Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2007 13:35:05 -0700
From: qwb224@gmail.com
Subject: Stonegate ch 37

Stonegate Stables
Chapter 37

Saturday morning we had a big breakfast,
courtesy of Matt and Adam, who had apparently
spent the night. Between them they dirtied every
pan in the kitchen, but it was worth it bacon,
sausage, scrambled eggs with thinly sliced
zucchini and onion topped with cheese and salsa,
and homemade biscuits slathered with my mom's
grape jam. It took an hour to make and fifteen
minutes to eat, but we lolled around the table
for another hour, sipping coffee and picking at
the biscuits.

Finally, we cleaned up and went up to shower. I
was able to talk Matt and Adam into joining us
in the big shower where we all scrubbed each
other, but didn't get serious about fooling
around.
The afternoon rodeo performance was due to start
at 1pm, so I went over there around 11 to make
sure all was well.

The cowboys were getting ready for the day -
checking tack and washing horses as they geared
up for the competition. Many more rigs had
arrived that morning, guys who lived within
driving distance of home and had decided to come
try their luck. They had a different look than
the circuit regulars, not quite as hungry or as
serious. For the guys who traveled with the
rodeo, today and tomorrow were work days, a
chance to pad their meager bank accounts with
enough money to stay on the road, and hopefully
have a little left to send home.

The crowd started arriving around noon, parking
along the fence line at first, and then swelling
to fill the field on the far side of the rodeo
grounds. They wandered around checking out the
livestock, eating hotdogs, and chatting up the
few cowboys who ventured out of the campground.
I recognized a lot of people, waving at the
Bransons when I spotted them in the concession
line. Julia was decked out in a cowboy hat with
a hawk feather in the band, and looked
completely at home standing there in the dust
with her folks.

Things got rolling with the national anthem
playing over the loudspeakers as a girl's drill
team galloped around the arena. They weren't as
fancy as the team we'd seen in Amarillo, but
they had lots of enthusiasm, and they were local
girls, so the crowd cheered them on.

Today's events would set the order of go for
tomorrow, the money day. There weren't enough
competitors to require eliminations, so everyone
was a little laid back, knowing they'd be in the
finals on Sunday. I watched for a while, but
went back to the barn around 3 to catch up on
things. I schooled two jumpers for Amanda,
forced myself to do some paperwork, and then
headed home for supper around 6.

Vincent had worked all day as well, so we made a
simple meal of cold chicken, fruit salad, and a
crisp chardonnay. The evening was clear and
warm, so we sat out long after we were finished
eating, talking about buying the restaurant,
David's apparent fascination with Levi, Adam's
appearance at our breakfast table.

Around 9, Vincent stood and stretched, then held
out a hand to me. As I rose, he pulled me to
him, one arm around my back, the other sliding
down to pull my hips into his. He rubbed slowly
against me as his mouth followed the curve of my
neck up to my ear, making me squirm as he licked
and chewed. My dick responded in predictable
fashion, so we quickly cleaned up dinner and
made our way to the den.

Instead of leading me to the couch, Vincent
stepped behind it and turned me away from him.
As his erection pressed against my ass, he undid
my shorts and let them drop to the floor. His
own followed in a few seconds and he knelt on
them as he pushed me over the back of the couch
and tugged my feet apart. Nosing his way down
the crack of my ass, he grasped my nuts in one
hand and my hard cock in the other. I groaned
into the cushions, concentrating on Vincent's
tongue which was tracing tiny circles around my
hole, zeroing in now and then to penetrate me
slightly, then easing back out to tease me some
more.

He kept up a steady stroking of my cock, sliding
his hand up to short-stroke the head for a few
seconds, then following with a full pump that
almost finished me. He realized it and let go of
my cock to prime my ass for fucking. When I was
whimpering into the pillows, he stood up,
gripped my hips, and lined up the head of his
dick. I sank gratefully back onto him, taking it
slow so I could relish every inch of him.

