Cowboy Way (12 page)

J
AKE
looked over at Ryan, sitting beside him in the truck, and he could feel the tension rolling off him in waves. It had been getting worse in the two days since they left, and was now to the point that he was hardly speaking at all. It was a very unusual way for Ryan to act.

They had decided to drive from Wyoming to Illinois, wanting the time for Ryan to prepare himself mentally. They made arrangements with Ben, and he was going to have a couple of his hands look after the horses until they got back, for a good bonus, of course. Ben was still feeling a little guilty about Jake getting hurt, and because he wouldnt take any money as compensation for it, Ben was continually doing favors for them. Against their will, sometimes. But Jake knew they needed to make this trip, and this time, he was grateful for the help.

He reached over and rubbed the back of Ryans neck, and although Ryan didnt say anything, he leaned into the touch, and that was enough to make Jake smile.

God, Jake, I miss them so much.”
“I know, but youre going to be seeing them soon. In
about forty-five minutes, in fact. You wanna drive? You know
the way.”
“No, Im not sure I should be behind the wheel. Im a
little nervous.”
Jake looked at the leg bouncing almost off the floor of
the truck and the hands rubbing over his thighs and
smirked. “No kidding.”
Ryan looked at him and smacked him playfully on the
arm. “Ass.”
Galesburg was coming into view. Jake thought it was a
nice-looking town. He hoped it would be better to Ryan, this
time. They continued through town and headed out into the
countryside. Ryan gave him directions, and soon they were
parking in a beautiful farmyard that actually reminded him
of home, only with a bigger house.
It was two days before Thanksgiving, and the rest of the
family hadnt arrived yet. Ryan got out of the truck, and he
looked so happy and so lost, at the same time. Jake came
around to his side of the truck and took him in his arms.
Ryan clung to him for a minute, tucking his head under
Jakes chin before pulling back and taking his hand. Ryan
had started toward the house when the door opened and a
little girl of about nine came out.
She stopped, and Ryan stopped, and they looked at
each other for an infinite second before the little girl took off
at a dead run, right for Ryan.
“Ryan!” It was a wail of joy, and when she reached Ryan,
he picked her up and swung her around before wrapping his
arms around her and holding her close.
“Nat, oh God, Nat, I missed you so much.” He was
crying and she was crying, and Jake just stood there, heart
swelling, and watched.
The cry brought other people to the door of the house.
Jake saw Ryans parents first, and his mom gave a cry when she saw him. The next thing he knew, he was surrounded by Andrewses. Most of them were crying, although Ryans dad was trying to keep it together. Ryans grandmother was there, grinning like a fool, with tears running down her cheeks, and a girl who looked like the first, only older, was
hugging the stuffing out of Ryan.
Jake could only smile. Jim shook his hand, Beth and
Ida hugged him, and the girls smiled shyly at him. He felt
Ryans hand slip back into his, and he looked at him and
knew that this was the right thing.
He felt a tug on the hem of his shirt, and he looked
down to see a small boy of about four looking up at him with
Ryans eyes. He squatted down. “Hello, Matt.”
The little boys eyes widened. “You knows my name?” “Of course I know your name, Matt. Your big brother
talks about you all the time!”
“He does?”
Jake nodded, absolutely charmed by the smallest
Andrews.
Those big eyes turned to look at his brother, full of love
and pride. Then he threw himself at Ryan and grabbed his
leg, in a hug only a little brother could give. Ryans hand
came down to rest on his head for a second, and he looked
down at Jake with gratitude.
Matt turned back to look at the tall man who was still
kneeling beside him. He kept one arm wrapped around
Ryans leg, like he was worried if he didnt hang on, he would
disappear again.
“Youre Jake.”
Jake nodded and smiled. “Hey, you know my name.” Matt grinned shyly. “Ryan told me, I talked to him on the phone!” He puffed out his chest, obviously feeling important. Jake stuck out his hand, and after a moment,
Matt shook it.
“Good to meet you, Matt.”
Jake stood up, and Ryan took his hand again. They all
made their way into the house and found that Ida had snuck
in before them and was setting out enough food to feed an
army. They all sat at the table, Ryan on one side of Jake,
and Matt insisting on sitting on the other side. Jake didnt
say much, just watched Ryan with his family, answered any
questions that came his way, and enjoyed the warmth of it
all.
Ryans hand was on his thigh, and his arm was around
Ryans back, and it felt so right. He could see that Ryan was
getting tired. It had been a long couple of days on the road,
and the stress made it that much worse. He was getting tired
