Cattle Valley Mistletoe CV2 (6 page)

As much as he’d like to take Hal up on his offer of recuperating at his house, Casey knew it would be easier for both of them, if they were next door to the church. What if it made Hal feel weird to make love to him that close to a church? He started to worry on it until he felt a slight discomfort in his stomach. Okay, enough thinking. He’d let Hal make the decision. Wow, how easy it was to trust Hal shocked him.

The nurse came in a few minutes later with a sedative. “Dr. Singer wants you to get plenty of rest while you’re here.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Casey swallowed the pill and handed her the empty paper cup. Before long his eyes were drooping. Hopefully his sleep would be peaceful. Dropping off, Casey still had a smile on his face.

35

At six the next morning, Hal was busy at work with help from Gill. “I really appreciate this, buddy.” Hal hammered another nail into the sheetrock. Even though Gill was a hell of a lot stronger than Casey, Hal missed his regular helper.

“No problem,” Gill answered, his voice deep and sleepy. “I don’t open the garage for another hour.”

“Hopefully I’ll get another volunteer by the time you have to go.” Hal thought about his meeting the previous night. He still wasn’t sure what kind of impression he’d made, but he knew he’d gotten their attention. A few tried to make excuses, but Hal would listen to none of it. The bottom line was if they wanted their church to succeed, they’d need to come to terms with their feelings regarding Brian Doles.

Nate stood right beside him even though he wasn’t on the board. Hal had felt relieved he wasn’t the only one there to attest to Casey’s character.

“Hey, you with me?” Gill asked.

Hal shook his head and hammered in the next nail. “Sorry. I was thinking about my meeting.”

“They’ll come around. I don’t know Casey much, but anyone who has you defending them so vehemently has to be a good egg.”

“Thanks. Gill? I think, no, I know, I’m in love. For the first time in my life I’m in love and I’m uneasy about it. What if our lives are just too different to make it work?” After the last nail was in, Gill pulled Hal off the chair and gave him a hug. “I’m glad you finally found someone, but I don’t know how to reassure you. I don’t know what happened to make you turn away from God, but I think you’ll need to decide which means more, the past or the future. Maybe being with Casey will help you heal.”

“Maybe,” Hal agreed.

“At the very least, I think you owe it to Casey to let him know what he’s up against.” Gill walked over to get the next sheet of wallboard.

36

Hal wondered if he could tell Casey about his past? He honestly didn’t know. He’d tried over the years to forget that time in his life, only clinging to the hatred he’d felt as a way of remembering.

Gill hoisted the sheet into place and Hal resumed his place on the chair. He had another couple of hours before he could see Casey, so he might as well use the time wisely.

Thinking of Casey had his cock perking up. Hal tried to suppress his thoughts, knowing Gill was at crotch level and wouldn’t appreciate it.

Forty minutes later, Hal’s cell phone rang. He put the hammer in his tool belt and answered. “Hello.”

“Hi, it’s Kyle Brynn. Uh, from Brynn’s Bakery. I wanted to call and express my sympathies for Reverend Sharp’s condition. Even though I can’t really help with the construction, I felt I needed to do something. I’ve made up some donuts and hoped you could spare someone to pick them up.”

Hal knew Kyle was in a wheelchair and didn’t drive much. He had a handicapped equipped delivery van, but he rarely left his building. “That’s very thoughtful of you. It’s just me and Gill right now, and he’s getting ready to go open the station, but I’ll figure something out.”

“Okay, well, they’ll be waiting. Um, I’m sorry if I gave Reverend Sharp the impression I didn’t like him. I’ve been down lately, and unfortunately it seems others have suffered for my mood.”

Hal thought if anyone had a reason to be down it was Kyle. The fact the man was trying to make amends touched Hal. “Think nothing of it. I appreciate the sentiment though.” After saying goodbye, Hal hung up. “That was Kyle. He’s got some donuts for someone to pick up and bring over.”

“I’ll do it,” Gill volunteered.

Hal looked at his watch. “By the time you get there and back, you’ll be late opening the station.”

“So, I don’t think the boss’ll dock my pay.” Gill winked, shrugging into his coat.

“Thanks.”

A few minutes after Gill left, Shepard Black strolled through the door followed by two men Hal had seen in town but didn’t know. “Morning,” Shep said. “I brought a few of my ranch hands with me to help for a bit.” He gestured to the two men, “This is Rance, and this young guy is my newest hand, Jeremy.”

