The Wild Bunch 3 Casa (6 page)

Jared stared back at him. "
That
was why? Oh, my God, I'm sorry...sorry I got the big chance you deserved a lot more than I did. Sorry I disappointed you and sorry I misunderstood. If it matters, I did clean up my act after that. I graduated not quite with honors but close and landed a good job, found some like-minded guys and started my business. I heard when Dad died, but too late to come to the services. I'd really wanted to go and see him after all those years, but I didn't do it soon enough." He paused, dragged his gaze away from Jason's and looked down, his expression tight with anguish. Lifting his face to look at Jason again, he went on.

"You know, I was scared shitless of you. Hell, you were the
big
brother, eight years older and tough as rawhide. Mom said you chose to stay with Dad when they split because you were the same kind of mean bastard he was. I had to believe her, at least for a long time. Then, when you came out and like to beat me stupid, you seemed to confirm it."

Something caught in Jason's throat. He tried to swallow and couldn't; reached for the words he needed to say, but could not find them. At least there was one thing he could do--he took two steps and opened his arms wide. He might have to duck or dodge, but...

Jared hesitated for a breath and then stepped into his embrace. For several seconds, they held each other. Maybe blood really was thicker than water. All at once, Jason's tension and uncertainty vanished. This was his brother, the only real family he had in the world. They'd been apart for almost thirty years, except for one disastrous meeting, now over a decade ago. It was time they found each other again.

Looking over Jared's shoulder, Jason glanced at the three cowboys. They all wore identical shit-eating grins as they shared high fives. Lou looked on with a benign smile, obviously in on the whole plan. He caught Jason's gaze and winked.

"You goddamn bunch of sneaky buggers! You guys set this all up, didn't you? I don't know whether to take a cattle prod to you or give you all a big reward."

Jared gave Jason a final hug before he stepped back. "I can't believe it. When I came out last fall, the boys told me the owner was away on business. I never dreamed that absent boss was my long lost brother--I mean tough cowboy Jason running a dude ranch for gays? I was always sure you'd beat up on me for having a boyfriend instead of a lady, for being what you probably thought was a stupid left coast fag, some kind of pansy and sissy. When Stace told me how we looked an awful lot alike, I got to wondering, but it didn't add up. Figured everyone has a double somewhere like they say and let it go."

Jared stopped, frowned, a look of confusion on his face. "Wait a minute...this can't be Dad's old place. That was over by Artesia, if I remember right. I was pretty small when I left, but seemed like Mom told me that."

Jason nodded. "Correct. We had a bad drought and coming on top of the huge expenses treating Dad's cancer, I fell behind on everything and lost it a couple of years after he died. Afterward, I rodeoed and worked a while and finally got enough together to buy a new place. This is it. By then, I had a dream, and when I met up with these three rogues, I saw a way to make it happen." His sweeping gesture included the three cowboys who still watched, grinning from ear to ear.

Consumed by a huge thirst after his explanations, Jason quickly finished his beer. "If I'd known, things might've been different. Of course, the last few years I heard about your business and knew how successful you were. At that point, I didn't think you'd want anything to do with me...couldn't see any way to start mending bridges. It'd been too long and since you'd never reached out, I figured why bother? A little stupid pride in there, too."

Stace approached then, with an armful of frosted bottles, which he passed around. "Time for a toast," he said, as he twisted the top off his. "To long lost brothers, special friends and a bright future for us all!"

"Hear, hear." Bottles clinked, and everyone drank to that sentiment. The younger wranglers all cheered as the six men downed their beers and grinned like fools.

Jason looked around at his three special cowboys, at Lou and Jared. Unless he'd eaten too much loco weed, the glow on all their faces was love. He blinked as his vision suddenly went dim.

"If you locoed idjits don't wanna eat, I kin always feed it to the dogs," Dough Boy broke in. "Hate to see good food get cold 'n' hot and go to waste. I've been cookin' since daybreak, ya know."

