Breaking Boundaries (5th in Breaking Series) (manXman)

**Be aware that this is a manXman story. If that bothers you then please don’t read!

5th in Breaking Series.

There are certain things that make a man a man in late 1870’s Texas. Being able to rope, ride and handle cattle to name a few. Shooting from the hip, playing poker and throwing back whiskey never hurt either.  Nick could do all those things but none of that would matter if anyone knew the truth about him—if anyone knew his secret. So to protect that secret, Nick keeps to himself as he works on the ranch at Atkinson Spread. He likes his job and the bosses are decent but Nick is lonely. Covered in scars, both of the physical and emotional variety, he longs for one person he can truly be himself around. That one person he can love.

Aiden is running. He’s been running since his family realized what he was, called him an abomination and cursed him to death. Bakerstown Texas is where his legs and his will to run finally give out. Somehow he finds himself hired on to work at Atkinson spread though he knows nothing about cattle. He has already resigned himself to a life alone but that thought goes out the window when he lays his eyes on a ranch hand named Nick. Even then, Aiden knows he can’t have Nick. Nick doesn’t seem to suffer from the same condition that Aiden was born with and so there’s not a lot Aiden can do about his attraction to the other man.

Until a night at the saloon goes a bit too far……

Can these two men be together or will their secret be found out and their disease dealt with the frontier way?

Chapter One: Welcome to Bakerstown

**Chapter One: Welcome to Bakerstown

                Aiden nearly cried out with joy when he saw the buildings popping up in the distance. For weeks he’d been running but he couldn’t run anymore. He was tired, his horse was near death and he had no more will to run.

                 Praying the town wasn’t only a figment of his sun baked mind, Aiden rode closer and felt relief fill him when he saw the people, the horses, the carts and the wagons. He could hear men hollering as they loaded a train with supplies. He saw a man balancing himself with his arms stretched out as he ran across a stack of lumber laughing happily. Aiden shook his head. He’d been happy once, though he didn’t see that happening again anytime soon.

                Aiden knew his horse, which he’d stolen somewhere between east Kansas and this Texas town, was on its last leg. To give the beast a bit of a break he hopped down and walked on foot beside it as they entered town.

                Aiden’s clothes were stiff and dusty and his body ached. His stomach was in a constant state of pain from the hunger that ravaged it. How long had it been since he’d had an actual meal? At least a week, but probably longer.

                The aroma of cooking meat reached his nose and Aiden clutched at his cramping stomach with his free hand. He wanted nothing more than to go into that diner across the street and fill the rumbling void in his middle but food cost money and money was something he didn’t have any of.

                “Dammit, Ryder! You’re gonna get yourself killed one of these days and then that’ll make Susie cry which in turn will lead to Brody coming down here and whooping my ass for letting you get killed on my watch!”

                Aiden glanced back toward the sawmill and saw the man that had been running across the stacks of lumber, now attempting to ride a pallet of lumber being lifted by a pulley with a team of Ox on the other end. The man was laughing and singing as he sat there on the lumber with his legs dangling down and another man, probably the boss of the mill, glared up at him.

                Aiden shook his head. Strange folks called this place home—maybe he wouldn’t stick out so badly after all.

                “That would be my brother.”

                Aiden turned his head to see a man standing behind him. He was taller than Aiden (who was fairly short at only about five feet and nine inches tall. He had a mustache that matched the black hair visible beneath the hat on his head. He gave Aiden a friendly smile and stuck out his hand.

                “Name’s Ty Hampton. I’m the sheriff in town so I feel I should welcome you. We don’t get many newcomers riding in alone.”

                Aiden looked around the rather crowded streets and wondered why as he shook the sheriff’s offered hand.  Ty seemed to read his thoughts. “This is a good town with good people. Most of what we see moving in are families. The previous sheriff kept a pretty tight grip on the town and most people are scared of him still to this day.”

                Aiden simply nodded as he attempted to lead his horse away from the sheriff. “You got a name, kid?”

                Aiden bristled at being called kid. He was damn near twenty-five years old. It wasn’t his fault God had made him so innocent looking. “Aiden.”

                “Well welcome to Bakerstown, Aiden. Don’t mind my brother there, he’s the town idiot.” Ty winked. “All towns have gotta have one I reckon. You look beat, Aiden. How ‘bout I take your horse to the livery for you and you can get yourself a bite to eat?”

                Aiden had no idea why this lawman was being so nice to him. Couldn’t the man see the word ‘ abomination ’ written across his forehead the way everyone else seemed to recently. “I uh.. I don’t have any money.” Aiden replied.

                Ty frowned a bit and then shrugged. “Don’t worry about that. Newcomers get their first night room and board free around here and I reckon that goes for their horses too. You planning on staying here long?”

                “I don’t know yet.” Aiden replied honestly as he grabbed his saddlebags and Ty took the reins of the horse from him.

                “Well hopefully you will. We can always use more folks around here. Just don’t start any trouble and you won’t get any from me. Anything you need just seek me out or one of my deputies. I’ve got three of them running around here.”

                “Thank you.” Aiden mumbled.

“There’s three hotels in town but ‘Graces’ is the nicest. That and you can get hot showers there. I reckon you need one.”  Ty tipped his hat and then walked away, leading the exhausted horse toward the livery.

                Aiden stood there with his saddlebags over his shoulder, feeling more than a little awkward as he watched Ty walk away. It had been a long time since anyone had been nice to him. Aiden supposed it would take some getting used to.

                Aiden’s stomach clenched painfully again when the door to the diner opened and the scents wafted out.

                “Excuse me?” Aiden turned at the sound of the feminine voice behind him and saw a woman standing there with a dazzlingly bright smile on her face. She was roughly the same height as Aiden. She had a full, soft figure and dark freckles littered her cheeks. But it was her eyes and smile that made a bit of his guard drop—she looked like an angel—all softness and light.

                “Hi..” Aiden mumbled, adjusting the saddlebags on his tired shoulder.

                “My name is Susie.”

                “Aiden.” He replied, not offering his last name since she hadn’t.

                “Are you hungry, Aiden?”

                Aiden’s stomach roared in response. “A little.” He admitted with a wince.

                Susie’s smile brightened. “Then as the official welcoming committee to Bakerstown, Texas, please allow me to buy you a meal.”

                Aiden shook his head. Did he have charity case written on his shirt or something? He glanced down but other than dirt and sweat, his shirt seemed unmarked. “That won’t be necessary, ma’am.”

                Her hands went to her hips and Aiden would swear she was pouting. The smallest hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Please, allow me to buy you lunch. I do it for all the newcomers.”

                Aiden doubted that but hell maybe it was the truth. This town did seem to be awfully friendly between Susie and the sheriff.

                “Okay then.” He finally relented.

                “Good!” Susie led him toward the diner and they both stopped when a voice called out from above them.

                “Susie! My love! My breath! My life! Oh Susie dear!!” Aiden frowned as he looked up at the pallet of wood in the air and the man, Ryder, standing atop it waving like a fool. Aiden glanced at Susie and saw that her full cheeks were flushed bright red as she too looked up at him.

                “Come along now, Aiden,” she urged.

                “Aren’t you gonna talk to him?” Aiden asked as the man called out yet again for Susie, this time professing his never ending love and devotion.

                “No.” she replied. “I’m mad at him.” From the flush on her cheeks and the sparkling in her eyes as she led Aiden toward the diner, he would say Susie was far from mad. “My husband seems to think that late nights at the saloon can be forgiven by public displays of craziness.”

                Aiden couldn’t help but smile. “From the way he’s carrying on I would say he really does love you. I would probably let it slide just so long as he didn’t have too much fun.”

                Aiden clamped his mouth shut, unsure what had caused him to speak so openly with this woman! Surely he’d just pushed a boundary and was going to have that free lunch invitation snatched away.

                Instead Susie surprised him when she laughed. “Not Ryder. He might be insane and he might test my own sanity but he’s loyal… like that annoyingly cute little puppy that won’t stop gnawing on your ankle.”

                Aiden remained silent, though he had to work hard to erase the smile from his face. He wasn’t sure it was appropriate to smile as the person buying your meal spoke that way about her husband.

                “I need one of your lunch specials for my friend.” Susie said to a woman by the door as they stepped in. Friend? It had been a long time since Aiden had had a friend.

                “You got it Susie.” The woman replied with a smile before disappearing through a door toward the back of the diner.

                Aiden glanced around the fairly empty space. It was in between meal times so not many folks were eating. He glanced at Susie when he heard her sigh. She had her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes were closed. “Three…” she began to count down. “Two….One…”

                On cue the diner doors burst open and the man from the sawmill came running in. Aiden watched with mild amusement as he came up behind Susie and wrapped his arms tightly around her soft waist. He buried his face in the loose hair on Susie’s neck and Aiden suddenly felt awkward as the man simply stood there holding his wife.

                “Ryder, that’s hardly proper.” Susie gasped with a blush as she pulled her head away.

                The boyishly charming man flashed a grin that was infectious. “No one in this town expects proper from me, Sue. And since when have I cared? Please tell me you aren’t mad anymore.”

                “You were at that saloon almost all night while I sat home alone.” Susie reminded him as she pulled out of his arms and turned to look up at his face. The man was tall…. Right around six and a half feet at least.

                “Forgive me. The whiskey got to flowing and I was doing so good at the poker game and I….” Susie placed a finger to Ryder’s lips to silence him and Aiden saw passion flare to life in the man’s dark eyes. Aiden quickly turned away to allow them their privacy.

                “I forgive you. Now get back to work.”

                “Yes, ma’am.”

                “And Ryder?” Susie continued. “You better come straight home tonight.”

                “Yes, ma’am.” Ryder’s voice was a few octaves deeper with this reply. Aiden felt his heart hurt. He would never know what it felt like to have someone so in love with him.

                Aiden was about to walk to an empty table when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned to see Ryder standing there grinning down at him.

                “What?” Aiden asked uncomfortably when Ryder simply stared at him.

                “Just sizing ya up is all.” Ryder replied, that grin never leaving his face. Aiden glanced at Susie who was pinching her nose between her fingers.

                “Goodbye Ryder.” She stated with exasperation.

                “Alright, I’ll go—“ Ryder conceded. He moved away from Aiden and then that grin of his widened and filled with mischievousness. “Just so you know—she’s mine.” He stated just before sweeping Susie into his arms, dipping her low and landing a kiss for the ages on her lips.

                Aiden’s eyes widened as he cleared his throat and fought back laughter. Ryder sat a flustered, stuttering, breathless Susie back on her feet, tipped his hat to Aiden and the few patrons inside the diner and then left with an extra pep to his step.

                Susie tugged at the bottom of her blouse and attempted to straighten the hair that Ryder had messed up as she cleared her throat. Her face was cherry red as she looked at Aiden and chewed her lip.

                “Unfortunately I have to get back to the church but you enjoy your lunch.” She said quickly. Aiden felt his heart fall a bit. His new friend was a church going woman? They wouldn’t be friends long then if she realized what he was.

                “Thank you for the meal, ma’am.” Aiden replied.

                She waved her hand. “Call me Susie. Welcome to Bakerstown, Aiden.”

Chapter Two: That’s My Susie–She Helps People

Chapter Two: That’s My Susie–She Helps People

               

“I’m sorry, Aiden, this is simply how it has to be,” his mother stated with sad finality. Aiden shook his head as he held his hands out to the woman who had given him life. The woman who was supposed to love and care for him no matter what simply shook her head and took a step away from him with nothing but disgust on her face.

                “Do not touch her.” His father, Benjamin’s voice was like ice and it froze Aiden’s blood.

                “Why are you doing this?” Aiden choked out. “I’m still your son.”

                “You are no son of mine.” Benjamin hissed. “You are an abomination; a spawn of the devil!”

                “But…” Aiden’s heart crumbled as his mother made the mark of the cross on her chest and shook her head.

                “You are pure evil, Aiden.” She agreed.

                Aiden stared in broken-hearted and dumb-founded shock at them both. He was evil because his heart didn’t want what most men’s hearts wanted? He was a spawn of the devil, an abomination, simply because he wanted a life with another man instead of with a woman?  He had never in his life hurt anyone so he did not understand how he could possibly be pure evil.

                Aiden watched his father walk to the cabinet in the corner of the richly decorated parlor his mother was so proud of displaying to guests of their home. Benjamin pulled out his hunting rifle and Aiden swallowed hard.

                “Let’s go.”

                “Go where?” Aiden’s voice was trembling as he asked the man.

                “To the woods. I’m going to end this abomination.”

                “I’m your son!!!!” Aiden screamed. His mother whimpered and fled from the room. He heard her slippered feet bound up the staircase and her bedroom door slammed closed.

                “You are nothing. You are the devil. Evil. To lay with another man—“ His father shivered as his brown eyes closed and his mustached face paled. “I will cure you of your disease.” The barrel of the gun was shoved into Aiden’s chest. “Let’s get to the woods. I do not want to do this in here and stain the rug.”

                Aiden’s legs were stiff and his cheeks were soaked with tears as his allowed his father to lead him from the house. He had to get away. He had to escape. He didn’t deserve this!

                Benjamin led him to an old oak; a favorite play place of Aiden’s from childhood. Aiden stared at his father’s face, searching for any sign that the man might waver from the decision he had made. There was nothing. Nothing but hatred, disgust and resolve.

                “In the name of the Lord Almighty, I cast this sin from your body and send your black soul to the hell fires from whence it—“ Aiden didn’t hear the rest. He ran.  He ran just as fast as his legs could take him. He’d always been slim and quick and right now he was glad for it.

                A gunshot reverberated through the air and Aiden cried out with shock and fear, though the bullet missed him.

                “You can run, boy, but you can’t hide. I will hire men to find you! I will not allow such an abomination to smear my good name!”

                Aiden jerked awake, sat up with a start and quickly scanned the room, trying to remember where he was.

                Bakerstown. He heard the sound of folks starting their day out the window. The streets were already bustling it would seem. An axe was striking wood, a train was whistling as it neared the station and wagon wheels rumbled down the dusty streets.

                Aiden got to his feet, still wearing his boots and shuffled to the washbasin. He never took his boots off when he slept. He had learned over the last few weeks (or was it closer to two months?), that the bounty hunters his father had sent out to find him could come at any time. Three times now they’d tracked Aiden down and nearly killed him. His last narrow escape had been two weeks ago and Aiden knew it would only be a matter of time before they tracked him here….. But for now he was too tired to run any longer.

                After cleaning his face and drying it with a stiff white towel, Aiden stared at his reflection in the tiny mirror. He didn’t look much older than eighteen or nineteen; his appearance hadn’t changed much since then. The only noticeable differences were the stubble he was now able to grow on his chin and cheeks and the tired circles around his brown eyes.

                Shoving a hand through his thick dark hair, Aiden rose and grabbed his hat from the bedpost. He plopped it on his head, though the stolen hat didn’t fit him properly and was too big, and then headed out of the room. He hadn’t done much exploring of the town yesterday, he’d been too tired, so today was the day. Time to look around the place that would be his home until those men tracked him down and either killed him or sent him on the run yet again.

---

                “Nick, Wendell.” Nick looked up from the saddle he was polishing as Brody came striding into the barn.

                “What is it?’ Wendell asked, leaning the rake he’d been cleaning out a stall with against the wall and swiping his shirt sleeve across his brow.

                Brody took a slow draw off the cigarette in his hand and tilted his head toward the wide barn doors. “The boss wants ya to run into town. There’s a big order of goods waiting at the mercantile.”

                Nick nodded as he stood straight and stretched out his back which was aching from the hours he spent crouched over saddles and reins this morning. He didn’t much like being sent on errands to town but anything was better than continuing with this mind numbing chore.

                “All right, Brody, we’ll head that way.” Wendell assured the other man. Brody nodded, turned and strode out of the barn with an arrogant confidence in his step that Nick figured would be ridiculous for any other man but seemed to fit the boss’s husband just fine.

                Brody Atkinson was a man that a person would have to be insane to cross.

                Nick had only been working this ranch for a few months but he’d heard the stories. He knew all about Elizabeth and Brody’s past; as well as the past of all the others in the family. It seemed they had interesting ways of meeting their special someone’s.

                Nick pushed aside thoughts of romance. The only purpose they served was to cause him pain. “Well come on then.” Wendell urged. “Let’s get a cart ready and head to town.”

                Nearly two hours later, the two men came into Bakerstown. The town was bustling and busy and while Nick always felt a bit out of place among so many people at least in a crowd he didn’t stand out.

                “There’s Kaitlyn!” Wendell exclaimed, suddenly sounding like an excited ten year old. “Can you handle all of this, Nick?”

                Nick nodded. “Yeah, I got it.”

                Wendell leapt from the wagon and took off across the street toward Kaitlyn who saw him coming and smiled brightly. Kaitlyn had worked at one of the saloons in town, that’s where she and Wendell had met. It was safe to say that Wendell had put a stop to her working there a few weeks ago when he’d admitted that he wanted to marry the woman.

                Kaitlyn seemed to be unsure about marriage, at least that’s what Wendell had said, so the two of them were taking things slow.

                Nick shook his head and guided the cart toward the mercantile. He couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated when couples behaved that way. If you had a chance to be with the one you loved then why would you waste it by taking things slow? Some people never got the chance for love—and some people had that love ripped away from them and hanged from an oak tree while they stood by helplessly and watched.

                Knowing nothing good could come from the direction his thoughts had taken, Nick brought the wagon to a stop and jumped down. Fixing his hat, Nick stepped into the mercantile to see about those supplies that Elizabeth had ordered.

---

                Aiden had made a circle around town and was finding that he truly liked the place. He didn’t want to like it too much however because he knew eventually he’d have to leave. Abominations didn’t get to live the normal lives that good people lived.

                Aiden made his way back toward the diner he’d eaten his meal at the day before. He still didn’t have any money but he was hoping they’d open a tab for him and he would pay it back just as soon as he could. He happened to glance toward the sawmill and saw Ryder and Susie.

                Ryder was telling some kind of tale, waving his arms and gesturing with his hands, while Susie laughed happily and shook her head.

                Aiden was jealous of that; of them. He’d been a little like them once. He’d been quick to laugh and most people had found him witty. He had genuinely loved life and had wanted to live every moment of it to the fullest.

                Then his father had tried to force him into a marriage and Aiden had finally come clean with his parents. He had told them the truth about what he felt inside. Their response had been to kill him and all the lightheartedness that Aiden had once possessed had been snuffed out instantly.  

                 Aiden was surprised when Susie’s head turned and she smiled in his direction. “Aiden!” she called out, waving her hand as if to get his attention.   

                He raised his hand awkwardly in acknowledgement; waiting as Susie and Ryder made their way to him. “How are you this morning?” Susie asked.

                “I’m well. How are the two of you?” Aiden frowned as Ryder bounced from foot to foot and his eyes seemed to follow every bit of movement around them.

                “I went straight home last night so we’re good.” Ryder replied with a wink as his eyes settled on Aiden. Ryder flashed a grin revealing those deep boyish dimples in his cheeks. “ Real good.”

                “Ryder!” Susie flushed bright red yet again. Ryder just laughed and wrapped an arm around her waist.

                “If you both would excuse me I was about to go….” Aiden was cut off when Ryder sniffed the air.

                “Exactly how long you been on the trail?” he questioned. “You stink to high heaven.”

                Aiden flushed and crossed his arms over his chest defensively. “Ryder! You cannot just go around telling people they stink!” Susie scolded.          

                Ryder shrugged. “Well he does. His clothes are so dirty and stiff, I’d say they could walk around without any help from him.”

                Aiden could tell that Susie was about to scold her husband yet again but Aiden just laughed lightly and nodded. “I would say you’re probably right about that.”

                “Aiden the hotel offers laundry service.” Susie shrugged. “Or I would be more than happy to wash your clothes. I was going to be doing some laundry today—“

                “No, that’s okay.” Aiden said quickly. He shifted uncomfortably as Susie studied him.

                “Is that the only outfit you have?” she questioned. Aiden glanced down at the sweat and dirty stained clothes he was wearing. The brown trousers were full of rips and tears and the shirt, which had at one time been white, was now closer to brown and frayed on the sleeves.

                “Yes.” He mumbled. 

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt her gentle hand on his arm. “Do you need help, Aiden? Ryder and I would be glad to help buy you some clothes.. or just help in any way we can.”

“She’s right.” Ryder replied. “That’s my Susie. She helps people.”

“I can’t accept charity.” Aiden denied quickly. Why did Susie seem so eager to restore his faith in the kindness of humanity? He knew that kindness would be torn away from him just as soon as she knew his secret.

Susie studied him carefully, while Ryder swatted at something apparently only he could see flying around his head. “Of course you can’t.” Susie finally replied. Then she glanced down the street and waved. “Wendell! Can you come here a moment?”

Aiden glanced in the direction she waved and saw a man and woman making their way to them. The woman was a pretty thing; delicate and blond. The man was just under six feet and had an ear to ear smile on his lean face.

                “Hello there, ex-future wife. How are you today?” Ryder asked with a wink in the woman’s direction.

Wendell frowned. “You can stop calling her that now. I done warned you twice.”

“Actually it was three times.” Ryder replied, seemingly unaware of the angry clenching of Wendell’s fists. “And she was technically my fiancée before she was yours.”

Susie rolled her eyes. “Fake fiancée.”

“I’m not Wendell’s fiancée.” The woman spoke up for the first time; a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

Ryder laughed. “Not for lack of him trying.” Ryder stretched his arms in the air and grinned. “Some of us got and some of us don’t. Aint’ that right, Aiden.”

“Um.. yeah sure.” Aiden replied, unsure of what else to say.

“That’s enough.” Susie spoke up as Wendell opened his mouth to speak again. “Can we please not fight?” Her voice was quiet and just as friendly and kind as ever, but her eyes gave way her temper. Wendell nodded as he took a step back and Ryder grinned sheepishly before landing a kiss on Susie’s cheek.

“What did you need, Susie?” Wendell asked.

“Aiden needs a job. Are you in town getting supplies?”

“Nick is at the mercantile now.” Wendell replied.

“Good, take Aiden back to the ranch with you and have him talk to Liz. I’m sure there’s something he could do there to earn money.”

Aiden stared at her with shock. “Uh.. Susie, I appreciate it but I don’t know the first thing about working on a ranch—“

“You’ll learn.” Susie assured him with an angelic smile that made him want to agree with her. “I like you, Aiden. You seem like a good man who could use a helping hand. Atkinson Spread is known for helping out those who need it.”

Aiden wanted to refuse and was about to but something stopped him. He did need money. When those men caught up to him he’d need money to run again without starving to death. And learning the ins and outs of ranch life would be good for him since he’d come west and there were ranches everywhere. It would mean that he’d be able to get a job just about anywhere he went out here.

That and Susie’s blue eyes were so damn happy and kind as they seemed to beg him to agree. Aiden had always been the type to cave to pleading eyes like that.

With a defeated sigh, Aiden nodded. “Okay.”

“Alright then.” Wendell shrugged. “If ya got stuff to bring with you then go get it and meet me at the mercantile. I’m sure Nick’s about ready to head out.”

“Thank you, Susie.” Aiden said once Wendell and his woman had walked away.

“I hope I didn’t make you upset.” Susie admitted before chewing on her lip. “I just want to help you.”

                “And I appreciate it. Honest I do.”

                “Hey Susie is that the shipment you’ve been waiting on?” Ryder asked as he pointed toward the train pulling in.

                “Yes, it probably is.”

                Ryder took off toward the train depot and Susie’s eyes widened. “Goodbye Aiden.” She said quickly and then she took off after Ryder. “Ryder Hampton, you had better keep away from my new stained glass window!”

                Aiden was a bundle of nerves as he gathered up his saddlebags and retrieved his horse from the livery. The beast looked a bit better this morning; more rested at least.

                He made his way to the mercantile and hitched his horse before walking onto the tiny porch and standing with his back to the door. He didn’t see Wendell anywhere. Aiden decided to look for him inside. He turned quickly, not paying any attention to what was around him and found himself colliding with a broad, hard expanse of blue chambray clad chest.

                There was a loud oomph and something crashed to the ground. Aiden lost his balance and began to topple backward but a firm hand closed around his upper arm and steadied him.

                “Why don’t you watch where you’re going?!” his savior growled angrily.

                Aiden swallowed hard and glanced up, fully prepared to apologize. All words died on his tongue when he found himself looking into a pair of intense gray eyes that were glaring down at him.

Chapter Three: Tall Rugged and Broodingly Handsome

Chapter Three: Tall , Rugged and Broodingly Handsome

‘Holy hell!’ Aiden couldn’t form any more intelligent thoughts than that. His arm was burning from the hand wrapped tight around it, but it was a good burn. Those gray eyes were staring deep back into his own looking very much like storm clouds and the face wasn’t so bad either. Weathered, tired, a bit sad, but rugged and manly.

            Aiden swallowed hard, trying to redirect his thoughts. He worked hard to never give in to these thoughts and impulses; to hide his attractions. This man had managed blasted through all that with a stick of dynamite just by grabbing his arm.

            "I said—" Tall, rugged and broodingly handsome ground out. "—why don't you watch where you're going?"

            "I'm... I'm sorry." Aiden stammered. The man growled, released his hold and shoved Aiden back, causing the oversized hat to topple off his head.      

            The giant of a man, all six and a half feet of him, cursed under his breath and stooped low to grab the hat and shove it into Aiden's chest. Aiden's heart was thundering as he clutched at his hat and stared at the man. The blue chambray shirt was tight on a set of broad shoulders and a well-muscled chest, which led down into a flat stomach and lean hips and a set of legs that were—

            "Hey Nick, I see you already met Aiden." Wendell's voice came from behind Aiden, snapping him out of his assessment of the growling man. Aiden's eyes flew up to this man, Nick's, face and his heart skittered to a stop when he saw Nick's gray eyes looking back in his and 

something flickered in them. Something like hunger—but the emotion was gone just as quickly as it had appeared and left Aiden thinking that he had probably been imagining that it had ever been there at all.

            "Who's Aiden?" Nick asked as he stooped to pick up a sack that he had dropped when Aiden had crashed into him.

            "This is Aiden." Wendell replied, tipping his head. "Susie wants us to take him back to the ranch with us and talk to Liz about hiring him on.

            Nick's brow rose and he looked Aiden up and down, causing Aiden to swallow hard. "Kid, you know a damn thing about ranching?"

            "I'm no kid." Aiden replied, finally finding his voice. "And.. uh.. well no."

            Wendell shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Susie said to do it. If we don't then she might go to Brody. You want him pissed at you over upsetting Susie?"

            "Hell no." Nick admitted. Leaving Aiden to wonder who Brody was.

            "Is everything ready to go then?" Wendell asked and Nick simply nodded.

            Aiden was about to get on his horse, as the other men climbed in the cart but Nick snapped his fingers. "Your damn horse is on its last leg from the look of it. You can ride in the back of the cart." 

            Aiden wanted to argue and tell this man off for treating him like a child but he couldn't seem to think let alone speak with those gray eyes staring at him. So Aiden tied the horse's reins to the back of the cart and then climbed in, sitting atop several sacks of flour.

            The ride to the ranch seemed to take forever but the scenery was nice. Lush hillsides covered in long grasses and brilliantly colored flowers.  Aiden's favorites were the blue bonnets. It was almost as if you were looking out over the sea when you passed a big enough field of them.  And Aiden had to admit that while the flour sacks were hard, they were a welcome relief after being jostled around on a horse's back for weeks.

            "How far away is this ranch?" he finally asked. He had hoped that Nick would answer so he could hear the other man's gruff voice doing something other than scolding him or grumbling but he remained stoic and silent.

            Wendell glanced back. "We've been on Atkinson land most of the time since we left town. All except that over there—" Wendell pointed across a field to a large tree standing over a pond in the middle of a field full of flowers. A tiny cabin sat in the field with a single barn and tiny outbuildings scattered around. "—That's Ryder and Susie Hampton's place."

            "The Atkinson's must be wealthy." Aiden noted.

            "Sure. You'd never guess it by spending time with any of them though. Susie was an Atkinson before she married Ryder. Elizabeth, or Liz as most of us call her, is married to Susie's brother Brody. You win her over and you'll be good to go."

            Aiden wondered if she would be hard to please. "Is she a hard one to win over?" he questioned.

            "She's a good woman." Wendell replied with a shrug. "She's been through a hell of a lot and she's a lot better than she was when she was younger. Damn but she was an ice queen back then. Now she's fair. She will let you know what she expects from you and as long as you do your best to get that done you won't have a problem with her."

            Aiden had more questions but they would have to wait until later because the ranch was coming into view. Aiden had come from a wealthy family, but they were a political family and everything about their home and their lives had been extravagant.

            This ranch was a different form of wealth. There were massive barns, half a dozen of them. They were all well-kept and each seemed more of a fancy livery than just a simple barn most folks had. Wooden fences surrounded the numerous corrals. Animals dotted the landscape. Cattle, milk cows, horses, mules, chicken, cats, dogs— Aiden shook his head. He believed in gotten in a bit too deep.

            The house caught his attention next. Two stories tall, painted bright white with wrap around porches and several balconies on the upper level. Crisp black shutters surrounded the windows and flower pots added splashes of other colors.

            Porch swings, rocking chairs and benches covered the giant porch and there was a tall, lean and somewhat polished looking man lounged in one of those chair, bouncing a baby, probably not more than one year old on his knee.

            He stood up and placed the baby on his hip as he stepped onto the porch steps and Nick brought the cart to a stop.

            "Who'd you bring back?" the man questioned, his friendly green eyes falling on Aiden. Aiden jumped from the back of the cart, rubbing his sore backside as he did. He felt a strange prickling on the back of his neck and turned to see Nick watching him closely. When Aiden's eyes met his, Nick quickly turned away.

            "This here is Aiden." Wendell replied. "He's a friend of Susie's and he needs a job for a while."

            "He's come to the right place then," the man replied with a smile. "Welcome to Atkinson Spread, Aiden, my name's Jacob. My sister-in-law is the boss."

            "So you're Susie's brother?" Aiden asked and Jacob nodded.

            "One of them. Brody's around here somewhere. Our other sister, Susie's twin Sally, is at her house today. She's not feeling well."

            "Is the baby sickness getting to her?" Wendell asked with a grin.

            "Yep." Jacob chuckled. "Thomas was sporting a welted cheek this morning. Apparently telling your wife to 'suck it up' is not the appropriate thing to do while she's hugging the outhouse seat."

            Aiden couldn't hold back the quick laugh that burst from his mouth and he quickly cleared his throat and covered his mouth. "Sorry I laughed..." he mumbled, hoping they wouldn't find him rude.

            "Why are you sorry?" Jacob questioned with a shrug. Aiden had no answer. "Well show him to the bunkhouse and get his belongings settled in and then find Liz. She's probably in one of the barns."

            "I'll let you take him to the bunkhouse." Wendell told Nick and Aiden cursed. Everybody he'd met so far was friendly, except for Nick, and Aiden would rather have a friendly guide.

            Nick didn't appear too fond of the idea either but he nodded and motioned for Aiden to follow him before striding away, leaving Aiden no other choice but to quickly grab his saddlebags and chase after him.

            Nick's strides were much longer than Aiden's and Aiden was practically jogging to keep up with the taller man. They passed two barns and came to a large bunkhouse. Aiden froze at the sight of the old man sitting in a chair beside the door. There was a hound at his feet that appeared to be even older than the man.

            Nick glanced behind him and stopped walking as Aiden stared at the old man, hoping to determine whether he was alive or dead.

            "I don't know why folks stop and stare at me so damned often." The old man muttered without opening his eyes.

            "Because you look dead, old man." Nick replied with a chuckle. Aiden's eyes widened. Mr. Grumpy knew how to do something other than frown and growl after all.

            "Yeah, well I ain't." The old man's eyes opened and he scanned Aiden carefully. "Who's this?"

            "My name's Aiden." Aiden replied quickly.

            "I'm Cookie." The old man grunted. He looked Aiden up and down again before glancing at Nick and giving him the same slow appraisal. "When the time comes I called it first." He mumbled.

            "Called what?" Nick questioned.

            Cookie just shook his head as his eyes once again slid closed. "

It . Now go away and let me get back to my nap.“

            Aiden laughed again, wondering what had gotten into him. He'd gone a long time without laughing, as a matter of fact he hadn't even smiled since his father had dragged him into the woods and tried to end his life..... Now he'd done both in the short time he'd been in Bakerstown. This place was bad for him.

            "Well here's the bunkhouse." Nick grunted as they entered the crowded building. Tiny beds lined the walls, there seemed to be at least thirty of them. There were tiny tables beside each bed but only about half seemed to hold any personal items.  "You can take one of those beds down there." He added, pointing toward the far corner.

            "Where do you sleep?" Aiden asked before he could stop himself. His face turned red and he swallowed hard, not about to meet Nick's hard gaze.

            "Why the hell is that important?"

            "It isn't." Aiden squeaked as he wondered if he was enough of an abomination for God to simply strike him dead right now. It would be a welcome relief from the stormy glare being sent in his direction.

            "How many ranch hands are there here?" Aiden found himself asking several seconds later, just to ease the tense silence.

            "As of now there's fifteen. Sometimes there's more and sometimes there's less. I've only been here a few months." Aiden walked to one of the empty beds and dropped his saddlebags. "Good thing about the Atkinson's is that they're always willing to help out folks who need it. Then once a man's back on his feet he generally moves on. Just as I expect you will be once you're back on yours."

            Aiden looked at Nick then to see the guarded anger in the man's storm gray eyes as he stood wide-legged with his fists clenched at his sides. Without another word Nick turned and strode from the door.

            Aiden snorted and turned his back to the door, glancing down at his tiny bed. "Maybe not, you jackass." He mumbled. "I might stick around just to piss you off."

            "And who might you be hoping to piss off?" A feminine voice full of amusement asked from behind him. Aiden flushed bright red and whirled around to face the newcomer.

            She was average height for a woman and slender with golden hair pulled back and a brown Stetson on her head. She wore trousers with a white button down shirt tucked into them. A gun belt was slung low on her curved hips which surprised Aiden. He'd never seen a woman with a gun on her hip before.

            Her green eyes were sparkling beneath her hat and a smile curved her full lips. Her skin was tanned from time spent in the sun and light freckles dusted her nose. She walked over to him with a confidence that told him immediately that she was the boss everyone had been talking about.

            "I'm Elizabeth Atkinson." She confirmed his suspicions. "But most everybody here calls me Liz."

            "I'm—"

            "Aiden, yeah, Jacob told me you were here." She looked him up and down as if assessing a head of cattle. Aiden stood there and shifted his feet awkwardly. "Do you have any experience on a ranch?"

            "No, ma'am," Aiden admitted as his ears reddened.

            "I didn't figure you did." She tapped her chin with one long, work roughened finger. She was certainly different than any other woman he'd seen before.

            "I never had much reason to learn." Aiden rushed to defend himself. "I grew up in the city. I can saddle a horse and I can ride enough to get around." He shrugged his shoulders. "That's about the extent of my talent."

            "Can you hold a rake? A pitchfork? A shovel?"

            Aiden nodded. "Yes ma'am."

            "Then you'll do."

            "Thank you, ma'am."

            She laughed lightly and walked closer. She stood beside him and patted him on the back. "You're cute. Like a puppy."

            "Huh?" his blush deepened and her laugher increased.

            "I'm just teasing you. Loosen up, Aiden. Call me Liz, Elizabeth or even Boss if you must but not ma'am. We're pretty informal around here.  I only have two rules on my ranch. No alcohol and no fighting. If you want to drink and brawl do so in town but if you get in too much trouble with the law I'll have to let you go."

            "I won't be any trouble, ma—Liz."

            "I didn't figure you would be." She moved away and placed her hands on her hips. "You already met Cookie outside, he'll be preparing your meals. He cooks better than he looks." She assured him with a wink and Aiden found himself laughing. "Nick, the man you're hoping to piss off, hasn't been here long but he's a good worker. Wendell's been here since before I took over the ranch; so have Frank and Kent but you'll meet everyone tonight I'm sure."

            Aiden's head was spinning as it filled with new names and information.

            "Room and board is free to all the hands and you'll work six days a week with Sundays off. Pay is thirty dollars a month."

            Aiden nodded. "Okay."

            Elizabeth swallowed and bit her lip as her nose curled. "And uh.. you get a five dollar sign on bonus."

            "I do?" Aiden asked skeptically.

            "Yep. And I'll expect you to head into town in the morning and use it to buy yourself some new clothes."

            Aiden blushed again. Dammit, he'd forgotten about how dirty and threadbare his clothes were. The shower he'd taken at the hotel hadn't helped his trail worn outfit. He wondered if nicer clothes would have made a difference in the way Nick looked at him—then he mentally smacked himself for thinking such foolish thoughts. 

            "Thank you, ma'am. I've been running awhile."

            "Running?"

            Aiden swallowed hard. Shoot! Why had he said that?! "Um..."

            Elizabeth shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Just so long as it's not the law you're running from. If I tell my husband I've hired on a criminal I can't be responsible for what he does to you."

            "No!" Aiden assured her quickly as he shook his head with force. "No, I'm not in trouble with the law. I promise."  

It’s just bounty hunters hired by my parents to kill their man loving son.

            Elizabeth smiled again. "You're too cute to be a troublemaker. You'll do fine here. Just don't cause trouble and do the work we ask of you. If you're unsure about something or need help then ask for it. Don't abuse the animals, don't let the bulls out of the corral unless you have a death wish and don't leave the ranch without checking in with either me, Brody, Jacob, Ellie or Sally. If you do and we don't know where you are then we'll end up worrying and searching for hours for no reason."

            That seemed simple enough. "Okay ma'am." Her green eyes narrowed. "Liz."

            "Good." She held out her hand and Aiden sealed their deal by giving it a firm shake. "Welcome to Atkinson Spread."

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Nick hoisted two fifty pounds sacks of flour over his shoulder and strode toward the cellar, berating himself every moment for the way the sight of the newcomer had gotten to him.  

Contrary to what most folks seemed to believe, being a man that was attracted to men did not mean you were attracted to every man you saw. To think that would be ridiculous but for some reason ordinary folks seemed to think it was the truth. Men would panic, believing that you wanted to tear their clothes off and have your way with them just because they had a pecker.  Or they feared that an 'infected' man's sexuality was somehow contagious and would spread to them if they were too near.  

Nick snorted, as he walked down the cellar steps and tossed the sacks down in the corner. Nick had only ever had one lover, and while he could acknowledge that other men looked good, most of the time it didn't mean he wanted to have his way with them—that was until this morning when 

Aiden had run smack into him outside the mercantile.

While Nick hadn't ever given much thought to what his 

type was he knew that if he had a type it would be Aiden. Under six foot, slender yet lean build, boyish face, charming smile and dark eyes the color of that fancy imported Spanish chocolate that the mercantile sold for five dollars a bar. Aiden had looked so awkward and unsure and it had awoken every protective urge that Nick possessed; urges that had been lying dormant for six long years since the night that had changed his life forever…

Nick wasted no time in headed back to the cart and grabbing two sacks of feed. As he carried them into the barn he met Brody who was on his way out, "Ya trying to prove something?" Brody asked with that classic brow raise that he was better at than any other person Nick had ever met. When Brody raised that brow he was able to portray a wide variety of emotions such as amusement, irritation, curiosity, disbelief, arrogance and anger.  

Just now he seemed amused as he glanced at the two heavy sacks of feed on Nick's shoulder. "Naw, I'm just too lazy to make two trips," Nick assured him.  

Brody nodded, "A real man never makes two trips."  

Nick grunted in agreement. Truth was he liked Brody and had a lot of respect for the man. Nick never let anyone get close enough to consider them friends but Brody would be the closest thing he had to one.

Nick tossed the two sacks of feed into the tack stall and wiped his hands on his pants as he walked back out into the sun beside Brody. Brody pulled a rolled cigarette from his shirt pocket and offered it to Nick who shook his head.  

Brody shrugged, ignited the match in his hand by swiping it across his rough, stubble covered jaw and lit the cigarette. He took a long draw off of it as he squinted into the sun, "That must be the new hire," Brody said unexpectedly. Nick looked in the direction Brody was looking but all he saw was the bright sun and the horizon. "Not there," Brody grunted, "He's coming out of the bunkhouse and looking around like a lost little chick."  

Nick didn't want to look but found his gaze drawn in that direction anyhow. Brody was right. Aiden looked more than a little lost. Nick clenched his fists, fighting the urge to go to the other man, while struggling to appear uninterested.  

"Wait here, Nick. I gotta have a chat with that boy and then I gotta run out and check a line of fences at the northern edge of the land. I'm really hoping there's a hole cuz several of our cattle were caught on McIntyre land."  

Nick's own temper edged up just as he could hear Brody's doing at the same time. Cattle rustling was no slap on the wrist offense but Nick figured there had to be a hole in the fence. Only a man with more balls than brains would steal cattle from Brody Atkinson.  

Brody scratched at his jaw before continuing, “I’d go alone but—” Brody shrugged and a grin pulled at the corners of his lips, “—you know how the boss is.”

Nick nodded. Elizabeth was against anyone going anywhere in the fields alone. "I'll get two horses ready," Nick stated before heading off toward one of the other barns where fresh horses were waiting to be saddled.  

---

Aiden stared around the large ranch and had no idea of what he was supposed to be doing or where to go. Elizabeth had left before giving him any job to do thanks to a man that had run in and let her know that another man had hurt his leg and was refusing a trip to the docs.  

Aiden stepped out into the sun and was thankful that at least it was a pretty day. A man who had nothing had to find the small things in life to be thankful for.  

He was about to just start wandering around and explore his temporary home but he was stopped very quickly in his tracks at the sight of a man coming his way.

The man was big and more than a little scary as he strode Aiden's way. Scuffed up boots, work stained and worn denim pants with a gray chambray shirt tucked into them, a lean stomach, broad shoulders and a scarred face that could no doubt give small children nightmares.  

It wasn't that the man was ugly, as a matter of fact he was quite the opposite, but Aiden 's knees were quite literally knocking together at the intimidating sight of this man and the way he carried himself.   

"I take it she gave you the job?"

"Huh?" Aiden asked as he found himself looking at the man's weather hardened, battle scarred face.  

The man raised one brow and tossed down his cigarette before snuffing it out beneath his boot tip, "My wife gave you the job?"  

"Yeah," Aiden nodded, realizing that this must be Brody Atkinson; the man that apparently everyone was afraid of. Aiden figured there was one more person that could be added to that list now that he'd finally met the man.  

Brody grinned, the gesture twisting the scar on his cheek, before patting Aiden on the back. "You ain't got no need to be scared of me. I'm not nearly as mean as the stories make me out to be."  

Aiden forced a smile, though he was sure it came across as more of a grimace, "I'm not scared," he lied.  

The man's brow rose again and Aiden knew he hadn't believed him. "What are you wandering around looking so lost for?" Brody asked.  

"Not sure what I'm supposed to be doing," Aiden replied honestly.  

"I had a man polishing saddles and reins in that third barn down the way this morning. He got busy and didn't get a chance to finish. Why don't ya go make yourself useful finishing that up?"  

Aiden nodded. How hard could polishing a couple of saddles be?  "Yes, sir."  

"Don't call me sir. The name's Brody."  

"Aiden."  

Brody held out a scarred and calloused hand and Aiden shook it, "I know you've more than likely already been made aware or the rules and such around here since you've already spoke to my wife—" Brody paused and Aiden nodded. "—Good. Let me just let you know that I don't care much about the rules. My main concern is whether or not you're gonna bring trouble around my family."  

"No, sir," Aiden promised. The bounty hunters after him wouldn't trouble themselves with any of these folks. They were only getting paid to kill one man and that was Aiden himself.  

"That's good. I protect what's mine, Aiden. Remember that." Brody patted him on the back once again, adjusted the hat on his head, spit into the dust and then walked away with his thumbs through his belt loops.  

Aiden saw Nick come out of a barn with two saddled horses and something inside Aiden wished the other man would look his way.  

He didn't.

Aiden watched Brody and Nick ride off and was about to head to the barn Brody had wanted him to work in when he heard a chuckle.  

He glanced over his shoulder to see Cookie, still sitting in that same rickety chair with that same hound at his feet, "He's lying, you know," Cookie mumbled, without opening his eyes.  

"About what?" Aiden questioned.  

"He can be just as mean as those stories say he is."  

---

Nick and Brody rode back into the ranch at nearly sundown. Thankfully there had been a small hole in the fence where the weather had knocked down a wooden post. Brody had seemed relieved to know he wasn't going to have to get into a war with the neighboring ranch.  

Brody bid Nick a quick goodbye and then rode off, clearly in a hurry to get home to his wife and children. Nick envied that. Not the wife part, (nor the children since he knew that was a dream that would never come true), but the having somewhere to go home to and having someone there waiting on him who would be happy to see his silhouette riding in.  

Knowing Cookie would have something to eat waiting at the bunkhouse, Nick hopped off the mare he'd ridden out on and walked her to the barn. Once he had her settled in her stall with a bit of fresh water and supper of her own, Nick walked back outside and wiped his sweat slicked brow on his shirt sleeve.  

The sky was beautiful tonight. Pinks, purples, oranges and reds all swirled together and stretching out for as far as the eye could see. Nick's stomach let out a rumble and he rubbed at it sympathetically, "Let's go get you some food."  

"Are you talking to your stomach?"  

Nick felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on edge and turned toward the sound of that voice to see Aiden standing beside the barn watching him with amusement, "No," Nick grumbled, turning away from him quickly.  

"imaginary friend then?" Aiden offered and despite himself Nick felt the corners of his lips twitching.  

"Yep. His name's Fred." Nick spared another glance at Aiden and when their eyes met Aiden blushed and glanced away toward the sunset.  That was interesting.  

"That's a good name," Aiden said as he kicked at a rock on the ground. Then he winced as he stretched out his arms.  

"You alright?" Nick found himself asking. 	

"Yeah—I didn't realize how many saddles this place had," Aiden admitted. "I got one hell of a knot in my shoulders.... I couldn't get you to try to rub it out could I?"  

Nick's eyes narrowed as his nostrils flared and he stared at the man beside him. The request was innocent enough and wouldn't be a problem with any other man on the ranch. But Nick didn't see Aiden as any other man.  Dammit! Nick had learned his lesson once! Was he really going to make himself learn it again? Aiden's blush deepened as he looked away and rubbed at his own shoulder, clearly embarrassed.  

Without a word and with his blood thundering through his veins, Nick turned and let his feet carry him quickly away from the temptation that was Aiden. His only hope was the work at the ranch would prove too much for the man and he would run away scared sometime very soon.  

Preferably before Nick gave in to the temptation to taste the forbidden fruit.

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Nick thought about quitting. He thought about tossing his hat out of the ring and riding off before he was able to make a complete and total ass of himself. But then again he liked working for the Atkinsons. It was better pay, better food and better people than he'd found on any other ranch he'd come across and he truly respected the woman standing in front of him giving him this impossible order.  

"If Nick is busy that's okay," Aiden shrugged, clearly picking up on Nick's displeasure at Elizabeth's request for Nick to go with Aiden into town.  

Nick swallowed hard and fought to appear unaffected by the sound of his name leaving Aiden's mouth. What the hell was wrong with him? Aiden was a man which probably meant he liked women. Even if by some miracle Aiden was like him that still didn't mean that Nick needed to be entertaining ideas of the two of them together. It just wasn't something that worked. Two men could not be together and be happy. Folks wouldn't allow it.  

The stare that Elizabeth fixed him with made it clear that she wouldn't take no for an answer, "Nick, are you too busy to do what I need done?"  

If there was one thing Nick had learned over the last few months it was that Elizabeth did not put up with anyone ignoring her orders or questioning her authority, "No, ma'am," Nick assured her.  

"Good," Elizabeth turned her attention back to Aiden, "Aiden, I understand that you're a grown man and don't need a chaperone but you're also new around here. Not only that but there were a few things from my order missing and I need Nick to run by the mercantile and pick those up for me."  

"Okay then," Aiden mumbled, kicking at the dirt with his scuffed boot.  

"Just put your clothes on the ranch's tab at the tailor. Mr. Peabody won't have a problem with that. Make sure you get at least three outfits, a good pair of boots and some decent work gloves."  

Aiden nodded and then flushed with embarrassment when his oversized hat toppled off his head and landed in the dirt. Nick stooped down and picked it up, shoving it into Aiden's chest, "A hat that fits would probably be a good idea too," Nick grumbled.  

"Yeah probably," Aiden agreed as he plopped the big hat back on.  

Nick looked down at those wide dark eyes that seemed so unsure of everything around them and fought the urge to hug Aiden close and assure him that everything would be okay. Nothing was ever okay so telling him that would be a lie; not to mention that Nick didn't even know the man and this urge to comfort him was not natural for Nick. He was 

not a comforter.

"I'll go get the cart ready," he grumbled and then stomped off toward the barn, wishing Aiden had never found his way to Bakerstown or Atkinson Spread. What was it with these Atkinson's and helping everybody anyhow?

---

Elizabeth frowned as she watched Nick storm away. It wasn't like him to be so hot tempered or angry. Never before had Elizabeth had to use her signature 'ice queen' stare on the man.  

"Have the two of you disagreed on something or are you having trouble getting along?" she asked Aiden. "I know it's not my business but I don't like having the tension around the ranch."  

"No, ma'am," Aiden replied and then he smiled when she gave him a droll look. "I mean no, Liz," he amended, "He just doesn't seem to like me much."  

Elizabeth was wondering why that might be when Thomas and Sally came storming out of one of the barns, "Damn you, Sally Cooper! Not a damn thing I do is good enough for you is it?!" Thomas demanded loudly. Elizabeth sighed. It seemed these two lived to argue.  

"Maybe if you ever did things right it would be good enough," Sally spat back.  

Elizabeth glanced at Aiden and saw the man scratching at his bare forearm and seeming to wish he was anywhere other than right here. Max was also standing behind the arguing couple, rubbing at his skinny neck and appearing miserable and out of place.  

"Max, why don't you go on down to the river. Nathan, Lexi and Bryant are already down there," Elizabeth offered. The boy shot her a grateful smile and then took off like a bullet.  

Thomas whirled on Sally and hovered over her with his fists clenched at his side and his scarred eye jerking with tension. Sally looked equally mad with her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed, "Maybe if you weren't so damned moody then what I said wouldn't seem so bad. Ever since you got that baby in your belly you've been impossible to please!"  

"Well I sure as hell didn't put it there myself!" Sally reminded him. "And when your wife is feeling fat it is 

not okay to agree with her!“

Thomas grumbled and threw his hands in the air, "I didn't say you were fat!"  

"You didn't disagree with me when I said I was," Sally countered.  

"Because any response I gave would have been the wrong one... clearly even giving no response was somehow wrong." Thomas sounded tired at this point and Elizabeth was fighting back laughter, though she did feel sorry for the man. Sally was nearly impossible on the best of days and she 

had become worse the last few months since getting with child.

"So this is all my fault and I'm a horrible person?"  

Thomas shrugged, "You said it."  

Sally screeched and shoved her finger in his face, "If I'm so horrible then why don't you just skip coming home tonight and head to the saloon instead! You always liked those women better than me anyhow!"  

Elizabeth saw the anger and annoyance leave Thomas's face and become replaced with hurt and guilt. She knew it was time to step in, "That's enough, you two," she warned as she came between them. "Thomas, you head into the south field and help round up the calves for branding tomorrow." Thomas appeared as if he wanted to argue but Elizabeth pointed across the field, "

Go. “

Thomas stomped off with his shoulders slumped to the barn, jumped on his waiting horse and took off into the fields with a thundering of hooves.  

"You coming?" Nick's voice drew Elizabeth's attention and she realized he had brought the cart up behind them and was looking down at Aiden.  

Aiden swallowed hard, appearing relieved, and then hopped up into the cart beside Nick. Elizabeth sighed. Well at least one problem was now solved. Aiden no longer seemed to dread the trip to town.  

She watched the two men ride off and then turned her attention back to Sally. "What is wrong with you, Sally? That last jab was a low blow and you know it."  

Elizabeth was surprised when Sally's anger whooshed out of her with a breath and she appeared to deflate right before her eyes. Suddenly she just looked tired. "This baby is going to be the death of me, Liz. I can't eat, I can't sleep, I just pace the floors and vomit and yell and vomit and cry and vomit—"  

"I get the picture," Elizabeth assured her. "But that's still no reason to be so mean to Thomas. He tries to take care of you."  

"I know he does...."  

"So what was wrong this morning? It wasn't just the baby that was getting to you, there's something else."  

Sally sighed and laid her hands over her slightly rounded stomach, "Thomas got a letter about three days ago."

Elizabeth nodded. She remembered Frank bringing it to the ranch, "And?"  

"Apparently he had an uncle that he didn't know about and this uncle died recently and left Thomas a ranch. A big ranch. Just as big as Atkinson Spread, perhaps bigger."  

"Well that's wonderful news, Sally! Where is this ranch? Have I heard of it?"  

"Probably not, Liz. It's in Wyoming."  

"Oh."  

Sally rolled her blue eyes and nodded, "Yeah. So Thomas said he's not going to go claim the ranch because he doesn't want to force me to leave home," Sally appeared to be near tears. "But I can tell he really wants to go, Liz. I can see it in his eyes. I know why. I know he wants to have something that is his. Something that he can pass on to our children; a legacy."  

Elizabeth was quiet for a moment and then she smiled and took Sally's hands, "I can't tell you what decision to make, Sally. All I can say is that you have to do what feels right. Texas holds bad memories for Thomas. You know that as well as I do. Wyoming could be where y'all build a life together free of the past that haunts him."  

"But we'll never see you all again," Sally whispered.  

"Of course you will!" Elizabeth exclaimed with a laugh. "It's Wyoming, not the moon. The two of you need to sit down and talk--I said 

talk not argue–about this tonight. Whatever choice you make you know you will always have a place to come back to here. This ranch is yours too.“

Sally seemed to be in better spirits and she smiled gratefully, "Thank you, Liz."  

"Mommy!" Seven year old Lexi came running around the ranch house, her brown dress soaking wet and her blond braids dripping.  

"What happened to you? Didn't I say you couldn't go in the water?" Elizabeth demanded.  

"But it weren't my fault," Lexi promised as she chewed on her lip, "Bryant pushed me." 	

Elizabeth sighed, "Sally, you should get on in the house. Ellie told me you were going to help her with laundry today. I have to go deal with my out of control youngin's."  

The look Elizabeth shot Lexi had the girl squealing and running back around the house, warning her brothers and her cousin Max to hide. Elizabeth smiled and jogged after her.  

---

"Are those two always like that?" Aiden asked with a shake of his head as he and Nick headed toward town.  

"Pretty much," Nick grunted. "Of course I've only been around a few months."   

Aiden glanced at the other man and felt his heart beat just a bit faster. What was it about Nick that tied him up in knots? He was rugged and attractive that much was for sure. But there was something in his eyes, a haunted look that Aiden recognized because he had seen it in his own every time he glanced in the mirror lately.  

"What brought you out to Texas?" Aiden asked, turning his gaze back to the scenery of a non-blood heating variety. Nick might hate him but Aiden was not going to make this entire ride in awkward silence. He'd been a long time without having anyone to talk to and after the lonely night he'd spent in that bunkhouse with everyone acting as if he wasn't there, he was damn sure going to at least have a conversation with someone today.  

"I was born in Texas," Nick replied simply.  

Alright, it would seem that Mr. Tall, Dark and Brooding was a man of few words. That was okay. Aiden had once been told that when he got on a roll he could talk enough for three or four people. Actually the exasperated store clerk had told Aiden he was the only man he knew who could carry on a conversation with a fence post.  

"How'd you come to be at Atkinson Spread?"  

Nick didn't look away from the road as he replied, "Just happened to be looking for work and wound up there."  

"How old are you?" Aiden asked.  

"Thirty-one."  

"Oh.... I'm twenty-four," Aiden replied lamely. It was hard to carry on a conversation with someone who barely spoke. Aiden figured it could actually be easier to carry on a conversation with a fence post.  

Silence once again fell over the cart and Aiden took to counting the number of times that Nick clenched his fists on the reins. The man sure did do that a lot. Glancing at Nick's face, Aiden saw how tight his jaw was. The expression on his face made it seem as if he was having some inner battle with himself. Aiden wished he'd share.... It would be better than the silence.  

Suddenly the front wheel of the cart hit a rock and Aiden was jostled sideways. His body slammed against Nick's and Aiden placed his hand out in an attempt to brace himself only to find his palm covering a rather impressive bulge in the front of Nick's trousers.  

Aiden heard Nick's sharp intake of breath and felt the man's broad body tense. Aiden knew he should move but his body had stopped working. It was as if a bolt of lightning had just flashed in his veins. Nick was hard, hot and he smelled like an intoxicating mixture of hay, sweat, leather and a unique scent that was all his.  

Aiden felt his own fingers twitch against Nick's groin and then something breathtakingly amazing and mind boggling occurred.  

Nick responded.... Or at least the part of Nick pressed against Aiden's palm responded. It began to grow, twitching and hardening against his touch.  

Aiden didn't know what to do. His hand took on a life of its own and rubbed once up the length of that ever expanding bulge.  

That animalistic groan once again left Nick's throat and then Aiden felt himself being shoved sideways. His body was suddenly cold at the lack of contact with Nick's and he barely managed to catch himself before he toppled over the outside of the cart.  

"What the hell are you doing?!" Nick practically roared.  

Aiden felt shame color him red from his toes to his scalp. Fear also filled him. Would Nick kill him? Would Nick tell the boss what he'd done and have him fired? Or maybe hung? Hell did they still burn people at the stake?

Aiden curled up as tight as he could to the outside edge of the cart seat and pulled his hat low, hiding his red, burning face, "Nothing," he mumbled, "I was just..... nothing."

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Aiden had all but leapt from the cart just as soon as they'd ridden onto the outskirts of town. He remembered where the tailors shop was from the day before when he'd explored the streets and he managed to make it there without seeing anyone he knew; an easy feat since he only knew three or four people here in town.   

Once at the shop he went to the back corner of the store, hid behind a bright silver dress that seemed fitting for the queen of England's wardrobe and wished the ground would simply open up and swallow him whole so he would never again have to look at Nick.  

What had he been thinking!? Of course it wasn't his fault that his hand had landed on Nick's lap but it most certainly 

was his fault that he hadn’t pulled it away instantly and it was also his fault that he had—oh dear mother of pearl–he had rubbed the man’s arousal.

Aiden bit his lip and tilted his head. His rather impressive arousal... but wait one moment! Why had Nick been aroused? Aiden's hand had landed on his lap and instantly Nick Junior, (little Nick wouldn't be the proper term because there hadn't been anything 

little about it), had sprung to attention.

Aiden flushed bright red and slumped down even smaller behind the overdone dress with far too much poof, lace and satin. Was Nick like him? Could that be the answer? Did Aiden dare to hope? Not that Aiden had any interest in taking Nick as a lover (or any other man for that matter—that could prove to be deadly if folks found out), but it would be awfully nice to know at least one other person who suffered from the same 

disease as he did.

But then again Nick certainly hadn't seemed happy when he'd flared his nostrils and bellowed loud enough to scare the birds out a nearby tree.... How in the hell was Aiden supposed to face him in order to get a ride back to the ranch? Maybe he'd just walk—how long could it take? Three or four hours? That didn't seem so bad when put up against the alternative.  

"I don't think they have that dress in your size," a female voice full of amusement spoke from the other side of the horrid, silver contraption. "And silver really doesn't seem like your color. I think you're more of a green or gray."  

Aiden swallowed hard, tried hard to make his face look as unemotional as possible and stood up straight, popping out from behind the dress quickly. He recognized the woman who had been with Wendell the day before—his 'not-fiancee-who-had-once-been-Ryder's-fake-fiancee'. This town had some strange people for sure.  

"Hi," Aiden threw his hand up in a wave and then called himself a socially inept idiot a million times in his head.  

The woman laughed lightly, rolled her eyes and waved back at him, "Hello."  

"I'm Aiden."  

"I know," she replied, "I'm Kaitlyn. I didn't mean to bother you and interrupt your um.... 

shopping , but I was looking for Wendell.“

"He's at the ranch," Aiden replied quickly and he saw her face fall as she picked at the lace on the silver dress.  