37

“Any help is appreciated,” Hal said, shaking the new worker’s hands. “I know you have your own ranch to tend to. I’d like to get you all started and then slip away for a few minutes to check on Casey.”

Shep nodded, and the four of them got to work. Almost thirty minutes later, Gill finally walked in with two big boxes of donuts. After thanking Gill and waving him out the door, the men took a short break. Hal started a fresh pot in the coffeemaker Casey had thoughtfully brought over the previous week.

As they ate a couple of donuts and sipped the hot beverage, Shep turned toward him.

“How far are you expecting to get before Christmas Eve?”

“Huh?” Hal wondered what exactly the man was talking about.

“On the room,” Shep chuckled.

“Oh, well, Casey and I had hoped to have at least the sheetrock up and the kitchen cabinets in, but I’d like to get it totally finished. Now that it seems I have more help I don’t think it’s an unreachable goal.” Actually, he thought it was quite possible they could have the entire room complete. Hal smiled, thinking about the surprise Casey would be in for. “Casey will be in the clinic for at least another day, but I’m going to try and keep him away from the church. I’ve already talked to Quade about having one of the other members of the church fill in for him for the next couple of weeks. He needs some stress-free living for a while longer to get his ulcers fully healed.” Shep grinned. “So in other words, you want to surprise him with a finished building?” Hal grinned back. “Yep. That is, if I can keep him away. For some reason, I think he’s under the impression if he does a good job on the addition, his congregation will come to accept him. He’s been killing himself, literally, trying to work on this with me during the day, while attending to his other duties in the early morning and evenings.” Shep seemed to sober. “This is a small town, Hal. It takes folks a good while to accept newcomers, Reverend Sharp more than most. It wasn’t anything personal, but none of us wanted to be fooled again. I don’t know about the others, but I decided to sit back and watch a while before making a determination. I’ll admit, it was selfish as hell, but I don’t put my trust into many, and I didn’t want to be taken for a fool again.”

“Thanks for being honest, but I can tell you, there’s no finer man than Casey.” Shep smiled and nodded. Hal felt relieved. He’d change the attitudes of the town, one conversation at a time if he had to Casey would never again feel people didn’t like him.

Casey opened his eyes when a calloused hand touched his face. He grinned, “Hey.” 38

“Hey, yourself,” Hal said, leaning over to give him a brief kiss.

“Mmm,” Casey moaned. “That’s nice.” He reached out and grabbed the front of Hal’s coat, pulling him back down for another. Casey’s tongue stroked against Hal’s as the kiss went deeper. Casey felt the tenting of the sheet at his groin and grinned. He broke the kiss and looked down. “Someone else seems happy to see you.” Hal groaned and ran his hand over Casey’s erection. “You’re killing me.” Casey laughed and lifted the side of the sheet for Hal’s wandering hand. Hal chuckled and shook his finger. “Now you’re trying to get me kicked out of here.”

“Well honestly, that wasn’t my first thought.” Casey let the blanket fall. “Have you been working?”

Pulling up the little stool, Hal sat down and leaned on the bed. “I have. If I make you a promise the room will be done enough for your party will you promise to not stress over it? I’ve already asked Nate to come and decorate and get all the donations you’ll need.” Casey felt his face pinch. Was Hal saying he wasn’t needed at all? “Seems like you’ve taken care of everything but replacing me on Sundays.” Hal looked guilty. “Well, I actually asked the board if they could find one of the congregation to lead the services for the next two weeks.”

“You what?” Casey couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He sat up and tried to swing his legs over the side of the bed. If he was going to have an argument, he needed his pants. He looked around the room. “Where are my clothes?” Hal put his hands on Casey’s shoulders. “Just relax. I know what you’re thinking and you couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Casey narrowed his eyes, “Oh yeah, what am I thinking?”

“That we don’t need you,” Hal stated. He moved one hand off Casey’s shoulder to cup his cheek. “It’s because we need you that we’re doing this. You could die from this, Case.

Don’t you understand that?”

“I’m not gonna die. It was just a little blood,” Casey pouted. What if they liked the person who filled in more than him? Would he be well rested and out of a job? “What am I supposed to do with myself?”

