Page 54 of Mr. Naughty List
“Tidy.” He nudged RJ with an elbow. “Also, my job’s in town. I don’t want to drive all that way every day either, so I can’t blame my dad for not wanting to do it back when I was a kid.”
“Yeah.”
There was more to the story of the divorce, RJ could tell. But that kind of personal information was always a tender thing. RJ didn’t push.
Speaking of tender.
“How’s that sweet ass feeling?” RJ asked. The roads out this way were rough at times and Aaron was holding himself a little stiffly.
“Bruised. But I’m fine.” He smiled shyly at RJ. “Don’t worry about me.”
“I’ll worry about you, and I’ll thank you, and I’ll spank you all I damn well want. You can’t stop me, Mr. Danvers.”
“I don’t want to stop you.”
RJ reached out and took Aaron’s hand again, feeling the rightness of the slim fingers fitting between his own. It was like a shock of joy to the heart, and he didn’t want to let go. But at the next curve, he needed both hands on the wheel, so he did.
“This driveway, up ahead,” Aaron said quietly. “This is my dad’s place.”
The bare, brown trees rolled past them as they approached, and then suddenly dropped away, opening up a vista of brown and light green rolling hills, several barns to the left, a farmhouse up ahead, and the sparkling river delineating a boundary behind it all.
“Wow.”
“Yeah. My dad got one of the best pieces, but that was way back before Papaw died. Uncle Jokey got another good strip by the river.” He indicated with his thumb. “That way.”
“Uncle Jokey?”
Aaron flushed a little. “My family’s got a thing for nicknames. I guess I should tell you now. My dad’s name is Rutger, but they call him Rutty. I’m Cracker.”
“Cracker? Like the insult?”
Aaron laughed. “No, like a saltine. I ate a whole sleeve of them in my bed when I was a kid and then cried because the crumbs were all itchy and I couldn’t sleep that night. I’ve been Cracker to my family out this way ever since.”
“Makes my mom’s ‘hon’ seem completely tolerable.”
Aaron snorted gently. “Yeah. Well, here, pull up by the barns. Watch for the goats.”
The farmhouse was beautiful. Freshly painted white with black shutters, and fresh, green wreaths with red bows hung over each window. The front door was graced by a thick, woven, pine garland also punctuated with several bright red bows. Festive. Pretty. RJ wondered if Aaron’s father had picked them out.
“Cracker!” Aaron’s father was a tall man, broad in the shoulders, with a face that had clearly seen a lot of sun over the years. RJ estimated that he was probably only in his mid-fifties, but on first glance he came across as older given his cotton-white hair and sun-deep wrinkles.
He strode down from the wraparound porch at the house, wearing actual cowboy boots and a plaid shirt tucked into jeans, all strapped into place with a belt buckle the size of Texas.
“Cracker, who’ve you brought with you?” he asked with a wide smile. “Hi, I’m Rutty.”
Aaron groaned almost sub-audibly, but RJ heard it anyway, attuned as he seemed to be to all of Aaron’s noises. “This is RJ Blitz, Dad. My…friend.”
Rutger Danvers registered that slight hesitation all right. His smile sharpened and his eyes dug into RJ with an intensity beyond curiosity. It wasn’t hateful at all. RJ had seen hateful, was familiar with its gleam, and this wasn’t it. But it was definitely protective, and RJ could respect Rutger for that. This man loved Aaron, and why shouldn’t he? Aaron was his son, plus Aaron was utterly amazing.
Oh crap.
He wasn’t falling for Aaron was he? The last time he’d thought anyone was amazing was his ex, lead singer of Pearl Necklace, stage name: Pan Soldier. After they’d been fucking for a few days, RJ had looked over at him, sprawled out boneless and submissive on the bed, and felt that awful squish of affection in his chest. Helplessly, he’d thought, “This guy’s amazing. This guy’s worth the fall.” How wrong he’d been.
But Aaron was nothing like Pan. Obviously. And aside from being in the closet, and running a little hot and cold, and really not being the kind of person RJ should ever start a relationship with for so many reasons (but especially because RJ couldn’t stay and be a domestic partner to ateacher, for fuck’s sake)…Aaronwasamazing.
So Papa Danvers was right to be worried for him. RJ was a dick who had only come into his son’s life to fuck him silly for a few breathless weeks and then hit the road.
So, yeah, glare at me, stare me down, Rutty. Fair’s fair.