by Chase, T. A.
muffled conversations drifted through the glass, giving Peter something to concentrate on while he tried to organise his thoughts.
“I didn’t have to tell them anything, not really. I just had to tell them I wasn’t going to stop being friends with Les and Randy. Then, once I’d said that, they asked me about being gay, and I didn’t deny it. I mean, I couldn’t very well say no when I’d finally seen what it was like to live out in public and out of the closet.” Peter snorted. “I was an idiot because I knew they’d shun me the minute they got a hint of it.”
Chaz hummed, and Peter shot him a glance from over his shoulder. The bullfighter
seemed to be listening to him, which made Peter stop and think about what he was saying.
There was no way Chaz wanted to hear him talk about his dirty family laundry.
“If you want to go and get dressed, I’ll drive you to get your truck. I talked to Les, and he said you were welcome to stay here until you have to go to Tulsa for the next event.”
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“Done talking about yourself, huh?” Chaz shrugged. “Can’t blame you. No one wants
to dump his past on some stranger, especially a man he found strung out in an alley.”
Peter started to deny why he’d chosen not to continue telling Chaz his life story, but it would’ve been a lie. Also, he figured a good-looking guy like Chaz wasn’t interested in
getting to know him better. The kiss had been just an aberration.
Chaz drained his coffee before standing to walk towards the door. “I’ll go and get
dressed. I’ll meet you by your car in twenty.”
“All right. I actually have to make a stop somewhere while I’m in Cheyenne. So I can
drop you off, and you can drive back here. That is, if you want to stay?”
He didn’t want to act like he was pushing for Chaz to come back. No point in being too
eager. Not that he thought anything would happen if Chaz did set up residence in the guest suite.
“Sounds good to me, though I’m not sure staying here is a good idea.” Chaz strolled to
the door, but paused before he stepped out. “Do you still have those pills you found in my pocket?”
Peter shook his head. “No. I flushed them last night after you went to bed.”
“Why the fuck did you do that? Those weren’t yours.” Chaz glared at him.
“They weren’t, but I doubt you’ll have a problem getting more of them. They were
prescription meds, Chaz. I’m pretty sure you have a bottle in your hotel room.” Peter raised his eyebrow.
Chaz didn’t answer, simply turned around to walk away. Peter rolled his eyes before
returning to his desk. He saved all his work and stared at the screen for a few minutes. He’d have to tell Margie they were heading out soon. Before he could leave the office, the phone rang again.
“Hello?”
“I’d like to talk to Peter Skinner.”
He frowned, not recognising the voice. “This is Peter.”
“Peter, this is your uncle.”
Peter held the phone away from his ear to stare at it. His uncle? What the hell?
“My uncle? Which one?”
“The one they don’t talk about.” The knowing tone in the man’s voice gave Peter a hint,
along with the statement.
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“Uncle Roscoe? Why are you calling me?”
So many questions he wanted to ask, but he bit his lip to keep them from spilling out of
his mouth.
“I wanted to talk to you about your mother. She is the only one who cared what
happened to me.”
Christ! Tears welled in Peter’s eyes. Even after not having talked to his mother in five years, it still hurt to remember the day she’d turned her back on him and forced him to break with his family.
“I’m kind of busy right now, and not in the mood to discuss my mother or anyone else
in my family.” Peter tensed. God, he truly didn’t want to talk to the man right now, answers be damned.
Uncle Roscoe sighed. “I know, son, and I can’t blame you, but we need to talk soon. I
understand they turned you out as well. Definitely not for the same reason as they kicked my ass to the kerb, yet we can relate on certain levels.”
He wasn’t sure about that, yet maybe Roscoe was right, and they should talk. Peter took
a deep breath.
“Fine. Give me a number I can get a hold of you at, and when I get a moment, I’ll call
you. We can set up a time to meet.” He paused for a second, then continued, “That’s the best I can do right now, Uncle Roscoe.”
“I’ll take it, Peter. I realise you don’t know me, and I appreciate you giving me this
chance.”
Peter shook his head, but said, “You’re welcome, I guess. I have to go.”
Roscoe gave him his phone number. “Please call me. I really do need to talk to you.”
“I will. I promise.”
They said their goodbyes, then Peter hung up. He left the office to wander down the
hallway towards the kitchen. He was pretty sure Margie would be there, working on bread,
or something for lunch or dinner.
She was humming softly when he walked into the room. Looking up, Margie smiled at
him as he approached her.
“Are you taking Chaz to Cheyenne?”
He nodded, sitting at the table. She studied him, her gaze seeming to dig beneath the
surface.
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“What’s wrong, honey? Does it have to do with that last phone call?” she asked,
moving to the refrigerator. She pulled a pitcher of lemonade out, then poured some of it into a glass she’d taken from the cupboard.
