31. Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

The party started early, and everyone was smiling. In fact, Sel didn't remember ever seeing so many teeth.

Once Dante got there, however, he pulled Sel aside and asked him to meet him in the ranch office before they started drinking and carrying on too much. Of course, that made him nervous, but more so when he said he wanted Indio there too.

Indio wasn't shaken by it a bit, though. "It'll be fine, Sel."

"If he says we can't be together, I'm leaving."

"He won't. Stop stressing and let's go see what he wants."

Sel stomped over to the office, the laughter and all the voices talking getting quieter the further they got from the party.

Then Sel stopped before they went into the office. "Did he see the vest?"

"No. He pulled up right before he came over to you. Stop!"

Sel nodded and pushed the door open. "Uncle Dante, if you try to send me back to LA or?"

"Jesus, Sel, shut the fuck up," Dante said as he sat on the corner of the desk. Jace was sitting behind the desk, and Dallas was leaning back on the wall near Jace.

"What is this?"

"Sit down, both of you, please."

Sel sat and Indio was in the chair beside him.

"I've called you here, Sel, and your…whatever the fuck you want to call yourself, Indio, to tell you that I've been watching you while you've been here. I've been speaking to my brother, too."

"I knew it!"

Indio reached his left hand over and slapped it over Sel's mouth. "Go ahead, sir."

Dante laughed and complimented, "Very nice. I knew I liked you."

"Thanks. I have to do it a lot."

"I'm sure you do," he said and Dante and the other men chuckled. "Okay, now, as I said, I've been watching. Sel, for the next two years, I'm going to start grooming you to take over my businesses."

Indio's hand fell away, and Indio himself stared along with Sel. "Uncle Dante…really?"

"Yes. You've shown me a lot. You're brave, though that's not always a good thing. You're smart, you go after what you want," he said, pointedly looking at Indio, then back to Sel. "And you know about business. You showed Barry a lot too, when you were questioned by the feds. Sel, you're ready to learn. You're not ready to take over, but you're ready to learn."

"And…after the two years?"

"You're going to start learning Antonio's businesses. He and I both have parts of our family business that the other had nothing to do with. It came, as you know, from taking turns heading up the organization. Unless one of your siblings wants to help run it, which they show no interest in right now, it's going to be all yours."

"What about your kids, Uncle Dante?"

"We'll cross that bridge if and when we get to it. But I will say, you were first born. You are the heir. No matter how many kids I may have, the family is yours."

Sel was blown away. He couldn't believe he'd shown anything of value to his uncle. Indio patted his leg. "You okay?"

"I'm in shock."

Jace spoke then, and he was smiling the entire time. "Sel, the first thing that Dante is having you learn is this place. In fact…Dante?"

"Once you're ready, I'm signing it over to you. Seems to me that you'll be living here the majority of the time, so once you are finished learning, you'll have all of it, except whatever land Blaine and I will keep for our family."

Sel didn't want to cry in front of the men, so he swallowed his emotions and sat straight, swallowing again, then managing to say, "I won't let you down, Uncle Dante."

Dallas came off the wall and moved around to proffer his hand. "Nice to have you on board."

Jace was next, then Dante. Sel hugged him after the handshake, but Dante told him to sit back down after the hug.

"Indio, you've got a lot on you right now, with a new chapter to run, but Blaine and Selena can tell you that we couldn't do what we do without the support of the person beside us. He'll depend on you to help him sort things out as well as bounce ideas off you."

"I'll be there for him, sir."

"Good. Well, go ahead back to the party. And tell the people that they'll have tomorrow off. After that, we'll all be working hard to get this place finished in ten months."

Outside the office, when they were alone, Indio tipped his head back and stole a kiss. "I'm real proud of you, Sel."

"I'm still in shock."

"Well, get used to being the boss. Everywhere except when you're with me."

"Oh? You gonna be that big Dom for me?"

