Home of His Own Read online

  Home of His Own

  Book Two of the Home series

  TA Chase

  Published 2008

  ISBN 978-1-59578-427-8

  Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing, 10509

  Sedgegrass Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46235. Copyright © 2008, TA Chase. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  Liquid Silver Books

  http://LSbooks.com

  Email:

  [email protected]

  Editor

  Ansley Blackstock

  Cover Artist

  April Martinez

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  Hardin Ranch, Wyoming

  “Tony, dinner’s going to be ready in ten minutes.”

  Randy Hersch’s voice echoed down the hallway. Tony Romanos rolled over in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He’d gotten in early that morning from Las Vegas where he’d finished fifth at the PBR Finals. Not where he wanted to end up, but he’d been hurt heading into the first round, so he wasn’t complaining too much.

  Pounding sounded on his door. “Tony, you awake?” Randy opened the door and stepped into the room.

  “If I wasn’t, your polite knock would have shot me out of bed.” Tony gave his friend a wink as he climbed off the bed. “Let me grab a quick shower and I’ll be out in a few.”

  “Sure. Hey, a letter came in the mail for you.” Randy turned to head out of the room as he delivered the news.

  He frowned. No one wrote him and very few people called him either. “Where’s it from?”

  “Postmark says Texas. Doesn’t your family live down there?” Randy stopped, turned and leaned against the doorframe.

  “They live in Austin and wouldn’t spit on me if I was on fire in the gutter.” Tony grimaced as his shoulder ached. His last bull at the finals had jerked his arm and pulled some muscles. He slowly raised his arm over his head to stretch.

  “It’s postmarked Austin, Texas. Are you sure someone from your family wouldn’t write you?” Randy was puzzled.

  Tony didn’t feel like explaining his family situation to Randy, even though he knew his friend would understand, given what a bastard Randy’s father was. “Doubt it.”

  “Are you done bothering him, love?” Les Hardin, Randy’s partner, appeared in the doorway, slipping his arm around Randy’s waist.

  “I wasn’t annoying him. Just chatting.” Randy nuzzled Les’ cheek.

  “I was teasing. Come on, let him get his shower. Margie doesn’t like serving cold food.” Les threw a grin over his shoulder at Tony as the older man lead Randy away.

  ‘Thank you,’ he mouthed.

  Les nodded.

  He headed into the bathroom. A hot shower and some good food; that would revive him.

  Ten minutes later, Tony joined Les and Randy at the dining room table. He knew they were both curious about the letter he’d received, but he wasn’t ready to talk about it.

  He hadn’t glanced at it where it sat on the hallway table. If it was from one of his family members, it wouldn’t be good news.

  “Will you be here for Thanksgiving?” Les spoke up as they began to eat.

  He thought about it. Before he met these two, he’d have found a ranch to work at until the circuit started up again. Now he knew he was welcome to come and stay for as long as he wanted. Hell, he even had his own room. With the PBR season over with, he didn’t have to be anywhere.

  “I’m heading over to Hawaii for the new all-star event they’ve started. It’ll be done the weekend before Thanksgiving. Think you guys can stand me for the winter?” He took a drink of his beer.

  Worry surfaced in Randy’s eyes. “We’d never get tired of you. Hell, this is your home now, Tony. We’d never turn you away.”

  Les grasped his lover’s hand. “He knows that. He was teasing.” Les’ dark gaze studied Tony. “I have a new client coming in this week. She’ll be staying for a week or longer. Depending on how well her horse responds.”

  Grateful for the change in subject, Tony handed Randy the bowl of mashed potatoes.

  “Does her horse have major problems?”

  Les usually worked with a client for a week. That short time was enough to give the rider and horse a foundation to improve upon.

  “I think the horse’s problem is his rider. She’s one of those types who think they know more than anyone else in the world. It’s hard on the horse because he’s a veteran campaigner.” Les shrugged. “Randy and I are moving Lindsay out to San Diego after Christmas. You’re welcome to come with us.”

  “How’s your big brother doing?” Tony took a bite of his steak while glancing at Randy.

  “Good. He’ll be here for Thanksgiving.” Randy chuckled.

  The conversation drifted to general topics and Tony managed to relax, forgetting about the letter for a while.

  After dinner, he reluctantly picked the letter up from the table. Randy was right. The postmark was Austin, Texas. He gritted his teeth and looked at the handwriting on the envelope. It wasn’t Tia Elena’s, but it was a feminine penmanship. Elena was the only member of his immediate family who wrote to him, though she was his aunt by marriage.

  He crumbled the paper in his hand and went through the kitchen.

  “I’m going out to the barn.”

  Les and Randy were washing the dishes. There seemed to be more water soaking their shirts than in the sink. Randy waved to him before leaning in to kiss Les.

  “Margie is going to be pissed when she sees the mess you’ve made of her clean floor.” Tony pointed to the puddle on the tile under their feet.

  “We’ll clean it up later.” Les snatched Randy by the waistband of his jeans and jerked their bodies together.

