Chapter 4 #2
“Cher. Cher, please. I need, me.”
“Anything.”
He wished Adam meant it. He knew better. Adam’s heart was with another Cajun. More than one cowboy had been happy to tell him all about how the good Lord had pointed it wrong. Didn’t mean he couldn’t hope to push Beau Lafitte right out of his cowboy’s chest.
He braced himself, took Adam in to the root, hole squeezing the man, right at the base.
“Landon!” It was his name coming out of Adam’s mouth in a shout, now, wasn’t it?
“Oui. Oui, cher. Come on now.”
“Now. Yes.” Adam came for him—Landon felt it in every bone in his body.
He grabbed his cock, jacking himself hard and fast. Adam let him for maybe half a minute, then that big, callused hand wrapped around his, helping him. “Yes. Yes, cher. Just so.” He was going to lose his fucking mind.
“I got you. Come for me, honey. Want you to come.”
Adam’s teeth nipped his shoulder, digging in with a sting that sent him over the edge. He rocked, moaning as his balls emptied. God, Adam was like to kill him.
What a way to go, though. Lord, lord.
Adam flopped down against him, panting, patting his hip.
“Good thing you got good walls on this thing, Cher.”
“Uh-huh.” Adam chuckled. “We caterwaul.”
“Mmmhmm.” He snuggled back. “Lord, you can ride but good.”
“I have lots of practice.” There was a short, weird silence before Adam snorted. “I meant horses, okay?”
“I hear you. Ain’t never seen someone ride like a Taggart. Makes me happy, you.”
“You’re pretty silly, honey.” Landon could hear Adam smile, though. He figured he could make Adam happy if the man let him.
“Life is too short to not have you your joy.” His Maw-Maw had taught them that, years ago. Folks passed on, and, if you was all gloomy, then you might just become a feu follet for a bit, to teach you better.
Landon had no intention of becoming a foolish light, dancing in the dark to trick people. No, sir, him, he was going to love Adam into loving him back.
“You do amaze me, kid.” Adam kissed the back of his neck, making him shiver.
“Mmm. You wan’ to rest a second ’fore we have to make money?”
“I do.” Adam tried to be all curmudgeon-y, but the man did love to snuggle.
They stumbled to the air bed, kicking off leftover clothes before plopping down. Landon grinned. Someday they might just get to the bed before the sex happened.
Someday.
Maybe.
Or maybe not.
Adam whistled, letting the rhythm of cleaning out a stall with a shovel and pitchfork soothe his irritation. It wasn’t Bri’s fault that damned leg wasn’t healing, and it sure as hell wasn’t Chris or Brian’s fault that Adam was missing a certain nut-brown Cajun…
They’d been back at the ranch for a three week break, and Jason Scott and Andy Baxter were there with them, giving Missy and AJ Gardner some much needed time off.
And Adam was snarling at everyone.
So, he went to mucking stalls, humming to the yearlings as they nosed him over the gates.
He heard footsteps behind him, and he closed his eyes, forcing himself not to turn around and just kick the living shit out of whatever asshole was daring to bother his happy ass.
“Bubba? You okay?” Bri. The ‘sensitive’ one. Christ. He should have known from the clomp clomp of the walking boot.
“I’m just in a mood, bro.” Adam wasn’t going to growl. He wasn’t.
“Well, you want to fight? So long as you don’t kick, we’ll be okay. Or we can go out to the back forty, shoot some cans, drink some beer.”
“I like the second one.” That might be fun.
“Fucking A. Me too.”
Chrissy peeked around the door of the barn. “Me three?”
Adam chuckled before setting aside the shovel and giving Bri a back-pounding hug. “Yeah. We should raise some Cain.”
“I’ll get the four-wheeler and some snacks.” Chrissy grinned, pure evil in his eyes. “Bri, you get the ammo?”
“I got it.” Bri glanced at him. “You keep Granny from coming.”
“This is a solo adventure.” The old joke made them all smile. They were one soul, three brains.
They scattered, and Adam already felt better. Sometimes he forgot how he needed triplet time.
Andy was walking Jason out in the pasture, calling out directions as he ran. It was funny as fuck, and the saddest goddamn thing ever. Jason followed Bax’s voice real well, though. Like that was all he could hear.
Hopefully this whole stupid idea Pharris had about the boys would pan out, and no one would get killed. He just didn’t know how. He waved at Andy, who nodded, but he wasn’t gonna ask them to come.
He needed to be with the other two. Needed to. It was something he guessed Landon understood. The kid had gone to see his twin sister.