"I'm getting used to the idea of bossing the boss around, yeah."

Sel took his hand and led him toward the bunkhouse. "Let's go tell them they can get drunk and not worry over the hangover."

"That's news I will like giving."

As soon as they got back to the party, Sel jumped on one of the picnic tables and got everyone's attention. After the announcement, the crowd cheered, and he was helped down by Indio.

He soon had a cup of beer in his hand and his friends surrounded him. As Indio went to hang out with Kirk, Sel told Binx, Mal, Ruben and Prince, "Get the contract ready. He is coming around to the idea."

"He is?" Binx hugged him. "Well, I'll have lots of time to coach you once we're back."

"Back?"

Ruben nodded, "Him and his Sirs are heading home in a couple days to get their house packed and on the market to rent and they'll be back here a month before opening. They want to spend that time with their friends."

Sel hugged Binx again. "I'm so glad! I don't know what we'd do here without you."

"I can't wait to have my own kitchen and cook for the masses."

Ruben added, "It's all coming together. That asshole is dead, we're all…like a little family. I've never been happier."

Mal pointed away from them and they turned to see Bonita and Barry walking off hand in hand together. "You might just be the brother of the bride soon. Look at them."

"That'll make her happy. She's liked him since she first saw him."

Sel remembered his uncle's wish for the place. He wanted somewhere that people could come together and fall in love, find a new family or both.

Looking over the crowd, seeing the happy faces, watching laughter and friendships blossom, he knew his uncle's wish had come true. The resort wasn't open and already there were lasting friendships made, people falling in love, and the feeling of home was spreading through every acre of Carrillo Ranch.

Roland came to hang out with him and his friends, asking, "You need to give me your ideas for your house."

"How much can I copy my uncles?"

"I'm making the outsides of all the…" he leaned in to whisper the rest. "Mafia houses the same."

"Oh! Oh, good! Well, I love the inside of the place too. I'll look at some décor sites and see if there's anything I want."

"Okay, great. We'll meet this week. The guest houses, the building where the meetings and such will be held and Dex's house is already being built, now that Dante's is finished."

Prince broke in, "Roland did an amazing job with the plans for our house."

"I can't wait to see it."

Binx confided, "We're going to have one closer to the ranch, actually. We like Dante's too, though. Roland showed us the concepts, and we want the same."

It was all coming together, and Sel felt a little overwhelmed. "It's hard for me to believe that all of us are going to be here, living close, still being friends."

"We're just so glad you aren't angry with us," Prince said.

"How could I be? You were all helping me. You all only wanted the best for me. I love you, all of you."

They sang songs, drank way too much and watched Dallas and Avery do rope tricks. There was a sense of pure joy and a lot of relief running through the crowd. Even the construction workers, who'd been kept mostly separate from the rest of the ranch, were having fun.

Music was played, people danced, Indio refused, however, but instead of dancing, they sneaked off together to fuck in one of the stable stalls.

Indio picked him up and hung him over a blanket that was draped over the rail in one of the stalls, eating his ass before taking him down and fucking his mouth. He was a mess when they got back to the party, but no one seemed to notice.

That night, they slept back in the farmhouse, and Indio woke him, begging for coffee. "My head. I can't sit up."

"And I can?"

"You want to be one of those submissives. Start doing the submissive thing."

"I'm definitely putting in the contract you're in charge of coffee fetching."

"Then I won't sign it," he groaned, then almost immediately started to snore again.

Sel got his pants and a shirt on before he went out and headed down the stairs. Binx was already up and at it, the coffee freshly brewed. "Binxie, you are sent from God."

"I doubt he'd claim me," Binx teased. "Coffee is ready and I'm making some overly greasy empanadas. The bread and grease will help everyone's hangover."

"Sounds nauseating."

"Doesn't it?"

Sel laughed and poured two cups of coffee. "My…Dom…I guess, even though that is so weird to say, um…he wanted coffee."

