Change of Heart - 10. Chapter 10

Dinner was grilled steaks for the adults, while Maria was happy with chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. There was some discussion concerning asparagus. She insisted it looked too “yucky” for food. Paul compromised saying she could eat it with her fingers if she would try it. Maria studiously watched as the grownups ate the green stalks. She picked up a stalk and examined it suspiciously. Finally, she bit off what could, by stretching one's imagination, be considered 'a small bite'. Most everybody stopped eating to witness her reaction. Both her Dads expected to see a seriously horrific expression of rejection. What they saw was a momentary look of surprise, followed by a totally blasé expression as if she ate asparagus at every meal.

The couple shared a look of incredulity. Aunt Mellie stated, “Maria has a very grown-up attitude toward food, she's willing to try something rather than to dismiss it without due consideration. Jeff refused to eat asparagus until he was sixteen and to this day refuses to eat Brussel Sprouts.” It was obvious to the grownups that Aunt Mellie was trying to praise Maria's choice as well as influence her future behavior. Jeff refused to acknowledge his Aunt’s remarks.

“That's ok Daddy Jeff, I don't eat Brussel Sprouts either. I tried them and they taste a lot like they look, yucky.”

After dinner, Jeff texted Rosarita to see if the decorations were finished. What he got back almost immediately was a Santa emoji along with two thumbs up.

After supper, Raymond asked the men to again join him in Joe's office. This time Ilya took over the discussion, “For the immediate future you gentlemen will have a security detail with you 24/7. Jeff, your housekeeper has set up rooms for three of my security team to stay at your house. As of this moment, all driving will be done by one of my team members in our armor-plated Suburbans. One man will be left at your house at all times. As you travel you will have one man for you Jeff and one man for you Paul. Should the Princess travel with… ahem… Miss Mellie, they will also have an armed chauffeur.

Without waiting for questions or complaints Ilya continued, “We have beefed up security here at the ranch also. Video surveillance will be set up at both residences. Motion activated sensors around the houses as well as all outbuildings. Dust resistant smoke detectors with remote only alarms are being installed in the barns and stables. The cameras, as well as alarms, will be monitored 24/7 from on-site offices.

“Tomorrow, we will begin fingerprinting every employee on the ranch including the cook and every cowboy. This will not be fully accomplished for two weeks or more due to the holidays. Adams employees worldwide have been fingerprinted as part of their prerequisite background check for years now. The ranch as a completely separate entity didn't fall under that umbrella. That is to change effective immediately. Present and future cooks and cowboys will be subjected to the same scrutiny as the top level executives.”

Joe guiltily admitted, “Jeff, son, if it turns out that we have an attempted murderer working on the ranch… well, it’ll be all my fault. Your Dad and I talked it over years ago and didn't see any need for any serious background checks before hiring cowboys and farm labor.”

Jeff placed his hand on his Uncle's shoulder. “Uncle Joe, neither you nor Dad could have foreseen any problem with the way this ranch has been doing the hiring for generations. A cowboy shows up looking for work and we need another man it's usually just a call to the last place he worked and he's hired.

“We don't know that can of diesel fuel came from our ranch. Hell, I hate to think any man, let alone one of our ranch hands, could do something so low as to set fire to a man's home. But, if it turns out that it's one of our guys. We…” At this Jeff's eyes met Paul's. “We don't want you to take any blame for it. That fault lies squarely on the shoulders of the bastard that started that fire. And whoever he is, he will pay for that.”

Joe stood up and pulled Jeff into a warm bear hug. Taking that to be a sign the meeting was over, the other men stood also. As they did, Joe, still embracing Jeff, reached out to bring Paul into the hug, “This family always sticks together.”

Paul couldn't help but notice, a flash of sadness flitted across Raymond's face at Joe's inclusive remark. The big Russian was his usual stoic self.

Everyone was busy saying goodnight in the hallway when out of the blue, Maria chimed in, “Daddy, what's a faggot?”

