Chase the Stars E-Book

Ariel Tachna

• Herausgeber: Dreamspinner Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 397

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

Sequel to Inherit the Sky Lang Downs: Book Two Twenty-year-old Chris Simms is barely keeping his head above water. After losing his mother and his home, he struggles to provide for himself and his brother. When homophobes attack him, he thinks his life is over, but then he's rescued by jackaroos from a nearby sheep station. He's as stunned to be offered a job there as he is to discover both the station owner and foreman are gay. For Chris, Lang Downs is a dream—one that only gets better when Chris realizes the jackaroo he's crushing on, Jesse Harris, is gay and amenable to a fling. Everything goes well until Chris realizes he's falling for Jesse a lot harder than allowed by their deal. Jesse is a drifter who moves from station to station, never looking for anything permanent. Convinced Chris is too young and fragile for a real relationship, he sets rules to keep things casual. Watching the station owner and his foreman together makes Jesse wonder if there are benefits to settling down, but when he realizes how Chris feels about him, he panics. He and Chris will have to decide if a try for happiness is worth the risk before the end of the season tears them apart.

Leseprobe

ARIEL TACHNA

Contemporary M/M Romance at its Finest

Inherit the Sky

“…a well-crafted, beautiful book that I would recommend to anyone looking for a love story that takes courage.” —Guilty Indulgence

“I enjoyed this excellently researched and written book very much and hope there will be additional stories about all of the characters on and near the Lang Down sheep station.” —Mrs. Condit

“This story is beautifully, realistically handled.” —Joyfully Jay

Her Two Dads

“…one of the most emotionally rewarding and uplifting love stories that I have read in a long time.” —Dark Diva Reviews

“This is one of the best books I have ever read.”

—Judging the Book by Its Pages

“…a sweet and stirring novel about the power of love and family.” —Romance Junkies

Seducing C.C.

“…a great comfort read.” —Blackraven Reviews

“…a seductively sexy and romantic story.” —Night Owl Reviews

Once in a Lifetime

“… a coming-of-age story that introduces heart-pounding firsts and nostalgic lasts.” —¡Miraculous!

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

NOVELSBY ARIEL TACHNA

Fallout

Her Two Dads

Inherit the Sky • Chase the Stars

The Inventor’s Companion

The Matelot

Once in a Lifetime

Overdrive

Out of the Fire

Seducing C.C.

Stolen Moments

A Summer Place

THE PARTNERSHIPIN BLOOD NOVELS

Alliance in Blood • Covenant in Blood • Conflict in Blood • Reparation in Blood

Perilous Partnership

Reluctant Partnerships

WITH NICKI BENNETT

All For One • Checkmate

Hot Cargo

Under the Skin

WITH MADELEINE URBAN

Sutcliffe Cove

NOVELLASBY ARIEL TACHNA

Healing in His Wings

Rediscovery

Rose Among the Ruins

Why Nileas Loved the Sea

WITH NICKI BENNETT

Something About Harry

Tying the Knot

THE EXPLORING LIMITS SERIES

AVAILABLEAT DREAMSPINNER PRESS

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Copyright

Published by

Dreamspinner Press

382 NE 191st Street #88329

Miami, FL 33179-3899, USA

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Chase the StarsCopyright © 2012 by Ariel Tachna

Cover Art by Anne Cain    [email protected]

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 382 NE 191st Street #88329, Miami, FL 33179-3899, USAhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

ISBN: 978-1-62380-080-2

Printed in the United States of America

First Edition

September 2012

eBook edition available

eBook ISBN: 978-1-62380-081-9

To Nicki, Emmet, Amy, Mary, and Andrew,

who refused to let me give up on this one.

One

“HELP me, please. Oh God, somebody help me!”

The shouts of the kid who half ran, half fell into the Yass Hotel drew Caine’s attention away from what should have been a quiet lunch with his lover and partner of three months.

“They’re going to kill him. Please, he’s all I have.”

“Who?” Macklin asked, rising from the table.

“These thugs.” The boy was crying now. “They said he was a poofter and they’d kill him for it.”

Macklin’s expression, never soft to begin with, hardened to stone. Caine swore Macklin’s shoulders grew broader as he approached the boy.

“Where are they?”

The boy had barely finished his answer before Macklin was out the door.

“Neil—”

“Yes, boss,” the jackaroo at the next table replied, already on his feet and following Macklin out the door before Caine finished speaking. Ian and Kyle, the other two hands who had come to Yass to help him hire new blood for Lang Downs, followed Neil without being prompted, bringing a smile to Caine’s face despite the seriousness of the situation. He still had trouble believing he had won their loyalty.

