Christmas Beyond Christmas

by J P Sayle

“Just got a few things on my mind is all.” I shrugged, doing my best to pretend that my burning ears were due to the lack of a hat, mine having been lost that morning.

  I shifted my gaze to the group of hapless city boys who had arrived that morning as I raked my hand through my hair. “I’m thinkin’ these are going to be worse than the last bunch we had.” I glanced back at Del as he stayed silent, releasing a relieved breath as I found him staring at the group of men with a pinched look rather than at me. Returning my gaze to the group in front of us who were chatting excitedly amongst themselves, I sighed.

  My head wasn’t in the game and it was all Tiny’s fault. The little fucker had ridden my dick as if he was trying to become a rodeo champion. I’d hardly been able to stand afterwards enough to clean myself up.

  He’d broken me; it had to be that. Because why else couldn’t I get him out of my thoughts for longer than two minutes? Give over. He’s been on your mind for days. It’s just that now you have sex on the brain too!

  The memory of the night before was burned into my mind, my balls still aching from the epic orgasm. The second I conjured up the image of Tiny straddling me, a tingling sensation spread through my groin.

  Get a grip, you’re at work. It’s not like you’ve just woken up and discovered what your dick is for.

  I may as well have! Fucking thing just wanted to be buried balls deep inside Tiny and never leave. Shoving my hands into my pockets, I tried, yet again, to pull my head away from all things Tiny and get my shit together.

  “Let’s go see if we can whip them into shape,” Del muttered with very little enthusiasm.

  My gaze returned to him, taking in the dark circles under his eyes and the weariness of his posture. What was I missing here?

  Stepping closer, I took hold of his forearm, lowering my voice to ask, “Is everything alright? You don’t seem yourself.”

  His gaze stayed on the men, but I got the impression he wasn’t really seeing them.

  “You ever want to give someone a shake till they see what’s right in front of them?” The almost absent way he said it was more like he was talking to himself rather than me.

  “It has been known, but usually it’s me I want to shake.” The events of that morning played through my mind as I spoke the words.

  I inhaled the scent of Tiny, and sex, as my brain awoke, the soft morning rays of the sun shining on my face. The solid weight sprawled across my chest didn’t move as I shifted slightly to glance down at the sleeping man. A smile spread across my face as the sun bathed Tiny’s hair in light and made it glow. Damn it, he was so fucking gorgeous.

  He looked so goddamn edible with his skin flushed with sleep and his hair all messy. The ends had started to curl and my fingers itched to feel them again. My body heated in response to his pouty lips at the thought of what I wanted him to do with them.

  My morning wood stood to attention as if it was saluting an officer. I gave a resigned sigh though as I lifted my wrist to see the time. Carefully rolling Tiny off me, I stilled as he groaned, but his eyes didn’t open.

  I watched him for long seconds, holding my breath. His lean body was tangled in the sheets providing just a hint of white skin where his shorts had been. He stretched and shifted as if he was putting on a show just for me, his dick nestled in a thatch of golden hair being revealed. My mouth watered for another taste. The arousal I felt increased from just a hum to a buzzing energy which forced me off the bed because I knew my willpower around Tiny was non-existent.

  With my dick protesting, I grabbed my clothes off the floor and dressed quickly. Once I was out in the hallway, I glanced back over my shoulder to Tiny, my heart skipping a beat. This is going to get complicated. No, it’s not. You like him a lot… a hell of a lot. What’s the issue?

  I exhaled loudly, closing Tiny’s bedroom door behind me to prevent myself from giving in to the temptation to crawl back into the warm bed with him and ignore the confrontation that was about to happen with Neil. Tiptoeing down the stairs and through the house, I headed out the back door. I took my time strolling across the back yard, inhaling the fragrant garden scents and letting the warm rays of sun caress my exposed skin.

  Knowing there was no way to avoid what was coming, I braced myself as I entered my home. I paused at the sight of Neil sitting at the table, his face an unreadable mask.

