Cattle Valley 28 - Second Chances (8 page)

Drake went back to his computer and stared at the screen, not seeing a damn thing. Why would Oggie invite him to go sledding after the way they’d left things between them? He couldn’t get the image of a wet, cold rancher off his mind.

“Fuck it.” Drake closed the programme and typed ‘sledding’ into the search engine. Having been born and raised in Texas, he’d never been sledding, nor would he have been allowed to go even if they’d had snow.

He wasn’t a complete moron. He knew what it was, but as he scrolled through the images of kids and adults sliding down the slopes of white powdery snow, an ache formed in his chest. In every photo the people were either laughing or smiling.
Fun—they’re having fun.

Drake couldn’t remember when he’d last had fun, if ever. Sure, he’d enjoyed playing silly games with his mom and they’d even laughed when the mood was right, but the kind of side-splitting fun he’d heard people talk about had always eluded him.

Cracking his knuckles, Drake stared at the clothes the people in the photographs wore. Although he didn’t have anything similar, he did own a stocking cap and a pair of gloves. His heavy biker boots would surely be warm enough, right?

In an uncharacteristic move, Drake shut down his computer and turned the desk lamp out. He still didn’t know where things were going with Oggie, but the chance of experiencing something most people took for granted was too strong a lure to keep him in the office.

Drake parked in front of the barn. The closer he’d got to the Second Chance, the more foolish he’d felt, but he was there now and he refused to back out. A noise from inside the barn surprised him. Had he missed it?

“Hello?” he called, stepping inside.
“Hey,” Cullen returned. “They’re not here.”
Drake looked around the dark interior and finally spotted Cullen brushing down a

horse. “Why aren’t you with them?”
Cullen shrugged. “Seemed kinda lame.”
Drake walked over and rested his forearms on the stall gate. “You ever done it?” Cullen shook his head. “I’ve never smoked crack either, but that doesn’t mean I have to

try it to know I won’t like it.”
Drake grinned. Despite what Cullen said, it was obvious he was just as nervous as
Drake. “I’ve never done it. Thought I’d come out and see what all the fuss’s about.” “You haven’t?”
“Nope. I was born and raised in a little town outside Austin, Texas. Not a lot of snow
there.”
Cullen nodded but didn’t say anything.
“So, you wanna go with me? I’d hate to look like an idiot on my own.” Cullen dropped the brush in the bucket beside the gate. “Why do you guys care if I go
sledding? You’re as bad as Oggie.”
Instead of being insulted, Drake chuckled. “Oggie’s a damn good guy, so I’ll take that
as a compliment.”
Cullen didn’t argue.
Smart man
, Drake thought. He opened the stall gate. “Come on. I
saw a snowmobile over there. We’ll figure it out together.”
While Drake waited for Cullen to put up the bucket, he uncovered the snowmobile and
threw the tarp into the barn. He wasn’t a bit surprised to find the keys in the ignition. Most
people seemed to adapt quickly to Cattle Valley’s low crime rate, and it seemed Oggie was
easing into country life just fine.
Cullen came out of the barn and stood beside Drake. “Where the hell am I supposed to
sit?”
“Behind me,” Drake informed him, revving the engine.
“Why do I have to sit in back?”
“Because you don’t know how to drive?”
Cullen’s expression soured. “Fine, but don’t try anything stupid.”
Drake handed Cullen a helmet. “Put it on.”
“You’re awfully damn pushy. Are you a cop or something?” Cullen stuck the helmet on
and climbed behind Drake.
“Security. Oggie was the cop, not me.”
“What’s the difference?” Cullen asked in Drake’s ear.
“I get paid a helluva lot better.” Drake reached back and grabbed Cullen’s hands. “Hold
on or you’ll get dumped.” He roared away from the barn, pleased with his ability to fake his
knowledge of the damn thing.
Once they made it to the first pasture, Drake stayed as far away from the cattle as
possible. “Did he say exactly where they’d be?” he asked Cullen.
“East field.”
Drake had no idea where that was but he turned the snowmobile and headed east. Each
time they ran over a bump, he thought he heard Cullen chuckling in his ear. He decided to
give the guy a thrill and gave the snowmobile more gas, intentionally aiming for the slight
rises in the landscape.
Within minutes, Cullen was laughing. It was music to Drake’s ears, and the further they
went, the bigger smile on his own face. He slowed to a stop at the gate into the now-empty
cornfield. “I suppose this is what he’s talking about,” he said, seeing fresh tire tracks in the
snow.
Cullen jumped off and went to open the gate. “Make sure to close it securely,” Drake
said, driving through to the other side.
Before Cullen had a chance to get back on the snowmobile, they heard loud laughter.
Looking around, Drake couldn’t see anyone. “Let’s go.”
Cullen straddled the seat and wrapped his arms around Drake’s waist. They drove up a
gentle hill and stopped at the top. In the valley just below, Oggie was pulling an old car hood
with the tractor. In the centre of the hood was a laughing Mandy, spread eagle and looking
up at the sky.
“Huh,” Drake grunted. It was nothing like the sledding he’d seen in the photos online.
“Have you ever seen that before?”
Cullen shook his head. “No, but it looks like fun.” “Yeah. You ready to eat some crow and join them?” “Might as well. We’ve come this far.”