“I’m C-c-caine Neiheisel,” Caine said, approaching the boy slowly. His heart pounded in his chest so hard it felt like someone was squeezing his ribs tight, making it hard to breathe. He couldn’t go with Macklin. He was useless in a fight, but that didn’t stop his body’s fight-or-flight response. He took a deep breath, shaking his hands slightly to clear the tingling from the rush of adrenaline. “You w-want to have a s-seat?”

“Shouldn’t we go help them?”

Caine shook his head. “Macklin and the others will t-t-take care of it, don’t worry. Wh-what’s your name?”

“Seth. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Macklin won’t stand for that kind of nonsense,” Caine promised, his confidence so profound that he got that sentence out without a stutter, even as upset as he was at the thought of that kind of homophobia in what constituted his own backyard and the danger it presented to Macklin and himself. “Where are you from?”

“Nowhere anymore,” Seth replied, his voice so bitter Caine wanted to pull the kid into his arms and comfort him. He remembered what it had been like to be a teenager, though, and refrained, figuring the embrace wouldn’t be welcome from a total stranger.

“What about your parents?”

“Mum died six months ago, and the no-good bastard she married kicked us out the day after the funeral,” Seth said. “It’s just Chris and me now, if that scary dude can save him.”

“That ‘scary dude’ is Macklin,” Caine said, “or Mr. Armstrong to you since you can’t be more than fourteen.”

“I’m sixteen,” Seth retorted quickly.

He was way too small and skinny to be sixteen. Not that Caine thought he was lying. It was just proof of how hard his life had been.

Caine had already decided that was going to change. His great-uncle, Michael Lang, had made a habit of taking in strays at his station, much to Caine’s good fortune. He wouldn’t have Macklin now if Uncle Michael hadn’t taken the foreman in when he was the same age as this kid. Now Caine just had to convince Seth that coming to Lang Downs would be the right choice for him and his brother. “So where are you staying?”

“We’ve got a room,” Seth said defensively.

Probably some flop in a drug house so cheap they could afford it.

“Are you using?”

“What? No!”

“Pushing?”

“Fuck no!”

That was good. Caine was all for lending a helping hand, but he would not have drugs on his land. He had too much to lose. “Good. Your brother’s clean too?”

“What’s it to you?”

“I don’t hire men with drug problems.”

“What?”

“If all you’ve got is ‘a room’ and no parents and no one but your brother, that pretty much means no future, at least from where I’m sitting. I run a sheep station north of Boorowa. I thought you might like a job.”

“You’re a Yank!”

“And you’re a brat who is about to lose the best chance to come his way,” Caine retorted. “Ask around if you don’t believe me. I’ve been here all week signing on jackaroos. I’ve got space for two more.”

They didn’t really. They’d hired the last of their crew this morning and planned to head back to Boorowa after lunch to pick up supplies and then drive back to Lang Downs tomorrow morning. Seth didn’t need to know that, though. Caine had already seen enough of the boy’s pride to know he wouldn’t take charity.

It wouldn’t be charity. Seth would work harder on Lang Downs than he had in his life. He’d earn every cent they paid him and his brother. He wouldn’t have many expenses, though, so he could put almost every penny away toward college, if he wanted, or into a savings account against the day he left Lang Downs and pursued a different path in life, and if he chose to stay, he’d have a family to replace the one he’d lost with his mother’s death.

CHRIS SIMMSgrunted as another hard kick landed on his kidneys, directly below his ribs. He’d tried to fight his attackers, but they were too numerous. He’d rolled into a ball instead, trying to protect tender places in the hope that someone would interrupt and scare off his attackers before they killed him. His whole body hurt, sharp lances of agony each time they landed a blow blending with the sea of pain from the injuries they’d already inflicted, but he clung to consciousness and hope. He couldn’t die because he couldn’t abandon Seth the way everyone else in their lives had done. He just couldn’t.

A shout from the street slowed the blows raining down on him. He lifted his head as an avenging angel bore down on his attackers. His vision blurred when he tried to focus on his savior’s face, but then another blow to his head rattled him. His last thought as consciousness deserted him was that the man looked like he was carved out of stone.

MACKLIN stood over the body of the unconscious kid, rubbing absently at his sore knuckles. He was too old to be brawling in the streets, but that hadn’t mattered when he’d seen the kid on the ground being pummeled by five attackers. He supposed this young man was a little older than the one at the hotel, but not by much. The five hoodlums who’d jumped him had changed their minds when faced with real men who knew how to handle themselves in a fight. Macklin spared a quick nod of thanks for Neil, Ian, and Kyle. Neil had a bloody nose where someone had landed a blow, but other than that, they all seemed in good shape. He’d have a bruise on his jaw in the morning, for that matter. “He needs a doctor, but it doesn’t look like anything’s too broken. Get the ute, Ian. We’ll take him to the hospital and see what’s wrong with him.”