  “Mornin’,” I muttered, heading over to the freshly brewed coffee I could smell. I grabbed a mug, filling it from the pot and adding sugar and cream before turning around to lean against the counter. Eyeing Neil over my mug, I breathed in the scent of the fresh coffee. “We alright?”

  The silence lengthened as I sipped my coffee, my body readying itself for what was coming.

  “If you hurt him or Willow, I’ll never forgive you. Got it?” he stated so matter-of-factly, he could have been talking about the weather if it wasn’t for the deadly gleam in his eyes.

  I swallowed and nodded. “Got it. I have strong feelings for both Greg and Willow. I swear on my life I’ll do everything in my power to not hurt either of them.” I’d used Tiny’s given name so Neil would understood how serious I was.

  He pushed back the chair and stood. The T-shirt and shorts he wore did nothing to mask the strength in his long, sinewy body. The taut muscles in his shoulders and arms drew my gaze, my fingers tightening around the mug as he stopped in front of me. “Then you have nothin’ to worry about.” He licked his lips, his fierce stare holding mine. “I’ve always considered you my brother. Please don’t make me have to choose between the two of you.” His voice broke on the last part.

  My heart clenched in my chest. I twisted around to place the mug down before turning back to wrap him in a bear hug. “I know,” I choked out past the ball of emotion clogging my throat. He hugged me hard before stepping back.

  “You stink of sex.” He shuddered dramatically as he sniffed the air. “I seriously do not want to think about you and my brother… doin’ it, so go fucking shower,” he complained as he shoved me towards the door leading to the hallway, breaking the tension.

  “—this is what I’m talkin’ about,” Del growled, punching my arm.

  “What… what was that for?” I muttered sheepishly, rubbing the spot he’d just punched.

  “Don’t what me! I’ve been standing here havin’ a conversation with myself.” He swore and then tugged at my arm. “Let’s do some work before I lose you to whatever keeps stealin’ all your attention today.”

  When his lips twitched as if he was struggling to contain a smile, heat spread across my face. “Yeah? Have you allocated these men yet?” I pulled my thoughts away from Tiny and back to the job at hand.

  Del normally assessed each man’s skill from the form they’d completed when they’d booked to come and stay. He used that to determine whose skills best suited each man. It didn’t always work though because some of the guys thought they had more skills than they actually had, but at least it gave Del a starting point.

  During the time I’d spent on the ranch, I’d come to realize that Del worked best with everything organized marines style. He rivalled any of the men I’d served under. His dedication though, meant the ranch ran like a well-oiled machine and turned a good profit.

  However, Del’s side venture for tourists was almost too successful meaning he didn’t have enough men to do everything. So he worked doubly hard to keep it all running smoothly. Was that why he had dark circles under his eyes?

  “I have.” He talked through his plans for the afternoon as we approached the men. It was only as we drew closer that I noticed Andy chatting to a tall, sandy-haired guy. I’d avoided Andy all morning, Tiny having explained that it was Andy who’d snitched to Neil. Unsure how I felt about it, I’d thought it best to keep my distance. Now it looked like I was going to have to face him.

  As if he’d sensed the weight of my stare, his dark brown eyes drifted from the guy he’d been speaking to, towards me and Del instead. His brow furrowed, but he gave us a nod. It was onl
y then that I realized his attention was solely focused on Del.

  Del shifted uncomfortably next to me.

  I glanced between both men.

  What was I missing here? I got the impression something was going on… but what?

  Greg

  Willow couldn’t contain her excitement as she danced around me as I finished planting the small tree at the bottom of Will’s garden. Due to my black thumb and the fact I could even kill a cactus if left to my own devices, Neil had given me strict instructions which I’d followed to the letter.

  I wiped the sweat from my brow as I stepped back. “What do ya think, munchkin?”

  “Oh’s Daddy, it looks so pretty, waits till we’s put the lights on,” she said with breathless excitement, clasping her hands together.

  “Wanna run inside and grab the box of lights for me? I left it on the kitchen table.” She was off and running before I could finish, making me chuckle.

