Stonegate Stables - 40. Chapter 40

Right after Thanksgiving the weather took a turn for the worse – cold and drizzly with gusts of wind that went right through your clothes – and stayed that way. Katie’s next event was cancelled due to weather with no make-up date scheduled. That meant she had to win both remaining events to pull off a championship. The promoters lucked out the next weekend; Sunday was cold and windy, but dry enough to jump.

It was only about 70 miles away, so Matt, Paula, and I dressed for the arctic and climbed into Matt’s Lexus. Corleone’s had three big catering gigs that day, which meant Vincent had to work. He waved goodbye to us as we pulled out of the drive, and I gazed out the rear window, thinking longingly of the fire in the den and a steaming mug of hot chocolate.

The show grounds were on the outskirts of a small town north-west of us in some rolling hills. The arena was down in a hollow, so that you could sit on the slopes to watch the action. The hills cut the wind a little, and as we spread a blanket on the grass, the sun came out. Paula had packed some cheese, crackers, and fruit, and it was quite pleasant as we munched before Katie’s class was called.

Her main competition came from a dark haired boy on a quick little mare. I watched them in the warm-up arena, appreciating the kid’s tight butt in his snug jodhpurs. He was good, but if Katie was on her game and Calvin behaved, she was better.

Unfortunately, it didn’t look like one of Cal’s better days.

As I watched, he pranced sideways across the ring, head high and ears waggling, not listening to Katie at all. He had always been iffy on windy days and today was no exception. Adam was watching them from the fence, shaking his head in frustration. Katie rode him hard, trying to wear him out a little, but it didn't look to me like it helped much.

The boy and the mare went before Katie. The mare was a clean jumper, knocking only one rail down when he let her get in too deep on a wide oxer. She took down the front pole, but went the rest of the round clean, ending with four faults. He trotted out of the ring with a grim smile, knowing he had left the door open.

Katie came into the ring a few riders later, fighting Calvin as he rolled his eyes at the jumps. Poor Katie, I thought to myself, and I was right. She made it over the first three fences with no problem, Calvin jumping big and free, drawing ooohs from the crowd each time he left a foot and a half between his belly and the top rail.

Things came unglued on the water jump. Katie didn’t have the spacing just right, so he took off too far back. He gave a huge leap, but one rear foot came down in the water with a mighty splash, sending an icy geyser up between his back legs. When the cold blast hit his balls, he spooked sideways and began to buck, big crow-hops that were impossible to sit. Katie bounced off on the third one, sailing into the air another five feet before heading for earth and landing with a thud on her left side.

Cal continued hopping across the arena, kicking and snorting like a rodeo bronc while Katie sat up slowly, grimacing and holding her shoulder. Adam got to her quickly, helping her to her feet as the ring steward finally caught Calvin. I saw Adam shake his head which meant Katie couldn’t continue, so we quickly packed up the food and blanket, and headed for the ambulance. Katie was sitting in the open rear doors, crying as the medic gingerly felt her arm and shoulder. When he diagnosed a broken collar bone, Katie was pissed.

Then she started to really cry, so we let Paula take over. Adam and I untacked Calvin and loaded him into the trailer as Paula signed release papers prior to taking Katie to the hospital. Cal was still full of himself until I gave him a couple hard yanks and yelled at him. He settled down a little, but I doubted I’d have been much more successful on him today than Katie had been.

Matt drove Paula and Katie to the emergency room, so I rode home in the truck with Adam. It was a quiet drive, except for the occasional thump as Cal planted a foot into the back door of the trailer. We were almost to the barn when Matt called Adam with the news that Katie was getting fitted with a sling and a brace, but wouldn't require surgery.

“Thank goodness,” I commented as Adam clicked his cell closed.

He glanced at me with a sympathetic smile. "Your shoulder still bother you?"

"Now and then. Usually just when it's really cold, or I've overworked it. Vincent makes me do those damn exercises, and that helps a lot."