“Yes. Apparently, my disgraced Uncle Roscoe has come back from wherever he was
sent to. He wants to meet with me, so we can talk about my mother.”
Margie set it on the table in front of him. He watched as she sat before crossing her
arms. “I’ve heard some talk in town about your mother. Is what I’m hearing true?”
Peter shrugged. “I guess it could be, if the gossip is about her being sick. I don’t know much more about it because they wouldn’t let me see her at the hospital. That was where I went yesterday.”
“I’m so sorry.” She reached over to pat his hand. “It’s terrible that they wouldn’t let you see her.”
“Well, she didn’t say anything to them about me being her son either,” he pointed out.
She nodded, but stayed quiet. He frowned at the lemonade, trying to work out his
emotions. Getting upset wouldn’t help him, or anyone else. He needed to keep control over his feelings.
“Anyway, Uncle Roscoe just called. He wants to meet to talk about my mom since she’s
the only person who ever cared about him, or so he says.” Peter took a sip, wetting his dry mouth, then continuing, “I told him I’d call him to set up a meeting, but I’m reluctant to talk to him. What if he did something really bad to warrant getting shunned by the family? He’s not gay, and I have no idea why my grandfather kicked him out.”
“All I can suggest is not to worry about it until you talk to him. Roscoe might be able to help you, or he won’t. Either way, at least you’ll have a little closure about that, and maybe he can shine some light onto why your family is the way it is.”
“My grandfather is a bastard. That’s why we’re the way we are,” Peter informed her.
“I can’t argue with you on that.”
Of course she wouldn’t. Margie had had the unfortunate opportunity of meeting Peter’s
grandfather more than a few times in town. She understood exactly what Peter was talking
about.
“Hey, I’ve been waiting for you at the truck. Are we going?” Chaz stalked in,
annoyance in every line of his body.
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“Sorry. A phone call caught me, then I needed to talk to Margie. You don’t need me to
get anything for you in Cheyenne?”
“No, Peter. I’m fine. Take Chaz to his vehicle.” Margie stood and smiled at Chaz. “It
was nice to meet you. I hope to see you again soon.”
“I’m taking Peter’s offer under consideration.” Chaz shook Margie’s hand.
Peter hustled them out of there. Returning to the hospital was going to be difficult, but he needed to try one more time. Saying goodbye to Chaz might be harder than he thought,
yet he wasn’t going to beg the man to stay. He might as well get them both over quickly, like ripping off a Band-Aid.
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Chapter Four
Chaz glanced around his hotel room. It looked like someone had broken in and trashed
the place, but he knew he’d done the damage. Apparently he’d lost something and had been
trying to find it. More than likely, it’d been his mind he’d lost, and he didn’t know if he was ever going to find that again.
He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the TV across from it. Should he take Peter
up on his offer to stay at the ranch with him? It would make it easier to hide away from any rodeo people who might in town for Frontier Days. He could stay there and wean himself off the painkillers before Tulsa.
His cell rang before he could make a decision. Chaz pulled it out to check the ID. An
international number showed up, and Chaz frowned. He was pretty sure it would be
Matthew calling. Did he want to talk to his brother? Did he have the strength to lie?
Without conscious thought, he answered the phone. “Matthew, how are you?”
“How did you know it was me?”
“You’re the only one I know who would be calling from an out-of-country number.”
“Right. I’m better now that I’m talking to you. You missed my last call, and that’s not
like you.”
He grunted, but knew Matthew wouldn’t take that as an answer. “I got caught up in
some stuff. Sorry you had to waste a call.”
“It’s all right. Just glad to know you’re okay.” There were voices in the background
wherever Matthew was.
Chaz had learnt not to ask Matthew anything about his service, since most of it was
classified. He tended just to ask if his brother was healthy, and Matthew honoured his need not to know the whole truth by saying he was.
He’d never told Matthew about the injury that had started him on the slippery slope of
addiction. With his brother being overseas, Chaz had chosen not to burden him with his
problems.
“When’s your next event?”
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He flopped back on the bed to stare up at the ceiling. “It’s in a couple of weeks, in
Tulsa.”
“Are you still in Cheyenne?” Matthew sounded surprised.
Chaz nodded, even though Matthew couldn’t see him. “Yeah.”
“I thought you wanted to be out of there before that rodeo started. Said you weren’t in
the mood to hang out with your fellow rodeo people.”
It seemed like Matthew was settling in for a nice long chat, which was nice in a way,
since Chaz rarely got to talk to his brother, but he wasn’t in the mood. He needed to dig out his meds, and take some.
“I got distracted and lost track of the days. I plan on checking out today, and going
somewhere else for the next two weeks. I’d like to be as rested as possible for when the tour starts back up, and hanging out with my friends isn’t restful at all.”
