074a50a5-6717-4074-afd7-3ef0b380f481 out (6 page)

*~*~*

Jamie pulled up outside the grocery store and turned off the
engine. "I'm glad you've agreed to marry me."

Kip shot him a lopsided grin. "I'm addicted to you and your
beautiful red hair."

"Thank God I have that going for me." Jamie jumped
out of the truck and waited for Kip to join him. They headed into the store for
supplies. He wanted to hold Kip's hand, but this was Texas and not everyone was
open to his and Kip's relationship.

They went through the list Cookie had given them, picking up
an extra six-pack of beer just for them. He leaned in close to Kip and
whispered, "Tonight my love, I'll make your dreams come true."

Kip laughed and swatted him on the ass. "You already
have."

He watched as Kip swaggered down the aisle. Jamie followed,
watching the way his man moved. He glanced back, making sure they didn't need
anything else on the row and was shocked to see a guy glaring with his fists
clenched. Jamie's stomach turned and his body went hot. He moved quickly,
catching up to Kip. It was the first time he'd experienced that kind of rage
over who he slept with. Spending so much time on the ranch left him feeling
like everyone was happy for him, but that wasn't really the case.

They paid for their purchases and loaded the truck, stowing
the cold food in the two large ice chests they'd brought with them so they
could eat lunch before heading back to Crazy Hills. Kip drove them across town
to their favorite burger joint. Before getting out of the car, Kip reached
across the seat and took Jamie's hand. "You've made my life so much
better. I don't ever want to lose you."

"Babe, I'm yours. I love you."

"Let's go eat, I'm starving."

They sat at a back booth, neither one of them paying
attention to the other patrons. He and Kip had talked about not being too
obvious in public. They didn't kiss and usually they didn't hold hands. They
would touch, like now, their feet were entwined under the table. Jamie enjoyed
the warmth of Kip's legs against his.

"You getting fries?" Kip asked.

"No." Jamie stared at the menu though he already knew
what he wanted.

"Why not? I wanted fries."

"If you want fries then you order them."

"But yours are always better than mine." Kip's eyes
were huge and the pleading look on his face did Jamie in.

"Fine, I'll order fries. And they are the same fries you
get."

"You're kidding me, right. When you order fries with
your burger they give you more. And they pull them out on time. The cook
doesn't like me."

"You're making up shit." Jamie teased. He knew the
cook was jealous. Long before Kip, Jamie had dated the woman who cooked for the
diner. They'd gone out twice but the woman still held a flame for him and she knew
Kip stood in her way.

The waitress stopped by and took their order. Jamie ordered
extra fries, hoping Kip liked his gesture. He was rewarded when Kip reached
across the table and intertwined their fingers. "Thank you."

Jamie's cheeks were hot, his smile wide. "You know, I'd
do anything for you."

"Yeah, and I'd move heaven and earth for you."

"After we get married I won't mind living in the
bunkhouse for a while, but maybe we should find a place to call our own."

Kip stared at him for a long moment, his eyes were dark with
desire and Jamie knew that after they finished here and put away their
groceries they were going to be getting it on. The food came, Jamie's French
fries were beautiful, perfectly salted and the best tasting fries he'd ever
had. Kip picked up one and chowed down, moaning as he chewed.

"Told you so." Kip flashed him a grin, making Jamie
laugh.

"Yeah, I hope she keeps supplying us fries after we get
married. She might be too jealous. Best enjoy them now, it might be the last we
see of the good stuff."

Kip laughed and took a few more fries. They ate quickly and
got up to leave. Kip's cell rang and he pulled it out, checking the caller ID. "It's
my aunt and need to get this. Why don't you hang around here for a few minutes
before heading out to the truck?"

"Sure, I'll see you in a few."

Jamie took another sip of his coke before stepping into the
bathroom. He almost had the door locked when it was shoved hard. Shock coursed
through him and he stepped back. The door flew open and the guy he'd seen at
the grocery store came in, his face red, his eyes narrow slits.

Fear shot straight through Jamie and he backed up. He had no
idea where he was going to go, but he needed to get the hell out of here. The
stranger lunged and Jamie jumped out of the way.