too. He kissed Ryan on the temple and stood up.
“Im going out to the truck to get the bags. Ill be right
back.” Ryan made as if to stand up and help, but Jim
stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
“Stay with your mother, son. Ill go help Jake.” Ryan
smiled at his father and kissed Jakes hand before letting
him go.
Jake and Jim slipped their jackets on and went out into
the chilly November air together. They walked to the truck,
and Jake opened the back door, reaching in for their
suitcases. He had insisted on each of them packing their
own, saying it was easier to carry that way. But in reality, he
wasnt sure where he would be sleeping tonight, and he
didnt want to look like he was assuming anything. Sleeping
away from Ryan wouldnt be his first choice, but he would go
along with whatever happened.
He heard Jims soft voice behind him. He turned to look
at him.
“Jake, I just want to say thank you. Having Ryan home
for Thanksgiving means so much to all of us, and I know
that youre the reason hes here. And thats not the only
reason we have to thank you, is it?”
Jake ducked his head shyly and shrugged his
shoulders.
“Jake, I talked to the sheriff when I was there. She told
me what you did. Without you, my boy might not be here at
all.”
Jake blushed. He didnt know what to say, but he closed
his eyes and found himself blurting out his deepest, darkest,
most guilty feeling.
“Without me, Ryan wouldnt have been there in the first
place.” Whenever he thought of that night, he remembered
the feeling of dread he had on the way out to that stupid
horse. He should never have let Ryan come.
He was startled by Jims laughter. “Oh, Jake, do you
honestly think that you could have stopped him from going
with you? Havent you figured out yet that Ryan dives
headfirst into everything he does? He doesnt need help
finding trouble, it finds him! But you were there this time, to
help him get out of it. Thats what counts.”
Jake looked at Ryans father, saw that he was telling the
truth, and felt a little of the guilt leave him.
“I love him, you know.” He said it quietly, but Jim heard
him, anyway.
“I know you do, son. I can see it shining out of you,
every time you look at him. He loves you too, you know. Hes reminding me so much of his mom right now. Neither of them do anything with half a heart.” He stood there,
remembering for a second, before grabbing one of the bags. “Come on, we had better get back in there before they
send out a search party.”
They walked back into the kitchen, and Jim asked the
obvious question.
“Where are we putting these, Mama?”
“In Ryans old room, of course, where else?”
Jim just looked at her and raised an eyebrow, but Ryan
was more expressive.
“Really, Gramma?”
She walked over and pinched his cheek and smiled. “I
have my rules, Ryan, but you and Jake live together, and if I
made you wait until you got married to sleep together under
my roof, well, Lord knows when that would happen. Those
morons in the governors mansion are being mighty pokey
about doing whats right.”
She turned to the rest of them. “Come on now, lets get
this all cleaned up. Its almost this old girls bedtime. Quit
your gawking!”
Everyone got up from the table and started tidying up.
Jake followed Jim up the stairs and was led down the hall to
Ryans bedroom. He couldnt help but smile when he walked
in and saw that apparently not a lot had been changed in
here since Ryan was a teenager.
He put the suitcase on the bed while Jim put his on the
floor. Jake walked around, looking at all the stuff that had
been important to teenaged Ryan Andrews.
Jim watched him for a second before smiling at him and
leaving him alone. Jake walked around, touching trophies for basketball, ribbons for horse competitions, models and cars on the shelves, favorite books that stayed behind out of the need to travel light. There was some pictures of Ryan tacked to a corkboard on the wall. Ryan on one side of a pretty brunette and a smiling blond boy with a giant grin on the other side of her. Ryan and a smart-looking, darkskinned girl, both of them hugging each other tightly. He
reached up to touch a finger to Ryans face.
“Thats my cousin Jade. She lives in LA now. When she
heard what happened, she threatened to come out and kick
Mikes ass all the way to the old Barry place and back. God, I
cant wait to see her.”
He walked over and looked down at the bed, smiling. “I
wonder when she changed the bed in here?”
He looked at Jake and saw his confusion. He started
chuckling, not sure how his boyfriend was gonna take this. “I used to have a twin bed in here.” Jake looked down at
the queen-sized bed with dawning realization. Oh God, he
was so embarrassed.
Ryan walked over and grabbed his belt loops, pulling
him close, and kissed him hard. “Dont think about it too
much, babe. Itll fry your brain.” He kissed him again.
“Wanna help me out in the barn for a few minutes? I told
Dad I would check on things.”
“My pleasure.” And he was almost certain it would be.

