"It doesn't matter who he is, because I don't think he wants to stay with me," he said, both hearing the catch in his voice and feeling the tightness in his chest.
"Why on earth not?" Now Sally sounded affronted, and Jared couldn't help smiling: his sister, his advocate.
"That's something I'm trying to work out." Which was why he'd needed some time alone this morning. If Kyle didn't want him, didn't want to be with him, then why had he agreed to come home with him? Maybe that was the question he should be asking and not why Kyle had walked away from him in the first place. Or maybe he'd be better off not asking Kyle anything at all and just let him leave. Pain twisted his stomach at the thought, and Jared worried he'd already let what he felt for Kyle get too deep.
"Then why are you here? You can't work it out on your own. Talk to him, sort it out, because one thing I know for sure, you wouldn't bring home just anyone."
Not anyone, no. Kyle was the only man Jared would risk his reputation within the community for, a reputation he'd spent ten years trying to build, and the rib of it was, Kyle didn't even want to be there.
"And maybe I shouldn't have."
"What? Why?"
Resigned, Jared stated the obvious. "It was a stupid idea to think I could get away with having a man living with me. You know damn well what the town is going to think."
"Get away? You're not getting away with anything. You have a right to live the way you want. You deserve some happiness, Jared, and who cares if the town finds out you're gay; it's not going to change anything."
But that was the problem: it could change everything, and Jared wasn't sure how he'd cope with the aftermath. "I wish I had your confidence," he admitted ruefully.
Pale blue eyes looked up at him, a light smile playing about a mischievous mouth. "So are you going to tell me about him? What's he like, what's his name, and is he any good in bed?"
"Sally!" Shocked, Jared stared down at her.
"What?" She pouted her lower lip in mock contrition.
"That's not the kind of question you ask your brother. I don't ask you."
"That's because you're a prude."
"I'm not a prude. I'm just conservative."
"Which is why you picked up a man off the side of the road."
Figuring Sally had only guessed how he'd met Kyle, he didn't deign to answer, but he should have known Sally hadn't finished with him.
"Well?" she asked.
Jared knew he shouldn't say any more, but to talk about Kyle felt necessary. "His name is Kyle."
Sally grinned, her eyes sparkling like little chips of diamonds. "Well, give me all the details. What does he look like?"
Forgetting for a moment their real circumstances, Jared remembered back to the first time he saw Kyle. "Beautiful."
"Really?"
"No, he's old, fat, and ugly," Jared said, rolling his eyes before questioning the wisdom of telling Sally anything about Kyle at all. What if it didn't work out between them? What if Kyle really meant what he'd said last night and left as soon as he was able?
"How old is he?" Sally persisted.
"I don't know, about my age, I guess."
"Oh, that is old."
"Thirty is not old."
"It is to me."
"Sally, you're twenty-five."
"Exactly."
Twenty-five, deserted by her lowlife of a husband, and with a five-year-old daughter to bring up, and Sally thought herself young. She had the same tenacity and vibrant energy as their mother. Jared actually did feel old compared to them, and he wondered how they did it.
"Tell me more," Sally begged, her little pixie hands clasped together in front of her mouth.
Jared shook his head. "There's nothing more to tell," he said. "We're still just getting to know each other."
"But how long have you known him?"
This was awkward. "A few days."
"Days? Wow, he must be something special. I can't wait to tell Chloe."
"Yes, Kyle is special, but telling Chloe is not a wise move," he said, knowing the ramifications of his five-year-old niece finding out. It would be all over town within days.
"Why?" Sally's eyes darkened, and she scowled. Jared reminded himself she had that expression down pat, along with her pout.
"It's too soon."
"Bullshit!"
Jared groaned; his sister needed to stop hanging around the drivers. It was hard, though, considering she helped run the place. "Sally, she's too young to understand," he tried to subtly explain.
"You mean you don't want her to blab."
"Yes, I don't want her to blab." Sally knew her daughter well.
Sally harrumphed but dropped the subject. "So when can I meet him?" The light was back in her eyes, and so was a calculating gleam.
Jared didn't like that look. "Kyle needs time to get over his injuries, so I don't know. A few days maybe." That's if Kyle was still here in a few days. Jared didn't want to think about it, but it was a possibility he had to accept. Unless he could come up with a reason for Kyle to stay, Jared was forced to concede he might lose Kyle for good this time.
Sally's smile was evil. "You mean you want to fuck like bunnies and don't want to be disturbed."
"Sally!"
"Oh come on, don't tell me you're not," she scoffed.
Jared was not going to answer that, though his face flamed as he remembered last night again, and of course Sally noticed. She laughed, and Jared shook his head in consternation. "You are not a nice woman," he admonished.
"I'm your sister; what did you expect?"
Jared shook his head again and then, making a quick decision, grabbed his keys and mobile phone from the desk. "I'll talk to you later," he said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "Give that to Chloe," he added, as with a wry smile he left Sally standing alone in the middle of his office, smirking.
Deciding to stop at the local store for some supplies, Jared was waiting at the checkout when his phone rang. With one hand full, he didn't glance at the screen before answering. "Jared Hall."