A hush washed over the group as each seemed to freeze. Paul was caught with just one arm in his coat. He slid in the other arm in with what he hoped was a casual move. He knelt down to meet his daughter’s quizzical look. “Honey, that's a bad word. Where did you hear that word?”

“Today. Me and Uncle Joe was at the stables. I had an apple for Bluebell. He was talking to somebody at the office. I went to Bluebell’s stall and was about to give her the apple when one of the men who works there looked at me real mean like and said, “Your Daddy is the bossman’s little faggot.” I dropped the apple and ran back to Uncle Joe. When I looked back, the man was gone. I just remembered it just now.”

Ilya knelt alongside Paul and reached out to gently caress Maria's hair, “malyshka, that word he said is a bad word and we think that man is a bad man. Do you know his name? Have you seen him before?”

Looking into Ilya’s caring smile Maria nodded vigorously, “I don't know his name, but he sometimes saddles the horses and cleans out the stables. He helped bring out the horses yesterday, the first time me and Daddy and Daddy Jeff went riding together and Mr. Tom gave me Pistol.”

Paul's gaze shifted up to meet Jeff's. Jeff nodded then asked, “Princess? Did this man say or do anything to frighten you before?”

“No. He used to just smile and sometimes say hello. But, he looked mad and mean when he brought the horses out yesterday.”

Uncle Joe said, “That has to be Josh Morgan, he was hired by Tom Braxton not quite a year ago. I noticed he looked upset and I talked to him for a minute after y’all rode off. He said he just got some troubling news from back home. He said it was nothing he couldn't handle. Ilya smiled warmly at Maria, exchanged looks and nods with Raymond, and excused himself.

Aunt Mellie pleaded, “Jeff, Paul won’t y’all stay the night? We got the room and I would just feel so much better knowing my boys and Maria were safe.”

Jeff and Paul exchanged looks and nods before Jeff answered, “Aunt Mellie we are both armed. We have bodyguards for each of us and the house has a security alarm. We will be fine.

With a tone that ended that discussion, “Now, do you want to pick up Maria or would you like for us to bring her here for your shopping trip? You might recall that Maria has a new room that needs to be decorated to please a Princess.”

Maria became very animated at the very mention of shopping for herself as well as her room.

Aunt Mellie sighed resignedly, “Alright if you're sure you all will be safe. I’ll come by around eight. We’ll go to Abilene and make a day of it. Joe insists we take a chauffeur so at least I won't be worn out by all that traffic. Besides if we go in one of those Suburbans we’ll have plenty of room. Of course, some things will still have to be delivered.” That last line diminished in volume as she began mentally shopping for her very own niece.

Raymond stepped away to answer his phone. He rejoined the group saying, “Apparently Morgan has been living with Tom Braxton. We have men heading over to Tom’s place now.”

Joe clarified, “Tom lives in a house over near the big lake, about a fifteen-minute drive.”

Raymond followed up with, “I’ll let you know what we find out. If Morgan knows anything about the fire, Ilya will get it out of him. You all can rest easy, your escorts are waiting on the porch for you.”

Jeff could tell Paul wanted to find Morgan, beat the hell out of him for scaring Maria, and then beat him to find out about the fire. He pulled his lover into his arms and offered assurances that everything that could be done was being done. Of the three faces watching them leave, only Raymond’s seemed confident in light of this latest revelation.

On the porch, they were met by Sam and Dave. These guys were slightly less gigantic versions of Ilya including identical leather jackets. Both appeared friendly with nondescript midwestern accents. Sam took Jeff's keys and quickly swapped the booster seat into one of the Suburbans. Dave stayed busy scanning the surrounding area and mumbling into one of those secret service earpieces. Paul realized that neither Raymond nor Ilya wore those things like Sam and Dave had in their ears. He wondered, just how big is this 'security team'?

