Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Bax figured Jase had taken enough time off. They’d had yesterday, with the fucking and the napping, eating dinner with AJ and Missy and Coke. The kids had swarmed all over Jason after supper, playing on him like a jungle gym, and Mini had been just fine.
Hell, when one of the dogs’ balls had come right at his face, Jason had slapped it right out of the air. Everyone had held their breath, thinking somehow Mini’s sight had come back, but it was an instinctive thing.
“That wasn’t no thinkin’ thing,” Jason had said, smiling a little, shoulders hunching up.
So Bax had got Jason up today, got him showered and fed, and was leading the man down to AJ’s little makeshift arena.
“This ain’t no thinking thing, either, Mini. We’re just gonna get you on the barrel. Then maybe the mechanical bull.”
“I reckon I can work the barrel okay.” Mini’s lips were tight, but Bax was thinking it was more about the whole walking thing.
“I reckon you can.” Grinning, he pulled Jason to a halt, nodding to AJ and Coke. “You boys ready?”
“You know it, son. Missy says she’s making borracho chicken for supper, so work up an appetite.”
“Oh, I do like that. So do you, huh, Jase?” Bax kept up an easy chatter, waving to Coke to hold that front rope, leading Jase up the little platform.
“Yeah. Yeah.” Jason reached out, fingers finding one of the ropes. “Let’s do this, huh? I need to know.”
“You got it, man.” Bax got AJ to steady the barrel, got everyone in place so he could spot. Then he gave Jason a leg up.
It made him a little sick, seeing Jase up there, knowing that this could… No. No, he wasn’t going there. Jason Scott was fucking born to ride.
Mini wrapped his hand in the rope handle and wiggled, just like always. “Okay, y’all. Bring it on.”
“Start slow, boys,” Coke said. “Get the feel, Jason, and then tell us when you’re ready to get up to speed.”
Then Coke and AJ were pulling, moving that barrel, up and down.
He caught himself staring. Jason’s eyes were wide open and staring, but the son of a bitch was moving natural as all get out.
Coke looked over at him, offered him a grin.
Jason broke right at the waist, hips working, thighs loose and easy.
All balance, just like always. They moved faster, Jason correcting and staying up on the bull rope.
It wasn’t until AJ gave it a hard tug and lost the rhythm that he went off-center.
Bax caught him, holding him on, pushing him back up to center. There was foam and all, but Bax wasn’t ready for working on Jason falling yet.
“Thanks, man. How’s it look?”
“Looking damned fine.” Bax knew Jason couldn’t see him grinning, but Goddamn, the man looked good. Fine.
“Yeah? Let’s do it again. It’s making me a little queasy.”
“No shit? Huh.” Well, maybe if he did it with his eyes closed, it would him, too. “Okay. Get your hand set.”
Jase did, nodding and off they went, moving nice and slow. This ride went worse, Mini overcorrecting and jerking some. Coke tilted his head and sped up, tugging the rope good and hard, and Jason eased right up.
What the hell?
Bax called a halt when Jason started to tilt again, grabbing one too-thin arm and holding on until the barrel stopped. “You still dizzy?”
“A little. It’s not bad. I’m getting it.” Stubborn ass.
“Yeah. Yeah, you are. We’re gonna do it one more time. This time we ain’t gonna go slow, we’ll just take it like a bull right out of the chute.” He had a feeling, and he wanted to see.
“You got it.” Mini nodded, chin ducked, arm up.
Bax lifted his chin at Coke, who nodded and grinned before starting Jason off hard and fast, AJ whooping and pulling, too. It went just like it should, Jason’s body following, moving, head shifting like the man could see.
Goddamn. Give him no time to think, to second guess himself, and Jason was still in the fucking game. Fucking A. Bax reached out and grabbed a rope, pulling hard to the side. He wanted to see how Jason fell now.
Fuck him if Jason didn’t correct, meeting the roll and tugging himself upright. Coke countered and Jase went, rolling off and coming up on his feet.
AJ whooped.
“Look at you, boy! You might could do this!”
Mini stopped, grinning like a fool, then stepped toward AJ and tripped, falling flat on his face.
“Shit!” Bax waved AJ off, going to help Jase up. “You gotta watch that, Mini. That thinking.”
“Huh?” Jase sat up, wiping his face off.
“Nothing. I say we have a drink and a snack. AJ?”
“Oh, yeah. I got the cooler right here.”
“So, I passed the test, huh?”
“You did, son,” Coke said, coming up to clap him on the back. “With flying colors.”
“Okay. Okay, cool.”
AJ came around handing out Cokes. “Shit, man. You damn near looked like a pro.”