“You don’t want to call an ambulance?” Ian asked.

“He’s unconscious, but he’s breathing. He isn’t bleeding. We can get him to the hospital probably as fast as an ambo can get here, and that way we don’t have to pay for it. I can guarantee he isn’t an ambulance member.”

Ian nodded and ran toward the truck.

“You should call Caine, boss,” Neil said, staunching the blood flow with his sleeve. “He’ll be worried.”

“Once we get this bloke in the ute and we’re on the way,” Macklin said. “He can take the car and meet us there.”

Macklin looked down at the kid, trying to figure out the best way to move him without hurting him worse. “Neil, get his feet. Kyle, help me with his shoulders.”

The kid moaned softly as they moved him, reassuring Macklin more. He might be unconscious, but he wasn’t in a coma or anything. As they carried him out of the alley and lifted him into the back of the ute, one thought stuck firmly in Macklin’s head.

But for the grace of God in the form of Michael Lang, this could have been him.

THE emergency room in Yass was about as crowded and busy as the rest of the town, which was to say not at all. The doctor looked surprised to see anyone, much less someone in the young man’s condition.

“What happened?”

“We found five guys trying to kick the shite out of him,” Macklin said. “His brother’s on his way here with our boss. The brother can give you medical background, I hope, but we didn’t want to wait to bring him in.”

“No, of course not,” the doctor said. “Put him on the gurney. I’ll need to do an X-ray and….”

Macklin tuned out the mumbling as the doctor rolled the gurney deeper into the emergency room. The man would do what he could and they’d go from there. He was more concerned with Caine. He didn’t really think the thugs he’d run off would stumble across Caine and realize he was the grazier from Lang Downs, much less that they’d do anything after Macklin had kicked their arses once, but he would still be happier once he could see Caine again to be sure. More than that, though, he knew his lover’s tender heart and could easily guess how this entire situation would bother Caine. Macklin didn’t know the whole story, although he’d bet Caine had gotten it out of the kid’s brother by now, but he knew it couldn’t be good, and that would tear at Caine. As far as Macklin was concerned, nothing was allowed to upset his lover, which meant finding a solution.

Now.

Caine arrived a few minutes later, the younger brother in tow. Macklin saw the way Caine’s eyes raked over him checking for scuffs or injuries. He squeezed Caine’s shoulder as the younger brother rushed past him into the hospital. It was a subtle gesture, all Macklin would let pass between them in public, especially here in Yass, but it would reassure Caine for the moment. His lover could strip him bare and check every centimeter of him later.

“Where’s Chris?”

“The doctor took him for an X-ray,” Macklin said, turning to face the boy who had skidded to a halt in the middle of the lobby when he didn’t see the object of his search, “and I don’t know what else. He was unconscious but alive when we brought him in. He’ll be sore for a while, but he didn’t look hurt bad enough to worry about him getting well.”

“Macklin, this is Seth,” Caine said. “Seth, this is Mr. Armstrong.”

“Thank you for saving my brother, Mr. Armstrong,” the kid said. “You didn’t have to get involved.”

The kid might see it that way, but Macklin hadn’t had a choice, not from the moment he’d understood that homophobia had motivated the attack.

The doctor came back out before Macklin could reply.

“Has the brother got here yet? I need some medical background.”

“I’m Chris’s brother,” Seth said.

Macklin caught Caine’s arm when he would have followed Seth and the doctor. “Let him do this. I need to talk to you.”

“They’re coming to Lang Downs,” Caine said immediately, “as soon as Chris can travel safely.”

“Of course they are,” Macklin said. “What did the kid tell you?”

“They’re orphans; their stepfather kicked them out after their mom died. They have a room here in Yass, but I’m guessing it’s temporary. They need a chance.”

“And we’ll give them one,” Macklin agreed. “Michael would approve.”

Caine beamed the way he did any time Macklin brought up his great-uncle, making Macklin resolve, once again, to mention the old man more often.

“HE’S still unconscious,” the doctor told Seth, “but we expect him to come to any minute. He has three cracked ribs, bruised kidneys, multiple lacerations and contusions, and a broken arm. None of that is good, but it’ll all heal in time.”

“How much time?”

“The bruises and scrapes will heal in a few days. His arm, which will take the longest, will need to be in a cast for six to eight weeks,” the doctor said.

“Which arm is it?”

“His right.”

Seth cursed silently. If it had been his left arm, Chris might have been able to keep working, but he was worthless with his left hand. He’d lose his job, they’d lose their room, and they’d be back to living in the car, trying to stay presentable enough that someone would give them a chance at another job and another room.

Unless they took the offer to go to the station….

“Can I see him? I want to be there when he wakes up.”

