by GA Hauser
Owen tapped Taylor’s beer bottle with his wine glass, saying, “Amen to that.”
~
The long flight and drive was finally behind them. Once inside Owen’s home, they unpacked their bags and managed to eat a light snack.
Taylor sat with the phone and made that dreaded call to his father. Without Taylor asking him, Owen had given him privacy and left to watch television in the den while Taylor sat on Owen’s bed and used the phone on the nightstand.
“Taylor?”
“Yes, it’s me, Pop.”
“Good. I wanted to talk to you.”
“Yeah, I wanted to talk to you, too.” Taylor knew it would be a confrontation, dreading it.
“I’ve sent Noah out. He’ll be on the site in the morning. You show him where you left off. You got that?”
“I do. Now, I got something to tell you. I’m going to work for Jordon Construction in Denver.”
“You what? You out of your mind?”
“No. Pop, I’m sick of traveling. I don’t want to do it anymore. Landon said I can do all his local work in Colorado. So, after I get Noah sorted on this project, I’m done.” Silence followed. It was long, strained, and annoying. “Are you there, or did you go take a damn shit?” Taylor shouted in anger.
“I’m here. Taylor, you know you’re gonna take a huge cut in pay.”
“I do know.”
“And you’re going to do that for some homo-lover you found? You sure you know what you’re doing?”
“I do. I swear, Pop, he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“You’ve never settled, Taylor. You flit from one sex-partner to the next.”
“Bullshit! That’s complete crap, Pop, and you know it. I haven’t even seen anyone since Will. And that was ages ago. Where on earth do you get your gossip from?”
“Caleb. He says you flirt with all the boys on the site. He told me you’re promiscuous and I should give you a lecture about AIDS.”
Taylor counted to ten in his head because he was about to combust. “Pop, you sure you can believe Caleb? Talk about a string of bad relationships? Caleb screws more bimbo prostitutes that line the streets of hooker-town, than there are grains of sand on Redondo Beach. Pop, don’t listen to him. He’s the equivalent of a male whore. The boy’s not stable.”
“All right, stop bad-mouthin’ your brother.”
“Stop—” Taylor bit his lip and then calmed down. “You tell me to stop bad-mouthing Caleb, but you listen to his crap about me.”
“Forget about that. Now, about this job over at Jordon’s...what’s he paying you?”
“None of your damn business. I’m givin’ you my notice.”
“Now, wait. Don’t be hasty. You’re too hasty.”
“Pop, you need me to travel. Ya got no business for me to do in Colorado.”
“Now, that’s where you’re wrong. I can do business there. Do you want to set us up a nice office to conduct local work for our company?”
Taylor choked in surprise. “You mean…”
“Compete with fucking Jordon. Don’t give him our best boy.”
Taylor couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You talkin’ about me?”
“Yeah, who do you think I’m talking about? Caleb? You! I’m talking about you.”
“How the hell do I set up an office in Denver?”
“I’ll send some boys over to help you. You just go out and pick out a nice place. We’ll buy the building and do it up right.”
“You sure? There may not be as much local work as you think.”
“Whatever it is, you do it.”
“No more traveling? Promise?” Taylor knew there had to be a catch.
“Promise. You won’t go anyway, if I ask you.”
“No, I won’t.”
“So, I won’t ask you.”
“Okay. Let me wrap this LA job up this week, and get Noah up to scratch.”
“When ya get back in Denver, call me. I’ll send out some people there to help you.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this, Pop.”
“Well, you were right, Taylor. You’re the one I can count on. Your brothers are useless.”
“Thanks. I mean it.”
“No problem.”
“Oh, before you go…” Taylor could hear Owen in the next room but knew he was busy.
“What?”
“Look, this man, my partner, he’s got a ten-year-old daughter from a previous marriage who’s nuts about horses.”
“Bring her by.”
“Yeah?” Taylor was shocked.
“Yeah, bring her by, and we’ll show her a good time.”
“Thanks, Pop. You really are okay when ya wanna be.”
“I suppose from you that’s high praise. You just keep me in the loop. Tell me what you’re doing.”