Katie came by the barn a few days later and found me in my office. "I'm sorry," she said, looking close to tears again.

I looked at her in puzzlement. "What for?"

"I wanted to do good. I'm riding your horse and I wanted you to be proud of me."

I pulled her into a careful hug and spoke into her hair. "Oh, Katie, I am proud of you, honey. You did great. Calvin's a bitch to ride sometimes, and Sunday was just one of those times."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna kick ass next year!"

I chuckled at her. "I'm sure you will."

The evening of the second Wednesday, David and Matt were rambling on about their cozy day spent sketching each other in the snug warmth of David’s studio, with a fire in the grate and Bonnie snoring on the hearth rug. Vincent was adding details of his day spent in the bustling kitchen at Corleone’s where the big industrial stove heated things up nicely.

I, on the other hand, had spent the day out in the weather freezing my ass on a variety of frisky horses, all of whom spent most of the time I was on them trying to dump me back off. Throughout the day I had acquired a severely bruised kneecap when Priscilla tried to scrub it off on a fencepost, an extremely painful scrape on the back of my left hand when one of Maddy’s evil new horses shoved me against the wall, and a throbbing headache from being clouted behind the ear by a broom handle that blew over from where it had been standing against a wall.

After fifteen minutes of listening to how wonderful everyone else’s day had been, I’d had enough and stalked upstairs to get some aspirin for my head. Vincent came into the bathroom just as I was attempting to pry the point of the cuticle scissors under the edge of the child-proof aspirin bottle lid.

“Jesus, give me that. You’ll poke a hole in yourself.” He calmly removed the lid, shook two pills into the palm of his hand and held them out to me. “Why are you in such a vile mood?”

“Cause I’m sick of cranky horses, stupid owners, and people with warm jobs!” I burst out. “I’ve been cold for a fucking month.”

I felt like a whiney child as soon as the words were out of my mouth, but Vincent just smiled.

“Well, then, let’s get you warm.”

He started the shower, and then removed his clothes. When he was naked, he stripped me, and then maneuvered us both into the steamy water. When I’m really cold, a hot shower is the only thing that helps, and Vincent had the water hot enough to boil lobsters. After three minutes our skin was bright red and the room was totally fogged in. He turned the water off, switched on the heat lamp in the ceiling, and grabbed a big towel. As he rubbed me dry, I could feel every nerve ending in my skin tingling.

He left me there, wrapped in a towel, while he went into our room for clothes. After he had me dressed in warm, fleecy sweats, we went back down to the kitchen where Matt was just adding a couple more banana pancakes to a big pile on a platter. The four of us sat at the kitchen table and admired the drawings David and Matt had done that day.

Most of them were face studies – a three-quarter profile, or just an eye and a cheekbone, several of their mouths in various expressions. A couple were full head studies, and I found myself lingering over these. Matt had sketched David with his head tipped to the side, eyes closed, and a faint smile curving his lips as if he were lost in a favorite day dream. It was a lovely drawing, and I glanced at David, thinking again what a shame it was that this sweet, gentle man was spending his life alone.

After dinner David was washing dishes while I dried when the gate intercom buzzed.

“Yes?”

“Sean?” Levi’s gruff voice boomed through the speaker, startling David, who dropped the spatula back into the dish water with a splash as he turned to stare at me.

“What’re you doin’ here? Come on in.”

I buzzed him through and we all trooped to the front door to greet him. His truck came to a stop just past the front porch, and when he got out and turned toward the light, David gasped. The left side of Levi’s face was raw and bruised, his eye swelled nearly shut, and his lip split and oozing. He had one arm in a sling and limped as he walked slowly to us.

“I dropped the trailer at the barn and asked Tommy to put the horses up. Hope you don’t mind too much."

“Of course I don’t mind. What the hell happened to you?”

We were gathered around him by now, helping him up the steps and into the warmth of the house. When I slid an arm around his waist, he winced.

“Careful,” he wheezed. “I got a couple busted ribs.”

