Their sire came in at twenty-to-one odds and blew his competition away at all three derbies. Kitt had gotten his sperm a couple of years ago; way before anyone even knew the horse’s name. In college, he’d tutored the owner’s son through Organic Chemistry before they had any idea what the pony had in him. With the Triple Crown title on their heels, these yearlings should sell easily come spring, maybe even before then. Besides these four, Kitt saved four of the eight vials he got as payment. If he could do this same thing again, he might be turning a solid profit this time next year. Wouldn’t it be something to actually have money in the bank instead of all this debt hanging over his head?
Kitt perched a leg and both arms on the gate to Lady’s stall. Their eyes met and she turned away. It caused him to chuckle. She only did things on her terms, making Kitt lucky she seemed to like him. This mare was his favorite, she had a way of seeing inside him. They connected for a minute as she turned back to him before walking over. He wiped his oil stained hands on his jeans, knowing she was expecting a good rub. He opened the gate, went inside and gave her one. Before he turned away, she did her signature move and knocked his ball cap off his head.
“You think you’re pretty smart, don’t you? Well, I guess you are,” he said, grinning as he picked up his ball cap and put it back on his head. He hadn’t stepped far enough back because she was right back on him again, knocking it off his head.
“Good night, girl,” Kitt laughed, picking the cap up again. The grin stayed with him as he cut off the lights and made his way back to his truck. Another deep yawn started and lasted as he got inside his truck and started it up. It was completely dark outside and seemed like he was very much alone. He wondered if Austin’s people still watched him, or if they had they stopped since Austin wasn’t around?
Kitt drove the trail home with the windows rolled down. The cold night air hit his face, making sure he didn’t nod off. His phone sounded off at the same time his mind went fully back to Austin. He thought about ignoring the call, but it was almost morning. Rarely did anything good come from a call in the middle of the night. Kitt couldn’t help the confused smile tugging at his lips when he saw Austin’s name on his screen. Even with all the lecturing he’d just given himself, Kitt was too tired to resist, and answered on the third ring.
“Everything okay?” Kitt asked, bypassing the standard greeting.
“Are you awake?” Austin asked.
“I am now,” Kitt teased, the smile still on his face. Austin’s voice soothed his soul and calmed his nerves like nothing had before.
Silence.
“I’m kiddin’; I’m up. I couldn’t sleep. How are you?” Kitt pulled the truck to the front of his cabin. He turned it off, but sat in the cab waiting for Austin to answer.
“Why couldn’t you sleep?” Austin asked, his voice weirdly quiet.
“I don’t know. I guess I just have a lot on my mind right now,” Kitt said resting his arm out the window. He kept the phone to his ear and leaned his head back against the head rest. It was worse than Kitt had realized. He was so edgy because he missed Austin, and just his voice put everything back to right in his world.
“Am I part of what’s on your mind?”
It took a second, but Kitt finally answered somewhat honestly. “Maybe a little.”
“Hmm… I like that. You’re on my mind, too. I couldn’t sleep. One night tucked away in a sleeping bag with you, and now my body thinks your arms need to be around me in order to get some rest.” Austin chuckled as he said the words Kitt felt so deeply in his heart. There was another pause before he spoke.
“How’re things there?” Kitt asked.
"We had our little intervention, then a big clearing of the air between us all." Austin's voice was weary. "Cara's finally up and getting dressed, and we're going to be heading out soon. I think if everything goes like we planned, Cara and I are going to publically break up in the next couple of days. I’ve found out Cara and Seth developed a thing between them, and all this hiding’s messing it up for them, or her, or something like that. They told me they’ve hooked up a couple of times. They have lots of emotion about it all. That's what drove her to this round of...well, whatever it is she does when she gets like this."
He was silent for a moment. "I don't really know, I couldn't wrap my head around it. I just kept thinking about you the whole time they were talking."
“So it was good you went back?” Kitt asked, trying to follow it all.
“Cara needed it,” Austin said.
“How will this affect you?”