By the time they returned to the farmhouse, everyone was frozen from their nose to their toes. Oggie ushered them inside. The mid-November storm seemed to be getting worse and a part of him hoped Drake would be forced to stay the night. The day had been magical, and he wasn’t ready for it to end. “Hot chocolate?”

Drake reached out one gloved hand and shoved Cullen until he toppled over onto his side. “You suck at snowball fights.”
Oggie braced himself for Cullen’s quick temper, but instead the younger man started to laugh. “I seem to remember landing a decent hit to that big ear of yours,” Cullen countered.
Drake tore off his gloves and threw them at Cullen. “I don’t have big ears.”
Oggie joined Mandy in picking up the dripping outerwear. “Let’s put ‘em in the bathroom and shut the door,” he suggested.
“I think Cullen had fun today,” Mandy said, dumping the boots into the bathtub.
“Don’t tell him that or you’ll ruin it.” Oggie grinned. He draped the coats over the shower rod and stepped back. “Let’s go start a fire and make some hot chocolate. With luck, the easy mood will continue.”
“You like him, huh?” Mandy asked, following Oggie out of the room.
Oggie stopped at the thermostat and adjusted the temperature. “Yeah, but I’m ready to settle down, and that goes against everything he stands for.”
“So show him.”
“Show him what?” Oggie turned to face Mandy. It was ridiculous that he was taking romantic advice from an underage ex-prostitute, but long-term had always evaded him.
“That putting all your love and faith into one person doesn’t have to end badly,” she whispered.
Oggie nodded. He knew Mandy had done that with her grandmother and it was obvious Drake had centred his world around his mother. Maybe he wasn’t crazy for listening to Mandy after all. “How do I do that?”
“Slowly.”