“Ryan, why are you awake at four in the morning?” He mumbled it into his pillow, his drawl more pronounced because he was still sleepy.

“Because something was poking me.” He could hear the smile in Ryans voice. He and Ryan were spooned together, his front to Ryans back, and it only took a little push back from Ryans ass to help him figure out what had been poking his boyfriend.

“Hmmm, sorry, babe. Guess I want you even in my sleep.” He pulled Ryan closer with the arm around his waist and nuzzled his face into Ryans neck.

“Go back to sleep. Im still tired.” He wasnt really all that tired, but there was no way he was having sex with Ryan while his whole family slept around them. He was loud enough, but Ryan was a whole other level of noisy when he was enjoying himself. Or Jake.

Ryan had other ideas, though. He reached up, took the hand that was around his waist, and moved it down to his dick, so that Jake could feel what all that poking had been doing to him. He knew Jake couldnt help the groan that escaped his throat at the touch.

Jake kissed the back of his neck again and turned over. “Ryan, I love you, but I am not going to have sex with you with your parents and the kids down the hall, forget it.” It only took a few seconds for him to realize that turning his back to his boyfriend had not been a good idea. Ryan scooted up behind him and pressed himself against his back, grinding his hard-on into Jakes ass.

“Come on, Jake, how am I supposed to go back to sleep like this. Ill be quiet, promise!” He leaned in and nuzzled into Jakes neck, licking and biting at all the sensitive spots he knew would make him crazy.

Jake snorted. “Yeah right, like you can be quiet.” He reached back and rubbed his hand over the bulge in Ryans sleep pants, eliciting a throaty growl. “I dont think so.”

Ryan got a gleam in his eye. He couldnt be quiet? He was pretty sure that Jake had no idea of all the noises he made when Ryan was fucking his brains out. Now he had a point to prove.

He snaked his hand around Jakes waist, sliding up to rub his impatient fingers over the hard nubs of Jakes nipples, causing his boyfriend to suck in his breath and whisper, “God,” into the dark. Ryans hand traced down, across Jakes abs, tickling his bellybutton before trailing lower, quickly sneaking the hand under his sleep pants. When he wrapped his hand around Jakes aching cock, he knew he was winning. But Jake wasnt giving in yet. After a couple of strokes, he pulled Ryans hand away, kissing his knuckles and saying, “No,” before turning away again.

Ryan brought his hand to his mouth, silently coating his fingers with saliva before sliding his hand between them, this time sliding them down the crack of Jakes perfect ass, circling his entrance, while sucking a bruise into the soft skin of his shoulder.

Jake moaned quietly and was reaching around to push the torturous hand away when Ryan slid one finger in, quickly finding the brunets prostate, causing him to moan Ryans name. He added another finger, stretching Jake carefully, all the while keeping up the gentle touches to that bundle of nerves, and it was making Jake not care who was around, as long as Ryan didnt stop touching him, like, ever.

Ryan pulled his fingers out, quickly grabbed the condoms and lube from the drawer in the nightstand, and prepared himself. Then he slicked some lube onto his fingers and slid them back into Jake, the feeling of him clenching around his fingers almost his undoing.

When Jake was ready, Ryan got as close as he could, until they were touching from shoulder to groin, and he lifted Jakes leg and slowly pushed inside.

Jake was in heaven. This new angle hit different spots inside him, and he was stuffing his fist into his mouth to try and stop the noises that wanted to pour out of his mouth. Ryans hand was on the back of his thigh, holding his leg up, and the other was under his head, elbow bent, so that he could pet Jakes hair.