“I will. See ya, Pop.” Taylor hung up and tried to believe everything he’d just heard.
~
Owen was sitting in the den with his old high school yearbook on his lap, reminiscing about the bad old days just to kill time until Taylor finished his phone call. Owen looked up as Taylor came into the room, sitting next to him on the couch.
“Is that yours?” Taylor asked.
“Yes. Look at me back then.” Owen handed Taylor the book with his photo.
“You’re not ugly, Owen. I can see the potential in you a mile away.”
“You’re sweet. Thanks. So, how did the call go?”
“Real good. Pop wants me to open an office in Denver and get into the local construction scene there.”
“Are you serious?”
“I am. So, no more traveling, and no cut in pay.”
Owen dove down on him, shoving the book to the floor, lying on top of him. “I am so happy for you.”
“So, it’s just a matter of time for you to sell and move.”
“Yes. Exactly.”
“Meanwhile, Noah is coming out this week and taking over for me. So, this is my last week here.”
“It’s okay. I’ll make sure the house is priced to sell.” Owen stared down into Taylor’s bright blue eyes. “Can this really work?”
“Yes. It can.” Taylor wrapped his arms around Owen’s waist. “My father invited you and your daughter down to the ranch. I told him how much she loved horses.”
Owen almost choked with emotion. “Leah will die. Oh, you will make her day.”
“She have a fantasy about cowboys as well?” Taylor wriggled under him.
“Who doesn’t?” Owen wriggled back, then connected to Taylor’s mouth. After a long passionate kiss, Owen sat up and said, “Looks like our Mile High days have reached an end.”
“Yeah, but what a nice story to tell the grandkids.”
Seeing that mischievous twinkle in Taylor’s eyes, Owen began laughing. “I adore you, you know that?”
“And I love you, Owen Braydon.”
Owen kissed him again, then said, “Happily ever after? Did we do it?”
“We sure did, partner! Yee haw!”
Cracking up with laughter, Owen rolled with Taylor on the couch, shouting, “Ride em’, cowboy!”
The End
About the Author:
Award-winning author G. A. Hauser was born in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, USA, and attended university in New York City. She moved to Seattle, Washington where she worked as a patrol officer with the Seattle Police Department. In early 2000 G.A. moved to Hertfordshire, England, where she began her writing in earnest and published her first book, In the Shadow of Alexander. Now a full-time writer, G.A. has written dozens of novels, including several bestsellers of gay fiction. For more information on other books by G.A., visit the author at her official website at:
www.authorgahauser.com.
Other works by G.A. Hauser:
Capital Games
Let the games begin…
Former Los Angeles Police officer Steve Miller has gone from walking a beat in the City of Angels to joining the rat race as
an advertising executive. He knows how cut-throat the industry can be, so when his boss tells him that he’s in direct competition with a newcomer from across the pond for a coveted account he’s not surprised…then he meets Mark Richfield.
Born with a silver spoon in his mouth and fashion-model good looks, Mark is used to getting what he wants. About to be married, Mark has just nailed the job of his dreams. If the determined Brit could just steal the firm’s biggest account right out from under Steve Miller, his life would be perfect.
When their boss sends them together to the Arizona desert for a team-building retreat the tension between the two dynamic men escalates until in the heat of the moment their uncontrollable passion leads them to a sexual experience that neither can forget.
Will Mark deny his feelings and follow through with marriage to a women he no longer wants, or will he realize in time that in the game of love, sometimes you have to let go and lose yourself in order to really win.
Secrets and Misdemeanors
When having to hide your love is a crime…
After losing his wife to his best friend and former law partner, David Thornton couldn’t imagine finding love again. With his divorce behind him, he wanted only to focus on his job and two children. But then something happened, making David realize that despite believing he had everything he needed, there was someone he desperately wanted—Lyle Wilson.
Young and determined, Lyle arrived in Los Angeles without a penny in his pocket. Before long, however, the sexy construction worker nailed a job remodeling the old office building that held the prestigious Thornton Law Firm. Little did Lyle realize when he gazed upon the handsome and successful David Thornton for the first time that a door would be opened that neither man could close.