  Tony stepped outside, pulling his jacket on. Snow hadn’t fallen yet, but Wyoming had been hit with a cold spell. He tugged his hat down tighter and made his way down the brick path towards the small barn where Whiskey Sam, Les’ retired show jumper, was stabled. Sam and Sally Jane, the other horses stabled there, looked over their stall doors.

  He patted them on their soft noses and then went on to check the blind colt.

  A plaque hung on the colt’s door, matching the others in all the barns. Blindman’s Bluff was etched on the brass. The black colt eased up to the door, his hot breath bathing Tony’s cheek. Those milk white eyes stared out into the aisle way. Tony fed Bluff a piece of carrot he’d grabbed from the kitchen. After eating the treat, the colt moved off out of the stall into his paddock. Bluff would never be a saddle horse because of his blindness, but with his conformation, he might make a good stud. Tony smiled. Les was a good horseman and knew that a handicap didn’t mean the colt was useless. There would always be things Bluff could do.

  Tony went to the small tack room. Turning the light on, he sat down on one of the trunks that held Les’ extra tack. The letter crunched in his pocket. He tugged it out and stared down at it. With a sense of foreboding, he tore open the envelope.

  He pulled out a piece of paper. Unfolding it, he scanned down to the signature.

  Maria. Why the hell was his oldest sister writing him? His hand dropped, hanging between his knees.

  He hadn’t heard from any of his sisters since he ran away. He’d never even returned for his other sister’s wedding. Of course, Angelina had mar
ried the one man Tony never wanted to see again.

  He held the letter up to the light and read.

  “Dear Antonio,

  I would like you to come to Austin and talk to my oldest son, Juan. He is about to make the worst mistake of his life. You are the only one who can stop him.

  Your sister,

  Maria”

  Tony crushed the paper in his hand. He could only imagine what kind of mistake Juan was about to make and he wasn’t inclined to go be an example of what evil can befall young men. Should have known she had a selfish reason to want to see him. He tossed the letter in a trashcan and stood.

  He left the barn, but didn’t go inside. His friends were silhouetted in the kitchen window, kissing. He didn’t want to interrupt them. A neigh came from the training barn.

  Heading over to it, he went inside and decided to go for a ride. Maybe it would help clear his head.

  Leading a sturdy gelding from its stall, Tony saddled him and moved the horse out into the sunlight before mounting. He headed off to ride along the fence.

  Later that night, Tony sat on the porch, staring off at the shadows of the Rockies. He took a drag on his cigarette. It still amazed him how much Les’ ranch felt like home to him.

  The sound of the front door shutting made him look over his shoulder.

  Les stood, doing a visual check of the paddocks and yard. When Les seemed satisfied everything was right in his world, he turned to pin Tony with a speculative stare.

  “I brought you a beer.” Les handed him the bottle before settling in the chair beside him.

  Twisting the cap off, he took a swig. “Thanks. Where’s Randy?”

  “In bed. He’s taking off in the morning with Jackson for a show in Nevada.” Les rested his head on the back of the chair.

  “Head hurt?” Tony knew Les’ injury seven years ago made the older man susceptible to headaches.

  “No. Just tired. All the last minute stuff for the show and Randy’s dad has been causing problems again.” Les grimaced.

  “In a fair world, that asshole would be run over by a semi and put out of our misery.”

  Tony shook his head.

  “Thank God, life isn’t fair. I’d have never met Randy if his father hadn’t been a complete bastard.”

  “I guess there’s an upside to everything.”

  They laughed. Silence fell between them and Tony was comfortable with it. He’d never really felt that level of comfort before.

  “So, get good news in the letter?” Les’ question was deceptively casual.

  Tony chuckled. “I should have known you’d get around to asking.”

  “Be happy I waited until Randy went to bed. He’d badger you until you told us. I have more patience.” Les tilted his head and winked at him.

  Tony stood, wandering over to lean on the porch railing. He pushed his hat back on his head and stared up at the night sky. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you guys, but I needed time to work my mind around it.”

  Les stayed quiet, yet his presence gave Tony the courage to continue.

  “I ran away from home when I was fifteen.”

  “So young,” Les murmured.

  “Maybe, but I didn’t feel like it. My parents gave all their attention to my sisters.

  They were the golden children.” For the most part, he’d gotten over the jealousy and anger. “I spent a lot of time on my own. Then I figured out I liked boys and I no longer existed in their eyes. They acted as if I’d seduce all the boys in the town.”

  “Did you?” Laughter rang in Les’ voice.

  Tony shot a smug grin at Les. “I’d have tried, but in the end it wasn’t worth trying to convince them being gay wasn’t an illness.”

  “Don’t blame them. It’s hard to be different when there’s no one to support you.”

  Les shifted in his chair.

  Tony put out his cigarette in the ashtray Margaret, Les’ housekeeper, kept out for him. He took another drink. Did he blame those boys for doing what society said was right? Not anymore. The only one he remembered was Luis, his first boyfriend, and the scars from that relationship hadn’t faded.

  “I don’t blame them. It was hard, especially in my neighborhood where everyone knew each other and being different was considered a sin.” He heard the bitterness in his words. “I couldn’t take it anymore. So at the end of the summer when I was fifteen, I left my parents a note and took off. Got odd jobs where no one asked my age. Survived until I hit eighteen and then joined the rodeo.”