  She’d been struggling to keep the secret to herself over the last few days, especially with Will practically living at our house when he wasn’t at work. The new dynamic hadn’t fazed her in the slightest, though there had been a bit of a moment when she’d waltzed into the bedroom and caught us about to play hide the sausage.

  Thankfully Will had recovered much quicker than I had, having the wherewithal to pull the covers over us to hide our lower bodies. When Willow had clambered on the bed and managed to put her foot somewhere it wasn’t wanted, I’d lost it and laughed at Will.

  After we’d dressed and headed down to breakfast, I’d sat Willow down and tried to explain that she needed to knock before she came into my room. The following twenty “why” questions had been revenge for Will, his large shoulders shaking as he’d made our breakfast and left me to answer them. The bastard.

  It had taken some doing to explain why adults needed privacy without going into too much detail. It was going to be a tale for a future book that was for sure. My thoughts drifted to the one I’d just submitted for publishing. Inspired by Willow’s idea to create Christmas for Will, I’d called it Christmas beyond Christmas and the paperback was going to be my gift to him—something he could look back on in years to come which would hopefully replace the Christmas’s he’d missed out on. We only had two more days to get everything ready and that meant that if my book didn’t arrive either today or tomorrow it was going to fuck up my plans.

  I groaned as I stared at the lopsided tree, using the spade to try and make it sit up straighter. Planting the tree had been a little trickier than I’d anticipated, Neil pointing out that Will’s bedroom overlooked the back yard. If he’d looked out of it, he’d have seen it for sure. So I’d had to devise a plan. As it was Friday, Will had planned on taking me and Willow out for dinner and a movie. There was no way he was going to be spending any time at his place today, not if I could help it. I grinned at the thought of how I was going to achieve that, my face aching.

  What about the next two days? Would they be as easy?

  Fuck, I hoped so. I’d had to enlist Neil’s help for Saturday and Sunday in order to ensure that Will didn’t get a moment alone when he was at home. I just hoped that Neil could manage to be subtle.

  At least Sunday had been easier to organize, Andy more than happy to ask Will to work Sunday morning, giving us time to get everything set up in the garden.

  The original plan had fallen by the wayside once Neil had talked about using a snow making machine to create a winter wonderland in the garden in front of Willow. That was the end of the discussion as far as she was concerned. She’d used her sad eyes on me and I’d caved quicker than the avalanche of snow she wanted. I’d checked and re-checked the weather forecast for Sunday, taking it as a sign when it wasn’t too hot—a perfect day for eating outside.

  Now all I have to do is pull it off without tripping up and letting on what we’re up to. Simple.

  Yeah right!

  The more time I spent with Will, the harder it was turning out to be. He didn’t appear to miss anything. My cheeks heated at the memory of the previous day when he’d opened the refrigerator to find all the extra food I’d bought. It had taken some quick thinking to distract him. Okay, I’d stripped off and encouraged him to think about something else.

  “Daddyyyy, I’s got it,” came the shout from the porch.

  That was enough to stamp on the desire humming to life at the memory of what Will had done to me on my Mom’s kitchen floor. “That’s great, bring it here, Willow.” She clutched the box to her sturdy body, her curls bouncing around as she skipped over to me beaming with happiness.

  Love swamped my heart, my fingers tightening on the spade I’d been using. How had I got so lucky? There’d been no more mention of her mom. It was as if we’d never had the conversation in the first place. I searched her face, looking for any remnants of sadness, but all I could see was happiness.

  Will had helped with that. He’d made it his mission to ensure that she was included in everything we did. Even Andy had mellowed when he’d visited for his Willow time.

  Neil, however, still seemed a little wary of the dynamic between Will and myself. I had faith though that he’d come around. There was no way he could fail to see how much Will wanted me and Willow to be a part of his life. Will showed me that every day and it took all my willpower not to declare my love for him, especially when he expressed his love for Willow.

  “Ya got a funny look on ya face,” Willow pointed out as she came to a standstill in front of me.