"I think that's always their favorite order. Get me coffee, boy! I've heard it enough to tell what mood each of my Sirs are in for the day."

"Wow, from that?"

"Once you're with Indio a while, come back and tell me you don't know him better than even he knows himself."

Liking the sound of that, Sel whispered, "Wow. Gives me something to look forward to."

"There's going to be a lot to look forward to, always, Sel. It's special, being with someone, especially in this lifestyle. It brings men closer together. They have to trust one another, and that is hard for a lot of guys. I think Indio is one of them, but once you get there, the relationship is something you won't easily throw away."

Sel kissed his cheek and thanked him. "I'm so glad I got you to come here."

"Me too. Now, go! Before that coffee is cold. They bitch when the coffee is cold."

"Good. I like when he's mad."

"Kinky fucker," Binx accused, laughing.

He came into the room and kissed Indio back awake. "Coffee is here, Master."

"Ugh, no master. Not this early."

"Okay, Sir?"

"Better," he said, laughing.

How much of a change Indio had gone through, but Sel knew better than to think the old him wouldn't come back again and again. The was the thing about loving someone, though. Loving all of them.

They sipped coffee and complained about headaches, but Sel brought out the ibuprofen from his nightstand and gave two to Indio. "I could get used to this."

"Do. And…the big question. I know it's too soon, but eventually, I'd like you to come stay with me in my house."

Indio got quiet and Sel regretted bringing it up, but then Indio said, "Why are we talking about this right now, if you know it's too soon?"

"Because Roland is meeting with me this week. He wants to design my house, you know, in the compound."

"Surrounded by the others in your family and Dex's family, right?"

"Well, Dante never said it had to be there, but…I think they assume."

Indio sipped more of his coffee and then said, "Okay, what about this? We'll go look for a spot that's close, but not right on top of everyone else. I know that's not exactly part of the compound, but I've always had houses surrounding me. Being here…I really want a spot off to myself. If that's cool."

Sel's heart began to pound in his chest so hard, he found it hard to breathe. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"And the house itself? Is there anything you want in it?"

"Yeah, a big garage with a lift for my bike. I'll pay for it."

"You don't…"

His words trailed off when Indio turned his head to look him dead in the eye. Binx was right, Sel already knew what that look meant. He wasn't to argue.

"Okay. You pay for the lift."

"And I pay my share of…whatever. I'm guessing there won't be rent or a mortgage, but they'll be utilities and shit. I'll pay those."

"We're getting solar, and we'll have a well."

Laughing, Indio said, "Then I'll find a way to pay you. I'll pay you with dick until then."

"I'm not arguing."

That afternoon, they rode Indio's bike out to the property around the compound. There was a lake just to the northwest of there, and at first, Indio liked that, then asked, "Where is that airport?"

"It's closer to the entrance, on the western side of these little mountains."

"Too close," he said, and they got back on the bike.

Around the eastern side of the mountains, they crossed what was little more than a footbridge and Indio parked just on the other side of it. As he got off, Sel was staring around at the land and his mind was blown at the beauty.

A stream under the little bridge cut that piece off from the rest of the place, and there was a nice little valley that made a circle in the trees. The grass was tall and bright green, and the sun warmed them as they walked around the tree line.

"This is it," Sel said as he did a twirl. "It's less than half a mile from the compound, but we're all on our own. The house can sit right in the center, and I'm sure the well would hit water without digging very deep."

"This is definitely the place. We'll need a better bridge, unless we want to park over there and walk home, but in the winter, that would suck."

"No, we'll get a better bridge built. Indio, it's so beautiful here."

"Fuck, man, this is perfect."

Indio went to him, grabbing him up and picking him off his feet to kiss him solidly. Sel didn't think he'd ever seen Indio so happy. "Indio, can I call you my boyfriend when we start living together?"

Those pretty eyes shined. "You can call me that now."