Mickey thought about what he'd said and nodded. "I appreciate your kind words, but we both know you and I aren't on anywhere close when it comes to smarts, Jonny. I'm not sayin' I wanna be different so I can fit into your world, but I'd like to offer you the best me I can be.
“Regardin' what I might want to do in the future, I remember watchin' a movie about a man who worked with horses sufferin’ from trauma. It had that good-lookin' guy in it…the one who was in a movie about Butch Cassidy, I think. Anyway, he was the gentle sort, and after this girl got throwed from her horse when they had a wreck, this man stepped in to bring her and the horse back to health.
"It touched somethin' inside me, and when I ran away from Nashville after Momma tried to pimp me out, I went to Kentucky. I learned about horses, and I eventually ended up here, but if I could ever pick my favorite job, it would be helpin' troubled horses or rescued animals, like Josie, Ryan’s horse. She was a rescue in bad shape, but look at her now," Mickey explained as they situated themselves on the blanket.
Jon smiled. "I remember watching that movie with my mother. She cried through the part with the horse and its injuries. At the time, I didn't understand why she was so upset but I suppose now I do. So, you'd like to be a vet?"
"A vet? Not really. I mean, that's a lot of school and science, and I ain't good at either. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I have a way with horses. I'm not lookin' to go into rodeo like Matt, but I can be a calmin' influence over animals as I've come to know. I've learned to train them, and I think that's what I'd like to do for a living.
"I'd like to train horses like Josh does, and maybe work with horses who've had problems to rehabilitate them so maybe they could be used as therapy horses for kids who have special needs because I've been readin' up on using animal therapy for certain types of emotionally, mentally, and physically disabled kids. Josh has taught me a lot and it's likely the only thing I'd be good at doin'.
"So, you see, Jonathon, there's not much we have in common, is there now, really?" Mickey offered as an out.
He saw Jon laugh. "We both want to help those who need help. I see it as we have a lot in common, Mickey. I believe we have a lot more in common we haven't even discovered yet. Can I please hold you?" Jon asked as the two of them settled on the hay in the loft of the barn that Matt built.
Mickey settled into his arms and placed his hand on the man's muscled torso. "How was it growin' up for you? I know you and Audrey Langley are best friends, but how about other kids at school?" he asked, hoping to learn things about the man that could hopefully solidify his feelings the two of them could have something great, as unlikely as it might appear to the outside world.
Jon laughed. "Audrey and I met at birth, basically. Our parents are best friends, and I don't think we had a choice in being friends at all, if the truth be told," Jon chuckled.
The two of them talked all night long, giving each other every good and bad story they had. Jon told Mickey about his realization of his orientation, and Mickey told him about his father's arrest and incarceration, along with his mother's attempts at pimping him out. Jon snarled at the information, and Mickey pulled him closer, kissing his cheek for the empathy the man gave him.
They fell asleep just as the sun was rising, holding each other tightly. Jon fell asleep first, after which Mickey settled him atop his body to feel the man's weight. He was having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact Jon Wells was interested enough to come back around. He was skeptical, but he was hoping he was reading things right. He hoped Jon was interested in him…for real.
Chapter Sixteen
Jon heard a lot of chatter and noise which woke him from an amazing dream wherein he'd slept holding Mickey Warren all night. When he opened his eyes to see his arms were empty, he was stunned for a minute before he focused, seeing a thermos bottle being offered to him along with a mug.
"We didn't know how you like your coffee," the soft voice told him. He looked up to see the tall, thin figure of Rocky Whipple standing over him with a small smile.
He sat up, feeling a little embarrassed. "What time is it? Do you know where Mickey is?" he asked the boy who sat down next to him on the hay.
"Shhh," the boy hushed him as he held a finger up to his mouth and pointed down. Jon leaned forward to look over the side, seeing men leading horses with saddles through the hallway of the barn, tying them up to hooks along the way.
"What's going on?" Jon whispered, seeing the boy was trying to save him some embarrassment.
"They're bringin' horses over from Katydid to give rides to our friends. Mickey sent these for you to change into, and he said to go in through the back basement door. It's our secret about you bein’ up here," the boy told him with a big grin. Jon remembered how exciting it was to share a secret with an adult when he was Rocky’s age, so he smiled in return.