  I dropped the spade and lifted her up. She giggled, holding the box to her body. “Are ya sayin’ that I look funny?” I wiggled my fingers in her sides and her laughter pealed out.

  “No… no… Daddy, no’s ticklin’.”

  Her words were lost to more giggles as I continued to tickle her, the box she’d been holding slipping from her hands as she tried to defend herself. Forced to catch the box, I balanced her on my hip.

  Her face full of laughter, she grinned at me. “If’s ya is funny lookin’ then so’s me cause’ we’s two peas in a pod, Gramma say’s.”

  “That we are, munchkin, that we are.” About to lower her to the floor, I paused at her next words.

  “The pod need’s to be bigger, cause’ Will’s won’t squeeze in’s the one we’s has now.”

  The gravity of her words combined with her serious expression made me take a shuddery inhale. “Would you like Will to be a part of our pod?” She was nodding eagerly even before I’d finished.

  “He’s can be Dad and ya’s can be Daddy, dat’s okay? I’s have two’s dads, dat makes me special. I told ya Daddy, I’s a very lucky girl,” she said earnestly.

  Her head tilted to one side and she stared at me with eyes that were so like my own that, for a second, I wondered if I looked the same way she did when she spoke about Will. The love was there for all to see. So much so that it took my breath away and left me speechless. I nodded and swallowed, working to keep the tears clogging the back of my throat at bay.

  “Dat’s good. Now’s we’s better hurry before Dad’s gets back.”

  Will

  Walking over to my truck, I glanced heavenward and rolled my eyes at Andy’s shout of, “thanks for this morning.”

  What had I done to deserve having to work on a Sunday morning when it was supposed to be my day off? When Andy had approached me yesterday, I’d already had one foot inside the cab of my truck. I’d been so distracted with thoughts of having the house and Tiny all to myself that he’d caught me on the hop.

  The text from Tiny earlier to say that Willow was spending the night with a friend from preschool had had all sorts of ideas forming inside my head without fear of Willow interrupting. I loved her so much, but it was a little hard to navigate around a little person who had no boundaries. And although it made me happy to know that there’d been no other men in Tiny’s life since her birth, it could be a little off-putting when I wanted to get him naked.

  Therefore, with all that running around in my hea
d, I’d not been able to come up with a valid excuse not to help out this morning. So there I’d been, a little pissed and sweating my balls off, running around after a prick who thought he knew how to control a horse. The clueless fucker had nearly broken his neck when he’d encouraged the horse to canter. The horse, happy to be given free rein, had taken off with the guy barely hanging on and screaming like a big girl, frightening the other horses in the process and nearly causing a stampede.

  I swallowed a sigh as I climbed into my truck, my back sticking to the hot leather. Inserting the key, I switched on the engine and just sat there letting the air conditioning blast me for a couple of minutes. Only when my flesh resembled a plucked goose did I drive off. The voice of Dermot Kennedy filled the cab and I sang along, the tension starting to bleed away.

  By the time I pulled into my drive, my good mood had returned and I was eager to get changed and go and find Tiny and Willow. Turning the engine off, I got out of the truck and as I glanced in the direction of the garden something caught my eye.

  I lost the ability to think. Struck dumb, the air left my lungs so fast that I couldn’t catch my breath. My eyes widened and my chest started to burn. Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

  My hands clenched at my sides and I stepped hesitantly towards the garden path leading to… a Christmas wonderland. Because that’s what it looked like, given the snow falling on the grass and the decorations which sparkled in the afternoon sun. The garden table which usually sat at the back of Tiny’s home had been moved and was now covered by a Christmas tablecloth and laden with all the food I'd loved as a child.

  A lopsided Christmas tree sat at the bottom of the garden covered in twinkling lights and tinsel. Underneath were several gaily wrapped boxes. Decorations were scattered around the garden, all sparkling in the sunlight as the snow machine covered them briefly in snow, before it melted, dripping onto the grass.

  Well fuck! They’d made me Christmas. Goddamnit, they’d made me Christmas.