“I don’t see how anything will change. It’ll keep me at the top of the newsfeeds for a little longer, but the faster we break up, the faster I’m off them,” Austin said.
“You haven’t liked bein’ back? Didn’t miss it all?” Kitt asked, his voice a little quieter. It was his ten million dollar question, and he braved up to ask.
“Hell no! They spotted me almost immediately. It’s such bullshit. The ride from the airport to my house is like a thirty minute drive, but it turned out to be three hours of hell trying to get here. I told the driver just to run the bastards over, but he wouldn’t do it. Wimp!” Austin chuckled at his last sentence and then there was silence between them. “You still there?”
“Yeah, I was listenin’, thinkin’,” Kitt said pulling himself from the truck. He walked up the steps to his house completely relaxed now. He made his way to bed, stripping with one hand as he went.
“Sometimes you get so quiet,” Austin said, and there was another pause between them. “You haven’t been responding much to my texts or calling me when you say you will. You know it kills me waiting to hear from you.”
“I’m sorry. I just keep thinkin’ it’s pretty boring here compared to there.” Kitt pulled the blankets to his bed back.
“I never want to be back in this mess again, Kitt, and I haven’t been bored one time since I moved back there,” Austin replied. There was silence again and Austin went a different direction. “How’s your sister?”
“Good, at least as far as I know. She’s going back this morning.” A yawn slipped out from Kitt, and he hoped Austin didn’t hear it. He wasn’t quite ready to end this call yet.
“I liked her. What’re you doing today? Getting ready to start baling?”
“Yep. So you do listen…”
“Of course I do. Sucking and fucking aren’t the only things that interest me about you. Am I buying hay from you?” Austin asked quieter.
“I think so.” Kitt wasn’t a hundred percent sure, but he figured it was a pretty safe bet. This time his yawn was louder. Kitt scooted further down in bed and turned over on his back. His dick was hard just from hearing Austin’s voice. Kitt anchored the phone on his shoulder and grabbed a couple of tissues. It wouldn’t take much to jack off once the call ended.
“Good, I’ll make sure with Mike. What’re you doing now?”
“Just talkin’ to you.” Kitt thought that if he was quiet, he could close his eyes, and think of Austin here with him…he gripped his dick and shoved the covers down. He put the phone on speaker, and laid it on the pillow beside him.
“I miss you, Kitt. While we were all talking, all I could think of was how badly I wished I was spending this time with you.” Kitt let Austin’s words coat his heart and give him the emotional support he craved. He’d become a little fragile in that area since meeting Austin.
“This quiet thing you do is hard on a guy’s heart. I can’t read your reactions over the phone, and you pull so deep inside yourself,” Austin said.
“Hmm…” It was all Kitt managed. He’d already started the slow back and forth motion with his hand. His eyes closed, and he pictured Austin in his mind. He listened to the melody in Austin’s deep rich voice.
“You just aren’t gonna give me a break, are you, Kitt Kelly? Well, that’s okay. I’ll fight for it. It’ll make my winning you all that much better in the end,” Austin said, making Kitt chuckle, or groan, in the phone.
“When are you leavin’?”
“I don’t know. They’re in the bedroom now supposedly getting dressed. I guess she needs him to help her button her blouse. Apparently, at twenty-five hundred dollars an hour, the plane can just sit and wait,” Austin said dryly. Kitt did the groaned chuckle again, increasing the pace, moving his hand faster tip to base. He reached his other hand low and gripped his sac. A deep moan escaped his lips.
“Are you jacking off without me?” Austin asked, still quiet, but amused. “You sound sexy as hell. Why didn’t you tell me, I would have joined in.”
“Goddamn your voice does it for me, Austin. I’m close.” Kitt’s breathing got heavy, and he arched his back stroking faster and harder.
“I need you, Kitt. My dick’s so hard for you, baby. I’m shoving my hand inside my shorts now. My office door isn’t locked...I don’t care...” Austin’s voice got breathy as he continued on, “I don’t wanna find a pool boy to take it out on. Let me just catch up. Baby, I wanna suck you right now so badly…right there on your bed. Me between your thighs…damn, have I told you how much I love your dick when it drips? I love knowing I can do that to you. It’s my dream… sucking you...”
