Cattle Valley 26 - Shadow Soldier (11 page)

Deacon parked the truck and stared at the townspeople gathering in the park for the annual spring clean-up. “Why’re we doing this again?”
“Because I promised Dr Pritchard I’d start getting involved in the community. And since you’re as bad as I am about meeting new people, it’s only fair that you have to do it, too.” Aaron gave Deacon a peck on the cheek. “I see Luke over there if that helps.”
“Not really,” Deacon grumbled. He opened the door. “But, I guess if you can do it, I can too.” He eased out of the pickup. A light drizzle wet Deacon’s skin as he dropped the tailgate and handed Aaron a rake. “We should be home cleaning up our own yard.”
Aaron smiled and shook his head. “You’d better put a smile on that handsome face of yours or else people are going to think you’re a real grouch.”
“They already think that,” Deacon reminded Aaron.
“And for good reason, but today is about changing their minds. We’re both going to step out of our comfort zone and meet at least five new people. Deal?”
Deacon leaned in and pressed his forehead against Aaron’s. He was proud of the way Aaron had tried to take back his life since the fire. As Deacon had suspected, Aaron had turned down George’s offer to nominate him for a citizenship award. However, Aaron’s reasons for doing so hadn’t been what Deacon had expected at all. Aaron informed George that giving him any kind of praise for stupidly running into a burning building would send the wrong message to the young kids. The argument evidently worked because George shook Aaron’s hand and told him he understood and appreciated his position.
“Mr Ellis?”
Deacon and Aaron broke eye contact and turned to face their visitor. “Yes?” Aaron answered.
“I’m Shane Rendell. I just wanted to thank you for what you did.” The young man held out his hand.
Aaron shook hands with Shane before gesturing to Deacon. “This is my partner, Deacon McConnell.”
“Nice to finally meet you both.” Shane shuffled his feet, clearly uncomfortable with the awkward silence that quickly followed.
Deacon knew the city was planning to rebuild the shops that had been destroyed, but he couldn’t help wonder what that meant for Shane. “Have you found a place to stay?”
“Kind of. My boss, Asa Montgomery, has a little house he uses for out-of-town customers and stuff. He’s letting me stay there for now, but I just heard he’s hired a new security chief, so I’ll probably be asked to find something different before long.”
“If you need help finding something, just give us a call. Hell, if nothing else, we’ve got two spare rooms,” Deacon offered. He withdrew his wallet and handed Shane one of his new business cards. Falling Limb Creations was officially back in business, although Deacon had decided to sell his furniture online and by appointment only out of his shop at home.
“Thanks.” Shane stuck the card in his pocket. “I’m just an intern at the company, so I can’t pay much, but I was renting the apartment above the hardware store for three hundred a month. If you hear of anything, keep me in mind.”
“Will do.” Aaron shook Shane’s hand again. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Thanks to you. I was so drugged up on NyQuil, I doubt I would’ve heard a train run through my bedroom, but I definitely learned my lesson. If it wasn’t for you alerting the fire department, I wouldn’t be standing here.”
Deacon watched Aaron closely for his reaction. It was important for Aaron to understand how many people were alive because of him. Aaron’s guilt would probably be with him for some time, but he’d gone twice in the last week without having nightmares wake him. Deacon’s cock wasn’t happy with the progress but his heart sure was.
“I appreciate you saying that,” Aaron told Shane.
Shane rubbed his palms on his wet jeans. “Guess I’d better go find the people I work with. I think we’re supposed to be planting flower bulbs or something.” He made a funny face. “I’ve only messed in the dirt one time and that was to bury my pet canary when I was eight, so I’m not sure how much help I’m going to be.”
“I’m sure they’ll find something for you to do,” Aaron said with a smile.
After Shane walked off, Aaron glanced up at Deacon. “I like him.”
“Yeah, seems like a nice enough guy.” Deacon retrieved a bundle of paper lawn bags out of the truck bed and shut the tailgate.