Will the two men succumb to the tangled web of societal pressures placed before them, hiding who they are and whom they love? Or will they reveal the truth and set themselves free?
Naked Dragon
Police Officer Dave Harris has just been assigned to one of the worst serial murder cases in Seattle history: The Dragon is hunting young Asian men. In order to solve the crime it’s going to take a bit more than good old-fashioned police work. It’s going to take handsome FBI Agent Robbie Taylor.
Robbie is an experienced Federal Agent with psychic abilities that allow him to enter the minds of others. You can’t hide your secrets and desires from someone that knows your every thought. Some think what Robbie has is a gift, others a skill, but when the mind you have to enter is that of a madman it can also be a curse.
As the corpses pile up and the tension mounts, so does the sexual attraction between the two men. Then a moment of passion leads to a secret affair. Will their love be the distraction that costs them the case and possibly even their lives? Or will the bond forged between them be the key to their survival?
The Kiss
Twenty-five year old actor Scott Epstein is no stranger to the modeling industry. He’s done it himself between acting jobs. So when his sister, Claire, casts him in a chewing-gum commercial with the famous British model, Ian Sullivan, he doesn’t ask any questions. He’s a professional. He’ll show up, hit his mark, say his lines, and collect his paycheck. Right?
Ian Sullivan is used to making heads turn. Stunningly handsome, he’s accustomed to provocative photo shoots where sex sells everything from perfume to laundry soap. Ian was thrilled when Claire Epstein cast him in the new Minty gum commercial. He has to kiss his co-star on screen? No problem. Until he finds out Scott is the one he has to kiss!
Never before has a commercial featured two men, kissing on screen. Claire knows that the advertisement will be ground-breaking, and Scott knows that his sister needs his performance to be perfect. As the filming progresses and the media circus begins around the controversial advertisement, the chemistry between Ian and Scott heats up and the two men quite simply burn up the screen. Is it all an act? Or, have Ian and Scott entered into a clandestine affair that will lead them to love?
For Love and Money
Handsome Dr. Jason Philips, the heir to a vast fortune, had followed his heart and pursued his dream of becoming a physician. Ewan P. Gallagher had a different dream. Acting in local theater, the talented twenty-year-old was determined to be a famous success.
As fate would have it, Jason happened to be working in casualty one night when Ewan was admitted as a patient. Jason was more than flattered and surprisingly aroused by the younger man’s obvious attraction to him. The two men entered into a steamy affair finding love, until their ambitions pulled them apart.
Now, one year later and stuck in a sham of a marriage that he entered into only to preserve his inheritance, Jason is filled with regret. Caught between obligation and freedom, duty and desire, Jason finds that he can no longer deny his passion. He plans to win Ewan, Hollywood’s newest rising star, back!
The G.A. Hauser Collection
Single Titles
Unnecessary Roughness
Heart of Steele
A Man’s Best Friend
It Takes a Man
The Physician and the Actor
For Love and Money
The Kiss
Naked Dragon
Secrets and Misdemeanors
Capital Games
Giving Up the Ghost
To Have and To Hostage
Love you, Loveday
The Boy Next Door
When Adam Met Jack
Exposure
The Vampire and the Man-eater
Murphy's Hero
Mark Antonious deMontford
Prince of Servitude
Calling Dr Love
The Rape of St. Peter
The Wedding Planner
Going Deep
Double Trouble
Pirates
Miller's Tale
Vampire Nights
Teacher's Pet
In the Shadow of Alexander
The Rise and Fall of the Sacred Band of Thebes
The Action Series
Acting Naughty
Playing Dirty
Getting it in the End
Behaving Badly
Dripping Hot
Men in Motion Series
Mile High
Cruising
Driving Hard
Leather Boys
Heroes Series
Man to Man
Two In Two Out
Top Men
Coming Soon
Single Titles
All Man
In The Dark and What Should Never Be, Erotic Short
Stories
Mark and Sharon (formally titled A Question of Sex)
G.A. Hauser
Writing as Amanda Winters
Sister Moonshine
Nothing Like Romance
Silent Reign
Butterfly Suicide
Mutley’s Crew
