Rock, dressed in baggy torn jeans that hung halfway down his hips and a purple vest decorated with green polka dots, was standing before a gas range stirring something in a cast-iron frying pan.
“Time to get up, sleeping beauty,” Rock teased and winked at him.
In the light of the day, horror filled Brad at what he had let Rock do to him.
Chapter Six
Out of the corner of his eye, Rock watched Brad stiffly climb out of bed. It didn’t take a genius to deduct the man was panicking. How could it be any different after what he had been through? Guilt was an emotion that loved to take over a person’s psyche, even if it wasn’t warranted.
“There’s a basin with some warm water in it over here,” Rock said, pointing with his spatula.
Without a word the gorgeous man walked over to the basin Rock had indicated and gave him a great side view when he dropped his underwear and started cleaning up. In the bright light, Rock saw scars, some of them looking as though they were from burns, covered Brad’s legs. His wide chest and flat stomach were also covered with small cut-like scars.
Rock had seen these grisly types of marks before on victims of car accidents. Broken glass and fire could muck up a body good and leave long-lasting damage.
Seeing prominent hipbones and ribs under the scars had Rock adding another egg to the frying pan. After Brad finished washing, he ended the pleasant show of nakedness by quickly putting on jeans and a T-shirt then topping it off with a long-sleeved flannel shirt.
After dividing the food up onto two plates, Rock carried them over the small table. “Can you bring the coffee?” he asked.
Once they were settled across from each other and eating, Brad looked at Rock. “Do your parents live around here?”
Rock loved that Brad was curious enough to ask a private question. “No, my parents live over eight hundred miles north of here, deep in the wilderness.”
“Really? How do they survive?”
“I was raised in the subsistence lifestyle. My parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles have houses near each other on a couple thousand acres,” Rock explained.
“I’ve seen shows on television with people living that kind of life.” Brad’s handsome face had become animated during the conversation, and Rock could almost see his mind painting a distorted picture of his upbringing, yet a hint of sadness still lurked in his light blue eyes.
Rock couldn’t stop the snort that erupted out of his nose. “Honey, those shows romanticized the reality of living here. Look how wild it is around this cabin, and we’re only ten miles outside of Anchorage.” Rock took a sip of his steaming mug of coffee and sat back in his chair. “Try to imagine a place where roads go nowhere but to another cabin. Heck, a pilot’s license is much more valuable than a driver’s license.”
“If living in Alaska isn’t like what we see on television, what’s it like?” Brad asked.
“A lot of nonstop work every day. If you don’t have time to collect the honey, you go without the taste of something sweet. If you don’t take advantage of every second of the growing season, you run the risk of scurvy. It was, and is, for my family a nonstop grinding of hard work,” Rock said.
“But it has to be exciting, too,” Brad pointed out.
Rock looked up at the ceiling for a moment remembering all of the things he and his siblings did that could have gotten them killed in a heartbeat. Looking back at Brad, he said, “Those things they show on television are nothing compared to what my brothers and sisters and I have done. We broke world records for snowmobile and climbing adventures that we could never tell anyone.”
“Why couldn’t you report it and get credit for it?” Brad asked, frowning.
“Because then others would try to repeat it, or beat it and die. My dad always says, ‘If you want to do something, do it. But don’t get anyone else killed.’”
“Is your family close?” Brad asked.
“Yeah. You have to be to survive,” Rock said. “I have two brothers, two sisters, and lots of cousins.”
“Yet you left,” Brad pointed out.
“One day a rich man became lost on a hunting trip. Lily’s mother and I found him, hurt but alive,” Rock continued. “That brought the attention of the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s search and rescue on me. I was nineteen and ready to spread my wings. Living in the city, going to school, and learning about the advanced technology for finding people about blew my mind. Yet I loved it.”
“Do you ever go back?” Brad asked.
“Oh yeah. I love my family. I also learned from my time away I prefer to live outside the city. I need nature’s call to be able to breathe.”
