Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Sunday afternoon, Felix and Joey cleaned the barn, having the time of their lives. As long as they were together, the task didn’t matter. They bonded, so enthusiasm punctuated everything they did.
Felix had placed the Bonner horse, Sylvester, in an empty stall. His father would want the horse back, but he would have to come to the ranch for it. Felix would not risk the wrath of the man who never called him by name.
* * *
At the house, a knock came at the open front door. Mabel went to answer.
“Yes,” she responded, “can I help you?”
“Madam, I’m Cornelius Bonner, Felix’s father.”
“Oh my goodness, please come in, Mr. Bonner.” She unlatched the screen door and opened it.
Cornelius flinched at the squeak of the hinges as he stepped inside. No hardware noise is allowed in his home.
“I’m Mabel Sterling.” She let the screen door close, turned to her guest, and motioned toward the doorway to the left. “Please, have a seat in the parlor. I’ll bring my husband.” She rushed into the back of the house.
Cornelius strolled into the parlor, his arms crossed. He had never been to Sterling Ranch. The house was a bit rustic for his taste.
“Cornelius,” Grover Sterling appeared in the doorway. “To what do we owe the pleasure?” He extended his hand in greeting.
“You know very well to what,” Cornelius responded gruffly. He ignored the proffered hand and glared at Grover with piercing, narrow eyes. “You have my son and horse; I want both back.”
“I see,” Grover lowered his hand. “Felix tells me you ordered him out of the store and the house. Is this true?”
Cornelius gritted his teeth. “He disrespected his father.”
“I’m surprised, Cornelius.” Grover crossed his arms. “Almost two months ago, you sent Felix to us, and I never met a more respectful young man in my life. What prompted his outburst?”
“As I said, my son is none of your business, Sterling.” An angry tremor appeared in Cornelius’ words. “A son should not show disrespect.”
“That is true, Cornelius.” Grover did not stoop to the unfriendly last-name level Cornelius adopted.
“But have you shown respect to your son?” He leaned forward.
“Did you compliment him on his win at the rodeo?” He leaned back to his full height, narrowing his eyes.
“Did you ask what he learned while here at the ranch? You asked me to take him for the summer and make a man out of him. It seems the ploy was more for your satisfaction than anything to do with Felix.”
“Those things are not important to me.” Cornelius waved his hand dismissively. He would never accept chastisement from a simple rancher. He ran a successful business and would run his family the way he wanted. His children were his concern and nobody else’s.
“Cornelius, do you consider what is important to Felix?” Grover scolded. “Your son cannot exist in a void. You make demands upon him, but you give nothing in return. When did you last hug your son or tell him you loved him?”
Cornelius folded his arms across his chest. “Sterling, how I raise my children is none of your concern. This useless discussion is over. I want my boy, and I want my horse.”
“The horse you can have, Bonner.” Grover uncrossed his arms and put his hands in his pockets. “Felix Bonner is no boy. He is a man and a damn fine man at that. That man decided to stay here.”
Cornelius uncrossed his arms and raised his voice. “Are you refusing my request?”
“No.” Grover shook his head. “Your request is not mine to honor or deny. The horse is your property. You may take him. But contrary to your thinking, Felix is not property, nor is he your personal slave. He is a strong, determined man, old enough to make his own decisions. At age eighteen, he is a legal adult.” Grover moved toward the parlor door.
“I will bring him in, and he can tell you himself what he wishes to do.”
“Sterling, do not start something you cannot finish.” Cornelius followed Grover to the door.
In the hallway, Grover turned and huffed out a hearty laugh.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Bonner. You are a storekeeper, and yours is not the only store in Blackfield.
You have no power in this county.” He poked his finger in the air toward Cornelius, emphasizing his point.
“Don’t you start something you cannot finish. ”
Anger simmered within Cornelius. His customer base decreased after the new store opened across the town square.
Sterling carried much influence among local farmers and ranchers.
One word from him and Cornelius would lose many more customers.
Sterling called his bluff, and he was powerless to do anything about it, so he decided to leave well enough alone for now.
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Very well. Have the boy come talk to me.”
“Bonner, can you not even call your eldest son by his name?” Grover tilted his head to the left. “And as I mentioned before, he is not a boy. He is a man. And this gifted and talented young man is nothing more to you than a slave and a mouth to feed. I pity you for your loss.”
Cornelius was not accustomed to being challenged. He always had the upper hand. Within him, the embers of revenge took life. But for now, he would concede the battle. “Can I see Felix?” Cornelius asked through gritted teeth.
Grover nodded. “I will bring the two young men in.” He left the parlor and went to fetch Felix and Joey.
* * *
He walked into the kitchen, where Mabel worked on supper. “I have Bonner between a rock and a hard place,” he hugged Mabel and chuckled. “Felix will stay with us.”
“I’m so glad. He needs a loving family. Cornelius doesn’t realize what a treasure Felix is.”
“I agree. He wants to see Felix, so I'll bring them from the barn. I want Joey, too. I can hardly wait to see what Bonner does.”
