Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 20:47:10 -0700
From: qwb224@gmail.com
Subject: Stonegate Stables 40

Right after Thanksgiving the weather took a turn for the worse -
cold and drizzly with gusts of wind that went right through your
clothes - and stayed that way. Katie's next event was cancelled
due to weather with no make-up date scheduled. That meant she had
to win both remaining events to pull off a championship. The
promoters lucked out the next weekend; Sunday was cold and windy,
but dry enough to jump.

It was only about 70 miles away, so Matt, Paula, and I dressed
for the arctic and climbed into Matt's Lexus. Corleone's had
three big catering gigs that day, which meant Vincent had to
work. He waved goodbye to us as we pulled out of the drive, and I
gazed out the rear window, thinking longingly of the fire in the
den and a steaming mug of hot chocolate.

The show grounds were on the outskirts of a small town northwest
of us in some rolling hills. The arena was down in a hollow, so
that you could sit on the slopes to watch the action. The hills
cut the wind a little, and as we spread a blanket on the grass,
the sun came out. Paula had packed some cheese, crackers, and
fruit, and it was quite pleasant as we munched before Katie's
class was called.

Her main competition came from a dark haired boy on a quick
little mare. I watched them in the warm-up arena, appreciating
the kid's tight butt in his snug jodhpurs. He was good, but if
Katie was on her game and Calvin behaved, she was better.

Unfortunately, it didn't look like one of Cal's better days.

As I watched, he pranced sideways across the ring, head high and
ears waggling, not listening to Katie at all. He had always been
iffy on windy days and today was no exception. Adam was watching
them from the fence, shaking his head in frustration. Katie rode
him hard, trying to wear him out a little, but it didn't look to
me like it helped much.

The boy and the mare went before Katie. The mare was a clean
jumper, knocking only one rail down when he let her get in too
deep on a wide oxer. She took down the front pole, but went the
rest of the round clean, ending with four faults. He trotted out
of the ring with a grim smile, knowing he had left the door open.

Katie came into the ring a few riders later, fighting Calvin as
he rolled his eyes at the jumps. Poor Katie, I thought to myself,
and I was right. She made it over the first three fences with no
problem, Calvin jumping big and free, drawing ooohs from the
crowd each time he left a foot and a half between his belly and
the top rail.

Things came unglued on the water jump. Katie didn't have the
spacing just right, so he took off too far back. He gave a huge
leap, but one rear foot came down in the water with a mighty
splash, sending an icy geyser up between his back legs. When the
cold blast hit his balls, he spooked sideways and began to buck,
big crow-hops that were impossible to sit. Katie bounced off on
the third one, sailing into the air another five feet before
heading for earth and landing with a thud on her left side.

Cal continued hopping across the arena, kicking and snorting like
a rodeo bronc while Katie sat up slowly, grimacing and holding
her shoulder. Adam got to her quickly, helping her to her feet as
the ring steward finally caught Calvin. I saw Adam shake his head
which meant Katie couldn't continue, so we quickly packed up the
food and blanket, and headed for the ambulance. Katie was sitting
in the open rear doors, crying as the medic gingerly felt her arm
and shoulder. When he diagnosed a broken collar bone, Katie was
pissed.

Then she started to really cry, so we let Paula take over. Adam
and I untacked Calvin and loaded him into the trailer as Paula
signed release papers prior to taking Katie to the hospital. Cal
was still full of himself until I gave him a couple hard yanks
and yelled at him. He settled down a little, but I doubted I'd
have been much more successful on him today than Katie had been.

Matt drove Paula and Katie to the emergency room, so I rode home
in the truck with Adam. It was a quiet drive, except for the
occasional thump as Cal planted a foot into the back door of the
trailer. We were almost to the barn when Matt called Adam with
the news that Katie was getting fitted with a sling and a brace,
but wouldn't require surgery.

"Thank goodness," I commented as Adam clicked his cell closed.

He glanced at me with a sympathetic smile. "Your shoulder still
bother you?"

"Now and then. Usually just when it's really cold, or I've
overworked it. Vincent makes me do those damn exercises, and that
helps a lot."

