Cattle Valley Mistletoe Read online

  “Ya think so?” Hal asked. He tried to keep a straight face but failed miserably. “Charlie Brooks is a damn fine looking man.”

  “Stop right there, Mr. Kuckleman, before you bite off more than you can chew.” Casey pinched Hal’s leg.

  “Good thing I prefer blonds.” Hal pulled into the garage and turned off the ignition. “What about your arm?”

  Casey unbuckled his seat belt and sat up. Moving his arm up and down a few times, Casey nodded. “I figure if it feels good enough for me to be horny, it’s good enough to work.”

  Hal looked at the gorgeous man next to him. After everything he’d done, Casey still wanted him. “Really, you’re horny?”

  “Always,” Casey said. He leaned in and ran his tongue over Hal’s lips. “My arm may be sore, but my ass is fine.”

  Hal’s cock sprang to attention at the image. “Shit, let’s get you inside. We only have a couple hours before we have to get to work, and I plan on fucking you several times.”

  The feeling of being stretched and filled was pure bliss, Casey thought as he lay under Hal. He could see Hal’s concentrated effort to go slow and Casey shook his head. “Take me, I’m not hurting. But I might be sore in a few hours when the pain pill wears off. Better take advantage of it while we can.”

  Hal’s brow rose as he slid out of Casey’s body before slamming back in again. “Oh yeah, like that,” Casey groaned, trying to lift his ass off the bed, his fatigue from earlier gone the minute they’d hit the sheets.

  Casey closed his eyes briefly as Hal’s thick cock brushed his prostate gland. Making himself open them, he stared into Hal’s eyes. He could see the heat as well as the love in their blue depths. Casey felt like Hal was burrowing into his soul, trying to figure out the answers he so desperately needed.

  Despite the punishing rhythm Hal had set, Casey managed to lift a hand to the bigger man’s face. He cupped Hal’s cheek before moving his hand to the back of Hal’s neck. Pulling him down for a kiss, Casey worked his tongue against Hal’s. He sent up a silent prayer to please help his lover heal.

  Breaking the kiss, Casey closed his eyes and whispered, “I love you.”

  With a grunt, Hal’s body began to tremble as he emptied his seed into the rubber. Casey wrapped his fingers around his cock at the beautiful sight above him. The utter contentment on Hal’s face helped push Casey over the edge, ropes of cum bursting from his cock, painting his stomach and chest. Before he could even come down for his climax, Hal was lapping at his stomach.

  The image of Hal greedily licking him had Casey thanking modern medicine. Hal had been thrilled when Casey handed over his blood test results. Now if only they could get Hal’s report back. Sam promised it would be ready the next day, and Casey’s mouth watered at the thought of finally really tasting his lover.

  “You’re so hot,” Hal moaned, licking his way around Casey’s pebbled nipples.

  With an unexpected yawn, Casey wiggled. “Sorry, I think the day is catching back up with me.”

  Hal scooted up to rest his head on the pillow beside Casey’s. “Why don’t you try to get a few hours sleep?”

  “What about you?” Casey asked, snuggling against Hal.

  “Not sure, I might get lucky and drift off, but I still have a lot rattling around in my head.”

  Kissing Hal’s cheek, Casey sighed. He hated not being able to help Hal in his quest, but he’d already said everything he had a right to, now it was up to Hal. The best Casey could do was to be by his side in case he fell.

  Chapter Eleven

  With a large thermos of coffee tucked between his thighs, Casey rode beside Hal toward the church. He was a little apprehensive about what they’d find. Hal had indeed, finally fallen asleep sometime in the early hours of the morning and they’d both slept through the alarm.

  Now it was going on eight in the morning and Hal was driving a little too fast on the winter roads. “Getting there five minutes sooner isn’t going to help us much if we have a wreck on the way,” Casey commented.

  “Huh?” Hal asked.

  Casey pointed toward the speedometer. “Oh,” Hal said, easing his foot off the gas pedal. “Sorry, I was thinking about everything I’d need to do.”

  “I thought you hadn’t seen the damage yet.”

