The Weston Front

by Gray Gardner

  “He’s happy for me, Sweetheart, because in case you’ve forgotten it’s been a very long time since I’ve been in a relationship or since I’ve even mentioned a girl to him by name. That’s why he’s here. I told him about you when I was in New York, and evidently I couldn’t shut up about you because he just flew two thousand miles to check you out.”

  I let my arms fall to my sides as I looked at him. That seemed perfectly plausible. His mouth turned up and he reached out for me, gathering me up into a tight hug. I nuzzled my head into his neck. It felt so good there. And he smelled like a cowboy fantasy.

  “This is yourI’ve gotten through to you tell,” he sighed, setting me down and kissing my lips softly. When I frowned in confusion he whispered, “Complete silence.”

  “Hey,” I huffed, smacking his arm as he laughed and led me inside. The kitchen doors on the wraparound porch were opened to the back and I saw Drake out there, whistling and working on getting the coals for the grill hot.

  West popped open a beer and set it on the counter next to me as I peeled potatoes over the trashcan. I busied myself getting all of my ingredients ready as the potatoes boiled and the boys sat at the large kitchen table in the middle of the big room, sipping beer and laughing.

  “So, I gotta tell you, West, I did come here to check up on you and your lady,” Drake sighed, leaning back in his chair and winking at me as he set his boot on the table. I walked by and flicked it off, giving him a warning look. He fought a grin as he conceded and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “But there’s another reason, too.”

  Although my back was to him as I sautéed onions, I felt West’s agitation and quickly turned around. He looked up at me and gave a slight nod, indicating that he was all right, and then looked back at Drake with an uneasy look on his face.

  “Yeah, the vote didn’t go our way,” Drake sighed, setting his beer bottle down and putting a hand on West’s knee. “It’s not the end of the world…”

  “But it’s…it’sours,” West argued, throwing his hands up into the air as he stood up.

  “It still has our name,” Drake nodded, standing too. “It’s just going to be run by millions of people, now. Well, stockholders.”

  “Going public?” I asked, turning down the heat on the onions and walking over to West. I placed my arms around his stomach and he leaned down and kissed the top of my head.

  “Legal jargon, papers signed, but yes. By this time next year Hamilton Holdings will be public,” Drake nodded, sipping his beer and shaking his head.

  “What would Dad say?” West exhaled, shaking his head and holding onto me.

  “You know that doesn’t matter,” Drake said, but not unkindly. “Mom’s thrilled.”

  “Oh, did she emerge from the wake of her boat drinks long enough to vote on this?” West asked bitterly as he sipped his beer. I quickly backed away and tended to my potatoes. No need to get involved in ugly family matters. I knew all about them.

  After taking about forty-five minutes to get the coals perfect on the grill, the steak spent about three minutes on it before we sat down to eat. I set the potatoes down and smiled as West and Drake moaned in delight after stuffing themselves until they were about to explode.

  “Onions, cheese,” Drake mumbled, mouth full.

  “Bacon,” West sighed, leaning back in his chair. I sipped my wine victoriously and ate a thinly sliced strip of the bone-in rib eye. It melted in my mouth.

  “Bacon’s my secret ingredient to everything,” I shrugged. It was true. I either put it in the food I cooked or used it to grease the pans I cooked on. My grandma taught me that trick.

  The boys nodded, mouths full, before finally slowing down and taking their first sips of the expensive wine Drake had brought.

  “So, what are you going to do when you’re out of a job? I assume you don’t get to stay unless they want a face,” West said, looking at his brother.

  “No,” Drake replied in a much quieter voice than I’d heard so far. “Part of the deal is my resignation…”

  “They have to know how much you love what you do,” West interrupted, holding his hands out.

  “They also know that I’m twenty years younger than they are and making twenty times as much as they do,” he sourly said, pressing his lips together and setting his fork down. He held his hand up to West to stop his defense. “I know, West. But this is all for the best. I thought…I don’t know. I thought I’d live out here for a while.”

