The Tin Star (26 page)

“Yeah, I know, I’ve seen them. I really appreciate that, Gray.” Jamie was getting close to the ranch and didn’t want to be on the phone when he pulled up. He’d gotten into the habit out of getting out of the truck and into the house immediately after he parked. He wasn’t going to chance sitting or standing long enough in one spot in the open to become an easy mark. A moving target was much harder to hit. “Listen, Gray, I’m almost home. Just wanted to call and touch base with you.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as I find out anything, Jamie. You take care.”

“Will do. Thanks.”

“Welcome. Later.”

Jamie hung up as he turned up the drive. As soon as the truck came to a stop, he turned off the headlights, parked it, and got out. He didn’t run to the house, but he sure didn’t let any grass grow under his feet, either. He opened the back door and locked it behind him.

Damn, he was tired! He felt like something the dog had dragged in. Jamie blinked down at his watch. 9:52. A hell of a lot earlier than he’d been getting in lately. He was worn to the bone and missed his cowboy. Maybe Ethan would be still be awake tonight.

Ethan had stayed in the hospital for a week and wasn’t yet up to full strength at home. Luckily, Jules had taken time off to help with Ethan, whom she was having a hard time preventing from overexerting himself, and Bill had been here to cook. Jamie grinned. Julia’s cooking had been Ethan’s biggest concern when he’d learned that Julia was coming home with them.

Cooking or no, she’d been a huge help. The Tin Star couldn’t manage itself, and Julia being here for Ethan took a lot of worry off Jamie’s mind. Jamie had to handle not only his work but Ethan’s, too, not to mention attending the town council meetings to try and find out what his dad was up to, and keeping an eye on the steakhouse deal Ethan had been working on. And, of course, there was the ongoing investigation into the shooting.

Jamie leaned against the kitchen door as he closed it, just resting for a second and thinking about the council meeting in town tonight. He grinned abruptly. Man, had his daddy been pissed when the vote to change the zoning laws had not passed. Jamie was relieved. He’d worked his ass off talking to council members and fighting to keep that vote from going through. Frankly, he could only be grateful that there hadn’t been much of a fight. Even without his input, the law probably wouldn’t have passed anyway.

Apparently, his daddy and his cronies hadn’t thought it out very clearly when they’d decided to put the decision to a vote. If the law had passed, it would have adversely affected at least three of the council members either directly or indirectly, so there had been a landslide defeat. Hoo boy, had it chapped his dad’s ass to see Jamie up there, rubbing elbows with the council members and the town political heads. In fact, it had upset his father so much that Jamie had considered running for a council seat next year just to piss off his old man. But he hated all the double-dealing in politics, and he didn’t think they’d take too kindly to having to deal with a gay man on a regular basis. Still, he’d been somewhat surprised at the relatively warm welcome he’d received. It seemed that quite a few residents disagreed with his daddy’s treatment of him.

Jamie chuckled again at the memory of his father’s red face when the vote had been read.

He pushed away from the door. Bed. He needed his bed right now. He was exhausted down to the bone. Maybe he could stay home with Ethan this week, now that the steakhouse deal was wrapped up, and the zoning laws weren’t changing any time soon. Hell, he’d settle for just thirty minutes alone with Ethan. He hadn’t seen his cowboy except when he crawled into bed at night and, by then, Ethan was already asleep.

“Fuck off!” Ethan’s bellow came from the direction of the office.

“Fine! Be that way, but if you wear yourself out and take a turn for the worse, I’ll shoot you myself. And I know exactly where to aim!” Jules stomped into the kitchen. Her face lit up on seeing Jamie.

“Hi, baby boy. How are you?” She hugged him.

Jamie smiled and returned her hug. “I’m good. Better than you, it appears. What was that about?”

Jules pulled back with a groan. “The stubborn bastard won’t listen to me. He needs to watch how much he does, but noooo, he’s bored.”

Jamie chuckled. “When did all this start?”

“A few days ago. He’s feeling much better and taking less of his pain meds, so he’s awake more and getting around more. I swear if I hear one more complaint about what’s on TV, I’m going to strangle him. Go see if you can get him in bed. He’s been down here a few hours.”

“All right, I’ll try. Guess what?”

Her face lit up again. “They found out who shot Ethan?”