We got him settled onto the couch in the den, boots off, feet propped on the coffee table, with a glass of whiskey in his hand. After he took a big sip, I prompted him.

“So…… did you get mugged or what?”

He chuckled dryly. “Nah. I prolly coulda handled that. I got stupid and entered the senior bull riding last weekend. Hell, I watch them boys do it every week – how hard can it be?”

“You’ve never ridden bulls before?” Vincent asked incredulously, recalling their hulking presence at the rodeo.

“Yeah, yeah, when I was a kid. Been a while, but I figured I’d be all right. Well, I drew me a big old sonofabitch who threw me off in two seconds and stomped on me for ten more. I hurt fuckin’ everywheres.”

He took another big sip of whiskey and dropped his head back against the couch. “I expect it's a bit much to ask, but can I maybe stay here a while till I heal up some?”

I was about to say ‘of course’ when David said, “No.” We all looked at him. His face was red, but he was staring at Levi. “Come home with me." When Levi hesitated, David added, "Please."

Levi glanced at me for a second before turning back to David. “I’d like that, if you’re sure."

"I'm sure," David smiled, tucking the quilt around Levi's legs before sitting down next to him. Levi settled a big hand on David's thigh, giving it a squeeze as he tipped his drink up. I watched them throughout the evening - David seeing to Levi's comfort and Levi responding with a gentle touch or a soft word of thanks - and decided I'd been wrong to think them an odd combination. David was a kind, giving person, and Levi, while being a gruff old bear of a man, was good-hearted, and it would be interesting to see where this went.

By nine Levi was asleep on the couch, so we loaded his gear into David's car, then woke him and helped him out the door. I watched their tail lights for a few seconds before turning off the porch light and following Vincent up the stairs to bed.

On Friday I crossed paths with TJ at the barn, almost running him over as I trotted around the corner on Ginger. He hopped out of the way as I pulled her up.

"Hey, almost got you. How was Looooosiana?" I asked, stretching it out as Del had done the night we'd met him.

TJ grinned. "It was great. We get along so well." His smile faded, and he looked up at me. "But his whole life is there."

"You don't wanna move?"

He shook his head. "No, I love it here. You've been really good to me, and this is my home now. Besides, we barely know each other."

That was true. Three fuck-filled weekends weren't much to base a relationship on. I thought of Vincent and me, how we'd known each other for so many years before we'd decided to be together. I looked down at TJ, dejection in his blue eyes and the set of his mouth. We gazed at each other for a few seconds before I leaned down from the saddle and kissed him on the mouth. “I know it’s not much consolation, but you’re young yet. Play around some more before you get too worried about settling down.”

He nodded glumly, and I rode off to practice the reining moves Cody had shown me the day before. I hadn't told anyone yet, but I had secret aspirations of entering the amateur division in some reining competitions next year. I missed the thrill of competition - the butterflies, the satisfaction of performing well - and reining was way safer than jumping. But I wasn't nearly good enough yet, so I was practicing every chance I got.

Cody’s birthday was that Saturday, and Wade threw a bash for him at the barn. We cleaned out the stallion barn after moving Calvin to the west barn for a few days. Vincent arranged to cater it, and Wade hired a country band with a square dance caller. If you haven’t square danced, it looks pretty hokey, but once you get going it’s a blast and we were all looking forward to it. Wade invited everyone – parents, friends, neighbors – so that by the time party night rolled around, the barn was full of nearly 100 people.

The band warmed up with several two-steps and line dances. I was tapping my toe on the sidelines when Vincent came up behind me and swept me onto the floor, his arm strong across my back. We danced well together and stayed on the floor through the next few songs until Danny cut in. His broad shoulders felt so different under my hand than Vincent’s lean physique and I smiled at him as we shuffled around the floor.

“How things going with Gabriel?” I asked him.

He waggled his head back and forth. “Okay. Nothing like you and Vincent, or Wade and Cody,” he added, looking to where they were talking, heads close, smiling into each other’s eyes. “I’m not gonna settle for less than that.”

