Texas Sun

by Sara York

  “I want to.”

  Andries had never felt so good. He and Lafferty might just be able to make this a thing. But they’d have hell to pay if anyone found out about the lies they’d told. He swiped on more deodorant and brushed his teeth. When he opened the door, Lafferty was staring at his phone.

  “Everything okay?”

  Lafferty popped his head up and flashed him a sweet smile. “Yeah, it’s great.”

  “Cool.”

  They headed to the door, but Lafferty grabbed him and shoved him up against the flat surface. Lafferty pinned him in place before brushing their lips together. The kiss ended, and Lafferty rested his forehead against Andries.

  “We may be doing this all backward, but I need you to know I…um, I really like you, and I think we should spend some time getting to know each other. Then at the end of this week, we can decide if we want to make this more permanent.”

  “Like how?” Andries asked.

  Lafferty pulled him into another kiss, this one knocking his socks off. When the kiss ended, Lafferty took a step back and shot him a sexy grin.

  “As in you and me together for a long while.”

  Andries shivered at Lafferty’s words. This was more than he could hope for. He’d grown used to the idea he wouldn’t ever find love or a family, and he would never have someone he could trust. And here was Lafferty trying to make all his dreams come true.

  They walked over hand in hand, and Gresh met them at the back door of the house.

  “Just in time,” Gresh said.

  “Hey, Dad,” Lafferty said.

  Gresh eyed Andries then Lafferty. “You two are sticking around, right?”

  “Yes, sir,” Lafferty said.

  “Good. I like you, Andries. You seem like a good man for my son.”

  Lafferty moved in close and wrapped his arm around Andries’ shoulder. “He is a good man.”

  “I can see he is.” Gresh held the door for them, and they stepped in. Everyone seemed to be there, except Matthew.

  He caught a few snickers from Jump and Bruce, but no one said anything about them moving their room out to the cabins.

  Breakfast was great. Was the food really better here or was it the fresh air and no pollution? Either way, he really liked being with Lafferty.

  Jump and Bruce were planning on heading back to Houston to get ready for the Cattle Ball. They were looking to raise more money than ever before. They wanted to beat last year’s totals, so it would take even more work from them.

  Lafferty said they’d head into the city on Thursday to help. It seemed like everyone but Christopher and the rest of the ranch hands were going into Houston.

  “Do you have a tux?” Lane asked.

  “As in a tuxedo?” Andries lifted his brows and shook his head. “I didn’t know I’d need one.”

  “Lafferty, could you make an appointment for him to be fitted. Maybe tomorrow?”

  “Sure. I wonder if my tux still fits.”

  “You probably need to figure it out today,” Gresh said.

  “I’ll go looking for it.” Lafferty turned to him. “You can join me on my quest through the closet, or you can stay down here.”

  “Um, I’d like to—”

  “Oh, stay down here and play pool with me, please?” Daniel begged.

  “No Daniel, they—”

  Andries held up his hand. “It’s okay. I’d like to play pool. It sounds fun.”

  “You don’t have to,” Lane said.

  “I’d like to,” Lafferty said. “I honestly haven’t played much, and I think Daniel could teach me a thing or two.”

  “Yes!” Daniel pumped his arms and danced around, shouting his happiness as he ran around to give Andries a hug. “I need to clean my room. Give me thirty minutes.”

  “It’ll probably take him an hour,” Lane said.

  Andries chuckled. “I’ll grab another cup of coffee and a muffin.”

  Lafferty came over and pulled him into a kiss before taking off upstairs. Andries realized he’d been left alone with Gresh and Lane.

  “Hey, come join us,” Gresh said.

  “Um, sure.” He moved to the seat across from Lane and Gresh. He took a sip of his coffee, wondering if maybe he should have gone up with Lafferty.

  “So we’re doing business with your dad. Should we be worried?”

  Andries swallowed over the lump in his throat. “How do you mean?”

  “I don’t like how he kicked you out. It shows a certain lack in him I don’t trust,” Gresh said. “What happened when he kicked you out?”