Jamie sighed and shook his head. He wished. He was tired of worrying about it, tired of looking over his shoulder every five minutes. Just plain tired. “No, not yet. But the town council voted down the zoning change.”

“That’s awesome! I know you were anxious about it. But I wish that they’d find the shooter already. How long are they going to mess around? What if it happens again? What if it’s Daddy, Jamie?”

“Don’t know, Jules. But I will say that so far they don’t think it was him. He doesn’t own a rifle of the caliber of bullets that hit my truck and Ethan. And John is his alibi for the night that Ethan was shot. He didn’t do it, Julia. Maybe he had someone take care of it, but he didn’t do it himself. They’re checking out Carl, too, since he was bragging about a gun, but so far his alibi is solid, too.”

Jamie closed his eyes. He wanted so badly to take Ethan and just get the hell outta Dodge, but Ethan had made it clear in no uncertain terms when he’d woken up in the ICU that they were staying. And Jamie agreed with him, he did, but he couldn’t help but be terrified for Ethan, himself, and their loved ones.

Julia nudged his arm. Have you eaten?”

“I’m good. I ate at Margie’s when I went to tell her the good news.”

“All right, then. Go on. Get him in bed. I’m off duty and headed there myself; the stubborn jackass is all yours.” She came up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek, then walked off. “Love you. Night.”

He grinned at the fondness in her voice when she’d said “jackass.” She might be frustrated with Ethan, but she understood why he was being so cantankerous. The man just wasn’t used to not getting around easily or quickly, and not doing much of anything.

“Love you, too. Night.”

When Jamie got to the office door, he leaned against the frame and watched Ethan for a few minutes, unnoticed. Damn, the man was still sexy as hell, even if he wasn’t yet recovered. Jamie’s cock noticed, reminding him that it had been two weeks since they’d had sex. Two long weeks since he’d been able to hold Ethan in his arms, get close to him.

Ethan’s hair was all over the place. He had on a tee-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, and was clicking away on his computer keyboard with one hand, while the other was idly petting Fred, who had her chin resting on his thigh.

Fred looked over at him and barked. She ran toward him, her tail wagging.

“Hey, pretty girl! You watching over our cowboy?” He pet Fred, lavishing endearments and strokes on her before he looked back at Ethan.

Ethan smiled, then raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to bitch at me, too?”

Jamie held up his hands. “I’m too damned tired. Besides, as long as you aren’t trying to break horses or brand cattle or anything like that yet, I don’t guess you’ll hurt yourself.”

Ethan nodded, then his gazed raked over Jamie from head to toe.

Jamie’s cock noticed that, too.

“You look fuckin’ edible.”

So do you!
Jamie looked down at the gray suit he was wearing. He’d found it in Ethan’s closet this morning. “Yours. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Never looked that good on me. Come here.”

Jamie went to him. Ethan scooted back to make room, so he leaned on the desk, looking down at his lover.

Ethan’s hand brushed over his thigh, then he looked up, meeting his gaze. “Damn, you look like hammered shit.”

He chuckled and grabbed Ethan’s hand, not really wanting to stop its upward progress, but needing to. There was no sense starting in something Ethan couldn’t finish. “Well, which is it? Hammered shit or fuckin’ edible?”

“Both. What have you been doing?” Ethan stood up slowly and cupped his face, tilting it up, so the light shined into his face, under the brim of his hat. “When is the last time you slept, and I don’t mean that damned catnap you barely caught. I know damned well you didn’t get into bed until four this morning, then you were gone again at six.”

He smiled at his cowboy’s concern. “I’m supposed to be worrying about you, not the other way around.”

Ethan leaned forward, easing his head under the brim of Jamie’s hat, and kissed him. “What have you been up to, Blue Eyes? You’ve been running yourself ragged, haven’t you? I saw the purchase orders for the new horses and bull. We also got an invitation in the mail for the grand opening of the steakhouse. What else have you been doing, and why the hell haven’t you been getting enough sleep?”

“Because this place won’t run itself.”

“Man, Jamie, I hate ... this sucks.”

Jamie nodded, feeling sympathy for his lover. “I bet. Knew it wouldn’t take long for you to get bored.”

“It’s not that. I mean I
am
bored, but ... You’re being careful, right?”

Damn! There he went again with the concern. It felt so good to be fussed over, made him feel loved, but he didn’t want his cowboy concentrating on him when he should be focusing his efforts on getting better. “Yeah, I’m being careful.”