  “I haven’t, but I’m sure the sheetrock will need to be redone. I’ve already called an electrician this morning. I still don’t know where I went wrong, but I’m man enough to know when an expert in the field is needed to figure out my screw up.”

  “Don’t,” Casey warned. He knew Hal felt guilty, but they were both alive and the addition was just a room. As he gazed out the window, Casey tried to mentally balance his personal cheque book. He knew Hal said he’d pay for the repairs, but if they were going to have a partnership, he wanted them to share in everything. Casey thought he had a pretty nice cushion, especially if he was going to be spending a lot of time at Hal’s. He could turn down his heater enough to keep the pipes from freezing yet save a fortune on heating costs.

  As they neared the church, Casey reached out and put his hand on Hal’s leg. He wasn’t sure what he felt more nervous about, him seeing the damage or Hal. The sight of the church coming into view surprised the heck out of him. “What’s going on?” He asked, turning to look up at Hal.

  “I don’t know,” Hal replied, parking the truck.

  Casey looked around in amazement. There had to be around ten trucks in the parking lot along with a couple of SUVs. He recognised Nate’s right away as well as several of the other vehicles.

  He got out of the truck and waited for Hal. Walking hand in hand they made their way to the entrance. The first thing he noticed was a new door and frame already in place. Flashes of Fire Chief Manning breaking down the door to get to him had Casey shaking his head. “When did they have time to do this?”

  Hal shrugged. “I knew nothing about it.” Pushing open the door they walked inside. The room was alive with workmen, each doing a different task.

  “There you two are,” Nate said, coming over to stand beside Casey. “How’re you feeling?”

  “Okay,” Casey mumbled. He gave his head a quick shake before looking back at Nate. “What’s going on?”

  Nate rubbed his jaw and grinned as he looked around the room. “Well, Ryan, Rio and I got to talking after you all left the clinic and decided it was time the town stepped up a little more. We put a few calls in and this is the result.” Nate spread his arms out as Casey looked around.

  He noticed that most, but not all the men working were members of his congregation. A slow smile spread across his face as the dimming spark once inside him began to brighten. Casey looked up at Hal. “This is what a congregation is all about, pulling together in times of need to accomplish an almost impossible goal.” Casey felt fired up. Without thinking he clapped his hands together. The sting in his arm was a quick reminder that although the spirit was willing, the body was crap.

  The look of concern on Hal’s face as he reached for him soothed Casey’s arm in no time. “I’m okay,” Casey assured him.

  Hal gave his temple a quick kiss. “Why don’t you be our supervisor until you’re well enough to use both hands?”

  “A supervisor, cool,” Casey grinned. He looked around the room again trying to figure out what had already been unfinished and what had been damaged. “Where are we at, Nate?”

  “Well, we had to rip down most of the wallboard over on the east side. Collin’s going over the electrics now to see if it was the coffeepot or the wiring.” Nate winced and looked at Hal. “Sorry.”

  Hal waved his comment away. “I called Collin earlier to ask him to check it out.”

  “Well, so far I don’t think he’s found anything, so that’s good.” Nate pointed toward the pile of wet and broken sheetrock. “Ezra called one of his cowboys to bring in a cattle trailer to clear away the mess. We’re actually lucky you hadn’t gotten the floor in yet. The guys had to replace a couple of wall studs that surrounded the e
lectrical box, but other than that and the wallboard, it’s mostly cosmetic. I think we should be done in plenty of time for Christmas Eve. Of course most these guys will have to go back to their regular jobs tomorrow, but they’ve promised me a few hours in the evenings.”

  It was then Casey realised it was Sunday. He looked at his watch. “Church is in an hour and a half. I know you probably already have someone set to fill in for me, but I’d like to say a prayer and a few words.” Casey noticed the way Hal turned his head away to watch the men.

  “I’m gonna get busy,” Hal said, giving Casey’s hand a squeeze before pulling away.

  After an hour spent taping and sanding seams, Hal noticed the men start to go into the restroom, one by one before disappearing through the door to the church. He looked over at Ezra James. “You going to church?”

  Ezra shook his head. “Nah, I’ll leave that for the others. I feel God as much in this part of the building as that. You?” Ezra asked with a grin.