When he was buried in me, I stopped and let him
take over. His thrusts were long and leisurely,
and I felt myself drifting into that fog of
pleasure where time slows and every sense is
heightened. This is the best part of fucking -
for me, at least. I listened to his breathing
quicken as he became more excited. I felt his
fingers clench and release with each stroke,
then tighten and hold as he neared orgasm. I let
myself go then, knowing we would be close.

Vincent's hands slid to my hips as he arched
back, gasping as waves of contractions emptied
him into me. I straightened as I began to cum,
the pulsing of his cock intensifying my climax.
Vincent wrapped an arm around me, pushing me
down onto his cock as he strained upward.

As we relaxed, he dropped his head to my
shoulder, breathing hard against my neck, his
body quivering against mine. After a few
minutes, I pulled free and turned to him, taking
his face in my hands. He raised dark eyes to me
as I spoke to him.

"I love you."

He smiled slightly. "I know you do, Sean. I love
you, too."

I looked at him, watching me expectantly,
waiting, and all I could think to say was 'I
love you,' over and over until he never forgot.

"That's it - just I love you."

He studied my face for a moment, then took my
hand and placed it palm-down over his heart as
he spoke slowly and clearly. "I know you do."

We stared at each other for a few seconds before
he pulled me close, nuzzling his face into my
neck and rocking me a little. I stood with my
eyes closed, snug in his arms, until he stepped
back and led me upstairs to bed.





For Sunday's performance I had roped off a
section of seats for friends and family. I did a
final walk around the grounds before climbing up
in the stands to play spectator. Vincent patted
the bleacher between his feet, so I sat down in
front of him and draped my arms over his knees
as his hands settled on my shoulders. I closed
my eyes and grinned as he planted a kiss on the
back of my neck.

"Are you gonna be able to relax and watch, or do
you need to dash around and personally make sure
everybody's having a good time?"

I made a face at him. "No, I'm good. I might
need a hot dog later."

"I got a hot dog for you," he stage-whispered,
pressing his knees into me.

"Knock it off, you two. Jesus." Wade rolled his
eyes at us, but reached over to squeeze my arm.

Danny was sitting next to Gabriel, knees bumping
occasionally, smiling as they chatted. I watched
them for a few moments, but they were engrossed
in each other and didn't notice. Jesse had an
arm draped over Ben's shoulders, and a beer in
the other.

We all stood for the national anthem, the girls
galloped around the arena, the announcer gave
his opening spiel, and my first rodeo was
underway. The saddle and bareback bronc riding
passed without incident, and then it was time
for the team roping. The healer of the first
pair missed his calf. He threw his second rope,
but their time was way out of the money.

The second and third teams turned in good times,
and then the announcer startled us all by
saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, we got us the odd
couple comin' up next. Our fourth team consists
of a seasoned professional and a teenage kid in
his first rodeo. Please welcome two-time
National Futurity Cutting Champion Cody Birdwell
heading, and high school sophomore Kelly
Caldwell on the heels."

We all stared as Cody on Queenie and Kelly on
Rascal backed into the chutes, both horses
dancing in anticipation. When Queenie settled
down with her butt against the back of the chute
and her eyes riveted on the calf, Cody nodded
sharply. The gate burst open, the calf dashed
out, and the horses sprang into action, flinging
dirt clods against the back of the chutes as
they sprinted after the fleeing calf.

Cody's rope shot out and settled cleanly around
the calf's neck as Queenie turned away to set
the calf up for Kelly. He angled Rascal close,
timed his swing, and let fly. Heeling is a total
mystery to me. How you can get a rope to nab
both back feet of a bounding, leaping calf is
beyond me, but Kelly did it, whipping his arm up
and yanking Rascal hard to the left to pull the
rope tight.