“Of course.”

The doctor led Seth into a small hospital room where Chris lay on the bed, various machines monitoring his vitals. “Don’t let the wires bother you,” the doctor said. “They’re keeping tabs on his systems, but he’s doing everything himself. As soon as he’s awake, we’ll start taking them off, and once we know he doesn’t have a concussion, we can send him home. Do you have somewhere to go?”

“Yes, of course,” Seth lied. He had no idea where they’d go. Their landlord let them pay by the week since that’s how Chris got paid, but they’d owe rent again in three days, and Seth didn’t know if they’d have enough to cover it. Even if they did, that would only delay the inevitable by a week, because Chris wouldn’t be able to work for some time, based on what the doctor said. “Wake up, Chris,” Seth begged. “We have to figure this out, and I can’t do it by myself.”

They had the offer from the grazier, but Seth didn’t trust it. He didn’t trust anyone but Chris these days. Too many people had betrayed their trust for Seth to believe that anyone but Chris cared about what happened to them. Looking around the room to make sure he was alone, not that he expected anyone to come in, he put his hand on Chris’s. “Come on, Chris. Don’t do this to me.”

He could feel the tears threatening, but he had too much pride to snivel like a little kid. Chris needed him to be strong. He wondered what would happen if he showed up at the restaurant where Chris worked tomorrow to take Chris’s shift. It wasn’t like he’d be doing anything but washing dishes anyway. Surely he could do that well enough to keep a roof over their heads for a couple of weeks until Chris could work again.

The fingers beneath his twitched slightly, drawing Seth’s attention from his spiraling thoughts back to his brother. Chris’s eyes were still closed, but Seth thought he saw more movement beneath the lids, like maybe Chris was waking up. “Can you hear me, Chris? Come on. Help me get this sorted here, okay? You’ve got to wake up and tell me how to fix all of this because I can’t do it on my own.”

Chris’s fingers twitched again, but his eyes didn’t open. “What are we going to do?” Seth asked, hoping the sound of his voice would help rouse his brother. “Even if they let me work your job, they’re going to bitch about school and the number of hours I can work. I’m not sure I can make enough in the hours they’re likely to give me to make the rent. I need you to wake up and give me the solution. You always have the answers, Chris. Now would be a good time.”

Noise in the hallway interrupted him. He jerked his hand back, as if whoever was out there would think him unmanly for holding his brother’s hand. He watched the door for several seconds, but no one came in so he turned back to Chris again. “The men who helped you offered us a job, but I don’t know if they really meant it, or if they’ll still mean it when they realize you broke your arm. The doc says you’ll be in a cast for six to eight weeks. I don’t know much about sheep, but I don’t think there’s much you could do with your arm busted up like that. I guess we tell them thanks but no thanks and hope Mr. Harrell will let us miss a rent payment or two until you’re back on your feet. Just when I thought we were getting ahead a little bit, this had to go and happen.”

“WEHAVEto do something.”

“We will,” Macklin said, his hand back on Caine’s arm again, keeping him from going into the hospital room, “but that kid in there doesn’t know us and doesn’t trust us, and as much as you’d like him to, there’s no reason why he should. We have to be patient and let his brother wake up first. Then you’re going to stay out here with Neil and I’m going to talk to Chris man to man.”

“And I’m not a man?” Caine asked.

“You’re an amazing man, but right now your mother hen instincts have kicked in, and those kids have no idea how to deal with that,” Macklin said. “You want to comfort them. That might make you feel better, but it isn’t going to help them.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I was those two kids when I ended up on Lang Downs,” Macklin said. “I’d run away from home because I was tired of taking blows meant for my mother, going down, and watching her take them anyway. I was tired of homophobic rants and living in fear. I figured even the streets were better than that. I was wrong, of course, until Michael kicked me in the arse and set me straight. He didn’t do it by comforting me, pup. He did it by telling me if this was my choice, then I had to grow up and act like a man, and then he taught me how to do it. That’s what those boys in there are going to respond to, and because I’ve been where they are, I can do for them what Michael did for me. You can comfort them later, when they know us well enough to trust it.”

Caine’s heart ached hearing those words. He’d guessed some of it from things Macklin had and hadn’t said, but hearing it laid out that bluntly made him want to pull Macklin into his arms and heal all the old hurts. He chuckled. Macklin was right about his protective side. “Okay, fine. We’ll do it your way.”

Two

NEEDLES. Someone was driving needles into his arm. Chris struggled against the pain, aware only of the need to escape it. Then memory returned with a flash and he bolted upright in bed. “Seth!”

“You’re awake!”

Chris slumped back against the hard mattress, the flat pillows doing nothing to cushion his back, and he gasped as pain lanced outward from his ribs. “Where am I?”