  Andries sat up and stared down at his coffee and muffin. Would it be wrong to tell them about his dad? “I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

  “Trust me, you won’t be,” Lane said.

  “My mom died when I was twelve, and he married another woman, Idella, like six months later. I never liked her, but I was a kid. We moved to New York, and I became a citizen here. Idella didn’t like me being gay. She was overly religious. It wasn’t good. She made up a lie and got me kicked out when I was seventeen.”

  “Wow, you’ve been through some rough stuff,” Gresh said.

  Andries shrugged. “I adjusted. It was tough. I didn’t know my dad had divorced Idella or that he’d moved. He says he wanted me to come home after a few days, but he couldn’t find me. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but Idella was the one instrumental in me getting kicked out. Dad just seemed to go along with it because his wife wanted me gone.”

  Lane sat back and sighed. Gresh drank more coffee and shook his head. No one said anything for a long moment.

  “Have you been tested?” Lane asked.

  The question hurt. He hated how prostitutes were seen, hated how people asked about being tested like prostitutes were dirty. It was a part of life, but it was one of the things he freaking hated the most.

  “I went in, but I haven’t heard back yet. I’m scheduled to go back on the tenth of January. I guess if anything was bad, they would have called.”

  “Well, if you need anything, we’re here,” Lane said. “And I hope for your sake, you don’t have any STI’s.”

  “Do you mind Lafferty being involved with me?” Maybe he shouldn’t have asked the question, but he had to know. He needed to find out if he had any support at all.

  “Mind?” Lane asked. “Why would we? As long as you treat him well, be kind, loving, supportive, and help him when he needs help, why would we mind?”

  “I don’t know. It’s just I…I don’t—”

  “I’m ready,” Daniel called out.

  Gresh stood and put his hand on Andries’ shoulder as he passed. “I have to check the room and make sure he didn’t stuff everything under the bed or in the closet. And about Lafferty, I’m happy he’s happy. You living on the streets, doing whatever it took to survive, I’m okay with that.”

  He blew out a breath. Perhaps he’d passed their test. He wasn’t hated by Gresh, and Lane didn’t seem to hate him either.

  “I’ll be in the pool room in a bit,” Lane said as he turned to the stairs to follow Gresh and Daniel up.

  “Thank you for your support.”

  “No problem,” Lane said as he turned back to face Andries. “We love Lafferty, and I can tell him being with you has made him change.”

  “Change, how?” Andries asked.

  “He’s stronger. He seems happier, too. He has this satisfied look in his eyes. It makes me believe he’s no longer searching for the elusive solution to fix everything. He seems happy, and I haven’t really seen him happy in ages.”

  Andries drew in a slow breath. “I hope I can keep him happy.”

  Lane chuckled as he headed up the stairs. Andries entered the pool room and drew in a slow breath. How much time did he have before Daniel came downstairs? He wanted to seek out Lafferty, but he had no clue where to look for his man. Eventually, he’d tell Lafferty what his dads had said. They may not know how much it meant to him when they’d given him their approval. Living
on the streets, making meals from the trashcan had given him a complex, and now he just needed to get over it so he could move on with Lafferty.

  This family was amazing. Without a doubt, if he’d had someone like Lane and Gresh, his life would have been different. But would the difference meant he never would have met Lafferty? His eyes burned with tears. He pushed the emotions down. He didn’t need to be crying when Daniel came in. He had to get hold of himself and be calm. The last thing he wanted was this family thinking he was unstable. He hadn’t known how much he needed someone until he’d found Lafferty, and now he wanted to keep him.

  Chapter Seven

  Spending time with Andries was just what he needed. After Daniel spent an hour teaching Andries how to play pool, they went out to look at the horses.

  “Have you ever ridden?” Lafferty asked him.

  Andries shook his head. Lafferty smiled, and Andries narrowed his gaze. His cheeks turned red.

  “We’re you making a sexual reference?”

  “Maybe. I’d like you to ride me tonight, but if you want, I can ride you.”

  “You like fucking, don’t you?”