Katie came by the barn a few days later and found me in my
office. "I'm sorry," she said, looking close to tears again.

I looked at her in puzzlement. "What for?"

"I wanted to do good. I'm riding your horse and I wanted you to
be proud of me."

I pulled her into a careful hug and spoke into her hair. "Oh,
Katie, I am proud of you, honey. You did great. Calvin's a bitch
to ride sometimes, and Sunday was just one of those times."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna kick ass next year!"

I chuckled at her. "I'm sure you will."



The evening of the second Wednesday, David and Matt were rambling
on about their cozy day spent sketching each other in the snug
warmth of David's studio, with a fire in the grate and Bonnie
snoring on the hearth rug. Vincent was adding details of his day
spent in the bustling kitchen at Corleone's where the big
industrial stove heated things up nicely.

I, on the other hand, had spent the day out in the weather
freezing my ass on a variety of frisky horses, all of whom spent
most of the time I was on them trying to dump me back off.
Throughout the day I had acquired a severely bruised kneecap when
Priscilla tried to scrub it off on a fencepost, an extremely
painful scrape on the back of my left hand when one of Maddy's
evil new horses shoved me against the wall, and a throbbing
headache from being clouted behind the ear by a broom handle that
blew over from where it had been standing against a wall.

After fifteen minutes of listening to how wonderful everyone
else's day had been, I'd had enough and stalked upstairs to get
some aspirin for my head. Vincent came into the bathroom just as
I was attempting to pry the point of the cuticle scissors under
the edge of the child-proof aspirin bottle lid.

"Jesus, give me that. You'll poke a hole in yourself." He calmly
removed the lid, shook two pills into the palm of his hand and
held them out to me. "Why are you in such a vile mood?"

"Cause I'm sick of cranky horses, stupid owners, and people with
warm jobs!" I burst out. "I've been cold for a fucking month."

I felt like a whiney child as soon as the words were out of my
mouth, but Vincent just smiled.

"Well, then, let's get you warm."

He started the shower, and then removed his clothes. When he was
naked, he stripped me, and then maneuvered us both into the
steamy water. When I'm really cold, a hot shower is the only
thing that helps, and Vincent had the water hot enough to boil
lobsters. After three minutes our skin was bright red and the
room was totally fogged in. He turned the water off, switched on
the heat lamp in the ceiling, and grabbed a big towel. As he
rubbed me dry, I could feel every nerve ending in my skin
tingling.

He left me there, wrapped in a towel, while he went into our room
for clothes. After he had me dressed in warm, fleecy sweats, we
went back down to the kitchen where Matt was just adding a couple
more banana pancakes to a big pile on a platter. The four of us
sat at the kitchen table and admired the drawings David and Matt
had done that day.

Most of them were face studies - a three-quarter profile, or just
an eye and a cheekbone, several of their mouths in various
expressions. A couple were full head studies, and I found myself
lingering over these. Matt had sketched David with his head
tipped to the side, eyes closed, and a faint smile curving his
lips as if he were lost in a favorite day dream. It was a lovely
drawing, and I glanced at David, thinking again what a shame it
was that this sweet, gentle man was spending his life alone.

After dinner David was washing dishes while I dried when the gate
intercom buzzed.

"Yes?"

"Sean?" Levi's gruff voice boomed through the speaker, startling
David, who dropped the spatula back into the dish water with a
splash as he turned to stare at me.

"What're you doin' here? Come on in."

I buzzed him through and we all trooped to the front door to
greet him. His truck came to a stop just past the front porch,
and when he got out and turned toward the light, David gasped.
The left side of Levi's face was raw and bruised, his eye swelled
nearly shut, and his lip split and oozing. He had one arm in a
sling and limped as he walked slowly to us.

"I dropped the trailer at the barn and asked Tommy to put the
horses up. Hope you don't mind too much."

"Of course I don't mind. What the hell happened to you?"

We were gathered around him by now, helping him up the steps and
into the warmth of the house. When I slid an arm around his
waist, he winced.

"Careful," he wheezed. "I got a couple busted ribs."