"I suppose I'll just have to talk to him later then," she crossed her arms under her impressive breasts (just because Aiden was attracted to men didn't mean he didn't notice when a woman looked good), "Are you back in town for good or did the Atkinson's hire you on."  

"They hired me," Aiden shrugged. "I'm not real sure why."  

"Because you needed a job and Susie said so. She's part owner of that ranch, you know."  

"No, I didn't know that," Aiden admitted.  

Kaitlyn's eyes sparkled teasingly as she smiled and tilted her head toward the silver monstrosity. "So are you dress shopping for yourself or someone else?"  

Aiden flushed red and took three big steps away from the dress, "Liz said I needed clothes—"  

"I don't think that's what she had in mind," Kaitlyn interrupted with a laugh.  

Aiden's lips curved in a smile, "No, you're probably right."  

"Well thanks for talking to me, Aiden. You seem like a real nice fella. Maybe I'll see ya around sometime."  

Aiden nodded and watched Kaitlyn walk out of the tailor shop. His mind momentarily off of what had happened on the way to town, Aiden was able to quickly pick out two new pairs of trousers and two new shirts—all of which needed to be altered but would be done by Saturday, which was three days from now.  

He left the store wearing a new pair of boots and with a good thick pair of leather gloves in his back pocket. It wasn't until he saw Nick sitting in the cart on the road in front of the tailor that he remembered exactly what he'd done on the way to town.  

Aiden froze. He swallowed hard. His hands shook. His heart thundered. Then the strangest thing happened. Nick looked up, his eyes met Aiden's and those firm lips of his curved into the smallest of smiles just before he gruffly hollered, "Come on then if you're coming! We're burnin' daylight!"

---

Nick's mind had been racing uncontrollably since Aiden had accidentally touched his crotch in the cart. Nick hadn't meant to yell at the other man like that but damnation the feel of his hand on the part of Nick's anatomy that was already far too aware of his presence had nearly had Nick coming undone completely.  

One thing was perfectly clear to Nick and that was he had been denying his urges and his body for far too long. Unfortunately for Aiden, Nick's control had slipped this morning and his arousal had been more than obvious beneath the man's hand.  

Nick needed to get control of himself. If anyone in this town knew his secret—he shivered as he remembered what had happened the last time he'd been found out. He and his lover had been ripped from their tiny cabin. They had been dragged into town where the townsfolk, such nice and charming people, had harassed them, screamed obscenities and thrown rocks, food and anything else they could grab at the two of them.  

Then they had tied a rope around Tyler's neck and hanged him from the big oak at the edge of town. Nick had wept as he'd watched the man he loved die of suffocation right there in front of his eyes. Desperate to get away, Nick had fought hard and taken off as fast as he could on a stolen horse.  

He'd taken a bullet to the side but had managed to escape with his life, though just barely. It was too much to risk going through all of that again. Nick could not allow himself to fall in love with another man, only to have that man ripped away from him as well..... And Nick didn't lie with men he didn't love.  

He had only ever loved one man and only ever laid with one man.  

And hell Aiden was probably like most other men in the world—he probably preferred waking up with a soft woman in his arms rather than waking up in the strong arms of a man.  

Nick shook his head to try to clear the tangled thoughts filling it as he pulled the cart up beside the tailor's shop to wait on Aiden. The man had acted scared to death of him and Nick didn't blame him after the way he had yelled. Aiden was like a little, whipped pup scared of its own shadow—Nick should have known better than to yell at him.  Nick would like to have those soft brown eyes looking at him with something other than fear.......

Nick grumbled under his breath and shook his head again when his thoughts strayed to Aiden's big brown eyes. Dammit why was this happening? Nick hadn't let himself focus this much on a man in six years; not since Tyler had been taken from him. Why now? Why Aiden? Why when Nick had finally found the town and the ranch he'd like to settle down in?

He would just have to fight the attraction, be civil to the man, and hope that Aiden would be leaving Bakerstown and Atkinson Spread soon.  

Nick glanced over and his heart did a slow roll in his chest when he saw Aiden step out of the tailor and onto the boardwalk. Under six feet and built almost boyishly lean, Aiden was a lot like Tyler had been; at least in build. But Aiden's dark hair, his boyish smile, his innocence and awkwardness those were all his own; as were those soft brown eyes.  

Aiden's eyes met his and Nick swallowed hard. He didn't want to smile, tried really hard not to smile, but it was no use. His lips took on a mind of their own and curved anyway.  Irritated and annoyed with himself Nick hollered for Aiden to hurry up and then turned his head away from him.  

The cart dipped a little as Aiden clambered up onto it and Nick flicked the reins to start them back toward the ranch, "Thought you were going to get clothes?" Nick asked, desperate to make some sort of conversation to end the awkward silence.  

Aiden was sitting there as far away from him as he could get on the wagon seat. His hands seemed to be shaking a little as he picked at a hole in the knee of his trousers. "I did," Aiden replied quietly, "But they had to be altered a little to fit right. Mr. Peabody said I could come pick them up Saturday."  

"Did you get the boots and gloves then?"  

Aiden gave him an odd look and then raised his pants leg to show the new boots on his feet. He pulled a pair of gloves out of his pocket and laid them over his lap. "I got everything I was supposed to," Aiden assured him.  

Nick found himself chuckling when they hit a small bump and Aiden's oversized hat fell forward. Nick's hand took on a life of its own when he reached out and fixed the hat, a smile on his face, "All except a hat."  

Aiden's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard and shifted in the seat, "Yeah, I forgot the hat."  

Another awkward silence fell over the cart and Nick decided it would be best to focus on the road. One thing was for sure—ignoring these feelings of attraction for Aiden was gonna be a thing easier said than done.

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Aiden spent the next two days so busy he didn't even take the time to notice that Nick was avoiding him as if he had the plague—or at least he didn't take too much time to notice that fact.  

Liz had quickly learned that Aiden had no talent for cattle or horses and so he had spent the last two days polishing every single bit of tackle and gear this ranch had to offer.  And it was a big ranch.  

Saturday dawned bright, warm, sunny and far too early as far as Aiden was concerned. Back home he'd been the type to sleep until half the day was over and stay up far into the night; on a ranch that was a laughable request. It was up with the sun and down shortly after sunset so you could get right back up the next morning and do it all over again.  

Aiden rose from his bed and stood up slowly. His backside and legs were aching from squatting down polishing leather so much the last couple of days and his sore shoulders caused his arms to feel as if they weighed a ton. Between running for his life for two months straight and now this dawn to dusk work the last few days, Aiden was wore down and exhausted.  

Maybe he could get an easy job today like guarding the rocking chair.... Yeah he could handle that.  

"Look alive, Aiden," Wendell teased as he came up beside him and patted him roughly on the back, nearly causing Aiden to fall. Aiden clutched desperately at the wall and glared at the other man, "What's the matter there, kiddo? Are you sore?"  

Aiden glanced at Nick who was making up his cot and caught the man's storm gray eyes. Aiden thought maybe he saw concern in them but then the man scowled and looked away and Aiden figured he'd been imagining things.  

"I'll live," Aiden replied, hoping he sounded tougher than he felt. 

‘I think,’ he added silently.

"At least we'll be able to head into town tonight," Wendell sighed as he moved to his cot and began to make it up.

"I might head to the saloon and see if your 

almost wife is working tonight. I could use a bit of company,“ a ranch hand named Burt called out with a wistful sigh and a chuckle.

Aiden found himself laughing quietly as Wendell leapt across the cots and tackled the other man to the ground, pinning his arms, "You got the guts to say that about my woman again?" Wendell demanded, though the smile on his face kept the threat from being too serious.  

Aiden felt himself tremble and he quickly glanced in Nick's direction to find the other man staring at him. He was certain he saw Nick appear almost sheepish before turning quickly away and striding toward the door. Nick was stopped in his tracks by Brody's broad frame entering the bunkhouse.  

"Should I come back at a better time?" Brody asked, that Atkinson brow of his rising ever-so-slightly as he looked at Wendell and Burt still rolling around on the floor. The two men jumped to their feet, put a good ten feet of distance between them and began to brush themselves off while blushing and denying vehemently that anything had been going on.  

"Alright, most of ya are staying around here today to finish up the branding and work on breaking that mare Thomas brought in. But there's apparently a problem with the fence on the far southeast portion of the summer pasture and I'll need Nick and Aiden to ride on out there and check it out. Take some extra wire with you and fix whatever is wrong."  

"I don't need him along," Nick countered. "I'd rather go it alone."  

Brody frowned and looked back and forth between Nick and Aiden. Aiden felt as if he were some storefront mannequin on display as every pair of eyes in the bunkhouse landed on him, "Is there something wrong between the two of you that I should know about?" Brody questioned as he stuck his thumbs through his belt loops and rocked back on his heels, "Cuz I ain't got a bit of time for that bullshit. Get your issue sorted out and then get your asses in a saddle and out to the field to check that fence. If any of y'all are hungry Cookies' got some coffee and eggs out here for ya."

With that Brody was gone. Aiden looked at Nick but the man just scowled, cinched a gun belt around his lean hips (of course drawing Aiden's attention there) and flopping a hat on his head. When Aiden pulled his eyes away from Nick's hips he met his eyes and Aiden was certain this time that he saw hunger flash inside them.  

Aiden felt his weak legs wobble a bit as the full force of Nick's gaze hit him and then without a word, the other man was turning quickly and striding from the room, providing Aiden with a good view of his broad back and firm backside as he headed out the door.  

"Nick doesn't seem to like you much," Wendell stated as he placed a hat on his own head. "Which is strange cuz Nick normally just doesn't care about folks. He keeps to himself and doesn't seem to form opinions."  

"Yeah well, he seems like a giant horse's ass to me," Aiden mumbled as he put on his hat and walked outside.  

He walked to Cookie and took a plate of food from the man though he barely had time to scarf down even half of it before Nick appeared leading two horses, "You ready?" Nick snapped and Aiden looked longingly at his plate still full of food before handing it to Cookie.  

The old man was chuckling quietly as Aiden turned to face Nick, "Why do you hate me so much?" Aiden demanded, though he was more confused than anything else. Sometimes Nick looked at him with heat and hunger that had Aiden's knees wobbling. Other times the man seemed ready to kill him where he stood.  

Nick seemed surprised by the question as his gray eyes widened slightly. Then he grunted, shoved the reins of one of the horses into Aiden's hand and shook his head, "I ain't got time to discuss 

emotions just now, Aiden,“ he replied, “I got work to do.”

 Aiden watched Nick walk away and shook his head. He had no time to worry about Nick and his mood swings. He shouldn't be worrying about looking for a man anyhow... not when those bounty hunters were bound to show up any day and send him running again.  

With that reminder of what his life now was, Aiden felt any good humor or thought of Nick vanish from his mind as he led the horse after Nick's retreating back.  

---

Awkward did not even begin to describe the way Nick's day was going. He did his best to ignore Aiden riding beside him as they rode across the fields and eyed the fence lines but it was harder than anything Nick had ever done.  

Aiden kept grunting with pain and whenever Nick looked at the other man he looked so damn pitiful that it tugged at Nick's heartstrings. They'd been riding for nearly three hours but thankfully had reached the pasture that Brody wanted them to check. If Brody has asked them to check the winter or spring pastures they'd have been spending the night at one of the many shacks built for days the men were in the fields and too busy to be bothered riding back to the ranch. Atkinson spread was truly massive.   

Nick had never been much of a talker but he found that the silence became too much for even he to bear, "Where'd you come here from?"  

Aiden's head whipped around toward him and he seemed shocked, maybe even a little frightened, by Nick's sudden attempt at conversation, "Uh... Virginia," he finally mumbled as he picked at the mares mane.  

"And what exactly made a fella from the city think he had what it takes to make it out here?" Nick questioned. Aiden looked to him like a man who wouldn't last long at all out west where there were more outlaws and bandits per square mile than there were lawmen. Then again he had come to the safest place in Texas. Not many men had the balls to fool with Brody Atkinson's town.  

"I'm making it just fine," Aiden snapped. Clearly Nick had touched a nerve and so he backed off a little. After several more moments of silence Aiden sighed, "I didn't have a choice but to leave home."  

Nick frowned, "And why's that?"  

"My parents wanted me gone."  

The sadness in the other man's voice caused every protective instinct that Nick possessed flaring to life. He had seen the way Aiden looked at him and his body still heated when he remembered the way Aiden had touched him days ago—he had his suspicions that Aiden suffered from the same so-called 

disease that he did. But he couldn’t know for sure unless he asked and that wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to bring up in conversation. And what good would it do to know the truth? Nick wasn’t willing to risk himself again… not after the hell he’d gone through the last time he’d given his heart away.

Nick was about to speak when Aiden pointed a finger toward the fence they were riding to, "Is that the hole?"  

Nick followed his gaze and a string of curses left his mouth that had Aiden gasping. Nick flung himself from the saddle and strode to the wire fence, taking the broken ends in his gloved hands and shaking his head furiously.  

Someone had cut the fence. Sure the land beyond it was still Atkinson land but it wasn't grazing pasture, it was a hay field. Someone had ridden in and cut this fence; their tracks were plain to see in the hay. Nick looked back at the cattle in the distance and chewed on his lip. Who on God's green earth would have the nerve to cut through Brody and Liz's fences? Someone that suffered from  a special kind of stupid.  

Nick turned back around to see Aiden just getting off his horse. "Get back on," Nick urged, "We've gotta go tell Brody and Liz about this."  

"Aren't we going to fix the fence?" Aiden questioned and Nick saw him wince a bit as he stretched out his legs and rolled his shoulders. It was clear the smaller man was in pain.  

"Not just yet. We're gonna tell Brody and Liz what's going on and see what they want to do. Someone cut that fence to steal cattle. Far as I know we don't have any cattle missing just yet which means those folks will be coming back."  

"They have a lack of common sense as far as I'm concerned. Brody Atkinson isn't the kind of man I'd steal from."  

Nick shook his head, "Me neither."

He hopped onto his horse and waited for Aiden to do the same but it was clear the other man was having trouble. His arms were shaking and he seemed to lack the strength to pull himself up.  

Nick shook his head, slid from his horse and walked to Aiden. He didn't put much thought into what he was doing when he dropped to one knee beside Aiden and held out his hands. His only intention had been to give the man a boost but his mouth went dry and his collar became tight when he realized he was eye level with Aiden's crotch.  

Too long. Too long. Too long. Nick had been denying his body for far too long. He spared a glance up at Aiden's face to see that he looked just as confused and yet hungry as Nick felt. Looking up at him this way, Nick felt smaller somehow; more vulnerable.  

Aiden's full pink lip slid between his teeth and Nick licked his own lip in response, his body tightening when Aiden's brown eyes followed the movement. Nick's hands were clenching when he looked forward once again and found himself staring at the front of Aiden's trousers.  

He found himself wondering what the other man tasted like. He swallowed back a groan as he thought of how hot and smooth he would feel against his lips and on his tongue....  

When Aiden's trousers twitched it brought Nick out of the lust filled haze he'd been in. Dammit! They were out in the middle of open where anyone could ride up and he was fantasizing about sliding Aiden's cock in his mouth and tasting him.... What the hell was wrong with him?

Nick shook his head and knocked his hands against Aiden's shins. "Come on, dammit, and I'll help you on the horse."  

Aiden placed his booted foot in Nick's hands and Nick hoisted him up. Once Aiden was in the saddle Nick turned away from him without a word and slid easily into his own saddle. They headed back toward the ranch with a silence even more tense than before settling over them.  

Nick couldn't help but wonder even more about where Aiden had come from. Nick had noticed that the man didn't seem to sleep much at night and when he did he tossed, turned and whimpered. And he seemed so bone deep tired. More tired than a man should be from just polishing tackle.  

Nick spared a glance at Aiden and saw him nearly falling asleep in the saddle. Nick sighed and moved himself just a bit closer. If Aiden fell asleep and began to fall, Nick wanted to make sure he could catch him.  

When they rode into the ranch, Nick gave Aiden the horses to take to the barn and he went in search of Brody. He found the other man covered in sweat and dirt and bleeding a little from a scratch on his cheek, "What happened to you?" Nick questioned with amusement as Brody swiped his dirty hands on his backside and leapt over the corral fence where the mare they'd been working to break was storming around like a tornado.   

"He's getting slow in his old age!" Liz replied as she climbed to the top of the fence and then cried out with shock as Brody grabbed her around her waist and lifted her down, keeping her body flush against his.  

"I'm still plenty fast enough to handle you, cowgirl,"  

Nick felt an ache in his chest as they became lost in each other for several long moments. His eyes were drawn to the barn that he knew Aiden was currently inside. He wished it could be that easy for Nick to give the one he wanted affection but it wasn't and it never would be.  

"Did you get that fence looked at?" Brody asked, jerking Nick from his depressing thoughts. Elizabeth was gone and Brody was looking at Nick expectantly, obviously waiting for an answer.  

"I left the hole, Brody, and I got some bad news."  

Brody raised a brow, pulled a rolled cigarette from his pocket and struck a match against his cheek. He took a long, slow draw off the cigarette and then blew the smoke out with his next question. "What news would that be, Nick? I don't like suspense."  

"Someone cut the wire and, if I were a betting man, which I am, I would say that they'll be coming back soon."  

Brody let out a string of curses that made even Nick blush, "I guess I'll be camping out there tonight."  

"I'll take care of it—" Brody shook his head, silencing Nick's offer.  

"Tonight's your night off. Between me, Thomas and Jacob we can handle this for tonight. You go on into town and have some fun—you're looking rougher than me here lately."  

Brody patted Nick on the back and then Nick watched the man walk away. From the tense set in his shoulders it was clear he was plenty pissed at hearing he had thieves trying to get to his cattle.  

"Well I'm about ready to head on into town!" Wendell exclaimed as he jogged over. "You coming?"  

"Yeah, I reckon," Nick replied. He was in bad need of a hot bath, a shave and a stiff drink.  

"Alright then. I'll go get us some horses ready and grab the new hand. He said something about needing to head into town today too."  

Nick watched Wendell head off toward the barn and groaned. Every time he turned around people were throwing Aiden in his face. How was a man supposed to avoid temptation when temptation followed you around, acted so helpless and looked at you with such soft brown eyes?

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Aiden took his time with his bath at the hotel that evening. The hot water helped ease some of the pain from his stiff muscles and even took away a bit of the stress and weariness that living on the run had caused to cling to him.  

Aiden wanted to be that happy-go-lucky, carefree man he'd once been but he wasn't sure he could ever get that man back. It would only be a matter of time before those bounty hunters tracked him down again and he would have to run for his life or die. Honestly, Aiden was surprised they hadn't found him already but he was thankful for it. He needed this time to recover a bit.  

And of course there was Nick.....

Aiden's water had cooled so he stood and stepped from the metal tub. He stepped onto the gleaming hardwood floor below it and dried himself with the stiff blue towel that had been lying on the chair  

Nick. The man was a puzzle. A tempting, arousing, hell of a puzzle that Aiden was afraid to look at too long. Aiden felt a flush color his cheeks when he remembered the way Nick had gotten on his knee and gazed up at him with so much longing and hunger.  

Aiden had never imagined in a hundred years that he'd find a man out here that was like him but he had—he'd be willing to bet his life on that. So why then was Nick so hot and cold? What made the man so against letting Aiden see what he was? Had someone found out in his past and let him know it wasn't okay just the same as had happened to Aiden?  

Aiden didn't know what made Nick who he was but he wanted to find out. Nick caused a heat and a hunger in Aiden that he had never felt before in his life. While Aiden knew that he'd have to leave soon, he wanted to get to know everything he could about Nick and the passion the man awoke in him before that happened.  

What better way to do that than by heading down to the saloon where Nick was currently drinking and playing cards? Maybe the tall, hard, closed off man would be feeling a bit more open and up to talking with alcohol in his blood. It was worth a shot.

By the time Aiden dressed in some of his new clothes, donned his oversized hat and made his way into the dirty, dusty, dimly-lit saloon, his confidence had failed him. He couldn't just walk up to Nick and talk to him! The man was unapproachable as he sat with his side facing Aiden and concentrated on the poker game he was playing. And besides what good would it do to get to know the man when Aiden would simply be running for his life within the next few days or a week at the most?  

Aiden wished he'd been born a bit braver but there was something about Nick that made it hard for Aiden to breathe around him, let alone just walk up and strike up a conversation. Instead Aiden made himself as unnoticeable as possible and slunk up to the bar where he ordered a beer from the old barkeep who appeared only half awake. Aiden proceeded to simply stare into that beer and wonder where he would go once those bounty hunters came riding into Bakerstown.

---

Nick had noticed Aiden the moment that he entered the saloon wearing that ridiculously big hat. Honestly, where had the man come across that thing at?

Aiden looked horribly out of place here. This saloon was full of a rougher crowd and that's why Nick liked it. No one was trying to make friends with anyone else, they were just playing cards, drinking whiskey and getting friendly with the women—well most of the men were getting friendly with the women.  

Nick had learned over the years to not even smile at the bar maids because it gave them hope and ideas. It was better to act completely indifferent or all out rude and that way they left you alone and you didn't have to answer any awkward questions about why you were refusing their advances.  

Aiden clearly didn't belong here. He was too soft, too fragile and too innocent to fit into a place like this. When Nick saw a man sit beside Aiden and poke him in the shoulder, clearly planning to give the newcomer a hard time, Nick knew he had to put a stop to it.  

He tossed down his cards, swigged down the last of his fourth beer and gathered up his winnings before beginning to weave his way through the chairs and bodies toward the bar. As he got closer he could hear the conversation between Aiden and the man... Nick thought his name was Garth but he wasn't sure—he didn't take the time to get to know too many people.  

---

"What you doin' in here, kid?"  

Aiden sighed and wished this man would go away. He had known the second he'd flopped himself down on the stool next to him that this man was going to be trouble. Aiden didn't want new trouble; he just wanted to forget the troubles he already had.  

"I'm not a kid," Aiden mumbled in response as he stared down into his beer.  

The man sneered, revealing a chipped front tooth, "Sure you are. And you smell like those damned Atkinson's. "

Aiden frowned,"They got a particular scent?"  

"You gettin' clever now?!" the man demanded as he shoved Aiden's shoulder.  

Aiden saw the bartender glance their way, "No sir I'm not," Aiden replied, hoping to diffuse this situation before it turned more violent. Aiden wasn't much of a fighter and knew that this man who was twice as big as he was and smelled like he was well into his second or third vat of whiskey could easily make short work of him.  

"I think you are!" the man snapped as he slammed a meaty fist down on the bar. Aiden was about to do what he did best and hightail it out of there when suddenly he felt a tremble wash down his back.  

"Is there something wrong here, Garth?" Nick's voice was like music to Aiden's ears and he leaned back in his stool, feeling his back press against Nick's hard stomach. He heard Nick's sharp intake of breath and quickly sat back up and began to move his beer glass around with his finger.  

"Naw there ain't nothin' wrong here, is there, boy?" Garth replied with a warning in his tone that Aiden didn't miss. "Why don't you go on back to your cards now, Nick?"  

"I'm all done," Nick replied. Aiden turned sideways in his stool, now facing Garth with Nick's hip level with his chin.  

"Is that right? Then get ya a woman and leave me and the boy be," Garth offered, waving a hand.  

 Nick simply stood there with his arms crossed loosely over his chest, "I'd rather not."  

"I've noticed something 'bout you, Nick," Garth stated as he stood up and weaved slightly on his drunk feet. "You don't ever seem to show any interest in the ladies 'round here but you're rushin' in quick to help the boy. You ain't the type of man likes to shove his pecker in another man are you?"   

Aiden choked on the beer he'd just gulped down and he felt Nick's big hand striking his back roughly in an attempt to help him—obviously the other man thought broken ribs were the cure for choking to death.  

"Garth, don't you worry about that none. You wouldn't be my type if I was that kind of man," Nick replied to the other man as he continued to beat on Aiden's back.  

"And why the hell not?" Garth demanded as he took a step forward. Aiden swatted desperately at Nick's arm to get him to stop hitting his back, which felt as if it had been trampled by cattle—angry cattle. Garth seemed to realize what his question sounded like and he quickly shook his head, "I mean.... How about I just kick your Atkinson loving ass?"  

"If you really think that's necessary then go ahead," Nick replied sounding bored.  

Aiden shook his head. He didn't want Nick getting hurt because of him. He'd handle Garth himself.... And then spent the next few months in a bed mending broken bones. "Nick, this doesn't concern you so why don't you just go one and let me handle it?" Aiden snapped, hoping to scare Nick off.  

"Yeah, Nick, ya outghta listen to the boy there," Garth laughed.  

Aiden had had enough. His parents wanted him dead. He had bounty hunters trying to kill him every time he turned around. He had been in fear for his life and running on very little sleep for two months. He'd been thrust into working on a ranch which he knew next to nothing about and he'd had Nick bristling at him all week—now this man was in his face and calling him a 

boy. Boy? Really? Aiden was a goddamn man and it was about time that people started treating him like one.

He pushed himself off his stool and was fully prepared to throw his fist into Garth's unsuspecting face when suddenly another body came between them and Aiden found himself looking at Ryder's smiling face as the man leaned his elbows against the bar.  

"I see you're fitting in nicely," Ryder remarked, his dimples deepening and his eyes sparkling with good humor. Aiden felt himself instantly feeling a bit more at ease. Ryder seemed to have that effect on people—it was almost impossible to stay angry when he was around.  

"Ryder, this don't concern you.." Garth began and Ryder turned to face him. Aiden moved away from the stool and stood beside Nick so he could see Garth. He didn't like not being able to see the other man.  

"Garth, you're looking—well you're looking like hell these days to be honest with you," Ryder's grin grew, "You've gotta let go of all that anger you hold onto. It's not good for you."  

"Why don't you go on back to the damn hole you crawled out of Ryder. Or go on home to that big-assed, nosy, good for nothing Atkinson wife of yours..."  

Aiden felt his own fists clench at hearing this man insult Susie when Susie seemed to be such a genuinely good person and someone who had truly made him feel welcome here. However, it seemed his temper was unneeded because Garth had no sooner gotten the words out then Ryder's entire demeanor changed.  

He was still smiling but it seemed colder somehow and his shuffling feet and tapping fingers stilled as well, "I think it'd be in your best interest to get on home and sleep off your drink, Garth. Or do I need to kick your ass again just like I have a few other times now?"

Garth grumbled a few times but seemed genuinely afraid of Ryder. Aiden nearly burst out laughing when Ryder let out a quick bark, sounding like a yapping dog, and lunged quickly as if he were going for Garth. Garth jumped backward, stumbled over a stool, and knocked into a man causing his drink to splash on the floor.  

As Garth hightailed it from the saloon Ryder turned to face Nick and Aiden with a big grin on his face. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a coin which he began to roll back and forth across his knuckles.  

"How's the ranch working for ya?" he asked Aiden.  

"Good I guess," Aiden replied with a shrug.  

"Well that's good," Ryder helped himself to Garth's unfinished shot of whiskey. "If ya need any help with Brody just come to me. Him and I are as close as.... Well we're like this," Ryder held up two fingers and then crossed them tightly to show just how close he and Brody were.  

Aiden heard Nick chuckle and glanced up at the other man to find his gray eyes full of amusement and his head shaking.  

Ryder sat the empty whiskey glass on the bar, "This really isn't the best saloon to be hanging out in, Aiden. Nick here is alright but the rest of them here got sticks up their asses."  

Aiden's eyes widened at the loud way Ryder shared that tidbit of information but no one seemed to be paying much attention to what the hyperactive man said. "Where should I be?" Aiden asked.  

"There's two other saloons down the road. I'll take ya...."  

"That's alright, Ryder," Nick spoke up, "I'll make sure he gets there safe."  

Aiden wanted to bristle and insist that he didn't need protecting but the thought of Nick standing beside him so strong and able and looking out for him—that didn't sound so bad.   

Ryder looked back and forth between them several times and then nodded as he shoved the coin into his pocket and shrugged. "Alright then. I need to be getting home to Susie before she starts worrying about me. She's a worrier, my Susie." Without saying another word or waiting for a reply, Ryder left the saloon just as quickly as he had entered.  

"Why does Garth hate the Atkinson's so bad?" Aiden asked, feeling more than a little awkward now that he was once again alone with Nick.  

Nick tossed some change on the bar, silencing the barkeep who, was growing agitated by all the commotion and then took Aiden by the arm leading him toward the door. "I reckon the Atkinson's are either people you love or you hate. If they like you then they are the nicest folks you'll ever meet but if they don't like you then they can make your life miserable."  

"And I take it they don't like Garth?" Aiden offered and Nick smiled.  The smile was enough to have Aiden's feet tangling up and he would have fallen had Nick's hand not firmly held him up.  

"It would seem that way."  

"Where are we going?" Aiden asked as Nick led him down the street, which was still fairly crowded even though darkness had fallen.  

"Somewhere we can relax a bit. That sound good to you?"  

Aiden looked up at Nick and while the other man wasn't looking at him Aiden could see the nervousness and uncertainty on his face. He was nervous about spending time with Aiden? That was new.  

"Sure," Aiden replied, a blush growing on his cheeks. "Sure that sounds real good."

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

"Brody, can I talk to you about something?" Thomas asked as the two men rode toward the cut fence lines to begin their campout for the night.

"I reckon your mouth works," Brody acknowledged with a nod.  

Thomas rubbed at his horses neck and clicked his tongue, "It's a hard thing to bring up, Brody, and it's something I feel real guilty about after all you and Liz have done for me—"  

"Jesus Christ, Thomas," Brody grinned as he took a draw off his cigarette, "Take the damn ranch up in Wyoming and get the hell off my spread."  

Thomas blinked several times though he knew Brody well enough to know the man was simply trying to get him going and wasn't speaking in anger, "Who told you?" 


"My boss told me and your boss told her."  

Thomas nodded. Of course that's what had happened. Sally had told him that she had talked to Liz and it only made sense that Liz would discuss things with her husband.  

"So you think I should go?" Thomas asked. "I don't want to cause you or Liz to think that I don't appreciate all the things you've done for me...."  

"Why would we think that?" Brody shrugged and took a slow draw off his cigarette. "You and Sally are starting a family and you've gotta provide for your wife and child. Now you know damn well you're family, shit you're married to a part owner of this ranch, but this other ranch will be something you can pass down to your children."  

"You think I can run my own ranch?"  

"I reckon the hands'll run it just fine until you figure it all out," Brody replied with a chuckle.  

Thomas paled, doubting whether or not he really could run a ranch. Sure he'd been working at ranches for the biggest part of his life except for those years he was with the Rangers, but running a ranch was a lot different than simply working on one and doing what you were told.  Brody rolled his eyes and sighed. "You'll do just fine, Thomas. You know the ins and outs or running a ranch just as good as anybody else and whatever you don't know I'm sure Sally can teach you real quick."

Thomas laughed because he realized that Brody was right. Hell if there was anything that Thomas didn't know, Sally was sure to be an expert on it—and even if she wasn't she'd pretend to be and manage to get them through it. "Thanks Brody."  

Instead of responding, Brody simply shrugged and then cursed under his breath as he and Thomas rode up on the cut fencing.

"Who in the hell would cut your fence, Brody?" Thomas demanded. "They must not know you or Liz very well if they did this and then still planned on breathing for any length of time."  

"I don't know but I plan on finding out," Brody replied. "Ride on up about a quarter mile and hunker down out of sight. I'll do the same in that direction and we'll see if anybody shows up tonight. Come Monday we'll be needing an accurate head count of cattle and God help these bastards if they've touched a single Atkinson steer. Elizabeth'll have their heads on a platter if they have."  

---

Nick led Aiden into the Bucking Bronco Saloon; while the name was laughable, the saloon itself possessed a much more down to earth and friendly atmosphere than the Five Finger Saloon. Nick didn’t come here often because most folks here liked to strike up conversation and Nick wasn’t a man who liked to share very many details about himself—though he had good reason for being so closed off.

Damn if he didn’t feel proud as hell as he stepped into the well-lit noisy saloon with Aiden right beside him. Of course no one here could know that Nick felt proud to stand beside the other man but Nick felt proud all the same. Aiden was something to be proud of.

Nick smiled down at him again and this time instead of tripping or stuttering Aiden smiled back. Nick could feel the alcohol he'd had already that evening warming his blood nicely and he figured it was as nice a time as any to have some more.  

He led Aiden up to the bar and the two of them sat down before Nick ordered two beers. "Would you like some whiskey?" he asked Aiden but the other man shook his head. Nick shrugged and ordered himself a shot.  

As he threw back his shot and sipped at his beer, Nick couldn't help but study Aiden. The man had his back to the bar and was watching the crowd. There was a man playing a fast paced tune on the piano on stage and a woman dressed all in red silk was singing along as she swayed a little beside him. The tables were full of men laughing and talking as they played cards or simply caught up with friends after a hard week of work.  

Nick saw some of the hands from Atkinson spread eyeing him and Aiden strangely. Clearly they were surprised to see the two of them together after Nick had worked so hard to keep his distance from the other man all week.  

Nick decided to ignore them and focus on the shy, handsome, curiosity inspiring man beside him. He looked over at Aiden and knew that the alcohol was getting to him and loosening his tight, controlled demeanor when he burst out laughing at the sight of Aiden's hat falling over his face when the other man glanced down at his feet.  

"Where the hell did you get this thing at?" Nick asked as he pushed it back up onto Aiden's messy brown hair. Aiden's chocolate brown eyes grew wide and stared up at him. "What?" Nick demanded as he downed another swig of beer and rapped his knuckles on the bar as a signal for the barkeep to refill his whiskey.  

"You laughed," Aiden replied quietly. It seemed this man was always quiet. Quiet, shy and watching everything around him.  

"Yeah, I do that every now and then," Nick chuckled. He downed his refilled whiskey and sat up a little straighter. "So where you from, Aiden?"  

"Virginia." Aiden replied, seeming to relax a bit as he took a drink of his beer.  

"And what brought you all the way out here?"  

"A horse," Aiden laughed at his own joke and Nick's heart tightened in his chest. The man had a nice laugh and it took away some of the haunted sadness in his eyes. Nick wondered what could have happened in Aiden's life to make him seem so weary. It made Nick yearn to protect and take care of the other man.  

"Fair enough," Nick shrugged. "Do you have any family?"  

The pain returned to Aiden's face in an instant and Nick immediately regretted his question. "I have parents... or I had parents...." Aiden mumbled before taking a long deep drink of his beer.  

It looked like Nick had figured out why Aiden seemed haunted. He had parents that were either dead or dead to him—or perhaps he was dead to them. Either way it was a saddening thought.  

Nick shook his head. He was feeling good tonight and only wanted to have a good time. "Do you play poker?" he asked and Aiden blinked several times, obviously surprised by the sudden change in topic, before nodding.  

"Yeah a bit," he replied.  

"Well let's go play some. Burt's playing over there at that table toward the back and he's pretty easy to win against."  

---

Aiden was certainly surprised by the change in Nick tonight. Of course that change had been caused by at least six beers and eight shots of whiskey since arriving at the Bucking Bronco only two hours ago. Aiden himself had stopped after one beer because he never had been able to handle much more than that and being drunk didn't seem like a good idea just now. He'd have a hard time stumbling away from bounty hunters and escaping with his life.  

But it was still fun to watch Nick. The other man was laughing, smiling and seemed happy. His gray eyes kept connecting with Aiden's across the table and Aiden would feel his hands start to shake each time. It wasn't fair the way he was attracted to Nick when Nick didn't seem to be the least bit bothered by his presence.  

"Damn, Nick, I never knew you knew how to have such a good time," Burt chuckled as Nick grabbed another beer off the tray of a passing barmaid, earning an angry glance from the man the beer had been intended for.  

"I've always been this much fun," Nick replied with a sloppy smile as he sent a heart pulsating wink at Aiden and then laid out his full house for the table to see he'd won yet another hand.  

Aiden laughed as Burt punched Nick's shoulder and Nick made a big show of nearly falling out of his chair before scooping up his winnings. It was nice to see this side of Nick—even if the man had to get drunk to let it show. It proved to Aiden that he wasn't just an angry, closed off asshole; there was more to him than that. It also made Aiden wonder even more what caused those walls of his to come up in the first place.  

Aiden, who was getting tired and out of money himself, pushed his chair back and stood from the table.  

"Where you going?" Nick questioned quickly.  

"Back to the hotel," he replied. "I'm wore out."  

"I'm feeling tired myself," Nick agreed as he too stood.  

"Hey, no way! You gotta give us a chance to win our money back!" Burt grumbled and several other men at the table nodded in agreement.  

"Next weekend you'll have your chance," Nick assured them. "Right now the bed seems a bit more important."  

When he said that his gaze locked with Aiden's for a split second and Aiden felt his mouth go dry. He quickly turned away and headed toward the swinging doors that would lead to some fresh air; preferably of the blistering cold variety.  

"Wait up," Nick's deep voice called out as Aiden went to step off the boardwalk.  

He turned and saw the man stumbling his way, "You're drunk," Aiden accused.  

Nick shook his head and scratched at his cheek, "No I'm not." He went to shove some money into his pocket and missed, dropping several coins onto the dirt beneath their feet.  

"No not at all," Aiden mumbled.  

He was going to pick the money up but Nick shook his head and put his hand on his shoulder. Aiden felt the heat from that touch all the way to his core and it shocked him, "I got it," Nick assured him, his voice seeming deeper and much more aware than it had only moments before.  

Aiden swallowed hard and in true form his mouth worked before his mind had a chance to think. "When Garth asked you about you and uh.. 

other men .. you never did really answer him..“ Aiden could feel the red flush covering his neck, cheeks and ears. “What.. um..what was the answer?”

Aiden knew he shouldn't have asked that question, especially with Nick's current state of drunkenness but he'd always had a problem with saying things he shouldn't. It was a character flaw, though surprisingly, not the one that got him in the most trouble.  

Nick's gray eyes turned darker and the hunger in them rendered Aiden speechless just as it had the other times he'd seen it there. He could hardly believe that that hunger was because of him. It was hard to imagine that he would cause that kind of longing in another man.  

Nick didn't speak. Instead he crouched down and began gathering up his coins, his face so close to Aiden's trousers that he could feel the heat off of Nick's breath when it blew his direction. Oh hell! Aiden felt his cock twitch and stir at the sight of Nick so close to it.

Aiden tried to focus on breathing. 

In. Out. In. Out . Okay that really wasn’t helping as it stirred up a whole other batch of raunchy mental images that only served to further tighten his pants and increase his passion.

Aiden let out a squeak and nearly jumped backward when Nick's cheek brushed against the bulge in his trousers just before the other man stood. Aiden glanced around but the streets were fairly empty now and nobody was paying them any attention.   

Nick stood and leaned forward, his breath washing over Aiden's cheek and his scent filling Aiden's nose as he all but rested his chin against Aiden's shoulder. Nick smelled of sweat, horses and hay and it was a combination that Aiden had never in his life thought would be so arousing as it was in this moment.   

Nick’s breath was warm against his ear as he whispered his response to Aiden’s previous question, “Yes, Aiden. The answer is yes.”

Oh dear God, Aiden felt his knees nearly collapse as he trembled and grabbed Nick’s arm for support. Then he realized that they were standing in the open, right in the middle of town and anyone that took the time to look could see them.

Aiden forced himself to step away from Nick and he could see the heat and hunger still burning in the other man’s eyes. “What room are you in at the hotel?” Nick all but growled.

“Fifteen,” Aiden somehow managed to whisper. Nick nodded and then strode away down the road. Aiden had no idea where the man was going but passion arousal and frustration were all swirling in his gut.

Aiden shoved his hands in his pockets, hoping to take away the attention from his cock which was still standing at attention. He had never had a lover before—had only kissed one man—and he was eager to know what kind of pleasure that lovemaking could give him—Correction; what pleasure that lovemaking with 

Nick could give him. No other man would do just now.

He walked into his room, closing the door behind him and tossed his hat. He pulled off his vest and was unbuttoning his shirt when a quiet knock sounded on the closed door.  

Immediately Aiden thought of the men that wanted him dead and he wished he had a gun.. but he didn't. He hadn't been able to afford to buy one and hadn't had an opportunity to steal one. He glanced around the room and saw the floral water pitcher. Letting out a quick breath, Aiden grabbed it by the handle and tiptoed to the door.  

"Who is it?" he asked, staying well to the side should bullets begin to blast through the thin piece of wood.  

"Your man," Nick's voice mumbled back. If anything the man sounded even more drunk than he had before! But the words 

your man when spoken in that deep, possessive voice were enough to reawaken Aiden’s desire which had died down a bit since entering his room.

Aiden jerked the door open and yanked Nick into the room, glancing down the empty hallway before closing and locking the door once again.

 Nick had stumbled when Aiden had yanked him and the man was now gripping the bed post to stay upright, "Miss me?" he asked with a grin.

 Aiden's hands were trembling so he quickly laid the water pitcher in a nearby arm chair before he dropped and shattered the thing, "What are you doing here?" he questioned, though he knew the answer to that. It was clear enough what Nick wanted just by looking in the man's steel gray eyes.  

"I want you, Aiden. I've wanted you since you about knocked me down running into the mercantile that first day in town."  

Aiden nearly swooned at hearing the truth of Nick's desire for him. 

Swooned? He was tougher than that. Wasn’t he? “Nick….” He began but Nick descended on him too quickly.

Aiden's body was pulled tight against Nick's and he could feel all the hard muscles and curves to Nick's work hardened body. He could also feel the evidence of Nick's arousal pressing against his stomach. Aiden's breath caught in his throat and his heart raced when Nick's lips found his neck and began to nibble, kiss and suckle. Nick's big hand went to the back of Aiden's head and his long fingers buried themselves within his hair, tilting his head to get better access to the sensitive skin he was feasting upon.

"Nick..." Aiden groaned, pressing himself tighter against the man. He clung to Nick's arms as his entire body shook and trembled with the force of his passion. It wasn't until he felt Nick's tongue flick against his ear that Aiden jerked away and took several big steps back.  

"What are you doing?" Nick asked through ragged breaths.

 Aiden shoved a trembling hand through his hair and shook his head, "I just need a minute," he whispered. His face flushed red and he quickly hid himself behind the dressing curtain that was in the corner of the room.  

What was he doing?! He wanted Nick but he couldn't do this! He couldn't take advantage of the man who was clearly so drunk he was acting out of normal character. What if Nick regretted it in the morning? Aiden would be destroyed! And call him feminine all you wanted but Aiden wanted his first time with a man to mean something... he didn't want it to be with some drunken acquaintance who would forget the whole damn thing come morning!

Aiden would just have to tell Nick that he had to leave; that was what he had to do. He glanced down at his arousal which was still going pretty strong and shook his head. Who'd have thought a man could get angry at his manhood?

Aiden took a deep breath in an attempt to strengthen his resolve and with his denial forming on his lips, he stepped back around the curtain, "Nick, I'm sorry but—" Aiden stopped speaking and quickly stifled a laugh when he saw Nick flopped on his stomach on the bed with his arms spread and his legs hanging off. The man's boots were dragging the floor and he was snoring lightly.  

He was passed out cold.  

This was a pickle.  

Aiden couldn't possibly hope to wake the other man and he couldn't go sleep in Nick's room because he had no idea what hotel the man was even staying in! There was only one thing to do.. share the bed.  

Aiden wasn't about to sleep on the floor just because Nick couldn't handle half a dozen beers and a vat of whiskey.  

So Aiden kicked off his boots, killed the kerosene lamps and walked to the bed. He cursed his racing pulse as he shoved Nick to the side and then pulled his legs onto the mattress. He was breathing hard by the time he yanked off Nick's boots and then grabbed an extra blanket from the wardrobe since Nick was drooling on the one on the bed.  

Aiden climbed into the bed and lay on his side facing Nick. It was dark but the moonlight was shining directly on his sleeping face. One of his scruffy cheeks was pressed against the pillow but the other was relaxed and without the tension that had been in it all week at the ranch. Nick looked completely peaceful and calm.

Aiden had never shared a bed with anyone and he found the extra weight on the mattress to be comforting. Resisting the urge to curl up against the snoring man, Aiden covered them both with the blanket and closed his eyes, though he was sure that sleep would have a hard time finding him.

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

'Drip drop. Drip drop. Drip drop.' 


The steady sound of a hard falling rain roused Nick from his deep sleep. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter against the pain in his pounding head and moaned when his stomach churned. Swallowing hard against the nausea Nick struggled to remember where he was without opening his eyes.  

The scent of soap filled his nostrils as he pulled the warm body he was wrapped around closer to him and hair teased his nose.  

Warm body? Hair? Teasing?

Nick's eyes flew open and then he squeezed them shut once again, this time fighting against more than pain and nausea. This time he was fighting against regret. 	

Wrapped tight in his arms, feeling as if his warm body had been made to be nestled right against Nick's hard chest, was Aiden. What the hell had happened last night?  

Quickly Nick cracked one eyelid just long enough to ensure that both of them were dressed and he breathed a quick sigh of relief at the sight of their fully clothed bodies. Lord knew he wanted Aiden but not like that... not when he couldn't remember a damn thing this morning.  

Thunder rumbled in the distance and Aiden whimpered, his voice muffled against Nick's chest. Was he afraid of storms? A small smile curled Nick's lips and he held the other man a big tighter.  

Nick has spent so long; six lonely years, keeping everyone around him at arms-length and building up the walls around his heart. He had never once believed that anyone would come along to chip away at those defenses and yet slowly but surely Aiden was doing just that.  

Nick wondered what had happened last night to end with him here in Aiden's bed but he was glad for it. Holding this man in his arms was the best sensation that Nick had felt in a long time.  

Aiden mumbled incoherently in his sleep and snuggled closer to Nick, his hand brushing against Nick's hip. Nick's pulse kicked up to a faster rhythm and began pounding against his ribs so roughly that he worried it would cause Aiden to wake up.  

Nick glanced down and saw that a lock of Aiden's shaggy brown hair had fallen across his face. Slowly, tenderly, Nick raised his hand and gently moved the stray hair away from Aiden's cheek. He took the time to caress Aiden's freshly shaved skin with his knuckles. His skin was soft and smooth beneath his touch.  

"Nick?" Aiden whispered, never opening his eyes.  

Instantly Nick stiffened as unease and nervousness settled into his gut. He was vulnerable just now—too vulnerable. The last time he had laid in a bed like this with a man, a posse had kicked their door down and dragged them both away. Nick couldn't go through that again—he wouldn't.  

"Aiden," he ground out tensely as his headache intensified. "What am I doing in your bed?"  

"You were drunk," Aiden replied quickly, his eyes still closed. He raised a hand and began to rub it against Nick's chest as if it was the most natural thing in the world to be caressing him. "You passed out."  

"And your response to that was to curl up to me like a damned woman?" Nick grumbled as he shoved Aiden off of himself and stood quickly. Too quickly. His head swam, his legs wobbled and his stomach churned. He nearly fell and reached out for the footboard of the bed.  

Nick was surprised when Aiden was out of the bed in a flash and helping to hold him up, "You should probably sit back down, Nick," Aiden warned, his voice tight and quiet.  

Nick did as he said and then glanced at Aiden from the corner of his eye as the other man slid his feet into his boots. "Where are you going?" Nick asked.  

"Get something to eat," Aiden replied quickly, without once glancing his way. "Sorry I made you uncomfortable this morning. I didn't think you'd mind me curling up to you that way."  

Nick shifted on the mattress and cleared his throat roughly, "I ain't that  kind of man," he lied. The truth was too dangerous and could end with them both killed. Better to close this door right now without taking the time to explore the wonders that may lay beyond it.  

"That's not what you said last night when you had your face pressed against the front of my trousers," Aiden mumbled.  

Nick was certain his eyes were going to bulge from their sockets as he stared in astonishment at Aiden. "What did you say?" Certainly Nick had heard wrong! He'd had his face in Aiden's crotch? Just the thought of that had Nick's blood heating nicely and his tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip.  

Aiden flushed a shade more red than Nick had ever seen another person turn before. "Nothing!" he all but yelled and then he practically ran from the room and slammed the door behind him.  

Nick threw himself down on the bed. He grabbed a pillow and pressed it over his head to drown out the sound of pounding rain on the rooftop. He could do little, however, to erase the images of Aiden from his mind.  

Aiden laying against his chest this morning; Aiden looking down at him yesterday in the field with confusion and hunger in his brown eyes; Aiden sad and hurting from Nick's reaction moments ago....

What was he going to do?! Was it worth the risk again? Could it work this time? Or would it end the same as it had before with Aiden dead and Nick running for his life with a heart more shattered and torn apart than any man could recover from?  

Nick needed to find his boots and get out of this room before Aiden came back but instead he kept that pillow pressed against his head and allowed his heart and mind to go to war.  

---

Aiden snorted and kicked at a muddy rock by the side of the deserted street as he made his way to the diner. Nick was an ass—

an ass with a nice ass , he thought ruefully.

Aiden swiped his hand over his face to remove some of his rain soaked hair but of course the rain continued to beat down on him... he wished he hadn't forgotten his hat but there had been no way he was going to go back in that room just then to get it.  

Aiden felt his heart twist a little and the pain was a deep one. He'd never given too much thought to falling in love or having a man because he'd never thought it would really happen—until Nick. Now he realized he'd just been fooling himself. Clearly Nick wasn't interested in him or anything he had to offer. Last night had been nothing more than the whiskey talking.  

Aiden hopped up onto the covered boardwalk outside the diner and shook himself off, sending droplets of water flying. He'd hoped to just use the restaurant in the hotel and save himself from a shower but they'd been closed. He stepped inside and found it nearly empty just the same as the streets. It seemed that Bakerstown was a quiet place on a stormy Sunday morning.  

"You want some breakfast, sweetheart?" a plump elderly woman with snow white hair and a warm smile asked from behind the counter.  

Aiden nodded and ran his hand through his hair, pushing the wet mess away from his face, "Yes, ma'am. Two breakfasts if you don't care and I'll bring your dishes back to you just as soon as we're done eating."  

"That'll be just fine," she replied politely. "Go ahead and have you seat and I'll get those ready for you."  

Aiden sat down at one of the small tables and stared at the clean and polished wooden top. Breakfast back home had always been a quiet affair with just his mama, papa and himself. They had always eaten the same thing on Sundays—a grand meal fit for a king which the servants served to them in their formal dining room before the family headed out to church services.  

Aiden sighed but it wasn't because he missed that lifestyle—simply that he missed his family. His family that hated him and wanted him dead. Aiden crossed his arms on the table and then buried his head inside them.  

He figured he must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew he was being awoken by a tap on the shoulder, "Your food is ready."  

Aiden looked up quickly to find the sheriff, Ty, looking down at him with concern, "You alright, kid?"  

"My name is Aiden," Aiden mumbled as he swiped at his face. If the sheriff asked he would simply blame the wetness dotting his cheeks on the rain outside.  

"Sorry, Aiden. I'm not real good with names but trust me when I say I didn't mean anything by forgetting yours," Ty said as he held up his hands and took a step back. Aiden sighed, he really needed to learn to let the kid thing go....

"Thanks for waking me up, sheriff. I guess I didn't get much sleep last night."  

"Ryder told me he saw you at the saloon last night and I reckon I should warn you to stay away from that one. I have trouble there quite a bit and you don't seem to fit the crowd that runs there."  

"Yes, sir," Aiden said as he grabbed the covered tray that the sheriff has sat on the table.  

"So how are things going out at the ranch,  Aiden? Are Brody and Liz making you feel welcome?"  

"Yes, sir," Aiden replied, "I like it there."  

"You can call me Ty. I'm glad you like it. Brody can be a tough one to get to know I reckon but he's a good and decent man."  

Aiden nodded, "I'm sure he's in a raw mood just now."  

"Why's that?" Ty questioned with a frown.  

"We found a hole in his fences that looked like somebody else had put there. He's figuring he has cattle thieves."  

Ty cursed under his breath and rubbed at his thick mustache, "And let me guess. Brody figures he'll just handle it himself?"  

"I guess so," Aiden mumbled, hoping he didn't just get his boss in trouble with the law.  

"Brody's gonna have to realize he ain't sheriff anymore and let me deal with things. I better head on out there and have a talk with him since the rain will probably keep the family from coming in to church today. I'll see you around, Aiden, and I'm glad you're fitting in."  

Aiden watched Ty leave the diner and then he followed suit, dropping a few coins on the counter to cover the meal as he went.

It wasn't until he reached the closed door to his hotel room that his hands began to shake and he wondered if Nick would still be inside. And if he was inside then what did that mean? Did that mean the man really 

did like him or did that simply mean he didn’t want to go out in the rain and get wet?

Aiden propped the tray against his side as he balanced it with one hand and reached the hand toward the door handle. He let out a breath and quickly opened the door and then his heart swelled with happiness when he saw Nick standing by the window still barefoot and not looking to be in any hurry to go anywhere.  

Nick turned to face him and Aiden saw the smile that tugged at the man's firm lips and formed the smallest of lines around his gray eyes.  

Aiden held up the tray, unsure what to say and so he said the first thing that came to his mind like he always seemed to when he was nervous, "I'm all wet and I brought breakfast."  

---

"God I love you, cowgirl," Brody growled as he flicked his tongue against Elizabeth's hip bone and her back arched from the bed.  He also loved that twelve year old Nathan was plenty old enough to keep his brother and sister busy on a rainy day downstairs while mama and papa 

slept in.

"Brody, stop teasing me," Elizabeth snapped as she tried desperately to twist her hips and bring those soft curls between her thighs closer to his mouth. Brody felt lust burst through him like a lightning bolt but he held her firmly by the waist and didn't let her move. It amazed him that after so long together and all they'd been through this woman could still excite him like this and still responded so passionately to his touch.  

"Patience, boss, I'm just trying to do the job right."  

He looked through his lashes and toward her face to see her green eyes dark with passion and her cheeks flushed as she stared down at him. "I just want the job done now. I'm already sure you'll do it right."  

"Is that right?" Brody flashed her a hungry grin and was about to give his cowgirl exactly what she wanted when footsteps pounded up the staircase, down the hall and stopped at the door.  

"Pa! You got a visitor!" Nathan exclaimed from the other side of the closed door.  

"Tell 'em to go away," Brody shouted back, the heat from Elizabeth radiating against his face.  

"Pa.. it's sheriff Ty and it seems to be important. I don't think he'll take you nappin' as a good excuse."  

Brody was about to let the boy know where to tell the sheriff to shove it when Elizabeth grabbed him by his long dark hair and pulled his head up enough so she could see his eyes, "You better go on." She winked, "I'll wait on you."  

Brody raised a brow as he debated whether or not he should obey. Elizabeth's grip on his hair tightened and became painful, "Brody Atkinson you best go on now. Don't leave the poor man alone with the children."  

As if on cue Bryant's voice carried up to them, "Hey, Ty, you wanna see my pet snakes?"  

"Aww, shit, cowgirl he's about to show the man his rattlers," Brody grumbled as he slid from the bed and hopped into his pants.  

Elizabeth pulled the cover over herself and laughed lightly. "They're not really rattlers, Brody, they're nothing but little rat snakes."  

"Yeah, but the kid tied rattler tails to the ends of 'em. Ty'll shit his britches."  

And yet again, as if on cue, Ty's voice traveled upstairs, "Holy, hell! You're just as crazy as your damn pa!"  

"That's my boy," Brody grinned. He spared one last glance at his wife in the bed and clenched his fists, not wanting to leave her, "Stay right there, cowgirl. This won't take long."  

Brody opened the bedroom door and Nathan was standing there with a wide grin splitting his face. He glanced around Brody and waved, "Good morning, mama."  

"Get on downstairs, boy." Brody warned, sending Nathan scampering quickly back down the hall and the staircase. With a smile, Brody followed him and found Ty standing in the kitchen with a chair held out in front of him warding Bryant off.

"Bryant, quit scaring the man with that snake," Brody warned and Bryant instantly stopped in his taunting, slid the snake into his pocket and flushed red.  

"Yes sir."  

"Come on outside, Ty, and quit cursing at my youngins," Brody said as he walked barefoot past Ty and headed for the door, ruffling Lexi's hair as he passed by the sofa she was sitting on with her doll.

Once the two men were alone on the porch, Brody stared out at the torrents of rain and slid his thumbs through his belt loops. "So what brings you out here, Ty?"  

"Sorry to disturb your Sunday, Brody. I didn't realize you and Liz would still be in the bed."  

"We were sleeping in," Brody replied with a chuckle.  

"Uh-uh," Brody saw Ty cross his arms over his chest and knew the man was about to get down to business. "One of your hands in town told me you'd had fence lines cut. They told me you're worried about rustlers."  

"Which one told you?" Brody asked, wishing he'd brought some cigarettes and matches out with him. Hell he wished he'd brought a shirt... that rain had a chill in the air.  

"Just one of them," Ty replied quickly.  

Brody snorted, "Aiden."  

"Maybe." Ty shook his head, "Brody, I'm sheriff. If you've got a problem then you need to tell me about it and let me deal with it."  

"I deal with my own troubles, Ty. I don't put much stock in lawmen."  

"Brody, you can't deal with things on your own. I am the law in this town—"  

"You can just stop right there.  I don't let no man tell me what I can and can't do—I never have and I never will. Just cuz you got that fancy badge now doesn't mean I'm gonna follow orders."  

"Brody, I think you're forgetting that you were a lawman not too long ago! You wore this shiny badge for quite a few years."  

Brody raised a brow and shook his head, "No, I didn't wear it very often. Mostly I just kept it in my pocket."  

Ty shook his head and headed for the porch steps, "Alright then, Brody. I'll see if I can hear anything around town and all I ask of you is that you at least keep me in the loop and don't kill anybody. They need to go to jail and learn right from wrong...."  

"I can't promise that," Brody shook his head. "How 'bout this? If you catch 'em you can take them on to jail and LeRoy can give them a good sermon on right and wrong and if I catch 'em then they'll learn right and wrong from the business end of my .45? Either way the lesson gets learned, I reckon."  

Ty laughed though Brody could tell the other man was fighting to attempt to seem stern, "I guess that'll have to do Brody. I'll let you get back to your 

sleeping now. Sorry to have bothered you.“

"Don't do it again," Brody warned. He remained on the porch until Ty rode out of sight and then walked back in and headed for the stairs.  

"Where ya goin' pa?" Nathan asked as he looked up from the card game he was playing with Bryant.  

Brody winked at his son and smiled, Goin' back to sleep. Y'all be good."

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Nick couldn't help but laugh at Aiden's blurted out words. That man's mouth was as unpredictable as these spring Texas rains and storms that popped up.  

"Yes, you're wet and I can smell breakfast," Nick's stomach rolled a bit and he covered it with his hand, "I don't think I'm hungry."  

"You should probably try to get some food in your stomach," Aiden replied as he sat the tray on the bed, "I've heard it helps."  

Nick simply grunted in response. He'd done nothing but think and fight with himself since Aiden had walked out that door and he'd come to the only conclusion that seemed reasonable..... He wanted Aiden and this time he'd make sure it was different. He'd protect Aiden with his very life if need be just to keep the past from repeating itself. He didn't know what would come of them being together or whether or not it would involve love but he knew he had to find out. Now that he'd met Aiden, going back to being alone without at least trying to be with the man simply wasn't an option.  

"Go get some dry clothes on, Aiden," Nick urged. "Ya don't want to get sick."  

Aiden seemed confused as he quickly grabbed a sack from the floor and hid himself behind the changing curtain.  

Nick shoved his and through his short blond hair and tried hard not to imagine Aiden naked and wet standing behind that tiny screen....if he thought about it too much he'd be joining the other man.  

Instead, Nick pulled the lid off the tray and nearly gagged when the full scent of the eggs, sausage, oatmeal and peaches hit his nose. He'd obviously had a bit too much to drink the night before. But Aiden was right and he needed to eat. There was no table big enough for two in this room so the bed would have to do.  

Nick stood and poured them each a glass of water from the pitcher on the tiny table near the door and sat one on the floor beside his side of the bed and the other on the night stand. Then he sat down and waited.  

After what seemed an eternity, Aiden came back around the curtain wearing a thin gray cotton shirt tucked into a pair of black trousers. The outfit emphasized his slender form and yet still managed to reveal the fact that he was covered in small lean muscles that Nick longed to feel and touch. His gaze strayed to Aiden's feet and he realized the man was barefoot just the same as he was.  