  Andries’ question struck him as odd. “Of course, don’t you?”

  “I haven’t really ever fucked anyone I wanted to.”

  The words were a punch to his gut. Lafferty turned to stare at the horses.

  “Of course, it doesn’t include you. Last night was great, but can we actually last? I mean, I’m inexperienced though I’ve had a lot of sex partners. I’ve just never had sex with someone I really like, and certainly never had sex multiple times with anyone I ever wanted to have sex with multiple times.”

  Lafferty turned to Andries and held his hands. “We can take this slow.”

  Andries’ lips thinned. “I really liked being with you last night.”

  “I liked it too.”

  “So, you didn’t mind me fucking you?” Andries bit his lower lip, looking so freaking cute.

  Lafferty pulled him close, and he liked how Andries didn’t pull back. He slid his tongue between Andries’ lips, twisting them together as he wrapped his arms tighter. He stepped even closer and rocked against Andries, a thrill filling him.

  They both moaned, and he grew hard. A horse nickered close by. Lafferty ended the kiss, knowing if he didn’t stop, he’d probably get a little too involved and may just press Andries up against the rail fence and take him right there.

  “That was nice,” Andries said.

  “It was.”

  Andries placed his hand on Lafferty’s chest, and for a moment, he feared Andries would push him away. Instead, he curled his fingers in, grabbing Lafferty’s shirt, pulling him closer.

  Andries’ cheeks were pink, his eyes were bright. “I feel things when I’m with you.” His voice was breathy when he spoke.

  Lafferty ran his hands through Andries’ hair and cupped the back of his neck. “I never took much stock in knowing about ‘the one,’ or love, or finding someone who would be my partner in life. But I think I understand now.”

  “You do?”

  Lafferty pulled him closer. “I’m feeling things too. I like it. I like knowing you’re close.”

  “I like being close to you.”

  Footsteps sounded close, and Lafferty took a step back then looked around. “Hey, Bruce, Jump, how are you doing?”

  “Good,” Jump said. “We’re headed back to Houston and wanted to say goodbye. It was nice to meet you, Andries.”

  “Thank you. It was nice to meet you too.”

  Jump hugged Andries first then him, same with Bruce. It was clear Andries felt uncomfortable from the way he held his head to how he cut his gaze to Lafferty as if asking for permission or help.

  “Lafferty, we need to talk about plans for next year. I think it would be good if you could stay for the meeting on the fourth.”

  He nodded and cut his gaze to Andries. “We’re here until the sixth anyway. So I’m good.”

  “Andries, keep him in line. He’s a little wild,” Bruce said. “He may seem perfectly tame, but he’s not.”

  Everyone laughed, and Andries reached out and took Lafferty’s hand, pulling him close. Bruce and Jump headed to their car. Jump reached out and took Bruce’s hand. They looked like a happy couple. He wanted more; he wanted Andries.

  Andries dropped his hand and turned, his sigh loud. “They’re all going to hate me when they find out.”

  “No, babe, they won’t. I’ll make sure they don’t hate you.”

  Andries didn’t say more. Instead, he just looked incredibly sad. Lafferty hated the predicament they were in. He didn’t want Andries to be worried at all.

  “Hey, how about we start riding lessons and you can learn to ride one of these beasts.”

  The smile on Andries’ face made his balls pull up. He liked making this man happy.

  “You think I could,” Andries asked.

  “Yes. We’ll do a short class today, and then longer tomorrow, and maybe one of the hands can help out later, once I’ve taught you the basics.”

  “Why have someone else help?”

  “It’s hard to learn from someone you care about. Eventually, you’ll be annoyed with me telling you what to do.”

  Andries reached up and cupped his cheek. “No, I won’t tire of you telling me what to do.”

  Lafferty leaned in and brushed their lips together before he stepped back. “Some of the guys are better at this than I am. We won’t be getting up on the horse today. Instead, we’ll practice with the dummy.”

  “A dummy?”

  “Yes. They have to show the people who come to the ranch how to saddle and unsaddle. They spend almost a full day on tasks like how to saddle a horse properly. Of course, it’s broken up so the visitors don’t get bored, but they still have to learn.”