Paul and Jeff, in the backseat with Maria between them, used the ride time to assure her that Sam and Dave were to be considered friendly and if anything unusual ever happened she was to follow their directions. Sam offered he had a niece, almost as pretty as Maria. In the middle of asking one of the ten zillion questions she had concerning the two… Maria fell silent and offered a muted, “It's beautiful.” Then, definitely louder, “It looks like a Christmas fairy tale.” When the Suburban came to a stop in the drive, Maria turned to Jeff, “Daddy Jeff, is this your house? Aunt Mellie said we would be living with you at your house. Is this your house? I've seen this house lots of times. It never looked this pretty. Is this really your house?”

Jeff could clearly hear the unspoken plea,”Please let this be your house!”

He took her fidgety hands in his to still them. Lightly brushing his fingers along her rosy cheek he said, “Princess, this is our house. Your’s, mine and your father’s it’s my hope that you and your father will live here with me forever.”

Maria released her seatbelt and sprang into his arms, “Oh Daddy Jeff, I never knew you lived in a Christmas fairy tale place. When we used to pass by, it was never lit up.”

“Well it used to light up like this at Christmas time when another family lived here, but that was many years ago. Maybe the house needs a family to make it light up and be happy.”

Jeff was impressed with what Rosarita had accomplished. White lights wrapped around the trunks of the oak trees in the front yard while twinkling fairy lights lit up the shrubbery. Larger lights outlined the eaves of the front porch and a lighted wreath adorned the front door. Just like in all his Christmas memories, a fully decorated Christmas tree was on display in the picture window. Jeff was really impressed, Rosarita and her Christmas elves would definitely get a nice bonus in their Christmas stockings.

Inside the house, there was a bit of a party going on. The whole house was decorated with a subdued holiday flair. Lighted candles, holly wreaths, and Poinsettias were displayed liberally in each room. Maria, without heeding the warnings from both her Dads, ran from room to room trying to soak in all the magical adornments.

Rosarita and her team of four had been enjoying a variety of hors-d'oevres and soft drinks in the den/living room. After introductions, which included another member of the security team, Fred, Rosarita presented Jeff with a very old, very familiar, hand carved, wooden box.

Jeff took the box and knelt in front of Maria, “Princess, when I was a very young buckaroo, it was my job to put the Christmas angel on top of the tree. Now that you are living here I think you should have that job every year. Think you can handle that job? You have to be very careful. She’s very old and fragile. She has sat atop our Christmas tree since when my grandpa was a boy and that's a very long time.” With that Jeff reverently lifted the lid and revealed a very tired looking angel whose halo and golden hair were permanently askew. Her dress, originally white, was now discolored with age and a couple of indeterminate stains. In spite of the wear and tear and old age she still smiled beatifically upon everyone. Paul and Jeff held Maria securely aloft as she did the honors. The deed was celebrated by a hearty round of applause for a job well done.

Paul pulled Seth Hines, his part-time assistant and apparent Christmas elf, aside. Paul apologized for giving cash for Christmas but explained most all the gifts were lost in the fire. Seth was immediately thrilled at receiving the three fifty dollar bills. Then he tried to return two of them to help with Paul's financial loss due to the fire. Paul reassured him that his insurance would take care of everything. The truth was, he had renters insurance but wasn't sure what was covered in case of arson/faulty wiring.

Jeff got caught up in explaining some of the more personal ornaments to Paul and Maria. Each one seemed to bring warm memories of Christmas past. Maria, as she sipped on her marshmallow laden hot chocolate, was enthralled with each story. Paul just soaked up shared memories of his partner’s childhood.

When the “elves” made clear their intentions to leave, Jeff went to see them out. Expressing his heartfelt gratitude he handed each a one hundred dollar bill. He made sure they understood that was a bonus on top of what Rosarita had promised to pay them. He was touched when he learned they had done all this simply as a favor to Rosarita. They had each refused her offer of money. A lot more folks had wanted to help when they learned it was for the little girl whose house had burned down so close to Christmas. The elves had asked only to be allowed to hang around to see Maria's face when she first saw what they had accomplished. They considered that payment enough. After hearing this, Jeff pressed another hundred dollar bill into each elves hand. They, in turn, wanted to offer the money to help Paul with any unforeseen expenses. Jeff assured them that his insurance would take care of everything. Secretly he wondered what he could expect from a loss due to arson/faulty wiring.