“Would you think me an asshole if I said I envy your upbringing?” The sadness in Brad’s eyes was back.
“I think it would take a lot for me to think of you as anything but an attractive, nice guy that I intend to get to know a lot better. Like naked-up-close kind of better.” Rock raised his eyebrows up a few times comically.
Brad laughed, making Rock happy that he’d gotten the reaction he was looking for. Studying Brad for a second, Rock decided it was okay to let some of his building curiosity about the complicated man out. “How did you end up married?” Yeah, it was blunt, but he needed to know.
Light blue eyes nervously dropped to stare intently at Brad’s plate before looking up at Rock. “In my senior year of high school, my mother invited a couple and their daughter over for supper one Sunday.”
“So you met this daughter and fell in love at first sight?” Rock couldn’t keep the cynicism out of his question.
Brad snorted. “No. After dinner we were given money and the car keys and told to go to the local theater that was playing the newest movie.”
“I don’t get it. Most teenagers are rebellious in some way or another. You two just did what your mothers wanted with no objections?” Rock looked down at his tattooed arms, thinking about a few of his own rebellions against his parents.
“Tracy and I decided it was easier to go along with her and my mother’s plan until we left for college. We figured then we could go out with who we wanted and do what we wanted.” Brad picked up a piece of bacon and snapped it in half. “You have to understand. My mother makes Cruella De Vil from that Disney movie look like a pussycat. And Tracy’s mother isn’t much better.”
Rock lifted an eyebrow, believing Brad but still a little skeptical that his mother was that bad.
“Okay, you don’t believe me? Try this one,” Brad said defensively. “My brother Tyler used to be a professional baseball player and was having a secret affair with a man. My mother arranged for the guy to find Tyler in bed with a model. She then set up this big campaign in the gossip magazines of their love affair and a bogus pregnancy. It was a close call, but Tyler managed to break away before he ended up married to the gold digger.”
“That’s crazy,” Rock said, completely amazed.
“You have no idea what she’s capable of.” Brad dipped his bacon in an egg yolk before taking a bite.
“Your plans of freedom in college obviously didn’t work out,” Rock pointed out.
“Nope. Of course they arranged it so we attended the same school. That first year they would pop in and check on us. I made the football team, and my parents attended every game no matter where it was played. That gave her the perfect opportunity to make sure I was with Tracy and no one else.” By now Brad’s face was pale, and he pushed the plate of food away.
Rock reached over and took his hand. He hated to push, but he needed to know how to handle this beautiful, fragile blond man. “Why didn’t you say you’ve had enough? Where was your dad during all of this? Couldn’t you talk to him about your mother’s actions?”
“I was raised to trust that our elders knew what was right. My father believed in old-school family values. The father worked while the mother stayed home and raised the children. He demanded we treat my mother with respect at all times. There were consequences if we didn’t.” Brad tighte
ned his grip on Rock’s hand. “When he thought she went too far, he’d rein her in. Unfortunately, he never knew the half of what she was doing,” Brad said bitterly. “Sometimes I think he just ignored her behavior because he didn’t want to acknowledge how bad she could be.”
“So you never rebelled?” Rock found that hard to believe.
“One time during my last year of college, I grew half a ball and broke things off with Tracy. That night I went to a party and left with some guy. Of course me being the big muscled football player, he wanted me to fuck him.” Brad’s free hand closed into a fist. “So I did and hated every minute of it. I woke up the next morning wondering what the hell I was going to do. I’d always secretly thought I was gay, and now I’d found out I hated sex with a man. An hour later I went back to my dorm to find my mother waiting for me. By the end of the week, Tracy and I were back together.”
Rock’s first thought was to question how his mother found out about the breakup so fast, but Brad was bleakly looking over at the window. Rock wasn’t sure if the poor man even saw anything outside. Brad’s eyes were bright with unshed tears when he looked back at Rock and spoke.
“We gave up then. That was our bid for freedom, and it failed.”