"Fucking faggot. You don't deserve to live," the
stranger growled.

All of Jamie's worst fears of coming out were in play. He was
trapped, separated from his buddies, and had nowhere to run. The bastard was
huge and blocked the door.

"Hey, leave me alone," Jamie puffed up his chest
though he really felt like throwing up then curling into a ball.

"I'm gonna teach you a lesson. Make sure that pretty
little face of yours isn't so pretty and your little homo man won't want to
kiss you again. Maybe I should cut your dick off too? What about that?"

The food Jamie had just eaten rolled in his stomach. He
clenched his fists and braced his body as he prepared to fight. The man swung
his fist, connecting with Jamie's cheek. His head snapped back and it took
Jamie a second to steady himself. He swung, smashing his fist into the guy's
massive chest. Nothing happened.

Jamie was outmatched by size and stuck in a small bathroom.
He blocked a punch and threw one but it didn't do much to deter the jerk coming
after him. No matter how quick Jamie was, he wasn't going to make it out of
this fight unscathed. He was a scrapper and could usually hold his own, but he
never had to fight such a big guy in such a small space.

Jamie tried to turn them so he was closer to the door but the
big dude wasn't falling for it. Punch after punch landed and he realized he was
probably going to go down if the jerk kept this up. When he and Kip had
finished eating most of the other people had gone, leaving the diner mostly
empty. He doubted that with the Jukebox playing anyone would hear them at the
back end of the hall even though he'd yelled for help twice.

"I'm going to fucking kill your faggot ass," the
man roared.

Jamie needed to escape but he was stuck. Another blow crashed
into his jaw and he saw stars. He prayed Kip would be able to move on. Jamie
sucked in a breath, trying to clear his head when another blow landed. He
dropped to one knee, pain lacing through his body.

The door behind the jerk opened and he heard a commotion but
everything had started to go black. His ribs were so sore and his face hurt. He'd
done some damage to the big guy, but not enough to stop him, just slow him down
a bit.

Suddenly Jamie was on his back, someone hung above him. He
wanted to open his eyes all the way and see who was there but his face felt
twice the size of normal and pain exploded in his brain every time he tried to
look. Fuck, he couldn’t die now, he and Kip were just getting interesting.

Chapter Six

Mike shut the car door and tried like hell not to say
anything to Connor about Lane. He didn't want to be jealous. Obviously, the
pair shared a special bond, but he hated having the bond rubbed in his face.
Hell, he wasn't Connor's man and he didn't have the right to be angry, but it
didn't stop him from wanting to keep Connor as far away from Lane as possible.

"Say it," Connor said when he shut the door.

"What?"

"I saw the way you looked at Lane. You're jealous."

Mike turned the key in the ignition and pulled away from the
bunkhouse. Lane waved goodbye as they pulled out of the yard. He was jealous
and he needed to tell Connor how he felt. Part of him knew it wasn't fair to
Connor, but the other part of him wanted to force Connor to promise to stay the
fuck away from Lane.

"I'm sorry. I don't have the right to be this way."

"Kind of makes me feel good."

Mike shot him a look. "What, me being jealous?"

"Yeah. You know, I'm not that great of a guy. I've got a
lot of issues and you being jealous means you at least want me a small
amount."

Mike stopped the car and put it into park. He turned to face
Connor, his head buzzing with the words he wanted to say but fear blocked his
tongue. Then he saw the look in Connor's eyes and decided to be straight with
him.

"You aren't damaged goods and you're not screwed up.
You've been through a hell of a lot and I would love to have a relationship
with you. I don't want to ruin our friendship and I want to make sure you have
plenty of time to get the help you need."

Connor blew out a breath and looked away. Mike placed his
hand on Connor's knee. "I'm not going to come onto you right now, not this
week. I want you, more than you probably could guess right now, but what I want
more than fulfilling my desire is to get you to a place you feel good about
yourself."

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Babe, every guy you've ever been with should have been
this nice to you. You're special and don't let anyone tell you different."

"You treat me better than anyone I've ever known."