  Les’ hand gripped his shoulder and Tony let himself wish a little. Wish he’d met Les before Randy had. Wish he was a little less loyal and Les was a little less faithful. A hard squeeze and he accepted that fate knew what it was doing when it allowed Les and Randy to meet. Les had the easy-going nature to keep Randy’s temper from flying off the handle.

  “Have you ever gone back?” Les’ honeyed drawl broke into Tony’s thoughts.

  “No, not even when my youngest sister got married. Figured it wasn’t worth the drama. I keep in touch with my uncle’s wife. Just enough so she knows how to find me. I sent her your address since you know my schedule and everything.”

  “We won’t let you run off from here. Randy and I consider this your home.”

  Les’ words touched Tony’s heart, but a small part of his heart knew he wouldn’t be happy until he found a love like his friends had.

  “The letter’s from my sister, Maria. She wants me to come for a visit.” Tony’s hand tightened around the beer bottle.

  “After all this time?” Les frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. Did she say why?”

  “Yeah. She’s worried her son, Juan, is gay and I guess she wants me to talk him out of it.” He couldn’t imagine what his older sister was thinking to ask him to come home for that reason.

  “Do you think there’s something wrong with your parents? Maybe there’s another reason why she would ask you to do this,” Les wondered aloud.

  He shook his head. “Tia Elena would let me know if that was the problem.”

  “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

  “Not yet. I’ve still got that event in Hawaii. I won’t go before that, if I go at all. If it’s something serious, Maria knows where to find me.” He drained his beer. He craved a cigarette, but had made a vow to cut his smoking down. He’d had his last one for the day.

  Les hugged him. “Get through the next couple of weeks and come home for Thanksgiving. You can decide then what you’re going to do.”

  Blinking back tears, he said, “I will.” He savored Les’ closeness for a minute and then stepped back. “Go on inside. You should be with Randy tonight since I’m sure he’ll be gone for a week or so at the show.”

  “You’ll be okay?” Les’ caring gaze studied him.

  “I’ll be fine.” He would be eventually.

  Les brushed a kiss over his lips. “Good night.”

  “Night.” Another thought of ‘what might have been’ drifted across his mind as he watched Les walk away from him.

  He stuffed the feeling away. No point in wishing on something that couldn’t be changed. Randy and Les were perfect for each other. There wasn’t anyone else he could see with the young cowboy.

  Tony stared into the Wyoming sky filled with bright stars. He’d think about contacting his sister, but for now he’d worry about riding and enjoying his vacation in Hawaii.

  Chapter Two

  Two weeks later

  “Harder.”

  Staring down into the bright blue eyes of the man he was fucking, Tony grinned. He could do harder. He wrapped his hands around the blonde’s shoulder and started pounding into him. Mick? Mac? Fuck, Tony couldn’t remember his own name at the moment.

  The man’s lean tanned body arched under Tony’s as his lover placed his hands against the headboard and started to push back. He saw passion glaze those amazing eyes as he nailed Mac’s gland.

  “Right there. Again.” Straight white teeth
bit a plump bottom lip as Mac begged Tony to fuck him.

  Tony was happy to oblige. One particularly deep thrust and Mac grunted, his ass clamping down on Tony’s cock as warm semen spilled between them. He kept rocking, letting Mac’s climax milk his own from him. His hips jerked a few times and then he froze, filling the condom.

  “Fuck,” he groaned, locking his elbows so he didn’t collapse on the man under him.

  Mac’s hand shook slightly as he ran his fingers through Tony’s hair. “Wow.” A satisfied smile lifted his kiss-swollen lips.

  “Yeah.”

  Stunning conversation was beyond him at the moment. His mind just started to function enough for him to move away and climb off the bed. He took care of the condom, grabbed a washcloth for Mac. After cleaning them both up, he joined Mac in bed. The warm night air danced over his cooling skin. Leaning on his elbow, he looked down at Mac.

  “And to think I didn’t want to come to Hawaii.” Mac laughed.

  “It’s November in Wyoming. Snow and cold. Hell, I couldn’t get here fast enough.”

  Tony chuckled. “Usually, I’m looking forward to the time off, but not the weather.” He thought about his nephew, and his sister’s request.

  “The weather can’t be that bad.” Mac reached up, smoothing the frown off Tony’s forehead.

  “Not really. I’m used to it now. I was thinking about old issues rearing their head.”

  He didn’t want to talk about his family. “So what are you doing in Hawaii?”

  “I was working until today. I’m partners with two others in a personal security service company.” Mac trailed his hand down over Tony’s chest, teasing his nipples and smiled at him. “We hire out bodyguards for anyone who needs one.”

  “If you’re one of the owners, why are you here instead of some other muscle?” He played with Mac’s blonde curls. “Not that I’m complaining or anything.”

  “Hell, it’s Hawaii. Also, I’ve done some work for the client before and he asked for me again.” Mac yawned.

  Tony spooned behind Mac, wrapping his arm around Mac’s waist. He brushed a kiss over the man’s nape. “How about we grab some dinner after a nap?”