“How was the sex with Tracy? You did have three kids,” Rock pointed out.
At the mention of his children, Brad’s expression became haunted. Rock stood, pulled Brad up out of the chair, and hugged the man close, trying to ease his pain.
“I tried to make sure she was satisfied, but something was missing. As for the kids, the mothers would have us over for dinner at one of their houses and announce it was time for us to have another baby.” Brad lifted his head from Rock’s shoulder and snorted in disgust. “Like the patsies we were, we would go home and work on making a baby. I would leave for work the next day, feeling like I was raped and had raped Tracy. It took a stiff drink to get me through those days. Tracy coped by going shopping a lot and forgetting to eat.”
Rock was horrified. He was glad they were in Alaska. Brad needed a few days away from his family so the poor man had a chance at healing in peace. And Rock vowed to show Brad how good sex could be with the right man.
Abandoning their breakfast, Rock pulled Brad toward the door. “Let’s go for a walk.”
Brad’s face darkened, pain filling his eyes. “I repulse you now, don’t I? I should have kept my mouth shut.”
Rock stepped up to Brad and jerked him down by the front of this shirt. Covering Brad’s lips in a hard kiss, Rock grabbed his cock and balls with his other hand. Arms came around his shoulders, as Rock continued to rub Brad’s dick through the jean material while pushing his tongue into his mouth.
The cock under his hand hardened, and Brad started rocking his hips, looking for more friction. Letting go of the shirt, Rock buried his fingers in Brad’s hair and held his head still while he fucked his mouth with his tongue.
Rock loved the deep groan he pulled from Brad’s throat when he squeezed the hard cock under his hand. Brad stiffened, and wet warmth spread through the material under Rock’s hand. Slowing things down, he lazily licked Brad’s lips before ending the kiss.
“Does that feel like I’m repulsed by you, Brad?” he asked, purposely using the man’s name, making the point that he truly saw him.
“No,” Brad whispered, looking dazed.
“Good. Now go change quick so we can head outside and take a walk.”
Rock watched Brad pull out clean underwear and jeans from his travel bag and go over to the washbasin. Brad stripped off his soiled clothes and quickly washed up with quick, efficient movements. Rock enjoyed every moment of the second naked show of the morning, Brad was giving him. By the time Brad was dressed again, more plans for this special man had formed in Rock’s mind.
A bleak look crossed Brad’s handsome face, and his body seemed to deflate as he turned toward the small window and braced his arms against the sill, head hanging down. Rock walked over to Brad. Putting his arms around Brad’s waist from behind, Rock pulled Brad’s back tight against his chest. Brad turned his head and haunted blue eyes looked at him.
“What are you thinking?” Rock asked.
“My wife is dead, and I’ve found more pleasure with you in the short time since we’ve met than my whole marriage with her.” Brad closed his eyes, and a tear slipped down the side of his face.
“Look at me,” Rock ordered. It took a moment, but Brad looked at him, eyes brightly glistening with misery. “A marriage is between two people. Ultimately they both make it or break it. From what you’ve told me, you and Tracy tried your best. But in the end it didn’t matter if you were happy or not. Fate made a decision.”
“Is that what happened?” Brad challenged. “Fate decided they should all die?”
Rock turned an unresisting Brad around. Taking his face between his hands, Rock kissed him softly. “It was an accident, Brad, a twist of fate. You couldn’t have done anything different to prevent it.”
“There had to be something I could have done,” Brad insisted. Fresh tears flowed down his face.
“Listen to me,” Rock ordered. “Now you have the hardest job of all. You have to go on. Don’t you see? By living your life to the fullest, you’re honoring them.”
“Yeah right,” Brad bit back sarcastically. “What I have to do is find a drink. That’s the only way to cope with the pain.”
“No you don’t. Come on. Let’s go for a walk.” Rock herded Brad over to the door where the coats and shoes were kept.