“I’m comin’,” Kitt groaned out, thrusting his hips forward, arching his back as his hot seed shot straight out onto his stomach. His breath panted, his head spun, and he shouted out into the room, “Goddammit, I miss you, Austin.”
“Ahh, yes! That’s it,” Austin said quietly. They were both silent for a minute or two. Kitt let himself float back down to earth before he turned his head toward the phone. He was sated, relaxed, and ready to sleep his orgasm off.
“Did I hear you say you have pool boys?” Kitt asked still in the fog as he reached over for the tissue and slowly began to clean himself off. Austin gave a breathy chuckle, and it was a second before he answered. His voice was now deeper, more relaxed, than earlier. It seemed they’d both needed it.
“Yeah, but they’re little guys, and even from the back, I couldn’t close my eyes tight enough to believe it was you,” Austin said. Kitt could tell he was on speaker now. Austin moved in and out of hearing range, probably cleaning himself up too. Kitt had no idea what to say to that, so he tossed the tissues in the trash, covered up with his blanket, and took the phone off speaker. He lay it on his ear as he turned over, tucking the pillow under his head. Another yawn slipped out. He was totally in that after sex place. He could sleep so easily.
“Quiet again. I like when you said ‘I miss you, Austin’. I came instantly. Baby, I don’t want to be with anyone but you right now. It’s just…I’m already feeling like a more honorable man since I met you. It’s dirty here. I feel dirty being in this house. I want it to be just you and me. You’re enough for me until we both decide on something else.”
“Like a third?” Kitt asked on a yawn. His eyes were closing, but opened at the thought.
“I don’t know. It’d be hard to share you. Maybe many years down the line. Do you add thirds in?” Austin asked.
“I haven’t since college,” Kitt confessed. “I’ve never had any emotion in my sex before. It’s just been whenever the opportunity presents itself, however that deal played out.”
“Me, too. I’m glad to hear you admitting the emotion. These are good first steps for you, Kitt Kelly. I hear you’re tired. Go to sleep. I should be home some time tomorrow, and I’ll text you, because I know you won’t text me.”
“I’m sorry about that. I don’t know why I get like this. I’m not sure I believe you’ll actually come back,” Kitt said, his eyes fully closed now. He was snuggled up in the blanket, the ceiling fan blowing, and between the hand job and Austin’s voice, he was lulled into sleep.
“It’s okay,” Austin said. “I’m pushy enough to stay in front of you.” Kitt never heard the words. He was already fast asleep, dreaming of Austin wrapped in his arms.
Chapter 16
This new budding love between Cara and Seth was such a pain in the ass. Austin’s dedicated, strong, reasonably level-headed assistant slash future wife turned frail and weak. Cara leaned on Seth to be her rock through the turbulent emotional storm of admitting her into the rehab facility. The results of Cara’s devotion and need made Seth an emotional concerned wreck who rejected leaving her there alone. They were sickeningly sweet with one another. The only complication came with the cloak and dagger deal required in Austin’s life.
It forced Cara to be dropped at the hospital door as inconspicuously as possible with Austin and Seth hitting the road, putting as many miles as they could between the rehab and themselves. Cara just wasn’t cooperating.
She refused to leave Seth, clinging to him like he was some sort of life preserver in the deep dark haze of her life. They coerced Austin into flying across country, giving Cara a little more time and throwing the paparazzi off their trail. They were seen together in New York, walking into the National headquarters of one of his corporations. They walked in the front doors and straight out the back garage door. From there, they were immediately driven to a new charter jet registered under another fictitious name.
It was now three entire days since he left the farm, and the three of them flew overnight to the Arizona rehab waiting for them. It was a full twenty-four hours since Austin had talked to Kitt on the phone. He’d told Kitt he wanted to be home yesterday, but as the day wore on his last nerve, Austin texted Kitt and just like their apparent pattern, Kitt began the all day process of distancing himself from him. The space Kitt put between them aggravated the hell out of Austin, making everything just a little more difficult. He was edgy, angry, and trying hard not to snap.