They all laughed at that one, Jason’s face creasing in that famous sharp smile. Bax felt good, all the way down to his bones. They could do this.
And if they couldn’t, they could keep Mini fucking busy until he figured something else out.
“You ready for the mechanical bull, man?” Might as well be hung for a wolf instead of a sheep.
“Okay. I’ll try it.” Mini stood up, reached for his arm. “Lead the way.”
“Good man. We can break for lunch after. Missy says she has leftover mac and cheese.” Jason would do near anything for mac and cheese of it was homemade.
“Real stuff or the glow in the dark box shit?”
AJ snorted. “Have you ever known my Missy to make shit from a box?”
Coke just shook his head. “Y’all are so spoiled. If you add some Ro-Tel, the boxed stuff ain’t half bad.”
Jason gagged a little and AJ just looked…flummoxed.
Bax groaned. “Now you’ve put us all off our feed.” He nudged Jason with his elbow. “Still want to try?”
The mechanical bull had a smaller range of movement than the barrel, but it could go a hell of a lot faster.
“Yeah. Yeah, I guess I’d better.” Jase grabbed his arm and they walked, Jason’s face turned up toward the sun. “You think I’m gonna have to start wearing sunglasses all the time, Bax?”
“No.” Sometimes, maybe, but Jason’s eyes only did the crazy wandering thing part of the time. There had to be a way to train them. Somehow.
“Cool.” He got another one of those smiles. “Sun feels good. Makes a guy want to go fishing.”
“We could do that after lunch.” Laughing, he leaned close to Jason’s ear. “Pray the fish don’t bite.”
Damn, but he did like that laugh.
It was harder work getting Jason up on the mechanical bull. He’d never noticed how fucking complicated it was.
There was the damned mats, which made it hard as hell to walk. Then you had to get up, and it wasn’t basically flat, like a bull. It was all tilty like a bull that was down in the chute.
Jase was growling by the time they got him settled, looking mean as a wet hen. “I don’t like this.”
“Well, I don’t think I would either. I’d forgotten how wicked the thing is. Take a turn on it anyway. Tell us when you’re ready.”
“You’re already up there, son. Quit yer bitchin’ and ride.”
“Fuck off, Coke.” Mini was fixin’ to blow.
“You wish.”
“Ew!”
When Jason was finally relaxed and laughing, Bax nodded to AJ. “Time to ride, Jase.
“Okay.” Jason grabbed his arm, tugged him close. “When this is done, you come get me. Don’t let me make an ass outta myself.”
“Not ever. I promise.” Bax murmured it low before stepping away and motioning for AJ to start it at more than half speed
Jase was on it, body moving easy. At some point early on, Mini closed his eyes, and almost immediately went green as the bull spun.
“Stop!” Bax waved AJ off, staggering in to grab Jase before he fell. “Don’t close your eyes, Mini. Try to keep them open.”
“Huh?” Jason blinked a little, the sweat popping out on his throat and cheek.
“I said, pry your eyes open. It’s when you close them that you start getting sick.” Stubborn, beautiful man. If he would just listen
“I didn’t know I was. I cain’t see nothing. Why should it matter?” Those eyes stayed open, though, didn’t they?
“The doc explained how you can see, even if your brain don’t know it.”
“Yeah. So?” Jase got settled back up, shoulders rolling.
“So what happened a year ago when you’d close your eyes on a plane?” Jason had always had a little vertigo
“Oh…” He got a grin, a nod. Beautiful, stupid man. “Okay. Okay, yeah. I get you, man.”
“Cool. Okay, get set and give us a nod when you’re ready.” Bax stepped back, finding himself ready to give Jason a real critique of his style, just like before the accident.
That pointed chin went up and then it tucked and the bull started. Jason had lost some muscle, and Bax wasn’t sure if that mattered or not. Jase was all about the balance, still. He broke at the waist, stayed up on his rope and… Damn.
Those eyes closed and Mini started tilting.
“Goddamn it, Jason! Keep your fucking eyes open.” Bax roared it like he would from the rail after tying Jason in.
Jason’s eyes popped open and he over-corrected, going over into his hand.
“Damn it.”
Coke grinned, nodded. “Not bad, Jason. Not bad.”
Bax grinned, too. “Not bad at all. We can work with this.” He went to help Jason down, giving Mini a hug.
“It was better than okay. We’re gonna have to get you a balance board, I think, but it’s incredibly doable.” Jesus, he might just bust.
“I… Yeah?” Jase swayed a little. “Bax? Buddy? I need to go have a sit, just you and me, huh?”