We got him settled onto the couch in the den, boots off, feet
propped on the coffee table, with a glass of whiskey in his hand.
After he took a big sip, I prompted him.

"So... did you get mugged or what?"

He chuckled dryly. "Nah. I prolly coulda handled that. I got
stupid and entered the senior bull riding last weekend. Hell, I
watch them boys do it every week - how hard can it be?"

"You've never ridden bulls before?" Vincent asked incredulously,
recalling their hulking presence at the rodeo.

"Yeah, yeah, when I was a kid. Been a while, but I figured I'd be
all right. Well, I drew me a big old sonofabitch who threw me off
in two seconds and stomped on me for ten more. I hurt fuckin'
everywheres."

He took another big sip of whiskey and dropped his head back
against the couch. "I expect it's a bit much to ask, but can I
maybe stay here a while till I heal up some?"

I was about to say 'of course' when David said, "No." We all
looked at him. His face was red, but he was staring at Levi.
"Come home with me." When Levi hesitated, David added, "Please."

Levi glanced at me for a second before turning back to David.
"I'd like that, if you're sure."

"I'm sure," David smiled, tucking the quilt around Levi's legs
before sitting down next to him. Levi settled a big hand on
David's thigh, giving it a squeeze as he tipped his drink up. I
watched them throughout the evening - David seeing to Levi's
comfort and Levi responding with a gentle touch or a soft word of
thanks - and decided I'd been wrong to think them an odd
combination. David was a kind, giving person, and Levi, while
being a gruff old bear of a man, was good-hearted, and it would
be interesting to see where this went.

By nine Levi was asleep on the couch, so we loaded his gear
into David's car, then woke him and helped him out the door. I
watched their tail lights for a few seconds before turning off
the porch light and following Vincent up the stairs to bed.





On Friday I crossed paths with TJ at the barn, almost running him
over as I trotted around the corner on Ginger. He hopped out of
the way as I pulled her up.

"Hey, almost got you. How was Looooosiana?" I asked, stretching
it out as Del had done the night we'd met him.

TJ grinned. "It was great. We get along so well." His smile
faded, and he looked up at me. "But his whole life is there."

"You don't wanna move?"

He shook his head. "No, I love it here. You've been really good
to me, and this is my home now. Besides, we barely know each
other."

That was true. Three fuck-filled weekends weren't much to base a
relationship on. I thought of Vincent and me, how we'd known each
other for so many years before we'd decided to be together. I
looked down at TJ, dejection in his blue eyes and the set of his
mouth. We gazed at each other for a few seconds before I leaned
down from the saddle and kissed him on the mouth. "I know it's
not much consolation, but you're young yet. Play around some more
before you get too worried about settling down."

He nodded glumly, and I rode off to practice the reining moves
Cody had shown me the day before. I hadn't told anyone yet, but I
had secret aspirations of entering the amateur division in some
reining competitions next year. I missed the thrill of
competition - the butterflies, the satisfaction of performing
well - and reining was way safer than jumping. But I wasn't
nearly good enough yet, so I was practicing every chance I got.



Cody's birthday was that Saturday, and Wade threw a bash for him
at the barn. We cleaned out the stallion barn after moving Calvin
to the west barn for a few days. Vincent arranged to cater it,
and Wade hired a country band with a square dance caller. If you
haven't square danced, it looks pretty hokey, but once you get
going it's a blast and we were all looking forward to it. Wade
invited everyone parents, friends, neighbors - so that by the
time party night rolled around, the barn was full of nearly 100
people.

The band warmed up with several two-steps and line dances. I was
tapping my toe on the sidelines when Vincent came up behind me
and swept me onto the floor, his arm strong across my back. We
danced well together and stayed on the floor through the next few
songs until Danny cut in. His broad shoulders felt so different
under my hand than Vincent's lean physique and I smiled at him as
we shuffled around the floor.

"How're things going with Gabriel?" I asked him.

He waggled his head back and forth. "Okay. Nothing like you
and Vincent, or Wade and Cody," he added, looking to where they
were talking, heads close, smiling into each other's eyes. "I'm
not gonna settle for less than that."

Good luck, I thought to myself. In my experience, relationships
like mine with Vincent didn't come along often.