  Since Hal’s feelings regarding religion were common knowledge around town, he also grinned and shook his head. “If I went to church it would only be to ogle the Reverend Sharp. No, I think I’m much safer where I am.”

  Ezra seemed to study Hal for a few seconds before going back to work. Hal ran his hand over a spot he’d just sanded, testing its smoothness. “You think we’ll be able to get everything done in time?” Hal asked.

  “Doesn’t much matter, but yeah, I do.”

  “What do you mean it doesn’t matter? Why are you here on a Sunday if it doesn’t matter?” Hal set his sanding block down and wiped his hands on the rag tucked into the front of his jeans.

  “Because this whole process isn’t really about this room. We can have a Christmas Eve party in it whether it’s finished or not. It’s about healing a community, and the way I see it, you’ve already started us on the path of forgiveness.”

  Hal was shocked by the statement. “Me? I haven’t done anything but try and burn the damn place down.”

  “You’re wrong,” Ezra’s deep voice dropped even lower. “Despite what is or isn’t between you and God, you brought this church’s congregation together to give us a wake-up call. I’ll admit I don’t know the Reverend as much as I should by this time, but you’ve made us all see we can’t hold him or the church accountable for what someone else in power did. We were hurt by someone we trusted, and we tried to fob those feelings off on Reverend Sharp. With a few choice words, you snapped us out of that. Made me feel downright ashamed of myself.” Ezra started sanding again. “That’s what you did, and I thank ya.”

  Ezra didn’t say anything more. As a matter of fact, Hal couldn’t remember the huge man saying that many words combined in all the years he’d known him. When the hymns started next door, Hal felt the words filter through his mind. Images of him and his mother standing side by side singing those same songs had tears pooling in Hal’s eyes.

  “Excuse me, Ezra, I’m gonna go to the hardware store and get the paint I ordered.” Hal left without looking at Ezra or waiting for a reply. He just desperately needed to get away from those songs. As he closed himself into the cab of his truck, the songs still played in his head. He realised it was the memories causing him to run and not the actual songs.

  Putting his head on the steering wheel, Hal let a few tears slide down his cheeks before quickly wiping them away. Ezra had been right. You can’t blame others for someone else’s mistakes. He knew that it had been wrong for the adults in his life to put that kind of pressure on an eight year-old. Hal knew until he worked out who was to blame for his mother’s death he’d never have peace. Should his dying mother have known better or the Reverend Marshall? Shouldn’t those who made him feel like he’d failed carry the guilt?

  The longer Hal sat, the more confused he became. His mom was young. Could he have done a better job as a single parent at the age of nineteen? Yeah, maybe he could have. He’d at least have gone to the damn doctor if he knew he was sick. He sure as hell wouldn’t have taken a chance like that knowing his kid would be all alone if something happened to him.

  The pain in his chest felt so real, Hal grabbed himself. The first thought that popped through his mind was heart attack, and then it suddenly became clear to him. He was angry at his mom for dying. She should have loved Hal enough to take better care of herself.

  Starting his truck, it became clear to Hal what he needed. Knowing Casey would worry, he picked up his phone and called Gill.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, I need you to do me a favour.”

  “Anything, I was just on my way over with some donuts from Kyle.”

  Hal grinned at the way Gill said Kyle’s name, all sweet and dreamy. “I need to go see Ada, the woman who raised me. Tell Casey I’ll be home as soon as I can and not to worry.”

  “Hell, man, I’m worried so you can bet Casey will be. What’s happened that you need to see this woman?”

  “I need to find out what killed my mother.”

  Hal knew he’d driven too fast when he arrived at Ada and Dave’s house in less than two hours. As he sat in front of the small white clapboard house, he thought about his life after he’d come to live here. He’d been so sullen and withdrawn he really hadn’t given Ada and Dave a chance to get close to him. He’d been consumed by anger and guilt. Looking back, he realised he probably should have been taken to get professional help, but Ada had been a housewife and Dave a mechanic. There would have been no money for such things.