Rosarita had cleaned up with the insistent help of her elves. When it was time for her to go, Jeff made it clear he was overwhelmed by the decorations. He made her wait in the hallway while he stepped into his office. When he returned he pressed five crisp one hundred dollar bills into her hand, saying, “I know Uncle Joe is paying you, so this is just for rising to the challenge and coming through in a big way. I won’t forget what a splendid job you did. I consider it a personal favor from someone who I hope will become a good friend.” Rosarita stifled an adult squeal of delight and promptly planted a wet sloppy kiss on Jeff's cheek by way of thanks.

Paul witnessed the exchange and the kiss as he stepped into the hallway, “Well, I’m glad I got here in time for the show.”

Jeff jumped back from Rosarita like he had been surprised by a rattlesnake. Paul laughed so hard he collapsed into Jeff's arms. “You should've seen your face. You looked like you had stepped in shit when she kissed you.”

“Very funny asshole. For your information, she hit on me when I first got here and for a second I was afraid she had forgotten I’d told her I was gay. The kiss was innocent, but I wasn't sure you would see it that way. After you thinking I fired Tom... well, I didn't want to give you any reason to get upset.”

“Don't worry I heard every word. I was just giving you a hard time.”

Rosarita laughed along with Paul, admitting that while she seemed to have an effect on Jeff it was not one that led to hot steamy sex. “Besides.” She confided, “I got my sights set on that hunk, Fred. He's the only straight guy here tonight. So don't be surprised if I have to stay over a night or two just for the sake of expediency. And don't either of you dare tell your Aunt Mellie or my Aunt Rosa or I’ll put itching powder between your sheets or maybe a scorpion in your boots. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?”

Jeff and Paul gulped at the same time and nodded together like a couple of bobble-headed dolls. Neither wanted to get on her bad side. Fanning herself with the cash she whispered, “That man gets me hot just looking at him. Make sure he knows that before morning. Me entiende?” Again they nodded as Rosarita made her exit.

After putting Maria to bed with Pistol. The guys joined Sam, Dave, and Fred, the latest addition, in the den. Fred had shown the other two their room already. Sam and Dave insisted they didn't mind sharing a room even if it had a single queen-sized bed. Paul shared a look of understanding with his lover. Sam and Dave decided to take a walk around outside before turning in.

Jeff offered Fred a brandy as he poured one for himself and Paul. Fred declined the offer explaining he never drank while on assignment except for an occasional beer on his days off. Jeff asked if he was from the local area, but wasn't surprised to find Fred was a farm boy from Indiana. He had moved to Dallas after college for this, his first job. He definitely perked up when Paul told him Rosarita had asked about him. His dark eyes sparkled when Jeff implied she was more than a little interested in him. When Jeff offered her phone number the poor man was practically drooling. He quickly entered the digits and excused himself to go to bed. Jeff and Paul smirked, both betting some jerking off was in Fred’s immediate future, whether before, during or after a certain phone call.

It seemed that Fred had no more than gotten to his room than he was with them again. This time with a lethal looking pistol in hand and wearing a grim expression on his face. “The Soul Men found a note on the windshield of the Explorer parked outside. Let's go into the dining room, it has no windows.” With that, he led the way and then posted himself so he could watch the front door as well as keep an eye on Jeff and Paul.

They all heard a distinctively patterned knock at the front door. Seconds later Sam and Dave entered, both with weapons drawn. Sam laid a single sheet of printer paper on top of the dining room table. In large type was printed, “You should have took the hint from the fire, faggot! Leave town NOW!!! Or DIE!!!”