Dylan showed up and spent some time on the dance floor. I saw him
whirling my mom around at one point, and the next time I noticed
him, he was arm in arm with TJ. I finally cornered him by the
beer tub.
"Hey, glad you could make it."

"Yeah, I'm headed for Dallas and figured I'd stop in."

"More depositions?"

"No..." He paused, and I looked at him more closely. "I met
someone," he said quietly, looking away from me out the door.

"Really? That's great. He's a lawyer?"

"No, he's an investigator with the DA's office. He's helping us
on a case. Name's Ryan."

"When do we get to meet him?"

He shrugged. "We've only spent a few days together. I'm staying
at his place tonight for the first time."

When I reached for him, he came willingly, laying his head on my
shoulder for a moment. "Good luck," I told him. "I hope it goes
well."

He nodded and blew out a breath. "Me too."

A bit later, I saw David carrying two plates of food and followed
him to where Levi was sitting. His scrapes looked marginally
better and the bruises had turned to yellow and green. He was
laughing as Wade's dad told the punch line of a story, his head
thrown back and one hand slapping his knee. When David handed him
a plate, Levi gave him a quick look and spotted me.

"How you doin'?" I asked him, patting his shoulder gingerly.

"Better, thanks to this guy," he replied, nudging David with an
elbow. "He's got me takin' vitamins and drinkin' some awful green
shit -"

"It's just green tea," David said to me, rolling his eyes.

"- that makes me piss a lot, but I do feel better. And he's a
great cook. Good thing I'm working some of it off each night or
I'd be gettin' fat again."

David blushed an attractive shade of pink and shook his head,
eyes closed, but he was smiling, and I hoped Levi would make a
graceful exit when the time came.

We ate our way through big trays of lasagna and fettuccini,
baskets of garlic bread, and big bowls of salad, drank gallons of
red wine, and finally, around 11pm, we cut into a huge chocolate
cake, after watching Cody blow out the requisite 29 candles. He
closed his eyes tightly as he made a wish, then opened them and
grinned at Wade.

It was a fun night, and we didn't get everyone out of the parking
lot until 1:30 in the morning. Vincent and I put the lids on a
few of the salvageable food trays, loaded them into the car, and
drove home through the cold, still night. We pulled up in front
of the house, and as I began to get out of the car, Vincent
stopped me with a hand on my arm.

"Let's take a walk," he said softly.

It was two in the morning and butt-freezing cold, but the moon
was full in a cloudless sky and Vincent was looking at me
beseechingly, so I zipped my jacket up under my chin and took his
hand as he led us down the drive. I walked for a bit with my head
tipped back, looking at the billions of stars scattered across
the sky and watching my breath puff out in front of my face,
trusting Vincent to not let me fall in a hole. By the time we
reached the community garden, I was warmed up and enjoying the
quiet of the neighborhood.

He didn't seem to have any particular agenda; we just wandered
silently along the deserted streets. He shoved our joined hands
into his coat pocket, and as we walked, I could feel his body
move against the back of my hand. The flex and bunch of his
muscles excited me, as it always does, and I did at least half
the walk with a hard-on in my jeans.

At one point he squeezed my hand quickly and nodded his head
toward a pair of coyotes trotting quickly across the street about
fifty feet ahead of us. I hadn't seen any in a while and was glad
to know they were still in the area.

When they'd slipped into the darkness behind a fence, I turned to
him. "Anything the matter?"

He smiled at me then and let go of my hand to put his arm around
my shoulders. "No, I just wanted some quiet time with you. And I
needed to walk off too many margaritas."

Eventually his meandering led us back to our house, lights
shining welcomingly from the kitchen windows, where Vincent let
us in the front door. As he pushed the door shut behind us, he
pulled me around by the hand, pinning me to the hard oak with his
hips as he took my face in his hands and leaned in to kiss me.
That had predictable results and soon we were on the floor in the
hall, pants around our knees, thrusting against each other in the
chilly darkness, the carpet rubbing a raw spot on my tailbone.