It all happened so fast that we were still
getting over the surprise of hearing them
announced when their time flashed on the board,
putting them into second place. We leaped out of
our seats, whooping and hollering as Cody and
Kelly highfived each other and loped out of the
arena. A couple other teams had good runs, so
our boys ended up fourth, a great finish for a
couple of guys who'd never roped together
before.

Cody was back in the next event - tie-down
roping - and did well again, placing second.
Queenie did her part, keeping the rope taut as
Cody leaped out of the saddle, raced to the
calf, and tied him quickly. I glanced up at
Vincent as we applauded, and caught sight of
Wade's face, glowing with love and pride as Cody
accepted his second place check. I'd been
worried about them back in February, but things
seemed good now.

At intermission, I decided I had to have that
hot dog, and took orders from everyone else.
Danny offered to help, so we made our way down
the stands and were headed for the back door to
the kitchen when Danny's dad came around the
corner of the building and almost ran into us.
Danny's face shut down as he stepped back,
giving him to pass us.
His dad looked at me, and I took the opportunity
to introduce myself. He hesitated just a moment
before taking it.

"Henry," he said with a curt nod. "Pleasure."

Henry studied Danny's face as Danny gazed out
across the crowd.

"Doin' okay, boy?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"Yup," Danny replied stonily, still looking
away.

Henry studied him for another moment, and then
nodded at me again before walking off. Danny
watched him go, taking a deep breath as he
turned to me. His face was set, but his eyes
were miserable, and I realized he missed his dad
terribly.

"At least he's speaking to you," I said softly,
as we went into the kitchen and loaded up a tray
with food. He just nodded, and we trudged back
up into the bleachers with hot dogs and drinks
for everyone. Gabriel picked up on Danny's mood
immediately, leaning in to say something as
Danny sat down next to him. Danny replied in a
few short words, and Gabriel reached up to
squeeze the back of his neck before turning his
attention to his chili dog.

Barrel racing was up next. Katie was fifth up,
and could barely keep the lid on a wound up
Ginger who was dancing around behind the start
gate, spinning in circles and rearing slightly.
She'd obviously competed before, and had caught
the excitement of the crowd. They raced around
the barrels in a respectable time, disappearing
out the end of the arena at top speed, Katie
laying low on Ginger's back. Several of the
girls were pros, traveling the circuit just like
the cowboys did, and four of them beat Katie's
time. She was ecstatic with 5th, and we cheered
like crazy for her when they handed out the
ribbons.

The bull riding was the last event, and it was
crazy. Three guys went to the field hospital
with various cuts and sprains, and one guy got
stepped on bad enough to be taken to the
hospital in town. The winning rider drew the
bull that had snorted at me that first day - a
huge brown and white beast that leaped and
twisted. He looked impossible to ride, but the
guy stayed on the required eight seconds, and
threw his hat into the air in celebration when
he jumped off.

(go here to see bull riding pictures and videos.
http://www.pbrnow.com/media/mm/picvid.cfm?ID=290
0 )

The crowd headed home when it was over, but I
stayed to make sure the competitors all got on
the road okay. I was walking from the campground
to the livestock area when I saw David saying
goodbye to Levi. They were standing in the
shadows of Levi's truck, arms around each other;
David's head against Levi's chest with Levi's
hand clamped on David's butt. I ignored them as
I went by, but from the look on both their
faces, they had forged a real connection in the
four days Levi had been in town.





A couple weeks later Vincent was working late at
a dinner, and I was preparing a solo dinner of
leftovers when Matt came in from the garage. I
smiled a hello at him.

"Hey. Didn't think you'd be home. Want some
pasta?"

He nodded, and got bread and drinks as I headed
for the den with our plates. We settled onto the
couch, me with my feet on the coffee table, and
Matt sitting cross-legged facing me. Matt ate
silently for a while as I flipped through
channels for something worth watching, but he
only picked at his pasta, finally setting the
plate on the table and stretching out with his
feet against my leg. I finished eating, put my
plate next to his, and turned to him. "Something
on your mind, Matty?"

