17. Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Seventeen
Bare
I’d offered to pick up my brothers and sister-in-law from the airport, but they insisted they’d rent a car, so I went about helping Hermie prepare the sides for dinner that night. Strangely, the spanking didn’t anger him, and it released the uncontrollable anger I had at hearing him say he’d leave me. My home was his home, too. He wasn’t going anywhere.
“Okay, boys. The beds are freshened and ready to go. I opened all the doors and the heat vents, so it should warm up in those rooms in a couple of hours. Merry Christmas to you both. I’ll see you soon. Stay safe.” Anita let herself out through the back door, leaving Hermie and me alone in the house.
“How’s your cute butt?” I was peeling potatoes for Hermie to make a casserole for dinner. Jolly, Craig, and Dirk were having dinner with us and my family. I hoped their presence would ease Hermie’s nerves. He didn’t look nervous, but my family hadn’t arrived.
Hermie was stirring a cheese sauce that would go over the potatoes. He wiggled his butt, setting my cock off once again. I worried my cock and balls would detach and run away from me because of the pleasure I was denying them, but I wanted it to be a lesson we both remembered, though I was sure it hurt me more than it hurt him.
“My butt’s better than fine. Maybe you can check it tonight?” He giggled, which was like music to my ears.
“I need to call Connie and tell him we might be late tomorrow.” We were going to Abilene for the Christmas party at Whip Smart. I knew Hermie was looking forward to it because he wanted to see how that boy, Jody, was doing. We were going, regardless of whether my brothers stayed longer than overnight or not.
“Is he giving Gracie her horse today?” I’d told Hermie about Connie’s gift to see if he was interested in horseback riding.
“Tomorrow, I think, but knowing Connie, he’ll give her whatever she wants.” I got the impression my boy wasn’t so keen on having a horse of his own, so I dropped it for the time being. Maybe after he was around them more, he’d have more interest. There was no need to hurry.
I was proud of Hermie for how hard he worked to put every meal on the table. If my brothers didn’t praise his cooking and hospitality, I’d take them out to the yard and beat their asses.
My brothers and I had no ill will among us, but I wouldn’t stand for anything when it came to Hermie. Any hard feelings we had were reserved for our father—and maybe a little toward Mom because she didn’t take him to task for his asinine behavior. I prayed neither of my brothers had become as much of a bastard as my father had been.
“Daddy Bare, may I use the Christmas dishes I found in the basement?” That pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Christmas dishes? Mom didn’t have Christmas dishes, Baby boy.” Hell, not that I remembered.
“Where did they come from, then?”
I led him downstairs so he could show me where these dishes were. I’d never really given a damn what was in the basement. It was all a jumbled mess before Hermie went down there and straightened it all out. Now, it was labeled and looked like a fucking Amazon warehouse. I was truly impressed.
Hermie led me to a wall shelf where there was a large dish box that I’d never seen before. “That’s it.” He rocked on the balls of his feet, a sweet smile on his face.
I pulled the heavy box from the shelf and placed it on the floor. Hermie lifted the lid and moved some tissue paper to show me a plate with holly berries and leaves that had a gold rim.
“Shit! These were Grandma Barrett’s. I haven’t seen them since we used to go to Grandma and Grandpa Barrett’s place outside of Houston for Christmas. My mother hated my grandparents. I guess that’s why she relegated these dishes to the basement. How many place settings?” I was chuckling, but I had to kiss my boy so he knew I wasn’t upset with him.
“Twenty. How many people did your grandparents have over for the holidays?”
I watched as Hermie’s hands delicately grazed the intricate design on the plates. He obviously loved them, and I was happy to give him anything he loved.
“You want to use them for dinner tonight? With Jolly eating at the table? We have paper plates, right?” I leaned forward and kissed his soft lips.
Hermie giggled. “I’d love to use these dishes to set the table for our first Christmas together. May I?”
I gently took the dish from him and placed it on top of the box. I turned to him and grinned as I put my hands on his sweet face. “Don’t you know, my sweet Hermie, that you can do anything you want.”
Hermie grinned. “I love you, Daddy. Can we bring these upstairs so I can give them a wash?”
“I’ll carry them up. There’s a box of linens I’d bet. Look for them if you want to use them.” I carried the first box up and put it in the kitchen before I hurried back downstairs to grab the other boxes. I was definitely looking forward to our first Christmas dinner.
A honking horn caught my attention as I stacked wood in the fireplace for a nice fire later. I checked the driveway through the front window to see a large SUV pull up. Hermie was upstairs getting dressed when the doorbell rang. “They’re here.”
Glancing around the living room, I thought it was fucking perfect. Hermie had worked his ass off to ensure everything looked amazing. I sensed his nerves were building by the way he was racing around. I wasn’t about to have it happen just because my brothers were here.
There was no knock. The keys were in the lock before I could get to the door. I had to ask myself why I let them have keys. The ranch wasn’t theirs any longer because I’d bought them out after Mom and Dad died. I’d made them think they had a home to come to, but for years, they hadn’t bothered. Why did they want to come back now?
Hermie ran down the stairs and skidded into the living room as my older brother, Thomas, stepped inside with two suitcases and a tote bag on his shoulder. “Hey, Bare.”
Thomas dropped his bags beside the door and held it open as Mark came inside carrying more shit. He wore a big smile. “Bare. How the hell are ya?”
Lastly, Liz stepped inside with two kids next to her. She walked over to me and hugged me, kissing my cheek. “Bare, it’s so good to see you. We have a surprise. Meet Hunter and Adam, our foster kids.”