"My boots were full of water," Aiden spoke up.  

"I'd say they were," Nick agreed as he glanced through the rain soaked windowpane at the torrents of rain still falling from the sky, "I'd say this rain is here to stay for the day too."  

"Probably."  

Nick looked back toward Aiden and saw that he was standing beside the bed and looked nervous and unsure. He was chewing at the inside of his cheek and popping his knuckles one at a time, "Sit down, Aiden, and eat."  

"I didn't think you'd be here when I got back from the diner," Aiden said as he sat down on the edge of the bed and cut off a piece of sausage with his fork.  

"You brought two breakfasts," Nick replied, using his bare hands to grab a piece of his own sausage and plop it into his mouth.  

Aiden blushed and looked away as he shrugged, "I didn't think you'd be here but I..uh.. I kind of hoped you would be."   

Nick reached out and moved a lock of dark wet hair from Aiden's brow causing Aiden to freeze with his fork nearly to his mouth once again, "Nick, what does you being here mean?"  

Aiden's question caught Nick by surprise and he let his hand fall. Before he could answer Aiden was talking again, "Does it mean you really are that kind of man and didn't mind so much waking up with me?" Aiden quickly looked away from him and down at the floor, "Or does it just mean you didn't want to go out in the rain and get wet?"  

Nick shook his head and laid his hand over Aiden's on the bed, "The rain never has bothered me none."  

Aiden looked at their hands for several moments and then turned his gaze up to Nick and smiled so big and bright that if not for the rain still pounding on the roof, Nick would have believed the sun had popped out from behind the clouds.  

"Okay," Aiden mumbled, blushing even more before shoving a bite of eggs in his mouth. They finished their breakfast in silence and then Aiden stood and walked to the window.  

Nick watched him, wondering what was going through his mind. "I always hated storms," Aiden said quietly as thunder rumbled in the distance. "My family was once stuck out in a storm and nearly got swept off by a twister when I was ten."  

Nick rose up and walked to the window. He stood awkwardly behind Aiden for a moment and then slid his arms around the other man's waist. His movements were stiff at first. It had been a long while since Nick had shown affection and he was a bit rusty. Aiden let out a little moan at his touch and leaned back against him. Nick felt himself relax then as he rested his chin on Aiden's shoulder.  

"You miss your family?"  

"Yeah," Aiden replied quietly.  

"How'd they die?" Nick asked, remembering their conversation from the bar the night before.

Aiden stiffened a little, “They aren’t dead.”

“I thought you said they were, of course my memory from last night is a little rusty.”

“They might as well be dead,” Aiden admitted as he wrapped his arms around Nick’s on his waist. “My father started pushing me to get married when I turned twenty-four. He’s big in the government back home and wanted me to settle down and give him grandchildren because that would help his re-election image,” Aiden paused and Nick hugged him a little tighter because he could already guess where this was going. “I thought if I told my parents the truth they would understand or at least accept it…. I was wrong. My father told me to leave and made it clear he no longer had a son.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Nick offered. He didn’t like the sadness he could hear in Aiden’s voice. It tugged at his heart which was waking up again after years of hibernation, “Maybe they’ll come around?”

“No, but thanks for saying so,” Aiden sighed. Nick didn’t want Aiden to be sad or troubled. He wanted to take his mind away from his family but he didn’t know what to say to do so. Aiden turned his head slightly and his lips were nearly brushing Nick’s jaw, “They both made it pretty clear that they would have no abomination in their family.”

“You’re no abomination,” Nick argued quickly, his temper spiking.

Aiden shrugged and looked out the window once more, “Sure I am. The things I want are wrong.”

Nick shook his head and pressed his lips against Aiden's neck. Aiden's entire body stiffened before tremors washed over his body. "This isn't wrong, Aiden."  Nick vowed, his breath washing over Aiden's heated skin, "Do you want this?"  

Aiden nodded, "Yes."  

Nick felt his heart kick up as he set his sights on devouring the soft flesh of Aiden's neck. Aiden clung to his arms and Nick took a wider legged stance and supported the man's weight as his legs gave out and he fell back against him.  

Nick growled low in his throat as he spun Aiden around and pulled the man into his chest. He looked down into those chocolate brown eyes and searched them for permission to taste those full tempting lips.  

"If you pass out before you kiss me this time, I'll just have to kiss you anyway," Aiden warned.  

"I didn't kiss you last night?" Nick questioned with a small frown.  

"No," Aiden shook his head, his eyes never leaving Nick's, "No, you didn't."  

"Good," Nick smiled, "Because I sure as hell don't want to forget the first time I kiss you."  

And without waiting for Aiden to reply Nick moved closer until their breath was mingling between their hungry mouths. Aiden's eyes slid closed as Nick laid a calloused hand against his smooth cheek and tilted his head back.  

Nick moved closer, his lips just barely brushing Aiden's and he heard Aiden catch his breath sharply. Nick nipped gently at Aiden's lips and then drew a sharp breath before covering Aiden's mouth with his own and giving in to the temptation that had been pulling at him since Aiden had come to town a week ago.  

There was nothing wrong with the way they were and the feelings of tenderness and caring that Aiden brought out in Nick could not be evil or an abomination. Nick hated Aiden's family for making the man feel for one minute as if the people he chose to love made him evil.  

Nick forced the kisses to remain tender and easy. He could tell by the way Aiden seemed unsure what to do that the man hadn't done much of this in his life. Nick felt his heart swell at the knowledge that he would be the one to teach Aiden about pleasure.... But not all of it at once.  

Nick was going to take this a bit slower than that. He was old fashioned in his beliefs and he didn't belief in simply hopping in bed with someone the minute you realized you wanted them. While he knew that marriage was out of the question, he still wanted to get to know Aiden and let the love grow, (if indeed love was where this was heading), before they took this too much further.  

He broke the kiss apart and Aiden's eyes remained closed, "That was...." Aiden's voice trailed off as if he was at a loss for words and Nick chuckled quietly as he rested his brow against Aiden's.  

"I agree."  

"Why'd you stop?"  

"Because there's no rush, Aiden," Nick replied. "I might not fit the mold of a proper man but I still have old fashioned beliefs and I won't just rush into bed with you."  

"I'm not a woman," Aiden mumbled. "You don't have to worry about my innocence."  

"You are innocent," Nick countered and Aiden flushed red and pulled away.

He went about moving the tray of food from the bed, "What makes you think that?"  

"I can tell," Nick replied with a shrug. "What are you doing?" Nick added as Aiden headed for the door with that tray in his hands.  

"I told the woman at the diner I'd bring it back."  

Nick shook his head and strode across the room. He grabbed Aiden's arms to stop him, "It can wait, Aiden. It's still raining and you just got dry. I don't want you sick."  

"Why?"  

"Why what?"  

"Why don't you want me sick?" Aiden was staring stubbornly at the carpet at their feet and the tips of his ears were glowing.  

Nick rubbed at the back of his neck roughly before jerking the try away from Aiden and laying it on the arm chair. "Because I care, dammit. I thought I made that clear."  

"So what are we?"

Nick was quiet for a long moment as he stared at Aiden and Aiden stared at the floor. Finally Nick grabbed Aiden's hand and swallowed hard around the desire that simple contact caused. "Together, Aiden. We're together."  

"We don't have to wait, Nick," Aiden whispered, his voice thick. "I want you."  

Nick growled at Aiden's confession and shook his head, though his body was screaming to have Aiden now, "I won't rush this, Aiden. Hell we barely know one another yet. I want to get to know you, Aiden."  

"What if there's not time for that?" Aiden whispered and Nick could see a tear hanging on the man's lashes. 

Crying? Why was he crying? That damn tear was like a knife through Nick’s heart. He grabbed Aiden and pulled him into his chest, caressing his back and hair and wishing like hell the man would stop.

"Why wouldn't we have time, Aiden? I thought you were staying around?"  

"I want to."  

"Then what's the problem?" Nick questioned with confusion.  

Aiden remained silent for a long while and then he sniffed and pulled away a bit to look up at Nick with red rimmed eyes, "There's no problem, Nick. I want to get to know you too."  

Nick smiled and slid his hands across Aiden's cheeks to dry his tears. "Then come on and sit down with me. It's a rainy Sunday and there's plenty of time to talk about anything you want to talk about."  

"Actually, why don't you hunt us down a deck of cards."  

"Why?" Nick asked.  

Aiden smiled, "Because you were dumb drunk last night and still wiped the floor with me at poker. I'd like to learn a bit more on how to play so I could maybe make my payday back. I lost most of what I had to you at the saloon."  

Nick laughed and nodded. "Alright then. But I'll warn you that I'm the best poker player I've ever met and beating me isn't easy."  

Aiden shrugged and put a hand against his chest, shoving him backward playfully, "I'll take my chances."  

Nick was still smiling as he slid on his boots and left the hotel room. He had a deck of cards in his saddlebags at the other hotel and headed that way to get them. The whole time he walked he thought of Aiden and how he was pretty damn sure he was going to fall in love with the man. Hell he was halfway there already. And this time it would be different. This time nobody was going to take the man he loved away from him.  

---

Nick and Aiden spent the whole day playing cards, laughing, talking and getting to know one another. Aiden told Nick a few stories about the proper fancy life he'd lived back easy as a politician's son and in turn Nick told Aiden all about growing up with no real family and simply around from place to place.  

At one point Aiden had asked Nick about past lovers but it had quickly darkened Nick's mood and so Aiden had let the question go without pushing for any answers. He was enjoying the new Nick too much to have the grumpy one back just yet.  

It was nearing six in the evening when Nick sighed and looked out the window. The rain had finally ended but the clouds were still thick in the evening sky, "We better head on back to the ranch, Aiden."  

"Actually I'm spending one more night in town. I have a wire I need to send out in the morning."  

"I can't stay another night, Aiden.... " Nick said regretfully.  

Aiden nodded, "I know. I hate that we have to keep us a secret. It's not fair."  

"I know. I'm sorry it has to be that way," Nick replied as he brushed a kiss to Aiden's brow, "I'll tell Brody and Liz that you'll be back just as quick as you can in the morning. Just don't take too long to send your wire, Aiden. Liz is fairly strict about the work schedule."  

Aiden smiled up at him, "I'll be there just as quick as I can be."  

Nick nodded and then strode from the room, glancing longingly back at Aiden before closing the door behind him.  

Aiden fell back on the bed with a pounding heart and a smile on his face. He loved Nick. He didn't care that they'd known each other for a little less than a week and had avoided each other for most of that time. Nick was strong, able and stern and yet there was another side to him that was tender and caring... A side that seemed a bit rusty and unsure as if it had been hidden a while but a side that Nick seemed more than willing to bring back out when it came to Aiden.  

That was why in the morning Aiden was going to send a wire to his parents and beg them to call of the bounty hunters. He was going to tell them that he was settling down far from home and would never bother them again. Aiden knew he couldn't keep running forever; eventually those men would get him if his parents didn't revoke the bounty and the thought of leaving Nick made Aiden sick.  

Surely his parents had had enough time now to ease their initial anger over his attraction to men. Surely if he agreed to remain gone they would no longer wish to see their only child dead.  

That was what Aiden had to believe. To believe anything else—to even contemplate another ending to all of this broke his heart in pieces.

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Aiden looked down at the message in his hand and blew out a long breath as he paced the boardwalk in front of the telegraph office.  

Should he send it or should he just continue to hide and lay low while praying that those bounty hunters would simply grow tired of chasing him and his parents would just let him be. Deep inside Aiden knew that sending this wire could very well simply bring the danger right to his doorstep but a part of him was desperate to be able to settle down without the worries hanging over him.  

He closed his eyes and a vision of those bounty hunters riding into town and barging into his hotel room filled his mind. In his vision Nick was there with him and those men pulled their guns and when Nick leapt to his feet to defend Aiden they quickly filled him full of lead and......

Aiden shook his head as his eyes flew open. He couldn't do that! He couldn't send this letter to his parents. While Aiden longed to once again have his family, he could also remember that coldness and hatred in his father's eyes. The lack of any remorse as his father had raised that gun and aimed it straight at his chest....

Aiden kicked at the boardwalk porch, crumpled up his letter and shoved it down in his pocket. His situation was impossible! He wanted Nick, he wanted to be with Nick. He wanted to work at the ranch. He wanted to stay in and around Bakerstown. He liked this place and he liked these people... But it couldn't last. Eventually he'd be found and he'd have to run... And he was putting Nick in danger by spending days locked in hotel rooms with him.  

Aiden felt his heart break in half when he realized that he couldn't have any of the things he wanted! He would work at the ranch one more week, if the bounty hunters held off that long, and earn himself one more payday and then he would have to leave. And in this week he had left he was going to have to make it clear to Nick why they couldn't be together even though the thought of doing so made Aiden sick to the stomach.  

All traces of the happiness he'd felt thoroughly doused, Aiden slumped his shoulders, adjusted the sack he was carrying and headed toward the livery to ready his horse and ride back out to Atkinson Spread.  

He was nearly there when Kaitlyn came running to him and grabbed his arm, "I need help!"  

Aiden looked around and then frowned at her, "Help with what?"  

She licked her lips nervously and never released her hold on his arm, "I need someone to talk to. I don't have many friends, Aiden, and while this might seem real sad seeing as how we've only spoken once or twice, I'd like to consider you one."  

Aiden shrugged. He'd always liked having friends, "Okay."  

She smiled, "Okay! This town hates me. Sure Ryder and Susie like me fairly well but that's just because they are incapable of hating anyone...."  

"Why would anyone hate you, Kaitlyn? You seem like an okay person to me," Aiden replied honestly.

Kaitlyn led him to a bench outside the livery and the two of them sat down side by side, "I was a whore here for a long time. I worked at the Bucking Bronco and a lot of men paid for my services. Wendell wants to get married but the other women in town won't even look at me. They won't help me plan a wedding, they won't even let me eat inside the diner because of what I was. I'm not that woman anymore but it doesn't matter because I've made my bed and now I have to lay in it. But Wendell doesn't understand why I keep putting him off about marriage and I can't tell him what's going on! He's already facing so much shame from simply being with a woman like me; to let him know what everyone thinks of him and how foolish they find him to be would only embarrass him more."  

Aiden felt sympathy fill him for the woman. It was hard to be different in this world and not many people were open to accepting those differences, "I think you should talk to your man about this."  

"I can't!"  

"What about Susie? Have you talked to her? She seems to be a good woman and I'm sure she'd help...."  

"I can't go to Susie with this. Her husband and I never actually laid together but I know how well the man kisses—would you honestly want a woman like that running to you with her problems?" Before Aiden could reply, Kaitlyn glared across the street and he followed her gaze to see two women standing there staring at the two of them with their noses in the air, "See! I can't hear them but I know they're talking about me!" Kaitlyn hissed angrily.  

"I can read lips," Aiden admitted.  

"You can? Where did you learn that?"  

"My father was in the government and sometimes it got hard to hear things at the big meetings so I learned to read lips so I'd still know what was going on."  

"Get to reading those lips then, Aiden. I gotta know what those nosy bitches are saying about me."  

Aiden frowned, he was pretty sure that she probably didn't need to know what those women were saying because none of it was good. "Are you sure you want to know?" he asked and Kaitlyn nodded, though she swallowed hard when she did so. Aiden sighed, "Look at the whore. She stayed holed up in the hotel with Wendell all weekend and as soon as that stupid fool is gone from town she's found herself a new one."  

"See! That's why I can't marry Wendell. This whole town already thinks he's a fool! I'd be an embarrassment to him for his entire life."  

"I don't think he'd see it that way," Aiden argued as he slipped his arm around her shoulders comfortingly, "You need to talk to him about this. I mean I'm happy to be your friend and Lord knows it's been a while since I've had one but this is serious and you need to tell him."  

"It's not that simple," Kaitlyn sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Wendell loves me, Aiden, and I've never had anybody love me before. What if I can't be a good wife? I don't even know what a good wife does."  

"He loves you and he doesn't care about anything else. He doesn't care what those old biddies think and he doesn't care whether or not you can clean house and bake a pie. And if he was bothered by your past then he wouldn't walk around town so proud to have you and he wouldn't carry on about how much he loves you to all the guys at the ranch."  

"He does?" Kaitlyn asked with a smile in her voice.  

Aiden nodded, happy that the women across the street had moved on, "Yes, he does. And who says you all would have to stay here in Bakerstown? You could go anywhere and make a fresh start."  

"No, I couldn't ask him to leave. His life is that ranch. He's worked there for sixteen years. Asking him to leave would be unfair and I'm not worth that...."  

Aiden shook his head and stood up, "Alright then, as your friend I am forcing you to come to the ranch with me and talk to Wendell."  

"No..."  

"Yes," Aiden insisted as he grabbed her hand and jerked her to her feet, "I'm only gonna be around town for another week or so and I want to make sure this is worked out before I leave."  

"Where are you going?" Kaitlyn asked with a frown as Aiden led her into the livery.  

Aiden scratched at his cheek and wished he knew when to shut-up, “Away.”

“No fair!” Kaitlyn grumbled as she pointed to the mare she wanted to borrow and the livery keep quickly went about saddling it. “I told you my problems so now you have to share mine.”

Aiden shook his head quickly as his ears began to burn, “Nope. I don’t have problems, I’m just not staying here. I never did plan on making this home.” His heart broke with the lie but it was a necessary one.

“Liar,” Kaitlyn spat. “Don’t worry though, I’ll get the truth eventually.”

Aiden prayed like hell she was wrong.

---

Kaitlyn was feeling more and more unsure as they rode into Atkinson spread a while later. Aiden looked just as nervous as she felt and she wondered what was wrong with him and why he wouldn't tell her. What could possibly be that bad? She had told him all about her history as a whore and yet he couldn't tell her what had him so upset?  

She knew he'd spent Saturday night and all day Sunday at the hotel with Nick. She suspected there was something going on between the two of them and she wondered if that's why Aiden was leaving. But why would he leave? Shame because he loved a man or perhaps fear that no one would accept that love.   

Kaitlyn shook her head. Life was not fair and people were cruel. Whores were not allowed to change their ways and a man could not simply love who he chose to love without being judged and ridiculed for his decision.  

As they rode toward the barns Wendell hopped over the corral fence with a confused but happy smile on his face as he wiped his dirty hands on his trousers, "Kaitlyn, what are you doing here?" he asked as he helped her from the saddle.  

"I was forced," she replied, sending a glare at Aiden as he slid from the saddle of his own horse.  

Frank came from the barn and took both horses reins, “I’ll hitch yours in the shade, Miss Kaitlyn, and I’ll put yours up, Aiden.”

"Thanks," Aiden said as he looked around and Kaitlyn knew he was looking for Nick,  

"Why did Aiden force you to come out here?" Wendell asked curiously. "Not that I mind because I sure as hell like seein' that pretty face any time I can."  

"Aiden says we need to talk and I know he's right. Can we go somewhere a bit more private?"  

Wendell suddenly looked a bit less happy and a lot more apprehensive. He nodded and wrapped his arm through hers, "Sure..um.. Is something wrong?"  

"Let's just go somewhere and talk," Kaitlyn urged.  

"Burt!" Wendell called out and the man currently in the corral with the cattle looked out at him.  

"What?"  

"I'll be back in a while."  

Burt wiggled his brows and laughed, "Have fun!" 	

Aiden gave Kaitlyn a small smile and she returned it, "Aiden?" she asked.  

"Huh?"  

"Maybe you should take your own advice and talk to the person who needs to know whatever it is that you aren't saying."  

Aiden's brow scrunched up as he frowned and Kaitlyn quickly turned and Wendell began to lead her toward the river behind the main house.  

"Now what's wrong with you?" Wendell asked gently as they stood alone beside a bend in the river moments later. He took her hands gently in his and gazed down into her eyes. As always Kaitlyn was floored by the amount of love she saw staring back at her even though she knew she didn't deserve it. Hell didn't the man realize that she had rutted with a few of the men that he worked with every day?! She knew he did know and that's what confused her most. Didn't he care?!

"I can't do this anymore, Wendell," Kaitlyn hated the tears she felt in her eyes. She'd spent her whole life surviving and crying certainly hadn't kept her alive. She hated that she was crying now.  

"Do what?" Wendell asked, his voice tight.  

"Us. It isn't right. You deserve so much more....."  

"Damnit, Kaitlyn!" Wendell growled as he jerked his hands from hers and threw them in the air. "This again?"  

"Yes, this again!" Kaitlyn snapped, her own temper rising. "I will always be seen as the whore and you will always be seen as the fool in love with one! Just today some ladies saw me talking with Aiden and you should have heard what they said..."  

"It's probably a good thing I didn't," Wendell mumbled angrily. "I'd probably be at the jail gettin' read the bible by old LeRoy."  

"Wendell, I'm serious."  

"I am too," Wendell assured her and then his face softened and he took her hands again, stroking her wrists gently with his thumbs. Kaitlyn felt her body ache for him and her heart yearn to fall into his arms. "Kaitlyn, I don't care what anyone in that town thinks. I love you—" He stooped so he could catch her gaze when she tried to look away. "—I love you. They can think whatever they want. If they want to think I'm a fool then fine because you know what? They're right. I am a fool. I am a fool for you, Kaitlyn, and I would do anything to make you realize how much I need you."  

"I don't deserve you..." Kaitlyn began but her voice became strangled by the tears in her throat.  

Wendell cursed and pulled her into his arms, kissing her hair and holding her tightly, "You are a strong woman, Kaitlyn. A woman who did what she had to in order to survive and you know damned well that I have never judged you for that; not one single time." Kaitlyn nodded against his chest because it was the truth. Wendell never once made her feel bad about what she had been. "Those judgmental hypocrites might see me as a fool for loving you but hell, honey, I'd be a million more kinds of a fool if I let you go. You are beautiful, smart, strong and I love you. Marry me. Please? Don't tell me no again, Kaitlyn. My heart just can't take it."  

"You're a fool for wanting to marry me, Wendell."  

"I know," he agreed with a smile in his voice. "A woman like you couldn't possibly settle on a man like me but I keep asking anyhow. You've done turned me down at least ten times and you'd think I'd learn to take no for an answer."  

"And where would we live? This town will never accept us together."  

"Are you saying yes?" Wendell asked his voice suddenly shaking.  

"Answer my question first," Kaitlyn urged as she pulled away and looked up at his face.  

"Anywhere!" Wendell exclaimed and Kaitlyn was shocked to see the dampness in his eyes, "Damn, woman, we can go anywhere. All you gotta do is name the place."  

"But this is your home."  

"Then we'll stay here. I don't give a rat's ass what anybody thinks about us, Kaitlyn. You are the one I want, you're the one I love... please tell me you love me too... please tell me you're finally goin' to make an honest man out of me!"  

Kaitlyn found herself laughing and wondered what in the world had taken her so long to have realize how much she truly did love this man. She was certainly going to owe Aiden a big thank you for forcing her to come out here today.  

"Yes, Wendell. Yes I'm going to make an honest man out of you."  

A wide smile split Wendell's face and he pulled off his hat and tossed it into the air with a loud hoot and holler before he scooped Kaitlyn up silenced her own laughter with a hungry kiss.

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Aiden watched Kaitlyn and Wendell walk away and while he wanted the best for them he also couldn't help but feel more than a little jealous. He wondered what it would be like to simply be able to walk arm in arm with the person you love and not have people try to shoot you for it.  

But that would probably be asking too much since running from people with guns is what Aiden's life had apparently become.  

He needed to find Nick. He needed to tell Nick that they couldn't be together though he wasn't going to tell him why. Aiden had a feeling that Nick was the kind of man that would vow to protect him 'til the end and Aiden didn't want Nick dying for him.... Aiden would rather die than see that happen.  

He was on his way to the bunkhouse to drop off his sack of clothes when a throat cleared and he turned his head to see Cookie lounging in a chair beside the barn with that old hound curled up at his feet, "If you're lookin' for Nick he went out to the fields. He won't be back 'til close to dark."  

"Why would I be looking for Nick?" Aiden snapped quickly as he adjusted his sack over his shoulder and blushed.  

Cookie's old blue eyes lit with amusement as he laid his head back against the barn wall and chuckled, "I just figured you was is all, I didn't mean to offense. I should warn you that the boss was looking for you earlier."  

"Brody?"  

"No, the real boss—" Cookie began and as if speaking of her had made her appear, Elizabeth came rushing from the ranch house.  

"Aiden!" she called out.  

Aiden offered a small smile to the woman, "I'm real sorry I'm late, Liz. I'll just put my stuff away and get to work..."  

Elizabeth waved her hand, "Actually I'm all out of tackle for you to polish," she grinned at her joke and then her green eyes became more serious, "I need help, Aiden, and I'm really hoping you'll be able to help me."  

Aiden sighed. Why did women keep coming to him for help today? Did he have 

‘sensitive, helpful type’ written on his forehead? He smiled and shrugged a shoulder, “I’ll do what I can.”

"Great. Put your stuff away and then come on to the small corral off the third barn."  With that Elizabeth turned and jogged back around the barns.  Aiden spared another glance at Cookie but the man appeared to have fallen asleep. Of course judging by the smirk on his wrinkled face he was only pretending.

Aiden was quick to lay his sack on his cot. He paused beside Nick's bed and then bent down to smooth out the wrinkles in the hastily made cover. He caught a whiff of Nick's scent on the pillow and his heart beat a little faster even as it filled with regret.  

Quickly Aiden fled from the bunkhouse and blinked against the sun as he headed toward the third barn.  He could hear children laughing and playing before he reached it and when he rounded the corner he paused at the sight of Lexi, Bryant, Nathan and Max standing in the corral with four ponies and one full-sized mare.  

"What's going on?"  

"Horse lessons," Elizabeth smiled when Aiden's eyes widened. "You're better with horses than Lexi and Bryant and can help Max and Nathan teach them while Nathan and Max teach you just a bit."  

Aiden flushed with embarrassment, "You want the kids to teach me?"  

"You're so damn cute when you get embarrassed," Elizabeth laughed. "You gotta learn sometime, Aiden, and trust me when I tell you that Nathan and Max can teach you quite a bit when it comes to riding, roping and hoof care. I want you to stay around, Aiden, but you can't polish tackle forever."  

"About that—" Aiden began but a shout from another barn drew her attention from him.  

"Liz! I think that foal is coming!"  

"Alright, I'm on my way!" she called. She swung her head around and her long golden braid bounced beneath her sweat stained hat, "Children, y'all better be good and make sure Aiden learns some things." She winked and then launched herself over the corral fence and sprinted to the barn.  

Aiden felt foolish and embarrassed. While it was true these children probably knew more about roping, riding and horsemanship than he did that didn't mean he wanted the entire ranch to be laughing at him.  

"Hey, Aiden!" Aiden turned to see Wendell and Kaitlyn making their way toward the corral. Both of them were wearing ear to ear smiles, "I don't know what you said to this woman but thank you! I got myself a real fiancée' now."  

"Well that's great," Aiden replied honestly, "I'm real happy for you both."  

"Senor Aiden, you really should pay attention to how to make the lasso if you wish to learn." Aiden glanced over his shoulder at the Max and flushed bright red.  

"Horse lessons from the children?" Wendell asked with amusement.  

"Yeah," Aiden mumbled, kicking at the dirt.  

Wendell laughed and smacked him on the back, "Don't be embarrassed! That means you made it. Liz always gives her hands a week to see how well she likes them and you'd be surprised how many don't make the cut. If she doesn't feel like you fit in and belong with the 

family as she calls it then she tells you to hit the road. But if she likes you and she decides she wants you here in her family then she’ll find some way to embarrass the hell out of ya. It’s an initiation, I reckon you could say.“

Aiden stared hard at the ground. A family? He'd been accepted as part of the family here? A jolt of regret and pain shot through his heart. He wanted to stay.... Why did life have to be so damned hard?

He felt a tug on his pants leg and looked down to see Lexi trying to get his attention. Her blond braids were swinging as she looked up at him, "Ya really gotta pay 'tention or else you won't learn nothin'," she warned him.  

Bryant nodded and his brow rose making it perfectly clear who his father was, "That's right."  

Aiden found himself laughing and decided to simply embrace the day. He loved kids and loved being around kids. If nothing else then he was sure to be entertained and maybe that would take his mind off the troubles currently plaguing it.  

"Have fun, Aiden," Kaitlyn winked and he smiled back at her before turning his attention once again to the children.  

"Alright then, you cowpokes," Aiden laughed, "Show me how to rope a pony."  

---

Nick had only one thing on his mind as he rode back onto the ranch and that was the same thing that had been on his mind since leaving town the night before—Aiden. Nick hadn't been able to focus on much of anything and everyone he'd been around today had noticed his distraction. Of course they thought maybe he'd finally met a woman over the weekend and it was her memory that had the out of the ordinary smile plastered onto his face. Nick simply remained quiet about it all and let them believe what they wanted.  

It was nearing sunset as he hopped from his horse and Frank took the reins. Nick heard children laughing and then he heard Aiden's laughter join in. A smile curved his lips as he jogged around the barns and main house and found Aiden beside the river with Max, Nathan, Lexi and Bryant.  

They were playing with lassos and it appeared that Aiden was the target as he had one looped around his shoulders and another on his foot.  

"I think you got him trapped," Nick chuckled. Aiden's head whipped around and instantly the beautiful smile that had been curving his lips disappeared and his brown eyes filled with sadness.  

Something was wrong.  

"Alright, cowpokes, let the man go. I'm sure he's had enough of y'all for one day," Brody's voice called out as the man came striding over, grabbed Lexi around the waist and tossed the squealing girl over his shoulder.  

"Daddy!" she cried out with laughter. "Put me down!"  

"I don't take orders from no woman," Brody argued, winking at Nathan.  

"Yeah, no woman 'cept mama," Bryant agreed with a nod and this time it was Brody's turn to laugh as he set a dizzy Lexi on her feet.  

"I'll let you all in on a secret," Brody whispered as he crouched down to be on his children's level. "I listen to your mama because she's a mean ol'...."  

'Mean ol' what?" Elizabeth asked as she too came around the house.  

Brody grinned. "Mean ol' tyrant that rules the house with an iron fist and a loud-cracking whip."  

Nick wasn't focusing on any of their conversations. His response was automatic when they bid he and Aiden goodbye because his attention was focused solely on the man currently attempting to disentangle himself from the ropes.  

"Do you need help?" Nick offered.  

"I got it," Aiden replied without looking at him. Nick frowned and remained quiet as Aiden finally got the ropes off of him and handed them to Max.  

"Max! It's time to get on home now!" Thomas's voice carried from the barns.  

"Gracias for playing with us today, Senor Aiden," Max said and Aiden smiled at the boy.  

"You're welcome, Max. I had a good time."  

Nick and Aiden watched Max run off and then Aiden began to walk down the river, motioning for Nick to follow him. Nick glanced at the main house and saw the curtains fall. Someone had been watching them and he knew it had to either be Jacob or Ellie.  

Nick didn't know much about Ellie as she mainly stayed in and around the house and did not have much to do with the ranch hands but Jacob was not the type of person that Nick would ever want to discover his secret.  

While Jacob was friendly enough, he was also known to be harsh in his judgments of others. Nick knew that he would 

never be okay with having two men like Nick and Aiden around his home and family.

Nick followed after Aiden and they rounded a bend in the river and came to stand beneath a large sycamore. Aiden leaned against a giant boulder that came up to his hips and sighed. "We need to talk, Nick."  

"I don't want to talk, Aiden," Nick replied honestly and he grabbed Aiden's arm before pulling his body against his. "I missed you something fierce all day." Aiden's eyes widened and then the brown depths of them filled with passion as he gazed up at Nick.  

Nick didn't wait for permission or an invitation. He had missed Aiden horribly; more than was acceptable, honestly, considering it had only been twenty-four hours since he had seen the other man. He pressed his lips to Aiden's soft mouth and devoured him hungrily.  

Aiden moaned against him and then quickly pulled away and took several giant steps back, placing the rock between the two of them.  

"What's wrong?" Nick questioned, "No one will see us out here if you're worried about that."  

"No..." Aiden looked down at the ground and shook his head, "It's not that."  

"Then what?" Nick asked, his heart beating fast with dread.  

Aiden swallowed hard and Nick saw his throat bob with emotion, "We can't be together, Nick."  

Nick's world crashed down around him in that instant, "Why?" he croaked.  

"Because I'm leaving at the end of the week," Aiden replied still not meeting his gaze. "I'm not interested in getting serious with anyone just now."  

"That's not what you said yesterday," Nick argued, his temper rising, the anger merely a mask for his hurt. For so long Nick had kept himself closed off and Aiden had convinced him to let those guards down—only to spit in his face a day later.  

"Sorry I misled you," Aiden shrugged. "I guess you probably hate me now."  

Nick saw the tears in Aiden's eyes when the man spared a glance at him and they only served to confuse Nick further, "Aiden, does this have something to do with what you said yesterday about not having much time? Are you in trouble?"  

Fear flashed in Aiden's brown eyes and he shook his head roughly—too roughly, "No, of course not."  

“Is there somebody that wants to hurt you?” Nick growled, protectively.

Aiden opened his mouth to speak but then closed it quickly and tapped his fingers against the boulder with agitation, “It’s got nothing to do with you, Nick. It’s just the way things are now and I can’t stay here. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Nick shook his head and clenched his fists. “I’m not going to let you do this, Aiden. You’re running from someone and that’s what brought you to Bakerstown to begin with. Now I didn’t push you for the truth yesterday and I won’t push you for it now but I won’t let you push me away either and end what we have growing between us. We’re good together, Aiden.”

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be,” Aiden pleaded with wide eyes.

Nick stepped closer to the boulder and put his hand on Aiden’s cheek, feeling a bit better when the other man didn’t pull away, “I won’t let anything happen to you. You don’t have to be scared. Talk to me, Aiden. I’ll protect you.”

When Aiden remained silent and refused to meet Nick's eyes, Nick turned and walked away from him, though it was the hardest thing he'd done in a long time. Aiden clearly needed to think and Nick would allow him that. What Nick wouldn't allow was for Aiden to leave him like this. What they had was special and Nick wasn't about to lose it just because Aiden was afraid of something or someone from his past catching up to him.  

Nick hadn't been able to save Tyler but it would be a cold day in hell before he lost Aiden too.

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Aiden lay in his cot that night but sleep would not come. Instead he was listening to the breathing and snores all around him and the sound of crickets outside. Whenever he closed his eyes he saw the hurt on Nick's face when he had told him that they couldn't be together.  

While the hands had eaten dinner, Nick's eyes had been locked on him nearly the entire time. While Wendell, Kent, Frank, Cookie and Burt told Aiden that he was finally one of them and that he had been accepted as an Atkinson rancher which made him pretty much as lucky as a man could get, Aiden had been lost in thoughts of Nick and how there were many ways Aiden could be a hell of a lot luckier.  

Frank had even gone so far as to say that Elizabeth seemed to have truly taken him under her wing seeing as how she had entrusted him with her children for the day.  

Truth was Aiden really liked Elizabeth. She felt almost like a sister after the week he'd spent here with her; a really bossy sister who lived to embarrass him, but a sister just the same. Brody was a good man, the hands here were all nice and seemed to work together and get along great. Atkinson spread was like a bit of paradise but it wasn't a paradise that Aiden could ever call home.  

Aiden knew that Frank and Kent were keeping an eye on the fence lines tonight so that would be two less people to worry about catching him as he slid from his cot and stood up. He was leaving tonight. He couldn't stay here any longer. The longer he was near Nick the harder it would be to leave the man and he honestly couldn't spend another day with those children knowing that he was going to be leaving them.  

Aiden cursed his habit of developing attachments to people so quickly. He'd always been the type to get close to people too fast and once he cared about someone there was no magical switch he could flip to turn that caring off.  

He grabbed his sack from under his bed and slid into his boots. Food was something he would have to find along the way but he could fill his canteen at the river before leaving.  

Aiden moved silently through the bunkhouse and slipped out the door. He used the light from the nearly full moon to find his way to the barn and was finding the saddle for his mare when a hand closed over his arm.  

"Where in the hell do you think you're going?"  

Aiden felt his entire body tremble at the anger in Nick's voice. He turned slowly and jerked his arm from the bigger man's grasp, "I'm leaving, Nick. I told you I was going to."  

"Then I'm leaving with you."   

Aiden's jaw dropped and it took several moments before he could bring it closed again in order to speak, "What did you say?"  

"I said I'm coming with you," Nick repeated as he shoved his hand through his short blond hair. There wasn't enough light in the barn to see clear details but Aiden didn't have to see Nick's face to know that there was anger in his gray eyes.  

"Why?"

"Why?!" Nick growled, "Because I care about you dammit. We're together, Aiden. It's not just you that's facing whatever it is you're running from, I'm facing it too." Nick's posture softened and he reached out and caressed Aiden's cheek. Aiden found himself leaning into the touch and soon his head was resting on Nick's chest. "Talk to me, Aiden,"  

Aiden wanted to... He needed Nick. He had spent so long running alone and he knew that if he ran again it would only be a matter of time before he was killed. He knew that leaning on Nick was the weak thing to do but he couldn't do anything else.  

Without speaking, Aiden lifted his head, rose up on his toes and tentatively pressed his lips against Nick's. Aiden had never been the one to initiate a kiss and he found it a thought-defying mix of terrifying and empowering.  

While Aiden started the kiss it didn't take Nick long to take over. His lips were firm and demanding as they moved against Aidan's and then he was nipping at Aiden's lips and demanding further entrance into his mouth. Aiden was powerless to do anything other than obey and soon their tongues were fighting for space and entwining together.  

Aiden ran his hands along Nick's arms, loving the powerful feel of the rolling muscles beneath his thin chambray shirt. He felt Nick's hands close on his hips and pull him tighter against him. The bulge pressing against Aiden's stomach told him just how hungry Nick was and Aiden knew that there was a similar bulge in his own trousers.  

Aiden was losing the ability to think as Nick pushed him back against the stall door and the mare behind it snorted. This kiss was stealing his breath and all Aiden wanted was more. More of Nick. He raised his shaking hands to Nick's chest and heard the man's sharp intake of breath as Aiden found the first few buttons undone and slid his hands inside.  

Nick's skin was hot and hard and covered in a dusting of that same tawny blond hair that was on his head. The grip Nick had on his hips tightened and Aiden felt Nick trying to twist his own hips away from him as if in an attempt to hide his arousal. Aiden tried desperately to get closer to Nick which drew a low growl from deep in Nick's throat and the man stopped trying to hide the evidence of what Aiden was doing to him.  

It wasn't until the mare in the stall behind Aiden put her head over the door and nudged Aiden's head that he realized where they were and what they were doing. Quickly he broke the kiss and removed his hands from Nick's shirt.  

Nick's face was flushed and his eyes were filled with lust as he stared down at Aiden. Aiden tried to still his heart and calm his breathing, though he was pleased to see that Nick was breathing just as harshly.  

"You can't leave, Aiden, at least not without me."  

Aiden rested his brow against Nick's chin as Nick wrapped his arms tight around him, holding him close with tenderness. "I don't want to leave at all," Aiden admitted quietly, "I really like it here."  And Aiden didn't only mean the ranch—he meant right here in Nick's arms.  

"Who are you running from, Aiden?"  

Aiden let out a long breath and knew he had to tell Nick. Truth was he loved Nick and needed the man even after just this short time with him. Aiden pulled away, took Nick by the rough, calloused hand and led him toward the ladder to the barn loft. They climbed the ladder quickly and settled down on the hay.  

"Remember how I told you that my parents told me I was dead to them when I admitted I didn't want to marry a woman?" Aiden asked as he picked up a piece of hay and began to shred it in pieces with his fingers.  

"Yes," Nick replied, lounging back and pulling Aiden onto his chest so they were lying on the hay in each other's arms. Aiden had to admit that lying like this more than just made his body heat and his mind wander to passion he and Nick could share, it made him feel peaceful and more at home than Aiden had ever felt a single other time in his life.  

"That's not all they did," Aiden amended. "My father tried to kill me for it and I ran and I've been running ever since because when he couldn't kill me he hired others to do the job for him."  

"You have killers chasing you?" Nick ground out between tense jaws, "And your parents sent them?" Aiden glanced up at his chin, saw the way the muscles bunched and coiled in his jaw and simply nodded in response. He didn't think anything he said would help the situation. "How many?" Nick wanted to know.

"Two," Aiden shrugged. "They've nearly got me a few times but I guess I'm good at running."

Nick was quiet for a long while and then he held Aiden tighter and kissed his hair, "You're safe now, Aiden. You've been here a week and nobody has been looking for you so maybe they lost your trail."  

"Maybe," Aiden offered though he doubted that was the truth.  

"And even if they do find you I won't let them hurt you."  

Aiden propped himself up so he could look into Nick's gray eyes. "Nick, I don't want you to die for me!" he whispered harshly.

Nick shook his head and laid a gentle hand on Aiden's cheek, "I'd rather not die myself," he smiled comfortingly though in the dim light Aiden could see a protective anger flashing in Nick's eyes. "I can protect you, Aiden. I have skills other than wrangling cattle."  

Aiden's mind instantly went to the hungry kisses they had shared and Nick laughed, the deep sound rumbling from his chest, "Not those skills."  

Aiden's eyes went down to the gun on Nick's hip, the gun that he hadn't paid much attention to because most men wore them.... Of course here on Atkinson spread the women wore them too.  

"I'm so tired of running, Nick. I'm tired of being scared."  

Nick laid his hands gently upon Aiden's cheeks and pulled his mouth to his. The kiss was feather-light, tender and soft. Aiden's heart skittered for several beats as his eyes slipped closed and then Nick was pulling away and Aiden rested his head once more against the other man's chest. He smiled when he felt Nick's heart beating a bit faster than it had been before.  

"You don't have to run anymore, Aiden. I'm not a runner by nature and we aren't running from these men."

"But if they find me..."  

"Then we'll deal with it. What the hell is wrong with your parents?"  

"They're horse's asses apparently," Aiden mumbled and Nick chuckled, the sound causing his chest to vibrate beneath Aiden's ear.  

"We do need to tell Brody and Liz about this and probably Ty as well so they can help look out for these bounty hunters."  

"We can't tell them that I'm... that we're..."

"Of course not," Nick agreed quickly, his grip on Aiden tightening, "But we have to tell them that your parents have men searching for you that want you dead. That could be people on the ranch in danger and..."

“See that means I have to leave,” Aiden felt like crying.

Nick shook his head, “Let’s leave it up them. Trust me when I say that Brody Atkinson is not a man who scares too easy. And he can protect this ranch just the same as I can protect you.”

"I've been running alone for so long now..." Aiden whispered.  

"You're not alone anymore, Aiden.  Let me take care of you,"  

Aiden considered telling Nick that he was a grown man and therefore did not need to be '

taken care of’ but the way Nick’s deep voice asked that of him made it impossible for Aiden to say no.

"Well I guess we should get back to the bunkhouse. I can just imagine Burt's face if he caught us cuddling in the hay come morning," Aiden whispered, making no real attempt to get up.  

"We have time," Nick countered. "We're gonna stay just like this for a while."

Aiden snuggled closer and smiled, "Well okay then."  

Somehow, knowing he was no longer alone and had someone by his side to face the danger he was in made it feel not so scary. He'd been terrified to let Nick, or anyone else, know the truth of why he was running and he was still scared that something would happen to Nick but the fear wasn't as great as it had been.  

Nick gave off an air of capability. He had a toughness about him that made Aiden believe he could indeed take care of himself.  Maybe things would be okay now.... Aiden closed his eyes and began to drift off to sleep with the first bit of true hope for the future blossoming in his chest.

Chapter fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Nick let out his breath on a contented sigh and pulled Aiden tighter into his arms. Aiden moaned and then Nick heard the birds singing and felt the hay digging into his cheek.  

Shit! They'd fallen asleep. Together. Cuddled up. In the barn loft. Now it was morning. Shit!  

Nick opened his eyes and looked out the loft window. It was still fairly dark outside and the sun hadn't yet risen completely. Maybe not all hope of getting out of the barn unseen was lost.  

"Aiden, you gotta wake up," he whispered, nudging the sleeping man gently. Aiden's face was smashed against his chest and Nick was fairly certain he'd been drooled on. A smile curved his lips as he chuckled quietly. His man was cute that was for sure.  

A horse snorted below them and Nick shook his head. His man needing to get the hell off of him and back to the bunkhouse was yet another fact that Nick was sure about.  

"Aiden, honey, ya gotta wake up."  

Aiden moaned again and then his brown eyes fluttered open and he gave a sleepy smile as he looked up at Nick. "What did you call me?"  

"Honey. Do you not want me to call you that?" Nick asked, feeling a bit awkward. He was out of practice when it came to pillow talk.  

"No.. um... I like it. You can call me whatever you want," Aiden replied, his ears reddening. "You should probably just stick with Aiden though when folks are around."  

"Speaking of folks being around—" Nick stated as he sat up and Aiden moved away from him. "It's morning and we're still in the barn loft."  

"Oh no," Aiden glanced around and began to chew furiously at the inside of his cheek.  

"What we talked about last night; I want you to know that I meant every word I said. You aren't alone anymore. It'll be easier to catch Brody and Liz together if we wait until this evening to talk to them. I guess we'll probably have to tell Jacob too but it can wait..."  

"Or we could just saddle two horses right now and be gone." Aiden offered weakly.  

Nick should his head. "No. I done told you that I'm not much of a runner unless I have no other choice. I won't run just yet."  

"Probably should get running to the bunkhouse though before we get caught."  

"That would probably be a good idea—"  

"I'll put your horses up," Wendell's voice floated in from outside. "You two are probably wore out."  

"Thanks Wendell. I sure hope we get this fence line situation figured out soon. I ain't young enough anymore for these all-nighters," Frank replied.  

Nick winced. Too late. Clearly Kent and Frank were returning from night watchman duty and now Wendell was coming in the barn. Aiden turned a panicked gaze to him and Nick just shrugged and scooted further away from the edge of the loft—maybe they could avoid being seen and sneak out in a while.  

"There's only one kind of all-nighter I like to pull and that's with a saloon girls legs wrapped around my waist," Kent agreed.  

"That's a good place to be," Frank admitted. "Lost between a saloon girl's legs..."

 The conversation between the two of them faded into the distance and Nick heard Wendell leading two horses into the barn. He put his fingers to his lips to indicate to Aiden the need for silence which earned him a rather impressive eye-roll.

Nick listened closely to the sound of the horses being stripped of their saddles and placed in their stalls. He heard the rattling of oats in the tin can used to treat the horses after a long day (or night) of work.  

It sounded as if Wendell was about to leave the barn when he stopped directly below the loft ladder, "Look, I don't need to know what y'all have been doin' up there all night. I don't even wanna see whether or not you got your clothes on because frankly I might need to take a wire brush to my brain just to remove that particular image that's swirling around. All I'm gonna say is that everybody is beginning to wake up and I made an excuse for y'all saying that you'd went on an early patrol to check the fences per Brody and Liz's orders. So you can leave the barn in a minute or two and pretend like you're just getting back.... Nobody should notice that they didn't see you ride in since everybody is still in the bunkhouse."  

Nick and Aiden shared a look of surprised horror, "Um... Wendell.. we're uh.. we're dressed just so you know," Aiden mumbled and Nick found himself laughing. Aiden's mouth and brained seemed to cease working together whenever he got nervous or embarrassed and Nick found it cute as hell.  

"I said I didn't need to know, Aiden," Wendell grumbled. "And uh.. just so you know your secret is safe with me."  

"And how did you figure it out?" Nick asked as he motioned for Aiden to go down the loft ladder first. Aiden slowly made his way toward the ladder though his face was fifteen different shades of red and he didn't seem very happy about facing Wendell.  Nick wasn't very happy about it himself. He had no idea how the man had figured out their secret but he had... Hopefully Wendell was serious about keeping it to himself.  

Nick couldn't stand for the past to repeat itself. He laid his hand unconsciously on his gun. He wouldn't allow it to.  

"Well I didn't exactly," Wendell admitted, "Kaitlyn did,"  

"Kaitlyn?" Aiden demanded as he scampered quickly down the ladder. "What does Kaitlyn know?"  

Nick frowned at Aiden as he too headed down the ladder, "What did you tell her?" he questioned.  

Aiden flushed and clenched his fists at his sides, "Nothing! I told her I was leaving..."  

"Which you're not," Nick felt the need to interject and Aiden rolled his eyes again. Nick hoped that wouldn't become a common thing with the man.  

"No, I'm not... at least as long as Wendell doesn't go telling anyone and Kaitlyn doesn't tell anybody else!"  

Wendell looked at both men and it was clear he was a little uncomfortable as he shifted his feet and crossed his arms over his chest; almost as if he were trying to hide himself from them.  

"Wendell, you don't have to act different around us," Nick sighed.  

"Well sure I do!" Wendell countered. "Hell, for all I know you could want my body."  

Nick and Aiden shared a look and then Aiden burst into laughter. Nick simply shook his head and watched Aiden with amusement.  

"What's so funny?" Wendell demanded indignantly, "Am I that bad?"  

"No," Nick assured him. "You're just not my type."  

"Or mine," Aiden added as he wiped tears from his face.  

"Well thank God for small miracles I reckon," Wendell muttered. "Don't worry fella's, I ain't gonna tell nobody. Kaitlyn was worried about ya, Aiden, and so she told me what she suspected to be true. And well--" Wendell waved his hand in their direction, "—looks like she was right."  

"Wendell, it's really important that people don't find out about this," Nick warned, all traces of good humor gone from his voice, "No one else can know."  

Nick felt Aiden's gaze on him and he glanced over at the other man to see that he appeared a bit confused and hurt. Hurt by what? Nick turned back to Wendell.  

"Hey, I said I wouldn't tell anybody!" Wendell snapped, holding up his hands, "I like you both—not as much as you like each other but...." he shrugged, "I consider you both my friends and Kaitlyn has adopted Aiden as her little buddy, which are her words, not mine."  

"Thanks, Wendell. And thanks for covering for us this morning," Aiden said as he stepped forward and held out his hand.  

Wendell stared at it a moment as if contemplating whether or not to shake it and Nick saw the hurt in Aiden's eyes. "Shake the man's hand, Wendell," Nick urged in a voice barely more than a growl.  

"Aww hell I didn't mean no offense by hesitating, it's just....." Wendell continued to eye Aiden's hand.  

"What?" Aiden asked.  

"It's not a disease. You won't catch it," Nick added.  

Wendell glared at him, "Shit, I know that!" He flushed bright red, "Y'all were up there alone together all night and well did you...? I mean is your hand...? Uh..."  

Aiden and Nick glanced at each other and smiled at their friend's discomfort, "Nick is the old-fashioned type, Wendell. My hands are clean," Aiden somehow managed to get all that out without laughing.  

Nick glared at him even as Wendell sputtered and shook Aiden's hand, "Would you rather I just threw you down and had my way with you?"

"Yeah I would," Aiden replied quickly and then he flushed red.  

Nick felt a quick jolt of lust shoot through him and tucked that handy piece of information away with every intention of pulling it back out the next time he had Aiden alone.

Wendell made a gagging sound and then swallowed hard. "Sorry, uh... yeah...It's gonna take a while to get real used to hearing stuff like that," Wendell pointed to the door, "I'm gonna head back to the bunkhouse and see about breakfast. Gotta make sure Cookie's still breathing this morning."  

"I think we scared him off," Aiden mumbled as Wendell fled from the barn.  

Nick shrugged and fixed Aiden with a stern glance, "Stay around the ranch today and I'll do the same. This evening when Brody and Liz meet up here like they normally do we'll tell them about those bounty hunters. It'll be easier to just have to tell them once."  

"And what are we going to tell them when they ask why my parents want me dead?" Aiden asked.  

Nick thought hard but no ideas came right away. So he scratched his head and shrugged. "I don't know just yet. I'll think of something though, don't worry about that." 	

Nick laid his hand gently on Aiden's cheek, gave his brow a quick kiss and then strode from the barn before anyone else had a chance to walk in.  

---

Ty was just finished up his lunch at the diner when LeRoy limped in with alarm on his scar and whisker covered face.  

"What's the matter, LeRoy?" Ty questioned as he pushed his chair back and stood, his mind instantly going into high alert.  

"There are two men that just rode into town," LeRoy replied in a low whisper as he moved closer and eyes all around the diner became focused on them.  

"Men?" Ty asked, "Men ride in all the time."  

LeRoy shook his head, "Not men like these. These are gunslingers and judging by the looks in their eyes they want blood."  

Ty clenched his fists and bit back a curse. Most of the time being sheriff of this town was a bit on the boring side but that's the way Ty liked it. With a pregnant wife at the schoolhouse teaching the town kids, Ty had no urge to be risking his life.  

Why were two blood-thirsty bounty hunters riding into town? What business did they have here? Ty didn't like bounty hunters because they took the law into their own hands and killed men for money. That made them murderers in his book. A man deserved a fair trial before he died—and then he deserved to go swinging.  

He looked at the deputy that was the one person Brody had insisted Ty keep around and nodded, "Alright then. I'll go talk to them, LeRoy."  

LeRoy scratched at his whiskered face, "I'll go with you, Ty. Those men seem like trouble."  

Without another word and with numerous eyes staring at their backs, Ty and LeRoy left the diner and made their way down the street. The bounty hunters had come to a stop at the jailhouse and were currently off their horses and lounging against the porch beams. They both wore low slung double holsters and long mud covered duster coats. They had the sharp, squinted eyes of men that had lived their whole lives watching the horizon and their backs all at the same time.  

"Hello, gentleman," Ty greeted them as he walked up and rested his hand calmly on his gun, keeping his posture relaxed. "What can I do for you today?"  

"We're actually looking for somebody, sheriff," the tallest of the two men said as he chewed on a toothpick. The other man nodded and spit a long stream of tobacco into the dirt.  

"I'm proud to say there aren't many criminals in this town," Ty assured them. "Can I ask who you're looking for?"  

The tall bounty hunter grinned and nodded as he ran his hand over his long wispy blond mustache, "We were hired by some people of influence back in Virginia to hunt down their wayward son who had become a blemish on their name. We've been hired to remove him."  

"A blemish huh?" Ty sucked his teeth and shook his head. "I didn't know bounty hunters went after blemishes. I thought it was only the hardened criminals you were interested in."  

The short man shook his head, "We go after whoever has the money tells us to go after."  

"Don't listen to him," the taller man said as he shot his friend a warning glance and pulled the toothpick from his mouth. "We always operate within the full boundaries of the law."  

"I'm sure you do," Ty replied dryly. "What's this man's name that you're after?"  

"First names only," Tall man replied. "Our client wanted us handling things discreetly."  

Ty snorted. Riding with your coats back and guns shining down a street in a town full of working men, ranchers and families didn't seem like the best way to be discreet, "Sure, I understand that. Of course lots of folks have the same first names."  

"Yep, lots of 'em," LeRoy grunted in agreement.  

Short man shook his head, "You'll remember this man if he's been here. His name is Aiden and he can't have been here more than a week or so. We're pretty damn sure he's still here since that little weasel has to be gettin' tired of runnin'."  

"He's shorter than me but taller than my associate here," tall man took over. "Dark hair, brown eyes and a slender build. He's the nervous, unsure type and barely looks more than a boy, though he is a grown man."  

Ty nodded as if thinking hard about the description the men had given him. He kept his face blank but thoughtful while inside his head there was nothing quite so serene happening. Aiden was a wanted man?! Or at least wanted by someone! Someone hated him enough to hire two blood seeking killers for hire after the man. And that man was currently at Atkinson spread around quite a few people that Ty cared a great deal about.  

It was times like right now that Ty regretting wearing this badge. This badge meant he had to respect the law and legally these men weren't doing anything wrong simply by being in this town.  

"I don't reckon I've seen him around here," Ty finally replied with a shrug, "Sorry gentleman. I guess you'll be wanting to be on your way now...."  

"Nonsense, sheriff, this is a big town and maybe you just missed him," tall man said, "We'll have us a look-see ourselves and see what we can find."  

"I don't want any trouble around here," Ty warned, his posture stiffening, "You won't be killing anyone in my town unless you can show me a dead or alive bounty signed by a Governor." 	

The men chuckled and the shorter one spit another stream of tobacco, this one landing right beside Ty's boots, "Course not, sheriff. We ain't the trouble starting types."  

"Why don't you give us a copy of the bounty and we'll keep an eye out for this dangerous criminal ourselves," LeRoy offered, stepping forward. Ty saw the men look at each other with amusement.  

"That's alright scarface. We'll take care of things ourselves. I'm sure two upstanding lawmen such as yourselves have more important business to be tendin' to. Have ya a real good day now."  

Ty and LeRoy watched the men head down the road toward the saloons and LeRoy clicked his tongue. "Boy, Brody's gonna have himself one hell of a fit."  

"We have to warn Brody," Ty agreed. "Those men are trouble and it'll only be a matter of time before someone sends them out to Atkinson Spread. LeRoy, you keep a bit of an eye on those men and I'll go find Ryder. He can head out to the ranch and let Brody know what's going on."  

LeRoy nodded and slowly made his way down the street with his hands behind his back. He was whistling a tune and glancing around and Ty laughed lightly. Was that the man pretending to be discreet? It was a good thing LeRoy was a better deputy than he was an actor.

Ty made his way to the sawmill and surprisingly enough he found his brother actually working hard as he and another man stripped the bark from a log.  

"Ryder?" Ty called out and Ryder looked up, smiled broadly and dropped the saw he'd been using. He leapt over the log, ignoring the other man's protests and jogged to Ty.  

"What brings you calling on me this beautiful morning?" Ryder asked.  

Ty rolled his eyes, "I take it you had a good night last night?" he asked, knowing his brother always walked around with stars in his eyes when he had a good night the night before—which meant he pretty much was that way every single day since marrying Susie.  

"Good night, good morning," he smiled and laid a hand over his heart, "I love my Susie."  Then Ryder's nudged Ty's shoulder, "Why so serious this morning, big brother? Old age finally getting to you?"  

"No, it ain't that," Ty replied. "There's trouble Ryder and I need your help."  

Ryder paused in his attempts to swat at a gnat flying around his face and shifted his feet, "What kind of trouble?"  

"The kind with guns that going to be heading toward Atkinson Spread."  

Ryder's face became serious as he stood straight and Ty was struck by just how tall and strong his younger brother was and just how tough he appeared when he wasn't jumping around, swatting at the air and entertaining people with his antics, "What's going on?"  

"Bounty hunters—or hired killers is more like in this instance. They claim there's a bounty on Aiden but can't, or won't, show me any proof of that. I didn't tell them where he was or even that he was here but all they'll have to do is ask around and somebody will tell them."  

"Bounty hunters after Aiden?" Ryder demanded before bursting into laugher, "What did he do? Kick a puppy?"  

"I don't know... Ryder, you need to get to the ranch and make Brody aware of what's going on. These men are the bad sort," Ty warned.  

Ryder nodded and wiped his sawdust covered hands on his dirty pants, "I'm on it, sheriff. You can count on me," he vowed with a salute that made Ty roll his eyes.  "Hey—" Ryder's brown eyes lit with amusement, "—do you think I can get one of those badges since I'm doing official lawman business?"  

"No, Ryder," Ty sighed with exasperation. He knew he could count on Ryder in a tight spot but there was nothing in this world more annoying than his little brother, "Giving you a badge would just be wrong."  

Ryder appeared thoughtful a moment and then nodded as he put his arm around Ty's shoulders and grinned, "You're right, big brother. I would make you look bad. All the people in town would see me with that badge and they would know they elected the wrong man as sheriff. There would be an uprising and I'd end up taking your job."  

Ty rolled his eyes, "Yes, Ryder. That's exactly what I'm worried about."   

Ryder nodded, "Yes I understand."  

"Ryder?"  

"Yes, Ty?"  

"Leave."  

"Leaving," Ryder moved away from Ty and then paused, "I'll stop and get Susie on my way. I don't want her at that house alone if those men might be riding past."  

"That would probably be a good idea."  

Ty pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger as he watched his brother take off at a run to his hitched horse. He put his hands on its rump, launched himself over its back and then with a click of his tongue and a whistle took off at a gallop out of town.  

Ty turned and headed toward the saloon that the two so-called bounty hunters had gone into. With any luck they would do something while in town that would warrant Ty locking them up in jail and letting LeRoy preach to them for a good long while.