He heaved a sigh. "Yeah, I guess." He toyed with
the fringe of the afghan for a minute before
continuing. "How did you know Vincent was the
one?"

I look at him, but his eyes were fixed on the
fringe, so I pulled his feet into my lap and
began to rub them as I spoke. "We were friends
for a long time - about eight years - so we knew
each other pretty well before we decided to make
it permanent." I paused, and then added, "But I
almost picked TJ."

Matt's eyes came quickly up to meet mine as his
eyebrows shot up. "TJ? Really?"

"Yeah. I still got a thing for him, but nothing
like what I feel for Vincent. TJ is like a hot
fudge sundae - great for a treat now and then,
but you don't want one for every meal. Vincent
is the 'every meal' guy for me."

"That's what I mean," Matt nodded. "How did you
know it was Vincent, not TJ?"

"Well, I didn't, at first. There were a couple
awful weeks when I was thinking about it. I'd
just slept with TJ for the first time, so he was
all new and exciting. And I was the first guy to
fuck him, so that figured into it. When I told
Vincent, he said he didn't want to see me again
until I'd made a decision."

I stopped then, recalling how empty I'd felt
without Vincent in my life.

"And?" Matt prompted me.

"One night Wade told me to follow my heart. When
I did that, it led me straight to Vincent." I
turned to face Matt, tugging him toward me until
his butt was against my thigh with his legs
across my lap. I lay a hand on his belly and
circled slowly. "What's going on, Matt? Is there
a problem with you and Adam?"

"I don't know if it's a 'problem' really." He
sighed again, and was silent for a bit. "He's
really gentle with me."

I looked at him more closely. "And that's a
problem because..?"

"Too gentle. You know how sometimes Vincent gets
a little rough with you? And you love it?"

My dick twitched at the mere thought. "Yes," I
replied.

"Well, Adam is always really careful with me,
like he's afraid he's gonna hurt me."

I smiled at him then. "Oh, Matty - do you
remember when you first came here? What kind of
shape you were in?"

I pushed his legs off me and got up to reach for
a box of pictures on the shelf next to the TV.
Matt moved up next to me as I rummaged through
it. I found the one I was looking for and looked
at it for a second before handing it to him. It
had been taken in the harsh light at the clinic
to document his scrapes and bruises. In it, he
had his shirt off, and all his ribs were
visible; his hip bones jutted out above the
droopy waist of his jeans, and his face was thin
and frightened. He barely looked like the
handsome, relaxed kid sitting next to me now.

Matt stared at it for several seconds as his
hand tightened reflexively on the picture.

"Jesus," he whispered. "I never looked in the
mirror."

"You were so fragile. That's why he's so careful
with you, honey. That's still in his head, even
though he knows you're healthy now. I felt the
same way at first, but I got over it as I saw
you get better. Just talk to him about it. Maybe
bite him or something," I joked, and Matt
smiled. "Adam's just naturally a gentle guy, but
he'll get more aggressive with you if he knows
it's okay, and that you want him to."

Matt nodded agreement, then pulled me along with
him when he lay down, sliding his knee up
between my legs to nudge my nuts. I pulled back
so I could see his face, and raised my eyebrows.
It had been a while since just Matt and I had
been together, and I wanted to make sure I
wasn't misreading him. He gave me a devilish
grin, so I climbed onto him and proceeded to
chew on whatever parts of him I could reach
until he was laughing and shoving me off.

I grabbed his wrist in one hand, pinned it over
his head, and dropped my weight onto him. He
went still under me, his eyes wide with
surprise. I stared down at him for a moment
before kissing him hard, crushing his mouth with
mine as my tongue forced his lips apart. His
cock firmed up against my belly, and he grabbed
my ass with his free hand as his breathing
became ragged. I moved against him, slowly at
first, then faster, getting him close before
pushing back onto my knees between his legs.