“In hospital,” Seth said, looking small and scared under the fluorescent lights. “I got help. This big guy named Macklin and his boss, I guess, a Yank named Caine something unpronounceable. The Yank owns a sheep station, he said, and he said we should come work for him.”

“Back up,” Chris said. “You aren’t making sense. What happened when you ran?”

“I went to the hotel. It was close and I figured there would be people there. I was right. I begged for help, and almost before I’d finished, Macklin asked me where you were. I told him, and he and three others went to help.”

Macklin must be the man Chris saw before he lost consciousness. “How’d you get from asking for help to a job?”

“Caine, the Yank, wouldn’t let me go back with Macklin and the others. He asked a bunch of questions about where we lived and stuff, and when I was done, he said we should come work at Lang Downs, the station he owns.”

“You didn’t tell him the truth, did you?” They’d been over this. If people knew where they were living and why, they could end up with the Department of Community Services and separated, and that was Chris’s greatest fear. He didn’t have much in his life, but he wouldn’t let anyone take the one thing he did have: his brother.

“I know I wasn’t supposed to, but I couldn’t remember what I was supposed to say. I was too upset and….”

“No worries, Seth,” Chris said with a sigh. “He offered us a job, not to call the cops. Not that I can do much work at the moment.”

“I could probably work your shifts at the restaurant,” Seth offered.

“You need to be in school.”

“I’m not going to be in school on a sheep station either,” Seth pointed out. “At least here we’ll be in town.”

In town where people now knew he was gay. Seth talked about doing Chris’s job, but he wasn’t sure he’d have a job after the confrontation that had led to him being bashed. Even if he didn’t lose his job and Seth worked the shifts until he was well, he could run into those guys again at any time, and Seth might not be around next time to find help.

“Let’s think about it before we make a decision,” Chris said. “I’m too tired to sort it out now.”

A cough in the doorway drew Chris’s attention.

“Oh, Mr. Armstrong,” Seth said, jumping to his feet. “I didn’t see you come in.”

Chris might have chuckled at the awe in Seth’s voice, usually reserved for visiting heads of state or local demigods, but the situation was too serious for laughter.

“Good to see you awake,” the man said, addressing Chris. “Seth, could you maybe find some tea for me while I talk with your brother?”

Seth scampered out of the room like an eager puppy.

“You’ve certainly impressed my brother.”

“He’s just grateful I took him seriously when he asked for help.”

“You saved my life.”

“Probably. Macklin Armstrong.”

“Chris Simms.” Chris held out his left hand. The gesture was awkward, but it was the best he could manage with his right arm in a cast. “Thank you.”

“Glad I could help. So Caine tells me you’ve had a bit of a rough time recently.”

“Nothing we can’t handle,” Chris said defensively. “I’ve got a job.”

“You can cut the bullshit, Chris,” Macklin said. “You have a dead-end job, a flat you can barely afford to keep, and no way to get anything better because you’re trying to take care of your brother. You’re not eating well, even if you’re eating regularly, because you’re both way too skinny. You’re doing your best, and you should be proud of that, but it’s not enough.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Chris demanded. “You think I don’t know how bad our lives are?”

“No, I’m pretty sure you know exactly how bad it is,” Macklin said, “but I wanted you to understand that I know it too.”

“Why? So you can lord it over me?”

“Bloody hell, kid. If you weren’t already in that bed, I’d put you there,” Macklin roared. “I hope I wasn’t as stupidly stubborn as you when Michael Lang found me squatting in one of his drover’s huts. I’ve been where you are. I wasn’t bashed, but I was on my own at sixteen because my father beat my mother and me and spent the rest of his time ranting about pillow biters and queers. The words hurt worse than his fists ever did.”

“You’re….” Chris didn’t finish the sentence because he didn’t know how to do it without offending the other man.

“Yes, and?”

Chris blinked a couple of times, looking the older man over carefully. He was tall, although not obnoxiously so, maybe six feet, with broad shoulders and muscled arms where they were visible beneath the short sleeves of his shirt. His hair was shaggy and his boots were dusty. He was the picture of a masculine stockman. And he was gay.

“And nothing. I was just surprised, that’s all.”

“Surprised that I’d admit it or surprised that I’m gay in the first place?”

“A little of both,” Chris said. “Not a lot of people out here will say it even if it’s true.”

Macklin snorted softly in amusement. “Truer words, but I’m not most people and Lang Downs isn’t most stations. I imagine your brother told you my partner offered him a job.”

“He’s only sixteen,” Chris said. “He needs to be in school.”