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

While Aiden was uneasy and more than a little unsure about the talk he was going to have to have with Brody and Liz this evening, he still couldn't wipe the happy smile from his face as he cleaned out stalls.  

Nick was his. He was Nick's. Aiden had never in a million and one years imagined he would actually find another man like him—let alone a man that was so strong, handsome, caring and genuinely good. Nick was perfect—bossy and surly at times—but perfect nonetheless.  

Knowing he had Nick by his side helped ease some of Aiden's fears. Even if worst came to worst and Aiden had to run at least now he wouldn't have to run alone.  

Aiden had been cleaning out these stalls for a good four hours straight and his back was beginning to ache. Deciding it was time for a break Aiden leaned the rake against the wall, rubbed at his low back and walked out of the barn and out into the sunshine.  

He squinted against the sudden light and sighed when he realized just how hot it was going to be today. His eyes were drawn toward the main house and he saw Ellie looking exhausted and frustrated as she tried to hang out clothes while her son, Eli, who seemed to be older than one and yet younger than two was toddling around and trying to pull the clothes back down.  

Aiden didn't know much about Ellie other than she was Jacob's wife and didn't have much of anything to do with the ranch hands. She kept herself in the house mostly when she wasn't outside chasing Eli.  

Aiden heard a whimper as Eli tore down a freshly hung sheet. The boy roared with belly bursting laughter as he fell to the ground and rolled himself up in the wet fabric but Ellie was near tears.  

Quickly Aiden jogged toward the clotheslines and then stood there awkwardly with his giant hat in his hands, "Ma'am, could you use some help?"  

Ellie paused in her efforts to disentangle her son from his newfound play toy and glanced up at Aiden. She had pretty blue eyes and dark hair and she had tiny features, kind of like a doll. But she looked bad. She was pale and the dark circles around her eyes seemed more like bruises. Her face was drawn and a bit green.  

"Aiden right?" she asked after several seconds of studying him.  

"Yes, ma'am."  

"Please call me Ellie," Ellie stood up straight, clearly giving up her quest to save her bed sheet for which Eli seemed grateful as he squealed and rolled up in it a bit tighter.  

"Could you use some help, Ellie?" Aiden asked as he slid his hat back on his head. "You looked like you were having a bit of trouble."  

"I am," she admitted with defeat. "I'm not feeling well at all today and I have a mountain of clothes to hang out and Eli to tend to and...."  

Aiden shrugged, "I can hang out your clothes."  He'd never actually done that before but it looked simple enough and it was clear this woman was dead on her feet.  

"I couldn't ask you to do that! You're busy with chores of your own!" Ellie exclaimed. "I'm usually much tougher than this it's just..... Jacob is out of town; gone to Austin, and he won't be back for a week and I'm feeling a bit lonely and then Eli is a wild child and I'm nauseous and tired and...."  

"Are you with child?" Aiden asked and then clamped his mouth shut when he realized he'd just blurted out a question he had no business asking.  He covered his mouth with his hand as he stared at Ellie with wide eyes.  

Ellie looked surprised for a moment and Aiden waited on her to start yelling but instead she sighed, "Yes, and I don't want to be. I was so sick the entire time with Eli and it's clear that this time will be no different." She fixed him with a pleading stare, "No one knows yet so can you please...."  

Aiden removed his hand from his mouth, "My lips are sealed," he promised, making a big show of sealing up his lips and turning the lock, "Now you go on inside, get yourself a cup of tea and let me worry about Eli and the laundry for a while."  

"I couldn't ask you to do that!" Ellie countered, "I promise I'm plenty capable...."  

"You're sick and you're... uh... you're growing a baby. You need to go in there and rest and let me handle this. Don't worry, I had practice keeping children occupied yesterday."  

"Yes I saw that," Ellie's blue eyes filled with amusement and she smiled, "But Eli will be a little more difficult."  

Aiden scoffed and went to the boy. He scooped him up, sheet and all, and propped him on his hip, "How hard can it be?"  

Ellie laughed lightly and then winced and placed her hand over her stomach as her green pallor increased, "I think I will take that rest. You're going to make some woman really happy one day, Aiden. You're a good man."  

Aiden cleared his throat and shifted his feet, "Thanks."  

"And you—" Ellie pulled the sheet from her sons head and ruffled his now wet dark hair, "—you had better be good for Aiden!"  

Eli squealed in response, "

Igood .“ He gurgled.

"Thank you, Aiden," Ellie whispered and with tears in her eyes she fled into the house.  

Aiden shook his head and looked down into the boys blue eyes, "When I see women in those kind of up and down moods it makes me real glad that I like men," he muttered. "There's enough different moods on a woman that it's darn near dangerous to breathe too loud around one."  

"I'm glad you like men too," Nick's voice whispered in his ear and Aiden felt his knees nearly buckle beneath him. He turned his head and looked up at the man who somehow managed to turn him inside out with just a glance.  

"What are you doing? Don't you have work to do?" Aiden asked as he took a step back to place some distance between them. Too many eyes were watching and Nick had made it clear this morning that 

no one could know about them. While Aiden knew that was for the best it still hurt to know that Nick was that ashamed.

"I do," Nick acknowledge as he reached out and poked Eli's belly causing the boy to laugh hysterically and fold up, tucking his chin to his chest, "But I wanted to check on you."  

"Nobody shot me yet," Aiden replied and Nick's smile turned into a glare.  

"Not funny, Aiden."  

"It was kind of funny," Aiden shrugged.  

Nick growled and shook his head as he grabbed Aiden's arm, "No it wasn't. 

Nothing is going to happen to you.“

Aiden frowned as he looked at the mixture of pain, fear and uncertainty in Nick's stormy gray eyes. What was wrong with the man? Aiden understood being worried but it seemed there was something else bothering him about all of this.  

"Nick, is there something wrong?" Aiden asked gently.  

Nick released his hold on Aiden's arm with a sigh, "Yeah, you have men that want you dead just because you want to spend the rest of your life with someone they don't approve of. There's something very wrong with that."  

"I never said I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you," Aiden countered with a wink, hoping to ease the tension in Nick's shoulders and thankfully it worked.  

Nick smiled and began to tickle Eli's legs causing the little boy to kick and squirm and squeal at the top of his lungs. "Would you stop that?" Aiden asked with a grunt and a grin as he tried to hold on to the flailing child, "This boy is heavy."  

"Here give him to me," Nick urged as he held out his arms.  

Aiden frowned, "You like kids?"  

"Yeah," Nick grunted as he took Eli away from Aiden and propped the boy on his hip. "Why?"  

"You just don't look like the kind of man who would like kids that's all," Aiden replied.  

He smiled when Eli began to reach for Nick's gun and Nick clicked his tongue and moved him to the other hip, "No, no, no," Nick warned with a click of his tongue, "I think you still got a few years before you're ready for one of those."  Then Nick turned his attention to Aiden. "What do I look like? Some kind of child eating ogre?"

Aiden snickered, "Yeah, in a way."  

"You hear that Eli?" Nick asked, his voice rising to a slightly higher pitch as he nearly rubbed noses with the boy, "I'm a mean ogre."  

"

Ogeee ,“ Eli gurgled, just before grasping Nick’s nose in his chubby hand and squeezing with all his might.

Nick bellowed in pain, chuckled and shoved Eli back into Aiden's arms. "Okay you can do the kid raising." Aiden smiled when Eli laid his head against his chest, "Where's Ellie at anyway?" Nick questioned, "And why are you playing nanny?"  

"I'm not only playing nanny; I'm hanging up clothes too."  

"Are you becoming a little wife then?" Nick asked with a wicked grin, "I like my biscuits warm and my covers turned down before I go to bed."  

Aiden felt a blush color his cheeks as he looked down at Nick's chest, "I'll turn your covers down alright—and fill them full of scorpions."  

Nick winced as he laughed, "Fair enough."  

"Ellie wasn't feeling well so I offered to watch Eli here and hang out her clothes for her while she rests."  

"Where's Jacob?" Nick questioned.  

"Business in Austin is all Ellie said," Aiden replied, setting a squirming Eli down on his feet.  

"Alright then, I better get back to work. You just keep an eye out and just as soon as Liz and Brody come back from Thomas and Sally's we'll talk to them."  

"What are they doing there?"  

"Helping them pack. Apparently Thomas and Sally are moving to Wyoming," Nick glanced toward the big corral and saw Kent looking their way, "I gotta go now before they start wondering why I'm standing over here talking to you so much."  

"I'm gonna get to hanging these clothes out. How hard could it be?" Aiden asked.  

Nick grinned and pointed toward the lines. Aiden followed his gaze and saw Eli yanking down the damp towels that Ellie had just gotten done hanging.

Aiden shook his head and rushed toward the child, "Pray for me!" he called over his shoulder and Nick was laughing as he walked away.  

---

Aiden was beat. All morning cleaning stalls and then midday spent chasing a hellacious monster of a toddler had taken their toll on him. Now he was back in the barn and supposed to be cleaning the stalls again, though he was moving at a much slower pace than he had been earlier. However, the grateful smile that had been on Ellie's face, the warm hug and the invitation to dine on dinner with her and Eli on the porch that evening instead of forcing down whatever Cookie prepared had certainly made it all worth it.  

Aiden was nervous about seeing Brody and Liz and telling them about the bounty hunters. Would they make him leave? After all they had made it clear that they didn't want anyone on their ranch that could bring trouble and that's exactly what Aiden was. He didn't think those men would hurt anyone other than him if they found him but there was no way to be sure.

The ranch had been quiet all day, except for a little while ago when Ryder had come galloping through the ranch with Susie clinging to him for dear life, asked Kent where Brody was and then taken off toward Thomas and Sally's.  

Aiden had no idea what that had been about but it had seemed serious. In a way he was hoping it would get in the way of telling Brody and Liz the truth and he'd have another day or two before facing his fears.   

The twinge in his back and the ache in his shoulders had Aiden deciding it was as good a time as any for another break. He stepped out into the sun and guessed at the time to be around three of four in the afternoon.  

He glanced over at the corral where Nick was currently busy working on the hooves of a mare and felt his body heat at the sight of the muscles in Nick's dirt and sweat slicked forearms working and coiling with his movements.  

Aiden leaned against the barn and closed his eyes, letting the fatigue in his body take over and relaxing his own aching muscles.  

He was nearly asleep standing when the sound of thundering hooves jerked him into alertness. He opened his eyes just in time to see Brody come galloping toward him, leap from the horse and stride his way with fire in his green eyes.  

The rage on Brody's face caused his scar to jerk and twitch on his cheek. Aiden had never seen anything so awe inspiring or terror inducing as the sight of that nightmare of a man coming his way. Aiden could hear his knees knocking as he struggled to speak but could not find words.  

Suddenly he was thrown against the barn wall by a growling Brody and Aiden let out a squeak of fear when a gun was pressed hard against his temple, "I told you I don't allow what's mine to be put in danger—" Brody's voice was somehow fire and ice at the same time and Aiden had never been so scared a single time in his life. Not even when his father had tried to kill him. "—now what the hell have you done and why are those goddamn gunslingers heading this way after you?"

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Nick was just finishing up the last hoof on the brown mare he'd been tending to when he heard the horse approaching the ranch at a thundering pace.  

Instantly he looked toward the barn and saw Aiden standing against it, looking to be asleep where he stood. Nick stood straight and his head whipped around to the approaching horse and he felt every muscle in his body tense when he realized it was Brody and the man appeared murderous as he thundered straight toward Aiden.  

Brody was off his horse in a flash and suddenly Aiden was against the barn with Brody pinning him there. Nick couldn't hear what Brody said but he did see the sun glint off the barrel of Brody's revolver as Brody stuck the cold metal to Aiden's head.  

Nick lost all train of thought then. He was filled with an angry desperation that was all-consuming. He lost all fear of death, all sense of caution, as he launched himself over the corral fence and took off at a dead sprint toward the man threatening his lover. Nick pulled his gun as he ran and before he even realized what he was going to do he had the metal barrel against Brody's cheek.  

"You'll take a step back away from Aiden now and put your goddamn gun away," Nick ground out between clenched teeth as he practically shook with a protective, desperate rage that shocked him. He'd watched one man he loved die—he wouldn't watch another.  

"What's going on?!" Nick was faintly aware of Liz's voice and knew that others were coming their way. His distraction seemed to be what Brody had been waiting on.  

Quickly, with speed that did not seem human, Brody shifted his weight, swung his elbow, caught Nick in the jaw and sent him stumbling back. Before Nick could see through the pain or right himself, Brody snatched his gun away and then stood there looking as if he'd never moved with a gun now trained on both Nick and Aiden.  

"I'm only gonna ask this one more time before I start pulling triggers," Brody warned his gaze going back to Aiden, though Nick wasn't foolish enough to move—he knew damn well that Brody was still paying plenty of attention to what he was doing.  

"I..uh.. well.. I can.. um...." Aiden clearly was too afraid of Brody to even form a coherent sentence let alone explain anything. Aiden's brown eyes were fixed on Brody's face and he was shaking from his head to his toes. Every bit of color had drained from his face and his lips were nearly white. Nick felt his fists clench with the urge to knock Brody's head off which was surprising considering how much Nick respected and liked Brody—the fact remained that he liked Aiden more.  

"Quit stuttering and start speaking," Brody ground out.  

"Brody, you need to calm down," Elizabeth stepped forward and laid her hand on Brody's shoulder. Nick knew why Brody was the way he was. He had heard the stories of what had happened to Brody's family and the man that had turned him into—the life that had led him toward. Just the same as Nick's past had shaped him into a man that would kill anyone that dared threaten his man.  

"Cowgirl, don't," Brody warned, though some of his tension seemed to have eased simply by her touch.  

"Brody, look at him? He's not any danger to us," Elizabeth insisted. Brody's jaw popped with tension but then he growled and lowered both guns before shoving Nick's into his chest.  

Nick grabbed the gun but didn't holster it until Brody had holstered his own. Nick truly looked around then and saw that they had nearly 

everyone’s attention. Brody, Elizabeth, Thomas, Ryder, Susie, Ellie, Kent, Wendell and Frank were standing crowded around Aiden and Cookie was watching from his chair with his hound at his feet.

"Brody, there's a perfectly good explanation for those men—" Nick began but Brody shook his head.  

"I want Aiden to tell me." Brody's arm went around Elizabeth's waist and he pulled her to his side, "We trusted you, boy, now tell me what you should have fucking told me a week ago."  

Aiden swallowed hard and his throat bobbed. He was still trembling and had his back tight against the barn. Nick wanted nothing more than to take him in his arms and comfort him but he couldn't and that's what made life so goddamned unfair. Instead Nick stood there with his fists clenched and simply watched Aiden tremble.  

"My..My parents sent them."  

"Why?" Elizabeth asked. Her voice was gentle but authoritative and made it perfectly clear she expected answers and honest ones at that.  

Aiden's cheeks flushed red and he looked down at the toes of his boots, "I can't tell you why—"  

"The hell you can't..." Brody growled and Nick shoved him back before thinking clearly of what he was doing. Brody glared at him, "You won't put your hands on me again, Nick. Now, dammit, we're friends but I don't take that from anybody."  

Nick blinked several times and took a small step back. Friends? They were friends? He'd had no idea Brody thought of them as friends.  

"Wendell, Kent, Frank, don't y'all have something to be doing?" Elizabeth snapped as she rose to her full height of five and a half feet.  

Quickly those three men scampered away. Brody fixed Aiden with a stare that would have made Satan himself squirm, "Aiden, did you break the law? Did you hurt somebody? Are you a danger to my family?"  

"N..no, sir," Aiden assured him.  

Brody stared hard at him a moment as if weighing what he said and then nodded, "Fair enough.  

"Ty said those men seemed like the bad sort, Brody. Aiden doesn't even have a wanted poster but could you imagine that cute little face with the words dead or alive around it? He's too darn cute to hurt somebody," Ryder spoke up.  

 Brody shook his head and grumbled, "Let's go up on the porch and talk this out, Aiden. You too, Nick. Clearly there's something going on here and you're in on it."  

Nick simply nodded and followed Brody and the rest of the family up onto the porch. Susie slipped her arm around Aiden's shoulders and whispered something to him though Nick couldn't tell what it was. A jolt of jealousy shot through him. It should be him comforting and reassuring Aiden. Not Susie.  

"Alright now," Elizabeth said once they were all on the porch, "Let me make something clear. Y'all are more than just hands on this ranch. You're family. That includes Wendell, Kent, Frank, Cookie and you Nick; you all have become more than just hands here.  Even though Aiden hasn't been here long, he's included in that too. We've all worked together, laughed together, spent time around one another. Aiden, we've trusted you around our children and they seem to like you pretty good,"  

Aiden smiled just a little, though it was a weak and trembling smile. Brody's gaze was harder as he began to speak, "Now I protect what's mine but I need to know what I'm protecting you from and why they want you and I need the truth."  

Aiden froze and shook his head, “I can’t!”

"It can't be that bad," Ellie spoke up as Eli squealed on her hip and reached for Aiden.

 

“Ogeee! “ he called out.

"It has to be pretty bad," Thomas countered. "Parents don't just send hired killers after their children for no reason."  

"Aiden is a good person. There's nothing he could have done to deserve something like this," Susie assured them all.  

"Those men have been after me for two months," Aiden spoke up finally. "My family doesn't approve of me and my father is well known in the government. I was something he felt needed to be dealt with."  

"Why?" Brody frowned. "What did you do?"  

"Nothing."  

"You won't tell me?"  

"No."  

"Then I can't help you," Brody turned his back and walked down the porch steps. "If I'm risking my ass to help you then I damn well deserve the truth. Get your shit, Aiden, and I'll take you into town. I don't want them men on this ranch and around my family."  

The outburst that followed Brody's statement was loud and ear-splitting. Thomas seemed to agree but Elizabeth, Ellie and Susie clearly didn't and Ryder appeared to be siding with his wife. Aiden was stuttering and then Nick saw it.. that tear that slipped free from Aiden's eye and slid down his face.  

Nick knew that his next move could be his last. He knew that it was a risk. A big risk. He knew that the last time he'd been found out it had ended with death and blood but he just had to believe that this time it would be different.  

He couldn't stand by and watch Aiden suffer like this.  

"You won't be taking him anywhere, Brody," Nick called out, his voice carrying loudly over the rest. Everyone quickly fell silent and looked at him.  

Nick let his gaze fall on Aiden who was staring at him with shock, fear and disbelief as those tears continued to roll down his cheeks.  

"And why not?" Brody asked calmly.  

Nick walked across the porch and took Aiden into his arms. He wrapped him up tight in the protection that he could provide and Aiden clung to his shirt and buried his face in his chest. Nick tossed that stupid big hat away and put his hand on the back of Aiden's head, stroking him comfortingly. 	

"Because the only reason his parents sent those men after him is because he's different than what they wanted him to be. Also because he's mine and if you won't help him then that's just fine but I damn sure won't let you give him to those bastards. He'll leave and I'll be leaving with him."

A very heavy silence followed Nick's statement. Even Ryder simply stared in wide-eyed shock and said nothing. Nick suddenly wondered if he should have been quite so honest and he held Aiden a little tighter.  

"Wait..." Elizabeth whispered as she stepped forward with a hand raised, "When you say he's different and he's yours do you mean that in the same way that I would say Brody is mine or Jacob is Ellie's?"  

Aiden looked up at Nick and Nick looked back down at him before turning his gaze back to Elizabeth, "Yes."  

Nick was calm and stoic on the outside but inside he was scared to death. He had just outed himself and Aiden. He had just let six people know at one time that he was with a man. He damn well knew they would never look at him and Aiden the same again—he just hoped they wouldn't want them dead the way most folks did when they learned of their 

disease .

"Well I did ask for honesty and I reckon that's what I got," Brody voiced after a few more moments of silence. "Boss, you head on to Sally's and get the youngins. Take 'em home and lock yourselves in. Ellie you should go with her."  

"What are you going to do?" Elizabeth asked.  

"I'm gonna sit right down here—" Brody sat in the rocking chair, propped his feet on the porch banister and folded his hands on his lean stomach. "—and I'm gonna wait for our new friends to show up. Then I'm gonna show 'em what their brains look like."  

"What?" Nick and Aiden demanded in unison.  

"You hard of hearing?" Brody asked with a raise of that Atkinson brow.  

"Brody, you don't have to do that. We'll just leave and save you the trouble," Aiden insisted.

"Susie, I want you to go with Liz and Ellie. I'll come fetch ya just as soon as me and Brody are done shooting people," Ryder said with a grin as he kissed Susie's cheek loudly and then sat down in a chair beside Brody, tapping his fingers against the arm rests.  

"Ryder, these aren't flies you'll be shooting," Brody warned, his brow raising further and his lips twitching with amusement. "You sure you know how to pull that trigger on something other than a bug?"  

Ryder grinned and threw his arm around Brody's shoulders, "Guess we'll find out won't we?"  

Thomas seemed to struggle for a moment and Nick could see disgust in his eyes when he looked at him and Aiden. But finally the other man rubbed his scarred cheek and sat down beside Ryder, "Tell Sally I'll be along when I can."  

Nick stood there in complete shock as the women kissed their men, mounted up on their horses and rode off. Of course Elizabeth let Brody know she wasn't happy about being told to leave harm's way but the thought of the children needing a parent with them should the worst happen was enough to have her agreeing that Brody was right.  

Nick watched Elizabeth pause at the corral and speak to the men inside. Nick swallowed hard as Wendell, Kent and Frank looked up at him and Aiden. Kent and Frank shook their heads and went into the barn. Wendell, however, climbed over the corral fence and jogged up to the porch before sitting down on the top step and folding his arms over his knees.  

"What are you doing?" Nick asked him.  

"Liz told us Aiden was in trouble and we could either stay and help or get away from the ranch for a while," Wendell replied with a shrug.  

"Kent and Frank chose to leave?" Brody questioned, his sharp green eyes scanning the horizon toward town.  

"They're riding out to tell everybody that's in the field," Wendell replied but Nick could tell from his sharp tone that Kent and Frank had indeed chosen not to support them.  

Nick was scared. Not of the bounty hunters, he had no doubt that Brody alone could easily handle the two men—not to mention Brody backed up by Nick, Thomas, Wendell and Ryder. No what Nick was scared of was what was going to happen after the bounty hunters had been dealt with and life resumed. Would he and Aiden still be made to feel welcome here? Or would the wrong person find out and send an entire posse out to string them up from the nearest tree?

"Nick, shouldn't you send your wife off with the other women?" Ryder spoke up as he winked at Nick and Aiden.  

"I'm not going anywhere," Aiden replied, pulling out of Nick's arms. "And I'm not his wife," he added, his face reddening.  

"No, but if you're gonna be staying then you need a gun," Brody insisted as he reached into his boot, pulled out a gut buster and tossed it to Aiden, who barely managed to catch it in his shaking hands.  

"I've never actually fought before," he admitted quietly, "I'm more of a runner."  

"Not anymore," Nick countered, "We're both done running."  

Aiden swallowed hard and nodded as he looked up at him. Nick wanted to kiss him but didn't want to push the other men on the porch too far.  

Nick led Aiden to the porch swing and they sat down together. "Thank you," Nick spoke to the other men.  

"For?" Brody questioned.  

"Accepting us."  

"I'm not here because I accept what you and Aiden are," Thomas countered his nose curling a bit, "I'm here because I respect Brody. What you do together is wrong."  

Nick felt Aiden stiffen but Nick nearly laughed out loud when he saw Ryder stick his tongue out at Thomas and wave his fingers in the air. Wendell remained silent about the whole thing and said nothing.

Brody cleared his throat, leaned his head back and pulled his hat over his eyes, “That’s rich coming from a man who has helped kill hundreds of innocent Mexican families in the name of the ‘greater good’.”

Thomas stood up and clenched his fists, clearly ready to fight, “What the hell would you throw that in my face for?!” Thomas demanded.

Brody didn’t shift from his relaxed position and didn’t move his hat to look at the other man when he replied, “I think every single one of us on this porch is what society would call a bad person, Thomas. The way I got it figured, you have no more right to judge those two than I do.”

Nick felt his respect for Brody Atkinson grow in that moment. “So what?” Thomas demanded, settling himself back in his chair, “Just like that you accept it and want to see them loving on one another?”

“I didn’t say I want that and I didn’t say that I necessarily accept it either…” Brody paused. “But just now we got bigger things to worry about. So sit back, relax and let’s just wait on trouble to arrive.”

“Brody, again, you all don’t have to do this. Aiden and I can leave now and save you the trouble,” Nick insisted.

Brody grunted but said nothing. Ryder laughed as he stood up and began tapping on the porch roof, “Y’all are doing Brody a favor by staying. He loves shooting people,” Ryder winked. “How long as it been Brody? About three or four months since you got to shoot somebody?”

Brody’s scarred and calloused hand pushed his hat back a moment and he flashed a cold smile, “It’s been a while. My gun is getting dusty and needs a good cleaning. Even if you leave I’d probably kill these men anyhow.”

“Why?” Aiden asked with confusion.

“Because no son of a bitch is gonna ride on my land and threaten my family,” Brody replied placing his hat back over his face, “And you heard the boss. Whether y’all like it or not, you’re family.”

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

"Gibbons, I'm getting tired of being lied to," Hitchens grumbled before spitting a stream of tobacco into the dirt. "You know damn well that somebody in this town knows where this boy is hiding."  

Gibbons nodded as he looked down at his shorter companion. They'd been searching this town for Aiden for a couple of hours now and no one seemed willing to say a word to them about where he might be. It was as if they were afraid of something and Gibbons could not figure out what that would be.  

Aiden was nothing to fear but he seemed to have found someone in this town that others were terrified of going up against. Gibbons wasn't worried. Aiden's newfound protector would gladly change his mind when he discovered what kind of abomination he was protecting.  

"Let's head into this diner here and get a bite to eat, Hitchens. I'm sure somebody will tell us what we want to know soon and if not then we'll just have to search house to house." 	

"I'm about tired of seeing that goddamn lawdog sniffing around our asses," Hitchens grumbled and Gibbons nodded. He was too. That damn sheriff and his scarred up deputy had kept a close eye on them all day.  

The two men were heading up the steps to the diner when another man stepped in front of them. He was a tall man and quite soft around his middle. His face was red and blotchy beneath the patchy stubble and his bloodshot eyes were filled with amusement.  

"Who are you?" Hitchens demanded.  

The man grinned, revealing a chipped front tooth, "My name's Garth. I heard you're looking for Aiden?"  

Hitchens and Gibbons shared a look and nodded, "Yes, sir, we are. Would you happen to know where he might be?" Gibbons inquired.  

"Hell yes I do. He's holed up at Atkinson Spread. He's been working out there for about a week or so now."  

"And could you tell us how to get there?"  

"What will you do if some of those Atkinson's get between you and your target?" Garth asked with vengeance flashing in his eyes.  

"Our only goal is to collect our payment on Aiden," Gibbons replied.  

Hitchens spit out another stream of tobacco, "Course things are known to happen at times and we'll protect ourselves however we deem appropriate should our lives be threatened."  

"Promise me that you'll kill Brody Atkinson and I'll not only tell you how to get to the ranch, I'll add one hundred dollars to your payment."  

"We might be able to come to agreement on that," Gibbon's agreed. "Is this Brody fella the reason nobody wants to tell us where Aiden is?"  

Garth snorted, "He's nothing but a blow hard. He'll act and sound as if he's the toughest bastard around but that's all he is. A bunch of talk."  

Gibbons and Hitchens shared a look and then Hitchens shrugged, "We'll need a distraction to get ourselves out of town without that damn sheriff and his deputy following us," Hitchens informed Garth and Garth nodded.   

"I'll make sure you get one. Let's head to the saloon."  

Thirty minutes later, Garth gave them the distraction they'd needed when he slammed his beer mug down on the head of another man and a huge saloon brawl ensued. Men fighting, chairs flying, tables crashing—Hitchens and Gibbons slipped out the back unnoticed as the sheriff and his deputy tried desperately to restore order.  

They headed out of town in the direction of Atkinson spread with two targets now instead of one and a bigger payday in mind.  

---

“Maybe they aren’t coming,” Ryder offered as he paced back and forth in front of the porch and tossed a rock up and down in the air.

Aiden shifted on the swing and felt Nick's arm tighten around his shoulders. They had been waiting for three hours on those men and Aiden was giving up hope that they were going to show up before dark.  

"They're going to come," Thomas and Brody replied in unison.  

"How can you be so sure? Maybe Ty arrested them or nobody told them where to find Aiden," Wendell offered before yawning and stretching out his arms.  

"They're coming," Brody insisted again.

"Maybe we should have headed into town and met them there," Ryder said as he began to do jumping jacks, "I'm no good at waiting."  

"Then go cook us some dinner," Thomas ordered. "It sounds like I swallowed a mountain lion," he added with a wince as he covered his growling stomach.  

Aiden looked up at Nick, "We should head into town, Nick. We can't put all of them at risk like this. It isn't fair....." Aiden stopped speaking when Brody's hat was suddenly smacking him in the face.  

Aiden looked over to find the other man glaring at him, "I done told you that you weren't going anywhere. Now shut the hell up and toss me back my hat."  

Nick was chuckling as he tossed the hat back to Brody and Brody plopped it back on over his shoulder length, dark hair.  

"Hey, I know!" Ryder said, leaping back onto the porch with a smile. "Nick, tell your wife to make us some dinner! We're starving."  

"I'm not his wife!" Aiden exclaimed, blushing furiously. Honestly, he'd been called a kid his whole life and now a woman? It was too much!  

"Do you know how to cook?" Thomas questioned with interest.  

Aiden realized that all eyes were on him and he sighed, "Yes."  

The other men on the porch shared a predatory grin, "Then get on in there and cook!" Wendell urged, "We're starving."  

"You don't have to cook....." Nick began but Brody nodded.  

"Yeah, he does. These fools don't know how and the only other option is Cookie—" Brody glanced at the old man still lounging in his chair by the barn. Brody shivered, "—I was in the war and ate a lot of bad shit and I'm married to Elizabeth so I've eaten quite a bit more questionable meals but Cookie's cooking is something I'd rather not risk today."  

"Nothing like being stuck in the outhouse when trouble arrives," Ryder agreed with a laugh. "Gun fighting with your trousers 'round your ankles does sound a little on the awkward side."  

"Fine," Aiden stood up. "I'll cook."  

He headed into the ranch house and couldn't help but laugh when he heard Brody holler out, "I like my steak medium rare!"  

Aiden went about getting what he'd need to make fried potatoes and steak and thought about the hell this day had already been. He'd been scared damn near to death when Brody had put that gun to his head, and then to have Nick let everyone know what they were all at once—it had been a big risk but one that Aiden was glad the other man had taken.  

Hiding what you were was hard and more tiring than most people realized. Now the real fear began though. Would they all live through the night? Would those men show up? And what would happen if someone died protecting Nick and Aiden? Aiden didn't want that. He wouldn't be able to ever forgive himself if something like that happened.  

Brody was an amazing man. He was rough around the edges, scary as hell at times, and clearly  unafraid to do 

whatever it took to keep his family safe but an amazing man just the same. He was risking his life for two men that he barely knew because he considered them to be his family…

Aiden had never expected that kind of acceptance and he nearly became teary eyed just thinking about it. Brody, Ryder, Wendell had all simply heard what they were, shrugged and then offered to risk their lives for them.  

Thomas wasn't quite as nice about things but Aiden wasn't angry at him for what he had said. Learning that men you'd been working around for so long liked other men was probably a hard pill to swallow and at least Thomas was here and hadn't turned his back. That spoke more loudly than any words he had said so far.  

Aiden was worried about what the women would have to say once the danger was over. They hadn't voiced any opinions earlier and Aiden feared their opinions would be bad. Susie seemed like an angel of a woman but she was also big in the church and Aiden had had it made clear to him in the past that he was an abomination. Would she hate him?  

And what would Liz say? Would Nick and Aiden be welcome to stay once this was all over?  

Aiden shook his head and tried not to think about it. He was grateful that he now had a task to complete even if that task was nothing more than peeling potatoes. It gave him something to focus on other than his own fear.  

"Dinner's going to have to wait, men," Thomas's voice spoke up loudly, causing Aiden to drop the potato he'd been holding, "We have company riding in."  

Aiden ran to the door and swallowed hard when he saw the silhouette in the distance. He recognized the bowler hat even from this far away, "That's one of them," he whispered shakily.  

"Where's the other one?" Wendell asked with a frown.  

"Around," Brody replied quietly, "Keep your eyes open."  

Nick stood and walked to Aiden, wrapping a strong arm around his shoulders. Aiden leaned into him and felt comforted by the closeness. The time had come and Aiden could only hope and pray like hell that those he cared about would still be breathing when this was over.  

---

Brody stood and made his way slowly down the porch steps as the man rode toward the ranch. He was aware of Cookie adjusting the rifle on his lap while the hound at his feet growled.  

"Who the hell are you?" Brody demanded as he stuck his thumbs through his belt loops and put his weight on his good leg.  

"Name's Hitchens," The man in the ridiculous bowler hat replied with a sneer.  

Brody had an instant dislike of anyone who wore bowler hats. It was his experience that the men who wore them were shifty, sneaky bastards who liked to think the world owed them everything, "What are you doing on my ranch, Hitchens?" Brody asked, keeping all his senses trained on the man on the horse and trusting the other men to be watchful for his missing partner.  

"I'm looking for someone," Hitchens' eyes went up to the porch and Brody saw unease flicker through them before his gaze settled on Aiden.  

Brody strode forward bringing Hitchens' attention back to him, "There ain't nobody on this ranch that you're looking for, Hitchens. It would be in your best interest to get the hell gone right now."  

"So you are Brody Atkinson?" Hitchens asked, spitting tobacco onto the toe of one of Brody's scarred up boots.  

Brody grinned up at the man and nodded, “Yep.”

“Took a while for this town to tell me where the boy was. Seems folks around here are scared to get on your bad side.”

"That's because he's a bad ass hombre," Ryder called out from the porch before laughing and Brody rolled his eyes. His sister just had to fall in love with an idiot.  

"So I hear," Hitchens replied with boredom, "You know I was offered an extra one hundred dollars to make sure you were killed today as well."  

Brody felt a bit insulted, "Is that all my head's worth? One hundred dollars? You should have asked around—I'm sure somebody would have offered you a bit more."  

"I'm willing to let you live if you give me that boy."  

Brody chuckled coldly, "Let me live? Let me tell you something, you no good, worthless son of a bitch, nobody 

lets me live. I live because I’m too fuckin’ stubborn to die and I’m better than everybody that’s ever tried to kill me.“

Hitchens cocky posture suddenly faded a bit and Brody was sure he saw fear. He liked fear. He took a step closer and rested his hand on the bridle of the horse that Hitchens was still sitting atop. "Now let me make you an offer, Hitchens. I'll let 

you keep breathing through that oversized nose of yours if you just holler at your buddy that’s trying to sneak around the barn and come up behind me—“ Brody saw Hitchens look over his head and he heard a quiet curse from behind him as Cookie chambered a round in his rifle. “—and tell him that the two of you have changed your minds about this job and are going to ride off into the sunset together and never step foot back in Texas.”

"Texas is a big state," Hitchens replied, though his voice was nowhere near as confident as it had been moments before.  

Brody nodded and scratched at his scarred cheek, "That it is. And you have about five seconds to get the hell out of it."  

"We want that boy and we're going to have him," Hitchens countered.  

"Do you know what you're protecting?" the second man demanded.  

Brody took a small step back and shifted his body so that he could see both men at once. He heard footsteps coming up from behind him now and knew that everybody that had been on the porch was moving closer. Brody cursed. He didn't want them down here. He could handle these men just fine and didn't want anyone else getting hurt in the process.  

"I'm protecting family," Brody replied taking in the sight of the second man. He was a bit taller and a bit harder looking, though both these men had the looks of cold-blooded killers. Brody, being a cold-blooded killer himself when the situation called for it, knew that look well.  

"Family? The boy hasn't been here more than a week."  

"I'm not a damn boy!" Aiden's voice declared angrily. "And you can tell my father to go to hell and take my mother with him." Brody shook his head. Of all the times that Aiden could have found a voice and a backbone it had to be just now?

"You are an abomination! Satan lives in your soul and it our sworn duty to cast him out!" the second man declared.  

Ryder laughed loudly, "I'm sure that book—I never can remember what it's called and my Susie always smacks my head for it—has some nice things to say about men that kill other men for money too! So who lives in your soul? Satan's evil cousin Satania?"  

"One more chance, Brody," the second man warned, his gaze never wavering from Brody's, "It's either you give us the boy or we kill you all."  

"You're wrong." Brody countered.  

"Truly?"  

"The way I see it y'all are the ones who got choices and you got three of them."  

"Enlighten us," Hitchens spoke with amusement.  

"This oughta be good," Ryder laughed.  

"I can't believe the men ain't shit themselves yet," Thomas whispered, "When Brody gives me that look I still shit myself."  

Brody worked hard to ignore them and focused on Hitchens and his partner, "You can either ride on out of here and take Aiden's parents a message saying Brody Atkinson is now looking after the man and they'd do well to back off. You can ride out of here and simply forget the job, forget us, forget you ever even stepped foot in my goddamn state. Or you can try your hand at pulling those damn irons you have strapped to your hips and see how quick you die."  

"I like option four," the taller man sneered.  

"There was no option four, damn can't you count?" Ryder chuckled.  

"Option four is where we kill every damn one of you."

---

Aiden didn't like this! Sure Brody looked confident and more than capable but these men were killers and they were still on horseback. Not only did they have guns to use as weapons but also massive horses with hooves.  

He was about to demand that this had to stop and give himself up to these men to protect everyone when all hell broke loose and it was too late.  

Hitchen's pulled his gun as he nudged his horse forward and rammed it into Brody. Brody pulled his own gun as he dodged to the side and three gunshots rang out.  

Aiden cried out with alarm and then stood there dumbfounded as both Hitchens and the other man tumbled from their horses and fell to the ground.  

Aiden searched for where the third shot had hit and saw the blood on Brody's sleeve. "Don't pay any mind to that," Thomas whispered when he saw Aiden's look of horror, "Brody has to get shot at least once a year or he'd lose his edge."  

"It's just a graze," Wendell added. "You can't really call that getting shot."  

Hitchens moaned from the ground and Brody walked to him, standing over the man with a cold light in his eyes that made Aiden shiver, "I warned you, Hitchens."  

"I need a doctor," Hitchens groaned.  

"I can help with that," Brody stated. "You should have stayed the hell of my land and away from my family."  

Brody fired one last shot and Aiden felt his stomach roll as the bullet tore through Hitchens' head and silenced the man's pain filled moans.  

"Well hell Brody, that was over too fast!" Thomas complained.  

"Yeah, what the hell were the rest of us around for?" Ryder agreed.

"I have no idea," Brody replied as he reloaded his gun with some bullets from his belt and holstered it quickly, "Cookie, we got two new horses," he called as he grabbed the reins of the beasts and handed them to Wendell. Cookie just grunted from beneath his hat as he laid his head back against the barn and resumed his nap.

Aiden was shaking and could do nothing other than stare as Brody removed the men's weapons and began to go through their pockets. He pulled out pouches of tobacco, a few coins and a fancy silver pocket watch.  

"Ryder, Thomas, get these bodies loaded up in the cart and take them into town. Let Ty know what happened and then get back here. They're the undertaker's problem now. I'll be heading into town tomorrow and sending a message to Aiden's mommy and daddy dearest and letting them know that the next time they send someone to my land after that man they're going to be the ones learning what lead tastes like."  

Aiden's head swam. The stress of the last two months crashed down on him all at once as he stared down into the bloody face of Hitchens. He could seem to catch his breath and his legs weakened.  

"Nick, I think he's about to pass out if you'd like to catch him," Brody warned.  

Before Aiden could insist that he was fine, his mind went black and he felt himself falling.

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Nick sat beside Aiden's bed and simply waited for the man to wake up. He'd been out cold for going on four hours now. It was pitch black outside the window of the spare room in the ranch house and everyone else had already gone home and probably gone to sleep.  

Nick rose from his chair and walked to the bed. He brushed a finger over Aiden's cheek and then readjusted the blanket covering him before going back to his chair and sitting down.  

Nick wasn't surprised that Aiden had passed out. Not only was the man unaccustomed to violence and had been standing there to see Brody shoot a man point blank in the face but he hadn't been sleeping much in the last two months that he'd been running and in fear for his life every day. Add to that the stress of admitting what you were to those you cared about and it was a lot for one man to take.  

Hell if not for the fact that Nick had been raised in the wild west and seen terrible violence in his life it may have all been too much for him today too.  

He was still a bit disappointed that it had been Brody to kill both those bastards. Nick would have liked to have had a piece of them himself.... But at least they were dead and, for now, Aiden was safe.  

Nick yawned and then shook his head roughly to try to rouse himself. He had been keeping a vigil over Aiden's bed and would not sleep until the other man woke up and Nick saw for himself that he was okay.  

"You look like an old hound when you shake your head like that," Aiden's sleepy voice suddenly filled the small lantern-lit room.  

A smile split Nick's face as his head whipped around to look at Aiden. Aiden looked surprisingly well... he had good color and was no longer pale and his brown eyes were sparkling in the glow of the lantern, "About time you came to," Nick scolded.  

"Did I really pass out?" Aiden asked as he pushed himself up to a sitting position,  

Nick nodded, "You sure did. Out cold. I caught you though. I didn't let you hit the ground."  

Aiden moaned and covered his face, "Great. Now they're really going to think I'm the wife."  

"They already think that," Nick laughed lightly. "Are you okay?"  

Aiden sighed and removed his hands from his face, "Yeah. It's just hard to believe that those two men are dead. They didn't seem like mortal flesh and blood to me. They were like nightmares; evil monsters out for my blood. To see Brody so easily kill them both makes me feel a bit foolish for being so afraid."  

"Don't feel foolish," Nick countered as he stood and filled a little glass from a water pitcher on the wall by the door. He handed the glass to Aiden who began to drink it greedily. "Those two men were cold blooded killers. They were dangerous and deadly. Brody is just even more cold-blooded, dangerous and deadly."  

"I guess it's a real good thing that he's on our side," Aiden admitted, setting the now empty glass on the bedside table.  

"Yeah, he's a man I certainly wouldn't want to go up against."  

"But you did," Aiden replied with a smile, "For me."  

Nick smiled back and crouched beside the bed, placing his hand over Aiden's cheek, "I reckon I'm more fond of you than I am scared of him."  

"I'm rather fond of you too," Aiden teased. "Though I did nearly throttle you when you just blurted out the truth about us on the porch."  

Nick winced, "Sorry," he offered. "I had a gut feeling that we could tell them the truth and that we 

needed to tell them the truth.“

"Well I'm glad your gut was right..... Where are we?" Aiden asked as he glanced around.  

"A spare room in the ranch house. Brody told me to lay you down in here where you'd be a bit more comfortable."  

"You couldn't have been very comfortable in that chair all night," Aiden replied, glancing at the large clock on the corner.  

"No, I wasn't but I had to stay and make sure you were okay."  

Aiden flushed and his ears turned red as he picked at the blanket covering him, "If I pretend to be in bad shape do you think you could be talked into getting in the bed with me and just holding me while I sleep? The two nights you held me were the best sleep I've ever had."  

Nick smiled and nodded as he kicked off his boots and unhooked his gun belt, "I'm pretty sure you could talk me into that," he admitted as he turned off the lamp and then slid beneath the covers.   

Aiden curled up against his chest and Nick held him close, stroking his back and resting his cheek against the top of his dark hair, "Nick, do you think things are going to be okay now? Do you think we'll be able to stay here and be ourselves?"  

Nick sighed and swallowed hard, "I really hope so, Aiden, but I can't say for sure. I guess we'll just have to see what tomorrow brings."  

"But either way we'll be together right?"  

"That's right, Aiden," Nick yawned and felt his eyelids growing heavier, "Now let's get some sleep because I'm beat."  

Nick pulled the covers up over them a little more and kissed Aiden's hair, smiling when it seemed to only take seconds for the other man to once again be sound asleep.  

Nick closed his eyes and held Aiden tighter, hoping against hope that things truly would be okay now.... But life had taught him to never expect the best and always prepare for the worst.  

---

"Did it hurt, pa? Golly gee that looks like it hurt!" Nathan exclaimed as he watched Elizabeth sew up Brody's arm.  

Brody shook his head and ruffled the boys blond hair, “Naw, it didn’t hurt. You’re pa’s a bit too tough to be hurt by a scratch.”

Elizabeth snorted and tugged her thread with a bit more force than was necessary causing Brody to wince and throw a glare back at her which she returned. He swallowed hard and looked back at Nathan, “You should be in bed, boy. Your brother and sister are sound asleep and it’s the middle of the night.”

“But, pa, I want to hear more about your adventure today!” Nathan whined.

Elizabeth shook her head, “You’ve heard quite enough,” she snapped.

“You heard your mama. Now get to bed because you’ll be expected to be up right after dawn to get your chores done.”

Nathan shifted his feet and looked as if he wanted to argue but Elizabeth fixed him with her best icy stare and he nodded quickly, “Yes sir,” he grumbled to Brody and then walked from the room with his shoulders slumped and his boots dragging.

Elizabeth quickly finished up her stitching and was about to go wash her hands when Brody grabbed her wrist and yanked her around him, forcing her to settle down on his lap. She hated that he was so much stronger than she was because right now she did not want to be cuddling with him. She was mad enough at him just now to smack him in the face with a cactus.

“What’s got the spur up your ass, boss?” Brody asked as he wrapped her tight in his arms and refused to let her up.

Elizabeth cursed the way her body still reacted to him after all these years together. She knew he would notice the flush in her cheeks, the quickening of her breaths and the way her body instantly began to mold to his despite her feeble attempts to hold still.

“Not a damn thing, Brody,” Elizabeth managed to snap back. “Now let me go.”

“Nope,” Brody shook his head. “I don’t like this beating around the bush nonsense. If you’re pissed off why don’t you just tell me why so we can get to making up?” He grinned wickedly and Elizabeth elbowed his hard stomach causing him to grunt.

“I’m not pissed.”

“Yes you are.”

“No I’m not.”

“Good, then since that’s settled why don’t we—”

“I’m damn livid!” Elizabeth snarled as she yanked herself from his arms and stood with clenched fists.

Brody let out a harsh bark of laughter and stood up, slapping his hand on the table, "Haha! Finally she speaks the truth. And why exactly are you so livid, cowgirl? What the hell have I done this time?"  

"You got shot again!"  

"Well since I didn't shoot myself I can't see why you're mad at me about that," Brody flashed her one of those rare smile that very few people ever saw, "It was a graze, boss. I think we both know I've had worse."  

Elizabeth looked down at his bare torso and all those hard muscles riddled with scars and felt her stomach turn, "That's not funny, Brody Atkinson!"  

"It wasn't a joke, Elizabeth Atkinson," Brody grumbled.

Elizabeth grabbed a towel off the table and began to wipe her hands, "You quit being a lawman so you wouldn't be in danger anymore, Brody, and you still got shot!"  

"I quit being a lawman because my wife wanted me to."  

Elizabeth glared at him, tossed the towel aside and began shoving her sewing equipment into her bag, "So now you're going to blame that one me too? If you're miserable spending so much time with me then—"  

"Whoa now!" Brody called out as he grabbed her arms, tossed her sewing bag aside and forced her to stand still in front of him, "Look at me, now," Elizabeth looked up and cursed the tears that were gathering in her eyes. "Cowgirl, I could spend every single second of the rest of my life standing right beside you and die the happiest man on earth and you damn well know that's the truth."  

"Brody, you have to stop acting this way!" Elizabeth exclaimed.  

"What way?" Brody demanded.  

"Like you're invincible! Like you can't die! One of these days it's going to get you killed!"  

"Elizabeth I don't act that way—"  

"Yes you do," Elizabeth poked his chest. "You could have ended that with those men much quicker than you did but instead you had to go down there and prove how big your pecker was!"  

"I don't have to prove that to anybody," Brody's brow rose, "You know that."  

Elizabeth growled and shook her head, "Dammit, Brody, I know damn well you took too many risks today! I heard the whole story from Ryder when he came and picked up Susie."  

Brody chuckled, "Consider the source there, boss."  

"This isn't funny, Brody," the tears Elizabeth had been fighting slipped down her cheeks.  

"Please don't cry, cowgirl," Brody pleaded with a groan as he pulled her into his arms and she buried her head in his chest. He held her tight, kissing her hair and caressing her back.  

"Dammit, I'm not crying," she snapped.  

"Was I not supposed to help him, boss? You gotta help me out here...."  

"You were supposed to help him, Brody, but you weren't supposed to take unnecessary risks while you did it... Don't you know by now that I can't lose you? I did it once... I can't do it again."  

Elizabeth felt her anger fade when he began to whisper sweetly into her ear. Truthfully the anger had been born of fear at knowing she had once again nearly lost the love of her life.  "Dammit, cowgirl, you ain't gonna lose me again," Brody whispered gruffly as he lifted her into his arms bridal style and cradled her against his chest. "I promised you sixty years and I wouldn't never do a thing to let you down."  

"I love you, Brody."  

"Can we make up now?" Brody growled as he nipped at her neck.

 Elizabeth smiled and then moved her mouth to his neck and began to nibble at the space just below his ear—the space that always caused him to lose his mind with lust, "You're gonna have to do awful good, Brody, I was awful upset."  

Brody grinned and began to take the steps two at a time, "I'll take that challenge."

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Aiden woke up to the sound of birds beginning to sing quietly. He glanced out the window and saw that the sky was just beginning to grow lighter though the sun had yet to pop over the horizon.  

Yesterday had been a long and stressful day. It had been filled with fear, hope, death—highs and lows that had caused him to feel as if he were in a ship on a raging sea. But finally a new day was dawning. There were no men coming to kill him, he and Nick were no longer going to be forced to hide what they meant to one another—at least not at the ranch, and it seemed as if life was going to be better...

That was if the women and the men still approved of them this morning. Maybe yesterday had been a fluke... Maybe the women would want them gone or the men would have decided they really didn't want two men like Aiden and Nick staying around them. Maybe everyone would treat them differently or keep their distance as if afraid to catch their 

disease . Maybe…..

"You keep thinking that hard about things and your brain is gonna start smoking."  

Aiden felt a smile curve his cheeks as he raised his head from Nick's chest and looked up to see those storm gray eyes full of amusement as they gazed down at him, "I'm worried about what's going to happen when we leave this room. Can we just stay in here forever?"  

"I don't know about forever—" Nick admitted, "—but I reckon we have a few more minutes at least."  

Aiden lay his head back down on Nick's chest. With his body pressed close to Nick's this way Aiden felt desire fill him. Nick was tall, broad, hard and masculine. He still had that familiar scent of horses and hay clinging to his clothes and his chest rose and fell slowly with his steady breathing. Aiden wanted to know what their skin would feel like when it touched...he wanted to know what every inch of Nick felt and tasted like. Would it be just as tantalizing as the man's kisses?

Those thoughts were causing Aiden's trousers to tighten and his heart to race as he lay there against Nick. Aiden could feel his face reddening as he rested his hand against Nick's chest and then ever so slowly began to move it lower.  

Inch by painstakingly careful inch, Aiden let his hand drop. His fingertips danced over the shirt covering Nick's hard stomach and then brushed the waistband of his trousers.  

Aiden could hear the way Nick's heart was racing beneath his ear and Nick's breaths had become a bit harsher. Aiden was completely out of his element. He had never been with a man this way. Nick had even been his first true kiss, though Aiden was in no hurry to tell him that! How did one go about seducing someone....?

Aiden glanced down, at some point in the night they had kicked off the blanket and he could see the bulge growing in Nick's trousers. Aiden could still remember what that bulge had felt like beneath his hand that day in the wagon and though his fingers were shaking, he was eager to feel it once again.  

Swallowing hard and moving quickly before his nerves could get the better of him, Aiden lowered his hand and gripped Nick's impressive arousal through the front of his trousers.  

Nick let out a hiss of breath and then Aiden nearly cried out with shock when he was flipped onto his back and Nick was suddenly hovering above him. Their eyes met and locked for a split second before Nick swooped down and devoured Aiden's mouth with a hungry passion that stole his breath.  

Nick's mouth left Aiden's and began burning paths along his neck, "When you touched me in the wagon that day I nearly took you right there," he growled against Aiden's ear.  

Aiden felt a jolt of lust like he had never felt before in his life pass through him. He began to claw at the buttons on Nick's shirt, desperate to feel his skin beneath his palms. It took only seconds before the buttons were undone and Nick was shrugging from the shirt, without ever taking his hungry mouth from Aiden's neck.  

Aiden stared at that impressive chest—it was broad, hard and covered in a dusting of hair that felt like heaven beneath Aiden's palms.  

He might as well have died and gone to heaven with the way his body seemed to be floating right up off the bed. He could feel Nick's body above him, his heavy arousal pressing hard against his thigh. Nick's lips found his again and the heat that Aiden felt sent his body even higher.  

Nick's fingers began undoing the buttons on Aiden's shirt and then Aiden forgot how to breathe as Nick's mouth moved lower. His lips grazed over Aiden's chest and caused his heart to thunder so loudly he was sure Nick would feel it pulsing against his tongue.   

Aiden was lost. He wanted more... more of Nick. He reached down and fumbled with the button on Nick's trousers. He wanted to caress that arousal against his palm without those stupid pants serving as a barrier.  

"Oh my gracious! I'm so sorry!" Susie's voice filled the room and then the door,(which Aiden had not heard being opened), was slammed closed.  

Nick leapt away from Aiden and quickly buttoned his pants. Aiden glanced out the window and realized that somehow they had missed the dawn lost in their kisses and the sun was now painting the skies with brilliant oranges, pinks and purples.  

The beauty was lost on Aiden who simply grabbed the blanket and pulled it over his entire body, burying even his head deep beneath and curling into a ball. "Well we're goners now," he mumbled.  

"She should have knocked," Nick grumbled.  

"For all we know she could have! I didn't even hear the door open with you kissing and touching me that way!"  

Aiden tried to hold tight to the blanket but it was yanked off of him as the bed dipped and he found himself staring into Nick's gray eyes, "I was enjoying myself—you know-- until she interrupted."  

"I was too.." Aiden admitted, though his voice was little more than a squeak. Susie had seen them! Of all people it had to be church going Susie! They'd be run off the ranch and out of Bakerstown before noon and that was for sure!  

"Aiden, I think we should talk about you and I—"  

"Can this wait?!" Aiden demanded as he stood from the bed and began to button his shirt with his shaking hands, "I was terrified to face everyone 

before we got walked in on and now…. “

Nick sighed and his shoulders sagged as he stood, "Okay it can wait but not for long. I want to have this talk with you soon."  

"We'll have all the time in the world once they run us off," Aiden mumbled.  

"I think you're worrying too much," Nick assured him. "They know we're together and didn't run us off last night."  

"That was before Susie walked in and caught us...um.. doing.. well..." Aiden's face flamed again and he threw himself down in the bed.  

"I have chores to be getting to. Do you think you'll be coming out anytime soon?" Nick asked with exasperation in his voice.  

"Nope. Never. I'm going to curl up in a ball right here on this bed and die."  

"Okay then. I'll see you whenever you decide to pull your head out of the sand," Aiden watched Nick put on his hat, boots and gun belt and then walked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.  

Aiden had never been so embarrassed in all his life and he had no idea how he was going to face everyone... And poor Susie! The woman was probably disgusted and sickened to her very core by what she'd witnessed.  

And Nick wasn't going to help matters since the man had strode from the room with his shirt undone. Aiden let out a long groan and once again buried himself beneath the blanket.

---

Nick was just as embarrassed as Aiden by Susie's intrusion on their private moment but he had meant it yesterday when he'd said he was done running—and he was equally as tired of hiding who he was.  

He was a man who loved a man. He was in love with Aiden and, dammit, it wasn't fair that he should have to hold back from showing that love just because someone else would see it as wrong.... Still he'd just as soon not have one of the owners of the ranch walking in on him and said man in a hungry embrace.  

He had just finished buttoning up his shirt and was tucking it in when he stepped out onto the porch and found Susie standing there wringing her hands.  

She saw him and her eyes instantly went down to the front of his pants before her face turned more red than Nick had ever seen even Aiden's turn and she began to pace and move her hands in wild motions as she spoke, "I am so very sorry! I never should have just barged into the room like that! I was wanting to check on Aiden so I had Ryder bring me out here before we have to be in town and I knocked but no one answered and I was worried.. I had no idea you had spent the night in the room with him! Ryder had told me that Aiden was in bad shape last night when he left so when I knocked and he didn't answer I was terribly worried. I do hope you all aren't angry at me for barging in—"  

Nick held his hand up to silence her rambling and she swallowed hard, took a step back and stared at him with tears in her blue eyes. Her dark freckles were sticking out sharply against her pale skin and her lips were drawn in a thin line.  

"Susie, I..."  

"I just knew it! You're angry!" Susie slipped past him and fled into the house.  

Nick watched her disappear and stood there scratching his neck and wondering whether he was supposed to follow after her—it only took him seconds to decide that he didn't want to follow her. He just wanted to get to his chores and pretend that Susie had never walked in on anything at all.  

"Where'd Susie go?" Ryder asked as he popped up onto the porch without warning.  

Nick laid a hand over his racing heart and then hooked a thumb toward the open front door, “She went inside,” he replied, “She seemed upset,” he added, knowing that Ryder would make sure she was okay and take the pressure off of him.

“What did you say to her?” Ryder asked, frowning as he looked at the doorway.

“Not a thing,” Nick replied honestly.

“Is your man okay this morning?” Ryder questioned even as he headed toward the door.

“Yeah,” Nick nodded. “Yeah, he’s fine.” He watched Ryder disappear into the house and was happy that at least Ryder didn’t seem too upset at the knowledge that Nick and Aiden were together. Nick had known he wouldn’t though—Ryder was the quite simply the kind of man who liked everybody.

The real test would come at the bunkhouse with the other hands. Cookie was just now getting the cooking fire roaring to prepare breakfast. Nick had the sudden urge to turn around and hide himself under the covers with Aiden and simply stay there forever—but he knew that eventually he’d have to face the other men…. Better to get it over with now than prolong the inevitable.

The bunkhouse was tense and quiet when Nick stepped inside. Fourteen sets of eyes turned to look at him as he walked to his cot and sat down on the edge of it without making eye contact with anyone.  

"Let's get out of here and get to work, boys," a hand named Curly mumbled.  

"Watch yourself there, Curly. Nick'll ram you from behind if you ain't careful," Burt laughed harshly.  

"Fucking Atkinson's are either gonna have to let him go or lose me. I ain't working with some goddamn freak like that," Graham snorted as he strode from the bunkhouse.  

Nick swallowed back his hurt and anger as one by one the men he had worked beside for months walked out of the bunkhouse to show their disapproval of him.  

Nick kept his focus on his calloused hands and then he heard footsteps approach him and he saw the worn out toes of a pair of boots shifting beside his cot. His cot dipped as the man sat down and Nick looked over to see Wendell with a sad smile on his face, "Small-minded bastards, every one of them," Wendell offered.  

Nick chuckled quietly and shook his head, "You should go with them, Wendell. All you're doing is painting a target on your own back."  

"Aww hell, Nick, I already got a target on my back. These judgmental bastards around here think it's wrong for you to love a man and me to love a whore."

“Them walking out is better than what happened last time I was found out,” Nick admitted quietly as he looked back down at the dusty floor.

“What happened last time?”

Nick felt his heart twist a bit but the pain from his past was a distant memory these days and didn’t cripple him the way it once had, “I got shot—and my lover died.”

“Holy hell…” Wendell mumbled. “Well I got your back, Nick; yours and Aiden’s. We’ll make sure the past doesn’t repeat itself.”

“I still say you should go with them. You’re just asking for trouble by siding with me.”

Wendell sneered, “The way I got it figured they’re gonna find something to judge and somebody to hate—it might as well be us.”

---

“Susie?” Ryder called out as he stepped into the ranch house. He wondered what could have made her so upset that she would hide herself in the house. Whatever it was Ryder would make sure it got taken care of. No one was allowed to upset his Susie. That was one of the only rules he believed in and enforced.