* * * *
Brad looked out the window of the silver 4x4 truck feeling a pang of loneliness. If it were up to him, he could have stayed at the cabin forever, even with having to use the outhouse. But Rock needed to start working for Rescue for Hire, and Brad had a job interview to go to.
As it was, they decided to stay a few more days and take it easy. Brad loved it. The country was beautiful, and the cabin felt more like a home than any other place Brad ever lived in. It felt good to exert his body and help Rock build up the supply of firewood in the woodshed. They also spent hours lying in bed reading the good-sized library of books Rock had collected over the years. Physically Brad hadn’t felt this so good in years.
Rock was great. He listened to Brad ramble on about his past, held him when he wept for the loss of his children, and treated him like an equal. It was nice to spend time with someone who wasn’t always expecting something from him. Brad’s cheeks grew hot thinking about what Rock did to him in bed. That hadn’t progressed much more than touching and stroking off, but for Brad, it was intense and so awesome he kept wondering when the other shoe of doom was going to drop.
After his breakdown the first morning, Brad hadn’t felt more than a twinge to have drink. It gave him hope that he might not be a total loser. His next step was to see how he handled day-to-day life. To help him with that, he was taking Rock’s advice and finding a counselor in the area when they got back to Granite County. Now he only had to deal with his growing feelings for Rock and what his mother would do next.
* * * *
“Oh fuck!”
“Now, Mr. Taylor, we don’t need to hear that kind of language,” the tall, slim physical therapist, with a tag pinned to her almost nonexistent chest stating her name was Kim, admonished him. Thank goodness she didn’t let go of the thick safety belt around Alex’s waist. Alex would have crumpled to the floor.
“You may not think it’s necessary, but let me tell you that it is totally necessary,” Alex replied. Okay, he may have screeched that out three octaves higher than his normal voice.
“Shit!”
“Mr. Taylor,” the other evil therapist on his other side reprimanded.
The door to the room opened, and Leo stepped into the room. “I could hear you all the way down the hall. Are you having problems, pet?” he asked calmly.
“Leo, I can’t do this,” Alex admitted.
“You’re already standing, Mr. Taylor. All we’re asking you to do is take t
wo steps to the chair in front of you,” Kim said. “Hold on tight to the walker and try, Mr. Taylor.”
Leo walked over to the chair and stood behind it. “Let’s see if you can make it over here and take a look at our beautiful son,” he said and put a sonogram picture on the back of the chair.
Alex looked at the picture and then up at Leo. “So that’s why you weren’t here,” he said. Alex hadn’t liked waking up to find Leo gone.
“I wouldn’t have left for any other reason. Now come see our son,” he ordered.
Gritting his teeth, Alex took a step. Air burst out of his mouth, and slicing, raw, burning pain exploded from his hip and thigh. Gathering his composure and getting his bearings, Alex took another step toward that picture. He still hadn’t found a way to tell Leo that he had already met their son.
* * * *
Five days later, Rock and Brad crossed the border into the United States and were hours away from Granite County. The problem was they both were tired from the drive, and Rock needed to let Lily, who was lying on the back seat, take care of business pretty soon.
“How about you use that smart phone of yours and find us a place to stay for the night?” he asked. Glancing over, he saw that Brad was frowning and looking at the phone that was vibrating away in his hand. “Is something wrong?”
“No. It’s just that the thing has been going nuts since it picked up a signal about an hour ago,” Brad said.
“And?” Rock couldn’t figure out why Brad didn’t check the messages and see who called him. His own phone was dancing around in his pocket, and at the first opportunity he was going to address it.
Troubled light blue eyes looked over at Rock. “We had such a good time together, and I loved Alaska. I’m scared to see who called,” Brad confessed.
Not liking the way the phone in Brad’s hand trembled so hard it almost fell on the floor, Rock pulled the truck over to the side of the road. After he parked the truck and flicked the warning flashers on, he turned to Brad and put his hand on the big guy’s thigh.
Brad's Rock [Rescue for Hire 7] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 6
