Chapter 21

Nolan rushed home after work as worry for Ryder grew. He’d wanted to leave work and stay with Ryder but had no reason to cut his shift short. It had been too early in the day for Ryder to stay in the clinic for him to give him a ride home.

Once home, he went inside to change so he could do the chores in the barn. After changing, he noticed the car in the driveway and didn't know who it belonged to. He should know, but he was bad at identifying cars. Make and model were a mystery to him, and he often got it wrong. Andrew had been shocked that he didn't care to learn the different makes of cars. It just wasn't his thing.

He knocked, and an older woman came to the door. "Who are you?" the woman asked, blocking him from entering.

“Let him in,” Ryder said from the kitchen.

“I’m not letting a strange man into your house. How do I know he’s not here to rob me?”

“It’s my neighbor, the man who works at the clinic who sewed up my arm and removed the huge chunk of wood.”

The woman, who Nolan guessed was Ryder's mother, snorted and then stepped out of the way. "You need to leave soon. He needs his rest."

“Give it a rest, Mom.” Ryder stood and moved to shake his hand but winced when he tried to move his right arm. “Hey, thanks for fixing my arm.”

“I came over to do the chores.”

Ryder shrugged and then winced. "You don't have to. I can do them later."

“No you can’t,” Nolan said. “Doctor’s orders. You can’t be playing in the barn until those stitches come out. If some foreign body gets in there and it gets infected, it will take months and not weeks to heal.”

Ryder frowned. “Dammit.”

“Language,” Ryder’s mother snapped.

Ryder rolled his eyes. “This is my mother, Sherrie, who was just leaving.”

“I’m not leaving.” Sherrie’s frown seemed even deeper now. She looked like she could spit nails.

Ryder frowned back at her. “You are leaving. I’m perfectly fine.”

"If you had a wife, you would be fine. This is a punishment for you skipping church."

Nolan swore he saw Ryder roll his eyes, but he wasn’t one hundred percent sure. The tension between them could be cut with a knife.

“It was an accident, Mom.”

“You need to get a wife and get back into church. Who knows what kind of sin you’re getting into.”

“I’m not getting into anything,” Ryder said. “I’m fine.”

“I’m just going to have to move back in with you.”

“No!”

Nolan flinched at the volume of Ryder’s voice. Sherrie jumped. She almost looked like she’d been slapped. An awkward feeling slid through Nolan. Maybe he shouldn’t have come over, but he hadn’t known that Ryder’s mother was here. Besides, it was perfectly normal for neighbors to check-in. At least, he thought it was. Maybe Ryder would be pissed. He wished everything was easier, but this was the world they lived in.

“I am fine. Leave now,” Ryder said, his tone unforgiving.

Sherrie snorted again and grabbed her bag. “You are an ungrateful son. I hope your arm rots and falls off. You need to find a wife.”

Ryder’s face looked pained until his mother slammed the door after striding out. He groaned and wiped his good hand over his face.

"Shit, I'm sorry you had to hear her bullshit, and I'm sorry for what I said at the clinic. I know you're professional, and I know you'd never do anything to put either of us in a bad position."

Nolan took a step closer to Ryder and then paused, worried that his mother would come back. "It's already forgotten."

"Not by me. I felt terrible suggesting that you'd do something like kiss me or touch me in that situation. I know you're not like that."

"Hey, I get it. The first time I kissed a guy—well, we did more than kiss—but I freaked out when I saw him at church the next week. I thought for sure he was going to push me to the pew and kiss me like he had that night. Of course, he played it cool. But I get the worry."

The sound of tires spinning on pavement made Ryder roll his eyes again. "She's so mad that I won't even consider meeting some eighteen-year-old girl she wants to set me up with. They want the kid to drop out of high school to become my wife. I don't want a child bride. It's like she's desperate for me to get married."

Nolan cocked his head to the side as an idea hit. “Is she suffering from Alzheimer’s?”

Ryder narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “What?”

“If her personality has changed recently, she could be having the first changes that come with memory loss.”

“Huh, I hadn’t even thought about it. I’ve just been annoyed.”

“What about your dad?” Nolan asked.

"He can't beat me up anymore. Other than that, nothing has changed."

Shock pulsed through Nolan. “Shit. He used to beat you?”

"Yeah, but he didn't think it was abuse. He was just showing me how to be a man. It's one reason Amy and I wanted to wait to have kids. I wanted to go through counseling and have time to really make sure I wouldn't be a jerk. Of course, my parents would both be appalled that I went to a therapist to work through that, but the abuse was heavy, and it shaped me."

“Jesus.” Nolan shook his head. “Damn. I freaking hate child abusers. I saw so much when I was in the bigger cities. Here, I’ve only seen a few kids that I had to report, but crap, I hate them.”