  Uh-oh. As West smiled and grabbed his brother up into a hug, I quickly stood and started to clear away the dishes. I began rinsing them off in the sink, thinking about my positionnow.

  “It’s past midnight where I’m from,” Drake stretched, surprising me by leaning over and kissing my cheek as I scrubbed a plate. “See you in the morning, Cupcake.”

  “Call me that again and see what happens, Hamilton,” I called sweetly, giving him a forced smile over my shoulder. He laughed as he left the room and West moved in behind me.

  “Leave those and I’ll do them in the morning. I think we should go spoon.”

  A laugh burst out my mouth as I turned and looked up at the large, manly man telling me that it was spooning time.

  “Come on,” he grinned, taking my hand and pulling me behind him. I let him lead me up the stairs and into his room. He quickly undressed me, then himself, then clicked off the lights and spooned up behind me. As promised.

  “Soooo, you were serious,” I softly said in the darkness, feeling his massive erection poking my ass under the soft sheets. And he wasn’t doing anything about it.

  “Yeah, I’m totally serious. We’re going to talk now,” he stated, his voice coming from somewhere over my head.

  “What,” I began, a little frustrated that I wasn’t on my back, clawing at the sheets and screaming his name. What, he really wanted to talk? And spoon?

  “Shh,” he interrupted, gently stroking my hair off of my face. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you jumping up and leaving the conversation a few times tonight.”

  “Yeah, it’s called keeping family matters private,” I snapped, a little too defensively.

  “Don’t you think what happens in my family involves you too, now?” he asked, running his fingers through my hair.

  “Some things are just meant to be between family members.”

  “So, that’s why Drake brought it up with you around?” he challenged.

  “He has no choice. I apparently live here now.”

  “And there it is,” West exhaled, pulling his hand back and leaving me cold and desperate for his touch. “Is this always going to be an issue?”

  “Jesus, give it some time, Weston. I’ve lived here for two seconds,” I huffed, looking back over my shoulder in the dark room. He wasn’t being fair.

  “I know this is new and it will take some adjusting but…you’ve got to at least try,” he stated, running his hand up and down my arm.

  “Well, yes, it’s new…and yes, I’ll try,” I said, though hesitantly.

  His hand stopped at my wrist and he suddenly wrapped his hand around it, holding me down on my side.

  “You didn’t live with your fiancé, did you,” he stated, locking me into place.

  “My parents would have died of humiliation,” I chuckled, thinking about standing over their gravestones in a red and black lace wedding dress, like a harlot who lives with men before they’re married.

  “Ah, Baby,” he whispered in my ear, suddenly pushing hard up against my back, pressing a hand into my stomach and running his fingers lightly across my skin. “Is that why this has been so difficult? You’ve never lived with a man before?”

  “I’ve only ever been with one man so, yeah, rest assured that you are getting a shit ton of firsts with me,” I smiled, squealing as he was suddenly on top of me, pinning me down with his arms and legs.

  “Are you joking or not?” he seriously asked, all of his weight keeping me motionless on the mattress.

  “I told
you about Dan. He was my one love, my fiancé…”

  “Yeah, but you never…I don't know, screwed around?” he asked, giving away a little amusement.

  “Sorry I’m not a slut like all of your other conquests,” I spat back at him, hurt that he was making fun of me. “Now get off of me!”

  “Oh no, Sweetheart,” he huffed, still keeping me pinned. “You aren’t getting off that easy. First of all, I love that I’m getting a lot of your firsts. That’s new for me and I won’t take it for granted. Second, you living here and Drake living here is not going to cause a problem so don’t try and fall on your sword by moving back out. This house is 9,000 square feet. There’s room for three.”

  “I don’t think there will ever be enough room for your ego,” I mumbled, though I did feel a little better.