He lay there open-mouthed and panting, his cock
tenting his shorts as I unzipped him and tugged
them down. The head of his penis was velvety
soft on my tongue as I licked in slow circles. I
gripped his nuts firmly in one hand and rolled
his nipple in the fingers of the other until he
groaned and twisted into the pressure. I
gradually increased the pressure of both hands,
and about two minutes of that was all it took
before Matt was spurting cum all over both of
us. His head was arched back into the couch, and
his expression was one of agonized pleasure,
which was exactly what I'd been aiming for.

When he finally quit twitching, I gathered him
up in my arms and just held him until he fell
asleep. That's how Vincent found us when he
rolled in at 9:30. He surveyed the dried cum on
my clothes and the wad of tissue on the table
before speaking.

"Special occasion?"

"Matt needed someone to rough him up a little."

Vincent's left eyebrow rose, and he smirked at
me. "So he picked you?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes," I replied a little testily. "I can play
the dom top if I need to."

"Yeah, right. Maybe for Matt," he said, plopping
down next to me with a sigh. "Christ deliver me
from wedding dinners. The bride's ex boyfriend
showed up drunk and told everyone what great
blow jobs she gave before we could get him
outside. What a fiasco."

Matt woke up when I shifted him from my lap onto
the couch. He smiled sleepily at Vincent's story
of the outraged husband, the tearful bride, and
the appalled mother-in-law. I rubbed Vincent's
shoulders as he told us how Tony and another
cousin had dragged the boyfriend down the center
aisle of the reception hall as he hollered out
the bride's techniques in a loud voice.

"...and just as they got him to the door, he
ends it with, "And she swallows!" I thought the
husband was gonna have a stroke, he was so
purple. Fuck." He leaned back and kissed my
cheek. "I'm exhausted. You ready for bed?"

Matt gave Vincent and me a kiss as he led the
way to our bedrooms.  When he reached his door,
he turned.  Instead of saying good night, it
came out as, "I think I'm in love with him."



The following Wednesday afternoon I was slogging
through paperwork in my office at Stonegate when
Teresa buzzed and said someone was here to see
me. It turned out to be a girl, about 20, with
the twang of south Texas in her voice.

"This the place they had the rodeo couple weeks
ago?"

"Well, we had a rodeo, but so did a bunch of
other places, probably. What did you want?"

"Was there a horse in the barrel racing? Bright
chestnut with four socks and a blaze?"

Only one horse in the barrel racing fit that
description. Ginger.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Gail Martin. I used to own a horse like that.
My friend was at your rodeo and said it might be
her. I been looking for a couple years."

"Why don't you have a seat and tell me about the
horse."

We settled into my visitor's chairs, and she
told me a tale of a lecherous step-father who
gave her horse away when she wouldn't sleep with
him. Out of spite he'd given it to the meanest
ranch in the area, certain it would be worked to
death or neglected until it died on its own.
He'd almost gotten the job done, because Ginger
had been in such bad shape when we found her
that she wouldn't have lasted another week.

I was certain it was our Ginger, so I explained
that we had a horse that fit her description;
that it had been signed over to a private party
and registered with the AQHA. She assured me
that she didn't want the horse back; she simply
wanted to know what had happened to her.

We walked outside and into the western barn
where Ginger had her head hanging over the stall
door, dozing in the afternoon heat. Gail stopped
dead, staring at the wide white blaze on
Ginger's chestnut face, and then teared up and
clapped a hand to her mouth.

"It's her. Oh, my god," she whispered. After a
few moments she walked closer. As she neared the
stall, Ginger heard her and pricked up her ears,
eager as always for a carrot. I watched her
carefully, but didn't see any signs of
recognition. Gail reached out and laid a hand on
Ginger's neck, and then stepped closer to press
a kiss to her cheek. Ginger held still for a
minute, then snorted softly and tossed her head.
Gail turned to me with a big smile.