“Not surprised that you’ve seen a few here. Sadly, people out here won’t take their kid to the doctor if they do something like break the kid’s arm or hurt them badly.”

Nolan shook his head. “It’s the same in big cities. I’m glad that you were cognizant enough to get therapy.”

“Yeah. But I’m not having kids, ever.”

Nolan nodded, not sure how the conversation had turned to kids. He and Andrew had talked about adopting, but there had seemed to be plenty of time.

“So, dinner. Do you want me to heat something up?”

“No, my mom brought food over. At least she can cook.”

“That’s good. Well then, I’m going out to the barn and starting on the chores.”

“I feel bad making you do this.”

Nolan stepped close and kissed Ryder's jaw. "Don't feel bad. Remember, I wanted to learn what to do so I could help out if I needed to. Surprisingly, I like doing stuff for your animals."

“They help regulate my emotions.”

“I get that.” Nolan stepped back and held Ryder’s gaze as heat washed over him. He really liked this sexy man who lived next to him. Maybe they wouldn’t ever be more than friends, but he was starting to feel things about Ryder that went deeper than friendship.

Ryder gave a sharp nod as emotions filled his eyes. "I'm glad you helped out before, so you can do this now."

Nolan’s heart squeezed with emotions he shouldn’t be feeling. “Sit down and rest. I know you probably don’t want to, but resting will aid in healing. Your body is working overtime to replace the blood you lost and repair the muscles and skin. Take it easy.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll just be in here taking a break.”

Nolan took Ryder's hand, walked him over to the couch, and gently pushed him down. "I'll be back in a bit. Don't do too much. And you can't get that wet. I'll bag it and help you take a shower later."

“If you get in the shower with me, you’re going to have to jack me off.”

"Oh, now you're sweetening the deal. Let me go deal with Mavis and the gang, and then I'll deal with you."

He liked the way Ryder laughed as he headed out. It was weird that he enjoyed working in the barn. He didn't think of himself as the type to work outside, but he talked to the animals, and they either mooed or bleated back at him. There was something about the animals that calmed him.

Being out here in the semi-country area was nice. There were no nearby neighbors to see either of them walking home on weekend mornings to shower or change clothes. No one would see them kissing or doing more. He felt safe.

After he finished in the barn, he headed in and found Ryder asleep on the couch. Since he'd washed his hands outside, he didn't need to clean up. Hunger gnawed at his belly, so he headed into the kitchen, finding the casserole Ryder's mother must have brought over. He served himself a bowl full and ate while standing at the counter. When he was almost done eating, he heard Ryder's breathing change, and he made it into the den when Ryder was waking up.

“Hey,” Ryder said as he sat up and wiped his hand over his face.

“You ready for a shower?”

Ryder nodded. “I didn’t think I was that tired.”

“Of course.” Nolan stepped over and looked at his arm. “I’m going to get some plastic wrap and then we can bag your arm in a trash bag.”

Ryder rolled his eyes. “I don’t like this.”

“I’m sure. But you have to keep it dry. I’ll make sure your hair gets washed.”

“It needs it.”

After getting Ryder’s shirt off, Nolan covered his arm and then helped the guy out of his pants. “Do you need to use the restroom?”

“No, I’m good.”

“Okay, let’s get into the shower.”

Nolan glanced down at Ryder’s body, taking in his muscles and his cock that was growing harder by the second.

“You sure you feel good enough for me to jack you?”

“Oh yeah. That will really help me sleep.”

“If you pass out after the shower, I’ll lock up your place before I head home.”

“Do you want to sleep over here?”

Nolan reached out and cupped Ryder’s balls. “I want to, but we both need sleep, and I can guarantee you if I’m over here, this dick of yours is going to be hard all night. I’ll check on you before I leave in the morning.”

“There’s an extra key in the top drawer beside the dishwasher. Take it so you can let yourself in. I’m turning off my alarm.”

Nolan was surprised by Ryder's suggestion that he take a key. "Are you sure you want me to have a key?"

Ryder nodded. “Yeah, I’m positive. Honestly, I’m good with you joining me in bed at any time.”

Nolan chuckled before turning on the water. They hadn't been seeing each other for that long, and they'd promised to keep it casual. Maybe this was casual for Ryder. He could have given out keys to loads of people, but Nolan doubted it.

He liked showering with Ryder. After washing his hair then soaping up his body, Nolan lathered up his hands then began rubbing the slick suds over Ryder's dick. It didn't take long for him to push Ryder over the edge. He enjoyed watching Ryder come. The pleasure he saw in his lover's face made him feel amazing. That he could do this for him was even better.