"Jared, um, it's Kyle. I was wondering how long you were going to be?"
"Kyle? Shit, are you all right?" Jared couldn't hide the concern in his voice and right then didn't care that Kyle could hear it. But what he did care about was his increased heartbeat and the pleasurable tingle that feathered over his chest at the simple sound of Kyle's voice. He didn't want to lose him, he really didn't.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but your note said you'd only be a couple of hours, and I didn't know if you were coming home for lunch."
Lunch? Was it that time already? "I'm on my way. I won't be long, okay? I was just picking up a few things."
"Okay. See you soon."
The phone went dead before Jared had a chance to say anything else, though he'd picked up a guarded and wary tone in Kyle's voice before he hung up. Kyle obviously hadn't been happy about Jared not being there when he woke up, and Jared now felt even guiltier for doing it. He slipped the phone back into his jeans pocket, only then aware of the sharp, curious looks he was receiving from two older ladies and the girl at the counter. Hoping it was nothing more than idle interest, he smiled politely as the girl added up his purchases, declined the need for anything more, and paid in a hurry. Throwing a quick glance over his shoulder, he saw the two older ladies leaning close and whispering. Maybe he was being paranoid; they could just be talking about the weather or last night's bingo game. As long as it wasn't about him, he didn't care, but he had a niggling doubt the way he'd reacted to Kyle on the phone wasn't going unnoticed. Shit.
Pulling up in front of the house, Jared grabbed his few purchases and headed for the front door. The main door was open, letting some of the cool spring air inside. The screen door creaked as he opened it. Though he'd completed most of the internal renovations, he hadn't started any of the external ones. That was going to have to wait until he'd sold the trucking company and had more time and money.
Kyle was standing over the BBQ, tongs in hand, and waving away some smoke as he turned over pieces of meat.
Jared stopped to watch him for a moment, a little shocked at how seeing Kyle situated within his home made him feel. It was right. Kyle being here was right and Jared wanted him to stay, but there were so many obstacles in their way for it to be achievable. Not least of all Kyle's reluctance, something Jared knew he was going to have to overcome.
The sun glinted off Kyle's blond hair, causing it to shine like spun gold. His upper body was bare, his broad shoulders and back glistening with a faint sheen of sweat from the heat of the day. The dark bruises standing out starkly against his pale skin made Jared feel slightly ill, but beyond that Jared glimpsed well-toned muscles and a fluid grace in the way Kyle moved. The jeans he wore were the ones Jared had bought him, the pale denim fitting his ass and thighs like a second skin, both legs now cut off above the knee, showing one nicely shaped calf and a slim foot. The other one, the one covered in a cast, was a glaring reminder of why Kyle was here. But was that the only reason?
He pushed away from the door frame he'd been leaning on and headed down the back steps. Kyle turned at the sound of his approach. His smile was uncertain, and caution darkened his eyes, a vast difference from the first time Jared had seen him, where Kyle's smile had been bright and his eyes full of desire. Jared wanted to see Kyle react to him like that again.
He smiled. "Hey, how are you?"
"Good. Not so stiff today."
Jared nodded; he'd noticed. "Sorry I took so long; just had a few things to fix up."
Kyle shrugged. "I just wanted to know if I was to make lunch for you."
Stopping about a foot away, Jared glanced at the BBQ, surprised yet pleased by Kyle's attempt. "You cook?" he asked.
Kyle smiled a little more. "I do a mean steak and baked potato."
"Sounds good."
Turning back to flip the steaks over, Kyle shrugged again. The movement of muscle and skin had Jared's gaze riveted to Kyle's body. He cleared his throat. "Do you need some help?"
"No, I'm fine." Then he flicked a glance over his shoulder. "Don't suppose you got any beer?"
Jared grinned. "As a matter of fact..." He quickly headed back to the kitchen and grabbed two from the fridge, where he'd stashed them. Coming back, he passed one to Kyle. They clinked bottle necks and each took a long swallow. "Now this is why I like coming home." The funny look Kyle gave him had Jared pausing, bottle to his lips. "What?"
"You like it here, don't you?"
"Of course."
"Even though you're gay and this is a small town that doesn't tolerate gays?"
Nothing Kyle could have said would have shocked Jared more. If he'd taken another swallow, he would have choked. "What the fuck!" Staring into Kyle's blue eyes, Jared could see a hardening like steel. "Where did that come from?"
"I just wanted to know how you could live in a town that won't let you live a normal life."
"Normal as in what?" Though he'd asked, Jared knew what Kyle meant.
"Normal as with another man."
"That's not really normal, though, is it?"
"It is when you're fucking gay. Or don't you intend to live with anyone?"
Jared carefully watched Kyle's face, seeing the anger there, the uneasiness, the fear. "Where I live and with whom has got nothing to do with anyone but me," Jared said, realizing how much he sounded like his sister just then, realizing also that Kyle might have a problem with being in Kyogle, with it being a small town. Fuck, he hadn't thought of that, hadn't thought Kyle might not want to be here.
"Why did you come home with me?"
"What?"
"You asked me why I asked you to come here. I told you it was to look after you. In part that was true, but I also had another reason."
"And?"
