“You are too kind, gorgeous.” Xander turned him around and leaned him back so his hair was getting wet. He closed his eyes while his fingers massaged his scalp. “But you won’t have to worry about that, okay? Once you’re cleared by the doctor, we can talk. Until then, you’re just going to have to deal with me making you feel good.”
“I would joke about that being such a terrible life, but we both know that isn’t true. I’ll settle for it, though.” Wright was joking with him, but his stomach was knotted. He really didn’t have any experience when it came to sex, but he knew the gist. He watched videos. Clearly.
“As long as you’re with me, you’ll never have to go through anything like that again.” Xander said the words with such conviction. Wright smiled as he turned him back around again. He let the silence grow between them while Xander cleaned him.He used a cloth to wash his body, still being gentle around his ribs and side. He used his bare hand around his dick, stroking him a few times, to really get him clean as Xander whispered against his ear. It wasn’t anything more than a tease and he was left half-hard when Xander turned the water off and towel dried both of them.
He could finally get himself dressed without too much pain, but he still enjoyed when Xander helped him. The added kisses along his shoulders helped. Before he knew it, he was dressed and ready to go back outside. Xander was waiting for him by the front door with a blanket draped over his arm. “I asked Tracy if she could pack us a couple of sandwiches instead of eating supper with them. I hope that’s okay.”
“That’s fine with me,” Wright said. “How far are we walking today?”
“Not that far,” Xander said as they made their way over to the main house. “I was thinking we could walk around and then go up the field where William and Clark got married to watch the sunset. The sun is beautiful just over the hill when you look at the back of the property.”
“Have you talked to them recently? How is their honeymoon?”
“They have another week in the Bahamas, so I say they’re doing great. Brett is coming back next week. The tenants are all doing well in the houses, so he took an extra week off to be at home.”
“Tracy has been showing me pictures of him, his husband, and their little boy. He’s cute.”
“Which one?” Xander asked with a sarcastic tone when he opened the door to the house. Tracy and Patrick were both in the kitchen, clearly in the middle of dancing to a song playing on the radio. It was an older country song, one that Wright had heardbefore but couldn’t name immediately. “Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt the dancin’.”
“Nonsense,” Tracy said. She patted her hand against Patrick’s chest and smiled at them. “Patrick was distracting me anyway. I have your basket ready to go. Let me get it.”
Patrick looked from his brother to Wright and back, a small smile on his face. Wright held back, standing at the door, while Xander moved further into the house. He loved their family, but still sometimes felt like an outsider. It wasn’t anything that they did, just his brain catching up that he was in a safe place. He’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop and each day that it didn’t, he either felt better or that sinking feeling that something big was going to hit him grew. It was always one or the other.
“Heard you’re going on your first date tonight,” Patrick said lowly beside him. Xander was looking through the basket on the table, talking to Tracy. Well out of ear shot.
“Is it a date?” Wright looked up at Patrick. He was definitely Xander’s brother. They looked so similar, same eyes and build. Their noses were both curved to the right just slightly, not quite like a broken nose, more natural. Like a genetic thing. Xander’s smile was a bit wider, though. But Patrick walked into a room and demanded everyone’s attention.
“My little brother seems to think so,” Patrick said. “Do you not want it to be? If so, you might want to tell him that up front.”
“No, I do. I, uh. I like that idea. Of dates.”
“I’m glad to hear.”
“Glad to hear what?” Xander asked, walking back up to them with a smile.
“Nothing,” Wright said. “Ready to go?”
“After you.”
They walked for about fifteen minutes. The house was plenty far enough behind and there was nothing but empty fields around them. It was amazing to see. It made Wright feel small,but also free. The weather was perfect. They didn’t talk much as they walked. Wright offered to carry one of the items but Xander wouldn’t let him.
“It’s nice out here,” Wright said with a long sigh. He had walked around the area immediately surrounding the houses and barn numerous times, memorizing most every detail he could. But further out in the fields, there was less to look at. Not that it wasn’t beautiful. The lack of buildings gave it a peaceful feeling. There were sparse trees here and there, a fence in the distance that he could barely see. Further out, there were a couple of hills where the sun was on its path to setting.
“It is.” Xander agreed. He nudged Wright’s shoulder and pointed to a spot off the dirt road on the left, behind the barn. “If you look closely, there’s a path here that we take with the horses to get to the big pastures back behind the main house. The whole land is about six hundred acres. Most of the cattle live on the backend of that, so never go there on your own, okay? It can be dangerous, especially if the animals aren’t used to you.”
“Don’t go around the giant animals that could eat me. Got it.” Xander rolled his eyes at the joke and Wright smiled.
“More like defend themselves using their horns. You do not want to get impaled on one of those.”
Fear shot through Wright’s body. “Does that really happen? Why would you keep them?”
“We don’t keep them,” Xander said. “We raise cattle to sell for meat. But that’s a very rare occurrence, so you don’t have to worry about it, okay? They only turn violent when seriously provoked or startled. Only trained ranchers will ever deal with them so you have no worries. Most of the time, they’re docile and safe enough to walk up to but again, only those that are trained will ever get close to them like that.”
Xander stopped and set the basket down in the grass. Wright couldn’t help but look around for any signs of animals. Therewas nothing. They were up on a slight hill, giving Wright an advantage and view he hadn’t seen yet. The house was off in the distance, far enough away he could just see the cars parked in front. There was no way they’d be seen from where they sat on the grass.
“Hey,” Xander said softly. Wright turned from the views around them to him. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted you to know to be careful around the animals here.”
“No, I’m glad you did. I probably wouldn’t have gone near them either way, but it’s good to know if I’m going to be here for a while. I’d like to start doing something to help out once I’m back to full strength. I don’t expect to live here rent or work free when everyone else does something to pitch in.”
