone. The refrigerators had been tipped onto the floor and unplugged.

Nothing could be saved.

Absolutely nothing .

‘Damn it all to hell,’ Max muttered, shaking his head in despair as he walked back into the main diner and slumped on one of the seats. ‘The boy will be heartbroken…’

‘He might,’ came the voice from the diner door. ‘But maybe not if we all stick together and make things right.’

‘Kipp,’ Max said, looking up and seeing Kipp standing in the doorway along with the other Daddies. ‘Guys. What the hell? I can’t believe this.’

‘Me neither,’ Kipp said, stepping inside the diner along with the other Daddies. ‘But we’re going to make it right.’

‘I’ve already put the word out on the Eagle Ridge community WhatsApp,’ Axel said. ‘And you know how much I hate that damn thing. Way too many notifications for my liking. But maybe it could just be perfect for today…’

‘And I’m going to be calling in some favors from my Tap House suppliers,’ Trey added, surveying the scene and shaking his head in disgust. ‘We’ll let karma catch up with that circus sonofabitch. We’ve got a Christmas Feast to save.’

‘Thank you, guys,’ Max said, standing up from his chair with a renewed vigor. ‘You’re the best men a Daddy could ask for.’

‘Damn right,’ Kipp said. ‘Now let’s get to work.’

Max nodded his head and spotted that the coffee machine looked relatively untouched. It was going to be a long night, and caffeine would be a definite requirement.

‘Espressos coming up,’ Max said. ‘Let’s do this thing.’

With that, the Daddies roared their approval and set about turning tragedy into triumph. There would be some tired faces come the morning, but between them all there was a feeling that it might, just might, be worth the all-night effort…

A couple of hours into the mission to make the feast everything it could be and more, and Max was joined by Cam and the other Littles too. This undoubtedly speeded things up and by the time that the first light of Christmas morning came about, the diner was looking primed for action…

‘But what about the food?’ Cam asked, looking around at the empty tables.

‘Don’t fear, boy, this is Eagle Ridge,’ Max said, proudly opening the diner door and allowing many different members of the community inside, each one carrying a tray of food that they had spared from their own Christmas day selection.

‘Wow!’ Cam said, a look of awe on his face. ‘Everyone loves you, Daddy. They all came out and showed you how much.’

‘Well, I don’t know if they love me… I can be a bit grumpy on Monday mornings,’ Max chuckled. ‘But it feels incredible to see them all go out of their way like this.’

‘Well I for one wouldn’t have it any other way!’ old Mr. Jenson said, putting a marvelous looking desert down on the table with a little help from Mrs. Jenson. ‘We love this diner. It’s part of our everyday routine. We’re only too happy to help. Isn’t that what Christmas is all about?’

Max nodded and thanked the Jensons. They might have been in their early eighties, but they were the picture of good health and happy spirits.

‘They’re totally couple goals,’ Cam said, smiling and looking up at Max. ‘Maybe we could be like them one day?’

Max smiled. A feeling of deep, profound happiness came over him. Suddenly, Max’s heart was beating quicker than it had done in a long, long time. He knew what he needed to say, and he knew that he needed to do it now…

‘Darling Cam,’ Max said, clearing his throat and feeling his heart flutter once more. ‘I love you. I know it’s soon, but I can’t deny how I feel for a second longer. You’re the one I want to be with forever. The Jensons certainly are couple goals as you boys say. And, yes, I do want us to be like them one day in the distant future. If you feel the same way, I’d love nothing more than for us to be Daddy and boy for the long run together.’

Max felt a wave of emotion wash onto him. It felt important to have spoken and let the words fall out of his mouth without trying to edit himself or protect himself. Max knew that his feelings were out there now, and it was up to Cam to say how he felt.

‘Daddy, I love you too!’ Cam said, immediately wrapping his arms around Max and snuggling his face deep into Max’s strong chest. ‘I love you, I love Eagle Ridge, I love Java, and I want us all to make a home together. This is everything to me. And I couldn’t have done it with anyone else in the whole world!’

And with the sound of raucous and heartfelt cheers in the background, Max and Cam kissed one another for what felt like the most magical moment in either of their lives.

‘Three cheers for Max and Cam!’ Kipp bellowed, the cheers following right after his demand. ‘Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray!’

‘Thank you, thank you all,’ Max said, feeling more alive and in tune with the world than ever before. ‘Now let’s make this a Christmas feast to remember!’

With that, the Christmas Feast began in earnest and soon enough all thoughts of Tobias and the disruption were long gone. As far as everyone was concerned, it was another perfectly wholesome and joy filled Eagle Ridge Christmas celebration.

But for Max and Cam, it was the first Christmas of many ahead of them – and one that would live forever in their hearts.