Drake’s side. “Did Cullen finally agree to sleep upstairs?”
Drake blew on the steaming hot chocolate. “Yeah, but only after Mandy reminded him
that he’d have to put his wet clothes back on to trudge through the snow to the dorm.” Oggie grinned. “I don’t think I could run this place without her.”
“Sure you could. Accept it, man, you’re good with them.” Drake set his cup on the table
and wrapped an arm around Oggie’s shoulders. “If I haven’t already told you, thanks for
inviting me out here today.”
“I thought you’d enjoy it.” Oggie placed his mug next to Drake’s and accepted the
offered affection.
“I did. Surprised the hell out of me, but I did.” Drake tried to gather his feelings and put
them into words, something he’d never been good at. “I wanted to call the other day.” “So why didn’t ya?” Oggie pushed.
“There’s a mess I’m dealing with at work.” It wasn’t the truth, and it was a lame excuse,
but Drake refused to admit his fear. “Besides, the way we left things at the airport, I assumed
it would be better if I didn’t show my face around here again.”
Oggie turned sideways on the sofa and stared at Drake. “If you can’t see me as an
equal, then, yeah—I need to let you go.”
Drake shook his head. “And if you can’t accept that it’s in my blood to protect the
people I care about, I’d say the same thing to you. I told you before—my concerns have
nothing to do with your ability to take care of yourself.”
Oggie scooted closer to Drake. “Can we start over?”
“Nope,” Drake replied. “I’ve already gone farther with you than anyone else, starting
over would be going backwards, and I don’t want that.” His gaze roamed the dark interior of
the living room, illuminated solely by the burning fireplace. There was such a stark
difference between Oggie’s home and his own. He wondered if it was possible to fit into such
foreign surroundings. He waited a few beats before speaking. “Have you got any soup?” “Sure. Why? You hungry?” Oggie asked.
Drake smiled and pulled Oggie against his chest. “No, just checkin’.” He rested his
cheek against the top of Oggie’s head.
“Did you have a good time today?”
Drake nodded, knowing he could never truly convey his feelings of the day. Not only
was it his first time playing in the snow, but laughing with Oggie, Cullen and Mandy had
shown him some of what he’d missed growing up. He ran his hand up and down Oggie’s
back.
Drake cleared his throat. “I felt like I was around friends today.”
“You were.”
Although the desire to call Oggie a friend was there, Drake knew he hadn’t earned it.
Hell, he knew almost nothing about Oggie other than how he was injured. “Where’re you
from?”
“Originally? Just outside Cleveland.” Oggie stretched out his legs and rolled to put his
head in Drake’s lap. He smiled up at Drake before closing his eyes.
“Are your parents still alive?” Drake probed.
“Yeah, still living in the same house where I grew up.” Oggie crossed his arms over his
chest, and Drake couldn’t help but feel warm all over when Oggie didn’t bother hiding his
stump in the crook of the sofa. “I see them a couple times a year, but we don’t really have
much to talk about.”
“Because you’re gay?” Drake’s mom had accepted his sexuality without question, a trait
he’d always held dear.
“Who I sleep with has nothing to do with it.” Oggie opened his eyes and gazed up at
Drake. “I love them and they love me.” He shrugged. “They’re my parents, not my friends.” It was vastly different from the way Drake was raised. “My mom was my only friend,”
he revealed.
“That’s sad.”
It was Drake’s turn to shrug. “It was easier.” Thinking of what he’d been through as a
boy with kids his own age still had him feeling angry. He couldn’t understand why his
friends had become so cruel once they found out about his mom’s disability. “Mom started
homeschooling me when I was seven because I was being bullied. She believed it was the
only way to protect me.”
Oggie sat up and looked Drake in the eyes. “I would’ve protected you,” he whispered. Uncomfortable with compassion, Drake broke eye contact and directed his attention to
the fire burning in the hearth. “I’ve learned to protect myself.”
Oggie nodded. “Yeah, I got that.” He leaned in and kissed Drake’s clenched jaw. “You
don’t need to protect yourself against me.”
Uncomfortable with showing his underbelly, Drake turned and captured Oggie’s
mouth in a deep kiss. It was the need to regain power over the situation that drove him,
pushing him to attack the interior of Oggie’s mouth with his tongue, forcing them both down
on the couch. He was comfortable with the physical, relished giving his partners the fuck of a
lifetime.
In a frenzy, zippers were undone and shirts torn off. Within a matter of moments the
two men were naked amongst a pile of clothes. Drake rolled Oggie under him and bracketed
the rancher’s face with his hands. Oggie was so damn open. Emotions that would’ve scared
Drake in the past stared back at him with an honesty so pure, he quickly became lost in them.
Words that he’d never spoken to another man were on the tip of his tongue, but he
swallowed them and moved in for another kiss.
With each sweep of his tongue, Drake prayed his feelings were conveyed without the
use of words that couldn’t be taken back. The moment was perfect and more than he’d ever
hoped for, but tomorrow was another day, and the good times never lasted. He reached
between them and rubbed his palm against Oggie’s erection. Even Oggie’s cock felt different
from the others he’d touched. It wasn’t the anatomy or the size—it was attention to detail
Drake took in his exploration. Suddenly he wanted to kiss and study every inch of Oggie’s
body.
“Should we move into the bedroom?” Drake asked, rubbing his thumb over the head of
Oggie’s cock.
In response, Oggie nodded and thrust against Drake’s hand.
Wanting nothing more than to sink his cock deep into Oggie’s ass where they lay,
Drake groaned and rolled off the couch. Despite his own erection impeding his movements,
he got to his feet and held out his hand.
Oggie automatically reached out to accept the offered gesture before realising he’d
extended his right arm. He tried to pull it back, but Drake shook his head and grabbed the
soft skin of Oggie’s stump.
“I’ve told you, no hiding.” Drake bent over and kissed the thin skin.
Oggie’s Adam’s apple bobbed several times. “Okay.”

In a sensual daze, Oggie turned off the lights and gathered the discarded clothes before joining Drake in the bedroom. He dumped the pile just inside the room and stared at the man displayed on the bed. Sexy couldn’t begin to describe Drake’s chiselled body, illuminated perfectly by the glow of several candles burning on the bedside tables.