20. CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 20

"Yes, Mr. Nettles, you will still own the property, but you will have no say in what it's used for. Mr. Wilde and his foreman will make the decisions on what crops to plant or what cattle to put on it." That had been the fourth time Mercury had explained as they sat around the conference table in Ryder's half of the office with all parties involved.

"But it's my land. What if I don't approve of what they're doing to it?" That had to have been the twentieth time the man had said that.

Cooper sighed and shook his head. "Exactly what don't you want us to do with the land? We have plenty of options with both cattle and what to plant. We can work around something if you object but I need to know in advance."

That had been Cooper's second time making that offer, yet Mr. Nettles hadn't come up with anything as of yet.

When he still didn't answer that question, Cooper threw his hands in the air, but it was Dusty who looked straight at the old man and said, "Cut it out, John David. What's really going on? Or do I need to call my momma down here to straighten you out?"

Mr. Nettles scowled at Dusty. Apparently, the two knew each other fairly well. Mercury just hoped it helped or there wasn't anything he could do to save the man's farm.

"I don't want them kids running around my property," he said angrily.

Cooper stilled with a deep frown on his face. "Is it because they're from the LGBTQ community?"

Thankfully, Mr. Nettles looked surprised he would even say that. "What the hell do I care who they love? I just don't want a bunch of teenagers running around my property making a mess of it."

"Oh please," Dusty drawled out. "We both know you and my daddy had gotten up to no good more times than all the teenagers in this town. Plus, they'd be helping work the farm to learn skills, not goofing off."

Mr. Nettles slammed a hand down on the table and exclaimed, "When in the hell did you think me and your daddy got into the most trouble? One time we burned down half an acre of crops when we were supposed to be out watering them."

Mercury blinked. How did watering plants start a fire? He didn't ask, because he was fairly certain he didn't want to know.

"My father was so pissed I was grounded the entire summer." Well, that certainly explains his distrust of teenagers.

"These are good kids with no home. All they have is The Wilde Side. Otherwise, they would be out on the streets. They need the experience of working on a farm to help them with their future." Cooper was very passionate about the kids he took in. From what the others had said while they talked about the fundraisers for the group home, Cooper did everything in his power to give them a safe place to express themselves.

Mr. Nettles frowned. "Why wouldn't they have a home? If their parents can't take them back, I'm sure some nice folks would be happy to help them by taking them in."

Cooper blew out a breath. "They were kicked out of their homes because their parents didn't want them to be part of the LGBTQ community. Unfortunately, that's often true of foster families. Not to mention there aren't nearly enough foster families in the first place."

"That's just plain mean to not love your own child. What the hell is wrong with those people?" He sounded indignant on the kids' behalf. Then he sighed and his shoulders dropped in defeat. "Fine, they can work my farm, but I want them monitored, even if I have to do it myself."

Mercury had no clue how he went from refusing to sign the papers that would allow The Wilde Side to use Mr. Nettles's farm to the man basically offering to be a mentor to the kids, but he'd take it.

Once the paperwork was signed, he shook everyone's hand before sending them off. Grabbing his phone, laptop, and some files, he headed to the only place he wanted to be–with his boy.

Even as he headed down the stairs to the sidewalk, Mercury already felt lighter. By the time he opened the door to Tasty Balls, he was smiling. When he looked at Dorsey he couldn't help but laugh.

His boy glared at him. "Don't you laugh at me! It wasn't my fault."

"I said I was sorry, Mr…uh…I mean Dorsey," Harper cried. It had already looked like she'd been crying but she started up again. "I just thought it would be better to make a double batch at the same time. How was I supposed to know when it started to boil, it would spill out?"

There was fudge…kind of everywhere. It was on the stove, counter, and floor. But the funny part was how Dorsey was covered in it. There was even some in his hair. "Did you pour some over yourself?" he chuckled, "Because I'm not sure how you managed to cover yourself with it."

Dorsey was still glaring at him. "It isn't funny. I could have been severely burned."

Oh, shit. He hadn't even thought about that. Dumping his stuff on the first table he passed, he quickly went to the doorway of the kitchen and started trying to check his sub for any burns.

"Stop it," Dorsey pushed his hands away. "I'm fine. You know, other than probably having a bruise on my ass when I slid on the liquid fudge."

He took his boy's hand in his and led him back through the still somewhat gooey mess, telling him it had only recently happened or it would have solidified more. "Harper, I trust you'll start cleaning while I take Dorsey upstairs to shower and change. Once I know he's not hurt, I'll come back down to help."

A weak, tearful "okay" was heard as he tugged his boy through the back door. Once upstairs, they went right to the tiled bathroom and he pushed Dorsey into the shower, as he would be easier to clean. It might not exactly help with the pipes, but if they run enough hot water, it shouldn't be too big of a problem.

"How did you end up covered, again?" he asked as he swiftly stripped the clothes off his sub. Figuring there was no way any of it was going to wash out, he put them in the garbage and started the water even as he checked out some swelling on that perfectly muscled ass.

"I didn't see it happen. I was out taking an order because I hadn't had time to show Harper how to use the cash register yet and she'd been doing so well following directions in the kitchen." His boy sighed when Mercury started massaging shampoo into his hair to get the fudge out.

He figured it would be wise to clean Dorsey first, and then, when they were done, he'd apply arnica to the injured area.

"Unfortunately, one customer turned into a rush so I didn't pay any attention to what was going on in the kitchen. It wasn't until Zane's mom, Cora, pointed to it and told me she thought something spilled, that I even looked over." Another sigh escaped his boy as Mercury used the loofa to help scrub at the hardening fudge that, fortunately, wasn't too bad on his skin.

"I ran to help, but it was still mostly liquid and I wasn't thinking that it would make the floor slippery." Then he held out his hands to show the fudge that still clung to him. "The rest, as they say, is history."

He was trying not to laugh, really. But it was just too funny. Not the part where his boy got hurt, but he could just see Dorsey sliding across a fudge covered floor.

"Stop laughing," Dorsey pouted. "It wasn't funny."

Except it was. But he quickly sobered up again as he finished washing his boy. "Come on, sweetness. Let's get some cream on that injury and then we can go down and help Harper clean up."

Harper was one of the kids who lived at The Wilde Side. Not everyone there wanted to learn farming. For those old enough to get a job, Cooper let them apply for after-school jobs. Harper loved to cook, although, that didn't make her good at it.

"Do you think Harper will work out?" Mercury asked as he watched his sweet boy get dressed.

He nodded. "Yeah. I mean it was just a mistake and one that I doubt she'd make again."

He couldn't help it, Mercury laughed again.

This time, Dorsey, now that the crisis was pretty much over, joined him.

"But I think I need to hire someone for behind the register, at least until I'm certain Harper knows what she's doing." Dorsey led the way back downstairs and was shocked to find the place completely clean.

Apparently, Ethan had come in and found a crying Harper trying to figure out even where to start. He put out an SOS and ten of their friends came to help, including Zane and Bram, who had the most experience with kitchen disasters.

"Wow," Dorsey breathed out. "Thank you so much for doing this guys. I honestly thought it was going to take me all night to scrape fudge off everything."

Once more Cedar Falls had proved they had each other's backs. Not for the first time, Mercury thanked whatever force that had brought him there.