“That’s one down for me, four more to go. You still have five strangers to introduce yourself to because I saved Shane’s life so I get to claim him.”
Deacon looked out over the park and spotted Sean O’Brien. He’d only spoken to Sean a few times since the fire, but Sean was optimistic about the timeline for getting O’Brien’s Pub rebuilt. In the meantime, Jay was working at The Canoe and Sean and Moby were taking a much deserved break from the daily grind of running a bar.
“Come on, you can’t put it off any longer.” Aaron gave Deacon a gentle push towards the park.
Deacon noticed a gorgeous dark-haired twink in a pair of insanely short shorts emptying one of the trashcans. “There’s someone I haven’t met.”
Aaron followed Deacon’s gaze and grunted. “Too bad you’re not going to meet him today either.”
“What, you mean there are rules to this stupid game?” Deacon was pulling Aaron’s chain, something he found he loved to do after Aaron admitted he was the jealous type.
Aaron pointed towards an older black man standing by himself under one of the trees. “There, that guy looks lonely. Why don’t you go talk to him?”
“You’re taking all the fun out of this.” Deacon broke away from Aaron. His partner was right, the man did look lonely. He approached the man and stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Deacon McConnell, nice to meet you.”
The man shook Deacon’s hand. “Smokey Sharp.”
“Smokey,” Deacon repeated. “That’s an interesting name. Do you live here in Cattle Valley?”
The black man’s eyes started to water. “I used to work as foreman on the EZ Does It, but I had to leave.” Smokey turned away long enough to wipe his eyes with the sleeve of his coat. “Sorry. All I’ve wanted since the day I left was to come back. Now that I’m here, I’m afraid they won’t let me stay.”
“Who?” Deacon wondered if Smokey was in trouble with the law.
Smokey took off a tan cowboy hat that had seen better days and ran a hand over the short nap of his hair. “I said and did some things before I left that I’m not proud of.”
Deacon clapped Smokey on the shoulder. “Hell, there isn’t a person in town who hasn’t done that.”
“Maybe,” Smokey agreed. “But I doubt they’ve also fallen in love with their best friend and tried to sabotage the friend’s relationship.”
Deacon smiled. “You might be surprised what some folks have done.” He’d done a heck of a lot worse than that over the years, but he wasn’t about to advertise his past. “Cattle Valley seems like a place open to giving people a second chance. The best advice I can give is to face your problem head on and take it from there.”
Smokey resettled his hat on his head. “Ezra’s a big guy. I just hope I survive the conversation.”
Deacon only knew the owner of the EZ Does It in passing, but he understood Smokey’s reluctance. He dug his wallet out of his jeans and fished inside for one of his cards before passing it to Smokey. “My partner’s a medic, so if you need some first aid, give us a call. Hell, for that matter, give us a call anyway. We’re both fairly new to town, so with us you don’t have a past.”
For the first time since introducing himself, Smokey seemed to relax. “I appreciate that, more than you’ll ever know.” Smokey gestured towards the lake. “I see Ezra and Wyn. Guess there’s no time like the present.”
“Good luck.”
Smokey held out his hand. “I appreciate it.”
Deacon shook Smokey’s hand. He watched him slowly walk towards the lake like a man headed for the gallows. He hoped Ezra would give Smokey a chance to apologise, otherwise there was little hope Smokey would be in town long enough for Deacon to get to know him better.
“Who was that?” Aaron asked, coming up behind Deacon. “Smokey Sharp. Guess he used to live here and wants to come back, but he’s not sure he’ll be welcomed.”
“Looked like he was welcome to me.” Aaron wrapped his arms around Deacon. “I’m proud of you for introducing yourself, by the way.”
“Thanks.” Deacon returned the gesture. “Unfortunately, I’m not sure my welcome counts as far as Smokey’s concerned.”
“Sure it does,” Aaron argued. “Let’s go introduce ourselves to that guy over there trying to keep those three little kids in line. Looks to me like he could use some reinforcements.”