"She looks great. Just like I remember her."

We spent some time with Ginger, and then walked
along the barn aisle with me telling Gail a
little about the various rescues. As we left the
barn, I invited her back to the office and
showed her the pictures of Ginger that we took
the day TJ brought her in. Even though she had
just seen Ginger and knew she was now safe and
healthy, Gail burst into tears when she saw how
awful Ginger had looked. After a bit, she
thanked me profusely for what we'd done, and I
told her to come by any time.

After she left, I sat at my desk pondering the
twists and turns life hands out sometimes. I was
glad the mystery of Ginger's origin's was
solved, but I was depressed at the meanness of
people like Gail's stepfather. After a while I
went back to work, but couldn't concentrate, so
I went out and saddled Calvin. He was getting
regular workouts in the jumping ring with Katie
and Adam, so he was happy to just wander along.
We did the trails for an hour, and got back to
the barn just as Danny was pulling into the
yard. I hadn't seen him in a week or so.

"Hey, stranger."

He smiled at me as he walked up to scratch Cal's
nose. The grin got wider, and after a moment, he
chuckled. I looked at him curiously, and he
blushed that deep pink that was so attractive on
him.
"What's with you?" I asked. He didn't reply,
just turned a deeper shade of pink, and it
suddenly hit me. "You got laid."

He coughed out a bark of laughter, but nodded as
he cleared his throat. "Yeah. Yeah, I did," he
agreed, his grin a mile wide.

I stared at him, putting the pieces together.
"Gabriel?" I ventured.

He nodded again, looking off across the yard as
his blush faded and he sobered up. "Yeah. God, I
had no idea it was gonna feel like that."

"He topped you?"
He made a face. "Well, he wasn't real sure about
my dick, so, yeah."

I watched him as he thought about it, his face
serious for several moments, but ending with a
smile as he looked up at me for the first time.
"I like him a lot."

"He seems to like you, too. You guys were cute
together at the rodeo."

He chuckled. "Yeah, that was a fun day. That's
pretty much when it started between us."

I legged Calvin into a walk. "Well, enjoy
yourselves."

We said goodbye, I put Cal away, and walked back
to my office. Danny and Gabriel. If it went
anywhere, this would be the first romance for
each of them, and I wondered how they'd do. When
I told Vincent that evening in the kitchen while
we fixed supper, he made a face.

"Great. Does that mean he's off limits?"

I shrugged. "Probably. First love and all that.
I'm sure they'll be wrapped up in each other for
a while. You'll just have to make do with me."

He reached out and pulled me onto his lap. "Mmm,
that's a real hardship." He kissed me a little,
then turned my back to him and hugged me
loosely. He was quiet for a bit before he asked
me in a low voice. "Remember that time you came
to my door? When I didn't let you in? What were
you thinking when you left?"

I was amazed he had brought that up. Even after
all these years, and as close as we were now,
there were still some things that I wasn't
comfortable bringing up to him. I began to turn
toward him, but he tightened his arms until I
sat still, and I realized he didn't want to face
me as we talked about this.

"At first I just thought you'd gotten in a fight
or something... but then I saw the marks on your
wrist, and I knew it was more than that." I
stopped for a moment, reliving that afternoon.
"I was scared and confused." Vincent's arms
tightened again, this time in comfort. "I didn't
know what it meant for us - if you were gonna
maybe stop seeing me because of whoever it was."

"Nothing could have kept me from being with you,
Sean. Not even him."

"God, if I had known what you were going
through..."

"You'd have what? You were a skinny twenty year
old kid. Ray would have eaten you alive. And I
wasn't gonna let him anywhere near you. I made
sure he never knew about you."

I turned to him then, wrapping my arms around
him, and we were still sitting there when
Matt came home.

***********************************
Thanks to David of Hope without whom these
chapters would never get posted.
Qwb2
24@g
mail
.com