Vincent climaxed first - a rarity when he's with me grunting into
the curve of my neck as he hunched over me. The gush of hot cum
spurting across my cock triggered my orgasm, and I added to the
wetness between our bellies. After a moment he rolled off me,
still breathing hard, and wiped us up with the party napkins he'd
stuffed in his pocket earlier in the evening.

His quiet mood continued for a few days. I didn't press him for
an explanation, and he never gave me one. It was just one of
those odd spells that all relationships go through now and then,
but I wondered about it.



Christmas was low-key this year. On Christmas Eve it was just
Matt, Vincent, and me. Adam had flown back to see his folks, and
wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning. We picked up Chinese
from Su-Lin and ate it in front of the fire in the den as the
wind blew leaves sideways past the window, and then exchanged
presents after supper. The three of us had agreed to make
donations as our primary gifts, and to give one another
relatively small gifts.

Despite the fact that he had a healthy bank account, Vincent had
been lusting after a leather briefcase he'd seen in one of my
horse gear catalogs. He couldn't bring himself to buy it, saying
that his old one was just fine, so I had ordered it for him. It
was a rich, dark brown, the leather soft and supple, and I knew
he was thrilled with it, even though he gave me an oh-you-
shouldn't-have look when he opened the package. I'd gotten Matt a
smaller portfolio version now that he was beginning to have more
paperwork associated with his burgeoning portrait business.

Matt had gotten us a smorgasbord of underwear - everything from
mesh thongs to silk boxers - each individually wrapped. We spent
an arousing twenty minutes modeling a few of the most interesting
ones, parading back and forth across the den, before tossing them
back in the box with plans to fully explore them later in the
evening.

Vincent had given Matt a contract to paint his parent's portrait.
Corleone's had a grand fireplace in the main dining room, over
which hung a nice but uninspiring print of a country scene.
Vincent planned to hang the portrait for Corleone's 50th
anniversary, as a surprise for his folks. Matt would be able to
do the painting without having them pose since he was in and out
of Corleone's all the time, and could sketch them when they
weren't looking.

When we went up to bed, Matt hesitated for a moment outside his
door, and then turned to me. "Can I sleep with you guys? Or do
you want to be alone? I mean, I know it's Christmas Eve, but -"

I stopped him with a kiss. "Of course you can." I felt that
opportunities to sleep with Matt were going to come along less
and less often, and I didn't plan to waste one, Christmas Eve or
not.

We all put on our favorite undies - me in a pair of white bikinis
with a rhinestone arrow down the front, pointing the way to my
dick; Matt in hot pink spandex boxer briefs that showed every
vein in his cock; and Vincent in a black jock that made him look
like a porn star. His dick is big even when it's soft, and the
jock made it look like he had a large cucumber and two apples in
there. He swaggered around the bedroom with a leer until I shoved
him down on the bed and dove into his crotch.

Soon all the underwear was on the floor and the three of us were
in a tangle - hands, mouths and cocks attached to each other in
various combinations. Matt was more active than usual, initiating
position changes and kissing us with abandon. Not that he wasn't
normally fun in bed, but tonight was different, and I wondered
about it as he panted under me. When Vincent pulled his dick from
Matt's mouth, Matt's eyes locked to mine as I stroked into him
more quickly, unable to wait any longer.

As I began to cum, Matt let go, arching his head back into the
pillow with a groan, and Vincent rose to his knees next to us,
his deep red erection straining in his pumping fist. He came
last, splattering Matt and me with a fountain of creamy white
droplets.

When we settled down to sleep, Matt made no move to leave, so I
fell asleep Christmas Eve with Vincent's arm across my chest and
Matt's leg over mine. His hand was lightly holding my arm and I
could feel him twitch now and then as he dozed off.

"I love you guys," I whispered, staring up at the dark ceiling as
they breathed evenly on either side of me. Neither replied, and I
closed my eyes so that Christmas morning would come.


Adam's flight was on time, so Matt left to get him around eleven.
David and Levi were due mid afternoon for an early dinner, giving
Vincent and me time to make the rounds of our folks and a few
friends. We spent a pleasant hour with Katie, Paula, and Jack.
They were leaving in the morning for a week in Tahiti. Katie's
collarbone was healing nicely, and she was looking forward to
getting some sun.