“I’m in here,” her voice squeaked from down the hall.

 Ryder smiled and went to the door of her old bedroom. He tried the handle but it was locked, "Should I walk around and come through the window for old time sake?"  

The door handle turned then and he looked down at Susie. Her blue eyes were full of tears and her cheeks were red as she wrung her hands, “Susie, what’s wrong?” Ryder asked with alarm as he grabbed her soft body and pulled it into his arms. Instantly, the whirring in his brain that had plagued him since birth was stilled and silenced as he held his beautiful wife, “Did someone do something to you?”

"No—I did something and now they hate me!"  

Ryder shook his head and kissed her golden hair, "No one could hate you, Susie. You're like a big plate of fresh pancakes smothered with maple syrup," Ryder pulled away enough to look down into her eyes, "No one hates fresh pancakes smothered with maple syrup."  

Susie stared at him a moment and then her brow rose up on her forehead, "Did you really just call me a pancake?"  

"With syrup," Ryder nodded, reaching for the umbrella in a stand beside the door so he could twirl it in his hands.  

Susie let out an exasperated breath and threw her hands in the air as she moved away from him, "You don't understand, Ryder! I was trying to check on Aiden and I knocked but no one answered so I thought something was really wrong with him and I walked into the room and I....." Her face reddened and her freckles stuck out sharply, "I walked in on them."  

Ryder frowned a moment as he tried to understand what Susie was talking about, "Walked in on them what?"

Susie looked at him as if she feared for his intelligence and motioned with her hands, “I walked in on Aiden and Nick… together… sharing a moment…”

Ryder stared hard at her and then he burst out laughing, “Is that all?!” he demanded, balancing the umbrella on the palm of his hand.

"All?" Susie gasped as she snatched the umbrella away and put it back in the stand, "I was mortified, Ryder! And surely they hate me now for interrupting such a private moment!"  

Ryder shook his head and closed the door behind him, turning the lock slowly. "What are you doing?" Susie asked quietly, though he could hear the passion already forming in her voice.  

"What were they doing, Susie?" Ryder asked, stepping closer.

"Don't ask me that!" Susie gasped.  

Ryder took another step toward her and she backed up until her legs were against the bed. Ryder could still remember the first night he had spent in this bed with Susie simply holding her while she slept. Still to this day that remained the single best moment of his life—though every moment he spent with Susie ranked up there pretty high.  

"What were they doing, Sue?" he asked again as his gaze went to her lips.  

"Kissing," she whispered.  

Ryder put his hands on her hips, tugging on the soft yellow fabric of her skirt to pull her closer. "Like this?" he questioned, just before descending on her and pressing his lips against hers in a light caress.  

"No.... lower," Susie's voice was shaking now and her breathing had quickened.  

"Lower huh?" He moved his mouth to her jaw line and felt her tremble.  

"Lower."  

Ryder grinned against her soft skin and took his mouth to her neck, "Is this low enough?" he whispered as he let his breath wash over her heated skin. He was hoping it wasn't because he was now itching to taste a whole lot more of his Susie.

"I believe you'll have to undo my blouse to get low enough, Ryder," Susie informed him.  

Ryder did five hundred leaps of victory in his head, "As you wish."

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-One

"Liz, we need to have a talk with you."  

Elizabeth glanced over at Brody and the kids as all the ranch hands minus Aiden, Nick, Wendell and Cookie approached her just as soon as she'd ridden in sight of the barns. "Go on ahead, Brody, and get the kids settled in at the pony barn, they have stalls to clean. I'll see to this and join y'all in a minute."  

Brody took a draw off his cigarette and nodded before clicking his tongue and leading the children away.  

"What seems to be the problem?" Elizabeth questioned as she dismounted, though she already knew what they were going to say.  

It was a hand named Graham who had been with them off and on for close to two years that stepped forward first, "We want Nick and Aiden gone."  

Elizabeth nodded as she crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her hip to the side, "That's a pretty serious request," she acknowledged. "What seems to be the problem with them?"

The men all shared looks and shifted their feet as if waiting for someone else to speak up. Elizabeth fixed Graham with a stare and took a page out of Brody's book as she raised her brow. "Men, we have a ranch to run so either get to giving me a damn good reason why I should let go of two hard working men who haven't given me a single reason to want them gone or get the hell to work."  

"Boss, those men aren't natural and I for one won't be working around a man who might want to rut with me," Curly grumbled.  

Elizabeth looked the slim, dirt crusted, middle-aged man up and down and shook her head, "You think too highly of yourself, Curly. I'm sure rutting with you never once crossed their minds."  

Curly's dark eyes flashed with temper but Elizabeth wasn't afraid. She hadn't been raised to feel fear and she'd dealt with men much tougher than Curly in her time—hell she 

was married to Brody Atkinson after all.

"Miss Elizabeth, this is serious," Frank spoke up. Elizabeth was disappointed in the man. She had known Frank nearly her entire life and had expected better of the man than to be so afraid and intolerant of something he didn't understand, "We ain't comfortable working around those men."  

"Then you have two choices," Elizabeth said, using one of her husband's favorite lines as she looked around at the group of men, "You can either get the hell over your small mindedness and do the work that I pay you to do—or you can pack up your belongings and get off my ranch. What's it going to be?"  

"I'm gone," Graham growled. Elizabeth waved goodbye to him and he turned and stormed off toward the bunkhouse with Curly and two other hands on his heels.  

"If you stay then you damn well better be willing to get over this and not cause any trouble," Elizabeth warned the nine men still standing in front of her. They all nodded in agreement though they didn't look too pleased. "Then let's get to work."  

Elizabeth split the men into groups to go and ride the fence lines to check for any more problems. They hadn't seen anyone coming around the hole they found cut and no new holes had since been discovered. Elizabeth hoped the hole had been nothing but a one-time incident, the culprits had been scared off and nothing else would come from it.... The thought of someone stealing from her was enough to make her blood boil especially when Elizabeth had always done everything she could to help anyone who needed help.  

"Did you get things squared away, boss?" Brody asked as she joined him at the small barn where he was supervising the children as they went about tending to their ponies and cleaning the stalls.   

"Sure did," Elizabeth replied with a nod.  

Brody grunted as he shoved himself off the corral fence he'd been leaned against, "Well I'll be getting ready to head into town then. I just gotta find Aiden. Where the hell is that man?"  

"I'm right here," Aiden's voice came from behind them and they turned to see him walking their way from the house.  

"How are you feeling this morning?" Elizabeth asked. "You aren't going to make a habit out of fainting are you?"  

Aiden flushed and then shook his head, "No, of course not. I'd never done it before then and I can promise it won't happen again."  

Elizabeth laughed and threw her arm around his shoulders, "That's good then. I'm glad you're here, Aiden—" Elizabeth stopped speaking when Curly, Graham and the other two hands who had decided to quit, temporary men that had only been passing through to begin with, came out of the barn with horses.

"I'll expect all four of those beasts to be at the damn livery when I get into town. They got Atkinson brands and ain't yours for the taking," Brody warned. Elizabeth could tell that Brody understood why the four men were leaving and the hatred in their eyes as they looked at Aiden made it even clearer.  

"Of course," Graham growled, "We aren't fucking horse thieves."

"Why don't you watch how you speak in front of my children?" Brody demanded and Elizabeth nearly laughed out loud. Those children heard more curse words in a day from their father and mother than they did in a month from the hands. She knew that Brody was just angry at the men for abandoning the ranch and therefore wanted to be difficult with them.  

"What about our final pay?" Curly questioned.  

"You were just paid a few days ago," Elizabeth shook her head. "Renting our horses for a ride to town is gonna cost ya a good two dollars but I reckon I could give you a discount and just call everything even if you shut the hell up about paydays. Otherwise I reckon you owe me about a dollar fifty."  

Elizabeth saw the men glare at her and Graham looked angry enough to hit her but Elizabeth was also aware of Brody beside her, his posture relaxed but his hand resting on his gun. She had no doubt that if either of these men made a single move in her direction they would be killed without hesitation.  

The tension in the air was thick but finally the four men mounted the horses and rode off. Aiden moved from beneath Elizabeth's arm which was still wrapped around his shoulders, "I don't like that I've caused all this," he admitted.  

Elizabeth waved her hand, "It'll be fine, Aiden. Truth be told I didn't like any of them much anyhow."  

"Yeah but this ranch is your life and the hands are your family, you said so yourself."  

"No I said some of the hands are my family. Some are just passing through or only get hired on for certain seasons. The only long term hands we have here are Cookie, Frank, Kent, Wendell, Nick and you. Now, unfortunately, Kent and Frank have their heads up their asses at the moment but I'm hopeful that they'll pull them back out soon... As far as the other hands go they've agreed to stay and they claim they won't give you any trouble. If they do then you come to me and I'll straighten things out."

"That's enough chit chatting," Brody said as he stepped forward, "Come on now, Aiden, you can ride the boss's horse. We gotta get to town and send a letter to your folks."  

"We do?" Aiden asked uncertainly and Brody nodded as he slid up into the saddle of his own horse.  

"Yep, we do."  

"You mean you want to go into town with me?" Aiden still seemed uncertain and it broke Elizabeth's heart a little. She couldn't imagine what kind of life it would be to have to hide who you were and live in fear that those around you would turn on you just for being who you were.

Elizabeth glanced at her husband and hoped he'd handle this the right way, "Why the hell wouldn't I?" Brody asked seeming confused as he sat there on his horse with his cigarette hanging off his lip.  

Aiden smiled and his shoulders straightened a bit as if a weight had been lifted off of them. He swung himself up into the saddle of Elizabeth's horse and she handed him the reins, "You two be good now—and Brody don't forget to check that train schedule for Thomas and Sally."  

"I won't," Brody replied with a shiver. "I hate trains," he added.  

Elizabeth watched Brody and Aiden begin to ride away and she laughed when she heard Brody say, "Just remember, Aiden, I'm a married man and my wife is a jealous woman."  

---

Aiden rode beside Brody into town and looked around at all the people carrying on with their daily lives. He was glad he’d avoided Susie before leaving the ranch and even more glad that it seemed she hadn’t yet told Elizabeth or Brody about walking in on him and Nick.

Brody was acting surprisingly normal—which meant he wasn’t speaking much to Aiden at all. Aiden had learned since being at Atkinson Spread that Brody never had a whole lot to say but yet he was always aware of every single movement and whisper around him.

Aiden knew that with the ranch hands knowing about him and Nick, it would only be a matter of time before the rest of town did too and he had to admit that thought frightened him. Though it frightened him a lot less than it had now that he knew he had Brody on his side. He figured that would make people a lot less likely to say anything to him.

Aiden mirrored Brody’s actions as the man slid from the saddle and hitched his horse outside the post office in town, “Alright then, we’ll head in and I’ll mail this little letter I wrote for your folks,” Brody said as he walked up onto the boardwalk, “I need you to tell me where to send it.”

“Uh.. can I read it first?”

Brody shrugged and handed him the unsealed envelope. Aiden opened it and saw the greeting was blank, “I don’t know your folks names so you’ll have to tell me just so I can fill that part in,” Brody informed in.

Aiden simply nodded and then began reading the letter. There were no pleasantries and no mincing of words and Aiden found himself fighting back a rebellious kind of laughter with every word he read,  

I don't know who the hell you folks think you are but my name is Brody Atkinson and your boy Aiden is now an employee on my wife's ranch and a member of my family. If you're expecting word from those worthless hired killers you sent then you're gonna be waiting a while because I killed them both just yesterday— in self-defense of course. 


Send a single person after Aiden again and I'll be killing both of you just the same—in self-defense of course. I protect what's mine with bullets, blades and branding irons; that's the only way I know. Aiden is mine now and he has no more need for such addle-brained, thoughtless parents such as yourselves. 


If you've got any brains at all and you can still use them with your heads so far up your own asses then you'll heed my warning, if not, then I'll be glad to help you remove your head from that position and replace it with my boot. 


				Brody Atkinson

Aiden looked up at Brody with a mixture of admiration, shock and gratitude, "Are you sure you want to send this?"  

"Yep," Brody replied the corners of his lips twitching. "Now what are their names so I can add that in. I was gonna address it to Mr. and Mrs. Walking Dead Man but I didn't think that would be the proper way to address such fine folks."  

Aiden let out a loud bark of laughter and shook his head, "You'll have my father downing a whole fifth of scotch by the time he gets to the end of that letter."  

"He ain't your father, Aiden," Brody stated with all amusement fading from his voice. "A father wouldn't have done what he did."  

Aiden shifted his feet and adjusted his hat, "No I guess not."  

"Let's get in there now and send this letter so we can get that train checked on and head home. I think the boss was wanting you to help Ellie and Susie with the plans for a party we're throwing this Friday."  

"Party planning?" Aiden asked with a frown.  

Brody grunted, "It's either that or mucking stalls."  

Aiden plastered a wide grin on his face, "Party planning sounds good to me."  

---

"What have you been doing all day?" Nick asked Aiden as he sat down on his new cot which was right next to Aiden's in the bunkhouse. He had chosen to move his sleeping space now that quite a few more cots were clear.  

Unfortunately many other people had chosen to move as well. They had quite a wide expanse of space between them and everyone else other than Wendell and Cookie who were still bunking close by, was crammed into the other side of the bunkhouse.  

"Brody took me into town and we mailed a letter to my folks," Aiden replied.  

"Really?" Nick frowned. "I didn't think he'd really do that."  

"Oh he did it," Aiden nodded.  

Nick found himself chuckling, "That bad huh?"  

Aiden laughed, "It was pretty good."  

"So then what did you do?" Nick asked looking down at his folded hands. He wanted so bad to hold Aiden close to him but he figured that would cause the bristling men on the other side of the bunkhouse to attack them.  

Aiden rubbed at his face and smiled, "I ended up spending the day helping two pregnant women plan a party while chasing a toddler."  

"A party for what?" Nick asked with amusement.  

"Sally and Thomas's going away party and a surprise birthday party for Susie all in one."  

Nick nodded at the reminder that Thomas and Sally were leaving early the next week. Thomas hadn't said much to Nick today but they had worked side by side to do some repair work on the barns and it hadn't been too awkward. Nick figured that was good enough.  

"Did Sally and Ellie have anything to say to you?" Nick asked cautiously.  

Aiden nodded but kept his voice down as he replied, "Ellie said to tell you to make sure you treat me right because I'm one hell of a man."  

Nick chuckled, "I'll agree with her on that," he admitted, causing a bright smile to light up Aiden's face. "What about Sally?"  

"She didn't say anything about any of that but she treated me just fine. She wasn't hostile, which is more than I can say for some people," Aiden's gaze went to the glaring men still watching them closely.  

"So what have you been doing?" Aiden asked, braving the glares and reaching across the distance between them to lay one of his hands over Nick's. The gesture was innocent enough but it had a few of the men clearing their throats loudly and murmuring. Aiden quickly yanked his hand away and flushed, "Sorry... I wasn't thinking."  

"Don't apologize to those bastards," Cookie snapped as he settled down in his cot and the old hound that was always on his heels curled up beneath it. "They're just jealous cuz nobody gives two hoots in hell about them or takes the time to ask how their days were."  

"Have you ever had somebody that asked about your day, Cookie?" Wendell asked as he too lay down and rested on his side so he could see the men he was talking to.  

"I had a wife once," Cookie acknowledged, his wrinkled face looking a bit sad.  

"What happened?" Aiden asked quietly.  

"She died, boy. That's the way of life isn't it?" Cookie replied with a sigh, "Don't you two worry for two minutes what anybody thinks about you. You take care of one another and just be happy to spite them all. Life is far too short to waste it pleasing others who don't really matter when it comes right down to it. That goes for you too, Wendell."  

Nick and Aiden shared a smile and this time it was Nick that reached out and laid his hand over Aiden's and shot the other men in the bunkhouse a glare, daring them to say anything at all.  

After the lights had been doused and snores filled the bunkhouse, Nick realized Aiden was still awake and staring at him in the darkness. "Aiden, I hope you weren't wanting to party plan tomorrow," Nick whispered.  

"Why?"  

"Because I asked Liz to give us patrol duty on the fences for the day."  

Nick heard Aiden smile, "I'd like that."  

Nick felt his heart beat just a bit faster as he thought hard about what he had planned for Aiden tomorrow, "Goodnight, Aiden."  

"Goodnight."

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two: Checking Fences

Wednesday morning dawned bright and beautiful and for that Nick was damned thankful. He was also thankful that Liz had understood his request for he and Aiden to have patrol duty for the day, even though she hadn't planned on having anyone patrolling.  

Nick was desperate to have a day alone with Aiden. A day when he could hold his hand, touch his face, kiss his brow and not have to worry about being stabbed in the back while he did so. While Nick knew that Liz and Brody had accepted them he still didn't figure that they'd appreciate the displays of affection and he knew the other hands wouldn't—sure it wasn't fair but it was a fact of life and one that Nick was okay with just so long as he and Aiden could stay together and safe.  

Nick knew however that peace probably wouldn't last—once enough people in town found out about them or Aiden's parents received their letter and discovered their killers had failed—peace would be gone. Nick wanted to seize the hell out of what down time they had.  

Nick walked up to Cookie who handed him a plate of watery eggs and charred sausage, "Thanks," Nick said with a grin.  

"Well you sure are happy this morning," Cookie winked.  

Nick thought of the man who was just now rousing himself from sleep inside the bunkhouse and nodded, “I am happy, Cookie. Finally.”

“Well it’s about damn time,” Cookie stated. “I knew it when y’all first came striding up to the bunkhouse together that you were meant to be. Remember I told ya that when it happened I wanted everyone to remember I called it.”

Nick tipped his head in acknowledgment toward the old man, “You did call it, Cookie. From what I hear you have a talent for that kind of thing.”

Cookie waved his hand with a snort, “I just pick up on things is all.”

Nick was raising a dripping forkful of eggs to his mouth when suddenly he was shoved from behind and his plate went clattering to the dirt as he stumbled forward and nearly fell into the cook fire before catching himself on the edge of Cookie’s supply wagon.

“Sorry about that, Nick,” Burt sneered and Nick turned slowly to glare at the man. “I’m so darn clumsy sometimes.”

Nick clenched his fists and rose up straight, towering a good six inches above the other man, “That’s alright, Burt, just so long as you work hard to make sure it don’t happen again.”

Burt laughed and a few of the other hands chuckled as well, “Sure.”

Nick gave the other man his back and stooped down to pick up his fallen plate and fork. “What happened?” Aiden’s voice questioned.

Cookie opened his mouth to speak but Nick shoved his plate into his chest and gave a nearly indistinguishable shake of his head, “I was clumsy,” Nick replied as he turned and smiled at Aiden, “Dropped my plate right in the dirt.”

Aiden frowned as he looked at Burt who was laughing and nudging another hand. Nick realized that most of the hands were either ignoring the situation or had already walked away. Only Burt and three other men were still standing there chuckling.

“I’ll make you another plate, Nick,” Cookie offered as he turned toward the large skillet of eggs and reached for a clean plate.

"That's alright, Cookie, I gotta get some stuff around," Nick replied as he held up his hand. He turned his gaze to Aiden once again and felt his body ache with the urge to hug him good morning. Aiden looked good this morning. Having those men dead and gone had clearly done wonders for the man. His brown eyes no longer held any trace of their past fear or sadness and his cheeks had good color. His shoulders weren't slumped or weighted down with worry and he had a smile on his lean face.  

"Are we still patrolling today?" Aiden asked.  

"Yeah," Nick nodded and glanced at the sun coming over the horizon, "I gotta go get a few things done first. You go ahead and eat some breakfast and I'll fetch you when I'm ready."  

"Alright then," Aiden sighed and Nick nearly chuckled at the half-hearted smile on his face as Cookie placed a plate full of eggs and sausage into his hands.  

"Don't forget your biscuit," Cookie grumbled and the rock hard morsel clattered against the tin plate when the old man tossed it.  

"Looks delicious," Aiden mumbled.  

"Doesn't it though?" Wendell laughed as he came from the bunkhouse and stood beside Aiden.

Nick did chuckle then, though as he walked away he made sure to throw a warning glance in Burt's direction and the other man shifted his feet before walking away. Nick knew that Burt was going to be trouble. Without his goading the other men would probably get over Nick and Aiden's presence rather quickly but with Burt fanning the fire—there was a good chance that things could get ugly.  

---

"I thought we were patrolling?" Aiden asked with a frown as Nick stopped his horse beside a cattle pond surrounded by rolling hills and long grasses. They had spent the last hour riding side by side, laughing, and filling the morning with easy conversation. It felt so natural to be with Nick this way; just the two of them with no one sneering or glaring in their direction when they would reach out and touch one another or stare and smile at each other for a little too long.  

"I lied," Nick replied with a grin. He dismounted and Aiden followed suit as his stomach filled with nerves.  

"So what are we doing?"  

"Spending the day together," Nick replied. He winked over at Aiden, "You aren't scared of me are you?"  

"No, of course not," Aiden mumbled his face reddening a bit. Honestly this was what he'd been waiting on. Alone time with Nick! He'd been yearning to spend more time alone with the man since their rainy Sunday that seemed so long ago after all they'd been through in the last few days.  

Aiden hoped Nick would once again forget about his old-fashioned beliefs in taking things slow and they could continue what they'd started the morning before—this time without the audience.

"Does Liz know we aren't working?" Aiden asked as he watched Nick pull a sack and a blanket from his saddlebags.  

"Yes," Nick replied. He tossed the sack to Aiden and then began spreading the blanket down upon the grass. "I am under strict orders to have a good time and keep a close eye on the cow pond today."  

Aiden laughed as he looked around them and saw the cattle in the distance, "Alone together at last," he smiled as he sat down on the blanket.  

Nick took the sack from him and opened it, pulling out a canteen of water and a smaller sack. "What's that?" Aiden questioned.  

"Biscuits, cheese and jerked beef," Nick replied. "Ellie made the biscuits so they're some of the best you'll ever have," he added.  

"You never had any intentions of checking fences tonight did you?" Aiden teased.  

Nick grabbed a biscuit from the sack and took a bite, "Sure didn't."  

Aiden could no longer hold back his urge to be held by Nick. He scooted across the blanket and curled up against his side. Nick's arm instantly went around him and pulled him closer and Aiden felt his heart swell when Nick used his chin to knock his hat away and then kissed his head gently. They stayed that way a long while as Nick finished up his biscuit and took a long drink of water.  

"What really happened this morning at breakfast?" Aiden asked finally. "I know you didn't just drop your plate."

Nick sighed, "Just Burt being an ass. He'll get bored of it eventually and quit."  

"He better," Aiden snapped feeling his temper rise. "I might not be much of a fighter but I'd be happy to kick his—"  

"Easy tiger," Nick chuckled. "If all we have to deal with are some people pushing and shoving us then we're doing pretty good."  

 Aiden picked up a small stone and tossed it into the water, watching the ripples drift across the surface of the pond. "Have you had worse?" 	

Nick stiffened and Aiden glanced at him to see his throat bobbing as he stared intensely at the horizon and swallowed hard, "Yeah."  

Aiden pressed a gentle kiss to the bottom of Nick's jaw and snuggled closer, "What happened?" He had suspected that something bad had happened at some point in Nick's life but the man had never seemed very open to talking about it and Aiden hadn't known how to ask. He hoped that today would be the day that Nick would open up to him.  

"I've only been with one other man before you. His name was Tyler and I loved him," Aiden fought the wave of immature jealousy in his gut and reminded himself that he was the one in Nick's arms now. "We lived in the middle of nowhere here in Texas. We had our own cabin and only got to town once or twice a month when we had to. We kept to ourselves so that no one would be offended by us and we wouldn't bother anyone. But someone found out what Tyler and I were to each other and they were plenty bothered."  

Aiden didn't like where this story seemed to be going or the darkness in Nick's voice as he told it. He took Nick's hand in his. Nick stared down at their entwined fingers and then pulled Aiden's hand to his mouth before kissing his knuckle gently.  "If you get people scared enough of something they don't understand then they turn into a mob of bloodthirsty animals and lose all sense of their own humanity. Tyler and I were asleep in our bed and we heard the hoof beats thundering. Before I could get to my gun the door was burst down and men poured in. We were grabbed, tied up and dragged into town. The townspeople threw things at us and screamed. I was scared for Tyler and when they yanked him away from me and led him toward the gallows I remember screaming and fighting with all I had but it wasn't enough. They hanged him right there in front of me and I watched him die. I knew I was next but while they were leading me up and cutting him down, I managed to slip out of the grip of the man holding me and I ran. They shot me but I kept running and somehow I managed to get away. That was six years ago and I've never told a single person that story."  

Aiden felt his own heart break at the sadness he could hear in Nick's voice. No wonder the man had been all out volatile toward Aiden at first and no wonder he was so protective of Aiden now. Aiden kissed Nick's knuckles gently and laid his head upon his shoulder, "I'm sorry that happened to you, Nick."  

"I was mad for a long time, Aiden, but it led me here and it gave me you so I reckon I can't be too mad anymore."  

"I guess sometimes bad things happen just to lead us to where we're supposed to be," Aiden stated thoughtfully. "I didn't see how I'd ever be happy again after what my parents did to me but now I have a home and a family—and I have you,"  

"Yeah you have me," Nick agreed, causing Aiden to smile.  

Aiden looked up into Nick’s eyes to see that he was looking Aiden’s body up and down. Aiden felt heat spread from his boots to his hair and he swallowed hard, “Did you only bring me out here to stuff me full of cheese and biscuits and then have your way with me?”

"Hey now, I brought jerked beef too," Nick smiled, a gesture that was hungry, though Aiden knew it wasn't the cheese that had the man licking his lips, "What would you say if I said yes?"  

Aiden was shaking now both with nervousness and anticipation. This was actually going to happen, he could feel that deep down. He was going to give himself to Nick today and Nick was going to take him.  

"Are you okay?" Nick asked gently.  

"Yeah," Aiden replied much too quickly. "I'm just.. uh..." Aiden felt his ears turn red.  

"I promise we'll go slow, Aiden, and if you want me to stop all you have to do is say so," Nick offered.  

"Yeah..okay," Aiden stammered as he moved away from Nick and turned to face him on the blanket, unsure of what else he was supposed to do.  

Nick smiled comfortingly and crawled toward him before coming to rest on his knees right in front of him. Nick laid his hand on Aiden's cheek and leaned in close until their noses were touching and Aiden was going cross-eyed attempting to keep his eyes locked on Nick's gray ones. "Would it help if I told you I love you?"  

Aiden stopped breathing and his heart skidded to a stop. He swallowed hard several times and let his eyes slip closed, "You love me?" He had thought that Nick did but hearing those words coming from the mouth of the man you loved were different than just believing it to be true.  

Aiden felt himself being laid back gently and Nick's hand was behind his head before it hit the blanket. Aiden opened his eyes and looked up at Nick hovering above him as he lay on his back beneath him. The sun was shining behind Nick's head and casting his face in shadows beneath his sweat stained brown hat but those gray eyes were clear to see and so was the emotion shining out of them, "Of course I do, I was sure you'd done have that figured out by now."  

Without giving Aiden time to reply, Nick brought his lips down and pressed them tenderly to Aiden's mouth causing him to forget how to speak as he got lost in that gentle caress.  

---

Nick knew that Aiden was innocent in every way, the man hadn't said as much but it was obvious to Nick in the way he carried himself and in his honest and open reaction every touch and kiss they had shared so far.  

It made Nick glad they had all day because he was going to take his time with Aiden and make this first time memorable. That way if the worst happened and Nick was killed, Aiden would never forget him. Morbid thoughts perhaps but Nick had learned from life that it was a very real possibility and he wanted Aiden to always remember his first time and the man who had loved him so completely.  

Nick kissed Aiden gently, breathing him in and then nipping at Aiden's lip before deepening the kiss and savoring the sensation of Aiden's tongue crashing against his own.  

Pulling his mouth from Aiden's, Nick let his lips trail along Aiden's jaw and toward the tender skin of his neck. Aiden began breathing faster as he gripped at Nick's arms and turned his head to give him better access. Nick traced his lips down the long lines of Aiden's throat as he kept himself braced above him with one arm and used his other hand to quickly undo the buttons of his shirt.  

Just as he had before, Aiden's back arched from the ground as Nick tasted the hard lines and planes of his chest. Aiden wasn't very muscular but he was lean and hard and the sight of his bare chest fueled Nick's fire. Aiden shoved him up suddenly and quickly sat up to tear his shirt the rest of the way off.  

Their gazes locked and Nick saw the hunger flash in the brown depths of Aiden's eyes. Nick lunged and devoured Aiden's kiss swollen lips, throwing the man once again to his back and losing himself in the taste of his mouth.  

Nick had to have more and he forced himself to pull away from Aiden long enough to remove the man's boots but Aiden grabbed his hands to stop him when he reached for the button on his trousers.  

"What's wrong?" Nick rasped, his breathing harsh.  

Aiden's face was flushed but his eyes were once again scared, "I've never... I mean.. I... What if I don't know how?"  

Nick smiled wickedly and ran his knuckles over the sizeable bulge in Aiden's pants, "I think you'll be a quick learner." Aiden still seemed unsure though Nick did notice that his hips shot up when Nick's hand touched him.   

"Do you want me to stop?" Nick questioned, praying the man would say no. Aiden looked into his eyes a moment and then shook his head. Nick slowed his movements and took his time removing Aiden's trousers and the long johns he wore beneath.  

Nick stared down at Aiden and felt his heart pound as hunger flooded his veins. He was perfect. Long, lean and flawless. There was a mole just below his ribs and Nick swooped down to taste it, running his tongue along the mole and the bottom of Aiden's ribs and feeling those muscles bunching and coiling beneath his mouth.  

Aiden's hands knocked his hat away and buried themselves in his hair trying to pull Nick back up toward his mouth but Nick had no intention of moving up... No just now he was only interested in moving lower.  

"What are you—" Aiden stopped speaking suddenly when Nick's mouth found that part of him that gave proof to the state of his arousal. Quickly Aiden's words became nothing but moans and whimpers.  

When those whimpers became more urgent, Nick moved away, letting his lips trail back up Aiden's lithe body and finally find his mouth once again.  

The kiss became hot, fiery, passionate. Aiden moaned and tore at the buttons on Nick's shirt and seconds later Nick was shrugging out of it and tossing it aside.  

Aiden's fingers seemed to catch fire as they grazed across Nick's skin and Nick felt himself getting more lost by the second.  

They become a tangled web of lips, tongues, mouths, fingers and hands as they both battled to learn the body of their lover. Nick realized quickly that when he lashed his tongue across Aiden's left nipple it would cause the man to nearly cry out with pleasure and dig his fingers into his back. Nick liked that.  

He wasn't sure how, but somehow Nick found himself out of his clothes, and then Aiden's hands were closing around his pulsing arousal and causing him to bite down hard on his tongue to keep from yelling out with the pleasure and relief from finally having this man doing what he had been wanting this man to do since nearly the moment he had met him.  

Nick felt himself rising higher as that fire in his blood burned to a raging inferno that threatened to completely engulf him. He pulled himself away from Aiden and chuckled when the man seemed to pout, "You're gonna end this too quick there, Aiden," he warned the other man and a blush colored Aiden's ears red.  

Nick kissed Aiden again keeping the kiss gentle and tender as he positioned himself over him, "Will it hurt?" Aiden whispered against his lips.  

"Yes but only for a moment and then it'll feel good, I promise." Aiden swallowed hard and nodded.  

Nick distracted Aiden with kisses while he fumbled for the sack he'd brought with him and took out a tin can full of oil to help keep Aiden from feeling too much pain.  

Aiden was clinging to him and kissing him desperately as Nick coated his fingers and gently slid one inside of him. Aiden moaned and stiffened but Nick simply continued kissing him, keeping his mind off of anything other than the warring of their tongues. Slowly Nick added another finger and then a third until he was sure that Aiden could handle more.  

With a pounding heart, Nick removed his fingers, readied himself with the oil then once again braced himself over Aiden and slid ever so slowly inside of him.  

Aiden's eyes flew open and he cried out with pain before hitting Nick in the chest, "Damn you that hurts!"  

"I told you it would," Nick reminded him gently and then he silenced his protests with more hungry kisses and began to rock slowly against the other man.  

Aiden's moans of pain soon became mixed with groans of pleasure.  

Together they rose higher and higher. Nick continued to let his mouth roam over Aiden, kissing his lips, jaw and chest while Aiden gripped and clawed at his arms and back.  

Nick knew he wasn't going to last much longer. Aiden felt too perfect and he was too aroused to hold back. So instead he took his hand to Aiden's arousal which was bumping against his stomach and stroked him tenderly.  

Their eyes locked and neither looked away, neither blinked, neither spoke. Nick knew he was about to fall over that cliff and he could tell by the fire burning in Aiden's brown eyes that he was nearing his own peak as well.  

Nick stiffened and felt Aiden do the same as both tumbled over that edge at roughly the same moment. Nick called out Aiden's name and then collapsed atop him, breathing harshly as he rested his head on Aiden's chest and listened to his thundering heart.  

Aiden ran his hand through Nick's thick blond hair and sighed with contentment, "You know this really wasn't my plan," Nick spoke up after several long moments of silently catching his breath.

"Really?"  

"No," Nick replied and then he smiled against Aiden's heated skin. "At least not this quickly. I had planned on eating first and talking and I was going to tell you how much I love you and how I want to be with you forever and 

then I was going to work at seducing you.“

"Well I planned on seducing you too. I guess that's what we get for both being men... Wait a second—" Aiden's voice trailed off and Nick lifted his head to look at him.  

"What?"  

"You just said you want to be with me forever...."  

Nick swallowed hard, "Is that a problem?"  

"No!" Aiden replied quickly. "I just.. it's just... well I didn't... I'm just surprised."  

Nick sighed and rolled off of Aiden, lying on his back on the blanket with his hands folded behind his head, "I'm not the type of man that takes laying with other men lightly, Aiden, I told you that. I know we can't get married but when I took that step with you it meant something more to me than just relieving urges."  

Nick could feel Aiden's eyes burning holes in him and he turned to see the other man staring at him with a mixture of shock, disbelief and... .love.  

"I don't understand why a man like you would pick a man like me but I'm real happy you did," Aiden whispered. Nick smiled as relief washed over him. He'd been a little worried that Aiden would run scared from his confession and Nick had known that in his current state he wouldn't be able to chase him—hell Nick couldn't even feel his legs.  

He closed his eyes and let the sunshine beat down on him. It was a little past midday and considering he and Aiden had gotten here just a few hours after sunrise, he figured that he hadn't done too bad for a thirty-one year old man who'd been celibate for the last six years.  

Sleepiness settled into his sated body and then he felt Aiden tap his shoulder. He opened one eye and looked at the man who was lying on his side and watching him.  

"Are you going to sleep?" Aiden asked.  

"The thought had crossed my mind."  

"Really?"  

"I get tired after.. aren't you tired?" Nick asked.  

"No, I'm hungry."  

Nick laughed, "Well there's plenty of food in that sack." He forced himself to stand and pull on his trousers, knowing he couldn't very well go to sleep when he was spending the day alone with Aiden and he couldn't very well be caught laying around naked should anyone ride up on them either.  

Aiden slid into his trousers as well and then sat down cross-legged and pulled a piece of jerked beef from the sack. Nick sat beside him and they fell into a comfortable silence as Aiden ate and Nick watched the cattle grazing in the distance.  

"Hey Nick?"  

"Yeah?"  

"Can we check fences again tomorrow?"  

Nick laughed lightly and nudged Aiden with his shoulder, "I'll talk to the boss."

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-Three

Aiden and Nick rode back onto the ranch just as the dark clouds that had been gathering in the sky let loose with a torrential downpour of fat, cold droplets.  

They ran their horses straight into the barn as their clothes quickly became plastered to their bodies. Aiden was laughing as he dismounted and hopped to the ground. He nearly cried out with surprise when Nick grabbed his arm and yanked him hard, pulling his body in close. Aiden could feel every inch of Nick's hard, muscular body pressed long against his and his body filled with trembling heat.  

He could still remember vividly what he and Nick had shared by that pond and it had been a life changing moment that Aiden wanted to repeat. He looked up into Nick's gray eyes and smiled when Nick grabbed his hat and tossed it aside, "I wish you'd quit wearing that giant thing," Nick mumbled.  

Aiden just shook his head, rose onto his toes and silenced Nick with a kiss that quickly turned from something innocent into a fiery joining of lips on lips. Aiden grabbed Nick's thick arms, clutching them desperately to maintain his balance as his knees shook.  He couldn't help but notice that Nick seemed a little shaken too.  

Aiden broke away from Nick and backed up into his horse causing the mare to snort and shy away from him, "We've gotta stop."  

"Why?" Nick growled, his gray eyes flashing with hunger.  

Aiden could feel his pants stirring and asking the same question. He swallowed hard, "Because someone could see us."  

Nick shook his head and closed the distance between them before pulling Aiden against him once again. Cold droplets of rain dripped from the brim of Nick's hat onto Aiden's cheek and it was still pouring hard outside, rain beating against the barn roof and soaking the ground.  "I don't care. Right now all I wanna do is kiss you."  

Aiden was powerless to stop Nick's demanding mouth from finding his again and honestly he didn't want to. Heat, passion, love all those emotions that caused a heart to pound and a head to swim were overcoming Aiden with a force so powerful that he lost all sense of time and place.  

Until a throat cleared from the wide open double doors they'd ridden their horses through, "I don't.. uh.. mean to interrupt you all."  

The two men jumped apart as if they'd been struck by lightning and turned to find Wendell standing just inside the doorway and staring down at the toes of his boots while a puddle of water formed on the dirt floor beneath him.  

"Then why didn't you just walk away without saying anything?" Nick grumbled as he stooped to pick Aiden's hat up from the ground and tossed it into Aiden's chest. Aiden began to pick pieces of hay from the edges as Wendell shifted his feet and finally looked up at them.  

Aiden knew then that something was wrong. Wendell appeared worried, sad and angry as hell, "What's going on?" Aiden asked cautiously.  

"It's the bunkhouse. I think y'all should go take a look," Wendell replied regretfully. "I'll tend to your horses."   

Nick and Aiden shared a look of concern and then ran from the barn. Aiden slipped in the mud and nearly fell before Nick's arm looped through his and helped balance him. They skidded to a stop at the bunkhouse doors and stepped inside to find all the hands gathered there. They pushed through the crowd and Nick cursed loudly at the sight they were met with.  

Their beds had been destroyed. Aiden stepped closer and felt his throat close up with emotion as his heart filled with anger. Someone had taken a knife to their beds and shredded them. Their pillows had been shredded as well and feathers littered the floor. All of their belongings and clothes had been tossed around, broken and torn.  

"Who the hell did this?" Nick's voice was smooth and full of a barely suppressed rage. Aiden watched him turn to face the crowd. Burt was chuckling as were his three henchmen but everyone else seemed just as confused as Nick and Aiden.  

"I didn't have a part in it," Cookie snorted sending a glare at Burt.  

Before Aiden could stop him, Nick strode across the room and grabbed Burt by the collar of his shirt. Burt suddenly looked a little less sure of himself but Aiden saw those three men around him clench their fists and step forward to help their friend. Nick didn't seem to notice.  

"Did you do this, Burt?" Nick growled.  

"Nope," Burt sneered.  

"Maybe if I knock your damned head off it'll loosen your jaw," Nick offered.  

Aiden was about to stop him when a tiny body came bursting through the crowd, "What's going on?" Lexi's sweet voice asked and then she gasped when she took in the sight of Nick's raised fist. She turned, her wet braids whipping around her head as she ran from the bunkhouse, "Mama! Nick is gonna bust Burt in the mouth and there are feathers 

everywhere! “

Nick released his hold on Burt and stepped back, tearing off his hat and ramming his hand through his thick blond hair. Aiden went to him and laid a comforting hand on his back, wanting only to calm him down even though Aiden was pretty angry himself.  

"Get out of my damn way!" Elizabeth's commanding voice suddenly filled the bunkhouse and she shoved her way through the crowd with Brody and their three kids in tow. Elizabeth's green eyes fell on the mess that had been made of Nick and Aiden's cots and the anger that reddened her face and flashed in her eyes had Aiden swallowing hard.  

"Who the hell did this?!" she practically screamed as she spun on her heels and faced Burt and his three friends who were no longer looking so sure that they had their leaders back—it was clear that their legs had suddenly caught the urge to run.  

"Miss Elizabeth, it wasn't me," Frank promised.  

"Or me," Kent agreed. Several other hands nodded but no one seemed eager to step forward and take the blame.  

"This goes beyond y'all just being asses to Nick and Aiden. These damned cots are Atkinson property! Those pillows were my property as well! You've destroyed what belongs to me and I want whoever is responsible to step forward and they need to do it 

now! “ Elizabeth spat.

Still no one stepped forward. Aiden saw her throw a glance at her husband and Brody nodded and crossed his arms over his chest, "Everyone outside now, except you Cookie, Frank and Kent. Y'all stay in where it's dry." 	

Arguments erupted and Brody laid a hand on his gun, "By God I said to get outside. Don't make me repeat myself."  

Aiden got it then, the reason that Brody'd been such a successful lawman and the reason that most in town still saw the town as Brody's even though he'd given up his badge. There was something about the man that made a grown man shake like a babe and find it impossible to disobey him; even when he was outnumbered and outgunned.  

"You heard my pa," Nathan added with a wave of his hand as the hands filed out into the rain one by one. Nick and Aiden were the last to leave the bunkhouse and Aiden shivered as those cold droplets again began to beat down on his soaked skin.  

"Why are we standing in the rain?" Burt questioned.  

"Because this is where you're sleeping, by God," Brody replied with a tip of his head.  

"What?!" A chorus of angry voices demanded.  

Brody shrugged, "Unless the person responsible for that bunkhouse steps forward now you're all sleeping in the rain. All except Nick and Aiden, they're sleeping in the ranch house."  

Aiden glanced up at Nick with surprise but Nick's angry gaze was locked on Burt, his gray eyes looking akin to raging storm clouds.  

"Brody this rain is cold," a hand named Vance spoke up and Brody shrugged.  

"It won't kill ya,"

"To hell with this I'll head to town and sleep at the hotel," Burt snapped.  

"You leave this ranch you can consider yourself fired. You try to sleep in the barn, you're fired. Cookie is going to sleep by the door of the bunkhouse with his gun so if you try to step foot in there he'll open fire," It was clear Elizabeth was beyond angry. Her slender body was practically trembling with rage. "You went too far, men, and I expect a hell of a lot better out of men that work with me. All it'll take for everyone to get a dry ass is for the person responsible for that mess in there to step forward right now and admit his wrong."  

No one stepped forward and Elizabeth shrugged, "Suit yourselves."  

"Can we get blankets at least?!" Vance demanded.  

"Nope," Elizabeth shook her head, "I can't trust y'all with my property." She turned her back to the men and strode up toward the ranch house, waving her hand to signal for Nick and Aiden to follow her family inside.  

Aiden was quick to but he realized that Nick had paused again and was staring hard at Burt, "Let me warn you of something—" Nick hissed as he stepped closer to Burt.  

"What's that?" Burt questioned.  

"If you ever lay a single goddamn hand on Aiden I will kill you myself."  

"Come on, Nick," Aiden urged, grabbing his arm and tugging him. Damn but the man was strong.  

"Yeah you heard your woman, Nick," Burt laughed. "Go on now."  

Aiden felt Nick jerk sideways as if preparing himself to hit Burt and Aiden tugged him harder, "Come on, Nick, let's get out of the rain. At least we get to have a nice warm bed while that bastard sleeps in the mud."  

That shut Burt up and wiped the cocky grin off his face. He looked at the five other men stuck in the rain and they were all glaring angrily at him. Aiden fought the urge to stick out his tongue, deciding that would be too childish a move and then he led Nick up to the house where Brody, Elizabeth, the children, Ellie and little Eli were waiting for them just inside.  

Instantly, once the eyes of the other hands were off them, Elizabeth's entire demeanor changed. Her ice queen persona that she was so famous for vanished and she looked sad and embarrassed as she threw her arms around Aiden and hugged him tightly, "I am so sorry, Aiden!" she gasped. "That never should have happened and I'm ashamed that it happened here on my ranch."  

"It's okay, Liz," Aiden hugged her back and smiled sadly at Ellie who was bouncing Eli on her hip. "I'm sorry I brought hired killers to your ranch and caused half your staff to quit and the other half to tear your place up."  

"I think a night in the damn rain will help cool their tempers just a bit and if not then I'll be more than happy to send them packing myself," Brody assured them before scooping his wet daughter  up and causing her to giggle.  

"You'll have to beat me to them," Elizabeth assured her husband as she moved away from Aiden. "I hope the two of you had fun while you were out today," she added smiling at Aiden and Nick in turn.  

Aiden felt his cheeks flame red, "Yes'm."  

Nick stood there stone-faced and his eyes seemed miles away. Clearly he was still too angry over what had happened to be much use in conversation. Not that Nick was ever real big on it anyway.  

"Good," Elizabeth sighed. "Again I am really very sorry. I know it was Burt and his little pals and most of the time I would fire them but I'm hoping this will teach them their lesson and things will change...."  

"It'll be fine, Liz," Aiden assured her.  

"Alright then. From now on you all can sleep in the ranch house if you want since clearly some folks in the bunkhouse have sticks up their asses. I'm sure Ellie won't have a problem with that."  

Ellie smiled and shook her head, "Of course not."  

Eli reached for Aiden and his chubby cheeks split in a wide grin, "Ogee!" he cried out with laughter.  

Aiden looked down at himself and smiled back at the boy, “Ogee’s all wet,” he said regretfully.

“Your clothes got destroyed didn’t they?” Brody asked and this time it was Nick who nodded.

“I need to find you some dry clothes,” Ellie began to tap her chin. “Nick, you should be able to wear Jacob’s clothes and, Aiden, Sally left plenty of shirts here that should fit you fairly decent, though they’ll be a little snug in the shoulders. I’m afraid I won’t have any pants though,”

“That’s alright, Miss Ellie, I can just hang these up to dry in the corner and they’ll be good by morning.”

“What will Jacob think of us staying here?” Nick questioned as he spoke up for the first time.

Ellie shrugged, “He won’t mind,” she promised before dashing away to find clothes.

“Are you sure?” Nick asked doubtfully and Elizabeth stepped forward.

“If he has a problem with it then he can take it up with me, it’s nothing for y’all to be concerned about. Now get on in there and pick a room, I’m guessing you’ll want to use the same room you used before—” Elizabeth paused. “Or do you want separate rooms?”

“One room will be fine,” Nick stated simply.

Elizabeth smiled, "Good," Ellie came back with the clothes then and handed Nick pants and shirt and Aiden a shirt and a pair of long johns.  

"We gotta get home, my wet family,"  Brody spoke up as he kissed Lexi's cheek and ruffled Bryant's hair.  

"But pa it's raining," Lexi whined.

"I'm so cold and wet it ain't gonna make much difference that we gotta ride home in the rain. My backside can't get any wetter... even my long johns is soaked," Nathan informed them all with a sigh.  

Laughter filled the sitting room as Brody led his family toward the door. Elizabeth glanced at Aiden and winked, "Y'all better get in there and get dry now because I don't take a cold as an excuse to be slacking off at work. You'll be expected to be up and at it just after dawn."  

---

Nick and Aiden sat on the back porch of the ranch house that night and stared toward the river. The rain was still falling steadily and Ellie had long since gone to bed but Nick was too restless to sleep. He knew Aiden was exhausted because the man's head kept slipping off his shoulder every few minutes before he would jerk back to alertness and reposition himself.  

"Come on, Aiden, I'll get you to bed."   

"Aren't you tired?" Aiden mumbled.  

"Nope."  

"Are you still mad?"  

"Yes."  

"Nick, I thought you said we were lucky if the worst we got was some pushing and shoving? At least they didn't use those knives on us," Aiden stated as he sat up straight and tugged on the leg of his borrowed long johns since his pants were still damp and hanging in the bedroom.  

Nick felt his fist clench as he imagined Burt pulling a knife on Aiden, "I want to kick his ass."  

"I'm surprised Liz didn't fire him," Aiden admitted.  

Nick shook his head, "She's plenty mad enough to but I think she's hoping they'll all come around. With the men that have already left and Thomas and Sally leaving next week she has to be mindful. It's awful hard to run a ranch this size with nothing but a skeleton crew and any new men she hires to replace these will likely have the same problem with us."  

"So the problem is us," Aiden mumbled as he stared down at his folded hands.  

Nick shook his head, slid his arm around Aiden's shoulders and kissed his brow, "There ain't a damn thing wrong with us. It's the rest of the world that has a problem."  

Aiden flashed a sleepy smile though Nick could tell the man still felt a bit sad. Nick pulled him closer and let out a sigh as he turned his gaze to the river. It was nice out here... they could forget for a while that just on the other side of the house were men that hated them. They could pretend for just a bit that they were completely free to be who they were.  

"Nick, will you come to bed now?" Aiden whispered sleepily, "I'm beat."

"Yeah, come on."  

"It was real nice of Liz, Brody and Ellie to let us stay here," Aiden said as they made their way into the house. Aiden had one hand on the waistband of his long johns since they were several inches too big.   

"Yeah it was," Nick agreed.

"But tomorrow night we're going to go back to the bunkhouse."  

"We are?" Nick questioned with surprise.  

"Yeah. As much as I would love waking up in your arms every morning it just don't feel right this way. It feels like we're running scared; like we're hiding. That and it's just gonna make it worse on us when they see us getting such special treatment."  

Nick wanted to argue but he knew Aiden was right. There was no way around it. Hell he had been the one to say that they were done running and hiding out in the ranch house seemed a lot like running.  

"Alright, Aiden," Nick mumbled as he led the other man into their room. He closed and locked the door and then Aiden laughed lightly.  

"I'd say we could go out there tonight but...." he released his hold on his borrowed long johns and they fell to the floor leaving him standing there with them pooled around his ankles and his white button down just barely falling over his thighs.  

Nick felt that jolt of longing spark through him and he saw Aiden's brown eyes flash showing him that the other man felt it too, "We gotta take advantage of tonight, Nick," Aiden whispered, taking a step forward.  

Nick nodded and closed the distance between them. He pulled Aiden's body into his and lowered his lips, allowing his mouth to hover tantalizingly close to Aiden's lips, "I reckon you're right."  

---

"Brody, I'm so mad I could bite the heads off of nails!" Elizabeth spat as she yanked the leather throng from her hair and quickly began to undo her braid. The children were all in their beds and the rain was still falling in the darkness outside their bedroom window.

"I got a sack of 'em in the shed if you want me to go get them," Brody replied pulling off his clothes and heading to the wardrobe to get something dry to sleep in.  

"Why would that happen on my ranch?"  

"Because Burt is a jackass."  

"Brody, I'm serious," Elizabeth snapped. She was beyond embarrassed that something like that could happen here. What kind of person hated someone so badly that had never done anything to them?  

"I am too. I never liked that son of a bitch. He's a bad man, boss, and he's the type of man that is good at getting others to go along with him."  

"I wanted to fire him but, dammit, we're already down so many men and Thomas and Sally are leaving next week....."  

Brody was suddenly there taking her hands in his and quieting her rant. She was powerless to stop her eyes from roaming over every inch of his hard toned body covered in battle scars from the dangerous life he had lived, "We've made it through tougher times than that, boss. I don't want a man here that I gotta worry about and today proved to me we gotta worry about him."

Elizabeth knew he was right and she laid her head against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart beneath her ear. There had been a time in her life when she had thought she'd never hear that sound again—it was her favorite sound in the world, "I'll send him packing in the morning."  

"I think that's a damn good decision," Brody kissed her hair.  

"Of course you do; it was your idea."  

"You did good when you married me, cowgirl."  

"You did better," Elizabeth countered, smiling wickedly up at her husband.  

"Whatever you say," Brody winked. Elizabeth moved away from him a bit and hooked her finger as she tipped her head toward the bed.  

Brody growled and stepped forward, only to let out an even louder growl, this one of pain, as he gripped the bed post and nearly fell.  

Elizabeth didn't even have to ask what was wrong. Instantly she slid into her nightdress and walked from the room. She took some warm coals from the cook stove and wrapped them in a towel before going back to the bedroom.  

Brody was lying in bed and looked miserable and grumpy, "What the hell's is that?" he grumbled.  

"To help your leg," Elizabeth replied gently as she laid the wrapped coals against the hard muscle of his thigh, covering the white puckered scar that marred it.  

"My leg is fine," Brody insisted, though he didn't move the coals away. "I'd like to kill that bastard that shot my leg again."  

"I think you got him pretty good the first time," Elizabeth assured him. She kissed his jaw and then stood and doused the lights before climbing back in the bed and sliding beneath the covers.

Brody held her close and kissed her hair again, “It’s time for you to trade me in for a newer model, boss. All that hard livin’ is catching up with me.”

Elizabeth laughed lightly and snuggled closer to him, “Now why would I want to go and do something like that?” she teased, “I finally got you broke in the way I want you.”

“Is that right?”

“Yep.”

Brody’s brow quirked up and he grabbed the towel full of coals and tossed it away before flipping Elizabeth onto her back and bracing his hard body long over hers, “I’ll show you broken in.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four:

Ty was walking down the street while he ran his most important errand of the day. He tipped his hat to the ladies, nodded at the men and smiled at the children that would run in front of him now and then. He saw Widow Golden out feeding some of the stray dogs that ran around town and a young seven year old boy named Jonathon had his sling shot in hand and was shooting stones at the birds trying to get in his families small plot of corn behind their house.  

Town was calm and for that he was happy. Liza was getting further along and bigger every single day. The woman was so short and petite that her stomach caused her to look a lot like she was smuggling a watermelon beneath her skirt.  

He smiled as the aroma of the chicken and dumplings resting on the tray he was carrying reached his nose. Liza had been craving the diners chicken and dumplings for the last few weeks and like the dutiful husband he was, Ty had taken the time every day to get big steaming bowl full and take it to her at the school house.  

He was heading up the hill on the outskirts of town. The schoolhouse was nestled at the top of the hill and he could already hear the children reciting the alphabet. The going up the hill was rough because of the ground being slick from the rain the night before. He had insisted on helping Liza up the hill this morning and was hoping the sun would dry the ground before she had to come back down it this afternoon.  

Ty's thoughts were interrupted when the sound of pounding hooves filled the air. He turned quickly and saw one of the hands from Atkinson Spread galloping down the main street of town. Mud was flying from beneath the horse's hooves and women were gasping and muttering angrily as they tried to jump out of the way to avoid splatters.  

Ty sighed, realized that Liza's lunch was going to be cold before he managed to get it to her and made his way back down the hill and toward the man who was hoping down off his horse with rage contorting his features, "Goddamn Atkinson bastards!"  

"What seems to be the problem?" Ty asked as he approached. "You can't be galloping that fast down the main street while folks are going about their days."  

"You're brother married in with that bunch of Atkinson's didn't he?" the man demanded and Ty nodded. "You better watch your back then, sheriff. Those Atkinson's are liable to stick a knife in it," the man spat as he swiped at his muddy cheek. Ty remembered his name to be Burt now and he also noticed that Burt had a split lip and his eyes seemed to be blackening.  

"From what I know of Brody, Liz and the rest of the Atkinson's, they don't need to stab folks in the back, Burt. They're plenty tough enough to come at you from the front." Burt snorted. "What happened?" Ty asked.  

"I expressed my strong dislike for their newest hire," Burt sneered. "Apparently my opinion was not appreciated and I was told to get the hell of their land."  

Ty frowned, "Was this before or after someone did that to your face?"  

Burt's cheeks reddened and he licked at the blood seeping from his swollen bottom lip, "After. And if I see that damn Brody Atkinson around town I'm going to pay him back for it too."  

Ty didn't even have to fake his surprise, it was genuine as his eyes widened, "Brody did that?"  

"Hell yeah."  

"You're lucky that's all you got if it was Brody dealing out the punishment. You must have pissed them off real good," Ty chuckled.  

"They're in love with their little Aiden and God have mercy on anyone who has something bad to say about the man," resentment was thick in Burt's voice.  

"Why wouldn't you like Aiden?" Ty asked, not worrying about Burt's anger toward Brody. Brody Atkinson had lived a long time despite numerous attempts to end his life—a man like Burt wouldn't be any challenge for him. Plus Burt was just blowing hot air because he was angry.  

"Ain't you heard?"  

"Heard what?"  

Burt grinned and stuck his thumbs through his belt loops, "Aiden is a disgusting man, sheriff. He and Nick like to lay together—you know like a man and a woman should. They're pretty damn touchy feely. Aiden's the little woman while Nick stands over him like a protective husband."  

Ty took a step back and tried hard to harden his face to hide the disgust and shock he felt at that admission. Two men lying together the way a man should only ever lay with a woman? That was disturbing, wrong and it made his stomach churn just to think of it.

"Uh-oh, lawman, don't let them Atkinson's see you looking so disgusted. They'll make your face match mine," Burt patted him on the back and then headed into the saloon they were standing in front of.  

Ty couldn't shake the sick feeling in his stomach at the knowledge of what Aiden and Nick were. And to think he'd been so welcoming to Aiden when the man had first come to town—hell Aiden probably thought Ty wanted him... Ty fought back a gag.  

"Bit early to be hitting the saloon, big brother," Ryder was suddenly there and putting his arm around Ty's shoulders. "What do you got there?" he added as he tried to raise the lid of the bowl resting on the tray.  

"Your sister-in-laws lunch and she'll skin you alive if you mess with it... and who are you to tell me it's too early for the saloon. I remember a time not too long ago when you practically lived in one."  

Ryder laughed, opened the bowl and before Ty could stop him, he'd stolen a chunk of chicken and was plopping it into his mouth, "Liza won't hurt me. She waddles too slow to catch me right now." Ryder licked his fingers and his whole face lit up when Susie approached them.  

"Hello, Ty," she offered brightly. Ryder slid his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Ryder, that's not proper," Susie warned with a blush coloring her freckled cheeks.  

"But it's what I want," Ryder replied with a shrug as his grip tightened. "And don't talk to Ty he's in a mood this morning. The chicken and dumplings are good though,"  

"What's wrong, Ty?" Susie asked.  

Ty sighed, "Did y'all know about Aiden and Nick?"  

Susie's eyes widened with surprise but Ryder seemed too busy sniffing her neck to pay any attention to Ty, "You used that shampoo I like," he mumbled.  

"Who told you about Nick and Aiden?" Susie questioned as she tried, and failed, to wiggle away from Ryder.  

"Burt. Apparently he got fired this morning and your brother knocked him around a little too. Why in the world would Brody and Liz want some nasty animals like that around their children?"  

Ty knew instantly that he had said the wrong thing. He had assumed that Susie would see things the same way he did but it was clear from the flash of temper in her usually bright blue eyes that he had assumed wrong. "How dare you say something like that! Those are good men!" Susie argued.  

"But they lay together, Susie.." Ty insisted, shivering a bit as he did so.  

"Susie knows," Ryder grinned as he once again looked at his brother. "Aiden's our friend, Ty, and Nick seems like a good guy—a bit too serious like my old brother dearest but a good man just the same."  

"There is nothing good about two men lying together. It's an abomination and I'd rather they weren't around my town."  

Susie glared at him, huffed once and then stormed away toward the church, "I have care packages to deliver," she spat. 	

Ty rubbed his neck and sighed before realizing how angry his little brother appeared to be at him, "You better hope she doesn't cry over what you said," Ryder warned. "I don't let people make Susie cry, not even my own flesh and blood brother."  

"Ryder, you gotta admit that it's wrong—doesn't it seem wrong to you?" Ty demanded.  

Ryder shrugged and went in for another piece of Liza's lunch only this time Ty was quick enough to swat his hand away and stop him. Ryder grinned as he shook his hand, "I don't care one way or the other," he admitted. "I don't know why you're making such a big deal of it. Love is love brother and love is good. It's not like they're trying to get you to lay with them too."  

With those words of wisdom—shockingly spoken by a man who up until just a few months ago had honestly believed the moon was made of cheese—Ryder patted Ty on the back and then hurried after his wife.  

Feeling confused and conflicted, Ty knew it was time to head back to Liza with her lunch. The children would be busy with their playtime outside and that would give him the opportunity to speak with her. She could always help him see the correct way to handle things and put his head in the right place.