Grover left the house and walked to the barn. Handling Cornelius Bonner had been easier than he expected. The guy was all gruff exterior with no soul.
“Joey…Felix? Where are you?” he called out as he walked into the barn. The two cowboys poked their heads out of one of the stalls they had been cleaning. “Here, Pa,” they both said in unison. It was uncanny how much they thought alike.
“Felix, your father is here. I told him you wanted to speak to him about staying at the ranch. He’s waiting in the parlor.”
They laid down their tools, and Joey grabbed Felix by the arm. “We’re coming, Pa. Felix can face anything as long as I’m with him.”
“Good man,” Grover said as the two young men approached him. He put a hand on each of their shoulders as they walked toward the house. He knew this would be tough for Felix, but he would stand by him no matter what.
They entered the house through the kitchen, and Mabel grabbed Felix into a hug before he left the kitchen. “We’re here for you, son. You’ll never be alone as long as Sterlings have breath.”
“Thanks, Ma,” Felix squeezed her, then turned to the hallway.
Joey and Grover entered the parlor, followed by Felix.
“You wanted to see me, Father?” Felix said.
“Yes, Felix,” Cornelius called his son by name, the force of the effort evident on his face. “I understand you wish to remain here at Sterling Ranch.”
“Yes, Father. You ordered me to leave the store and the house. The Sterlings welcomed me to their ranch and into their home. And here is where I’ll stay.”
“Felix, your mother asked me to check on you. She worries about you.”
“Tell Mother I’m happy at Sterling Ranch. Tell her I love her and will return to visit her when I have time.”
“I will tell her, Felix.”
“Thank you, Father.”
With that, Cornelius started to leave the parlor. He turned and looked at Grover. “My horse?”
“I’ll ask Joey to bring him around,” Grover said.
Joey nodded and hurried from the room.
Grover put his arm around Felix’s shoulders. He held onto him, both facing Cornelius, who glared at them before turning to leave without another word.
Mabel strolled up the hallway and stood beside Grover and Felix. Joey was out front with Bonner’s horse. Cornelius scowled as he took the lead without a word to Joey. He mounted his horse and rode off.
Grover knew one thing: Cornelius Bonner would not give up.
* * *
That night, Joey climbed the stairs and entered Felix’s room, or what became their room. Felix lay in bed, writing.
“What are you doing?” Joey asked as he undressed.
“Writing in my diary. I want to capture everything that happened to me this summer. Maybe someday someone will read my diary and realize what I went through.”
“I saw you writing in that book, but I didn’t know what it was.”
“Helen gave me this. When my father sent me to Sterling Ranch, I brought it to log my experiences. I didn’t want to come. I figured I would hate it, and even after I got here, I wondered if I would survive.”
“So, how long did it take to figure out you might like being here over the summer?”
“A handsome cowboy came into the kitchen with a big smile and made my stomach feel funny,” Felix laughed. “I didn’t know what that meant then, but I do now.”
“I’m glad you stayed, Felix.”
“Me too, Joey. Now come to bed,” Felix smiled and lifted the sheet.
“Yes, sir,” Joey chuckled. He dropped his drawers and climbed under the sheet with Felix, pulling him into his arms. He leaned in and kissed Felix, his lower lip tugged between Felix’s teeth. Joey opened up, and their tongues danced together.
“I don’t ever want to sleep alone again,” Felix said. “I want you in my bed forever.”
Joey panted. Felix’s hard dick, nestled with his, made his dick throb. “Felix, you make me feel incredible. I can’t imagine life without my favorite cowboy.”
Felix reached between them and grasped both dicks, the juices combining to make a slick surface as Felix began pumping.
“Oh God, Felix, you’re going to make me squirt if you keep doing that.”
“Go ahead, Joey. I’m right there with you.”
Joey clamped his mouth onto Felix’s as the tentacles of ecstasy rushed from his groin through his body, and warm seed coated their stomachs.
Feeling Joey’s release drove Felix over the edge, and his warm love-milk squirted on Joey’s stomach and chest. They panted in the aftereffects of their union, catching their breath as the ecstasy faded.
“Felix, is it okay with you that we love each other and enjoy playing with our dicks together?” Joey whispered. “I know you worry about it.”
“Joey, I used to worry, but I think it was my father talking in my head. I don’t care whether other people think it’s okay or not.
You make me feel complete. As long as we don’t let anyone outside this house know, I think it’s very okay.
We love each other and enjoy playing with our dicks together. ”
“I’m glad you feel that way, Felix. I feel it too.”
Holding his cowboy in his arms, Joey thought of when he encountered Cornelius Bonner.
First, the letter that tore him away from Felix.
Then, the rude little friend comment after Felix’s winning event at the rodeo.
It devastated Felix to be taken against his will and treated like a possession.
Then, Mr. Bonner's uncaring attitude arose when he learned that Felix preferred ranching to working in his father’s store.
And finally, the sneer when Mr. Bonner took the Bonner horse reins and rode away without any acknowledgment of Joey.
This man owned Felix, and he was not about to give up.
Joey tightened his embrace and hoped they could survive whatever happened next.