“Mr. Orlov and Mr. Cargill have been called and are on their way.” Sam informed Jeff and Paul.

In the time it took to brew a pot of coffee the kitchen filled up with testosterone. Ilya and Raymond had brought two more subtly armed men, both wearing that ubiquitous leather jacket. A third, smaller, man followed, carrying two laptops one was brand new and lightweight the other was larger and obviously used.

Jeff and Paul were introduced to the new arrivals. The one with the laptop spoke with a very thick Russian accent and not surprisingly was introduced as Ilya's nephew, “Tink”. The family resemblance was strikingly absent. His nephew weighed about one third as much as Ilya. His features were much more scandivian, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Not to mention the fact that Tink was only about 5' 8". Tink explained that his real name was unpronounceable to Americans and had no “anglicized comparative”. He was happy to be called Tink since that was what he did, he “tinkered” with everything.

Paul couldn't help but smirk thinking “Tink” was obviously not a Disney fan. Meeting Jeff's bemused gaze he could tell his lover was thinking the same thing.

Setting up at the conference table in Jeff's office, Tink explaining that the older laptop had been found in Josh Morgan's room at Tom Braxton's house, plugged it in and turned it on. As it tried to load up he began typing and inserted a thumb drive. He explained that he was bypassing the need for a password. Later on, he would obviate the need for a password without ever really knowing what the original password was.

Soon it became obvious that Josh Morgan was a professional burglar. He had a collection of articles regarding unsolved burglaries along with those that Ilya's man had reported. Apparently, he kept the published articles as an actor might keep reviews of his work. Some he had scanned and others were collected from online newspapers. They seemed to be concentrated around southern Idaho and Northern Utah. Three were in Snowville, Utah. Jeff scrolled through the contacts on his phone, tapped one and put the phone on speaker as it rang.

“Hello? Jeff is that you?”

“Hey, yeah it's me. Tom, we got a problem here. I got you on speaker phone. I need you to tell me what you know about Josh Morgan.”

“Look Jeff, I told him to move out while I was up here at my sister’s place. If he's caused you any trouble, I'll hunt him down and kick his ass. As to what I know about him, he seemed like a pretty stable guy when I met him up here, about this time last year. I told him to look me up if he ever came down to our neck of the woods. He showed up early February, flat broke, looking for work. He knew how to ride, so I gave him a job as a stable hand. He's been staying in my spare bedroom. I tried to teach him more so he could make a better hand and we could pay him more, but he just didn't want to learn.

“Jeff, who all’s listening. I don't want to embarrass anyone. I need to know before I say much more.”

“We’re in my office at my place. I got Paul Wilson with me and a security team is here with us. Just so you know we're a couple now. I would've rather have had this discussion with you face to face. I think you'll agree this phone call was necessary. Paul and Maria are living with me since Josh Morgan burned their house down last night. We figure since Paul's Explorer was parked in the drive Morgan probably believed they were both inside. Luckily, the only one at home was their dog and we saved him. So what more can you tell us about this theivin’ bastard.”

A heavy sigh, a short pause, then, “I met Josh, like I said, up here about a year ago. We had a good time in and out of bed. Once I came back to Texas, I figured I'd never hear from him again. It shocked the shit out of me when he called less than two months later. Tell the truth, I had nearly forgot about him. He told me a promised job with a relative in Dallas had fallen through and he had come to town looking for me. He said he was flat broke and hungry. I gave him directions to my house. I got him set up in my spare bedroom and got him fed.”

“He wanted to sleep with me in my bed and I explained to him that would be taking advantage of him. I made it clear I wasn't interested in setting up housekeeping with another man. We could be roommates with occasional benefits but he would sleep in his bed and I would sleep in mine. I cleared it with Joe and put him to work. He was an okay worker and a so-so roommate. He wanted sex with me more than I wanted it with him. He’d sulk up any time I’d go to Dallas for the weekend, cause he knew I’d most likely hook up with some guy. Hell, he was servicing two other ranch hands and an older veterinarian in town. Of course, I never let on like I knew. I figured that was his business. Things started to come to a head when I started paying attention to you, Paul. That was about a month or so ago. I had always been attracted to you since the first time you come out to the stables with Joe. I never thought you was interested in men until recently.