Hal leaned in and kissed him. “Let me get to know you, let me take care of you.” Casey received another kiss, this one longer, deeper. “It will be nice for the congregation to step into your shoes for a change to see just how hard you work every day.” 39

Casey took a deep breath. Dr. Singer had told him flat out that he needed to find a way to deal with his stress. Maybe taking a little break wasn’t a bad idea. After all, it wasn’t like anyone was really going to miss him. He looked into those sky blue eyes in front of him.

Spending time with Hal would certainly be a good thing. He pictured the two of them snuggled in front of Hal’s big fireplace.

“Will you be sure and tell whoever plans to fill in, to come and see me? I already have the next couple of sermons planned, and I’d like to help them.”

“Sure.”

“Will you do one more thing for me?” Casey pleaded with Hal.

At Hal’s nod he continued. “Please see if you can get me out of here today? I’m feeling fine and I just want to be in a real bed with a thick mattress.” Casey gave Hal a look that said he didn’t plan on being alone. It had been too darn long since he’d slept in another man’s arms, and he’d never been in love so this would be even better.

Grinning, Hal sighed. “I’ll ask if I can pick you up at the end of the day and take you home with me. Is there anything you’d like me to get from your house?” Casey rubbed his razor stubble. “My shaving kit, a couple pairs of sweats and some T-shirts, socks. I think that should do me for a couple of days.” Hal seemed to be making a mental note. “Underwear?” Smiling, Casey shook his head. “Don’t plan on needing them. How warm’s your house anyway? I might just run around nude all day. I’m a little paranoid in town, but no chance of anyone seeing me at your place. Well, except you.”

“You’re going to make it hard for me to leave you every day to get the building done, aren’t you?”

“If I’m doing my job right I am.” Casey pulled Hal down for another kiss. He knew it was all new and that’s why he couldn’t get enough, but every time he touched the bigger man, he melted.

Groaning, Hal broke the kiss. “Let me round up Isaac before I leave. I’ll finish as early as I can and hopefully be back to get you.”

“Thanks,” Casey said as Hal gave him one last peck before walking out the door.

Breaking for the day, Hal headed over to pack a bag for Casey. He dug the set of keys out of his pocket and opened the door. Hal wanted to get this over with as soon as possible 40

and get to the clinic, so he wasted no time finding a bag and shoving clothes inside.

Despite what Casey had asked for, Hal put in a pair of jeans, long-underwear and wool socks. If he was lucky maybe Hal could get Casey out of the house to help him hunt down a Christmas tree.

Opening the bottom drawer of Casey’s dresser, his eyes bugged. With a grin he put a few more things into Casey’s bag. After finding a pair of snow boots in the closet and locking the house, Hal was on his way to get his man.

He chuckled to himself. His man. He’d never had anyone he’d considered in that particular term. What was it about Casey that was so different from every other man he’d slept with? Hell, he hadn’t even fucked Casey yet. The image of the two of them had Hal’s cock pushing hard against his zipper. He could well imagine Casey’s sweet little body under him, or above him, riding up and down on Hal’s cock.

Pulling up in front of the clinic, Hal shook his head. Plenty of time for that later. Casey needed a few days before he’d be up to the gymnastics Hal had in mind.

41

“Watch the sidewalk here. It can get pretty slippery,” Hal said, as he wrapped an arm around Casey.

Casey was steady on his feet, but he liked the feel of Hal’s warmth so he didn’t discourage it. Once they were inside, Hal started flipping on lights. He sat Casey down on the bench just inside the door and knelt in front of him.

“Let’s get these off,” Hal said, pulling off Casey’s boots.

Looking at the top of Hal’s head, Casey smiled. Hal was treating him like he was really something special. An overwhelming wave of lust ran through Casey, and he tilted Hal’s head up, devouring his mouth in a kiss.

Moaning into the kiss, Hal moved between Casey’s legs. Slipping his hands under Casey’s ass, Hal squeezed. “Yes,” Casey whispered, wrapping his legs around Hal’s torso. “Want you.”

Hal groaned before shaking his head. “You need to rest,” he said, kissing Casey’s neck.

“I need to come,” Casey corrected. “It’ll alleviate the stress on my balls,” he added with a grin.

After looking into his eyes for a few seconds, Hal stood, picking Casey up into his arms.

“I don’t have any stuff in here,” Hal said in explanation as he carried Casey toward what he assumed was the bedroom. He’d never had anyone carry him before, but he had to admit, it made him feel cherished.