Good luck, I thought to myself. In my experience, relationships like mine with Vincent didn't come along often.

Dylan showed up and spent some time on the dance floor. I saw him whirling my mom around at one point, and the next time I noticed him, he was arm in arm with TJ. I finally cornered him by the beer tub.

"Hey, glad you could make it."

"Yeah, I'm headed for Dallas and figured I'd stop in."

"More depositions?"

"No….." He paused, and I looked at him more closely. "I met someone," he said quietly, looking away from me out the door.

"Really? That's great. He’s a lawyer?"

"No, he's an investigator with the DA's office. He's helping us on a case. Name's Ryan."

"When do we get to meet him?"

He shrugged. "We've only spent a few days together. I'm staying at his place tonight for the first time."

When I reached for him, he came willingly, laying his head on my shoulder for a moment. "Good luck," I told him. "I hope it goes well."

He nodded and blew out a breath. "Me too."

A bit later, I saw David carrying two plates of food and followed him to where Levi was sitting. His scrapes looked marginally better and the bruises had turned to yellow and green. He was laughing as Wade's dad told the punch line of a story, his head thrown back and one hand slapping his knee. When David handed him a plate, Levi gave him a quick look and spotted me.

"How you doin'?" I asked him, patting his shoulder gingerly.

"Better, thanks to this guy," he replied, nudging David with an elbow. "He's got me takin' vitamins and drinkin' some awful green shit -"

"It's just green tea," David said to me, rolling his eyes.

"- that makes me piss a lot, but I do feel better. And he's a great cook. Good thing I'm working some of it off each night or I'd be gettin' fat again."

David blushed an attractive shade of pink and shook his head, eyes closed, but he was smiling, and I hoped Levi would make a graceful exit when the time came.

We ate our way through big trays of lasagna and fettuccini, baskets of garlic bread, and big bowls of salad, drank gallons of red wine, and finally, around 11pm, we cut into a huge chocolate cake, after watching Cody blow out the requisite 29 candles. He closed his eyes tightly as he made a wish, then opened them and grinned at Wade.

It was a fun night, and we didn’t get everyone out of the parking lot until 1:30 in the morning. Vincent and I put the lids on a few of the salvageable food trays, loaded them into the car, and drove home through the cold, still night. We pulled up in front of the house, and as I began to get out of the car, Vincent stopped me with a hand on my arm.

“Let’s take a walk,” he said softly.

It was two in the morning and butt-freezing cold, but the moon was full in a cloudless sky and Vincent was looking at me beseechingly, so I zipped my jacket up under my chin and took his hand as he led us down the drive. I walked for a bit with my head tipped back, looking at the billions of stars scattered across the sky and watching my breath puff out in front of my face, trusting Vincent to not let me fall in a hole. By the time we reached the community garden, I was warmed up and enjoying the quiet of the neighborhood.

He didn’t seem to have any particular agenda; we just wandered silently along the deserted streets. He shoved our joined hands into his coat pocket, and as we walked, I could feel his body move against the back of my hand. The flex and bunch of his muscles excited me, as it always does, and I did at least half the walk with a hard-on in my jeans.

At one point he squeezed my hand quickly and nodded his head toward a pair of coyotes trotting quickly across the street about fifty feet ahead of us. I hadn’t seen any in a while and was glad to know they were still in the area.

When they’d slipped into the darkness behind a fence, I turned to him. “Anything the matter?”

He smiled at me then and let go of my hand to put his arm around my shoulders. “No, I just wanted some quiet time with you. And I needed to walk off too many margaritas.”

Eventually his meandering led us back to our house, lights shining welcomingly from the kitchen windows, where Vincent let us in the front door. As he pushed the door shut behind us, he pulled me around by the hand, pinning me to the hard oak with his hips as he took my face in his hands and leaned in to kiss me. That had predictable results and soon we were on the floor in the hall, pants around our knees, thrusting against each other in the chilly darkness, the carpet rubbing a raw spot on my tailbone.