  “Boy, you really want to test me, don’t you?” he huffed, sitting up and lying down back next to me, pulling me back into his chest. Again with the spooning. “I just…I want you here with me. I can’t explain it. I relax when I’m around you. I’m a ball of tension when you aren’t near.”

  I knew exactly what he meant.

  “I want you to talk to me…Do you, do you feel like you can talk to me?”

  I heard the hitch in his voice and quickly flipped over, looking into what I could barely make out of his eyes on what I knew was such a handsome face.

  “I feel like I can do anything when I’m with you,” I whispered, smiling even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “A week ago I felt like I couldn’t do anything but concentrate on breathing and making it through another day.”

  “Sweetheart, I hate that someone made you feel that way but I’m so glad it brought you to me,” he mumbled with his mouth pressed against my shoulder, kissing and licking his way to my neck. “Now say you’re okay living here with Drake.”

  “You’re okay living here with Drake,” I said drily, squealing as he suddenly had me on my back, his hands holding mine down as his knees spread between my legs, forcing mine open.

  “And don’t ever stop being such a bad little girl,” he groaned, slowly entering me at an agonizing pace.

  His mouth took mine, an urgency present that I hadn’t really seen in him before. He still moved slowly inside me, the contrast driving me absolutely wild. He finally settled fully inside of me, pulling his head back a few centimeters and leaning up on his elbows.

  “Do you really feel like you can do anything when you’re with me?” he huskily asked, kissing under my jaw, then looking down at me.

  I could barely make him out as I nodded and mumbled some affirmation. It was really hard to concentrate on anything other than the large cock pressed inside me. My skin was on fire as I held onto him tightly.

  “Then can you trust me to take control and know what’s best for you and for us? Please?” he asked, breathing heavily on the nape of my neck as he kissed his way down.

  “God,” I groaned, closing my eyes tightly as he gripped my ass and held himself firmly inside of me as he sat up on his knees. Focus. What was he saying? Oh yeah, be terribly offended. “You, you want me to like, totally surrender to you.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he ground through his teeth, like he was unable to keep himself from ramming into me much longer. “I like to be the captain, not the first mate.”

  “Sounds to me like you want to be the admiral,” I moaned, knowing that this couldn’t really go anywhere good, but loving the feel of him inside of me as he held my hips up in the air.

  “Can we make this work?” he asked, though I don’t think he really expected an answer as he began moving his hips. He leaned back down over my face and kissed me gently.

  “I want to try,” I honestly answered, feeling his body tense as he groaned into my neck. The issue didn’t really feel resolved, but at least I was working up to a monstrous orgasm. We could work through the pesky obstacles later.

  I woke up alone. Satisfied, but alone. His phone was gone, there was a wet towel on the rack by the shower, so I knew he’d gone to take care of all of the business around the ranch that I’d kept him from. My trip would be over soon…we’d have to talk about that. I shuffled down the stairs in my jeans, boots, and a plain Kelly green shirt, adjusting my hat as I walked into the kitchen.

  Toast, eggs, bacon, and a note sat at the end of the table. I smiled and picked up the note, devouring a piece of the peppered bacon as I read.

  Blake,

  Relax. Eat! I will be back at lunch and we will take the afternoon to do whatever you want. We need to talk, but we can do that tonight over a few bottles of wine. I want to have fun with you.

  West

  Sighing, I looked around the empty kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. That was his way of telling me to stay put and stay out of trouble. Nice. Real nice, smoldering cowboy. My phone playing music in my back pocket startled me. God, I needed to get out of that house.

  I answered Caroline as I walked out onto the back porch and took in the fresh air and gorgeous view of the hillside and river below.

  “How’s married life?”

  “Puzzling,” I sighed, thinking of the night before.

  “You can come back here whenever you want.”

  “I didn’t mean to ditch you…”

  “Whatever,” she laughed. “Rowdy practically moved in anyway. That boy is a beast.”

  “In a good way?”