“I don’t want to ... won’t ... leave, but then I get to thinking. If anything more were to happen to you, would I have made the right choice? Am I letting my pride get in the way?” Those brown eyes were serious.

Jamie heard all the words that had not been said. Ethan was second-guessing their decision to stay. He reached up and cupped Ethan’s cheek, running his thumb over it in a tender caress. “I’m fine, Cowboy. Watching my back. And I don’t want to leave, either. We can’t run from this.”

Ethan nodded. “Yeah. Just ... be careful, baby. I don’t like you out there running around all over the place, even if it is for business.”

“Promise.” Before Ethan could demand a blood oath, he kissed him. “Besides, I can’t be here with you and not want to touch you. So it works out for the best.”

“Who says you can’t touch me?”

He snorted. “Do you really think you’re up to what I’ve got in mind?”

Ethan grinned and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah.” He waggled his eyebrows and glanced down meaningfully.

Jamie, peeked, too, and wished he hadn’t. He groaned. Ethan was every bit as hard as he was. His sweats were tented, his cock just begging for Jamie’s attention. Jamie looked back up and quickly tried to regroup. “The council voted against the zoning change.”

“Really? That’s great. Now, quit changing the subject.” Ethan leaned into Jamie, kissing him again. This time his tongue flicked across Jamie’s lips, seeking entrance.

Jamie groaned. He was a goner, and he knew it. He was just too drained and yet too turned on to fight it. So what if he had to use his own hand to get off? At least Ethan would be there with him.

He angled his head and opened his mouth, finding Ethan’s tongue with his own. After a few minutes, he pulled back. “It’s too soon. Don’t want to hurt you.”

Ethan nipped his bottom lip. “No, it’s not. God, need you bad, Jamie. Just relax and go with it. You won’t hurt me, I swear.”

“You better be right.” He took one more long, lazy kiss from his cowboy, then led him upstairs.

He pulled his clothes off, then undressed Ethan carefully, starting with his shirt. He pulled the baggy tee off gently, kissing every inch of skin he uncovered, especially around the stitches from the bullet wounds on that tanned, muscled chest and broad back.

God, he’d been so close to losing all this, losing Ethan. This wasn’t the time to let himself dwell on it, though. If he started thinking about it too much, he’d break down again. And he was so darn weary that once he started, he would probably end up bawling like a damned baby. So he stopped himself with one last kiss to the ugly scar on his lover’s chest and went down on his knees.

Ethan’s hands combed through his hair. He thought he heard Ethan whisper, “Love you, Jamie,” but he wasn’t sure. He slid his hands inside the waistband of Ethan’s sweats and slid them slowly down his legs.

That luscious, thick cock bounced free, hitting his cheek. He closed his eyes, nestling his face against it. Ethan smelled wonderful. Jamie inhaled deeply, taking in more of his scent. Damn, he’d missed this.

He turned his head, catching Ethan’s shaft in his lips. He licked up, then down, taking his time, savoring, feeling the velvety soft skin of his man against his lips. “Taste so good.”

“Mmm, feels so good.”

“What a coincidence. It’s supposed to.”

Ethan’s hand caressed his cheek. His voice was a soft caress, “Ahh, more action, less talk ... Tease.”

Jamie chuckled, loving their easy, playful banter. Taking one last taste, he stood up and moved to the bed. He held open the covers for Ethan. “C’m’ere, Cowboy.”

Ethan walked toward him, wincing a little when Jamie helped him slide into the bed beneath the sheets.

Damn!
“Careful, Cowboy. No pain, remember?” Jamie got in next to him and gently pulled Ethan close so that their cocks touched.
Oh, yeah!
His dick was practically ecstatic at the contact. Jamie nuzzled Ethan’s neck.

“Umm. Nothing wrong with pain, as long as I have you to kiss it better.” Ethan’s voice sounded a little strained.

Jamie leaned back, checking his face, trying to decide if Ethan felt good or if being on his side was pulling on his wounds. His lover’s face was a little pale.

“Where’s it hurt? Can’t kiss it better if I don’t know where you ache.”

Ethan smiled, his face slightly pinched. “Sorry. I need to lay on my back, I think.”

“Then do it.” He pushed Ethan down gently, then leaned over, trailing kisses down that beautifully masculine face. “Tell me what you need, Cowboy.”

“Ride me?”