---

Aiden was exhausted and he was hiding. All day he'd been carrying boxes, sacks, crates and chests full of Sally, Max and Thomas's things and loading them into a wagon. There were only four days remaining until they were leaving for Wyoming and Aiden had been assigned with the duty of helping Sally prepare everything.  

She, Thomas and Max were going to be spending their last few days on Atkinson Spread at the ranch house. Aiden had never seen a family with so many things—mostly weapons and ranching gear.  

Finally though Aiden was getting a few moments of peace as he sat beneath a large sycamore beside the pond that Sally's cabin was close to. As he rested his head against the rough bark he thought about the events that had taken place just that morning.  

Brody and Liz had come riding to the ranch with their tempers still plainly written on their faces. The six men who had been left in the rain to sleep had been muddy, wet and sniffling as they'd huddled together around Cookie's cooking fire.  

Nick and Aiden had been standing with Wendell off to the side and Aiden had been working hard to ignore the glares Burt had kept sending in their direction.  

Liz had then walked straight up to Burt and asked him point blank if he had been the one to trash the bunkhouse. His response to that had been a chuckle and Liz had ordered him to leave her ranch and never step foot on her property again.  

That was when hell had broken loose. Burt had let loose with a string of insults directed at Liz. He had called her names that Aiden wouldn't have dared muttered to a dog and Aiden had stood there absolutely dumbfounded .  

Liz had laughed it off and had been prepared to walk away but Brody clearly hadn't been willing to let it slide. He had strode toward Burt like a man on a mission but Nathan had reached Burt first. His twelve year old fist had connected solidly with Burt's gut as he yelled at the man to never speak that way to his mama again.  

Burt apparently had had a moment of brain lapse because he had raised his hand to knock the boy away and that's when Brody had sprung. Like a mortar round blasting from the end of a cannon, Brody's coiled muscles shot forward and his fist connected sharply with Burt's mouth.  

Burt had gone down hard but Brody hadn't been satisfied with that. He'd grabbed Burt by the collar of his drenched shirt and jerked him back to his feet, "You ever speak a word to my wife again or raise your goddamn hand to my boy and it'll be something worse than my fist busting your head," he'd warned and then he'd punched him again, this time in the eye, just for good measure.  

It had only taken moments after that for Burt to get his belongings and take off like a bat out of hell toward town. The other five hands who had slept in the rain had then let Aiden and Nick know that they hadn't been the ones to trash their belongings but yet they hadn't wanted to rat out their friend either.  

Aiden sighed as the breeze blew against his hair. Maybe now they'd have some real peace. Though Aiden was going to miss sharing a bed with Nick at night... maybe now and then they could find excuses to go out far enough on the property to have an excuse to use the shacks set up here and there for a night.  

He still felt a little guilty that so many men had left the ranch because of him and Nick but Liz and Brody didn't seem to mind so Aiden was working hard to not mind either.  

"Aiden?" Sally's voice called out. "Aiden, you better come get this chest cuz you know darn well that if Thomas catches me lifting it—"  

"He'll skin me alive, I know," Aiden mumbled as he got to his feet and swatted his backside to clean the dirt from it.  

Thomas had warned him that morning that if he allowed Sally to do any heavy lifting that Aiden would get skinned when Thomas returned. The man was scary looking—not quite so bad as Brody but scary just the same. Aiden was definitely not in any hurry to find out if the man had truly meant his threat.  

"So are you and Nick going to be staying in the ranch house too?" Sally asked as she sat in a chair on the porch and Aiden hefted up one of the three new chests she had filled up.  

"No," Aiden replied with a grunt as his arms shook. Honestly he had the muscles of a fourteen year old boy; who had decided it was a good idea to have him doing the hard labor? He'd have to make sure he and Nick snuck somewhere private for at least a few moments tonight because if there was one thing the other man was really good at, it was massages. Well he was good at many other things too—Aiden blushed at his own thoughts.  

"Why not?" Sally questioned with a frown.  

Aiden realized with a grunt and a twinge of pain in his back that he was not going to be able to get the remaining chests put up alone. It just wasn't going to happen, "Because we don't want to give them the satisfaction of seeing us run," Aiden replied as he sat down on the chest and put his chin in his hand. "I can't lift these," he added.  

"That's alright, I'll make Thomas do it," Sally replied with a wave of her hand. "Given your past I'd have to say you're probably good at keeping a secret aren't you?"?

Aiden laughed and nodded, "Yeah that is one thing that being an abomination teaches you. You learn how to keep a secret."  

Sally shifted in her seat and shook her head as she studied him with her big blue eyes, "I don't think you're an abomination, Aiden, and you shouldn't call yourself one."  

 Aiden just shrugged as he kicked at the dirt, "Okay."  

"I'm scared about this move," Sally admitted quietly with disgust in her voice. "I'm supposed to be an Atkinson-Cooper. I'm not supposed to feel things like fear and here I am scared to death."  

"What are you scared of?" Aiden asked. He wasn't surprised that Sally was opening up to him. Aiden had been told more times than a few that he was the kind of person that another person instantly felt they could trust. It had never really bothered Aiden he liked helping people—or at least listening.  

"Leaving home," Sally replied and then she placed her hand over her rounding stomach, "Being a mother.... I never had a mother; at least not that I can remember. I'm not exactly the motherly type...."  

"You have Max," Aiden countered and she shook her head.

"Max was older when Thomas brought him to us and he spends most of his time with Thomas or with his cousins..." she glanced down at her stomach. "This will be a baby and it will need me every moment of every day."  

"I think you'll do just fine," Aiden assured her as he stood up and stretched out his aching shoulders, "Just love him or her, do everything you can to build them up and let them know they matter and 

never , no matter what they admit to you about themselves, tell them they have to die and that’s what’s best.“

Sally raised her brow, "And that'll make me a good mom,"  

Aiden shrugged and flashed her a smile, "It'll make you a better one than I had."  

---

"What did you do all day?" Nick demanded gently as he rubbed and massaged at the tight knotted muscles in Aiden's shoulders. Aiden had cornered Nick behind the smokehouse and whimpered and begged until Nick had agreed to help him out. Truly Nick was happy to—he only wished they had a bit more privacy because back rubs in private could be quite a bit of fun.  

"Loaded trunks and bags and crates that weighed more than I do into a wagon all day," Aiden mumbled as he leaned against the wall.  

He let out a moan and Nick swallowed hard, "Cookie has dinner ready and we'd better go eat before the least burnt pieces of steak are gone," Nick stated as he moved away from Aiden and then adjusted his gun belt around his hips. Damn Aiden! Nick hadn't been this easily aroused since he'd been a heck of a lot younger than he was right now.  

"Here's hoping our beds are still in one piece," Aiden added. Nick felt that protective side of himself roar to life. He sincerely hoped that now that Burt was gone things would calm down here and he and Aiden would be allowed to be themselves and at least live without constant turmoil going on around them.  

Aiden took Nick's hand in his and gave it a squeeze. Instantly Nick felt some of his tension melt away. He kissed Aiden's brow tenderly and then they broke apart a bit and made their way to the bunkhouse and the cooking fire that Cookie and the other hands were gathered around.  

"Are y'all hungry?" Cookie asked with a grin.  

"Starving," Aiden admitted as he took the plate of lumpy mashed potatoes and charred steak.  

Vance stepped forward then and Nick tensed before Vance finally spoke, "I for one want to apologize for what happened to y'all's stuff yesterday. I realize I didn't apologize this morning and I should have."  

"Uh.. thanks," Aiden replied. Nick felt Aiden's eyes on him and he looked at the other man to find him staring at him expectantly, "Wasn't that nice, Nick?"  

"Sure...." Nick mumbled, "Aiden and I are going to be staying in the bunkhouse now and I want to make sure we aren't gonna have any more trouble," Nick added warningly.  

The hands that were around all shared a quick glance and then nodded, "Sure, there won't be any more trouble," Vance agreed, "Why aren't you gonna stay in the ranch house?"  

"Because we aren't running anymore," Aiden spoke up before Nick could. Then Aiden surprised the hell out of Nick when he reached over and gave Nick's hand a squeeze.  

"Well good for you I say," Cookie nodded as he handed Nick a plate of food.  

"I say so too," Wendell agreed, "Life is too short to worry about what other folks are gonna think."  

A quiet tension fell over the group for a moment and then finally Vance nodded and held out a hand to Nick, "You won't have any more trouble from me. You have my word on that."  

Nick stared at the hand a moment and then reached out and shook it quickly. Suddenly he felt better about the future than he had in a long long time.  

---

"I hate those goddamn Atkinson's," Garth mumbled as he took a swig of whiskey.  

"You aren't the only one," Graham agreed as he stared down into his beer.  

"How would you boys like to get back at those bastards?" Burt asked and suddenly he had the attention of the three other disgruntled men at the bar.  

"And wind up with a face that matches yours?" Curly snorted, "No thanks."  

"Fine then, you'll miss out," Burt snorted back, "I got a good thing going on over there; I'm just waiting on the chance to hit them hard. It's going to be harder now that I'm not working there."  

"What kind of think you talking about?" Garth demanded.  

"Are you saying you're interested?"  

"Is it going to hurt the Atkinson's in some way?"  

Burt nodded, 'Yep and make Brody feel like a fool."  

"Then I'm in," Garth grinned.

"Us too," Curly agreed while Graham nodded.  

Burt downed his shot of whiskey and smiled, "Well alright then, boys, gather 'round."

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Nick, you, me, Thomas, Frank and Wendell are going to take two hundred head of cattle into town. The army placed a big order and they got a train coming in early tomorrow morning. That means we'll leave tonight and have them there waiting," Brody said the next day around noon as he caught Nick and Aiden coming out of the barn.  

Nick wondered if Brody knew that they had been alone in the small barn for nearly an hour instead of doing the jobs they'd been assigned to do. Nick wasn't normally the type to shirk his duties but Aiden had come to him and asked for him to rub at a particularly knotted spot on his back and that had been all it had taken. Nick was ashamed of the fact that he hadn't been doing his job but as he enjoyed that tingling sensation still coursing through his legs, he couldn't bring himself to regret it.  

"Are us four all you're bringing with you?" Nick questioned. The idea of leaving Aiden alone with the other hands for a night didn't sit well with him. Yes everything had gone smoothly last night and this morning but without Nick there to protect him, Aiden would be a lot more vulnerable.  

Brody raised a brow and glanced at Aiden who watching the ponies in the corral, "Yeah, that's all I'm bringing," he replied. "I don't need anybody distracted," he added pointedly. Nick sighed and nodded, he had no choice but to agree. This was his job and Brody was his boss—when Liz wasn't around.  

"Alright then. When are we leaving?"  

"We're gonna get to wrangling them cattle up now. They're done off to themselves since I've been waiting on this train for a good solid two weeks. We'll leave out just as soon as that's done."  

"Well I'll get on in to Ellie then and see if she needs any help with the cooking she's doing for the party tomorrow," Aiden stated. Nick saw Brody's brow rise even further on his brow.  

"Cooking?" Brody questioned.  

Aiden flushed, "Yes cooking! I'm pretty damn good at it too. Suppose you don't think a man should cook?"  

Nick chuckled as he scratched at his jaw and watched Brody study Aiden. Brody took a slow draw off his cigarette and then blew the smoke out slowly, "Ain't nothing wrong with a man knowing how to cook. Hell I can cook a hell of a lot better than the boss can."  

"Well thanks," Aiden mumbled. He walked around them, offering Nick a smile before moving away from him.  

Brody grinned and winked at Nick, "Of course only a little woman would be so 

eager about cooking supper.“

Aiden's shoulders stiffened and he turned to face Brody with an amused smile on his face, "Then I guess that makes me a woman then. But go ahead and ask Nick, I'm a damn good one."  

It was Brody's turn to seem flustered and Nick would be damned if he didn't see the slightest bit of color on the man's cheeks. Brody cleared his throat, shook his head with a chuckle, turned his gaze to Nick and then hooked his thumb toward one of the larger barns, "Let's get those horses ready."

---

"Elizabeth, I want you to stay at the ranch house tonight," Brody stated as he hooked his whip onto his gun belt.  

"Why?" Elizabeth questioned. She knew Brody must mean business because he had called her Elizabeth which he didn't do very often.  

"Because we found two new holes in the fence and a letter saying we'd go to hell for harboring abominations. Now dammit I won't be runnin' scared from these bastards but I'd still rather be safe than sorry. I'd feel better with you and the babies here with everyone else close by while I'm gone."  

"There were more holes?" Elizabeth demanded, her temper rising. Who was doing this?!  

"Yeah. Two of them in the fences where we were keeping the two hundred head for the army." Brody looked toward Nick, Wendell, Frank and Kent who were standing around the two hundred head of cattle all crammed into their largest corral. Brody had decided against taking Thomas when the new holes had been discovered... but not because of the holes.

"Brody, there is something else you're not telling me, I can see it in your eyes," Elizabeth warned as she lay her hand upon his scared cheek, "You better get to telling me now."  

"Whoever it was left a letter warning me that we'd burn in hell for allowing those abominations to live here and that they were going to be the ones to send us there."  

"They threatened our lives?!" Elizabeth gasped, her hand instantly going to the revolver on her hip as she looked at her children tossing a leather covered ball back and forth.  

"Yes," Brody's voice was tight with tension and temper.  

"Do you have any ideas who it might be?" Elizabeth asked.  

Brody pulled a piece of folded paper from his pocket and handed it to her. Elizabeth read the letter so full of hatred toward her family and her newest ranch hand and his man. She could not believe that one person could harbor such ill-will toward anyone. And she was also fairly certain she recognized the handwriting.  

"That looks like Burt's handwriting," she swallowed hard as she handed the letter back to her husband, "You gotta take that to Ty and tell him I said so."  

"Dammit, boss, this is ridiculous. I have a reputation around here of being a man that no one wants to fool around with and these fucking men, because I'm convinced he ain't doing this alone given that I saw at least two or three different sets of tracks, are trying to make a fool out of me."  

"Did they hurt any of the cattle?" Elizabeth questioned.  

"They killed three."  

"Brody, this has to stop!" Elizabeth clenched her hands. "Take that letter to Ty and see what he says. At the very least Burt can be locked up a while and I'm sure you can convince him to leave town.... Wait, he would know about this order, Brody and he would know that you were going tonight! You don't think he's going to come after you while you're on the road do you?"  

"I'm plenty capable of looking out for myself, cowgirl. And I want you to keep the kids at the ranch house tonight and do the same."  

Elizabeth nodded, knowing that she would do as her husband asked because there was no way she'd leave Ellie, Thomas, Sally, Eli and Max alone, "You need to have a long talk with Burt, Brody, and convince him to leave this town."  

Brody growled and shook his head, "He has threatened my family and killed some of my cattle, I can promise you now that he won't be leaving town on foot; it'll be in a pine box."

---

"Aiden, you better watch yourself," Nick warned, as he prepared to leave the ranch and take the cattle into town. This was the last thing he wanted to do. With the dead cattle, the holes in the fence and that hate spewed letter, Nick wanted to keep Aiden right where he could see him and protect him with his life if need be.	

"

I’ll , be fine, Nick. There’s plenty of us here and I doubt they’d actually attack the ranch house anyhow. They’d be signing their own death warrant if they did something like that,“ Aiden assured him and then he swallowed hard, “You take your own advice and watch yourself.”

"I have Brody," Nick grinned, "Nothing and no one will mess with us."  

Nick saw a smile pull at Aiden's lips but he knew the man was still scared. So with a heavy heart Nick swallowed his own fear and put on a brave face, "It's all gonna be just fine, Aiden. I'm sure this ain't nothing but talk from some men that are pissed off.'  

"They killed three of those cattle," Aiden reminded him. "That's more than just talk."

"Killing cattle is a lot different from killing men, Aiden. And killing a man isn't something I think Burt has in him."  

Aiden swallowed hard and gave Nick's hand a quick squeeze despite the eyes on them from a distance, "I hope not. You better come on back to me, Nick."  

"Always," Nick assured him and then onlookers be damned Nick stooped down and pressed a quick kiss to Aiden's jaw before throwing himself up into his saddle and leaving him behind. All Nick could do now was pray that somehow Aiden would stay safe and that Nick would keep his word and come back to him—all of this worry just because they each loved a man. Life simply wasn't fair.  

---

"It's only a couple of hours before dawn and all is still quiet," Cookie grumbled as the hound at his feet snorted. "Let's just get us some sleep, Aiden, I don't think there's anything gonna happen tonight."  

"I'd say you're right," Aiden agreed. He was exhausted and no longer feared an attack on the ranch house tonight. Thomas had already gone back into the ranch house so he seemed to have decided all was quiet as well. Aiden was beginning to believe that Nick had been right and Burt was only trying to scare them all and really was no real threat.  

He stepped into the bunkhouse with Cookie and realized that everyone else had long since gone to sleep. Truthfully it was more worry over Nick that had Aiden sitting up than fear that anything would happen here. Aiden hadn't realized how hard it would be to go an entire night without looking into Nick's eyes as he fell asleep.  

Aiden slid off the gun belt that Brody had given him to wear, pulled off his boots and then climbed onto his cot and pulled the blanket over him. Sleep claimed his weary body much more quickly than he had thought it would and it didn't take long before his snores joined the others.  

Aiden wasn't sure how much time had passed when the sound of crashing glass had him jerking awake and leaping to his feet.  

Then he smelled the smoke and felt the heat. A gunshot sounded. Aiden heard scream and cries of shock coming from the beds around him and also from the ranch house.  

The bunkhouse was on fire. Someone had thrown a lit bottle of whiskey into the bunkhouse and the dried wood was going up in flames quickly.  

"Get out of here!" Vance yelled. "Get some water!"  

Aiden grabbed up his gun belt and ran from the bunkhouse only to skid to a stop when he realized the ranch house was going up in flames as well.  

Instantly he forgot about the bunkhouse and ran to save the people he knew were inside. Yellow and orange flames danced inside the broken first story windows. Aiden heard screams of fear from inside the house and knew instantly it was the children.  

He didn't even have to think about what he was doing charging up onto the porch and busting through the front door. Thomas was coming out with Sally wrapped in his arms while she fought frantically against him,  

"I have to help get the children!" she screamed.  

"I will help get the children! You stay out here and out of the smoke!" Thomas shot back.  

"Who did this?" Aiden demanded. Horses began screaming and panicking due to the heavy scent of smoke coming from the bunkhouse and ranch house. Men were yelling and filling buckets of water to attempt to save the main house. Aiden could hear Elizabeth shouting inside and the unmistakable sound of Lexi sobbing.  

"I saw two men on horseback ride off that way," Thomas pointed toward town, the anger flashing in his scarred eye was like a bolt of lightning and his cheek tightened causing the scar across it to jump and twist. "I got a shot off but they kept going."  

Aiden nodded and then ran into the house. The smoke was thick and his eyes began to water as his lungs burned. Flames were devouring the curtains and the heavy English furniture. Family portraits on wall were beginning to curl and burn. Aiden saw Elizabeth coming back down the hallway with Lexi clutched in her arms while Bryant hung onto her pants leg.  

"Where's......" Aiden regretted the breath he had taken as soon as the smoke flooded his lungs and he began to cough. The sour scent and taste of it nearly made him gag. "Where's Nathan and Max?" he whispered hoarsely.  

"The bedroom you and Nick stayed in. I couldn't get the handle to open! I'm going to take them out and come back....." It was clear that Elizabeth was scared and Lexi was screaming in her arms.  

"I'll get them," Aiden promised. He ran down the hall, keeping his arm over his mouth and nose to try to filter out some of the heat and smoke from the air.  

"Help!" he heard Nathan call out from behind the closed door he was heading for. Thicker smoke was rolling out from beneath it.  

"I'm here!" Aiden assured the frightened boy. He reached out to grab the handle and yanked his hand back when he felt the heat radiating from the metal.  

"There is fire in here!" Max screamed.  

"Can you get to the window?" Aiden demanded.  

"No!" came Nathan's frightened response.  

Aiden glanced around and saw a decorative cloth lying over a tiny table. He grabbed it, wrapped  it around his hand and then reached for the handle again.  

He cried out with pain as the metal seared his skin but he turned the knob and managed to open the door, though he had to throw his shoulder against it as the heat was causing the wood to change shape and buckle.  

Through watery eyes, Aiden saw the boys inside and he motioned to them with his free hand before yanking his other off the red hot handle and leaving skin behind.  

"Get out of here!" Aiden rasped through his burning lungs. It was clear that whoever had done this, Aiden had no doubts it had been Burt and whoever he'd convinced to go along with him, had thrown a burning bottle directly into this room—the room that Nick and Aiden had been using the last time Burt had been here.  

Rage filled Aiden as he got Max and Nathan outside and saw the chaos of men passing buckets, fighting flames and attempting to calm prize horses before they injured themselves.  

Instantly Elizabeth and Sally ran to the boys and wrapped them up tight. "Are you okay?" Sally asked as she tipped her head toward Aiden's hand.  

"Yeah... where's Ellie?"  

Elizabeth glanced around as if realizing for the first time that the other woman wasn't there. Her green eyes were wide as she glanced at the burning house and as if on cue the sound of a baby crying came from inside.  

Aiden saw Thomas mounting a horse, "Where are you going?" he demanded.  

"After whoever did this," Thomas replied.  

"I'll go with you but first help me get Ellie and Eli, they're still in there."  

Thomas nodded and the two men ran into the house. The flames were consuming the stairs but the men didn't pause before jogging up them and taking them two at a time. Thankfully the flames had not made their way to the second story yet but the smoke was still thick.  

Eli's cries were louder here and coming from the bedroom. "Ellie!" Thomas called out.  

A moan was the only answer to his cry other than Eli's screams and wails. Aiden tried the door but it was locked, he looked at Thomas the other man nodded before kicking the door hard and sending it flying open with a splintering of wood.  

The two men burst into the room and Aiden saw Ellie lying on the floor. It appeared that she had fallen and struck her head against the hope chest at the foot of her bed. She was beginning to stir around and Aiden pointed for Thomas to help her since he was the strongest out of the two of them.  

Aiden ran to Eli and scooped the terrified boy up into his arms, nearly crying out as his burned hand rubbed against Eli's nightdress. Eli's sobs quieted and he gave a loud sniff, 

‘Ogee?’ he whimpered.

"Yeah, Ogee's got you," Aiden assured the boy. He grabbed a shirt off the back of the arm chair and threw it over the boys head to protect him from the smoke before dashing back out of the room with Thomas behind him.  

The fire was worse and Aiden could feel it burning the air from his arms and singing his skin. His lungs were burning terribly and as soon as they hit the fresh air outside he began to cough loudly.  

"What happened to her?!" Elizabeth demanded as Thomas sat an addled Ellie on the ground a safe distance from the house.  

"I... I fell..." Ellie replied her frantic blue eyes falling on Eli and then filling with relief. She held out her arms and Aiden placed the boy in them.  

Aiden looked down at his blackened forearms covered in soot and knew that his face matched. Thomas grabbed his shoulder, "We need to get going. Are you coming?"  

"Yes," Aiden replied with a nod.  

"I should come...." Elizabeth began but Aiden shook his head.  

"You stay here and look after the children. They need you right now."  

Elizabeth nodded as she dropped to her knees and held Lexi and Bryant tightly. Nathan stood behind her with his hand on her shoulder. Thomas and Aiden wasted no more time. They quickly saddled Aiden's horse and then sped off into the night. Aiden simply followed Thomas who seemed to be tracking the men who had done this, though Aiden had no idea how he did so with only a small sliver of moonlight to see by. While they made their way Aiden could only hope and pray that Nick and the others were okay.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

Nick was feeling uneasy. He wasn't sure what was causing the uneasy feeling in his gut but it was there and it was gnawing at him. The cattle were quiet, the stars were shining and the crickets were chirping. He was keeping watch while everyone else slept and it would only be an hour or so before dawn began to arrive.  

Nick scratched at his stubble covered jaw and realized he was in desperate need of a shave. He could see the lights from the oil lamps in town but town itself was quiet and dead. No one was out this late—or early depending on how you looked at it.  

Standing from the boulder he'd been seated upon Nick stretched out his legs. He rubbed at the aching muscles in his thighs and wondered what was happening at the ranch. Was Aiden okay? Was he sleeping soundly in the bunkhouse? That thought caused Nick's arms to ache with the longing to hold him.

Nick let out a sigh and decided to hop on his horse to make a trip around the peaceful herd. He swung himself up into the saddle and that's when he heard the gunshot. There was a pause, a lapse in time itself as his brain tried to understand and put together the sound with the fiery pain now filling his chest.  

He tried to take a breath but his lungs pushing against his ribs nearly caused a cry of pain to leave his lips before his head began to swim. He could feel blood soaking his shirt and vest as he clung to his horse.  

He was aware of the cattle growing restless and the shouts of men around him. He heard someone shout that the shot had come from a rifle at long range and no one knew exactly where the shooter had been. He was aware of Brody hollering as he ran toward him.  

Nick put a hand to his chest and then pulled it away, staring dumbfounded at the blood coating it.  

"Dammit, Nick, snap out of it!" Brody's angry voice growled as he smacked Nick's leg and Nick looked down at him.  

"I've been shot," Nick whispered. He couldn't breathe very well because the pain in his chest was overwhelming.  

"I can see that," Brody replied as his brow shot up. "It's low down and to the side so your heart is fine. And you seem to be breathing alright so it didn't get your lung. Reckon you can ride into town of do I need to pack you?"  

Nick glared at Brody. He was in a lot of damn pain and Brody acted as if this was nothing to be worried about. He was bleeding from his goddamn chest! That was definitely something to be worried about! Slowly Nick nodded as he clasped one hand tight over his wound and grabbed his reins with the other, "Yeah..."  

Brody hopped on the horse that Nick hadn't even realized he'd been leading, "Come on then. The doc'll need to take a look at that cuz the bullet must still be in there. Trapped in a rib if I were a betting man."  

"You a doc now?" Nick gasped through gritted teeth. Every step his horse took sent shockwaves of pain throughout his body.  

"Nope," Brody's eyes were narrowed but it was clear to Nick that he was focused on every single movement around them. "I've just been shot a time or two. You could say that I'm pretty damn familiar with that territory."  

Wendell came galloping up beside them, "I left Frank and Kent to watch over the herd but they ain't none too happy about it. I'm gonna ride up to where I think that shot came from and see what I can find."  

"You better be damned careful," Brody warned. "Of course I reckon they're gone. They would have shot at us at least once more if they planned on sticking around."  

"I was the only one they wanted," Nick cut in weakly. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open as blood ran freely between his fingers.  

"Don't you worry, Nick. I'm gonna find out who shot you and I'll pay the bastard back," Brody assured him.  

Wendell broke away from them and Brody led Nick down into town, where Ty and LeRoy were just coming out on saddled horses, "What the hell happened?" Ty demanded.  

"Exactly what it looks like happened," Brody replied. "Someone shot him."  

"What for? What did he do?"  

"Why do you think he did anything?" Brody questioned with a touch of anger in his voice. Nick glanced up to see Ty with a look of uncertainty, fear and a little disgust in his eyes as he looked back at Nick. Nick knew that look. Someone had told him the truth about what Nick was and who he loved.  

Nick wanted to tell him and Brody both to simply shut up but he was too weak now to talk. All of his concentration was going into simply staying in the saddle and staying awake.  

"Folks don't just go around shooting other folks for no reason," Ty replied to Brody's question.  

Brody clicked his tongue and moved closer to Nick, grabbing his arm and helping to hold him steady. Nick moaned a thank you because he knew he would have slid from the saddle if Brody hadn't noticed his sudden weakness.  "Ty, no offense meant to you but it's been my life experience that folks do just exactly that most of the time. Now why don't you head on up to the cows and find Wendell. He's gonna try to find the man that did this."  

With that Brody urged his and Nick's horses faster and left Ty behind.  

Nick's eyes continued to slip closed and he was running out of the strength to pull them back apart. He kept seeing Aiden's face in his mind and knew he had to stay alive for him. Aiden needed him and Nick couldn't let him down, though even if he did die, at least he had given Aiden something real and made the man see that what he was wasn't bad. Aiden would find love again someday........

"Come on, Nick, ya gotta stay awake," Brody urged roughly.  

Nick was trying but he'd lost too much blood and was in too much pain. Slowly, as if he were moving through tar, he slid sideways and felt himself falling as his world went black.  

---

"Susie...." Susie heard the voice calling to her and she laughed lightly when warm breath tickled her ear. "Susie, are you awake?"  

"I am now," she mumbled as she turned on her pillow and smiled at the anxious face of her husband.  

"You said you needed a couple of hours of sleep and that was at three," Ryder slid his hand beneath the covers and Susie trembled when she felt those calloused fingertips dance across her soft thigh. "and now it's five so that's been a couple of hours."  

"Haven't you had enough, Ryder?" Susie asked sleepily, though she already knew what his answer would be.  

"Not of you," Ryder replied as he shook his head and Susie laughed as he disappeared beneath the covers, though her laughter quickly faded and turned to moans and sighs as his lips danced over her most private places.  

Susie gripped the sheets roughly in her hands, loosing herself quickly in Ryder's kisses. Yes she was tired, exhausted really, but Ryder made her feel so good and he desired her so strongly at all times that she never could tell him no. It still amazed her just how badly the man craved to be with her when it hadn't been very long ago that she had been certain no man would ever even want to look at her; the overweight woman with dark freckles and plain hair.... She certainly didn't feel that way any longer. Ryder looked at her every time he saw her, even if she had only left the room for five minutes, as if she were the most beautiful and treasured sight he had ever seen.  

Then just as suddenly as he had disappeared beneath the covers, he was jumping out of them and hopping into his pants as he went to the window. "What's going on?" Susie gasped.  

"Get dressed, Susie, we got trouble," Without another word, Ryder grabbed his gun belt and hopped out the window.  

Susie heard the hooves and the wagons then. She heard the murmuring of a lot of voices. She recognized some of her family and she wondered why they would be riding up before dawn. Quickly she got out of bed and slid into her nightdress and robe before walking through the home she shared with Ryder, lighting a lantern and stepping outside.  

She gasped at the sight of her family and most of the remaining Atkinson hands in the lantern light. Everyone was covered in soot and ash and it appeared that at least Ellie had been crying.  

"What's going on?" Ryder demanded as he slid an arm around Susie's waist.  

"Someone attacked the ranch house. They burned it and the bunkhouse to the ground—we couldn't save them," Elizabeth replied sounding exhausted. She had Lexi and Bryant curled up to her legs in the wagon seat and Nathan was beside her.  

"Are you okay?!" Susie gasped.  

"A little singed but that's about it," Sally replied comfortingly. Susie looked at her twin and saw that Max had his head in her lap and appeared sound asleep as she stroked his hair.  

"Does Brody know yet?" Susie asked.  

"No," Elizabeth shivered, "And Lord have mercy on those bastard's souls when he does find out."  

"Where's Aiden and Thomas?" Ryder spoke up. Susie noticed he was much more still than usual but a glance at him told her that was because he was on high alert and ready to protect her.  

"They followed the tracks of whoever started the fire," Ellie whispered before coughing violently and then wincing. She laid a hand over her stomach and Susie could tell she was in pain. Pain from what however, Susie didn't know.... Smoke perhaps? Eli whimpered in her arms and Ellie kissed his brow.  

"We're heading into town to find the men that were with the cattle and tell them what happened. We wanted to warn you and Ryder so you could be on the lookout." Elizabeth said.  

"Give me five minutes to get dressed and we'll come with you," Susie countered. "I wouldn't be able to stand being here knowing you all are in trouble."  

---

Aiden could feel his anger growing along with his nerves as he and Thomas rode along in silence. He was angry that it appeared they were losing the trail of the men who had set fire to the ranch and yet nervous about finding them. What would happen? Aiden had a gun now but that didn't mean he knew how to use it... maybe he had bitten off a bit more than he could chew. Then he remembered the fear in Nathan and Max's eyes and the way Eli had screamed and clung to him and he knew that he would do what had to be done. That was his family and he would protect them—just the same as Brody had protected him. 	

His hand was burning terribly and the pain was nearly unbearable and didn't help relieve any of his nerves or anger.  It was red and raw and the skin was burned, blistered and twisted. Not only that but every breath burned from the smoke that was in his lungs.  

"Dammit, Aiden, we're shit out of luck at finding them this way," Thomas growled as he jerked off his hat and smacked it against his leg.  

"Why?" Aiden asked hoarsely, glancing around and realizing they were actually approaching town.  

"Because the bastards went straight into town and the tracks are getting too mixed up with all the other tracks."  

"Well we already know Burt had something to do with this," Aiden shrugged, though he was frustrated as well, "It'll just be a matter of finding him and making sure he pays for it."  

"Pays for it?" Thomas questioned.  

"Yeah," Aiden replied, bristling at the amusement he could hear in Thomas's voice.  "He could have killed a whole house full of women and children. He's got to be one heck of a coward to do something like that. I might not be a real tough man the way you, Nick and Brody are but, dammit, I'm not a coward like that."  

Aiden glanced over at Thomas and saw the respect in the other man's eyes. It shocked him. "No, you're not a coward," Thomas acknowledged. "Thank you for saving my son and my nephew."

"Uh..sure," Aiden replied.  

Thomas shifted in the saddle, "The cattle are on the rise at the other side of town. Let's ride over there and tell Brody what happened, I ain't real eager to do it but it's gotta be done."  

Aiden nodded, sitting up a little straighter as he did so. It was a nice thing, he decided, being treated as one of the men by the other men.  

As they approached the herd they realized something was wrong. Frank and Kent were the only men they could see around it other than Ty and his deputy Leroy and everyone seemed agitated.  

"What's going on?" Thomas demanded when they came close enough to be heard. Aiden felt fear gripping his heart. Where was Nick? Something bad had happened... he just knew it had.  

"Aiden, Thomas! What are y'all doing in town?" Frank asked quickly.  

"And why are you covered in... is that ash? And you smell like a fire pit." LeRoy added, wrinkling his nose.  

"The ranch house was attacked," Thomas growled. "But everyone is fine. Where are Brody, Nick and Wendell?"  

Wendell came galloping up then and it was clear he was angry, "I couldn't find the bastard. I'm no good at tracking and without any solid idea of where that shot came from I stand a better chance of riding a pissed off bull than finding the man."  

"Gunshot?" Aiden whispered. The eyes of every man around landed on him and he shifted in his saddle as his throat tightened, "Where is Nick?" No one answered him. "Where the hell is Nick?" he yelled hoarsely, his lungs burning.  

"He.. he was shot, Aiden," Wendell replied quietly. "It uh.. It looked pretty bad."  

"But he rode into town on his own!" Frank quickly let him know. "He was awake."  

Aiden stopped hearing them as each person began to speak at once. About Nick. About who had fired the shot. About what had happened at the ranch.  

Aiden could only imagine Nick dying in a pool of blood without seeing him one last time. Quickly he tightened his hold on the reins with his good hand, squeezed the mares sides and let out a yell to urge her forward; racing as if the hounds of hell themselves were on his heels to reach his man.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Aiden could smell the coppery scent of blood as he entered the doctors home. It was thick in the air and it hung in the back of his burnt throat causing his stomach to roll. He had never been here before but it wasn't hard to find Nick and Brody.  

He just followed the sound of the worried whispers and the grunts and moans of pain. His legs nearly buckled when he walked into the tiny room off the side of the sitting room and took in the scene. The doctor was standing over Nick with his shirtsleeves rolled up and his forearms drenched in blood. Brody was holding down Nick with a frown on his scarred face and Nick......  

Nick was pale, nearly colorless and he had a strip of leather held between his teeth while the doctor fished around in a wound low on his chest. Every muscle in Nick tensed. His tendons popped and his face contorted with pain as he clenched his teeth down on that leather as hard as he could. Blood fell with steady drips into a pan on the floor beneath the wooden table Nick was lying on.  

"Nick....?" Aiden managed to whisper hoarsely, both smoke and emotion constricting his voice.  

"What the hell are you doing here?" Brody snapped as Nick nearly surged off the table at the sound of Aiden's voice.  

"He needs to get out of here. This is no place for a gathering!" Doctor Montgomery ordered as he shoved his forceps into the hole in Nick's torso. Aiden had never much liked the sight of blood... as a matter of fact a simple cut that bled caused his head to swim and his vision to blur. This room and the men in it were coated with the sticky red substance that had the power to nearly render him unconscious.   

"Aiden, answer me! Why are you here and why are you covered in ash?" Brody asked again.  

Aiden met Nick's gray eyes. Nick's eyes were glazed over with pain but Aiden knew that he saw him. Somehow his legs carried him toward the table and Nick's eyes followed his movements. Aiden was certain he saw Nick's body relax slightly but all Aiden could concentrate on was the blood—there was too much of Nick's blood in this room; there couldn't be much left in Nick.  

"Aiden!" Brody yelled but it was at that moment that Elizabeth came bursting in. Her eyes were wide and then she saw her husband and let out a cry of shock before grabbing the wall for support.  

"Brody, thank God it's not you....." Her face reddened as she looked over to Aiden, "Sorry, Aiden! I didn't mean that the way it sounded."  

Aiden simply shrugged and took Nick's hand that was reaching for him.  

"Everyone needs to clear out!" Doctor Montgomery ordered again. "This man is close to death and I need to be able to concentrate."  

"I got him, Brody," Wendell said as he stepped into the room and took Brody's place holding Nick down.  

Brody instantly rushed to his wife's side, "What the hell is going on?"  

"The ranch was attacked," Elizabeth whispered, "But everyone is okay... no one has anything life threatening wrong."  

"What do you mean attacked?" Brody asked, his voice smooth and full of a deadly ice that made Aiden shiver.  

"They set fire to the house while we were all asleep. It's gone, Brody," Elizabeth replied, a tear dangling on her lashes.  

Nick let out an extra loud grunt of pain and the doctor swiped his blood stained forearm across his brow, "Everyone out except Wendell!"  

"I'm not leaving," Aiden countered as he stooped lower, looked deep into Nick's eyes and squeezed his hand.  

"Brody, get him out of here," Doctor Montgomery grumbled.  

Brody headed toward Aiden and Aiden saw red. He would not be made to leave Nick's side. This was his soul mate lying here on this table bleeding out and Aiden was going to be right here holding his hand. Brody reached for Aiden and Aiden released his hold on Nick's hand and pulled his gun, thankful that he still had use of his right hand and had burnt his left.  

He aimed the revolver into Brody’s chest and shook his head, “I won’t leave him, Brody,”

“He..has to stay,” Nick managed to choke out around the leather strap in his mouth.

Aiden saw something in Brody’s eyes then. Some kind of understanding dawned within their green depths as he gazed from Aiden to Nick and then he nodded and took a step back with his arms raised.

“Did he really just pull his gun on you?” Elizabeth demanded.

Brody shrugged, “I would pull my gun on any damn person that tried to pull me away from your side too, cowgirl. The way I see it those men love each other just as damn much. Now let’s go outside and you can tell me about what happened at the ranch.”

Aiden then found himself, Wendell and the doctor alone with Nick. Aiden ignored both the other men and focused only on the one lying on the table. This man was everything to him. He was the reason for Aiden’s hope and renewed happiness.

Nick was his life. Every thought he ever had included Nick. Every decision he made was with Nick in mind. Every step he took, he wanted Nick right beside him taking the same step. He couldn’t lose this man; his soul-mate, the love of his life.

“Nick,” Aiden whispered with tears on his cheeks as he clutched Nick’s hand, “Nick, you have to pull through this, honey. You can’t die on me.”

Nick’s eyes remained locked on his but Aiden could see that he was struggling to keep them open. “Nick….” Aiden swallowed hard as he fought back the sobs that threatened to claim him. “I love you, Nick. I love you so much.. Thank you for loving me back.”

Aiden felt Nick’s hand squeeze his again and then slowly his gray eyes lost their focus and began to slip closed. Aiden shook his arm and cried out his name but it was no use. Nick’s grip on his hand fell loose and Aiden broke down in body-quaking sobs as he collapsed to the wooden floor with Nick’s blood quickly soaking through his pants.

---

"I'm going to kill them all," Brody growled as he clenched his fists and glared toward the rising sun.  

"Brody, you don't even know who did this," Ty reminded him.  

Brody glared at the other man. Ty was really beginning to piss him off. Staying on his ass about obeying the law and letting him handle things and then letting his judgments against Nick and Aiden get in the way of him finding justice for Nick.  

Instead of immediately riding out and searching for the man responsible for firing that bullet, Ty had questioned Nick about what 

he had done and then gone and chatted with Frank, Kent and Wendell. Even LeRoy, whom Brody had a hell of a lot of respect for, had disappointed him deeply.

"Let me tell you something, Ty, I gave you that goddamn job you have now because I thought you were a decent man that would uphold justice and kick ass when it needed to be kicked," Brody ground out as he clenched his fists and stood toe to toe with the man.  

Sally, Ellie, Susie and all the children were currently at the hotel getting cleaned up and resting. All the remaining ranch hands other than Wendell, Frank and Kent had gone back to the ranch to tend to the animals. LeRoy had gone back down to the jail and everyone else was still standing out beside the docs waiting on someone to step out and tell them Nick's fate.  

"I'm a damn good sheriff, Brody," Ty indignantly assured him. "I swore to uphold the law and that's what I'll do. You show me proof and I'll be glad to arrest those responsible and hold them for the judge.  I won't have vigilante justice in my town."  

"Bullshit," Thomas snapped.  

"Arrest them?!" Ryder shook his head and walked in circles around the group, drumming his fingertips on his thighs as he did so, "They could have killed all those youngin's, Ty. How can you be so blind to that? It doesn't seem like you. Those men deserve a couple punches to the jaw and some bullets to the head and you know it."  

"Look," Ty held up his hands. "I'm just as upset about what happened at the ranch as everybody else but no one was hurt too badly. And the way I see it, Brody pretty much brought this on himself and his family when he chose to take 

their side and keep men like that around his ranch.“

Anger erupted all around them but Brody ignored everyone else's exclamations. He focused instead on Ty only, "Those men in there love one another, Ty. They love each other just the same as I love Elizabeth and you love Liza. We might not completely understand the how of it but then again I don't see how Susie puts up with his ass—" Brody hooked his finger toward Ryder who was now balancing himself on the banisters of the doc's porch, "—or how the boss puts up with me so there's lots of things in this world I don't 

understand . That don’t mean I turn my nose up at it and turn a blind eye to people attacking innocent folks.“

Ty swallowed hard but held Brody's gaze, "I didn't turn a blind eye to anything. No one even knew where that shot had come from and Thomas himself said that the tracks led here to town and became lost."  

"I'm sure he did what he could," Liza agreed as she laid her hand over her stomach and stood beside her husband. Brody could tell that Liza was just as angry and annoyed by Ty's words as everyone else but in true Texan woman fashion she was standing beside her man—at least until they were behind closed doors where she would more than likely set him straight in a hurry.

"And now I'm going to tell you something else—" Brody growled as he stepped closer and put his finger in Ty's chest, right up against the shining badge he wore there, "I am going to find Burt and I'm going to find out who he had working with him and I'm going to kill every goddamned son of a bitch responsible for what happened tonight. That was my fucking family that nearly burned to death and a good friend of mine is lying in there possibly dying for no good reason other than his preferences make other small minded, good for nothing, judgmental bastards such as yourself uncomfortable. And if you even think about getting in my way I'll tear that fucking badge right off your chest and claim it back because you wouldn't even have it if not for me."  

"Wow, Brody, I didn't know you could make such heart felt speeches," Ryder grinned.  

"Heart felt?!" Ty demanded. "It just sounded like a bunch of curses and threats to me."  

"Yep," Ryder hopped down off the banister, "And he meant every one of them with all his heart."  

Brody shook his head then and took a step back as Elizabeth came to stand in front of him and leaned her back against his chest. He wrapped her up tight in his arms not caring that she smelled of smoke and ash any more than she cared that he was covered in Nick's blood. They just wanted to hold one another.  

“What is this, Ryder? You’re siding with Brody instead of your own brother?” Ty demanded, hurt plain to be heard in his voice.

Ryder stood straight and laid his hand over his heart, "I stand on the side of justice. Vigilante, let's-kick-some-ass justice."  

Ty sighed, "Somehow this got turned into something it's not," he stated as he took Liza's hand in his and squeezed it. "Now I don't approve of what Nick and Aiden apparently are but that doesn't mean I want them dead or harassed or threatened in my town. And I'm just as pissed off over that ranch house being attacked as the rest of you are. I want those responsible to pay but I have to look at this from the standpoint of an officer of the law. This badge tells me that those men deserve a fair trial and then either prison or the gallows. My gut tells me that Ryder's right and they need a couple punches and some bullets."  

Brody shrugged, "Just do what I tended to do."  

"And what's that?" Ty questioned as he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.  

"Keep that badge in your pocket—it's the only way to shut it up."  

The door to Doctor Montgomery's house opened and everyone turned an expectant gaze to Wendell who stepped outside. He looked tired as he walked to the steps and then flopped himself down on the top one.  

"Well how is he?!" Elizabeth exclaimed.  

"Alive, but just barely. He slipped unconscious again and the doc says it's from blood loss and pain. There's not much doc can do for him now. He got the bullet out but the rest is up to Nick," Wendell replied sadly. "Honestly I don't think it looks too good."  

"Where's Aiden?" Elizabeth asked as she bit at her lip. Brody squeezed her tighter.  

Wendell shook his head, "He won't leave Nick's side. He's got a pretty bad injury himself and the doc is trying to tend to his burnt up hand before infection sets in."  

Brody felt his jaw tighten. The ranch house gone, his wife and children scared to death and filled with smoke, Nick shot up and maybe dying and Aiden with a burnt up hand and threat of infection—it was all too much. Somebody was going to die and they were going to die very soon.  

"Those bastards are still in this town?" Brody ground out.  

"Yep, their tracks led right here," Thomas agreed. "I tracked them myself."  

Brody nodded, "Then I say it's time to find that bastard Burt and have a talk with him."  

"I doubt he's just going to open up and talk to you," Ryder warned as he juggled rocks.

 Juggling? Honestly? Brody sometimes had his doubts about that man his sister had married, "Don't you worry, Ryder," Brody flashed a cold grin. "I have my ways of making a man talk."  

A train whistle blew in the distance, "I'll ride up to Frank and Kent and we'll get them cattle loaded up for you, Brody," Wendell stated as he stood. Brody wanted to tell him not to worry about it but with the ranch house and bunk house gone he knew they needed all the money they could get—that and he wasn't about to let those bastards win and cause him to lose the contract with the army.  

"I just thought of something...." Elizabeth began.  

"What?" Brody asked.  

"Brody, Jacob was coming back today and he sent a telegram saying he was coming on the earliest train. He'll be with this train and he has no idea that anything has happened while he's been gone."  

"Well he's gonna be good and pissed off then, ain't he?"

Chapter twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jacob ran hard and fast to the hotel with Elizabeth calling for him to calm down. He ignored her. His wife and his son had been in a fire. His wife had passed out and nearly died. Aiden and Thomas had saved them both from dying of either smoke inhalation or flames. Not only that but cattle had been killed, his home was gone, a ranch hand had been shot and may die.... Jacob had a feeling even more had happened while he'd been away but no one had said what and he wasn't taking the time now to listen.  

That was the last time he volunteered to go to Austin to secure cattle contracts.  

He ran up the narrow staircase to the room that Elizabeth had told him Ellie and Eli were sleeping in alone. He tried the knob but the door was locked so he knocked loudly, "Ellie?! Ellie, honey, open this door."  

It only took seconds for the door to open and Ellie was throwing herself into his chest. Jacob wrapped her up tightly, moved into the room and closed the door with his foot. His eyes found Eli. The boy was sitting in the floor in nothing but a cloth diaper with a leather belt in his hands that he was gnawing at it with all he was worth as drool ran down his chin in rivulets.  

Jacob rubbed at Ellie's back and kissed her hair which was still damp from the bath she must have taken, "Ellie, I'm so sorry I wasn't here."  

"It's okay," Ellie whispered and Jacob felt hot tears soaking into his black dress shirt. He frowned. Crying? Ellie was not much of a crier. She was too tough for tears most of the time and he just couldn't see a fire, even a scary one that almost claimed her and Eli's life, reducing her to tears like this.  

"Ellie?" Jacob pulled away from her as Eli got to his feet and hobbled over on his chubby legs, reaching for Jacob.  

"Dadadadadada!" the boy squealed and Jacob felt his heart constrict in his chest as he scooped his son up and kissed his slobber coated cheek.  

He then turned his attention back to his wife. She had always had pale, porcelain skin but right now it was deathly white. She had a welted bump on her brow, dark circles marred the skin around her red, swollen eyes and her expression was drawn, tight and full of sorrow, "Ellie, talk to me...."  

"I..." her voice broke and she sniffed loudly before crossing her arms tight around her middle, "I lost it, Jacob."  

Jacob pulled off his hat and tossed it into the chair when Eli began to try to chew on it, "Ellie, I don't understand. Are you talking about the house? I'm not worried about the house, honey, I'm just glad the two of you are okay....."  

"Not the house, Jacob!" Ellie practically screamed.  

Jacob took a step back and nodded, “Okay….” What was wrong with his wife? “Then tell me what you lost. I’ll replace whatever it was…”

“You can’t just replace it…” her voice broke again and her breath hitched in a sob before she looked up into his eyes with such sadness that his heart broke without knowing why. “The baby, Jacob. I lost the baby.”

“The baby?” Jacob whispered with confusion. What baby?

Ellie nodded and hugged herself tighter, “I’m so sorry…”

Understanding dawned on Jacob and his heart shattered apart in his chest. There had been a baby; his and Ellie’s baby, and now it was gone. Stolen from him before he’d even known it existed. He’d always known he couldn’t keep his family safe and right here was another perfect example of that! He’d been gone and they had needed him. Because he hadn’t been around his unborn child was dead, his son had nearly died and his wife was hurting and in tears.

“Ellie, are you sure?” he whispered through the pain lodged in his throat.

“Yes,” Ellie replied brokenly. “ I don’t know if it was when I fell in the bedroom, or from the smoke or the stress but the baby is gone….I’m sorry, Jacob.“

“Stop saying you’re sorry,” Jacob scolded as he moved Eli to his hip and then pulled Ellie into his arms. “I should have been here.” He kissed her hair again and again as a war of emotions raged in his chest. Anger, sadness, guilt…. Each emotion just as crippling as the next.

“I love you, Ellie,” Jacob choked out as it became impossible to tell if Ellie was clinging to him or if it was Jacob that was clinging to Ellie.

He sat a squirming Eli down and the boy crawled back across the floor to his leather belt and began chewing away once again while squealing and hitting the floor. Jacob led Ellie to the bed and laid down with her, keeping her wrapped protectively in his arms, determined to never let another thing hurt her.

It wasn’t fair. They had tried for so long to have Eli and then, so quickly after, they’d been blessed with another child only to have it ripped away from them before ever even meeting the babe. The sadness began to leave Jacob as rage became all he could focus on.

Suddenly he understood Brody and what made the man tick. Vengeance and a thirst for blood had always been a lifestyle Brody had lived by but had never been things Jacob had believed in. When bad things happened he tended to simply soldier on and move past them instead of seeking retribution. He was a peace loving man who did not like violence and didn’t even wear a gun. Or at least he was normally that man….

Right now however all Jacob wanted was to kill the men who had done this to his family. He wanted to hear them beg for mercy before their lives were ripped away from them just the same as his child’s life had been ripped away.

He was going to be on a mission of vengeance and he knew he wanted his brother by his side as he traveled it because no one knew killing quite as well as Brody.

Jacob held Ellie in his arms until her sobs quieted and her breathing evened out. He knew she had fallen asleep and so he pushed himself from the bed, pulled the covers over her and pressed a gentle kiss to her brow. He scooped Eli up off the floor and then strode from the room, closing the door silently behind him.

He walked to the next room and heard children's voices through the closed door.  He knocked quietly and the door was opened by a surprised Susie. "Jacob!" she exclaimed.

"Hi, Susie," Jacob replied tightly, not feeling very open to conversation. "Ellie is napping and I need you to watch Eli until she wakes up."  

"Of course," Susie replied as she took Eli into her arms and he immediately began grabbing at her hair. "Where are you going?"  

Jacob turned and was already walking away as he replied, "Going to have a talk with Brody."  

---

Aiden sat beside Nick’s bed and simply stared at his drawn and nearly colorless face. Aiden’s hand had been cleaned, covered in ointment and wrapped in clean bandages. The doctor didn’t seem too concerned about the injury and seemed confident that as long as Aiden kept the wound and bandages clean, he would be just fine.

Aiden didn’t care.

All Aiden cared about was lying in this bed and Doctor Montgomery’s prognosis for him was not nearly as bright. Death seemed the most likely end, though Aiden refused to accept that. Nick would be fine. Nick had to be fine.

A light knock on the bedroom door had Aiden sitting up a bit straighter and swiping the back of his hand across his wet cheeks, “Come in…” he rasped. Tears and smoke had wreaked havoc on his voice and his lungs still burned when he breathed.

The door opened and Kaitlyn stepped inside. Her sadness was written all over her face, “How is he?” she whispered as she came to stand at the foot of the bed and laid a gentle hand on the blanket covering Nick’s foot.

“He’s gonna be fine,” Aiden replied quickly.

Kaitlyn nodded, “Of course he is.” She tilted her head, “Are you?”

Aiden felt his heart twist and the pain that coursed through his veins was sharp as if the blade of a knife was driving into him; tearing him apart, “No,” he managed whisper before those damn tears were once again filling his eyes and spilling down his cheeks.

Kaitlyn rushed to him and hugged his neck from behind, “I’m so sorry, Aiden.”

Aiden looked out the window at the daylight and the townsfolk going about their day, “Why, Kaitlyn? Why us? Why Nick? Nick has never hurt anyone in his life. He’s never done anything to cause anyone pain. He’s a good man and he didn’t deserve what they did to him!”

Kaitlyn kissed his tear soaked cheek, “You’re right, he didn’t deserve this and neither did you. I heard about your heroics you know.”

“I’m no hero,” Aiden countered quickly.

He felt Kaitlyn shrug behind him, “That’s not what I heard. Have you told Nick?”

Aiden frowned, “Nick hasn’t been feeling up for much conversation.”

“Well I’ll tell him then,” Kaitlyn released her hold on Aiden and perched herself down on the edge of Nick’s bed, “Nick, according to Thomas our Aiden didn’t even hesitate before running into a burning building twice to save people. Even after he’d burned his hand up he kept going.”

Aiden shifted uncomfortably and ran his hand through his thick, dark hair, wincing at the singed ends.

“If not for Aiden then Nathan and Max probably would have died and maybe even Ellie and Eli….”

The door opened again, interrupting Kaitlyn’s story, and Brody strode into the room. “Burt’s at the saloon and Ty’s fixing to arrest him,” he raised a brow at Aiden, “You coming?”

Aiden was torn. Part of him wanted to see Burt go down but he didn't want to leave Nick alone here just in case the man woke up while he was gone.  

Kaitlyn seemed to notice his dilemma, "Don't you worry none about Nick, Aiden. I'll stay right here and keep him company."  

Aiden nodded as he stood up, dried his face with the collar of his blood and ash stained shirt and looked down at Nick's pale, drawn face. He stooped low and pressed his mouth to Nick's ear, "I love you, Nick." He let his lips graze across Nick's cool cheek and dance over his colorless lips before standing quickly and practically running past Brody and out of the room.  

---

Aiden followed Brody, Jacob, Thomas, Ryder and Ty into the nearly empty saloon.  Not many people came in to drink away their troubles at only a couple of hours after dawn. He could hear Burt before he saw him. "Yeah that's a damn shame what happened out at Atkinson's ranch. Why it's miracle that none of them wound up dead."  

"It's gonna be a miracle if he makes it to jail before Brody shoots his face," Ryder laughed. 	

Burt's head shot up and he turned slowly on his barstool. He took in the sight of the six men standing around him and the mug of beer in his hand began to shake. Aiden saw him swallow hard before gulping down a drink of beer and swiping his forearm over his mouth.  

"Can I help you fine gentlemen?" His gaze landed on Aiden and was so full of hatred that Aiden nearly took a step back. Nearly. The Aiden he'd been just yesterday probably would have retreated but he wasn't that Aiden anymore. Fire, blood and bullets tended to change a person. Aiden simply met his gaze and spoke without words on how greatly he desired to see the other man die—that seemed to take some of the wind right out of Burt's sails.  

"I need you to come on down to the jail, Burt," Ty replied with a tip of his head.  

"What for, sheriff? I didn't have nothing to do with that," Burt glanced at the bartender. " I've been here all night ain't I, Pete?"  

Pete shook his head and continued wiping out the dirty glasses, "I ain't covering for you, Burt, at least not against those fellas," he nodded toward Brody and Thomas. "Burt's only been in here about an hour or so."  

"Why you son of a bitch!" Burt snapped as he slammed his beer down.  

"Come on now, Burt. It's time to head down to the jail. We need you to answer some questions," Ty insisted.  

"I ain't answering no damn questions. I didn't do anything!" Burt exclaimed as he stood and clenched his fists. He took a step toward Ty but Jacob's fist shot out and caught the man in the jaw. Burt stumbled back and after sending Jacob a glare, Ty grabbed the addled man and jerked his hands behind his back.  

"Now we're going to take a nice calm walk down to the jailhouse aren't we, Burt?" Ty questioned as he led him toward the door.  

"You're gonna let your damn posse get away with hitting me like that?" Burt questioned as his lip, which had just been healing from the punch Brody had delivered to it, began bleeding again.  

"Quiet now," Ty jerked his arms. "Let's not cause a scene."  

The six men and their captive walked down the crowded streets and Aiden couldn't help but notice that even when no one was yelling or drawing attention to them, they still somehow managed to get all eyes turned in their direction.  

They stepped into the jailhouse and Ty ordered all three of his deputies to leave and not come back for the day. They seemed a bit disgruntled but it was clear that no one wanted to argue—especially not with a man who was accompanied by Brody and Jacob Atkinson who both appeared angry enough to kill.  

"Brody, you remember all those talks we had about God not wanting you to kill or seek vengeance?" LeRoy asked as he stood in the doorway preparing to leave.  

Brody hooked his thumbs through his belt loops and nodded. “Yep, sure do.”

“Forget them,” with that Leroy left the jail and closed the heavy door behind him. Ty led Burt through another door and to a back portion of the jail full of empty cells. He opened one cell, tossed Burt inside, locked it and then laid the ring of iron keys into Brody’s hand.

Burt began to yell then. He yelled obscenities and threats. Apologies and pleas for his release. Ty just shook his head and met Brody’s gaze, “You do what you need to do, Brody. I’ll be out in the office.”

Ty walked back down the short hall and into the main office, closing that door behind him. Aiden felt his heart beginning to race a little faster as they gathered around Burt’s cell and the caged man fell silent and stared at them in fear.

“Alright now, Burt,” Brody began as he fished around in his pocket. He pulled out a rolled cigarette and a pack of matches. He lit the cigarette and then held the burning match up close to the bars, staring into the flames. “I think it’s time we had a little talk.”

Chapter Twenty-nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Go to hell, Brody Atkinson," Burt spat through his chattering teeth.  

Brody chuckled and tossed down the match before squishing it beneath the toe of his boot, "I probably will but I can guarantee that you're gonna get there first."

 Burt's hand went to his hip and it was clear he planned on pulling his gun and going down quickly while hopefully taking someone with him. Aiden laughed outright at the dumbfounded expression on the other man's face when he found nothing but an empty holster on his gun belt, "Where's my gun?" Burt demanded.

Brody reached to his back and pulled the .38 revolver out of the waistband of his pants. He looped his pinky through the trigger guard and dangled the gun in front of the bars of Burt’s cell, “This gun?”

Burt stumbled back, seeming to realize he was completely at their mercy, “How did you…..”

“I didn’t,” Brody shrugged and put the gun back in his waistband. “My hyperactive brother-in-law did.”

“That would be me,” Ryder tipped his hat with a huge grin on his face as he bowed deeply, “I have many talents and that is but one of them.”

Aiden enjoyed seeing the panic written in Burt’s features. He was trembling, shaking and sweat was forming on his brow, “What do you want?” Burt questioned, the tremors coursing through his body causing his voice to shake.