  “In the best way.”

  I giggled as I sat on the stone steps and let the silent breeze blow my pigtails off my shoulders.

  “He seems so serious but I feel like…like we hardly know each other,” I admitted, leaning over on my knees.

  “Jesus, Blake, once he gets to know you he’s not going to leave you. He’s probably going to propose.”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  “Don’t appease me just because you want me to shut up,” she snapped, knowing me all too well.

  “Sorry. I just wish I knew what to do.”

  “If there was a manual, then what fun would life be?”

  I exhaled and closed my eyes, wishing that I could see into the future. She was right, though. I never knew what was coming next with West and it was pretty exciting. “Alright, thanks, Caroline.”

  “As long as the playboy thing doesn’t bother you, you two have fun.”

  “He’s not a playboy anymore,” I reminded her, watching some birds fly overhead. Well, not at the moment, anyway.

  “Yeah, but he was. Just use protection until you havethe talk. Got me?”

  Caroline was the only person I knew, guy or girl, who bought condoms in bulk and had them delivered to her house through Amazon. I smiled and signed off, feeling that sudden twinge of panic when you realize that you haven’t used a condom.

  “Is she still stuck on my past?”

  I jumped and felt two arms engulf me, then relaxed as two long legs propped on the steps on either side of me. He held me to his warm chest and breathed softly into my ear for a moment.

  “Turns out they don’t really need me when Drake is here and I have a girl to get home to,” he said in a low voice, somewhere behind me.

  “Good,” I replied, relaxing back into him.

  “So Caroline is telling you to not trust me?”

  “No, no,” I grinned, rolling my eyes. “She wants me to havethe talk with you.”

  “The Define the Relationship talk? I feel like we’ve covered that…mostly.”

  “No, the,” I paused, feeling my face heat. Why was it hard to say? We’d seen each other naked. We’d done some pretty intimate stuff to each other. I swallowed and finished, “You know, the Where Have You Been talk.”

  “Where’ve I been?” he asked, his thumbs pausing as they stroked my arms.

  “Oh God, youare new at this,” I grinned, trying to look back at him over my shoulder. “The talk about you needing to wear protection.”

  His face immediately fell and he backed off me, standing up and yanking me up with him. My feet fumbled around as h
e held my arms and waited for me to look up at him. He did not look very happy.

  “We haven’t been using condoms,” he replied, a pained look on his face. “Christ, that was stupid…You’re on the pill right?”

  Oh, that was what he was worried about? I frowned.

  “Look, West, I’m covered on my end. You know I’ve only been with one guy. And I trust…I trust that you would tell me if you had…anything,” I stumbled over the words, straightening out my shirt as he released my arms.

  He visibly relaxed and drew his hand down his face, rubbing his jaw while he paced. “Damn it, don’t scare me like that,” he sighed, grabbing the back of my head and pulling me into his chest. “I’m fine, but we’ll use condoms from now on if you want.”

  “No, it’s just…something we should have covered sooner,” I replied, voice muffled by his navy pearl snap shirt. He turned and led us inside just as a few clouds rumbled overhead, blowing in very quickly as the sky turned darker.

  “You’re right…are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, holding my shoulders and stepping back so he could look me in the eye.

  “Disease free,” I smirked, taking my hat off and smacking him with it. “You are not a gentleman.”

  “I mean about the birth control part,” he stated, raising an eyebrow.

  “Like I said, don’t worry about it.”

  “What are you on?” he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

  A short laugh escaped my lungs as my blood began to boil. What nerve. “What’s with you?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest, too.

  “I just didn’t see any pills in your make-up kit on my bathroom counter this morning. I want to know what you’re taking because Drake and his last girlfriend had some trouble with a certain brand…”

  “I’m not telling you,” I interrupted, holding out my arms. “And quit going through my stuff!”

  “We’re sleeping together, Blake, I should know this!” he loudly said, taking a step towards me.