“Remember I assisted you in foaling Titan’s Thunder. We were a mess and we wound up showering together in the bunkhouse. I saw how you looked at my, uh, body and I knew right then you was interested. I damn near grabbed for you, my hand was reaching out… and that bastard Josh came into the shower room saying something about your equipment and how he was sorry to interrupt us. He looked all pissed off and accusing like he just caught us about to fuck. Truth be told we were both chubbed up.

“Well, we had words that night. I told him, if I could, I wanted to get to know you a lot better. I had already fell in love with the Princess, I figured it would be no stretch at all to fall for her sexy, good-looking father. The next day I had a buying trip up to Nebraska. By the time I got back things seemed pretty much back to normal. I didn't see you again until I came back from Las Vegas. I could tell you and Jeff was interested in each other, but I thought I still had a shot. I even considered canceling my trip up here. Looking back I’m guessing I was already too late.

“Well, Doc you got yourself a fine man there. Jeff, I hope you realize how lucky you are, coming home when you did. Sure as hell, given another week or two you’d had some competition. And if that bastard hadn't interrupted us in the shower… oh well.

“After y’all rode out and Joe went back up to the house, Josh came into my office. He was spitting shit mad. Saying I was leading him on all this time and how I was fucking that ‘little faggot’ vet behind his back. He insisted I find a new vet for the ranch. He had the balls to mention the very one he was already fucking. It was then I hit him with what I knowed about his sexual escapades, including him getting fucked on a regular basis by that married vet. That took the wind out of his sales. He calmed right down and said he would take care of things, while I was gone. He said he would move his stuff into my bedroom when I got back from Idaho. Then we could be together like I promised when we first met. Well, that took the cake. I told him he had come here on his own. I had helped him get back on his feet with a place to stay and a job. Now, I wanted him out of my house before I got back on the 27th. He should look for another job while he was finding a place to live cause I’d enough of his crazy bullshit. And that was the last time I spoke to him or seen him.”

Jeff filled Tom in on the fire, the comment to Maria, and the note. Before he could finish Tink spun the laptop around and showed everyone a bank account in the Cayman Islands with a balance of $263,786.00.

He clicked through a series of photos of what appeared to be Josh Morgan and Tom in a variety of X rated poses. There were a few photoshopped showing them in wedding finery, taking their vows and more than a few apparently taken on their tropical island honeymoon.

Jeff recognized Tom in all his manly glory. Those photos were definitely NOT photoshopped. Paul openly stared at the hairy, horse hung, handsome man, that was Tom Braxton. Jeff openly growled at Paul’ interest. Paul had the balls to grin and shrug at Jeff as if to say, “A guy can look.”

“Tom did you ever willingly pose with Morgan for some explicit photos?”

“HELL NAH!!! What makes you ask that?”

“Well, we’re looking at the stills from what appears to be you and Morgan starring in a pretty raunchy gay video. Oh, there are shots from y’all’s wedding and there's some from your tropical island honeymoon. Oh, and by the way, that bastard has a quarter of a million dollars in a Cayman Island bank account. Which I think will shortly be donated to a suitable and deserving gay charity.” This last accompanied a questioning look at Tink who simply grinned and nodded.

“Hell, if I’d known the little cocksucker had that kind of money I might have looked at him differently.”

“You lying bastard, I got a helluva lot more than that in several different bank accounts and it never changed the way you looked at me.”

“Seriously Jeff, I’ll be on the next flight out. I can't stand by and let that shithead hurt people I care about.”

“Tom, there is nothing you can do here. We’ve got a handle on things here. Enj.” Suddenly a beep and a flash from his phone let them know Tom had already hung up.