“Just to talk,” Brody assured him as he slid the key into the lock with a clink of metal on metal.

“And if you believe that I’ve got some ocean front property in California to sell you,” Ryder grinned.

Thomas frowned, “California does have ocean front property.”

Ryder shrugged, “Sure but I don’t own any of it.”

As the cell door opened and the five men advanced into the cell, Burt stumbled backward until he was pressed against the stone wall. His eyes were wide and frantic as they darted back and forth clearly looking for a way to escape.  

Aiden was unsure what to do as he stood there awkwardly. He wanted to see Burt pay but he wasn't certain he had what it took to torture a man himself.  

"Burt, we know you had something to do with the fire at the ranch. Why don't you tell us who was working with you?" Brody asked.  

"I don't know what you're talking about," Burt argued, though the way his tongue nervously shot out and licked his lips said something entirely different.  

Brody nodded and for a moment Aiden thought the other man was going to turn and leave. Then without warning, Brody's fist shot out and he brought that iron ring of keys down hard on Burt's cheek. Burt yelled out in pain as the skin along his jaw split open and blood began to run down his neck.  

"You crazy son of a bitch!" Burt yelled as he held his hands up to protect himself and cowered against the wall.  

"If you already think he's crazy then you're gonna be shittin' bricks in about five minutes," Ryder assured Burt as he reached up and grabbed the ceiling support beam.  

"Did you burn my house down?" Jacob snapped as he stepped forward.  

Burt's eyes went to Aiden and then he swallowed hard and nodded, "Yes. Me and two friends. We were just trying to clean out the riffraff."  

Aiden knew this would get a bad reaction and end with Burt being hurt. What he didn't anticipate was that it would be Jacob doing the hurting.  Jacob let out a guttural roar of anger and threw himself at Burt. The two men crashed against the wall and everyone stood there in a state of shock as Jacob tackled Burt to the ground and began throwing punch after punch.  

The behavior went against everything that Aiden had heard about Jacob and it was clear from everyone else's reaction that it went against what they knew about him as well. The normally peace-loving Jacob seemed intent on killing Burt.  

Brody rushed forward, grabbed Jacob around the waist and hauled him off of Burt, "Easy now, Jacob! He's gonna die today but we need some answers first."  

"Dammit Brody, let me go!" Jacob yelled as he swung for Burt yet again and the man crawled across the floor to the corner, blood pouring from his mouth and nose.  

"Jacob, what's gotten into you?" Brody demanded.  

Jacob spun around and shoved Brody back, "He killed my child, Brody! That man needs to die!"  

Brody shook his head, "Eli's fine, Jacob. What are you talkin' about?" Jacob just clenched his bloodied fists and glared over at Burt with a hatred that made Aiden's blood run cold. Brody's green eyes widened a bit. "Ellie....?"  

"Ellie lost the baby?" Aiden whispered as his heart broke. So much pain. So much destruction and death with possibly even more death on the horizon all because of him and what he was; who he loved.  

"You knew?" Jacob asked accusingly and Aiden nodded.  

"She was sick one day and I blurted out the question.... Jacob, I'm sorry,"  

"He should be sorry, Jacob," Burt spat as he shoved himself to his feet and spit out a long stream of blood. "Why don't you ask him why we did what we did. Ask your brother who he's had living around your wife and your child."  

Jacob turned to Brody, "What is he talking about?"  

Silence reigned and Burt chuckled, though Aiden noticed he was attempting to inch toward the door. Ryder hopped down from the support beam he'd been perched on and landed directly in his way. He grinned and shook his finger at the man, "No, no, no. No running away today, Burt."  

"Brody, tell me what he's talking about. Who did you have around my family?" Jacob demanded.  

"No one dangerous," Brody snapped, "Do you honestly think I'd put your family at risk, Jacob? Your family is my family."  

"Dammit, Brody, you've always been like this! You care about yourself and nobody else. You gotta go around proving how damn tough you are and the rest of us are just collateral damage!"  

"Go to hell, Jacob, and quit snappin' at me just cuz you're hurting," Brody warned.  

"Answer my question then!" Jacob demanded.  

"It's me!" Aiden exclaimed, stepping forward and unable to stand the guilt and everyone yelling any longer.  

Jacob frowned and blinked several times, "You?"  

"What I am," Aiden whispered, swallowing hard and scratching at his cheek.  

"What are you?"  

"A man who loves another man and because of that there are people who want me to suffer and die. Burt would be one of those people." In true Aiden fashion everything came rambling out which left Aiden standing there nearly shaking as badly as Burt as Jacob studied him.  

"That's....." Jacob swallowed hard, "You put my family in danger just so you could stick your pecker in another man?"  

Aiden winced, "Uh....not exactly no," he mumbled. He had never actually been the one to do the sticking.  

Jacob headed toward Aiden looking fully prepared to knock his head off the way he had Burt's when Thomas stepped between them and put a hand on Jacob's chest, "I think you need to take a minute and remember who raced into that burning house and pulled your son out of it, Jacob. Aiden didn't even hesitate before risking his life to save your family."  

Aiden was surprised and humbled by Thomas's words and when Brody nodded and came to stand beside Thomas, Aiden felt his heart constrict a bit, "Jacob, there will be plenty of time to hear your opinion about Aiden's lifestyle later, because Lord knows that your judgmental ass'll have one, but for now we need to worry about who is really to blame and that's Burt and whoever was with him," Brody stated, making it clear that he was not going to accept any arguments.  

"Brody, dammit, I'll tell you what you want to know just don't kill me," Burt stammered quickly when Brody turned his attention back to him.  

"Oh I'm going to kill you," Brody assured him. "Or I'll let Jacob do it since he's so eager to."  

"It was me, Graham and Curly that burnt down the ranch, Brody," Burt's voice was muffled between his swelling lips and his breath whistled a bit through his bleeding nose.  "It wasn't my idea, it was Graham's and I went along with it but I only threw a bottle into the bunkhouse."  

"See, I think you're lying about that," Brody replied with a shrug. He stepped forward and pinned Burt to the wall with nothing but a look.

"I... I'm not!"  

Brody pulled the cigarette from between his lips and held the burning end in front of Burt's face. Aiden saw the other man wince and shrink away as no doubt the heat seared his skin.  "Why don't you tell me the truth, Burt? Jacob deserves to know who killed his child."  

When Burt shook his head, Brody sprung and laid the burning cigarette against his cheek. Burt's screams filled the jail and his fists and legs flailed out though were quickly pinned against the wall by Thomas and Ryder.  

"I didn't know she was with child!" Burt exclaimed, and Brody pulled the cigarette away, leaving a smoking mess of twisted skin on Burt's cheek. "She had plenty of time to get away so it ain't my fault she didn't." Burt was nearly in tears now and was shaking violently. "I threw a bottle into Nick and Aiden's bedroom and one in the bunkhouse. Graham and Curly threw the rest."  

"My son and nephew were in that bedroom, Burt," Brody growled and Burt did begin to cry then.  

"I didn't know! I didn't know your family was gonna be there, Brody!"  

"Who shot Nick?" Aiden suddenly spoke up, turning all attention to him.  

Burt truly seemed confused, "What?"  

"Who shot Nick?" Aiden questioned again, his temper rising.  

"I don't know.... It might have been Garth. He was supposed to help us burn the ranch and backed out. I didn't shoot your man, Aiden, though I would have if I had gotten back to town before Garth had already done it."  

This time it was Aiden's fist connecting with Burt as he drove it deep into his gut and Burt hunched forward with a groan.  

"Alright boys,  I think we've gotten all we're gonna get out of him. Let's leave Jacob to it and go find Graham, Curly and Garth. I think we need to talk to all of them too," Brody spoke up as he headed out the open cell door.

 Thomas, Ryder and Aiden followed Brody out into the main office where Ty was sitting with his feet propped on the desk, "Where's Jacob—" Ty's voice was cut off when a gunshot rang out deafening them all.  

Moments later Jacob stepped into the office with blood splattered across his face, "Dammit, y'all, how am I gonna explain a gunshot inside the jail?" Ty demanded with a shake of his head as he pushed himself to his feet.  

"Hunting rats?" Thomas offered.  

Ryder nodded, "Big rats."  

---

Graham and Curly were easily tracked down as they exited the hotel just moments after Aiden and company left the jail and it was Brody who dealt out his brand of justice to both men when they attempted to draw their guns on them. Ty had been relieved that both those deaths could easily be called self-defense and the undertaker was pleased to have an order for three new coffins.  

However, a thorough search of the town ended with Garth nowhere to be found. It seemed that the man had skipped town.  

Aiden parted ways with Brody and the other men as sunset neared and they all finally admitted they weren't going to find Garth today. It was with exhaustion and disappointment that Aiden made his way back to the docs alone. He had popped his head in a few times throughout the day but each time he'd been told that Nick was still the same. With each passing hour that he failed to regain consciousness the odds that he ever would diminished.  

Aiden was tired—he had not slept in well over twenty-four hours and with all the stress and emotional turmoil he'd been through it was wreaking havoc on his body.  

He stepped into the doctor's house and found Doctor Montgomery sitting in his arm chair in the sitting room, "I just checked on him a quarter of an hour ago and he was still unconscious, Aiden. Wendell and Kaitlyn had to leave shortly before that. I think it is time that you begin to accept the fact that Nick is not going to make it."  

Aiden wanted to argue. He wanted to yell and get angry. He wanted to demand that the doctor do something since it was his job to save people. He didn't do any of those things however, he simply hung his head and with drooping shoulders made his way down a short hall to the room that Nick was resting in.

He came to the closed door and swallowed hard with his palm resting against the handle. He wasn't ready to lose Nick. He had lost his mother and he had lost his father and it had hurt but the thought of losing Nick....that thought wrenched Aiden's heart right from his chest.  

Then his head perked up when he heard a noise behind the door. It sounded like the shuffling of boots on the wooden floor. The doctor had said that Nick was alone and even if he was awake he certainly wouldn't be walking already. Someone was in there and they had clearly come in through the window if Doctor Montgomery hadn't seen them.  

Aiden only had one hand he could use so he was forced to throw the door open and then reach for his gun. His hand was shaking terribly as he yanked the gun from the holster and took in a sight that froze his heart.  

Garth was standing in that bedroom. He was standing over Nick with a pillow in his hands. Aiden couldn't see Nick's face because Garth's body stood in the way and what scared Aiden the most was he didn't know if Garth was preparing to smother Nick or if he had already finished his goal.  

"Get away from him," Aiden ordered firmly, somehow managing to keep his nervousness from showing in his stern voice.  Garth turned slowly and then laughed when he saw Aiden holding out his gun with one hand.

Aiden was no sharp shooter but Garth was only a few feet away. "You won't shoot me, boy, I'm gonna kill you and then finish my damn job on your rutting partner here before I get the hell out of this town for good." It was clear that Garth was more than a little drunk. Aiden could smell the whiskey on his breath from feet away.  

Aiden wanted to use tough talk but he couldn't... hell he didn't know how. His heart was pounding in his chest, thundering frantically against his ribs. Garth lunged for him and Aiden squeezed the trigger quickly, closing his eyes and wincing as the sound of the gunshot reverberated off the wooden walls. 	

Aiden peeked through cracked lids to see Garth stumbling sideways and then falling to the floor with blood pouring from his chest. The bullet had torn out of the man's back and lodged into the cheerful floral wall-papered wall behind him and Aiden didn't have to be a doctor to know that he had hit Garth's heart.  

Aiden's gun fell to the floor and he instantly looked toward Nick and very nearly cried out with shock and surprise when Nick's gray eyes were open and looking back at him. Nick's mouth worked up and down several times before he was able to whisper out the first words that Aiden had heard him mutter in far too long, "Nice shot."

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

Before Aiden was able to respond to Nick’s weak compliment, Doctor Montgomery came flying into the room, his white hair sticking straight up as he took in the sight of Nick finally awake and of Garth lying in a pool of his own blood.

Aiden found himself staring at Garth as well as the doctor flipped his body over. Aiden had never killed anyone before and it didn't make him feel as strong or tough as he had thought it would. Instead he felt a bit sick and hollow inside. He had just taken another man's life and while he knew it had been necessary, the sight of those now lifeless eyes staring up at him caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end.  

Aiden heard boot steps coming down the hall and suddenly Brody and Elizabeth were rushing in with Wendell and Kaitlyn behind them, "We heard a shot!" Elizabeth exclaimed.  

Aiden pointed toward Garth and Brody cursed, "He didn't hurt any of you did he?" Brody demanded.  

"No," Nick croaked out before coughing and growling with pain. Elizabeth rushed to his side and poured a bit of water from a pitcher into a crystal glass. She held it to Nick's lips and he drank greedily, though a lot of the liquid ended up running down his chin and cheeks.  

"Here," Aiden blinked several times before reaching and taking his gun from Brody's hand. "You did good, Aiden," Brody assured him. Aiden nodded slowly but couldn't seem to find any good in what had happened.....  

"Aiden..." Nick whispered. "You okay?"  

Aiden turned his attention to Nick. That was the good. Nick was awake, he was alive and even after what Nick had been through he seemed more concerned about Aiden than himself. Aiden let out a choked sob and then went to Nick, squatting down beside the bed and laying his head against his heart.  

Nick's hand came up to stroke his hair, "Hey, you're alright," Nick whispered gently. "It's all gonna be alright now."  

"Well he's dead and gone," Doctor Montgomery mumbled as he closed Garth's eyes, stood up straight and shook his head. "Must have snuck in that window to come in here and finish Nick off."  

"But Aiden stopped him," Wendell spoke up. "Good job, Aiden,"  

Aiden didn't reply. He just kept his head resting on Nick's heart and listened to the reassuring sound of it beating beneath his ear.  

"Let's leave them alone," Aiden heard Elizabeth whisper and Kaitlyn mumbled an agreement. "I'm glad you woke up, Nick. There's going to be a lot of work to be done at the ranch so you need to get healed up and get back out there," Elizabeth said with a warm smile. Aiden heard Nick agree. Brody grabbed a sheet from the chair and wrapped Garth up in it before hoisting the man up with Wendell's help and carrying him from the room.  

"I'll be back with rags in a moment," Doctor Montgomery muttered as he stared at the blood pooled and smeared across his floor.  

Quickly Aiden and Nick found themselves alone, "Are you okay?" Nick whispered as he reached out and laid a tender hand over Aiden's bandaged hand.  

"Yeah," Aiden sniffed, forcing back his tears as he raised his head and looked into Nick's eyes, "I am now."  

"What happened to your hand?"  

"There was a fire at the ranch house. Burt, Curly and Graham started it. I burned my hand when I was getting Nathan and Max out."  

"Wow," Nick's gray eyes lit with pride. "You're a regular hero now, Aiden. You saved them and you saved me."  

"I just did what I had to do," Aiden shrugged. "I never even really thought about it much either time."  

Nick simply nodded and Aiden leaned forward and brushed his lips against his jaw line, "I was so scared, Nick. I really thought you were going to die."  

"Naw—" Nick smiled at him, "I wouldn't die and leave you alone, Aiden. We got far too much life to live together to cut it short now."  

Aiden smiled but then his eyes were once again pulled back to the sight of all of Garth's blood, "You sure you're okay, Aiden?" Nick questioned, tracing Aiden's cheek with his fingertips.  

"Yeah... I don't know. I never have killed a man before. I didn't realize it would make me feel so...."  

"Empty?" Nick offered.  

"Yeah," Aiden nodded. "Have you killed before?"  

Nick's gray eyes seemed to be looking into the past as he nodded, "Just once."  

"How do men like Brody do it?" Aiden asked. "How do they kill so easily and never lose a single moment of sleep over it?"  

Nick sighed and Aiden could tell he was tired, "I've heard stories about Brody, Aiden, and I wouldn't be so sure that he doesn't lose sleep over things he's done in his life. I think he does. I think he loses a lot of sleep but I think that having Liz by his side helps him through it."  

"I love you, Nick."  

"I love you too."  

Doctor Montgomery came in then and silence fell over the room as he used a bucket of hot water and rags to clean the blood from the floor. He checked Nick's wound and rewrapped Aiden's hand before leaving the room and closing the door.  

Nick yawned and Aiden stood up grasping Nick’s hand tightly, “You’re tired. Get some rest and I’ll go see about getting you something to eat.”

"I'm not hungry," Nick countered as he tugged Aiden toward the bed. "I'd rather just have you lay here with me a while."  

"Here?" Aiden swallowed hard. "You want me to cuddle in bed with you right here in town when anyone could walk in?"  

"I reckon it's a little too late to worry about hiding what we are and what we mean to one another now don't you think?" 	

Aiden laughed lightly though it could have been from exhaustion and relief more so than humor, "I guess you've got a point," he admitted with a shrug and then he slid off his boots and the gun belt and climbed into the bed. He curled up against his man, listening to the steady beat of his heart and it didn't take long at all before a peaceful sleep claimed them both.  

---

Nick woke to the sound of Aiden's steady breaths against his ear. He smiled and turned his neck a bit to see the other man sound asleep and looking peaceful. Nick felt his throat fill with emotion and he quickly swallowed it down and looked up at the ceiling.  

He was in pain and his body felt weak and heavy but, dammit, he was alive and he was holding Aiden tight against him so it was a good day—or night he supposed as he glanced at the window and saw the darkness.  

Nick knew that their struggles were far from over but maybe now there would be no one else that wanted them dead. He knew he had a slow recovery ahead of him because of the blood loss and damage to his ribs but Nick hoped that when he was healed they would still be welcome on the ranch.   

Sure Liz had said they expected him to be back to work but what would Jacob have to say? Jacob had always been the harder of the Atkinson family to please. He had a strict code of what he thought was right and wrong and he didn't often make exceptions to that rule.  

Nick knew he couldn't worry about that now. He only needed to focus on getting better and helping Aiden to cope with the reality of what he'd been through. The nightmares hadn't come yet but Nick was sure they would. Aiden had been through hell the last couple of days—the last couple of months really—and it would only be a matter of time before the dreams began to plague him and wake him up at night.  

So for now he had to put away his worries about the ranch house, their living arrangements, Aiden's parents (who would be receiving their letter soon) and this town which would know all the sordid details of his and Aiden's relationship by now and focus all his attention on healing and Aiden. Those were the only things that mattered just now.  

Nick wrapped his arm a little tighter around Aiden and groaned in pain. His gaze went to Aiden's face when he felt Aiden's eyes on him. Sure enough those deep brown eyes were watching him closely, "You're in a lot of pain aren't you?" Aiden asked gently.  

"I'm sure you are too," Nick replied. He had seen Aiden's hand when Doctor Montgomery had changed the dressings last night and it filled Nick with pride to know that Aiden had gotten that injury while saving Nathan and Max's life.  

Aiden shrugged, "I'll be okay."  

"So will I," Nick agreed. "Tell me about what happened at the ranch."  

"It's not a very good bedtime story," Aiden assured him and Nick chuckled before wincing at the pain.  

"I don't care. I want to know what happened at the ranch and I want to know what happened while I was unconscious."  

Aiden snuggled closer, laid a kiss to the side of Nick's jaw and began talking. The more Nick heard the more thankful he grew that Aiden hadn't been hurt worse than he was. It didn't surprise Nick that Brody had ensure justice was carried out on Burt, Graham and Curly but it did surprise him that Garth had been the man to try to kill him. He hadn't thought Garth had it in him to be a murderer.  

When Aiden told him about Ellie losing the baby and Jacob's reaction to realizing what Aiden was, Nick felt his heart drop. He quickly pushed those worries to the side and reminded himself that he didn't have the energy for that just now.  

Aiden's voice trailed off in mid-sentence and Nick smiled when he realized the other man had fallen fast asleep once again. Nick kissed his brow, closed his eyes and let Aiden's peaceful breathing lull him back to sleep.  

---

Aiden was awakened sometime after dawn by the sound of a light knock on the door. Nick was still snoring lightly and Aiden grinned as he slid from the bed and tiptoed barefooted to the door. He pulled it open and Susie was standing there with a tray from the diner in her hands.  

"Good morning, Aiden," she whispered as she glanced around him and toward the bed where Nick was sound asleep. "I take it from the snores that he's finally sleeping instead of simply unconscious?"  

"Yeah," Aiden nodded and took the tray from Susie's hands. His stomach growled as the aroma of sausage, potatoes, eggs and homemade gravy reached his nose, "He woke up last night after I...." Aiden's voice trailed off and he swallowed hard as his stomach turned a bit; the memory of Garth's lifeless eyes and all that blood proving to be an appetite killer.  

"I heard what happened," Susie admitted as she stepped inside and led him to a chair. Aiden sat down and placed the tray on the tiny table as Susie sat down across from him, "You were very brave, Aiden; to rush into that fire and then to save Nick last night. You should be proud."  

"I killed somebody, Susie," Aiden reminded her as he tapped his finger against the metal lid covering his tray of food.

"Yes but you had no choice," Susie countered. "If you hadn't killed Garth then he would have killed you and Nick."  

"I know that. And I don't regret killing him," Aiden assured her truthfully. "It's just that... well I've never killed anyone before."  

Susie smiled, "It'll all be okay, Aiden. I'll bet you were happy to finally have Nick awake weren't you?"  

Aiden nodded as he lifted the lid from the tray and felt his appetite roar back to life at the sight of his feast, "Yes I was," he replied. "For a while there I didn't think he was ever going to wake up again."  

"Of course he was going to wake up," Susie countered as she smoothed out her skirt and smiled brightly, "He loves you too much to leave you alone."  

Aiden studied Susie a moment and then quickly shoved a bite of eggs into his mouth as he looked away.  

"What is it?" Susie questioned.  

Aiden swallowed down the eggs and shrugged as his face reddened, "I'm just surprised is all."  

"About what?"  

"It's just... well I didn't... I didn't think you'd want anything to do with me once you knew the kind of man I am."  

Susie laughed lightly, "What do you mean? You mean the kind of man who always seems happy and eager to help those around him? Or the kind of man who rushes into a burning home to help my family? The kind of man who does what he has to in order to protect the helpless? A gentle man, a sweet man? Which of those things would make me turn my back on you?"  

Aiden felt his blush deepen as even his ears grew hot, "I mean the kind of man who lays with another man, Susie," he mumbled.  

This time it was Susie's turn to blush and she cleared her throat, "Yes, well, that is your business and not mine. The way I see it, love is always good when it's true, Aiden, and I can tell that the love between you and Nick is as true as it gets."  

Aiden felt himself warming from the inside out as he smiled at Susie and she smiled back, “I reckon I just figured you’d judge me like everyone else does.”

“You mean the way you judged me?” Susie questioned, her gaze going to Nick.

“I didn’t—”

“Yes you did. You heard that I did a lot with the church and you simply assumed that I would turn my back on you and be a judgmental hypocrite the way your family was. That sounds an awful lot like judging to me.”

Aiden swallowed the bite of biscuit in his mouth and sighed. She was right. That was exactly what he had done, “I’m sorry, Susie. You’re nothing like them. You are a good person.”

Susie stood up and folded her hands in front of her, “I try to be. Now I brought enough food there for both of you so see that he wakes up soon and eats. The ranch is going to need all the help it can get to rebuild.”

"You mean we're still welcome there?" Aiden asked.  

Susie's brows knitted together, "Of course! Why wouldn't you be?"  

Aiden frowned and looked down at his bare feet, "It's just that Jacob...."  

Susie snorted, (something that Aiden hadn't heard her do before), and waved her hand, "Don't' you worry yourself about my oldest brother. He's always been too quick to say things he shouldn't say," her gaze softened, "And he's hurting pretty badly so that did not help his anger yesterday." She laid her hand on Aiden's shoulder, "Everything will be just fine now, Aiden. You'll see." She smiled brightly and then walked from the room, closing the door behind her.  

Aiden ate a few more bites and then stood up. He'd have to wake Nick since the doctor would be in soon to tend to their wounds. Aiden looked out the window at the sun and felt better than he had in a long time. Maybe, just maybe, things were finally going to be okay.

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

Recovery was slow going for Nick but Aiden remained at his side, never leaving town or going out to the ranch as he helped nurse Nick back to health.  

Finally, nearly a month after the bullet had come close to taking his life, Nick was fit enough to make the nearly two hour ride on horseback to the ranch. He had refused to go by wagon which would have been easier on his healing ribs and the thin tender skin sealing his wound.  

Aiden's hand was scarred permanently, it was still sensitive to heat and it wasn't quite as easy to bend his fingers as it had been before but other than that he was healed. The townsfolk had kept their distance from the two men for the most part. Aiden supposed he should be happy with that since it meant there was no one harassing them but it still hurt to know that some people who had once waved to him on the streets now crossed to the other side.  

And he figured the only reason that no one dared harass them was simply because Brody had made it clear they were under his protection and no one else in this town was dumb enough to cross Brody Atkinson—especially after what had happened to the last batch of men that had.  

"We've been working nearly nonstop rebuilding," Susie said as she rode in a wagon beside Kaitlyn while Nick, Aiden and Wendell rode alongside on horseback. Aiden kept a close eye on Nick but if the man was in pain he couldn't tell. Nick was the quintessential 'tough-guy' and would probably rather die than admit he was hurting. That trait annoyed Aiden to no end.  

"How much does it need to be done?" Aiden asked, making conversation since Nick seemed to be back in his silent moods. Nick never had much to say whenever anyone else was around. Aiden was happy though that when they were alone together the man's tongue tended to loosen a bit and he opened up more.  

"The outside still needs to be decorated; Ellie is going insane without her flowers, and we're waiting on another shipment of lumber to get the shingles put on the roof but the inside is pretty much finished," Susie replied with a smile. "The bunkhouse is completely done and Elizabeth even went so far as to replace the cots with real beds and feather tick mattresses."  

"And my back thanks her," Wendell grinned.  

"When are you getting married?" Susie asked suddenly. "You've been engaged for ages."  

"Not really ages, Susie," Kaitlyn cut in with a blush. "It's only been about a month and we've all just been so busy."  

"You should do it soon. I know that Liz wants to help out the wedding on and I know that Thomas will want to be there now that he and Sally aren't leaving until after the baby is born."  

The conversation turned to Thomas and Sally's impending child and move, both of which would take place in only a few short months.  

Aiden hadn't even realized they were nearing the ranch until it came into view and he was shocked by what he saw. Gone was the continental estate that had once stood there and in its place was a rustic and yet elegant log cabin—or lodge would a more appropriate term for the ranch house.  

Aiden stared in awe at all three stories with balconies and a wraparound ground floor porch. Rocking chairs and swings covered the porches and balconies. Even the bunkhouse was larger than it had been before.  

All-in-all Aiden thought the new editions to the ranch were better than before and he smiled at the thought that even when beautiful things were destroyed it was often so more beautiful things could their place.  

"Wow, I love this," Aiden admitted with awe. "I've always liked log cabins."  

"What was your house like back east?" Wendell asked. "Your family was rich weren't they?"  

Aiden thought back to the narrow townhouse he'd shared with his parents and their modest country estate that had always seemed prim, proper and.....  

"Cold," he replied honestly, "Cold and proper."  

"Hey y'all, we got company!" Elizabeth yelled as she caught sight of them riding in. Work around the barn and corrals stopped as everyone moved forward to greet them.  

As soon as Aiden dismounted, Elizabeth hugged Aiden in a tight embrace that surprised him. She released her hold and Aiden turned to help Nick off his horse only to find the other man already standing behind him.  

"Nice to see you back among the land of the living," Brody said as he shook Nick's hand.  

Aiden knew Brody was sincere. Although Brody had always claimed to have some alternative reason for coming into town, Aiden knew he'd truly been coming to town more often than usual to check on Nick's progress.  

"It feels good to be back," Nick replied with a nod. "I'm ready to do some work."  

"Light work," Elizabeth amended.  

"Good luck with that," Aiden warned dryly.  

Nick threw him a glare that had Elizabeth laughing, "Don't worry, Aiden, I understand." She tilted her head toward Brody, "I have one too."  

"It's the only way to be I reckon," Brody spoke up as he put his thumbs through his belt loops.

"I'll take your horses," Frank offered as he held out his hand and quickly had it filled with three sets of reins. "I'm glad you both made it back."  

"I reckon we're pretty happy about that ourselves," Nick agreed.  

"Well come on then, Nick, and we'll find us something to do," Brody offered. Then he grinned, "We'll leave the womenfolk to their chit chatting.  

Aiden was too happy to be back on the ranch to let Brody's teasing bother him. Instead he just laughed which earned him a chuckle from Brody as he, Nick and Wendell followed after Frank and Kent toward the barns.  

Cookie waved at Aiden from his chair beside the bunkhouse. Aiden felt his heart get lighter when he saw Kent, Vance and several other hands tip their hats and greet Nick.  

Acceptance. That was the feeling swirling inside of him right now. They had been truly accepted.... Of course they had yet to see Ellie or Jacob.  

"Susie!" Without warning Ryder came bursting from the house and his long legs ate up the ground. In seconds he was wrapping Susie up tight in his arms and spinning her around and around as she laughed with surprise.  

"What in the world....?" she gasped breathlessly as he sat her back on her feet.  

"I haven't seen you in ages!" he exclaimed before kissing her soundly and causing her face to turn cherry red as she glanced at everyone around them.  

"Ryder, it's only been four hours."  

"My heart doesn't wear a watch, Sue."  

"Oh..." Susie's blush deepened but her eyes lit up. She glanced at Kaitlyn and winked, "Just think he could have been all yours."  

Kaitlyn shook her head and laughed lightly, "Not once he saw you."  

"Aiden!" Aiden heard Lexi's voice just before the girl was wrapped around his leg. "I missed you."  

"I missed you too," Aiden replied honestly as she pulled away and he tugged on her pigtail. It was the truth. It seemed strange to him and yet somehow natural that in so short a time these people had become his family. He loved each and every one of them—well all of them except Jacob. All Aiden could hope for was that Jacob would tolerate his presence and not force him to leave; family bonds were probably not going to happen.  

"Aiden, you gotta see my pony!" Bryant exclaimed as he too ran over with Nathan and Max behind him. "I almost got him to where he'll lay down when I tell him to!"  

"Almost as in the pony rolls his eyes instead of ignoring him completely," Nathan cut in and this earned a glare from Bryant and a laugh from the adults.  

"Hola, Senor Aiden," Max spoke up.  

"Hi," Aiden replied.  

"Thank you for saving us from our room during the fire. Did you hurt your hand badly?"  

Aiden shrugged and held out his hand. The boys thought its twisted scars were the most amazing thing they had ever seen while Lexi curled her nose and voiced her disgust. Aiden's hand and the fire became the topic of conversation for the next few minutes and then finally the moment that Aiden had been dreading arrived.  

Jacob and Ellie stepped out onto the ranch house porch. Aiden knew that delaying the inevitable would be a waste of time but it was a waste of time that was very tempting. He could run. He could go hide in a pile of hay until someone found him. Or he could climb a tree behind the house and hide in the branches like a wild monkey. He wondered for a moment if he could jump into the river and hold his breath long enough to convince them he had drowned—then again he wasn't a very good swimmer and he'd probably end up truly drowning.  

With a sigh, Aiden decided that he simply had to do what had to be done. So he took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and headed in their direction.  

The moment that he was close enough to hear Eli, who was propped on Ellie's hip, the boy began to squeal and laugh, "

Ogee!“ he exclaimed.

"Hi there, Eli," Aiden replied awkwardly as he forced a smile. Eli seemed to notice that something was amiss with the adults around him and he frowned and snuggled into Ellie's chest.  

"Hi, Aiden," Jacob spoke and Aiden couldn't help but notice that his voice was like stone.  

"Uh... hi," Aiden replied quietly. He looked at Ellie and saw that she seemed happy to see him at least. Slowly Aiden forced his eyes to meet Jacob's and to say that he was shocked by what he saw there would have been an understatement.  

Jacob appeared to be fighting back emotion and possibly even tears. That would be why his voice sounded so tight and controlled. Jacob swallowed hard and stepped forward, "First I want to apologize for the way I spoke to you the last time we saw one another. I was upset and took it out on the easiest target which at the time was you."  

"Um... okay," Aiden replied with a weak smile. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Jacob's words and behavior since they were the opposite of what he had been expecting.  He glanced out the corner of his eye and saw Nick at the nearest barn watching him closely with concern.  

"And I want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for doing what you did and risking your life to save my family. There's not a think in this world I could do to pay you back for that."  

Aiden simply nodded and shifted his feet, unsure of what to say.  

"Ogee!" 

Eli called again, this time more impatiently and Jacob waved his hand.

"I think the boy wants you."  

Aiden smiled happily and took the boy in his arms, laughing when Eli plopped a slobbery kiss upon his cheek. Aiden turned his gaze to Jacob and his smile turned sad, "I am really sorry about what happened, Jacob. I never meant to put anyone in danger by coming here. I didn't want anything bad to happen to your family...."  

"I know," Jacob nodded. "Ellie told me everything. She likes you so that helped soothe my own temper a bit. Those men were the problem, not you. No one should be hurt or killed just because of who they choose to spend their life with."  

Aiden let out a relieved sigh, "Thank you." He glanced at Ellie, "Are you okay?"  

She smiled and Aiden noticed that she did look better. That pregnancy had been wreaking havoc on her and now that she was no longer pregnant she had better and color and no longer seemed so black around her eyes. "I'm just fine, Aiden. Those kinds of things happen in life and we just have to pick ourselves up by the bootstraps and keep on going. It's the Texas way; you'll catch on."  

"I'm still learning sometimes," Jacob added.  

"We knew you and Nick would be coming back today and the whole family and all the hands are going to have one heck of a feast tonight," Ellie informed him happily. Aiden was surprised and humbled to know that everyone had looked that forward to them being back. "I just need a bit of help with the apple dumplings. I can't get them exactly how you made them," Ellie added.  

Jacob frowned, "So he takes care of youngins and he cooks too?"  

"Yeah I do," Aiden answered as he propped Eli on his hip. "And I shoot men in the heart, run into burning buildings and kiss real good. You gonna make fun of me like Brody does?"  

Jacob shook his head as he chuckled and headed off the porch, "Nope." Then he turned and grinned at Aiden, "I like extra cream with my apples."  

---

"Brody, I need to talk to you about something," Wendell said as he, Brody and Nick leaned against a corral fence and watched Vance and Kent work on breaking a mare inside.  

Brody struck a match on his cheek and raised his brow as he glanced over at Wendell, clearly waiting for the other man to continue. "Kaitlyn and I are gonna be gettin' married real soon and well.. I want to keep working on the ranch but the trip from town just ain't...."  

"There's plenty of land here. Pick ya a spot and we'll work on getting y'all a cabin built and a well dug," Brody interrupted before lighting his cigarette.  

Wendell seemed truly shocked and Nick was too, "I couldn't ask y'all to do that!"  

Brody shrugged, "I ain't doing it for free. We'll dock a few dollars from your pay for a few years to cover the lumber and labor or we can call it a loan and you'll have ten years to get me paid back in. Y'all will be responsible for your own food plot and meat—"  

"Yeah, but Brody we'd be taking up your land," Wendell reminded him and Brody's response was a simple shrug as he blew out a mouthful of smoke.  

"You've been working on this ranch longer than I've even known it existed, Wendell. I reckon that's earned you some land to put your house on."  

"Thanks a lot, Brody. I'll talk to Kaitlyn about it," Wendell assured him.  

"Already speaking like a married man and learning who the boss is," Brody winked. He turned his gaze to Nick, "What about you and Aiden?"  

Nick frowned, "What about us?" he asked as he shifted his position to take pressure off his left side and the ribs that were freshly knitting back together.  

Brody leaned his arms against the corral fence and watched Kent running for his life before grunting at Nick, "You'll be needing a place to stay won't you? Or are you planning on leaving the ranch?"  

Nick hadn't thought much about the future lately; he'd been too busy focusing on healing and helping Aiden through the nightmares that had indeed been plaguing him nearly every night, but now.... Now he realized that he and Aiden did have some decisions to make. They couldn't live together in that bunkhouse forever; Nick wanted to be able to hold Aiden at night the way he had at Doctor Montgomery's.  

Nick smiled to himself when he remembered the fit the good doctor had tried to throw about it and the way Aiden had stuck his tongue out at the man and slammed the bedroom door in his face. Aiden still thought that childish display had been what had gotten the doctor off their backs when in fact it had been the extra money that Nick had slipped into the palm of his hand the next morning.

"If y'all are wanting to stay on the ranch, and the boss and I agree that we damn well want you to, then you'll need a private place to call your own. Now you're more than welcome to take a room at the main house for a while 'til we get you a place ready—or you can stay in the main house until Sally and Thomas head to Wyoming and then take over their place," Brody shrugged, "Either way it'll equal up to about the same amount of time."  

"Well... we uh..." Nick was speechless. Shocked would be an understatement to how he was feeling. He'd known that Brody had accepted his and Aiden's relationship but to accept it so much that he'd offer them a place on his ranch to live together.. that surprised him.  

Brody threw Wendell a glance and the other man nodded and walked away leaving Brody and Nick alone, "Nick, I don't know the details about your past but I'm a fairly smart man that picks up on a lot of things. I can tell something bad happened because of who you've been with in the past and well... that's bullshit. I need you working this ranch and hell Aiden's a big help with the children and he polishes a mean saddle. And you'll be on Atkinson land—now that might not sound like much considering what happened here a month ago but trust me when I tell you that it means somethin' to most folks."  

"I really appreciate the offer, Brody—" Nick began, still unsure of what to say.  

Brody smacked him on the back, "Just go and talk it over with your wife and let me know what y'all decide. But let me know quick cuz if y'all want a new place built then we'll have to order the lumber."

Chapter Thirty-two

Chapter Thirty-Two

    Aiden was having more fun than he’d had in a long time. The entire Atkinson family, all the ranch hands, Ty, Liza, LeRoy and a fairly large group of people from town had gathered at the ranch for the cookout and party that was largely in honor of Nick’s recovery but also to celebrate Susie and Sally’s birthday which had been overshadowed by tragedy. 

    A few men had pulled out instruments and formed a band and now everyone was laughing, eating, dancing and simply enjoying themselves. 

    Aiden was thankful when the band took a break and he was able to finally rest his legs a bit. Susie, Kaitlyn and Ellie had kept him busy twirling around the dance floor, not to mention the foot stomping dance that Nathan and Max had been teaching him. 

    Aiden glanced over at Nick and saw him standing with Brody and Thomas. Of course none of them had wanted to dance. Brody simply said he wasn’t much of a dancer, Thomas had made it clear that since Sally wasn’t feeling up to doing much dancing he wasn’t going to dance either, (it seemed that Sally was the jealous type), and Nick claimed to have two left feet. 

    Aiden just figured they considered themselves too tough for dancing. Aiden didn’t. He’d had the time of his life twirling the ladies around the floor and laughing as the kids taught them made-up moves to made-up dances. 

    Now that he was getting a break he headed for the refreshment table and ladled a bit of lemonade into a glass. He couldn’t believe how much lemonade was left and he wondered who had brought it since he hadn’t remembered seeing it in Ellie’s kitchen earlier. 

    Just as Aiden was bringing the cup to his mouth it was knocked away and lemonade sloshed all over his hand and wrist. He threw a look of alarm at Brody who was watching him with narrowed eyes, “Why did you do that?!” Aiden demanded. 

    “I was saving your life,” Brody replied sternly. His brow rose up and his lip twitched a bit at the corner, “Elizabeth made that lemonade.” 

    Aiden frowned and his eyes found Elizabeth who was striding their way with her arms crossed and glaring angrily at her husband. “I’m sure it tastes just fine,” Aiden assured the man. 

    Brody shrugged, “It’s your funeral.” 

    Aiden was less sure about his decision to take a drink now but he did so anyway, not wanting to anger Elizabeth. As soon as that lemonade passed his lips, Aiden knew he had made a grave mistake. Never had he tasted anything so sour. Instantly his jaws locked and pain shot through them. His eyes began to water and his stomach rolled as the liquid sloshed down into it. 

    “Is it that bad?” Elizabeth demanded had hands going to her hips. 

    Aiden shook his head and tried to lie but his jaws wouldn’t move. Cookie’s rough laughter filled the air from the other side of the refreshment table, “Damn, Elizabeth, I do believe you killed the man! That must have been your worst batch yet.” 

    “It was not!” Elizabeth exclaimed, her cheeks reddening. 

    “You’ve made worse?” Aiden managed to gasp and this time it was Brody that was laughing. 

    Elizabeth glared at all three men, snatched the cup from Aiden’s hand and took a drink before spewing said drink all over the grass and dirt, “Oh that’s horrible!” she exclaimed. 

    “Told you so,” Brody shrugged. 

    “Nick!” Elizabeth waved toward Nick and he headed their way. “Take him around back to the pump well and get him a drink. I think he needs some fresh water… I might have killed him.” 

    Nick chuckled, took Aiden’s arm and led him around the house. “Oh dear God!” Aiden gasped once they were out of sight, “That was the most horrible tasting lemonade I’ve ever tried to drink!” 

    “You should have listened to Brody,” Nick informed him. “Around here it’s a pretty safe bet that if Liz had any hand in making something, you shouldn’t taste it… hell, you probably shouldn’t even sniff it.” 

    “How do they not starve to death?” 

    “Ellie cooks quite a bit and I hear tell that Brody’s a good cook himself.” Nick cranked the hand pump several times and Aiden filled his hands with clear water and gulped it down greedily. “Are you gonna make it?” Nick teased.

    “I hope so,” Aiden mumbled as he stood back straight and wiped his mouth with his shirtsleeve. Away from the lanterns and fires Aiden realized just how late it had gotten. The sunset was nearly passed and darkness was falling quickly. 

    “I’d say you’re tired aren’t you?” he asked Nick and Nick nodded as he slid up behind Aiden and wrapped his arms tight around his waist before resting his head on his shoulder. 

    “Brody made me a fairly surprising offer today… well he made us the offer I guess I should say.” 

    Aiden leaned back into Nick’s embrace, loving the peace and safety he always felt when the other man held him this way, “What was the offer?” 

    “A place of our own to live here on the ranch. He said we can stay in the ranch house for a couple months while our home is built or if we choose we can have Sally and Thomas’s house once they leave for Wyoming.”  

    “Really?” Aiden asked with surprise as he turned his head to look at Nick’s jaw. 

Nick turned his head as well and kissed him lightly, “Yeah really.” 

“He’s going to give us a house?” 

“No, he’s going to give it to us as loan and we have ten years to pay the loan back…. Of course I think he just said that to save my pride.” 

    Aiden smiled, “You do have a wagonload of the stuff.” 

    Nick shrugged and held Aiden a little tighter, “So what do you want to do?” 

    “Thomas and Sally’s place is real nice,” Aiden admitted, remembering the afternoons he had spent there. “It’s small and simple just like what we’d need. And the pond is real peaceful right beside it.” 

    “I like ponds,” Nick whispered low as he let his lips graze along Aiden’s jaw. 

    Aiden trembled in Nick’s arms and felt his knees weaken, “I remember.”    

    “Ya reckon we could call it a night and move on into the ranch house today? I’d like to have you alone,” Nick admitted. He ran one big hand down Aiden’s stomach and teased at the waistband of his pants. Aiden swallowed hard. He and Nick hadn’t been intimate over the last month at Doctor Montgomery’s. They hadn’t had much privacy there and Aiden had been too worried about Nick’s healing to think about anything else. 

    “It’s either we do that or we make the trip back to town faster than anybody’s ever made it before,” Aiden stated as he turned in Nick’s arms and laid a kiss against his neck, “That bunkhouse just ain’t going to cut it tonight.” 

    Nick let out one of his animalistic growls then and moved away from him, “Let’s go say our goodnight then and figure out what damn room is ours. I ain’t gonna wait much longer.” 

---

    Nick woke the next morning to the feel of Aiden’s lips caressing his bare chest. Nick felt the blood in his veins instantly begin to pump a little faster. Aiden’s tongue shot out and caressed Nick’s right nipple and Nick nearly shot from the bed. He barely had time to absorb the pleasure before Aiden was moving lower; his tongue flicking and caressing the tight firm muscles of Nick’s stomach and then lower still until…..

    “Damnation!” Nick growled as he gripped Aiden’s hair and lifted the man’s face so he could look into his eyes, “What are you doing?” 

    “Do I really have to explain it to you?” Aiden asked as he quirked a brow and his cheeks reddened a little.

    Nick laughed lightly. Aiden liked to try his hand at seducing now and then but the man seemed to blush every time. “Carry on then,” Nick conceded as he released his hold on Aiden’s hair. 

    Aiden flashed him a wicked grin that sent a jolt of lust so strong through Nick that he couldn’t hold back his growl and he rose up, fully prepared to flip Aiden onto his back and show him what he was doing to him but Aiden’s hands went to his chest and held him down firmly, “I’m in charge,” Aiden warned, “You lay down.” 

    Nick was surprised and to be submissive felt new and odd but it was a good odd so he nodded and lay back and relaxed against the soft mattress. Aiden nodded, seeming just as unsure with this new role reversal as Nick was. Nick was happy to see Aiden taking charge. The man was finally growing confident in who he was and Nick knew this was something Aiden needed to do to prove something to himself. 

    “Aiden?” Nick whispered and Aiden’s eyes met his again. 

    “Yeah?” 

    “I love you.” 

    A smile curved Aiden’s lips and lit up his handsome face, “I love you too.” 

    Nick nodded, “Now get to it because I’m not going to lay here like a good boy for very damn long.”

---

    It was an hour later before the two men finally made their way out of the bedroom and they were quickly called into the kitchen where Susie, Ryder, Wendell, Kaitlyn, Ellie, Jacob, Brody and Elizabeth were sitting around the table…… Well most of them were sitting; Ryder was standing up and juggling apples. Nick thought it was quite impressive actually. 

    “Good morning!” Susie said brightly as they walked in. 

    “Good morning,” Aiden replied and Nick nodded in response. 

Ellie motioned to the counter where pans of eggs, sausage, gravy, biscuits and canned apples were sitting. “Help yourselves,” she insisted. Nick didn’t need to be told twice. His stomach was roaring. He went to the counter and began preparing two plates. 

    Brody laughed, “Yep, must have been a good night because only a husband who had a really good night makes his wife’s plate come morning.” 

    “Or maybe Nick’s being the wife today,” Aiden countered as he sat down in an empty chair.    

    Nick shook his head, “Nope.” He sat Aiden’s plate in front of him and then continued to stand as he began to eat his own. 

    “Enough about that,” Susie scolded as she adjusted her skirt. 

    Ryder grinned, “Susie’s shy.” 

    “Hush!” Susie exclaimed as her face reddened. “Okay, there really is something that we need to talk about,” Susie said turning her attention to Nick and glancing at Aiden. 

    “Y’all come to a decision about that place I offered you yet?” Brody questioned. 

    “Well actually we figured we’d just wait until Sally and Thomas move out and just take over their place… I mean if that’s okay,” Aiden rambled quickly. “That was real nice of you to offer us a place here on the ranch, Brody—” 

    “I’m not being nice, the boss tells me what to do and I do it,” Brody assured them, though Nick saw the humor in the man’s eyes. 

    “Actually, that one was all Brody,” Elizabeth countered and then she quickly added, “But only because he thought of it first. And I was going to recommend y’all to take Sally’s and Thomas’s place anyhow because they are going to be moving to the ranch house over the next week.” 

    “We don’t want to push anyone out,” Nick spoke up quickly. 

    “You couldn’t push Sally out if you wanted to,” Jacob assured him. “She’s Brody with longer hair and without the bloodthirsty nature.” 

    Brody shook her head, “That’s not fair, Jacob,” he warned. “Sally sure as hell ain’t just like me; she’s meaner.” 

    “Can we stay focused?” Elizabeth asked with exasperation. “We have a lot of work to get done around here and we don’t have all day to talk.” 

    Brody sat up straighter and tipped his hat, “Yes, ma’am. Y’all heard the boss. Time to come to attention and shut the hell up.” 

    “Thank you,” Elizabeth smiled at her husband and he leaned forward and kissed her brow tenderly. “Okay,” she turned her attention back to the rest of the room, “Sally wants to move into the ranch house because the closer it gets time for her baby the less she wants to be alone out at that cabin while Thomas is out riding the fields.  Aiden, if you’ll help her get everything packed up again this week then we’ll move them this weekend.” 

    “Okay,” Aiden mumbled and Nick knew he was remembering the sore shoulders and aching back he’d earned the last time he’d helped Sally pack. Nick remembered them too and smiled… He’d be more than willing to rub out those sore muscles some more. 

    “And some more news,” Wendell said as he sat up straighter, “I’m getting married this weekend.”

“To yourself?” Ryder teased as he tossed down three of his apples and then took a bite of the fourth. 

    Nick chuckled as Kaitlyn rolled her eyes at Ryder, “No, to me.” 

    “Just remember—” Ryder waggled his brows. “—she was my fiancée first.” 

    “Ryder….” Susie warned and the sheepish grin that appeared on Ryder’s face as he went to Susie and hugged her from behind had Nick laughing outright. 

    “Yes there is going to be a wedding on this ranch in six days,” Elizabeth said. “That means everything needs to get cleaned up real good and I want things polished ’til they shine.” 

    Ryder spit on the arm of Susie’s chair and began to polish with his sleeve. “What are you doing?” Brody grumbled. 

    “Cleaning,” Ryder replied. He pulled his arm away and pointed at the gleaming wood. “See, it’s beautiful.” 

    “It’s wrong, Ryder,” Brody stated. “You are one wrong man.” 

    “And I’m family!” Ryder exclaimed as he winked at Brody. 

    The look of annoyance on Brody’s face as his brow rose was one of epic proportions. He sighed as he pushed himself to his feet, “I’m gonna go do something productive.” 

    Nick and Aiden soon found themselves alone in the kitchen with Kaitlyn, Susie and Ellie, “Wedding planning time. We only have a week so we’ll keep it simple,” Ellie began. 

    Nick knew when it was time for him to go. He quickly woofed down the last of his breakfast, laid his plate on the counter and walked up behind Aiden. He laid his hand on Aiden’s shoulder and squeezed gently, “I’m gonna get to work. Y’all have fun.” 

    “Aww… they’re so sweet together,” Susie whispered as Aiden smiled up at Nick. Nick quickly cleared his throat and left he ranch house. 

    Women…….

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

"You finish up what you're doing, Ryder, and I'll be waiting on the church porch when you're done," Susie assured her husband as Ryder's boss yelled at him again to get back to work.  

"Are you sure? I'm sorry it's taking so long, Sue. Why don't you go eat without me?"  

"Nonsense," Susie waved her hand and kissed his cheek. "Go finish up. The wedding is only three days away and I need to talk to George about a few things."  

"Okay then," Ryder kissed her soundly, "I love you."  

"I love you too," Susie replied, smiling at her husband as he took off running toward the sawmill. The man never seemed to tire.  

Susie shook her head and headed back toward the church. The conversation she wanted to have with George Bass was an important one but she was optimistic that she'd get the answer she wanted from him today.  

"Hi there, Susie!" he exclaimed when he saw her come in. His black cheeks crinkled when he smiled at her and his deep brown eyes twinkled.  

"Hi, George," Susie smiled back, "Are you busy?"  

George shook his head and ran his hand over his course white hair, "No, ma'am, I was just going over what I'm going to say at Wendell and Kaitlyn's wedding. I've performed quite a few ceremony's out there at the ranch and I'd just like to say something a bit different this time."  

"I wanted to talk to you about that actually," Susie admitted.  

George nodded and motioned for her to sit down on the pew beside him, “Is there something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing wrong,” she replied slowly, wondering how to best breach the topic.

“You’re worrying me, child, what’s going on?” George questioned as his brow wrinkled with his frown.

Susie sighed, folded her hands on her lap and met his gaze, “You’ve met my friends Nick and Aiden haven’t you?”

George’s gaze flickered the tiniest fraction before he nodded, “Yes’m, I’ve met them both.”

“Well I just thought it would be nice to—since we’re having Kaitlyn and Wendell’s ceremony this weekend—to give them one as well.”

“Susie, they are both men,” George replied doubtfully.

Susie smiled, “Yes I know that. I understand the marriage won’t be legally binding but they are very much in love and they have both been through terrible things to get where they are now and I believe it would be nice for them.”

"No, Susie," the finality in George's voice shocked Susie and made her heart drop into the pit of her stomach.

"Why?" she questioned quietly, though she was nearly certain she already knew the answer and she cursed herself for not anticipating it before.

"It's sinful, Susie, and I will not have a part in such an act. Marriage is between a man and a woman. That is what God intended," George replied sternly.

"Does not the Bible say not to judge, George? I understand that their lifestyle is not something that is encouraged but do any of us live perfect lives? I'm not asking to decide whether or not the men deserve heaven or hell, I'm simply saying that I'd like to give them this small moment, this small memory to hold onto and enjoy."

"No," George repeated. "I will not have a hand in it and I wouldn't have expected a good Christian woman like yourself to want to have a hand in it either."

Susie felt her temper rising and she swallowed hard in an attempt to hold it down, "George, I don't understand the sudden change in your opinion of them. You were at the dinner we held just a few days ago and you spoke to both men as if they were just like anyone else."

"That's because I'm a good Christian man and I won't treat someone badly simply because their choices are not in line with my beliefs; but I also will not perform nor condone a marriage between two men. You should be ashamed that you are even thinking such devilish thoughts. Men were not made to lay with men nor share their lives beside men; they were made to do so with a woman at their side," George appeared sad that he and Susie were disagreeing and Susie was sad as well.  

She had expected more from George... While she understood his concerns she also could not see how him helping two men make vows to one another would hurt his soul in any way. Didn't Jesus want them loving, caring and doing what they could to help their fellow man? Making judgments and telling others what they did was wrong was God's work not hers, not George's and not anyone else's.

"Fine," Susie got to her feet, feeling tears burning behind her eyes, "I will simply do it myself."

"You are not ordained to perform marriages," George reminded her with a sigh as he stood as well.

Susie clenched her fists tight at her sides and swallowed around the disappointment lodged in her throat, "Yes, well, according to you it will not be a marriage supported by either the law or the church so I can't see how that matters, can you? Now if you'll excuse me I am going to go eat dinner with my husband; thank goodness I did not fall in love with a woman otherwise you and I clearly would not have been able to become the friends we have become." With that Susie turned on her heel and strode from George's office before leaving the church and standing out in the fresh air, fighting her tears with everything she had.

She half expected George to chase after her and at least apologize for calling her sinful, devilish and basically evil for wanting to give two men the happiness that finding her soul mate and saying those vows had given to her. She knew that those vows had meant everything to her... being able to say them and have those who loved and cared about watch her and Ryder join their lives together had mean everything in the world to her—she suspected it would mean something to Nick and Aiden as well.

They were people, after all, and they were in love, even if their relationship was one that others couldn't understand. Most people didn't understand Susie and Ryder's relationship either but it worked for them just the same as Nick and Aiden worked.

Susie wrapped her arms around herself and headed for the café, to wait on the steps for Ryder. She wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings and that was why she screamed when a set of arms were suddenly wrapping tightly around her and pulling her into a hard chest.

"What's wrong, Sue?" Ryder's voice proved to be the dynamite that blasted apart the dam holding back Susie's emotions. She cried against his chest. She cried for Nick and Aiden. For the unfairness that seemed to plague the two men simply because they loved one another. Both had lost so much in their lives and they finally had found the one who made them happy and they couldn't even share vows the way that anyone else could.

"Susie, please don't cry... tell me what's wrong," Ryder insisted, his voice sounding very near panic.

Susie sniffed and tried hard to compose herself, "I'm okay, Ryder, truly I am. George didn't take my request as well as I'd hoped he would...."

Ryder stiffened, "What did he say?"

"That it was wrong and I was being evil and sinful to even suggest it....."

"Sue, why don't you go on into the café and pick us out a table. I'll join ya in a minute."

Susie pulled away and saw the anger in Ryder's normally smiling eyes, "Ryder....."

Ryder held up his hands and smiled, "I won't hit him inside the church, I promise," he assured her. "If he deserves to be punched then I'll bring him outside first."

Susie's eyes widened and she tried to grab him but Ryder was already moving away from her, "Ryder, please don't...."

"Get us a table, Susie," he urged and then he was jogging away from her and toward the church like a man on a mission. Susie sent up a silent prayer that Ryder would behave and that God would forgive him when he didn't. She dried her face with her hands and then headed on into the diner.

---

Ryder was angry. He didn't get angry very often but the thought of someone making his Susie cry was a surefire way to get him there every time.

Remembering Susie's belief that no guns should be allowed in the church, Ryder undid his gun belt and laid it on the wooden bench beside the doorway. He stepped inside and saw that the chapel was empty. Ryder had no idea where else George would be.... He didn't make a habit of coming inside the church and learning his way around.

"George?" he called out as he jumped up on the pews and walked across the tops of them toward the alter.

"Ryder, that's very disrespectful," George warned as he stepped out of a little door and joined Ryder in the chapel. Ryder grinned sheepishly and jumped down, "I knew you'd be in here soon enough," George added with exasperation.

"You need to tell me really quick why my Susie came in here laughing and smiling and left in tears. Now I thought I'd made it clear to this town that you can do whatever you want and I won't have much of anything to say about it but making my Susie cry will earn you a good butt stomping."

"Ryder, I explained all of this to Susie," George insisted.

Ryder shook his head, picked up a hymnal and began twirling it around his finger, "No, you called Susie sinful, evil and a whole bunch of other things and then let her run out of here crying without even bothering to follow her and make sure she was okay."

George rubbed at his chin and his brown eyes filled with sadness, "I didn't want to make her cry, Ryder.... But I cannot be a part of what she wants me to be a part of."

"Why's that?" Ryder questioned, sliding the hymnal back in the pew.

"Because it is wrong for two men to get married!"  

"So, do it for Susie. You don't even have to read out of that there book that likes to tell folks what to do if you don't want to. All you have to do is let the two men say some vows and make a commitment to one another that's all. It's what Susie wants," Ryder crossed his arms over his chest and waited for George's answer. Ryder figured he'd made a good argument. As far as he was concerned Susie didn't ask anybody for much of anything so when she did ask for something you should just do it without question.

"No, Ryder."

"Well why not?" Ryder demanded with confusion.

"Because two men should not be together in that way. It is not right and I won't stand up for them and pretend it is."	

Ryder's first instinct was to hit George in the face but he knew that wouldn't be what Susie would want so he forced his arm to relax, "George, I can remember a time, not too long ago, when most folks in this town thought it wasn't right for a colored man to stand up in front of them and preach. If I remember correctly it was Susie that stood up for you and fought to have you accepted."

"Ryder—"

Ryder held up his hand, "Where I come from that means you owe her one."

"This has nothing to do with Susie," George insisted. "This has to do with right and wrong according to the word of God."

"That damn book again?" Ryder demanded. "Every time I turn around someone's telling me that we can't do this or we can't do that because that books tells us so! The way I see it as long as you're a good person and don't go causing trouble or hurting folks for no reason then you're doing alright."

"Ryder, I've said how I feel. This is not an argument that we should be having in the house of God."

"Then let's step outside and have it in the house of don't-you-ever-make-my-wife-cry-again?" Ryder asked as he clenched and unclenched his fists rapidly. He was working hard to remain focused while also controlling his temper but that was hard to do when the whirring in his brain was growing louder and more chaotic every moment.

"That won't be necessary, Ryder," George stated comfortingly, "I love Susie and I'd like you to offer her my apologies. I didn't mean to make her feel as if I was insulting or judging her. I cannot have a part in her plans for this wedding but I would never think badly of Susie."

"Cannot or will not?" Ryder questioned as he tapped his fingers on his thighs. When George remained silent and simply stared down at the floor, Ryder knew he had his answer. He shook his head, turned his back on the old man and strode from the church, tapping his hand against each pew as he did so.

Susie was going to get what she wanted, even if Ryder had to perform the ceremony himself. He grinned. Heck that sounded like fun.

---

Nick was finally done with his work for the day and though his muscles were aching and his side was throbbing. His long legs were carrying him eagerly toward the ranch house where he knew Aiden would be. Aiden had been helping Ellie with plans for the wedding and of course Brody had laughed at him—it didn't bother Nick though. He liked that Aiden enjoyed cooking, cleaning and staying around the house. Nick couldn't wait until they moved in together alone at Thomas and Sally's. He liked knowing that his man would be waiting for him on the porch most days when he came in from a hard day in the fields and corrals. It was a comfort.