Like thinking of the kid conjured him, Adam’s phone buzzed, a picture of a pig in a pit showing up. Lord. He grinned, needing to call, to hear Landon’s voice. “Goin’ to shoot things with the boys.”
“Woo. I’m cooking for kin. Sister’s making rice and beans.”
“Yeah? I thought you didn’t have a lot of family left?” He was always learning shit about Landon.
“I don’t, but there’s Old Man Lupin and his woman, and one of the Gerard gals is fixin’ to bust out with a baby, and her old man is gone out to Houston to make the hospital money. Then there’s Granny’s friend, Ouiser, and Unc’ Pierre and…”
“Sounds like you’re gonna be feeding a working, then.” He grinned. That sounded like when Granny Taggart decided they needed to smoke brisket. For a hundred.
“Yes, sir. I went huntin’ and got me a pig.” He loved hearing that word out of Landon’s mouth—’pee-ig’.
“Well, smoke the hell out of it, honey.”
“Oo-eee! You know it, cher. I’m gon’ make it sing.”
“Have some for me. Bri and Chris and I will heat up a King Ranch casserole.”
“Go see your other parts and have a good ’un. I miss your face, cowboy, swear to God.”
“You, too.” It was true, even if it made him flush bright to say it.
“Good. Je t’aime, cher.” Then the phone went dead.
Adam almost dropped his own phone, and he spent a good long while staring at it after Landon signed off. Landon loved him, huh.
Who the hell would have thought?
“Bubba?”
Landon glanced at Sister, who was busily stirring the eggs. “Yes, ma’am?”
“You gon’ go be with him forever and leave me here alone, you think?”
His heart said he was in love with Adam, but Landon said what he knew to be true. “Sister, I ain’t never onced left you. Never once for always. I will take care of you ’til the Rapture.”
They were twins. He wasn’t about to leave her with no way to take care of herself, and he needed to see her face. Half of him was missing when she wasn’t there.
She seemed relieved, the lines around her dark eyes relaxing, and she found a smile for him. “You think your man will like me?”
“Why wouldn’t he? You’re…” He searched for the right word, but fuck if he didn’t know one. “Laurel.”
She laughed, whacking him with one hand. “Uh-huh. Tell me about him.”
“Oh, lady, he’s fine. Tall and strong with these eyes like chips of rock and he can ride…” He sighed, seeing his cowboy up in the saddle, moving like Adam was one with the horse, like the wind itself.
“I knew he had to love horses.” She grinned, eyes dancing.
“He’s a cowboy. A real cowboy, not just a bull-rider.”
“Oh, Bubba. You have it so bad.”
He put down the tack he’d been repairing for Albert and stared over, serious as a heart attack. “He’s it, Adam. For me. I been dreaming on him my whole life. I ain’t sure I’m his one. I fear that was Mr. Beau.”
Laurel shook her head, dark hair all wild and loose. “Mr. Beau was made to comfort Sammy in the black times, Bubba. I know that.”
Landon shrugged. “Sure. I know that, but we don’t know God, not for true. I think maybe he has a mean streak, giving people to the wrong folks. Mr. Beau is a good man, a Cajun.”
“Maybe your man, he just is a little stupid, eh? Maybe he got him some Cajuns crossed.” Laurel put her spoon down, came to him with open arms, hugging on him hard. “God ain’t mean, not a bit. The Devil, he’s a trickster and a liar and he fools folks, but God loves Him us. I know that.”
“I want to believe that, Sister.” He rested his head on her, eyes closing.
“Then quit fighting it and do so.” She patted his back, her hands warm, and he could see why people came to her for the healing. Her touch felt soothing, and her voice held the surety of an angel who’d seen God’s face.
“Witchy woman.”
“Yessir, and thank God for it. Someone got to keep you boys whole.”
“Mmm.” He hugged her tight, absorbing some of her strength. “We need to get back to cookin’.”
“Yep. Need to make a soft cake for Auntie down the road. We got to pray over her bad tooth. I think it’ll take the both of us.”
He wrinkled his nose. Tooth stuff was always smelly. Still, he always helped when he could. “All right.”
“You’re a good man, Bubba.”
“You think so? I ain’t… You know I ain’t as book learned as all them boys I ride with.”
“Pshaw.” She put a hand over his heart. “You got all you need right here.”
“I sure hope so, Sister. I surely do.”
Laurel nodded, her eyes twinkling. “That man of yours better hope so, too, or I’ll put a curse on his cigar, huh?”
“I bet you would. Love you, Sister.”
“Uh-huh. Always.” She moved away, back to stirring and flipping things. It was time to go check on his pig.
Lord have mercy.