  Standing on the small front porch, Hal had to raise his hand several times before he gathered the courage to knock. Within seconds, the door swung open and a rounded woman with grey hair stood in front of him. “Halden?” Ada asked, surprised to see him.

  “Hi. Mind if I come in?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, yes, please come in.” Ada stood back and Hal stepped in. The small house looked the same as it always had. He was thirty-eight and he was surprised to find that it was a comforting feeling. “The place looks great, Ada.”

  His surrogate mother looked around the small living room. “It looks the same.”

  “Yeah, it does,” Hal said wistfully.

  Ada blushed and gestured toward the kitchen. “Come on in and have a cup of coffee and tell me who I need to thank for this unexpected visit.”

  As Hal watched the older woman walk out of the room, he sighed. He really hadn’t been very nice to them. They’d taken in a stranger thirty years ago and had tried their best to be parents to him. Too bad he’d been too damaged to see it then.

  Sitting at the old scarred table, Hal studied Ada as she prepared a fresh pot of coffee. “I’m sorry,” he said. He hadn’t known he was going to say it out loud, but he felt better for it.

  Ada turned and wiped her hands on a towel. She came over and sat across from him. “For what, dear?”

  “Everything. The boy I was growing up, the man I’ve been up until now.” Hal swallowed around the lump in his throat before continuing. “I met a man.”

  “Oh?” Ada asked. Hal knew Ada and Dave had always suspected he was gay, but they’d never had the type of relationship to discuss it. “Is that why you’re here?”

  “Yes and no. I’m trying to work through a few things from my past.”

  The coffeepot beeped and Ada rose to pour them two cups. Setting Hal’s down in front of him, she took her seat. “Tell me first about your young man.”

  Hal took a deep breath. “He’s funny, loyal to a fault, cute,” Hal shrugged, “and he’s the reverend at the Cattle Valley Community Church.”

  “Oh my,” Ada said, touching her hand to her ample bosom. “Is he the reason you’re trying to work through things?”

  “Mostly. I love him, well, I love the man, but I’m struggling with his profession.” Hal stopped and took a sip of his coffee. “Do you know what my mom died of?”

  Ada looked shocked. “You mean you don’t?”

  Hal shook his head. “I was told by the Reverend Marshall and other members of the cong
regation that she died because I hadn’t prayed hard enough.”

  Ada made a sound in her throat and covered her mouth. “Oh my God,” she finally said. “I had no idea. When Reverend Marshall called to ask us if we’d take you in, he simply said you were a sullen, unfriendly sort and that we’d have our hands full. Dave and I couldn’t have children, so we thought God had brought you to us by way of Reverend Marshall. I had no idea a man of God could treat a child that way.”

  Feeling a tear escape down his cheek, Hal quickly wiped it away and cleared his throat. These people wanted him, despite what Marshall had told them. He had spent ten years living under their roof and had never reciprocated their love. Looking into Ada’s eyes now, Hal had no doubt despite the way he’d treated them, at least Ada had grown to love him. Suddenly it didn’t matter anymore, none of it.

  Casey had been right. It wasn’t God he was angry with, but rather his mother and her people. “Just tell me one thing. Would my mother have lived had she gone to the doctor for treatment instead of using prayer to heal her?”

  Ada sighed heavily and stared into the black brew. “Maybe for a while longer, but she would’ve passed regardless. She had acute myeloid leukaemia.”

  He didn’t know whether that made him feel better or worse, but it told him that his ability to pray had nothing to do with it.

  “Would you like to stay for supper?”

  Hal looked at the clock above the stove. It was only one o’clock. He knew they ate supper at five on Sundays. “I can’t today, but I’d like to bring Casey over to meet you sometime within the next couple of weeks. Uh, if you think it would be okay with Dave?”

  “What are you doing for Christmas dinner?” she asked, a smile warming her face.

  “Well, Casey will have services in the morning but nothing after that. Do you think the two of you would like to come and hear his sermon? You could come over afterward and we could all have a nice dinner. Maybe you should plan on just spending the weekend. I know I should’ve invited you over before.” Hal buried his face in his hands. “I’ve been so screwed up for so long.” He looked at Ada. “Please give me another chance.”