Vincent climaxed first - a rarity when he’s with me - grunting into the curve of my neck as he hunched over me. The gush of hot cum spurting across my cock triggered my orgasm, and I added to the wetness between our bellies. After a moment he rolled off me, still breathing hard, and wiped us up with the party napkins he’d stuffed in his pocket earlier in the evening.

His quiet mood continued for a few days. I didn’t press him for an explanation, and he never gave me one. It was just one of those odd spells that all relationships go through now and then, but I wondered about it.

Christmas was low-key this year. On Christmas Eve it was just Matt, Vincent, and me. Adam had flown back to see his folks, and wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning. We picked up Chinese from Su-Lin and ate it in front of the fire in the den as the wind blew leaves sideways past the window, and then exchanged presents after supper. The three of us had agreed to make donations as our primary gifts, and to give one another relatively small gifts.

Despite the fact that he had a healthy bank account, Vincent had been lusting after a leather briefcase he'd seen in one of my horse gear catalogs. He couldn't bring himself to buy it, saying that his old one was just fine, so I had ordered it for him. It was a rich, dark brown, the leather soft and supple, and I knew he was thrilled with it, even though he gave me an oh-you-shouldn't-have look when he opened the package. I'd gotten Matt a smaller portfolio version now that he was beginning to have more paperwork associated with his burgeoning portrait business.

Matt had gotten us a smorgasbord of underwear - everything from mesh thongs to silk boxers - each individually wrapped. We spent an arousing twenty minutes modeling a few of the most interesting ones, parading back and forth across the den, before tossing them back in the box with plans to fully explore them later in the evening.

Vincent had given Matt a contract to paint his parent's portrait. Corleone's had a grand fireplace in the main dining room, over which hung a nice but uninspiring print of a country scene. Vincent planned to hang the portrait for Corleone's 50th anniversary, as a surprise for his folks. Matt would be able to do the painting without having them pose since he was in and out of Corleone's all the time, and could sketch them when they weren’t looking.

When we went up to bed, Matt hesitated for a moment outside his door, and then turned to me. "Can I sleep with you guys? Or do you want to be alone? I mean, I know it's Christmas Eve, but -"

I stopped him with a kiss. "Of course you can." I felt that opportunities to sleep with Matt were going to come along less and less often, and I didn't plan to waste one, Christmas Eve or not.

We all put on our favorite undies - me in a pair of white bikinis with a rhinestone arrow down the front, pointing the way to my dick; Matt in hot pink spandex boxer briefs that showed every vein in his cock; and Vincent in a black jock that made him look like a porn star. His dick is big even when it's soft, and the jock made it look like he had a large cucumber and two apples in there. He swaggered around the bedroom with a leer until I shoved him down on the bed and dove into his crotch.

Soon all the underwear was on the floor and the three of us were in a tangle - hands, mouths and cocks attached to each other in various combinations. Matt was more active than usual, initiating position changes and kissing us with abandon. Not that he wasn't normally fun in bed, but tonight was different, and I wondered about it as he panted under me. When Vincent pulled his dick from Matt's mouth, Matt's eyes locked to mine as I stroked into him more quickly, unable to wait any longer.

As I began to cum, Matt let go, arching his head back into the pillow with a groan, and Vincent rose to his knees next to us, his deep red erection straining in his pumping fist. He came last, splattering Matt and me with a fountain of creamy white droplets.

When we settled down to sleep, Matt made no move to leave, so I fell asleep Christmas Eve with Vincent's arm across my chest and Matt's leg over mine. His hand was lightly holding my arm and I could feel him twitch now and then as he dozed off.

"I love you guys," I whispered, staring up at the dark ceiling as they breathed evenly on either side of me. Neither replied, and I closed my eyes so that Christmas morning would come.