“Sure, man. Thanks, guys. Why don’t you go poke Missy about lunch?” Bax took Jason’s arm, leading him away, knowing their buddies would understand.
Mini leaned for the first few steps, and then he seemed to get his bearings a little. “How’s the leg?”
“It’ll do.” Now that Jase’d brought it up, it ached some. He’d not stood around that much in an age.
“I’m ready for the cast to come off. I can’t make it feel better as is.”
“Soon, huh?”
God. He couldn’t wait to have Jason’s hands on him, easing the hurt.
“Yeah. Yeah, soon.”
Jase nodded, took a big, deep breath.
“I got you, Mini. You know that. Good or bad.” Bax copped a feel. “This is good.
“Yeah. I was thinking there was no way.”
“Well, you were wrong, huh? Imagine that.” It felt as if a lead weight had been taken off his chest.
“Yeah. Yeah, I just… This is gonna be hard, fooling everybody. Lying. And when they find out, I’ll be like a freak.”
Bax gave Jason another hard, one-armed hug. “No. I mean, you are a freak, but not because of this.
“Fuck you, man.” Jase grinned, shook his head. “I was all ready to… I mean, I was fixin’ to give up and now…”
“Now you cain’t.” No way. No fucking way. “Hell, I bet you anything, first time you get in the arena with a bull, you can outrun him, too.
“I’m not ready for that. Let’s get your cast off first, huh?”
“Why? You’ve said more than once that I’m the slowest bull rider alive.” They’d wait, though. He wasn’t willing to let Jase out there without him.
“Yep. You get down there and stay.” Jase’s lips went tight all of the sudden.
“What?” Lord, now what was his damned cowboy thinking on? “What is it?
“It ain’t nothing. I just… I ain’t ever gonna get to see you ride again, Bax. I ain’t gonna get to pull your rope no more.”
“You’ll be there, Mini. Hell, you’ll see me in your dreams.” Like a fist to the gut, that was, and he glanced around quick before he stopped Jason cold and turned him for a kiss.
Jason grunted and grabbed him hard, kissing him like the world was coming to a fucking end, right then and there. Bax moaned, trying to figure out his arms and legs and shit, almost tipping ass over teakettle. He didn’t care a bit, though, he just kissed back.
Jase was fucking pissed—he could see it in the tight lines beside Mini’s eyes, taste it in the kiss.
Stroking the back of Jason’s neck, Bax leaned his forehead against Mini’s and stared into those furious eyes. Even if Jason couldn’t see him, he wanted to look right into them. “We’ll figure this, Jason. I got your back. You got mine. In all the ways we need, okay?”
“This ain’t right. I’m not supposed to be fucking tickled about riding a fucking barrel. I’m supposed to be getting ready for Michigan and looking at your fine fucking ass.”
“Uh-huh. And I’m supposed to be sitting in my own bed in a hotel and watching you and wishing.” He wasn’t saying it was a good thing—this whole fucking situation sucked. He wasn’t sorry about them, though.
“I wouldn’t give your ass up, even if I could see again.”
“No. Not gonna happen.” That had him smiling a little, kissing the corner of Jason’s mouth. “That’s one thing that ain’t gonna go back to the way it was.”
“No. We can’t close that box back.” Mini eased up a little, heart slowing right down.
Bax took a deep breath, patting Jason’s back. “You know it. You hungry? Or you want to go test out that shower again?”
“I want some time, just us. Then we’ll deal with Missy and them.”
“Then come on.” Bax put Jason’s hand back on his arm, feeling like he’d weathered a mini tornado.
“I’m with you, man. I’m with you.” A Mini tornado. Damn. Damn, that was funny.
They were walking fast by the time they got to the guest house, both of them breathing hard. Bax closed the door behind them and turned Jason for another kiss. Fuck, he loved that taste.
“Hungry cowboy. Didn’t know you would be.” Mini bit his bottom lip, moaning deep in his chest.
He chuckled, low and breathless. “I have untapped depths, babe.”
Jase started hooting, working his buckle open. “Unplumbed, even.”
“If you’re my plumber, I’ll happily stare at your butt.” Okay, he was getting stupid, but what man wouldn’t with those hands on his crotch. Besides, it made Jase laugh harder, just like it was supposed to.
Bax watched, listened to his beautiful man laugh for him, and felt like they could do this. They could fucking do anything. They sort of clung together, panting.
“Don’t let go, Mini.”
“I ain’t gonna. You’d kick my ass.”
“I would. I got a cast. It would hurt you way more than it would me.” Laughing, he hugged Jason close, relieved as hell that the first ride was over, and that it had gone well.
It would be an uphill battle, but if Jason would just keep his eyes open, they could handle it.
Together.