The child was truly beautiful. Jon made a promise to himself to do anything he could to help the handsome little boy remain where he was happy and well cared for, feeling the guilt settle in his soul for his past behavior when it came to Rocky and roping Audrey into representing the boy after the death of his mother. He knew it was probably a dark time for the little boy, and Jon had abandoned him. The guilt weighed heavy on his heart, and he didn't like the feeling at all.
Jon looked at the stack of clothes, seeing they weren't his. "Is Mickey helping with the horses?" Jon whispered as he opened the thermos to pour himself a cup of coffee.
"He's in the kitchen with Poppa Tim. They're makin' food for later. Ryan and me was helpin', but Mick asked me to sneak down here to help ya out," the boy told him with that same big grin, his light, gray-green eyes glowing. Obviously, the child was thriving in the environment and it made Jon happy to see Lyla was dead wrong about the women needing to take the boy away from Matt and Tim.
He set his coffee mug down and began sorting through the clothes the boy had brought him, seeing a pair of boxer briefs which had to belong to the sexy cowboy. He was going to like wearing Mickey's clothes.
"Tell me about yourself while I change," Jon whispered to the boy who caught on and turned his back to allow Jon privacy.
"I'll be ten. I'll be in second grade, and I'm learnin' to ride horses. Ryan knows a lot about horses, and he and Mickey are teachin' me. I learned how to saddle Josie so Ryan and I can take turns ridin' her. He's still a little too short to get the saddle over her back, but I can reach up, so I do it. I don't say nothin' 'bout Ryan bein' short 'cause it makes him mad.
"Grampa Josh wants me to come to the Katydid and ride Chief sometime, his stud horse. He thinks he'd be a good horse for me to learn on. See, Josie's just about too small for me, but she's nice enough to let me ride her. And, Ryan, he's good to share her with me. He just got her for Christmas last year, but he shares everything with me. We're best friends, ya know?" the boy explained quietly as Jon dressed.
He finished his coffee and folded the blanket, stowing it where he'd seen Mickey take it from the shelf the previous night. He'd hoped maybe they'd get physical since Mickey had been adamant they couldn't have sex in the house, but as he thought about it, talking all night long and falling asleep in each other's arms was something Jon had never done before in his life. He hoped it was a step in the right direction with regard to Michael Warren.
Jon and Rocky sat together, looking over the edge of the hayloft as the cowboys continued to tie the horses in the hallway. "Hey, y'all come up to the house. Miss Jeri made her sweet rolls and I got plenty a coffee at the ready. Tim's up there with Marty and Matt. They were workin' out a schedule about the rides, so head on up and talk to 'em," they heard Mickey explain to the hands in the hallway.
"Oh, you run shit 'round here now, faggot?" Jon heard one of the hands challenge.
"Who's that?" Jon whispered to Rocky.
The boy snarled. "That's Stevie Tanner. He works at the Katydid part-time, and he's mean. He calls me names too when I go to the barn by myself to feed apples to the horses Grampa Josh keeps dow
n there."
"Stevie, knock that shit off. I don't know what they tolerate at the farm, but we don't tolerate that shit here, so grow the fuck up and do as you're told," Mickey responded as he walked by the young guy who stuck out his foot and tripped the handsome auburn-haired man, laughing when the young cowboy hit the concrete.
Just then, another guy came into the barn, laughing at the sight of Mickey on his hands and knees on the barn hallway. "You gonna mount him, Stevie? He need breedin'?" the other guy taunted.
"Everybody else up at the house, Paulie?" Stevie asked. The other man nodded, and Jon knew something bad was about to happen.
He turned to Rocky. "Go back in that corner and sit there with your hands over your ears until I come get you, okay?" The boy, sensing trouble, nodded and did as Jon instructed.
Jon scrambled down the ladder just as the two men tackled Mickey. Jon had the element of surprise on them, so when his bare foot met with the tall, dark-haired man's ribs…Paulie, if he was reading it right…the guy was shocked as he tumbled on his ass.