Adam's flight was on time, so Matt left to get him around eleven. David and Levi were due mid afternoon for an early dinner, giving Vincent and me time to make the rounds of our folks and a few friends. We spent a pleasant hour with Katie, Paula, and Jack. They were leaving in the morning for a week in Tahiti. Katie's collarbone was healing nicely, and she was looking forward to getting some sun.

Wade and Cody had gone to visit Cody's daddy. Davis had broken an ankle in a cutting mishap when the calf darted right into the horse he was riding. All three went down in a heap, and the horse had rolled across his leg. He was healing fine, but was cranky and lonely, so they were spending the holidays with him.

Danny's dad had invited him out to dinner, and after some deliberation, Danny had decided to take the olive branch his dad was offering. I knew Danny had been much more upset by their estrangement than he'd let on, and I was happy that things were slowly working out. Sometimes people just need time to get used to a new idea.

TJ declined my invitation, saying he just wanted some time to himself. School was on break for the week, so he packed up the truck, loaded Ginger in the trailer, and went camping up in the hills for a few days. I had no idea if he and Del had tried to make plans for the holidays or not, but they weren't getting together, near as I could tell. I felt bad for him, but long-distance relationships are difficult to maintain. Hell, relationships when you're both in the same town are tough enough.

Matt got back to the house with Adam at 2pm, and we had just started in on the eggnog when David's car pulled in. I watched from the kitchen window as Levi took a pie carrier from David and handed him out of the car. I let them in the front door, smiling when Levi settled a big hand on the back of David's neck as he followed him down the hall to the kitchen.

Now that he had someone to care for, David simply glowed. He smiled easily, laughed at small things, straightened the perfectly fine collar of Levi's shirt when he passed behind his chair - all the little things a person falling in love does. Levi accepted it all with warm glances and the occasional touch, falling naturally into the role of taker, rather than giver.

The six of us had a wonderful afternoon, eating, drinking, and listening to Levi's tales of rodeo life and Adam's stories of life among the wealthy. I have a fair amount of money, but I don't live like Adam's folks do, with a cook, several maids, a chauffeur, a few yard men, and a masseur on call, so it was interesting to hear about his clothes being laid out by the upstairs maid before he woke up each morning. I couldn't really imagine having someone that involved in my everyday life, but I guess you get used to it. We teased Adam about how tough it must have been to pick out the right shirt and pants when he moved out of his folk's place.

After dinner, everyone adjourned to the den with pie and coffee. I made a kitchen run for more creamer and Levi trailed after me. He had an odd look on his face when he spoke in a low voice.

"Sean, I need to talk to you."

"I know what you're gonna say," I replied a bit abruptly. "Just do it as gently as you can cause I suspect he's in love with you."

"Do what?" Levi was staring at me with his mouth open, blinking in surprise. "Jesus, did you think I was leavin' him?"

"Aren't you?" I asked, confused now myself.

"Fuck, no! I was gonna ask you if maybe I could rent some stable space, and try to get something going around here." He looked down at the floor for a moment. "I'm as hooked as he is. I’m gonna stay if he'll let me."

"No shit. Well…… I figured you’d hit the road as soon as you felt better."

"Yeah, that was kinda my original plan, but……... I never reckoned on settlin' down like a married man, but he makes me wanna."

I smiled at him, so pleased that I wouldn't be consoling David after Levi's departure. "Sure, we can get you set up at the barn. Let’s talk about it next week."

Everyone stayed till eight or so, and then it was just Vincent and me in front of the fire. The flames leaped and flared as Vincent’s heart beat steadily under my cheek. His hand caressed my leg, sliding slowly from my knee to the crease of my thigh, stopping now and then to nudge my balls. We began to kiss, leisurely exploring each other’s mouths in long, wet kisses that had me whimpering softly into his mouth. When his knee pressed firmly up between my legs, I moved against him, dragging the underside of my erection along his hard thigh.

Soon we were making love, me face down on the floor, him covering me, his cock buried deep. He rocked us to completion, and then settled down next to me. The last thing I remember was hearing Vincent whisper, “I love you, Sean. Merry Christmas.”