"Tell me why you came home with me," Jared demanded, knowing he needed that answer now more than anything else.
Shockingly alert eyes fixed on his as Kyle maneuvered to sit on the edge of the BBQ table. "Because you asked me."
"That's it?"
"Isn't it enough?"
The shine in Kyle's eyes was one of caution, and though he didn't like seeing it there, Jared couldn't blame Kyle for feeling it. "Yes, it is," Jared said. It was, for now. They'd get their chance to sort this out, he was sure of it; he just had to be patient, take this slowly, carefully, and do nothing that would push Kyle away. The neck of the bottle in his hand was cold, wet. Jared played with it for a minute, waiting.
Shifting up from the table, Kyle balanced on his good leg and turned the steaks over again. The silence that surrounded them was tight but not awkward. It was as if they were in a moment that couldn't go any further without one or the other of them confessing something they didn't want to.
The hard muscles in Kyle's shoulders flexed. Jared tightened his grip on the bottle until his fingers ached.
"Do you go away much?" The slight catch in Kyle's tone told Jared what he'd been thinking, and a little flicker of hope sparked in Jared's chest.
Releasing some of the tension, Jared shook his head. "I used to, all the time, but I haven't had to do a long haul for ages. And after next month, I won't have to do them at all."
Kyle turned to look at him. "What's after next month?"
Was this too soon to tell Kyle anything? Was there any point? But if Kyle didn't know his intentions, then he wouldn't be able to make a judgment and they wouldn't be able to move past this point of distrust. "I'm selling the company and changing careers."
"Selling?"
"Yeah, I own and run the trucking company. I've got an interested buyer on the table, and contracts have been drawn up. Hopefully it will all go smoothly and I can give up truck driving for good."
Kyle suddenly looked interested, his hip resting on the outdoor table where he'd already set their plates. "So what's the change of career?"
"How about I show you tomorrow?" Feeling a little more comfortable, Jared wanted to give Kyle something to look forward to, something that would make him change his mind about leaving. If he showed him what he'd been working toward, what he was passionate about, then maybe Kyle would forget about the town itself and think about the possibilities.
Kyle was a little slow to respond. "Show me? Something around here?"
Jared nodded, hoping that wasn't going to put Kyle off even more. Then Kyle nodded, and Jared breathed a sigh of relief.
"Okay." Kyle's smile was still tentative, but it was there and Jared couldn't help but smile with him.
"Hey, the steaks!" Kyle yelled. Both of them had forgotten the grilling meat and one side was now decidedly burned. Kyle quickly picked them up and placed them onto a plate, then transferred the foil-covered potatoes from where they'd been keeping hot and dropped them alongside the steaks. "I think it's still edible," he said after inspecting the overdone side.
"Doesn't matter. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," Jared replied, not really caring one way or the other, just happy enough that Kyle had thought to do something for him. He pulled the plate closer and helped himself to a generous portion of salad Kyle had also prepared. "'S good," he said around a mouthful, knowing he wasn't presenting very good table manners.
Kyle just shrugged. "You can do breakfast."
Breakfast? Jared pictured the scenario in his mind. Him and Kyle in the kitchen, working side by side. Yeah, breakfast sounded good.
Jared cleaned up after they'd finished eating, insisting Kyle sit and relax. He brought another two beers out with him and a tube of ointment he'd picked up that morning.
"What's that for?" Kyle nodded at the tube in
Jared's hand, a flicker of both surprise and interest in his eyes. Jared almost laughed aloud.
"It's ointment, not lube," Jared told him, though he couldn't help wishing it was the latter and not the former right then with the look Kyle gave him.
"Ointment?"
"For your bruises."
"Oh, you going to put it on me?"
The small, innocuous tube seemed to bring on another element right then, and as Jared glanced down at it, he smiled. Moving to stand behind Kyle, Jared twisted off the cap and squeezed some onto his fingers. The first smear across the top section of the bruise on Kyle's back had him hissing.
"Sore?" Jared asked, carefully rubbing the slick balm into hot skin.
"A little, but it's not just my bruises that are sore." There was a sudden teasing in Kyle's voice as he turned to look over his shoulder. It was the same teasing, the same light banter they'd shared before, and Jared was delighted to see Kyle indulging in it.
"Not too sore?" he asked, hoping he hadn't accidently hurt Kyle last night.
Kyle shook his head. "No. Just enough to remind me of what we did."
What they'd done was still so fresh in Jared's mind he could almost feel himself in Kyle's body. It was a feeling he wanted to repeat over and over. But not until they'd settled things between them, until he knew for certain Kyle wasn't going to leave him again.
He continued to smooth the ointment over the discolored marks, and when he'd finished Kyle's back, Jared started on his chest. Kyle leaned back, resting his head on Jared's stomach. Ignoring the tingle that twirled around his groin, Jared slid his fingers down Kyle's strong muscles, feeling them contract and expand as Kyle breathed slowly and evenly. Jared wished his own breathing was as even, especially when Kyle slid down the chair, stretching his legs out. The movement brought the back of his head closer to Jared's hardening cock, and Jared had to clamp down on the need to push his hips forward a little.
Bringing Him Home Page 11