That announcement broke through the emotion before things got maudlin. Everyone grabbed a plate and moved to fill them up. Jason fell in at the end of the line, buoyed by a joy he hadn't felt for much too long. What a day it had turned out to be--first Casa and now Jared. He was not going to wind up alone after all, not by a long shot. That was more luck than any crusty old rancher could ask for. It was damn well time to party, and party he would.

Casa sat beside Jason, full of good food, beer and happiness. For a tense moment when Jared and Jason had first seen each other he'd been scared shitless. The situation had teetered then on a narrow edge between good and terrible. Then it fell on the good side, and everyone began to breathe again. He'd been almost dizzy with relief. If they were honest, he knew Stace and Spark had felt the same way.

He put a hand on Jason's solid thigh, right above the knee. The band had arrived shortly after they ate and had begun to play. Admittedly there was more listening than dancing for quite a while, but eventually a few of the younger wranglers broke the ice, getting up in pairs and groups. They did some line dances and then for a few slower numbers broke into couples and gave in to the special closeness of moving together to the music.

Jason sent Casa a slanting look and put his own hand atop Casa's for a quick squeeze. "You owe me a dance, bud. Or maybe I owe you one."

"I'm good for it."

They stood together. With Casa's right hand clasped firmly in Jason's left, they ambled over to the cement pad in the center of the courtyard. The band segued into "Mexicali Rose" from a medley of more modern tunes as they turned to face each other. Casa had worried it might feel awkward and look stupid, but when the moment came, he realized he didn't need to worry. It felt so right it had to look okay, too.

He was an inch or two shorter than Jason, however the two of them fit like they were made to be there. Jason might have a tiny hitch in his git-along still, but it didn't bother him now. Neither of them really led. They moved in unison, arms loosely around each other, relaxed enough to flow with the rhythm and let the tender melancholy of the song enfold them.

When the band stopped, they headed back to the bench where they'd been sitting. Casa realized then that everyone else had left the makeshift dance floor to them. Now they all clapped and cheered. After that, Spark and Lou danced and then Stace and Jared. Darkness fell gently over the ranch, a sheltering blanket to enfold the mellow, comfortable gathering, urging them to stay a little longer.

Finally, the band wound down. They put away their instruments, grabbed some of the leftovers, and began to pack up to leave. Members of the ranch crew began to drift off in twos and threes, some to the bunkhouse or one of the cabins, others fading into the warm, peaceful night. Dough Boy cleared away the remnants of the feast and ambled off, grumbling like an old badger. The ice had melted to leave a few cans and bottles floating forlornly in the tubs. The trash cans might be full, but everyone had been careful not to leave a mess. They'd take care of the clean-up tomorrow when the real world came back again, but for tonight, the western fairy tale mood still held.

Jason turned to Casa. "How about we head on up to the house? Looks like the party's about over, but that doesn't mean we can't go on with our own."

Casa smiled, even though he knew the light was too dim to see more than vague shapes now. "Ready, willing and able," he replied. Again they stood and walked away, hand in hand. "House now and hot tub later, okay?"

"All of the above and anything else we can think of," Jason answered. "I don't know about you, but I feel like I have about ten years to make up for."

"I haven't even been here that long, but yeah, we've missed some time and opportunities. It wasn't because I didn't want to, either."

Jason chuckled. "No, I know that now. It didn't feel right or fair until the trio you boys were began to unravel when Stace and Spark found their real partners. Then I started to consider taking another step. My accident kinda accelerated things. You were always my favorite, not quite as brash as the other two, but deep, marked by some struggles in your past they hadn't experienced, I figured."

They'd reached the wide veranda. Jason halted. His hands settled solidly on Casa's shoulders to turn and bring him close. "Spark came from old Texas money, and Stace was an athlete from early on, getting the perks his prowess won. You were a little different, and I liked that." His words halted as he found Casa's mouth in the dark, tasting it in a long, deep, wet kiss. Without fully breaking the kiss, he opened the door with one hand and steered Casa through it with the other.

Casa had been in the main house many times, although never into the rooms that made up Jason's private space. The warm hand on his back guided him now toward a doorway, into a casual, tidy living area, softly lit with a table lamp beside a big recliner. The massive fireplace filled one end of the room, dark and cool now with summer coming on fast. The rest of the room held sturdy, simple, comfortable-looking furniture, a big shelf full of books, and a few pieces of art on the adobe-tan walls.

