“Oh, I don’t eat that much chicken breast and broccoli, but I do like to add it to things. I’ve been sneaking it in to a few things after I whazz it up in the mini chopper the girls don’t seem to notice.” Honestly, the vegetable matter was more for Mitch’s health than anything else. He thought Mitch needed to eat a better-balanced diet.
“I noticed that the only fish-type thing you eat is shrimp,” Mitch teased. “I know a lot of rodeo guys who eat salmon by the pound.”
Cam allowed himself to make loud, obnoxious gagging sounds. “Yeah, no, I don’t like salmon. I figure I don’t eat anything that doesn’t swim where I live. Okay, so shrimp don’t swim here, but they’re closer than the salmon.”
“That’s some mental gymnastics, man. You’re a piece of work, Cam Halley.” Mitch took another drink of his Sprite.
“I can be. Hey, can I ask you something real quick?” He got the batter into the pan and whacked it in the oven clean as you please. He was happy he’d remembered to spray the damn thing with Pam, too. If this worked, he might never make another sausage ball as long as he lived.
“Sure, ask away.” Mitch rinsed out the can and put it on the drain board.
“Rachel was talking about her birthday.” He saw Mitch’s shoulders stiffen, but he was going to forge on anyway. “She wants a bike.”
“I know, and if I hadn’t had to have the surgery, I might have been able to get her one. I was pretty determined, but I haven’t even been able to find a used one I can afford.” Mitch wouldn’t quite meet his gaze, and he could see a muscle flexing in the man’s jaw.
“I’d like to get her one.”
Mitch’s head snapped up, and he met Cam’s eyes now with a furious glare. “That is not your job.”
“No, I know that. Just like it’s not my job to get them school supplies, but I’m going to anyway.”
“The hell you are.” Mitch stepped right up into his space, poking him in the chest. “These are my kids. I am not going to make them into charity cases, too. It’s bad enough that I am one.”
“I am not making them into charity cases. I just know that you need time to get back to work before you have to lay out that kind of money, and it’s only a couple weeks until school starts.” Cam knew keeping his voice calm, like he was, was probably just going to poke the bear. But he couldn’t help it. He wanted Mitch to understand he wasn’t doing this out of some sort of meanness. He wanted to help.
“Goddamn it, Cam. I don’t need you to?—”
Now it was his turn to invade Mitch’s space. He loomed a bit because he wasn’t a tiny little bull rider, and he was a big boy with broad shoulders. “I never said you needed it. I said I was going to do it. That way you have a little grace, so you can pay a few bills with your first paycheck back on the job. I don’t like the idea of you getting up on a roof again at all, anyway.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you don’t have to like it, then, isn’t it?” Mitch growled the words out, his face flushed, his eyes narrowed.
“I reckon it is, and if you fall off the roof again, I’m not coming back.”
“Well, why the fuck don’t you just leave now, you stupid son of a bitch?” Mitch started to turn and walk away, but Cam grabbed his arm. He didn’t jerk hard because he wasn’t about to put some kinks in that freshly surged back, but he did dance Mitch right around to face him again.
And then he did what he’d been thinking about for the last week, ever since Mitch had started to recover nicely. He bent, stuck his face in Mitch’s face, and said, “I reckon this is why.” And then he kissed the man.
Mitch went stiff as a board under his hands, sucking in a surprised breath. His mouth was as if somebody had sprayed it with superglue for a minute, it was so still. Then he moaned and wrapped an arm around Cam’s neck, pulling him down so that they could kiss for real, Mitch practically devouring him.
Goddamn, he had wanted this for so long. He’d dreamed about it when he was on the road sometimes. He’d even turned down a willing mouth or more every so often because Mitch had been on his mind. Not that he would fucking admit it to anybody, but it was hard to know the one who got away was happy without you.
They kissed for who knew how long, until they were both panting, and until his lips tingled. They changed angles at least three or four times, broke for air a couple of times, then dove right back in. It wasn’t until Mitch slammed both hands against his chest and pushed away that Cam let him go.
Mitch stared at him, eyes like holes in a blanket, and heaved for breath. “You didn’t set a timer for your damn bread.”
“Shit. That’s all you can think to say to me?” He did grab the kitchen timer, though, and set it for fifty minutes.
“What else am I supposed to say?” Mitch staggered back to lean against the counter, but at least he didn’t smack up on it, which was good. “Am I supposed to say that was a mistake and don’t ever do that again?”
“I sure as fuck hope not.” Because Cam’s cock was hard in his jeans and he was revved up all to hell. His balls were half pulled up already. He didn’t want to not explore this. In fact, he kinda wanted to get down on his knees and suck Mitch’s dick.
But they were in Mitch’s kitchen, and his three daughters were in the house somewhere. So he kept his fucking hands to himself.
“I gotta— We’ll talk about this again later.” Mitch eased himself away from the kitchen counter, shaking his head as much as it would move anyway. “I can’t do this right now.”
“You don’t have to, but I want you to think about it because I mean it. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
“You always did fuck up my whole world.” Mitch turned on his heel and left the room about the same way he’d breezed in. Although he looked a lot madder now.