"Now that's a damn shame."

Mike put the car in gear and headed to Connor's house. In the
middle of town they were held up by traffic passing by the diner. An ambulance
and sheriff's car sat out front. "Wonder what happened there?" Mike
asked.

"Who knows? This small town is starting to have some big
town issues. I know the population is tiny still, but there is some crazy stuff
that goes on here in Caldwell."

"Are you planning on staying?" Mike had to know.

"I don't know. I like the town well enough."

They inched forward, Mike staring at the commotion in front
of the diner. They wheeled out the stretcher and traffic halted. Mike gazed
into the crowd, hoping that no one was injured. One of the guys looked
familiar. "Hey, didn't I see that guy, the tall one, at your place the
last time I was down here? He's the one who had the stalker who almost killed
his boyfriend. Yeah, yeah, I remember them."

Connor shifted in the seat and sucked in a breath. "Shit,
that's Kip. Fuck, pull over."

Before the engine was turned off, Connor was out the door,
racing over to Kip. Mike followed close behind. The scene didn't look good. He
saw blood and the serious faces on the EMT's made him worry.

"Kip, give me your keys," Connor hollered out as
Kip climbed into the back of the ambulance. Kip glanced up and nodded, tossing
his keys to Connor. "I'll be there in a bit."

Mike watched as the police led a man out in cuffs. He had a
few marks on his face, but he was walking. A sick feeling slid through Mike and
he grabbed Connor's arm, holding him tightly. Connor saw the sheriff with the
man in cuffs and bristled. Mike tightened his hold, praying Connor would keep
his cool and not attack.

When the police and ambulance had driven off, Mike let go of
Connor's arm and stepped in front of him. "Hey, where's your head?"

"Hell, I don't know. That was Jamie. He looked like he'd
been beat up. Shit, this sucks."

"Let's get over to the hospital and be there for Kip.
He's going to need your support."

"I should call Lane."

"Hold off until we see what happened. You know, Gresh is
still asleep and I wouldn’t want to wake him."

Connor turned toward him, his lips a thin line. "This
isn't because you're jealous of Lane, right?"

Mike brushed his fingers over Connor's face. "No, love,
it isn't. I really don't mind if you see Lane again right now. I want to find
out what's going on before we call. Also, Kip might have called already or he
might not want them there. Let's go talk to Kip, find out what's up, and then
we can call Lane and Gresh."

Connor blew out a breath and gave Mike a watery smile.
"Sorry, I'm just upset."

"I understand. I'll see you at the hospital and we'll
search for Kip together."

Mike followed Connor to the hospital, praying that Connor was
wrong. He didn't want his jealousy of Lane to get in the way of Connor and Lane
being friends. Once they were inside, he'd make sure Lane and Gresh were called,
even if Kip wanted them to stay away.

*~*~*

Kip held Jamie's hand while the doctor finished up. Jamie had
only needed stitches. The wounds were superficial and nothing, not even his
ribs, had been cracked.

"Young man, you are lucky," the doctor said for the
fifth time.

Jamie moaned and didn't even try to speak. Kip's heart
squeezed and anger rose to the surface. He should have been there to protect
Jamie. The bastard who attacked his lover would never have struck if Kip had
been right there too.

"Mister Bartel, I do hope you press charges. You may not
have broken anything, but the guy meant to do more than just punch you a few
times. When the swelling goes done in a few days, if anything is still sore we'll
need to X-ray you again. Sometimes the swelling hides the breaks."

"Mmmm," Jamie groaned.

"I'll make sure he comes in," Kip said.

"Good. Kip, Jamie needs someone to watch him tonight.
You need to spend the night with him."

"I will," Kip stared down at Jamie, hating the way
his lover looked. The nurses had cleaned him up, but he still looked like hell.
They'd given him pain medicine and he had ice packs, but he wouldn’t look
normal for a week or more. The beating had been brutal, thank goodness Jamie
moved quickly.

Had he fallen to the ground and the bastard been able to kick
him, the injuries would have been so much worse. Kip silently chided himself
one more time before the doctor left the curtained-off room.