"Nick!"

Nick nearly ignored the voice that called out for him, wanting only to go see Aiden, but he glanced through the corner of his eye and saw Susie waving him toward her at the corner of the porch. Letting out a growl and plastering on a friendly smile, Nick went to her, "Good evening, Susie."

"Good evening, Nick," Susie replied happily, "I'm sorry to bother you after you've worked all day but there is something I'd like to talk to you about."

Nick frowned, "Is something wrong?"

"No!!" Susie shook her head quickly, "I wanted to make you an offer."

"Okay," Nick crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his weight onto his right leg to take the pressure of the left side of his body.

"Okay..." Susie folded her hands in front of her, "Wendell and Kaitlyn are getting married in a few days and I wanted to know if you and Aiden would be interested in a ceremony as well."

Nick shook his head, "Susie, last time I checked two men couldn't get married."

"Well not legally," Susie sighed and shrugged her shoulders, "But you could still have a ceremony in front of all of us that care about you and share vows with the one you love."

Nick was touched—more than that he was shocked and humbled. Susie was truly the kindest hearted woman that he had ever known in his life. She truly seemed to want to do this for him and Aiden, "Susie, I don't know what to say...."

"Say yes!" Susie replied brightly.

"And you have someone who will perform this ceremony?" Nick asked doubtfully.

"....Yes," Susie's reply was hesitant.

"You're sure?"

"Yes I'm sure," She replied more assuredly this time.

Nick smiled at the thought of sharing vows with Aiden for all those they cared about and God to see. Nick loved Aiden more than life and he longed to be able to say they were married and bonded for life, "I'll have to ask Aiden first before I can say for sure. I don't know if he'll even want to marry me."

"Of course he will," Susie promised as her big blue eyes lit up. "I'll leave you to do that then. I'm going to find my husband and head home before dark falls. I'll be out tomorrow to work on the wedding and you can let me know what his answer was."

Nick felt nerves begin to dance in his stomach, "Sure," he mumbled.

Susie smiled again and then headed off toward the barns. Nick rubbed his suddenly sweaty palms on his pants legs and let out a shaking breath.

He had no idea why he was so nervous.... He and Aiden had already had the commitment talk and they were both in this for the long haul so why was he worried that Aiden would turn down the offer of a real ceremony?

Knowing that nothing would be gained if he didn't ask, Nick made his way into the house and toward the kitchen where he could hear Eli squealing with laughter.

Nick found Aiden and Eli sitting together at the table. Aiden was making faces and Eli was laughing so loudly that the boy was clutching at his stomach and his face was bright red.

"Let the boy breathe," Nick teased.  

Aiden and Eli both whipped their heads toward him and then Aiden jumped from the chair and came to Nick who wrapped him up tight in a hug and kissed his hair, "I missed you today," Aiden stated.

"I missed you too," Nick agreed.

"Supper's ready," Aiden added as he pulled away. "Ellie and Jacob will be in here in a minute, they went down to the river so Jacob could clean up."

"Together?" Nick asked with a half-smile.

Aiden winked, "Some of us call it checking fences and others call it washing up at the river."

Nick couldn't come up with a way to get around to bringing up marriage and so he decided it could wait until later when they were truly alone and instead focused his attention on a squealing Eli who seemed eager to have everyone's attention solely on him.

---

Aiden's heart pounded against his ribs as Nick flopped down beside him in the bed later that night and Aiden curled up against his bare, sweat slicked chest. Aiden's body was humming and his heart was content as Nick wrapped his arms around him and held him close.

"Are you happy with me?" Nick asked quietly.

Aiden was caught off guard by the question as he hooked the blanket with his foot and then reached down to bring it over their bare bodies, "Of course I'm happy," he replied. "I think that much is obvious."  

Aiden glanced up at Nick's face and saw him staring up at the wood planked ceiling seemingly lost in thought. His jaw was tight as if he was nervous and his nostrils were flared, "What's wrong?" Aiden asked gently.

"I want to ask you something.... And I feel pretty darn nervous about doing it."

Aiden frowned, "You're scaring me, Nick. What do you want to ask?"

"I... Will you marry me, Aiden?"

Aiden's brow furrowed as he rose up and stared down at Nick with shock, "Marry you?!"

"Yeah," Nick replied without looking at him.

"But.. I don't think we can," Aiden reminded him, wondering if the man had forgotten that two men couldn't marry.

"I know it won't be legally binding but, well, Susie says she knows someone willing to still perform a ceremony where we could share vows with one another and be married in the eyes of those who care about us..... I want to spend my life with you, Aiden, with or without this ceremony; I just think this would be nice."

Nice? Aiden wasn't so sure. What if they further angered those that weren't very happy about the two of them together and caused a repeat of what had happened with Garth and his friends?

"We don't have to, Aiden," Nick mumbled quietly.

Aiden knew he had hurt Nick and that was the last thing that Aiden had meant to do. Quickly he leaned down and tenderly kissed Nick's tight jaw, "I love you, Nick. I'm already yours forever but if this means so much to you then I say yes, let's do it...."

"I don't want to do it just for me," Nick countered, meeting his gaze for the first time. "I want to do it for us."

"I know," Aiden managed a smile, "I didn't mean to act as if I didn't want this because I do. I'd be proud to share vows with you in front of our friends, and family, here at the ranch."

Nick smiled, put his hands on Aiden's cheeks and pulled his mouth down toward his, kissing him so tenderly that Aiden forgot for a moment how to breathe, "Something is still wrong with you," Nick noted as he pulled away.

Aiden swallowed hard and opened his eyes slowly, "I just have a bad feeling, Nick. I have a feeling that something is going to happen soon....."

Nick shook his head and pulled Aiden's head back down toward his chest, forcing him to relax, "Nothing is going to happen," Nick promised. "I'll keep you safe, Aiden."

Aiden nodded and snuggled closer to Nick. He lay there a long time and heard the changes in Nick's breathing that indicated the man had fallen asleep. Still Aiden simply laid there wide awake and lost in thoughts. Nick had said he'd keep Aiden safe but what the man didn't realize was that it wasn't himself that Aiden was worried about—it was Nick.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four

Aiden swallowed hard as he stood in the mirror in the ranch house bedroom and looked himself up and down. Ellie had surprised him with a new three piece tailored suit and waistcoat that she had made herself—and it looked nice. He wondered what Nick would think.

He ran his hand through his thick dark hair and smiled a shaky smile.

He was nervous.

Petrified.

He still couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. He had no idea what was going to happen but... 

something .

A knock at the closed door pulled Aiden from his thoughts of dread and he stepped away from the mirror, "Come in."

Elizabeth entered and she smiled brightly at him, "You look real handsome, Aiden."

"And scared to death," Brody added as he too strode into the room, "You worried the uh.. groom might get cold feet?"

"He's not is he?!" Aiden demanded. Honestly he hadn't given that any bit of thought but now.... 

damn!

Brody laughed and Elizabeth smacked his chest with the back of her hand as she rolled her eyes, "No, he's not getting cold feet. He's wandering around outside, mingling with the crowd and hoping you show up."

Aiden breathed a sigh of relief and nodded as his attention returned to the mirror, "I just can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen."

Brody's posture tightened with tension, "What?"

"I don't know," Aiden shrugged, "Who's performing the ceremony today?"

"George Bass is officiating for Wendell and Kaitlyn," Elizabeth informed him. She breezed across the room and grabbed his cravat from the bed. Aiden raised his chin as she wrapped it beneath his collar and began tying it with an ease that surprised him, "I use to do this for my father all the time before he passed away," she replied to his questioning gaze.

"So, he's officiating for them but not for me and Nick?" Aiden asked quietly.

"Don't worry about that," Brody stated with a raise of his brow, "You'll be took care of."

"Who...?"

"My friend LeRoy is gonna sign the paperwork since he's ordained to do so and Susie wants you to have as real a wedding as you can get but, uh, Ryder wants to have a part in it as well."

"Ryder?" Aiden questioned with dread.

The amusement on Brody's face caused his scar to stick out that much more sharply, "Yep. He's pretty excited about it too."

Aiden shook his head and smiled. Elizabeth's face brightened as she finished up the cravat and took a step back, "Now, Brody had something he wanted to talk to you about so I'm going to head on out. We have another hour or so before Wendell and Kaitlyn's ceremony starts and I have to run home and get the cinnamon cookies I baked. You and Nick will be getting married just as soon as Wendell and Kaitlyn are done saying 'I do'."

With that Elizabeth left the room and Brody shook his head as he watched her, "Stay away from anything that smells like, looks like, or generally resembles a cinnamon cookie today," he warned once Elizabeth was out of ear shot.

Aiden laughed lightly and fingered the perfectly done cravat that Elizabeth had tied around his neck, "She's good at this at least."

"Yep, too bad I'd be shot dead before I'd wear one of those."

"I think it looks nice," Aiden countered causing Brody to chuckle.

"Of course you do.... The wives always like to dress up real nice on the big day."

"According to Ellie, the fact that you say things like that means you like me."

Brody crooked a brow, "Is that right?"

Aiden nodded as he adjusted his waistcoat and glanced at that clock on the wall, "Yeah. That's what she said anyway."

"She's right, I reckon. Chances are if I didn't like you I would have branded your head by now."

Aiden laughed outright, assuming that Brody was joking, "You wouldn't really brand someone's forehead." The slight raise of Brody's brow told Aiden that he was wrong. "You really would brand someone's head?"

"I've done it before," Brody shrugged, "It was an improvement."

"Okay....." Aiden mumbled as his stomach turned a bit. He couldn't imagine just how angry Brody must have been to brand a man's head, "What were you wanting to talk to me about?" he asked, changing the subject.

Brody crossed his arms over his chest and propped his weight to one side, "I reckon you're going to be the one walking down the aisle right?"

Aiden nodded, "Yeah, why you gonna make another crack about me being the woman again?"

"No, actually I'd like to walk you down the aisle."

Aiden was shocked, humbled and amazed by Brody's offer. He was embarrassed by the emotion that lodged in his throat and the tears that pricked behind his eyes. He cursed himself mentally. There was no way he could cry in front of Brody!

"Please don't do that...." Brody grumbled as shifted his feet and glanced toward the door. "Do you want me to walk you down the aisle or not?"

"Yeah!" Aiden exclaimed quickly and when Brody raised his brow higher, Aiden took a step back and swallowed hard, "I mean sure. If... uh," he shrugged, feigning a lack of excitement. "If you want to."

---

"Ty, we have to go!" Liza called from the front porch, "We're already going to be late to Wendell and Kaitlyn's ceremony. I don't want to miss Nick and Aiden's. This means a lot to Susie."

Ty sighed as he stepped out of the barn. He could remind his wife that he'd been ready to go nearly two hours ago and she had been the hold-up but given her current bad mood that would probably not be the wisest course of action and he was a smart enough man to know it.

"I'm ready, Liza," he said instead as he jogged to their waiting cart and helped his wife lift her heavily pregnant frame into it. He took his place beside her, gathered up the reins and led them down the main street of town.

Ty's eyes scanned the streets. Quite a few folks were already gone out to the ranch for the wedding but there were those who refused to come or simply didn't know either party getting married. Some women refused to come to Kaitlyn's wedding because their husbands had had a bit too much fun at the saloon when Kaitlyn had worked there and there was a big majority that wasn't going to the weddings because they didn't agree with Nick and Aiden being allowed to marry.

Ty wasn't that sold on the idea either but Susie was his sister-in-law and he loved her. He'd do this for her because it meant so much and also because Ryder had begged and pleaded until he'd grudgingly agreed.

They were nearly out of the main part of town when Ty saw the richly dressed man and woman step from the hotel. He shook his head at the sight of the woman's dress. She was wearing so many petticoats, corsets and ribbons that she'd never get herself on a horse or in a cart for that matter—it would take a whole team of men. The man was wearing a suit and top hat and combined with that fancy gold handled cane in his hand, Ty figured his get-up cost more than Ty's salary paid him in a year.

Ty loved his town and the folks here mattered to him but they did get very many fancily dressed visitors. Most folks around here worked too hard to be bothered by frills and lace.

"Can I help you folks?" Ty asked as he stopped the cart and looked down at the out of place individuals.

"Hello, sir," the gentleman replied as he removed his hat and tipped his head, "My wife and I are looking for someone and we were told we could find him at a place called Atkinson Spread with a man named Brody Atkinson."

"Brody?" Liza whispered as she and Ty shared a look of dread.

"That's right," the woman sniffed as she covered her cheek with her silk encased hand, "He seems a most unsightly sort based on the letter we received from him."

Ty crossed his arms over his legs and held the reins loosely in his hands, "Well as you folks can tell, I'm the law around here. Why don't you tell me who it is you're searching for and I'll tell you if he's around here."

"This is a matter of utmost discretion," the man warned in a whisper.

Ty nodded, "Understood."

The man took a step closer and his brown eyes darted back and forth, "Our son, Aiden Washington."

Washington?

Aiden’s last name was Washington? A tiny little thing like him with such a powerful last name? Ty nearly laughed. It was a question that he hadn’t ever asked the man but it made sense. Family rich and in the government—of course he was a Washington. Ty wondered if he was any relation to the first president of their fine country. He did chuckle a bit at that thought. Oh, what the founding father would say if he could see his blood kin now.

"Can you excuse us a moment?" Liza asked brightly and then she yanked Ty's arm and pulled his face close to hers.

"What?" he demanded, not liking being handled so roughly in public. There was a certain amount of respect that he needed to be given as sheriff when others were around.

"You had better do something about them," she warned in a whisper, "They mean trouble, I'd guarantee it! They nearly killed him themselves before sending hired men to do it for them."

"Maybe they've had a change of heart?" Ty offered doubtfully.

Liza snorted, "Yes and maybe the butcher will have to build a roof on his hog lot to keep the pigs in when they sprout wings out their backsides."

"Be awful hard to fly if the wings come out that end," Ty pondered. Liza glared at him. "I'll handle things." He turned his attention back to Aiden's parents, "What business do you have with Aiden?" he asked. "He's pretty well liked around here and I'd hate to think he's in some kind of trouble."

The man and woman shared a look and she shook her head ever-so-slightly, "No, he's in no trouble," Aiden's father said slowly, "We are simply concerned for his well-being and would like to have him back home with us where he belongs. The last time we saw one another things did not turn out very well."

"Well you're in luck," Ty smiled and sat up straighter, "He's at Atkinson Spread all right and we was just fixing to head out there ourselves." Ty felt Liza tense beside him and he also noticed the barely controlled rage flit across Aiden's father's face. Oh yes, the man certainly seemed concerned about his son's well-being... mainly the fact that he was still breathing.

"Yes and we're late—" Liza began.

"Is there something happening out there today?" Aiden's mother questioned.

"Yep," Ty nodded and put his hand on Liza's knee to silence her, "A wedding... double-wedding actually."

"Well good then. Allow us to rent a buggy and we will follow you..."

"I have an extra one down the road," Ty countered. "I'll let you use it free of charge just follow me." He handed the reins to a confused Liza and jumped down from the cart, "Just wait here for me, honey," he stated with a smile.

Aiden's parents followed him willingly enough down the road but stopped when they reached the jail, "What are we doing here?" his mother demanded.

"My building is pad locked and the keys in here somewhere."

"We'll wait out here," Aiden's father stated.

Ty shook his head, "Come on now, it's hot out here and a bit cooler inside and it might take a while for me to find that key. I'm a bit unorganized."

Aiden's father gave his wife a questioning glance and she nodded as she fanned herself, "Please, dear, it is dreadfully hot out here today. Texas is much too warm for my tastes."

Ty smiled with triumph as the fancy couple followed him inside and his deputy frowned at the sight of them. Ty closed the door and locked it which of course caused Aiden's parents to whirl around with alarm.

"What

are you doing?!“ his father demanded.

"Well, Mr. Washington, the truth is that your son is getting married to the man he loves today out there at the ranch and I just can't allow you to go interrupt things. See if I let you do that then my wife would get really hard to live with and I'd make an enemy of a man I'd just as soon keep as a friend by the name of Brody... and it would hurt my sister-in-law which of course would lead to my brother gunning for me. So see I'm in a bit of an awkward spot."

As he spoke, Ty pulled his gun, aimed it in their direction and motion with his other hand for the deputy to open the door that led to the cells.

"You will not lock us away like common criminals!" Aiden's father bellowed as his mother clung to him.

"Yes I will. You're an attempted murderer and when that didn't work you hired men to kill your son who was not guilty of any crime as far as the law is concerned... and your wife there is an accomplice to all of that since she went along with it."

"You wouldn't dare! Do you have any idea who I am?"

"No," Ty shrugged, "And I don't give a shit neither. Now get back through there and let's not make this ugly. Just as soon as the ceremony is over I'll let Aiden know you're here and he can decide what to do with you."

Ty led them to a cell while they stuttered, stammered and grew angry. He locked them safely inside and handed the keys to his deputy, "They don't leave until I say so," Ty warned and the deputy nodded,

"Yes sir."

Ty tipped his hat to the man and wife as she sobbed and he glared. When Ty rejoined Liza out at the cart he felt pretty good about what he had done...all except for the fact that locking up a well-known government official could cost him his badge.

"Did you honestly lock them up?" Liza asked, sounding quite impressed.

"Yep. Now come along darling," Ty jumped up in the cart, took the reins and kissed her cheek, "We have a wedding to be getting to."

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Five

Nick couldn't stop pacing and fidgeting. He had never been the type to fidget but hell it wasn't every day that a man got married! Oh God what if something went wrong? What if someone said something bad about him and Aiden and ruined this day for Aiden?

Nick would kill them, that was what. He'd put a .45 bullet right between their eyes and then he'd.......

"Are you listening?"  

Nick turned his head toward Susie and saw her watching him with concern. Had she been talking? "Sorry, Susie," he shook his head, "I'm a bit distracted today."

She smiled brightly and laid her hand on his arm, "I understand. I was saying that Wendell wants you standing up with him while he gets married so just as soon as he and Kaitlyn are finished, LeRoy and Ryder will take George's place, you'll move to Wendell's and Aiden....."

"Ryder?" Nick questioned, "Why is Ryder moving to George's place with LeRoy?"

Susie bit her lip and folded her hands in front of her, "Because he wants to help with the ceremony."

Nick could see a million ways that could go wrong and it only caused his worry to increase. He saw Ryder beside the refreshment table, greeting the guests as they arrived at the ranch. He was bowing and waving his arms, directing folks to their seats as if he was conducting an orchestra, "That's..uh.. nice, I reckon," Nick mumbled.

"It'll be just fine, Nick.... 

I hope ,“ Susie frowned as she glanced at her overly animated husband, “He means well.”

"I know," Nick sighed. "It was real nice of you to do this for me and Aiden, Susie. Especially since we ain't really family."

Susie whipped her head around and her blue eyes were filled with real hurt, "Of course you are! Family isn't always blood, Nick. Besides, I think Brody has adopted Aiden as his son."

"But there isn't even ten years between them," Nick pointed out.

"Doesn't matter," Susie shrugged her shoulder, "Brody even volunteered to walk Aiden down the aisle to you. And it was his idea. Elizabeth was just as surprised by it as Aiden was."

"So you've talked to Aiden?" Nick asked, wondering what the man was thinking and feeling as their moment grew closer. Nick would guarantee he was worried because Aiden was a worrier. He probably needed Nick to hold him and kiss his head while promising that everything would be alright......

"He's doing better than you are today," Susie teased. "Relax, Nick, everything is going to be just fine."

Rita Halcomb began playing a tune on the organ and Nick recognized that as the sign for everyone to settle down and take their seats.

Nick waited impatiently as Wendell and Kaitlyn said their vows. He had hoped that Aiden would come out to watch but it seemed the other man was serious about not seeing each other until it was their turn to wed.

Nick nearly throttled Wendell and Kaitlyn when their kiss took longer than he thought it should. Didn't they realize how nervous he was!? Couldn't they see his suffering?

"I think we should get out of the way now before Nick collapses," Wendell said with amusement.

"Yeah, he's looking a bit pale," Kaitlyn agreed.

Nick glared at them both as chuckles and laughter broke out around them.

George excused himself from beneath the white archway full of roses and took a seat at a back row of chairs. Nick tried to focus on everything going on at once. He was aware of more than a few people gathering up their belongings and heading toward their carts and wagons; clearly they had no interest in staying to witness a marriage between two men. Nick didn't care.

For the most part though, people stayed. Nick saw Brody rise and head into the ranch. That meant he'd be coming back out with Aiden soon. Nick looked around at the crowd. He saw many familiar faces, most smiling, some seeming a little uncomfortable but determined to stay. There were also a few unfamiliar faces but one in particular drew his attention the most.  

It was a man and it was clear he was trying to blend into the crowd but he was failing. He looked hard, rugged and mean. His hat was sweat stained and frayed as were his clothes. His face was sharp angles and long blond whiskers hung from his chin. Nick let his gaze drop and was nearly certain he saw a pair of double drop holsters beneath the man's duster coat—it was a bit too hot for a coat like that.

Who was this? An old acquaintance of Brody's? He certainly seemed to fit the image of Brody's past.... Or was he a friend of someone else's? Maybe someone who had simply been passing through town, heard about a wedding and free food and decided a meal sounded nice....  

Nick shook his head to clear his thoughts. That man could be anybody and Nick had a wedding to worry about. He saw Ty and Liza arrive and they whispered to Ellie and Elizabeth as they sat down while throwing Nick an apologetic glance.... He wondered why they were late. Aiden had been worried about a bad feeling he'd been having.... Now the sheriff was late to the wedding and a gunslinger was sitting in the crowd....

Nick wanted to slap himself. He had to quit over thinking everything. He needed to get this wedding over with. He didn't do well in front of crowds –hell, he didn't like crowds at all. He wanted to get married, take Aiden back to their cabin, (which they were spending their first night in tonight), and get started on their life together.

LeRoy and Ryder took their places up with him and Nick frowned at Ryder who was grinning from ear to ear and bouncing from foot to foot, "This is gonna be great!" Ryder exclaimed as he rubbed his hands together.  

Nick groaned.

Rita once again began playing her organ and Nick felt his stomach begin to tie in knots so tight he worried it would burst. Ryder began dancing to the music and attempting to make LeRoy dance as well and Nick suddenly felt a bit of his nervousness melt away as he laughed quietly and saw Susie hiding her face in the front row of chairs; clearly embarrassed by her husband's antics.

Then everything faded away. The singings birds, the bright sun, the blue sky, the fragrant flowers, the white sashes and smiling crowd disappeared from Nick's view. Every bit of worry, nervousness and unease vanished as well.

All he could see was Aiden as Brody led him around the chairs and stood at the other end of the long aisle. Nick couldn't believe that Brody was even going so far as to hold Aiden's arm the way he would have one of his sisters. Brody was a damn good man—one of the very best that Nick knew.

Aiden's nerves were plain to see just the same as the smile that was nearly cracking his cheeks as he walked toward Nick. Nick smiled finding his excitement contagious and when Aiden and Brody finally reached him, it took every ounce of willpower Nick had to keep from taking Aiden into his arms right then.

"Who—" LeRoy began but Ryder quickly jumped in front of the other man.

"You're just here to sign papers," Ryder stated with a grin. "You let me handle the rest of this."

"Ryder!" Susie hissed quietly as her face reddened and Aiden's did as well.

"I got this, Sue," Ryder winked. "Don't you worry none."

Nick took his eyes off of Aiden just long enough to send a warning glance to Ryder. The man had better not ruin today for Aiden or Nick would kick his hyperactive ass.

"Now who gives this man away to be married?" Ryder asked as he stood tall and straight and folded his hands in front of him.

"I do," Brody replied firmly, the warning in his voice clear. Ryder smiled as Brody released his hold on Aiden's arm and rejoined his wife and children.

Nick's attention became focused on Aiden as Ryder began speaking about true love and the change it made in a person and their life. Nick was impressed by the depth and meaning behind Ryder's words as he spoke of how great a gift love was and how it was to be protected, cherished and never taken for granted or abused.

Nick could see the tears in Aiden's deep brown eyes as they looked into his and he smiled at the man who had made his life so complete and whole once again. Nick had never dreamed he'd find a love like he shared with Aiden and to be able to be open with that love was a gift that Nick knew he would never be able to pay the Atkinson family back for.

"So, Aiden," Ryder said, snapping Nick from his thoughts. "Do you take this handsome, tall drink of water to be your husband? Do you promise to love, honor, respect and keep him running back home to you for as long as you both shall live?"

Aiden smiled as he nodded, "I do."

"And Nick, do you take this handsome, dark eyed temptress—" at this everyone in the crowd either moaned, chuckled quietly or shifting awkwardly, "—to be your husband. Do you promise to love, honor, respect and keep him sated and satisfied for as long as you both shall live?"

Nick couldn't help but laugh at the uncomfortable stances of some of the people in the crowd, "I do," he vowed looking deep into Aiden's eyes as he did so.

"Then by the power vested in me by...myself... I now pronounce you 'y'all'. Nick you may kiss your fella."

Nick smiled down at Aiden and laid a tender kiss to his brow, "Hey, that wasn't a good kiss," Ryder snapped as he put his hands on his hips, "Do it again!"

"I don't think that's a good idea..." Nick mumbled, sparing a quick glance at the crowd.

Ryder rolled his eyes and addressed the spectators, "If any of you have a problem with a newly married couple who love each other deeply, and both just happen to have facial stubble, kissing than please look away now. If you choose not to look away then don't you offer one bit of complaint if you don't like what you see," Ryder smiled at Nick and Aiden, "Now you may kiss your fella and do it a bit better than the first time."

Nick growled at the challenge in Ryder's voice and the uncertainty on Aiden's face. He reached out, took Aiden by his lean hips, pulled him close and pressed his lips firmly to the softness of Aiden's mouth.

Nick kept the kiss short and sweet but it still caused his heart to pound against his ribs. As he and Aiden broke apart, claps and cheers erupted from the crowd as everyone stood. Nick and Aiden turned to face everyone and stood hand in hand together.

Nick was proud to stand there with Aiden by his side and he found himself looking down at Aiden and getting lost in the happiness that was splashed all over Aiden's features. Nick would do his best to make sure that Aiden always looked just like this; just this happy.

"Hey Aiden!" Nick looked toward the unfamiliar voice and saw the gunslinger, "Your folks say hello."

In a flash of movement the man went for a gun and then stopped quickly when in less than an instant he had the barrels of numerous revolvers aimed in his direction while the folks around him scattered.

Nick held his gun steady, his sights resting on the bastard's chest, and he wasn't the only one. Aiden also held his own gun, Ryder held his twin, pearl handled .38's, Brody has his long-barreled .45, Elizabeth had her own .38, Ty held his revolver and Thomas was behind the gunslinger with his gun pressed tightly to the back of the shaking man's head.

"You picked the wrong ranch and the wrong folks to mess with," Brody warned calmly.

Nick was faintly aware of most of the guests heading toward the barns and out of the line of fire. Susie and Ellie were shooing the children toward the barns as well.

"I knew something bad was going to happen," Aiden whispered.

"Nothing bad is going to happen to you, Aiden," Nick countered, "Something real bad is going to happen to that son of a bitch though."

"You're under arrest," Ty stated as he started toward the gunslinger.

"No," the man hissed his hand inching closer to his gun.

"I thought I recognized you, Cliff. Did you honestly think I didn't realize you were here when you first showed up?" Brody shook his head, "You picked a bad line of work. Hired killer? I expected something better from a man I fought beside."

"We do what we have to do, Brody," Cliff kept his eyes locked on Aiden and Nick moved in front of him, shielding him with his body, "Nice get up you have here though."

"Yep," Brody replied quietly. Thomas moved away from the back of Cliff and went to stand to the side, "You know if you pull that gun you're killing yourself."

Cliff nodded, “I know.” He shrugged, “And you know that the war took everything I was living for away from me. I’ve been looking for a way to die since it ended and this seemed like a sure fire way to do just that.”

"You're right about that," Brody agreed.

"I won't go to jail, you know that too," Cliff warned, "And I gotta do my job. If I don't then they'll just send someone else."

"Then I'll kill them too," Nick spoke up. He holstered his gun and stepped forward, shaking Aiden off of him when the other man tried to hang onto his arm.

Slowly everyone else holstered their weapons and Nick and Cliff faced off.

Nick could feel his heart beating fast and his mind racing. He took a deep breath, stilled his mind and focused only on Cliff while his hand hovered over the handle of his revolver.

Silence reigned all around them.

Nick waited for any sign of movement and suddenly he saw it. The flick of an eyebrow as Cliff went for his gun. Nick drew his first and fired a quick shot from his hip sending a bullet deep into the other man's heart.

Before Cliff's body hit the ground, Nick had his gun holstered and was holding Aiden in his arms.

"Damn..." Brody mumbled, "You might just be as fast as me."

"I gotta leave," Aiden stated as he pulled out of Nick's arms. "I can't stay here any longer. I'm just going to get someone killed!"

With that Aiden ran off quickly toward the barn and left everyone standing around staring at his back with confusion.

Brody shook his head, "Where the hell is he going? Nobody even come close to getting hurt."  

Nick was about to chase after Aiden when Ty's next words stopped him in his tracks, "There's a good reason I was late today," he stated. "Aiden's parents showed up in Bakerstown. They're locked up at the jail right now."

---

Aiden stood outside the jail with Nick's arm securely wrapped around him. He couldn't believe his parents were in there. Benjamin and Mary Washington locked up inside Bakerstown Jail with Brody Atkinson currently alone inside with them.

Aiden thought of the events leading up to this moment and the rage that he had seen on Brody's face as they'd ridden toward town. It seemed Brody had taken them showing up as a direct insult against him after he'd told them to stay away.

Brody had only spoken once and that was to say that he didn't give warnings or mercy very often and he couldn't believe someone would spit in his face when he offered both.

Susie had agreed to stay at the ranch with Ellie and Jacob and the kids while Ryder, Nick, Aiden, Elizabeth, Brody, Thomas, Sally, Ty and Liza rode into town to deal with Aiden's family.

"Ya reckon Brody's killed them yet?" Ryder asked as he walked across the porch banister.

"Probably," Thomas nodded, "They'd deserve it."

Aiden shivered and felt Nick hold him tighter. Today was supposed to have been a day filled with love and laughter and instead it had turned into blood, fear and anger and all because of Aiden's parents.

When Aiden had come out of that barn with a horse and every intention of leaving and never coming back he had never seen such hurt and anger on the faces of those he loved. Nick had nearly been in tears as he'd tried to talk Aiden out of it, Elizabeth had been holding Brody back because the man had seemed ready to throttle him and everyone else had been insisting that Aiden was not the problem and they expected him to stay around.

Now here they were gathered outside the jail as night began to fall and Brody was inside alone with Aiden's parents and had been for nearly an hour.

"Whatever happens, Aiden, I don't want you to think you have to leave," Elizabeth warned. "You are family and this family sticks together no matter what."

"Okay," Aiden replied blankly.

Silence fell once again. Only the sound of Ryder's boots on the banister as he paced back and forth filled the oppressive lack of sound.

Aiden nearly jumped from his skin when the heavy jail door opened and Brody stepped out. Aiden looked the man up and down but didn't see any blood, "What happened?" he demanded. "Did you kill them?"

Brody raised a brow as he looked down at him, "No. I can't kill a person when they are on their knees, groveling, snotting, crying and begging for their life." LeRoy, (who had been leaned against the jail), chuckled and shook his head. Brody shrugged, "Okay, yes I can. I actually have before but, no, I didn't kill your parents."

"Why not?" Aiden whispered, causing looks of shock to be thrown his direction, "They're not going to stop until they're dead."

Brody sighed, "Yes they are. Because you're going to go in there right now and you're going to tell them to. Show them who the boss is, Aiden."

"I...."

Nick tightened his hold on Aiden, "I'll come with you," he insisted and Aiden had no choice but to nod, though just the thought of facing his parents again caused his knees to shake and his stomach to turn.

As Nick and Aiden disappeared into the jail Thomas turned to Brody, "Do you really think they'll listen to him?"

"No," Brody replied honestly. "But they're scared damn near shitless of me. Being an ugly son of a bitch with a mean streak comes in handy now and then."

---

Aiden was terrified as he stepped into the back of the jail and saw the people who had given him life and wanted his death sitting in a cell. He walked to the cell on shaking legs with a lot of support from Nick and stood there staring at his parents in awkward silence.  

Finally his father spoke, "We have nothing to say to you."

"Why did you come here?" Aiden whispered, his voice trembling.

"To see the job done," his father replied coldly.  

Aiden heard his mother sniff as she buried her face in her hands, "You want me dead too, mother?" Aiden whispered.

Mary Washington stood up and walked to the bars of the cell. She met Aiden's gaze and the coldness in her eyes caused his heart to stop beating momentarily, "Yes. You have ruined our lives. You and your black soul! The wrong people found out what you were, Aiden, because you told someone back home that couldn't keep a secret."

Aiden thought back and knew that the only person it could have been was his old friend named James. James wouldn't have told to hurt Aiden but when James was drinking he lost control of his mouth.

"Now your father is being forced from the government. You have ruined our lives simply because you are a selfish, sinful, demon spirit!"

"Hey now," Nick warned when Aiden whimpered. The hatred in his mother's voice was more than he could take. That wasn't how mothers were supposed to talk to their children, "You'll watch how you speak and what you say to Aiden."

"And who are you?" Benjamin demanded.

"He's my....my husband," Aiden whispered.

Mary gasped and made the sign of the cross over her breasts as she backed away from the bars. Benjamin spit at Nick's chest and Aiden felt his fear fading as anger took its place. How dare his father disrespect Nick that way.

"You'll apologize now," Aiden warned his father, standing straight and meeting the man's cold brown eyes.

"I won't."

"You will!" Aiden insisted. "And you'll leave me the hell alone from here on out. Tell the folks back home that I'm dead.. that I was killed because of my sins and you're happy for it. That should get you back in their good graces. Tell them that you rid the earth of my evil soul and then you forget I exist. You stay out of Texas and don't send anyone else here after me. Three of your hired killers have already been killed and I can promise that the rest of them will be too. I'll forget about you, you forget about me and we'll all live just fine without one another."

Aiden turned quickly, grabbed Nick's hand and led the man from the jail. Everyone looked at them expectantly as they stepped out into the cooler night air, "Well?" Ryder questioned.

"They aren't going to stop," Aiden shook his head, "But I told them to... They hate me... really hate me."

"Oh Aiden...." Elizabeth wrapped him up in a hug that made his heart constrict and he hugged her back tightly.

"It'll be okay, Aiden," Brody promised, "Ty, I want them held and tried for hiring those men to kill Aiden. There's plenty of witnesses that can say they heard the killers admit they'd been hired by his folks and his folks admitted it to me themselves while I was speaking to them."

"And if they're found innocent?" Aiden asked quietly.

Brody met his gaze and the coldness in the man's green eyes was the single scariest sight that Aiden had ever seen, "Then I'll take care of it. I told you before that I protect what's mine."

Aiden was exhausted both physically and mentally. He just wanted to fall into Nick's arms and sleep for five days straight. Nick seemed to realize how tired he was and he wrapped his arms tight around him, "Let's go home," he said and everyone else seemed to think that was a good idea as well.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Six

Brody stepped into the jail and nodded at Ty who was sitting at his desk discussing the day ahead with the executioner. Ty simply raised a hand in greeting and Brody made his way back toward the cells.  

The jail was empty, just as it almost only was, and only one cell contained prisoners. Prisoners who were just finishing up the last meal they would ever eat, "Good morning," Brody greeted as he stopped beside their bars.  

Benjamin looked at him with tired eyes and sat his plate aside, "Are you attempting to be humorous?"

"Nope. I ain't what you'd call a humorous man," Brody shrugged and rocked back on his heels, "The way I see it, it 

is a damn good morning.“

"Please, sir," Mary pleaded as she rose and made her way toward him with a rustling of her stained and stiff skirts, "I am a woman, have mercy on me!"

Brody's brow rose as he looked down his nose at the sniveling woman, "Mercy? Mercy is for God to dish out. Me? I'm just the son of a bitch that's gonna send you to him."

"You're a monster!" Benjamin growled.

Brody shrugged, "Never said I wasn't. You were warned what would happen if you came after my family again."

"He's our son," Mary countered. "We brought that disgrace into the world and we were simply trying to rid the world of his evil."  

"That man is no disgrace, that's a title that you and your husband have earned. I won't spend any more time in here talking to you. I just wanted to let you know that it'll be me pulling that lever today out there at the gallows and I'm damn excited about it too. It'll me sending your black souls straight to God so he can sort you both out."

"Can we see our son?" Benjamin asked.

Brody couldn't believe he'd ask such a ridiculous question, "No. No you can't see him. And he's not yours anymore. He's got a whole new family of folks now that think he's a good damn person just the way he is. He don't have any more need for a couple of judgmental pricks such as yourselves," Brody tipped his hat, "Have a good day now."

Brody walked from the back of the jail, tipped his head once again to Ty and the executioner and then stepped outside into the sunrise. He took a deep breath of fresh air and glanced toward the gallows that had been built just for Mr. and Mrs. Washington.  

Executions were usually done over in Austin but Brody had pulled a few strings to have the trial and execution held here. The jury had been full of folks that cared a lot about Aiden and Nick and the judge had been a man who Brody knew was fond of men himself. Had it been a fair trial? No. Did Aiden's parents deserve a fair trial after what they'd done? Hell no.

Brody had promised Aiden that he would take care of those monsters and he kept his word when he gave it. He'd even talked the executioner into letting him pull the lever. Brody took care of what was his and he couldn't simply put a bullet in these folks the way he normally would have because Ty was being a stickler for the rules and insisted they needed a trial and a hanging.

It had been two months that the Washington's had been locked up in that cell. Two months waiting on the judge, going through the trial and building the gallows. Now finally justice would be served. Brody decided he didn't like doing things by the book. Two quick bullets the instant those two rode into town would have been quicker and simpler.

Laying his hand over his rumbling stomach, Brody decided to head to the diner for breakfast. There was still a good two hours before he was due to send Mary and Benjamin swinging.

---

Nick stood there on the outskirts of town and waited on Aiden's parents to be led up onto the gallows. He was going to stay here and watch those monsters die and then he was going to go home to the man he loved with this horrible mess finally behind them and over.

Aiden's nightmares had gotten worse since the wedding and he seemed continually convinced that someone else was going to come gunning for him. But they weren't. Brody and Ty had ensured that Mary and Benjamin had had no contact with anyone outside the jail and so they'd been unable to send letters or telegrams out to anyone they might want to hire.

Nick looked around at the crowd around the gallows. It was a small crowd, mostly consisting of men who were eager to see these two people, who had sent trouble to their town, die the way they deserved. In some towns hangings were family affairs and folks held picnics and played games while watching them but not here. Around here death wasn't something the folks saw every day and for the most part the women and children had stayed away from the hanging.

The sound of the jail's door opening echoed through the unusually empty streets. Instantly Nick's head whipped around to the jail and he felt his fists clench when he saw Aiden's parents step out into the sun. They squinted and seemed to shy away from the light which they hadn't seen in weeks. Aiden looked like his mother but had his father's eyes, Nick noted, but that was where the similarities between them all ended.  

Aiden was Nick's life and had their trial found them innocent, Nick would have taken care of them himself. No one was going to hurt his man again and if they dared to try it then Nick would see that they were dealt with swiftly and without mercy. Nick was going to see that Aiden was taken care of and loved from here on out and eventually he'd be able to love those bad memories and nightmares away.

Nick watched as Ty and Brody led Mary and Benjamin to the gallows. Benjamin's eyes met Nick's as he walked past and Nick stood tall, met his gaze full force and then returned the gesture Benjamin had bestowed on him months ago and spit at the man's feet.

Anger flashed in Benjamin's eyes and he appeared ready to lunge at Nick until Brody grunted and planted his boot directly on Benjamin's backside causing the man to stumble forward and nearly fall before catching himself.

Brody shared a grin with Nick and then continued on his way.  

Nick stood there in the street and watched Mary and Benjamin led onto the gallows. It was with mixed emotions and flashbacks of his own past that he watched Brody place the ropes around their necks.

The two prisoners passed up the offer to speak any last words before burlap sacks were placed over their heads. George Bass offered a few words for their souls in prayer and lowered his head as Brody walked to the wooden lever, met Nick's eyes in the small crowd and pulled that lever, sending Aiden's parents to their deaths.

Nick wondered if that feeling of satisfaction in his gut watching them swing back and forth was a bad sign for his soul but he figured it wasn't. After what those people had nearly taken from him, it served them right to meet their death. Honestly the hanging had been too quick. In Nick's opinion they had deserved to suffer a bit more.  

Leaving the Washington's in the care of Ty and the undertaker, Nick headed off toward the livery where he'd left his horse hitched this morning. As he walked Brody fell in step beside him. "They're the undertaker's problem now," Brody stated as he lit a match on his cheek and lit the cigarette hanging off his lip.

"Maybe Aiden will be able to get a full night of sleep without waking up scared now that they'll be in the ground," Nick mumbled.

Brody shook his head, "I wouldn't be too hopeful of that, Nick. I know a thing or two about them dreams and they don't quit too easy."  

The two men fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts as they unhitched their horses. As Nick swung himself into the saddle, Brody mirrored his movements and blew out smoke, "Let's get on home now, Nick. I'm sure our wives'll have some food waitin'," Brody shivered, "Yours is bound to taste a bit better than mine."  

Nick chuckled for the first time in a while and the two men pointed their horses toward the ranch.

---

Aiden ran the broom over the already spotless porch and then tossed the broom aside. After rubbing face roughly, he grabbed the hand woven basket that Lexi had made for him and headed for the chicken coop to gather up the eggs.

It was Sunday so there wasn't much work going on at the ranch and Aiden was struggling to find things to keep his mind occupied and off of what was going on in town.

His parents were dying today. They were probably already dead. Aiden wasn't sure how he felt about that. Relieved? Yes. Sad? Yes. Regardless of what they had done to him and how they had turned their backs they were still his parents and it broke Aiden's heart to know what their relationship had become simply because Aiden was in love with a man; with Nick.

Aiden was getting the last of the eggs from under a hen that wasn't too happy for his intrusion when he heard the horse approaching the barn. Fear gripped him as his mind instantly went to every bad scenario imaginable. He scolded himself. It was Nick. He didn't even have to look outside the coop to know it was Nick. He could sense the other man's presence deep down. These bad nightmares that came both while he was sleeping and while he was awake were eating away at him slowly and he knew they were driving Nick insane as well.

They'd been living together out in this cabin for two months and not a single night had gone by that Aiden had woken up covered in sweat and half-crazy with panic.

Aiden stepped out of the chicken coop and felt relief fill him when he saw Nick hopping down from his horse, "Did ya get any eggs?" Nick asked.

"Twelve," Aiden nodded as he tipped his basket so Nick could see. He swallowed hard and forced his eyes to meet Nick's gray ones, "Is it done?"

Nick nodded hesitantly and Aiden stood there in silence trying hard to understand what he was feeling. Tears filled his eyes and before he could speak or make any sense of them, Nick was wrapping him up in his long, strong arms and pulling him against his chest, "I love you, Aiden. I'm sorry it had to come to this," he whispered.

 Aiden simply whimpered and began to cry harder. He didn't know why he was crying.. was it sadness? Stress? Relief? Exhaustion? A combination of all four?  

Nick grabbed the basket of eggs from his hand and sat them on the ground before scooping Aiden up bridal style. Aiden wrapped his arms tight around Nick's neck and kept his face pressed against his chest as tears continued to fall.

Nick carried him gently into their bedroom and laid him down softly on the soft bed before curling himself up against him, "Aiden, please don't cry. I don't know what to do when you cry."

"You're—" Aiden sniffed. "You're doing pretty good."

"I don't know what to say to make you feel better," Nick admitted. "It was fast and they didn't suffer..."

"I know, Nick," Aiden whispered. "And I know it had to be done. They wouldn't have stopped."

"You know how much I love you, don't you?" Nick questioned, holding Aiden a little tighter.

"Yes," Aiden felt his lips curve into a small smile. "And I love you just as much right back."

Nick put his hand under Aiden's chin and tipped his head back so they were looking into one another's eyes, "You just go ahead and cry for as long as you need to, Aiden. I'll be right here holding you." Nick pressed a tender kiss to Aiden's damn lips which of course only served to make Aiden cry harder as he clung to him.

---

Two more weeks came and went and Nick's worry for Aiden grew as did everyone else's. Aiden wasn't sleeping because he feared the nightmares that would wake him and he wasn't smiling as easily as he once had.

Nick missed his smile.

"Liz, can Aiden and I have fence duty today?" Nick questioned as he caught Elizabeth stepping out of the pony barn early on a Monday morning.  

Elizabeth frowned as she crossed her arms, "I wasn't going to have anyone checking fences today.... Is he doing any better?"

Nick sighed and rubbed his neck roughly, "No." He growled with frustration, "I just don't know what to do."

"Be patient with him," Elizabeth replied gently as she put her hand on his arm. "To a certain extent I understand the betrayal and hurt he's feeling at knowing what his parents did to him. My father betrayed me in the end and I never had the chance to speak to him again. As did a man I considered an uncle and a woman who had been like a mother to me. I still have nightmares sometimes about what Brody and I went through. And Brody has nightmares quite often about his past and things he's done... things he's afraid of... Just be patient with Aiden. Things will get better."

Nick truly hoped she was right, "So about fence duty?"

"You all have your own cabin for those kinds of things," Elizabeth replied with a knowing smile.  

Nick shifted his feet and looked down at the dirt. They hadn't done 

those things in a long while, “I know. But I think getting out in the air and reliving old times will be good for him. Hell at this point I’m willing to try anything just to see him smile again.”

"Of course," Elizabeth nodded and her green eyes were sad, "You all can have the whole day to check those fences but bring him back to the ranch around six, okay?"

Nick frowned, "Why?"

"Don't question me, I'm your boss," Elizabeth winked. "Just do it."

Nick nodded, tipped his hat in thanks and then jogged to the ranch house to get some quick food for the picnic. If things went as planned then they would need sustenance.

An hour and a half later Aiden and Nick rode side by side in the midmorning sun. Nick glanced over at his man and smiled when he saw him squinting into the light. He reached down and tugged open the sack tied to his saddle horn.

"I got you something," Nick stated as he pulled out a brown Stetson hat and ran his hands over the soft leather.

Aiden's eyes widened, "You got me that?" he asked as he reached out and took the hat from Nick's hand.  

"Yep. You gotta have a hat and this one oughta fit you a bit better than that old one you used to wear around. Sorry I didn't get it earlier."

"Nick... thanks." Nick waited for a big smile but it didn't come. Just a small ghost of one crossed over Aiden's face before fading away. Aiden slid the hat on and ran his finger over the brim. "It fits perfect."  

"I measured your head while you were sleeping," Nick admitted. "I wanted it to fit just right."

Silence fell over them again as they rode side by side, "We're not really out here to check fences are we?" Aiden asked as the pond they had first made love beside came into view.

Nick shook his head, "No, we're not. I just wanted to let you relax for a day, Aiden. See something other than the ranch and the cabin."  

Aiden nodded but appeared lost in thought so Nick gave up on conversation. They dismounted their horses and Nick pulled a tablecloth from the sack and spread it out on the ground. He then grabbed the sack full of food and sat down upon the blanket once Aiden had taken his place.  

---

Aiden sat there as they ate a bit of their picnic and he kept looking at Nick from the corner of his eye. He wanted Nick. He wanted Nick to act as if he wanted him. He wanted Nick to act hungry and possessive and unable to keep his hands off of him the way he once had. But Nick didn't. Nick just sat there and stared into the pond.  

Aiden couldn't blame him. Who wanted to make love to a crazy man who rarely slept, couldn't seem to smile and couldn't explain or put into words what was wrong with him?

Nick loved him, Aiden knew that, but he didn't think the man desired him anymore and that hurt. It hurt bad.  

"It's a pretty day," Aiden offered, glancing up at the clear blue sky. Autumn was fast approaching but the days were still plenty warm and beautiful.

"Yeah," Nick grunted in agreement.  

Aiden finally couldn't take anymore. He wanted Nick and, dammit, he was going to have him. Tossing his biscuit aside Aiden flung himself at the other man, toppling them both over. He pressed a hungry kiss to Nick's lips and felt Nick stiffen.

Pulling away a bit Aiden built up his courage a moment before looking into Nick's gray eyes. What he saw there only made his own hunger that much greater. Nick's gray eyes were dark and smoky and full of passion. Nick let out a hungry growl, that growl that Aiden loved so much, and then he lunged for Aiden, flipping him onto his back and covering his body with his own.

"Are you sure?" Nick questioned with barely constrained hunger.

"Of course. I've been wanting you a long time."

"Why the hell didn't you say so?" Nick demanded as his nipped at Aiden's neck. "I've been dying for weeks but I didn't think you wanted me."

Aiden pushed his hips up and groaned while Nick growled as the proof of both of their desires rubbed together, "I think it's clear I want you, Nick."  

Nick looked into his eyes, his vision clearing momentarily. He propped himself on his elbow and smoothed a bit of Aiden's hair from his brow, "I love you, Aiden, and it grows every single day. I can't watch you hurt anymore ... I know I have no right to ask you this but please come back to me."

"I'm right here," Aiden replied with confusion.

Nick shook his head, "I need 

you , Aiden. I need the smiles and the laughs and the awkward rambling. Please, don’t let what they did take that away from you and from me. Be the amazing man that I fell in love with and don’t let them steal your happiness because they don’t deserve to win.“

Aiden stared up at Nick with shock. As much as he wanted to argue and say that he was still the same person, he knew Nick was right. He'd closed himself off and clearly Nick had been suffering because of it... Aiden hadn't even noticed there was anything wrong with Nick but the pain in his eyes was clear to see now. Aiden couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it before.

"I'm sorry, Nick. I love you and you know that."

"I know," Nick smiled and kissed him tenderly.

"Bring me back, Nick," Aiden pleaded as he looped his arms around Nick's neck and pulled his head down. Aiden's lips curved in the first real smile he'd felt in a long time, "I want to be happy again."

---

Aiden and Nick rode back onto the ranch just before six that evening. Nick felt lighter than he'd felt in months. Finally Aiden was smiling and that light was coming back to his eyes. Nick knew there would be bad days and that the nightmares would still plague him at times but for the first time Nick truly believed that Aiden was going to be okay.

"What's going on?" Aiden's voice brought Nick from his thoughts and he followed his gaze to see tables set up with food and the whole ranch, and even some folks from town, gathered around.

"I have no idea," Nick replied honestly. The two of them dismounted their horses and Frank smiled as he took the reins,

"I'll see to these horses for you both. I think that party there is for you."

Nick and Aiden shared a look of confusion and then headed toward the crowd. Nick felt his heart jump a bit when Aiden reached out and took his hand. He glanced down at the other man and smiled at the look of confusion on his handsome face.

"What's all this?" Aiden asked as they stopped in front of Elizabeth and Brody.

"It's cuz we love you, Aiden!" Lexi exclaimed as she ran forward and hugged him tight around his legs, "And we don't want you to be sad anymore!"

Nick saw Aiden swallow hard and he knew the man was fighting back tears as he patted Lexi's blond hair, "Thank you, Lexi. I love you all too," Aiden replied, his voice thick with emotion.

"You never did get that wedding dinner," Elizabeth added. "And around here we always look for any excuse to get together and eat."

"Don't worry," Brody assured them, "She didn't cook none of it."

Elizabeth glared at him, "I'm not 

that bad of a cook.“

"You're not that good either, mama," Nathan shook his head and then he took a step back and hid behind Brody when Elizabeth turned her angry gaze on him.

"You know, Brody, there might just be a man that comes along one day who appreciates my cooking skills."

Brody nodded, "Might be."

"And let me guess, he'd be one more man for you to shoot right?"

"Nope."

Elizabeth snorted. "Well why not? You'd just let me go with him?"

"I reckon your first meal together would kill the man good enough. Ain't no need to waste one of my bullets."

Laughter erupted around them and it was clear that Elizabeth was fighting back a smile, "You haven't died from a meal yet."

Brody grinned and pulled her into his arms, "That's cuz I'm one hell of a man."

Cookie nodded, "According to him, he was in the war and he can eat anything. Why he's the perfect man for you, Miss Elizabeth."

"Well that's enough of that," Jacob shook his head as he stepped forward and addressed Nick and Aiden. "We wanted to give y'all a dinner to officially welcome you to the family and congratulate you on the marriage. So eat, drink and have some fun."

"Thank you, Jacob," Nick tipped his head and Jacob shrugged.

"Hell, I might not get it but it's pretty damn clear you love that man and he loves you and it's not my place to judge that. The way I see it everyone deserves a happy ever after and I think it's about time that y'all got yours. Don't you agree?"

Nick looked down at Aiden and felt his heart constrict when Aiden smiled up at him. His brown eyes were dancing and he looked so....

happy. Nick nodded, “Yes I do, Jacob. Yes I do.”

Epilogue

Epilogue

Brody rocked on the porch and looked out over the many generations of his family gathered around the house. His children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and even a few great greats, along with all of his nieces and nephews and their children... At least those that were still living.

He'd lost a lot in his life but he'd gained a lot more. Now at ninety six he was older than most everyone else he knew. Jacob had passed away a few years back and so had Ellie leaving behind two daughters, one son and countless grandchildren.

Susie and Ryder were still living outside of town and Ryder was the most energetic eighty-nine year old that anyone had ever known. They had had four sons of their own and Brody didn't know how Susie had survived raising them since they had all been just like Ryder.

Sally and Thomas had moved out of Texas and gone to Wyoming where they had raised their six children and now lived peacefully on the ranch that Thomas had inherited and kept going through droughts, land disputes and changing times.  

Ty had passed away at a fairly young age. A bullet had taken his life in the line of duty but Liza had faired pretty well without him, though she had never remarried. She had managed to raise their three children on her own with her teaching income.

Nick and Aiden were still together as well and still very much in love. They'd been all the children's favorite uncles and Aiden still was. Even the newest generations seemed to love the old man who smiled and laughed all the time.  

The doctor's had trouble figuring out how Brody and Nick had managed to live past the age of ninety but the two men just chuckled when asked. The answer was simple. When you promised someone they'd never be without you, you kept your promise the best you could.

Brody stretched out his thin arms and clenched his aching fingers into fists. His hands that at one point could handle a gun more quickly than any other man in the country, now had trouble buttoning a shirt. He was old and probably would have given up on living years ago if not for the promise he had made to his Elizabeth to never leave her alone.

But now even she was gone. She had gone silently in her sleep nearly two months ago. His angel had slipped away to heaven and left him all alone in this big empty house. Some of his grandchildren had tried to have him put into one of those new fancy nursing homes but Brody had laughed at that. The day a man couldn't take care of himself was the day it was time to put a well placed bullet in his head. His grandchildren had also tried to buy him a shiny new automobile like they all drove now. He had laughed at this as well.

The way Brody had it figured, he wasn't about to sit his ass on anything that ran off something that was known to burst into flames. He preferred a horse and always had. He'd never once rode in one of those automobiles and he never would... Unless these technology crazed folks he called family put him in one once he was dead and gone.

The family was all gathered here for the annual reunion. Most everyone lived in their own places with their own busy lives but once a year they got together here at the ranch. Brody was a forgotten shadow up here on the porch. The youngest children were scared of him, his scars and wrinkles made him look like a ghoul in their eyes and the older ones didn't want to be bothered with the old man who didn't talk much. They figured he couldn't possibly have anything interesting to say.

He hadn't said more than five words in a row to anyone since his Elizabeth had gone. He was nearing the end of his life and he welcomed it. He'd lived a full life. Sure he had done a lot of wrong over the years but he'd gotten a hell of a lot of things right as well. He'd raised three good kids, he'd fought for what he thought was right and given two men a chance to live the life they deserved even when others said it was wrong and he'd loved one woman with everything he had every single day that they'd had together. Their love had never faltered, never wavered and never faded. Brody figured that was the greatest gift a person could ever get in life.

Brody looked over at Thomas who was sitting beside him as he felt a sharp pain and fluttering in his chest, "I believe I'll go lie down a while," Brody said, "I'm feeling a bit off."

Thomas nodded, he too was too scary looking for the children with his scarred up face. "I'll tell anyone who asks."

Brody shook his head as he pushed himself up onto his old aching legs. He moved a lot slower these days. Wounds from the past seemed to plague him worse now than they had back then and his nightmares kept him up more now without his cowgirl to love him back to sleep.

"Nobody will ask. As far as everyone is concerned, I'm already as good as dead."

"You are damn near one hundred," Thomas said with a chuckle.

 Brody nodded, threw his hand up at Aiden who smiled and waved back and then made his way into the house. It took him nearly five minutes to get up the steps to his and Elizabeth's bedroom. The pain and pressure in his chest was increasing. He knew what it met. His heart was giving out. He needed his Elizabeth. He'd kept good on his promise and he'd never left her alone but now he was ready to join her.

He grabbed her picture off the dresser and curled up on the bed they had shared for nearly seventy years. He breathed in her scent, still clinging to her pillow and smiled even as a tear filled his eye and rolled down his wrinkled cheek. He ran a hand through his long white gray and closed his eyes.

"I love you, boss," he whispered to the empty room and a gentle breeze blew through the open window and across his face.

---

"Uncle Thomas, where is my dad?" Lexi asked as she stepped up on the porch with her grand daughter in tow. "Gretchen's class is studying the civil war in school and she has to write a report so she wanted to talk to him about his time there."

"I don't think he'll want to talk about it Lexi, you know how he is," Thomas warned as he rocked slowly.

"He will for his great granddaughter," she countered with a raise of that Atkinson brow. Sure she might be a McKinnely now but that brow was all Brody.

Thomas nodded. Lexi was in her sixties and she was just as mean and bossy as her father had always been. He wasn't about to argue with her. Thomas sighed, "He went up to rest a while. He said he wasn't feeling well."

Lexi frowned with concern, "That doesn't sound like him," she said and without another word she went into the house.

Gretchen wasn't sure if she was supposed to follow but at thirteen she certainly didn't want to stay out here with her great uncle who had the scars on his face. She followed her grandmother up the stairs and into her great grandfather's bedroom.

"Daddy, wake up. Gretchen wants to talk to you," Lexi said gently as she approached the bed but Brody didn't move.

"Maybe he didn't hear you," Gretchen offered.

Lexi shook her head as a lump formed in her throat and tears filled her eyes. Her father heard everything, "He's gone," she said sadly as she sat down hard on the edge of the bed and smoothed her father's long, gray hair from his wrinkled face. His jaw was still as strong as it had always been, "He was such a strong man, it doesn't seem right that he died so easily."

Gretchen felt no real sadness. She hadn't really known her great grandpa, having grown up back east and only seeing him once a year. She couldn't remember him as being a strong man. To her he had always seemed old and weak and he had never spoken much. He'd always seemed a little on the rude and arrogant side. But she didn't like to see her grandmother in so much pain. "I wonder what killed him?" Gretchen asked.

Lexi smiled a bittersweet smile as she picked up the picture that her father had had clutched in his hand, "I have an idea."

“ I’m sure they’ll do an autopsy and tell us for sure.“

"We don't need an autopsy," Lexi assured her granddaughter, "My papa died of a broken heart,"  

Gretchen shook her head, "Grandmother, they have science now that proves you can't die of a broken heart."

Lexi nodded but didn't believe her granddaughter for a moment. Her father was a strong man. He had lived for ninety-six long years and faced death countless times. He had never broken in all that time, but losing her mother had been worse than any physical wound he had ever endured.

"I don't want to dispute your science, dear," Lexi countered, "I know it's the 1930's and times have changed but Brody Atkinson was too tough a man to be killed by anything other than a broken heart. There was one thing that my father loved more than anything else in the world. More than us kids, more than his own life even, and that was my mother. Without her I reckon he just gave up."

Gretchen nodded and left the room to go let the family know. Lexi bent down and kissed her father's cool cheek, "I love you, papa. I'll just bet that you and mama are already lost in each other's arms up there in heaven."  

Lexi smiled and stood. As she left the room she was sure she heard her mother's soft laughter and her father's deep chuckle floating on the breeze through the window.