Deacon glanced towards the pond once again. Smokey stood several feet away from Ezra and Wyn with his hat in his hand, his head tipped downward. Although Ezra didn’t appear to be thrilled by Smokey’s appearance, at least Smokey was still standing. “You know, the problem with making friends is that you start to worry about them.”
Aaron urged Deacon to move. “Yeah, but it also means you’re in the position to help if they need it.”
“I guess so.” Deacon followed Aaron’s lead to the man who definitely looked like he could use some help. “I’ll talk to the guy, you distract the kids.”
“I figured you’d say that.” Aaron bumped his hip against Deacon. “Of course that means I’ll get three introductions to your one.”
Deacon didn’t mind. He was surprised to find he was enjoying himself. Maybe he’d hid himself away for no reason. He kissed the top of Aaron’s head. Deacon had agreed to the introductory exercise for Aaron’s benefit, but he had a strong feeling he would end the day feeling richer for it.

Arriving in Kansas City after a long drive from Chicago, Mike Shriver pulled into his clients’ driveway. Ray DeMonico and Brent Atwood obviously had excellent taste, and by the look of the house, a hefty bank account. The large Tudor-style home was exactly as he’d pictured it after talking to Ray for hours over the phone. He’d met the two men only once, when he’d flown in to take final measurements and contract a foundation company.

The meeting with Ray and Brent had gone well, and when a room was offered in the couple’s home for the duration of the job, Mike had taken them up on it. He got out of his pickup and opened the back driver’s side door. The backseat was full of tools, blueprints and anything else he could think of that he’d need for the projected eight month schedule.

Mike glanced over his shoulder at Brent. “Sure.” He handed Brent the rolls of blueprints he wanted to go over with the two men. “If you can get these, I’ll grab my suitcases. Is this a secure enough area to lock my tools up and leave ’em out here?”

“Probably, but Ray cleared a bay in the garage for you just in case. If you want to pull around, he’s already got the door open for you.”
“Sounds good.” Mike shut the back door and climbed behind the wheel as Brent disappeared into the house. It was hard to believe the two had not only invited him into their home for the better part of a year, but had made room for his work truck. He slowly pulled into the garage, praying the long extended-cab would fit.
Ray opened the door that led into the house and held up his hands to indicate Mike still had another foot of room. Mike nodded his thanks and put the truck in park. Before getting out, he took a moment to stare at Ray through his mirrored sunglasses. Although both men were hot, Mike and Ray had connected with each other almost immediately. Despite feeling guilty about it, Mike looked his fill before getting out of the truck. “Thanks for the space.”
“No problem. We use this bay for storage more than anything.”
Brent stepped into the garage and wrapped an arm around Ray’s waist. “I hope you’re hungry. Ray’s been cooking all afternoon.”
“Starved,” Mike said, squeezing between the front bumper and the wall with his suitcases in hand. “I thought about stopping in Des Moines, but wasn’t sure what the two of you had planned, so I decided against it.”
Ray took one of Mike’s suitcases and led the way into the house.
Mike was so focused on the fantastic smells wafting from the stove; he didn’t immediately notice Brent standing behind him. When a hand landed on his ass, Mike jumped in surprise.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Brent said, winking.
Mike’s immediate reaction was to look at Ray who was shaking his head with a resigned expression on his face.
“Sorry,” Ray said. “Brent doesn’t always know when to behave himself.”
“Don’t apologise for me.” Brent released Mike’s ass and hopped up onto the black granite kitchen island. “I know a good ass when I see one. I was just confirming my suspicions.”
Mike took off his sunglasses and set them on the counter. He wasn’t sure if he should comment or not. Ray didn’t seem angry at Brent, but he did sound embarrassed by his partner’s actions.
“As far as rooms, you’ve got your pick. We have four guest rooms or, something I thought would be even better, a studio apartment over the garage. It’s supposed to be for hired help, but with only the two of us here, we don’t need anything but a weekly spit and shine,” Ray said, moving to the stove to stir the sauce.