“He’ll get his lessons done,” Macklin said. “We’ve got a number of kids on the station, and we make sure they all get their HSC. What they do after they finish high school is up to them. Finishing high school isn’t optional, but we use School of the Air so the schedule is a bit flexible. He can work and go to school at the same time, and you can work in the kitchen until you get rid of that plaster on your arm. Then we’ll see what you’re made of.”

“Why should we trust you?”

“You shouldn’t,” Macklin replied. “You shouldn’t trust anyone but your brother until you know us a little better, but we’re offering you a chance, the same as Caine’s great-uncle offered me when I was sixteen and too stupid to know better. You won’t get a better offer, and if you decide at the end of the season that the station isn’t for you, you can leave when the other jackaroos do in May. What do you have to lose?”

A flop of a flat, a shit job in a dingy restaurant….

“Will the others care that I’m gay? I always heard the stations weren’t, well, kind to people like me.”

“You weren’t listening, were you?” Macklin asked. “Caine Neiheisel, the owner at Lang Downs, is my partner.”

“Oh, that kind of partner,” Chris said as the coin dropped. “I thought…. It doesn’t matter what I thought. I was obviously wrong. So everyone knows about you?”

“It’s hard to hide it when I sleep in the station house at night despite there being a perfectly good foreman’s house down the road,” Macklin said. “I don’t talk about it because it’s nobody’s business, but I don’t hide it.”

“You did save my life. I suppose this could be a way to say thank you.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Macklin said. “But you do owe your brother the best chance in life he can get, and while I know you’re doing the best you can for him right now, I also know it isn’t enough. He’d have a real chance on Lang Downs, and so would you. Think about it while you’re here. You can tell us what you decide when they let you out.”

“That’s it?”

Chris had no idea why he was arguing, but it seemed too simple.

“What else would there be?”

“I don’t know. Threats to call DoCS, something to try to make me do things your way?”

“You’re not a child to be bullied,” Macklin said with a shrug. “You’re a man. A young one to be sure, but a man. You can make your own decisions without any pressure from me, and you’ll live with the consequences of your choices, good or bad, without any pressure from me. You proved you were a man when you kept your brother with you and worked to support him. Keep doing what’s best for him and you’ll be fine. We’re going back to the hotel for dinner, but we’ll be by in the morning to see what you decide.”

Seth came running back into the room. “I’m sorry, Mr. Armstrong. I couldn’t find any tea.”

“That’s all right, kid,” Macklin said, ruffling Seth’s hair as he walked toward the door. “I’ll get some at the hotel. Take care of your brother. We’ll come by in the morning to see what you’ve decided.”

“What we’ve decided?” Seth asked, turning to Chris. “What are we deciding?”

“What we’re going to do now,” Chris replied. “Armstrong thinks we should go to the station. He makes a pretty compelling argument.”

“What arguments?”

Seth’s distrust was palpable, but Chris was less certain of that necessity than he had been an hour ago. It would be a relief not to be the only person looking out for Seth. Not that he expected the men at the station to take responsibility for Seth’s education, or really even for his well-being, but they had to work together, and Armstrong had seemed to offer an avuncular relationship. Then there was the allure of not being the only gay person in the room for the first time in his life. Even if he chose not to share that fact openly, a few people already knew, so he didn’t really expect to keep it a complete secret. If Armstrong was right, on Lang Downs, he wouldn’t have to.

“That we’re barely keeping our heads above water right now, and that with my arm, we aren’t even going to manage that for much longer,” Chris explained. “Room and board is included at the station.”

“We don’t know anything about sheep,” Seth pointed out.

“So we’ll learn,” Chris said with an approximation of a shrug, the best he could manage in a sling and with the bandages around his chest. “We’re both smart. We can follow directions. We can figure out the rest once we get there.”

“You really want to do this?”

Chris tried to shrug again to cover how badly he suddenly wanted to be in a place where he had a chance of belonging. If nothing else, he wanted the chance to study Macklin and Caine, to see how they interacted and how they negotiated a life together. He wanted to believe two men could have a healthy relationship, but since he had little enough idea of what a healthy relationship looked like to begin with, he’d had trouble imagining it up until now. “Yeah, I really kinda do.”

“Then I guess I’d better see what kind of gear we need so we can get that sorted.”

“Check the pocket of the jeans I was wearing if you can find them,” Chris said. “I got paid today and since we aren’t going back to living in the flat, we don’t have to worry about making rent.”

“I’ll see if I can find them when I go to ask Mr. Armstrong about our gear,” Seth said.

The nurse came in before Seth could say anything more, so Chris waved him off with his good hand and lay back to let the woman poke and prod at him. By the time she was done, he was grateful for the dose of painkillers she gave him because he was hurting badly before the medicine took him under.