The two boys next to her appeared to be scared to death. They were probably four and five, but it was easy to see they were brothers. They were adorable, but I was hesitant to step closer.
Out of nowhere, Hermie stepped forward, dropped to his knees in front of them, and smiled. “Hi. I’m Hermie. Welcome to Bare Ranch.”
Hunter, the four-year-old, stepped closer. “Hi.”
Adam, the older boy, stayed next to Liz. As I watched him, I could see he might be more hesitant to come closer, as he studied his brother who was playing with the bells sewn to the front of Hermie’s red sweatshirt.
“Bare, who’s your friend?” Thomas put his arm around Liz’s shoulder acting as though I hadn’t told him who and what Hermie was to me. We’d spoken on the phone a few times since I’d met Hermie, but now he was being a dick.
“Who wants to get something to drink and maybe color?” Hermie asked.
We’d made a gift bag for the littles at the club. It thrilled me that Hermie thought of it. We could give the coloring books, crayons, puzzles and Legos to the boys. After the holidays, I’d gift the littles’ room with something else.
“Uh, let’s get washed up first. Come with me, boys.” Liz led the boys upstairs while I helped Hermie from the floor.
“Hermie, this is Mark, the nice brother. This is Thomas, the jackass. Guys, this is Hermie, my boyfriend. As you damn well know, he lives here, and he cooks for us.”
Mark stepped forward. “Hi, Hermie. It’s nice to meet you. Don’t let Bare give you any shit.” They shook hands, my Hermie’s face turning bright red.
“Yes, Hermie. Let me know if you need help taking Bare down a peg. He seems to think a lot of himself,” Thomas joked as he shook Hermie’s hand.
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s get your shit upstairs.” I grabbed the suitcases while Thomas and Mark got the rest. I took them upstairs and dropped the bags in the hallway. Thomas’ and Mark’s old rooms were across the hall from each other while my former room was now my office in the house. Seemed logical to put the boys in Mark’s old room and send Mark down to the first-floor bedroom—unless he wanted to sleep on the couch in the television room. I decided to leave it to him.
“Mark, it seems prudent to put the boys in your old room. You mind sleeping downstairs in the cook’s room, or you can sleep in the television room. Your choice.”
Thomas chuckled. “Doesn’t your cook sleep down there?”
“Ha-ha. You know who Hermie is to me. If you don’t like it, you’re free to leave.”
I turned and walked back downstairs where Hermie was setting up the island with cookies, milk, coloring books, and crayons. “You didn’t say anything about nephews.”
“I didn’t know anything about nephews.”
Hermie stepped closer to me and placed his hands over my chest. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by my comment. I can run to town and try to find presents for them.”
I rested my forearms on his shoulders and kissed the tip of his nose. “I apologize. I was as surprised as you. Thomas called me this morning while I was at the barn and said they were coming today and then going to Houston tomorrow to see Liz’s parents. He said nothing about fostering two little boys. I don’t want this to ruin our Christmas.”
Mark came into the kitchen with his roller bag, smiling at us as he went through to the bedroom near the kitchen. The door closed, and I turned back to Hermie. “Anything I can do to help you? What time do you want to serve dinner?”
“The beef takes about an hour, so should we eat at five?” My little chef!
“Perfect. I’m going to—” The clamber of a herd of elephants came rushing into the kitchen. Thomas, Hunter, and Adam all rushed into the room, the boys climbing onto the bar stools like a flash.
“Where’s the cookies for the big kids?” Thomas asked as he smirked at us.
Hermie started to pull away, but I wasn’t having that. “Genius, there’s a cookie jar on the counter. What do you think?”
Thomas laughed as Mark joined us, cowboy boots in hand. “You got any nags at the barn I can ride?” Hermie laughed as he pulled away from me and walked over to the counter where the boys were munching on cookies.
He pushed the cookie jar toward Thomas, who winked at him as he reached inside and took an iced sugar cookie. Thomas bit into it and chewed, his eyes growing. “ Oh, my god! These taste exactly like Mom’s.”
A huge grin split Hermie’s face. “I’m so glad. I found a recipe box in the pantry with a bunch of handwritten recipes. I hoped they might taste like your mother’s cookies. I only worked here one holiday season, and your mom gave me a tin, but I left them in Chuck’s old truck, and he ate them.”
We all laughed. Hermie’s face turned serious. “That was the first time I saw Bare. I was on the back porch putting on my shoes when Bare came in. He was arguing with your dad about marrying some woman.”
I remembered seeing Hermie through the window, but I didn’t remember the argument until he said that. “Holy shit! Yvette Tate. There had been a picture of me in the Dallas Star with Yvette Tate at some fancy holiday party in Houston with speculation that we were engaged because she was wearing a diamond ring on her left hand. Dad was convinced I was marrying into the Tate Oil fortune, and he was giddy about it.”
Adam tugged on Thomas’ arm and motioned for him to lean down she he could whisper. When Thomas heard what the boy said, he cracked up, smacking his hand on the granite countertop.
“You owe them a dollar for the swear jar. Liz has a potty mouth, and we’re trying to break her of the habit.”
“ I have a potty mouth?” Liz walked into the kitchen with a bright smile, much happier than I’d seen her in a long time.
“Oh, I think we all know who has the potty mouth,” Mark said as he walked over to the counter and grabbed a cookie for himself.
He turned to Hermie. “Welcome to the family, Hermie. I’m glad Bare found you.” He kissed Hermie’s cheek and grabbed my jacket from the rack. “I’ll be at the barn.”
My heart was full. Hermie fit into my family seamlessly, even with Mark, Thomas, Liz, and our two newest members, Adam and Hunter.
I couldn’t remember a happier time in my life.