“The studio sounds good. That way I won’t have to be in your hair any more than necessary,” Mike replied.
Bracing his hands on the edge of the island, Brent leant forward. “The room across the hall from ours is a lot nicer.”
Ray hit the wooden spoon on the edge of the pot harder than necessary before he set it down. “I’ll help you take your things up to the studio.”
Mike wasn’t sure what was going on between the two men, but he nodded and picked up his suitcase. He followed Ray up the staircase just off the kitchen and took the opportunity to check out the man’s ass. The first time they’d met, Ray had worn a suit. Mike had to admit Ray’s ass was better displayed in the pair of worn jeans he currently wore.
The staircase opened up into a large room with a small kitchenette in one corner, a bed in the far corner as well as an enclosed space Mike assumed was the bathroom. The centre of the room held worn, but nice, leather furniture. “This is fantastic.”
“Thanks. We recently redid the family room, so I had them put all the old furniture up here. Well, except the bed, that came from my bachelor days.” Ray chuckled as he carried Mike’s suitcase towards the bed. “If that bed could talk I’d be in a world of trouble.”
The statement caused Mike’s cock to perk up. He set the second suitcase down. “Are you sure about this?”
“I’m sure.”
“Let me know if I start to wear out my welcome, and I’ll find a hotel or something,” Mike said.
“Brent made you nervous, didn’t he?” Ray asked.
Nervous wasn’t exactly the word Mike would have used. “Is there something going on I should know about?”
Ray leant back against the antique wardrobe. “Around three years ago, Brent decided he wanted to try a threesome. It wasn’t something I was interested in, but I went along with it because I was afraid of losing him.” He took a deep breath and crossed his arms over his chest. “Since then we’ve done it a few times, but never for more than a weekend. When I told him I’d invited you to stay here while the athletic club is built, he just assumed you’d spend some time in our bed. I tried to tell him it wouldn’t work because you weren’t some random stranger we could just get rid of after the weekend, but Brent argued that you were an adult and could make up your own mind.”
Mike scratched his jaw. He’d slept with more than one guy before but only once and he’d been really drunk at the time. Still… “I won’t lie and tell you the idea doesn’t intrigue me, but my brothers would kick my ass if I did anything to screw up this job.” Ray nodded. “That’s exactly what I told Brent.”
Mike tried to wrap his mind around the situation. “Doesn’t it bother you to see him fucking someone else?”
“It nearly killed me at first, but then I realised how much he’d given up to be with me, and I knew it wouldn’t be fair to him to say no.”
“Bullshit,” Mike said, thinking of his dear friend Sidney. “When you love someone, there’s nothing wrong with wanting them all to yourself.” He’d never planned to fall in love with Sidney, but it had been hard to resist the hot little architect who worked for his brother. Even knowing Sidney was deeply committed to his partner, Nash, hadn’t been enough to stop Mike from falling head-over-heels for the man. It was the foremost reason Mike had agreed to relocate to Kansas City until the health club was complete.
“I understand what you’re saying, but I think sometimes you can love someone so much you’d do just about anything to make them happy,” Ray countered.
“And does it?”
Ray nodded. “Yeah. Brent’s a completely different person for a while after we do it.”
“Different how?” Mike asked.
“Happier. He hangs on my every word and feels the desire to touch me whenever we’re in the same room together.” Ray grinned, showing off twin dimples. “It’s nice to feel wanted like that again. Maybe he was right, maybe things were starting to get a little stale.”
“So you’re okay with it now?” Mike was definitely interested in going a few rounds, but the whole situation still worried him.
“Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I’ve seen that it only makes things better between us. And, I’m not such a prude that the thought of fucking another man doesn’t turn me on from time to time. The most important thing to me is keeping my relationship with Brent safe.” Ray pushed away from the wardrobe and headed towards the door. “I’d better get downstairs or my sauce’ll burn. Dinner should be on the table in thirty minutes if you want to shower or anything first.”
“Thanks.” Mike watched Ray disappear down the steps before sitting on the corner of the bed. “Wow.”