WHEN he woke up the next time, he found a new face next to his bed. The man had short brown hair, much more neatly cropped than Armstrong’s had been, a paler complexion, though by no means untouched by the sun, and softer eyes. When he realized Chris was awake, he smiled, the expression so kind Chris wasn’t sure how to react.

“Hello,” the man said, his accent immediately giving him away as a Yank. “I’m Caine Neiheisel. I hear you’re going to c-come to Lang Downs with us.”

“Seth told you?” Chris asked, his voice rough from his dry throat. So this was Macklin Armstrong’s partner. It seemed too intimate to think of them as lovers, though he knew that’s what they were.

Caine poured a glass of water and handed it to him without being asked. “Yes, he told us. He’s gone looking for your gear, although we’ll stop in Boorowa on the way back to the station and you can find anything there that he c-can’t find here.”

“I don’t know how to thank you and Mr. Armstrong,” Chris said after he took a sip of water. “I’d be dead without him and would wish I were without you.”

“It’s nothing,” Caine said. “My uncle had a habit of t-taking in strays. I try to emulate him whenever I can, and this seemed like as g-good a chance as any. Believe me, you’ll earn your supper.”

“With this on my arm?” Chris scoffed, lifting his broken arm.

“You’ll be out of that cast before long, and I’m sure we can find things for you to do between now and then,” Caine assured him. “They put me to work when I didn’t know the first thing about sheep. Macklin will find a way to keep you busy as well.”

“I’m glad I won’t be the first blow-in at the station.”

“Not the first, and probably not the last,” Caine agreed. “We seem to have become a magnet for people who don’t fit in anywhere else.”

“People like me,” Chris said slowly.

“People like us,” Caine replied. “Seems there’s a lot more poofters working the stations than the bigots want to believe, and more than one of them’s made his way to Lang Downs this spring. Since it would be hypocritical of me to care about their orientation, I’m fine with that as long as they do their jobs. The same goes for you and Seth. Do your jobs to the best of your ability, and everything else will take care of itself.”

“We’ll do our best, I promise,” Chris said. “Have the doctors said how soon I can leave?”

“When they aren’t worried about your concussion leading to a coma,” Caine replied. “Probably tomorrow morning, which suits us fine. We’ll leave as early as we can, get to Boorowa for supplies, and then decide if we’re ready to drive on or if we’ll spend the night and head to the station the following morning. It’s only about an hour to get to Boorowa, but it’s five hours beyond that, and the last four hours are hard driving. You’ll be better off with another day to heal too. The bumps in the roads as we cross through Taylor Peak won’t feel very good on your ribs.”

Three

CAINE’S words proved more than a little prophetic, even after another night in the hospital and a night in Boorowa. Chris had felt better that morning as the other jackaroos loaded up utes with supplies and headed north, but by the time Chris and Seth had climbed into the car with Caine and Macklin and followed suit, he was already starting to hurt a little from standing around, and when they left the main road for the dirt tracks that crossed Taylor Peak, the station between Lang Downs and the main road, Chris thought he’d entered a new circle of hell. On top of everything else, they hadn’t even let him drive his own car. One of the other jackaroos was driving it. Caine had insisted that between the pain meds, the broken arm, and the bad roads, Chris was in no shape to drive. Chris refused to admit the grazier might have been right.

The roads got better once they left Taylor Peak and started across Lang Downs property, but better was such a relative term when every jolt jarred his broken ribs. Long before they reached the main part of the station with its well-tended lawns and neatly maintained buildings, Chris was ready to throw in the towel and head back to Yass. Even sleeping in the car until they could find a new flop had to be better than this.

Then the car stopped, and Caine and Macklin climbed out. Watching them standing there, not touching but together, and simply breathing as if the air were fresher here than anywhere else, drew Chris up short. Yass had brought him a bashing. Lang Downs brought these men peace. Maybe, if he gave it a chance, it would bring him peace and safety as well.

“So where should we toss our kits?” Chris asked, moving stiffly.

“In the main house,” Caine replied. “You’ll be helping Kami in the kitchen, so it makes sense to have you close.” He took Chris’s good arm and led him in one direction while Macklin took Seth in the opposite direction.

“You don’t really want your little brother in with the other jackaroos,” Caine added when they were out of Seth’s earshot. “They’re not a bad bunch, but they aren’t exactly kid-safe either. I know Seth has probably seen and heard more than a lot of kids his age, but that doesn’t mean he needs to keep seeing and hearing it.”

The logic of Caine’s argument hit Chris hard. He’d tried to do his best by his brother, but living in cheap rooms, working odd hours, not staying in one place for very long had taken their toll. Seth was doing badly in school. He’d developed a dirty mouth and a bad attitude, becoming far too much like the hoodlums on the streets for Chris’s peace of mind. “I can see why he should stay there, but I can stay in the bunkhouse. I’m not sixteen.”