  “You’re really doing this?” Andries was practically bouncing with excitement.

  He chuckled and pulled him close. “Oh yeah, I’m really doing this. I like seeing you happy.”

  Andries stepped even closer and rested his head on Lafferty’s shoulder. They may have been thrown together because of weird circumstances, and lying about being married wasn’t right, but being here with this man was freaking amazing. He never wanted to lose this connection.

  Chapter Eight

  Andries lifted the saddle for the tenth time and tossed it over the dummy’s back. He followed Lafferty’s instructions to a T and had the saddle in place properly strapped on in one minute.

  Someone clapped behind them. He turned to find Lane watching. “Looks good. Have you ever ridden before?”

  His stomach twisted as the lie they’d told this man settled deeper in his gut. “No, sir.”

  Lane moved closer, a smile on his face. He patted Andries on the back before checking the straps. “Horses are brilliant animals. They are amazingly perceptive. We once had this guy out here, and none of the horses would let him get on their back. Turned out he was a killer. We kicked him off the ranch and had to have the cops come out and get him to go. He tried to come back and was going to do something, we don’t know what, but he fell and hit his head. An ambulance came, took him to the hospital. Cops ran his prints because he was trespassing. He was wanted in ten murders.”

  “Wow.” Andries didn’t know what to think of the story. Did Lane know they were lying?

  “Earlier when you were at the fence, Lady, one of the mares, came over to be petted by you. She doesn’t do it often. She has to like the person, and she’s an excellent judge of character. I think she would be a good horse to start you on.”

  He stared at Lane, not knowing what to say. The horse was beautiful. He’d petted her nose, and she’d leaned her head over the fence and pushed against his head and then rested her head on his shoulder for a moment. It was like she was giving him a hug. She’d eventually run off and dashed around the pen like something had gotten into her.

  Lafferty came over and put his arm over Andries’ shoulder. “Lady is a good hors
e. She’s been around for a while. I’ve ridden her a few times.”

  Andries remembered how fast she’d run around the pen. “She looked really fast.”

  “She can be, but she’s also slow and gentle,” Lane said. “She’s a good horse.”

  “So we’re not riding today, right?” He wanted to get on the horse, but he was nervous.

  “I think you should,” Lane said.

  His gaze swung to Lafferty. “But aren’t we taking it slow?”

  “How about we get you up on the horse so you can experience how she moves, and I’ll keep the lead on her and walk you around. That way, you’re not on your own.”

  He glanced from Lafferty to Lane. Both of them looked like they believed he could do it. He shrugged. “Okay, but don’t let go.”

  “I won’t. You’ll do good.”

  His stomach twisted, and he wasn’t sure if he would do good. Lane instructed him on how to get on the horse, explaining what to do with his left foot and right leg. Getting up on the dummy horse was awkward. He hoped when he got up on a real horse, he wouldn’t feel so uncoordinated.

  Lafferty stepped into the barn leading Lady. She huffed out a breath when she saw them. Lane went to her and scratched her neck and her back before grabbing a brush and rubbing her body.

  “We brush them at least twice a week in the offseason,” Lane said. “They seem to like it.”

  “They like the treats they get.” Lafferty chuckled. “She knows once we’re done, she’ll get some delicious grain.”

  Andries smiled at Lafferty’s words. He reached up and petted the horse between the eyes. She nickered softly. She seemed to like the attention.

  “I’ll get your saddle on this time,” Lafferty said.

  Andries followed after Lafferty. “Wait, I want to do it.” Andries wanted to show he was capable of doing all this stuff on his own. He may have needed help, so he wasn’t homeless, but he didn’t need someone else to do everything for him.

  Getting the saddle on the horse was harder than he’d expected. Putting it on the dummy model had been easy, but Lady blew out a breath as soon as the saddle and blanket hit her back. He feared he’d done something wrong, but he hadn’t. While tightening the straps for the saddle, she puffed out her chest, and he couldn’t get them tight enough.