Casa recognized a Remington and a Russell, and a couple by regional artists whose work was catching on with a broader audience. The room reflected Jason--quality but quiet, completely southwestern with an eye toward comfort and peace rather than show. Casa nodded to himself.
Yes, this is good; this is Jason. No surprises. I could fit in here after all, poor Tex-Mex cowboy that I am...

"Want a drink or have you had enough today?"

Jason's question slammed him back into the present "I think I'll pass. Much more would put me to sleep, and that's the last thing I want right now."

"Okay." With hardly a break in stride, Jason headed toward a second doorway, touching a switch as he entered so light revealed the room. Casa's gaze went first to the big, solid bed against the far wall.

"How's this?"

Again, Jason's words pulled him out of fantasies and revelations. Casa gulped. "This is fine, boss man. Really fine."

"Whoa...in here, we're Casa and Jase, no employee and boss, no Chicano and gringo, just friends--partners. And, partner, I'd say you have way too many clothes on."

"So do you, partner. This is the first, the time we'll never forget. Do we undress each other and make a ceremony of it or rip things off and get it on?"

Jason laughed. "You do have a way with words. What do you want? Hell, yes, I'm hornier than an old billy goat after being close all day and not able to do more than touch you now and then. This morning is still teasing me. But you're right. This is special."

Casa shifted on his feet, a trace of hesitation coming to the surface, even after all that had gone on today, including the growing sense of belonging here, in this place and with this man. "I--er--let's start off taking our time. If we can't hold that pace, well, that'll be all right, too."

Jason reached then and one by one undid the snaps down the front of Casa's bright western shirt. His fingers brushed bare skin beneath it, sending sparkles of heat through Casa's body. His nipples went hard and farther south, his erection began to strain at the zipper of his sand-tan Wranglers.

He caught the leather string of Jason's bolo tie and began to lift it carefully. The cord caught under one of Jason's ears, but then came free. Casa lifted the loop over his head, pausing to hold it for a moment, startled by the weight of the massive silver and turquoise medallion. "Wow. There must be a grand worth of silver in that alone, to say nothing of the turquoise. Fine piece of work, too."

"It belonged to my dad. When he got it, I think directly from the Zuni man who made it, this stuff wasn't a big rage and not all that expensive. I don't care what the value is now, the important thing is it was his." He took the tie gently from Casa's hands and twisted to lay it on top of a dresser against the wall opposite the bed.

When he turned back, Casa went to work on his snaps. They peeled the shirts off each other's shoulders and let them flutter to the floor. Casa ran his hands over the muscled planes of Jason's chest, traced a couple of scars, brushed across the tan nipples as distended as his own were. Jason spent a few seconds simply looking before his hands began a similar exploration. They both breathed in fast, shallow pants now, eagerness surging through their bodies.

Belt buckles next and then zippers--dress jeans didn't come with the traditional Levi's button flies they both preferred. Boots got in the way. Casa toed off first one of his and then the other. Jason leaned against him for balance when he stood on his right leg to draw his left boot off. Then their pants puddled around their ankles and they were almost there--bare and ready.

Suddenly impatient, Casa kicked free of the encumbering fabric. He dropped to pull Jason's final garments off, while Jason balanced with one hand on Casa's shoulder. Jason's prick was there, right at face level, ruddy and hard with a diamond-bright drop decorating the tip. When Casa caught that with his tongue, Jason's whole body jerked.

"Easy there. Don't rush this. I'll be exploding in seconds if you do."

Casa laughed. "Alright. Guess we've got all night, no?"

Jason nodded, tugging Casa's arm to lift him back to his feet. "All night and a bed waiting for us. Maybe later a hot tub."

They fell onto the bed together, eager tongues dueling in an open-mouthed kiss, while impatient hands danced over each other's quivering bodies. Legs tangled as they rolled and twisted together, skin getting moist and slippery with the heat of their growing passion. Everything felt so good. Casa wanted to go slower, to go faster, to feel everything at once and yet cherish each separate sensation.