Mickey took that opportunity to shove the dirty-blonde, Stevie, off of him and hop up pretty quick. "Where's Rocky?" he asked as Jon examined him, seeing a strawberry bruise on his cheek starting to bloom, likely from hitting the rough, concrete floor of the barn.
"In the loft with his hands over his ears until I tell him to come down. Who the fuck are they?" Jon asked just as he felt a punch to his left kidney from the side, knocking the wind out of him.
He saw the other jump for Mickey, knocking him down again as punches flew at his handsome face. When Paulie straddled Jon's chest and began an assault on him with fists ablaze, Jon was at a loss of what to do. He'd never had to defend himself in a physical fight, so he did the best he could to protect his head and tighten his abdomen to keep the punches from doing damage.
Suddenly, there was shouting and the weight was off Jon. When he lowered his arms from around his head, he saw Matt Collins and Josh Simmons with their knees in the backs of the two aggressors. "You boys okay?" Josh asked.
"I'm fine," Jon stated as he rolled over to see Mickey's bloody face.
"Oh, baby. I'm sorry I wasn't a better fighter," he whispered as he crawled over to Mickey and pulled him up to a sitting position.
"I'm fine. Thanks for helpin' me 'cause I don't know if they wouldn't have followed through on the threat," Mickey told him as Jon tried to clean some of the blood out of his eye from a nasty cut to his head.
"Can I come down?" they all heard from the hay loft. Everyone turned to see Rocky Whipple with tears on his face as he looked over the side.
"Oh, sweetheart, come down. What're you doin' up there?" Matt asked as he rose from the ground, pulling Stevie up with him.
"That fuckin' fag was molestin' him up there," Stevie barked, nodding toward Jon Wells.
Josh chuckled as he rose from the ground and walked over to the idiot, cocking back and punching him in the mouth, sending him back onto his ass. "You're fired."
Matt walked over to the ladder and climbed up a few rungs, holding his arms out for the boy. "You okay?" he asked. Rocky nodded and moved into Matt's arms, hugging himself around the huge man's body as Matt descended the ladder. Jon could see the child was trembling, and it pissed him off even more.
"Rocky brought me coffee and a change of clothes because Mickey and I slept in the hayloft last night. We were waiting for the place to clear out so we could go back to the house because Mickey was trying to save me the embarrassment of being caught sleeping in the barn with him because we aren't welcome to sleep together in your house," he stated as he turned to Matt.
Jon saw the surprise on Matt's face and heard the gasp from Mickey. "No, Jonny, it's not that way, okay? Matt didn't…doesn't…can we talk about this later?" Mickey asked as he pointed to Paulie and Stevie.
Josh chuckled and looked at the two of them. "Oh, you're fired, too. Get the fuck outta here before I call the Sheriff and have both y'all arrested. DO NOT go to the farm for any reason today or I'll have ya charged with burglary and trespass. I'll be there tomorrow and you can both come pick up your saddles and shit. Katie will have your last check ready about noon. Do you two idiots understand?"
Stevie Tanner seemed to bristle. "Mr. Simmons, I didn't do nothin' to you, and I've worked for you for three years. This asshole showed up a year ago. How the hell can you take his word over mine?" he asked as he pointed to Mickey.
Matt put Rocky on the floor and knelt down in front of the boy. "You take Mickey and Jon to the house so Poppa Tim can clean 'em up before all the company gets here, okay? You didn't do anything wrong, buddy. We'll get this mess cleared up and be up to the house in a few minutes for Gramma Jeri's sweet rolls. Go on," Matt urged.
Rocky walked over to Mickey and Jon, taking each of them by the hand. "Come on, guys. Let's get you cleaned up." Jon smiled as he allowed the boy to lead him out of the barn and turned to see a smile on Mickey's face as well. They definitely had another thing in common…they'd both had their asses kicked trying to defend the other.
Jon was sitting in an old-fashioned, webbed, lawn chair just like the ones he remembered from his childhood. His parents used to have stacks of them at the country place in the shed next to the pool. He remembered having to fold them up after parties and put them back into the shed, and it made him actually miss his parents. He really wanted to take Mickey to visit the farm again…as his guest. He was sure his mother would be happy about it because she'd loved Mickey when she met him in Dillwyn.