Wade and Cody had gone to visit Cody's daddy. Davis had broken an
ankle in a cutting mishap when the calf darted right into the
horse he was riding. All three went down in a heap, and the horse
had rolled across his leg. He was healing fine, but was cranky
and lonely, so they were spending the holidays with him.

Danny's dad had invited him out to dinner, and after some
deliberation, Danny had decided to take the olive branch his dad
was offering. I knew Danny had been much more upset by their
estrangement than he'd let on, and I was happy that things were
slowly working out. Sometimes people just need time to get used
to a new idea.

TJ declined my invitation, saying he just wanted some time to
himself. School was on break for the week, so he packed up the
truck, loaded Ginger in the trailer, and went camping up in the
hills for a few days. I had no idea if he and Del had tried to
make plans for the holidays or not, but they weren't getting
together, near as I could tell. I felt bad for him, but long-
distance relationships are difficult to maintain. Hell,
relationships when you're both in the same town are tough enough.

Matt got back to the house with Adam at 2pm, and we had just
started in on the eggnog when David's car pulled in. I watched
from the kitchen window as Levi took a pie carrier from David and
handed him out of the car. I let them in the front door, smiling
when Levi settled a big hand on the back of David's neck as he
followed him down the hall to the kitchen.

Now that he had someone to care for, David simply glowed. He
smiled easily, laughed at small things, straightened the
perfectly fine collar of Levi's shirt when he passed behind his
chair - all the little things a person falling in love does. Levi
accepted it all with warm glances and the occasional touch,
falling naturally into the role of taker, rather than giver.

The six of us had a wonderful afternoon, eating, drinking, and
listening to Levi's tales of rodeo life and Adam's stories of
life among the wealthy. I have a fair amount of money, but I
don't live like Adam's folks do, with a cook, several maids, a
chauffeur, a few yard men, and a masseur on call, so it was
interesting to hear about his clothes being laid out by the
upstairs maid before he woke up each morning. I couldn't really
imagine having someone that involved in my everyday life, but I
guess you get used to it. We teased Adam about how tough it must
have been to pick out the right shirt and pants when he moved out
of his folk's place.

After dinner, everyone adjourned to the den with pie and coffee.
I made a kitchen run for more creamer and Levi trailed after me.
He had an odd look on his face when he spoke in a low voice.

"Sean, I need to talk to you."

"I know what you're gonna say," I replied a bit abruptly. "Just
do it as gently as you can cause I suspect he's in love with
you."

"Do what?" Levi was staring at me with his mouth open, blinking
in surprise. "Jesus, did you think I was leavin' him?"

"Aren't you?" I asked, confused now myself.

"Fuck, no! I was gonna ask you if maybe I could rent some stable
space, and try to get something going around here." He looked
down at the floor for a moment. "I'm as hooked as he is. I'm
gonna stay if he'll let me."

"No shit. Well... I figured you'd hit the road as soon as you
felt better."

"Yeah, that was kinda my original plan, but..... I never reckoned
on settlin' down like a married man, but he makes me wanna."

I smiled at him, so pleased that I wouldn't be consoling David
after Levi's departure. "Sure, we can get you set up at the barn.
Let's talk about it next week."

Everyone stayed till eight or so, and then it was just Vincent
and me in front of the fire. The flames leaped and flared as
Vincent's heart beat steadily under my cheek. His hand caressed
my leg, sliding slowly from my knee to the crease of my thigh,
stopping now and then to nudge my balls. We began to kiss,
leisurely exploring each other's mouths in long, wet kisses that
had me whimpering softly into his mouth. When his knee pressed
firmly up between my legs, I moved against him, dragging the
underside of my erection along his hard thigh.

Soon we were making love, me face down on the floor, him covering
me, his cock buried deep. He rocked us to completion, and then
settled down next to me. The last thing I remember was hearing
Vincent whisper, "I love you, Sean. Merry Christmas."



*************************

I love email - let me know what you think. qwb224@gmail.com

David of Hope - I couldn't get this thru to your email. Kept
getting kickbacks Friday night. ???