During the plane rides, Cara wrapped herself around Seth, letting him play the hero. Austin didn’t begrudge them, he just resented a life where Kitt couldn’t do things like this with him. The realization that day might never happen hurt his heart. His mood plummeted, and the need for Kitt to respond to a simple message became so much greater. If all they were ever going to have together were secret moments and hidden conversations, Kitt couldn’t continue to hide from him any longer. It drove Austin to a mental place where he swore he texted Kitt about every hour trying to get him to respond.
Seth stayed with Cara for as long as he could while Austin would have rather been in and out of there in about five minutes. If he could have found a way to shove her from the plane and onto the doorstep of the rehab without causing her too much bodily injury, he would have taken the option. Instead, they rode with her in the back of an ambulance with full sirens blaring overhead. It felt incredibly ridiculous and extreme to Austin. He got the no windows deal, but the sirens and stopping traffic as they rushed to the facility...yeah, no. It felt like a very bad, real life action movie with him starring as the bumbling lead detective. Austin also couldn’t figure why he couldn’t just stay on the plane and wait for Seth’s return. For some reason, he was needed, or the tears would start back again making Cara far too emotional to deal with.
Seth decided to come to the farm for a few days of recuperation before they hit the press with the split of Austin Grainger and Cara Collins. Afterward, Seth would be needed back in LA to help field all the calls and questions coming their way. As it stood now, their publicists were concocting a plan to say Cara asked for the split, requesting her privacy and time off from filming. Austin would be unreachable for comments. He prayed he was able to stay hidden until the whole thing blew over.
Austin scheduled a third private jet to fly them from Arizona to Texas after they got Cara safely admitted into the rehab facility. This time, they flew into Houston, and went straight from the plane to the waiting car. They drove the five hours to Austin’s farm by themselves. Austin had promised to be home twenty-four hours ago. He could only imagine what Kitt let himself believe about him not returning on time.
Last night, or early that morning, Austin had stayed on the phone for close to two hours, listening to Kitt breathe as he slept. He’d kicked back, just thinking about what Kitt looked like whi
le he slept, and the sweet sounding apology he gave right before he fell asleep. It was at those moments when Kitt was tired, Austin found he fully let his guard down. Those were the best moments of them all. Austin had hung up when he heard Kitt’s alarm sounding off. He didn’t want to be caught doing something as girly as listening to the object of his desire sleep. That would just never hold weight in keeping his mancard strong and in good standing.
Austin drove most of the way home with nothing more on his mind than Kitt. Seth was zero company. He was on his smart phone doing business or writing messages to Cara the entire way back. Austin could have used the distraction. After several days of contemplating Kitt’s on again, off again attitude, Austin had come to the conclusion he wasn’t quite sure where he stood. It seemed so easy for Kitt to distance himself, and that scared the hell out of him. When they were together, Austin really felt like they were together, but when they were apart, it was like Austin didn’t exist to Kitt at all.
As he drove, his thoughts strayed to a memory of Kitt’s dad, something from his youth. It was wrong to think so badly of a dead man, but Austin hated the stories Kitt would tell. This one faded memory wouldn’t fully form in his mind, and he reached for his phone to call his father.
“Dad, it’s Austin,” he said on the simple yell’ow his father gave.
“I know, Son. Caller ID’s a great new tool.” His dad chuckled at his own joke.
“Listen, I won’t keep you, but do you remember the story with the Kelly’s when I was younger?”
“Okay Son, that’s vague even for you… There were many Kelly stories. He was always stirrin’ something up,” his dad answered back.
“I can’t really remember. It was the one with the ice cream and Kitt,” Austin said trying to dig into the recesses of his mind.
“Yeah, that’s a bad one. I don’t know how he didn’t ruin that boy. I heard the Kelly boy went off to college and did alright for himself. We all thought he’d turn out to be a complete wreck with a father like his.”
Texas Pride Page 18