Matthew laughed. “I’ve hung out with you all before, and you’re right. About this
distraction… Was he cute?”
While he loved the fact that his brother was so accepting of his sexual orientation, at
times Chaz wished he’d never said anything to Matthew about it. Should he say something
about Peter? It wasn’t like they were dating or anything. It’d only been one kiss, but Chaz had found he wanted to go further, and take Peter to bed.
It was a strange feeling, since Chaz hadn’t really been attracted to anyone in several
months. He’d been working hard, and trying to make sure no one found out how bad his
injuries still were.
“Should you be talking about this around your unit?” he asked, hoping his question
would distract Matthew.
Matthew snorted. “Man, haven’t you paid any attention to politics? ‘Don’t ask, don’t
tell’ was repealed and it doesn’t matter who anyone in the military sleeps with. Well, unless they’re underage or it’s rape. Plus, you’re my brother, so even if it was still enforced, I’m talking about you. Not me.”
“I did meet someone, but he’s not what distracted me. I had some other issues to deal
with.”
“Ah, but I bet you wish he’d help you lose track of time. Is he hot?” Matthew’s curiosity seemed more inquisitive than usual.
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“Is there something you want to tell me, Matthew? Why all this sudden interest in who
I sleep with and how he looks?” Chaz rolled over on his side to study the painting on the wall across from him.
“My reasons for asking aren’t important at the moment. I simply want to know how my
big brother is doing and if he’s met someone.” Matthew’s innocent tone didn’t hide a hint of seriousness, and Chaz wanted to dig deeper.
He decided to let it go. Matthew was right, and this moment wasn’t the time for them to
talk about personal things, mostly because he wasn’t ready to talk about his own issues.
“I think he’s gorgeous, yet he doesn’t know it, which makes it even better. We met
yesterday actually, and he invited me to stay at his ranch before I head down to Tulsa. I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to or not.”
“Seriously? Some cute guy asks you to stay with him and you have to think about it?
You could probably have all the sex you want without any strings because he knows you’re
going to be gone in a couple of weeks. Best kind of sex, in my opinion.”
Chaz grunted. “Truly? No wonder you’ve never found anyone to stick around longer
than a few days with that kind of attitude.”
He could almost see Matthew shrug. “I spend most of my time overseas with my unit. I
can’t ask someone to hang around waiting for me to come back.”
“I guess not.”
“Hey, O’Brien, time’s up. We need to head out.” Chaz heard another voice speak to his
brother.
“Okay. As you’ve heard, I have to go, but I plan on calling you at the usual time two
weeks from now. I expect you to answer your phone, and have something interesting to tell me.”
“I’ll try.”
They said goodbye, then Chaz hung up. He tucked his phone away, making a decision.
He figured he probably had enough pills to last until he had to leave, and he usually cut back on them leading up to events any way. Peter had told him to come and stay, so he would.
He’d explore what might be possible between them, not expecting anything except maybe
having a good time for a little while.
He pulled his phone out, and brought Peter’s number up on his screen. He dialled it,
then w
aited.
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“Hey, Chaz, how can I help you?” Peter answered.
“I was wondering if that offer of a room is still open? I’m done packing up, and I still
have a couple of weeks free before I have to go anywhere.”
Peter sighed. “Sure you can come and stay. I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mean it.”
He sounded tired, making Chaz want to help him in whatever way he could, even
though he didn’t know what was wrong.
“Should I head over right now, or maybe we could meet for lunch, if you’re not doing
anything?”
“What would I be doing? Hell, my mother doesn’t want to see me or even acknowledge
me, so why not have lunch with you?” Sarcasm dripped from Peter’s words.
Well, it wasn’t a ringing endorsement to go out with him, but Chaz would take it. “I’ll
meet you at Steamboat’s in ten.”
“Fine with me.” Peter hung up.
Chaz tucked his phone away before finishing his packing. He grabbed his bags, and
smiled at the idea of going to spend time at Hardin’s ranch. It actually would be fun to do some work around there, if Peter let him. It had been a year or two since he’d gone back to his parents’ ranch in Arizona.
He used to love riding his horse while herding the cattle. Some nights he’d ride out in
the desert to watch the moon rise—that was his favourite time. Being out there with only his horse for company had been peaceful, and he’d spent a lot of time thinking about his life. It had been one of those nights when he was fifteen that he’d admitted to himself he was gay.
Of course, he’d never said anything to his parents. The only one who knew was
Matthew, and that was because his brother had caught him kissing a guy when Matthew was
visiting on leave. Matthew had taken the whole thing quite well, which had surprised him.
They had been raised in a very conservative family. Nothing had ever been said about
homosexuality, but Chaz’s father would use derogatory insults, and Chaz had always known
his father would definitely turn against him if he ever found out.
