“And you’ll be the monk, all naked beneath your brown habit, ready to be raided?”
Something inside of his body did a little jig at the thought of being raided by Clay. A wash of energy was entering him, which must be how dry earth felt after the rains finally came. The only sound he could make in response to this was a low gurgle, which made Clay laugh a little bit as he snuggled closer.
“I’m not going to touch you anywhere, except like this.”
Tucking his head beneath Austin’s chin, Clay made a contented sound, like someone who has come home at long last. Which sent Austin’s heart leaping, and he dipped down and kissed the top of Clay’s head, inhaling his scent, reveling in the feel of another’s touch, another human body. Soaking in the idea that Clay didn’t seem to want him to do anything or be anything other than what he was, and simply wanted to be with him.
“Goodnight,” he said in the darkness, thinking he might remember this moment for a very long time.
“‘Night,” said Clay with a huge yawn, a shift of movement against Austin’s body.
The darkness was quiet and took care of them till morning, though Austin was surprised to awaken with the room bright with sunlight.
Clay was wrapped around him like a starfish, sporting an erection that pressed against Austin’s bare thigh. Meanwhile, Austin’s phone ringing in his jeans’ pocket on the floor. It was Mona’s ring, which meant it could be about Bea, which meant he needed to answer it.
“Hey,” he said, lifting Clay’s arm to shift him a bit. “I have to get that.”
“Okay,” said Clay, his voice warm from sleep.
He blinked as Austin got up, seeming to accept that this was the way between them, like maybe it’d been this way for a very long time. Enough for Austin to feel quite comfortable in his boxer-briefs, unashamed for the first time since the whole lousy business had started that he didn’t have a morning erection.
Under the sheet, he sensed Clay was stroking himself, not to get off, but to get his cock to settle down, out of politeness.
“Hello?” asked Austin as he thumbed the call open. “Mona?”
“It’s me,” she said, in that pert way she had when she had news to deliver. Usually this was gossip about the neighbors or about something scandalous that had happened at the spa, but Austin didn’t care about any of that anymore.
“Is everything all right with Bea?” he asked to make her come to the point.
“Well, that’s the thing,” she said. By her tone, Austin sensed she was not alone. “Roger and I are going to take a quick trip to New Orleans for a long weekend.”
“What?”
“I would send Bea to Mrs. Delgado’s, but she’s full up, so I’m looking around for another full-time sitter for a few days.”
“What?” he asked again, more forcefully this time, though it didn’t make any difference. Mona’s plans were already in place while Bea’s needs were getting trampled underfoot. “She hates Mrs. Delgado’s as it is, but why would you send her to a stranger? That’s not right for Bea—”
“Well,” Mona said now, drawing out the word. “That’s all I got right now.”
Behind him, Clay had gotten up from the bed and was standing close, looking at Austin with that worried wrinkle between his eyes. He was adorable in all kinds of ways as he stood there in his white briefs, his body tanned in the way a farmer’s body is tan, from the shoulders down, and from the mid-thigh on down. Everywhere else was pale, dusted with gold and—Austin jerked his mind back to the conversation.
He didn’t know what he’d do to arrange everything, but he knew that he did not want Bea staying with a stranger, not even for a minute. She was plenty flexible for a nine-year-old, but this would be taking it beyond her ability to cope, beyond what was right for her.
And although he realized, with some kind of clarity that came from being on the ranch, and from being with Clay, that Mona had led the conversation exactly where she wanted it to go, he knew what he needed, no,wantedto do.
“I’ll take her,” he said. “I’ll come get her. Today. I’ll be there in a few hours, so make sure she’s ready to go.”
Without waiting for Mona’s response, he hung up. Maybe that was a dangerous thing to do, worthy in Mona’s mind of the fiercest retaliation, but at that moment, he was beyond caring. And, thanks to Clay, beyond thinking that all of this was his fault.
Maybe he was to blame for his bad choices, but Mona had taken advantage of a green high school kid, and was now willing to sacrifice Bea to tend to her own needs above those of her daughter’s. Which, in his mind, was the worst, shittiest thing she’d ever done.
“Mona’s going on a trip,” he said to Clay, holding his phone out like he’d be willing to sacrifice it if need be. “I can’t let Bea go with strangers—”
“Of course not.” Clay took the phone from Austin’s hands and took those hands, shaking slightly in his own, his skin warm to the touch, calming Austin. “We’ll get dressed. We’ll borrow Leland’s truck, of course. And then—”
“I’ll have to take days off to look after her, when I’ve only just started.” Austin’s mouth felt numb and except where Clay was holding him, he was cold, chilled beneath his skin. “Surely, Leland, as nice as he is, won’t like that.”
“Why don’t we ask him?” Clay nodded. “He always tells me it’s better to ask and get a real answer than imagine what might be.”