"Hey, Mr. Jon," Ryan Collins greeted as he walked over to Jon Wells with a bowl full of folded papers.
"Hello, Ryan. What's this?" he asked.
"We're playin' a game called 'Pie Face'. This tells you which round you'll be in," the boy explained.
Jon reached into the bowl, pulling out a piece of paper and opening it. He saw the number '4' written on the paper, so he showed it to the boy who smiled. "You getta go against Henry," the boy told him.
He looked to where the boy pointed, seeing the hot young stud he'd seen in Mickey's arms the day before. It had set Jon's blood to boil at the sight of the man he had designs on in the arms of someone else…especially, a hot young guy who was closer to Mickey's age than Jon.
"What's the game?" he asked, hoping it wasn't any sort of feat of strength because his body was aching from the ass-kicking he'd received earlier in the day.
"Poppa has some questions and if you don't answer right, you gotta spin the wheel and…well, just come watch," the boy instructed, taking his hand and pulling him along.
The two of them walked over to the side of the yard to see a crowd gathered around a table where Mickey and another boy sat with their faces through a cardboard cutout. There was a paper plate with whipped cream on a hand-shaped lever, and Jon chuckled, picking up the gist of the game.
"Okay, Tommy. What is eight times eight?" Tim asked.
"Sixty-four," the boy answered. Everyone clapped.
He saw Tim look at Mickey with a smirk. "Mickey, what's the square root of…" Tim began.
Mickey laughed. "Just spin the dang wheel, Tim."
Everyone laughed, and Jon saw Tim stop the spinner with his thumb on five, which made him laugh. "Aw, Mick, five," he stated.
"You donkey…" Mickey teased, bringing a laugh from Jon.
He watched the man, to whom he was becoming more attached every minute, turn a crank handle on the side of the game apparatus, and after three cranks, the hand that held the plate aloft brought it up to smack Mickey in the face. A huge laugh rose from the crowd, and Jon joined them as he watched the man take some of the whipped cream from his face and brushed it over his young opponent's cheek, bringing a loud laugh from the small boy.
After they got up to make way for the next pair, Jon walked over to Mickey who took a finger full of the cream from his chin and held it up to Jon's mouth so the man could suck the finger inside. "Mmm. Almost as good as the sweet cream that comes from the very nice source in your pants.
Any chance I can taste it again anytime soon?" he asked Mickey quietly.
Mickey laughed. "Yeah. Tim gave Matt ten-kinds-of-hell after that shit at the barn, so we've been given leave to share a room if it won't scare the hell outta ya."
Jon turned to him and grinned, unable to hold in the affection he felt for Mickey…for the first time in his life. "I'd love to share your bed, regardless of whether we have to remain monk-like. Can I help you do anything to get me out of playing that game?" Jon asked.
Mickey's chuckle was sexy as he glanced around, before he leaned forward, leaving a gentle kiss on Jon's lips. Jon licked them and smiled. "Maybe we should buy that game and target it a little further south? I could quiz you on things for your GED, and if you get the answers right, you turn the handle and take the cream on your gorgeous cock. I'd definitely lap it up," he whispered to the handsome, green-eyed man.
"Sure, Jonny. We can find a lot of rewards, I'm sure. Now, I need to go in and clean up. What round are you?"
Jon laughed. "Four."
"I'll be back," Mickey told him as he hurried toward the house. He'd have followed him, offering to help him in the shower, but he wasn't about to step on the toes of his hosts, so he continued to watch the festivities with a smile.
After his turn at the game where Tim asked him if he could spell 'Lichtenstein', he surrendered to a little girl named Gracie who took Henry Sachs place because he had to go take care of the horses at the barn. She had curly, red hair and a bright toothless smile along with bright green glasses, and from what Jon could tell, Ryan had more than a passing interest in her. When the cream hit Jon in the face, he did as Mickey had done, sweeping some of the whipped cream off his face to dot a dollop on her nose, hearing a very pleasant giggle from the girl.
Rocky walked up to him with a few paper towels and a big smile. "Here, you go, Mr. Jon. You played a good game. I gotta learn to spell that word, too," the boy told him as he began wiping the cream from his face.
Loving the Lawyer (The Cowboys of Katydid Farm Book 2) Page 18