“Do you really think he’ll stay anywhere you aren’t?” Caine asked. “He adores you. Idolizes you, even. If you’re in the bunkhouse, he will be too.”

“I suppose,” Chris said, feeling a little like he’d been bulldozed, but he couldn’t find the fallacy in the argument. He could always insist on moving out later if necessary.

“Good,” Caine said, leading Chris toward the station house. “Let’s get your stuff and get you settled. There are a couple of guest rooms so you can each have your own space if you want. I’m not sure who Uncle Michael thought they were for since he never married or had kids, but I’m glad they’re there.”

The house itself wasn’t new. Chris could tell that much from looking at it, although he couldn’t have guessed when it was built. The inside had obviously been updated, though. The furniture, while comfortable and homey, was clearly new, done in warm, dark tones that complemented the stone fireplace and light wood floors.

“The kitchen is back that way,” Caine said, pointing down a long hallway to an addition to the main house. “I’ll introduce you to Kami after you pick your room. He’s our cook. While your arm is healing, you can help him. The doctor said you could use your hand, right? So you can cut vegetables and stuff while he does the heavy lifting.”

“I don’t have any experience working in a kitchen,” Chris warned. “All I did at the restaurant was wash dishes.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Caine said. “Kami will get you all fixed up.”

As they climbed the stairs to the bedrooms, Chris wondered about the sudden absence of Caine’s stutter. It hadn’t been heavy at the hospital yesterday, but now it was completely gone. He shrugged, deciding it didn’t matter. He had to stop halfway up the stairs to catch his breath, even with Caine carrying his bag, because he couldn’t breathe deeply with the bandages around his ribs. “Bloody hell,” he muttered.

“Broken ribs hurt, don’t they?” Macklin said from the bottom of the stairs. “I broke two falling off a horse when I first got here. Michael wasn’t sympathetic at all, telling me I shouldn’t have gotten on a horse I didn’t know how to handle, but he taped my ribs every night for a month until I could move without it hurting again.”

Chris’s ribs slowed him down enough in turning to look at Macklin that he saw the expression on Caine’s face change as he looked down at the foreman. His eyes seemed brighter, and his smile grew wider. Is that what love looks like? Chris wondered.

“Where’s Seth?”

“I set him up with School of the Air,” Macklin explained. “We’ll see where he is and what he needs to do to finish school. He’ll be there for at least a couple of hours if you want to unpack or lie down for a bit.”

“I’m not an invalid,” Chris snapped, conveniently forgetting he hadn’t even been able to walk up the stairs without having to stop.

“No, you’re not,” Macklin agreed, “but you are recovering from a beating, and you’re on pretty strong pain medication if what I saw on the prescription label is any indication. You’re entitled to a little time to recover from the trip. Seth isn’t starting work until tomorrow. You aren’t either. And before you argue, I’m the foreman. I’m the one who makes those decisions.”

“He doesn’t let anyone work when they’re hurt or sick,” Caine added. “Even me.”

“Especially you,” Macklin said, his voice a low growl.

There it was again, Chris realized. They might not proclaim their relationship from the hilltops, but that didn’t make it less powerful or real. “Can I at least walk around and get my bearings a little?”

“Just don’t overdo it,” Macklin said. “Kami starts fixing breakfast at four thirty. You’ll have to be up early tomorrow.”

“I’ll just take a quick walk then,” Chris said. He needed the rest, but now that he’d insisted on his right not to rest, his pride wouldn’t let him give in.

“After I show you your room,” Caine interrupted. “I may not be around when you come back from your walk, and you’ll want to know where it is.”

Chris nodded and followed Caine the rest of the way up the stairs. The bedroom Caine showed him wasn’t large, but it was neat, with large windows, a wide bed, and a big chest of drawers. “The bathroom’s down the hall for you and Seth to use. Make yourselves at home.”

Caine left before Chris could thank him again. Bending gingerly, Chris opened the suitcase and took a couple of minutes to unpack, the one picture of his mother he’d managed to steal from his stepfather going center stage on the chest. He tossed his clothes haphazardly into drawers and headed back toward the stairs.

Going down was easier than going up, fortunately, and he made it outside without too much trouble, although he took a moment to sit in one of the wooden chairs on the veranda before continuing.

The station was bustling with activity, twenty or more new men settling in at the bunkhouse and elsewhere, not to mention the people who lived on the station year-round. He could hear the sheep baaing in the pens. Shearing would be the first order of business, he’d heard some of the men say during dinner in Boorowa, but he’d miss that because of his arm. He had no idea how long that would take or what would come next, but a part of him was eager to learn. He didn’t know how long it would last since nothing in his life seemed to last long these days, but he would give it his all and hope for the best.

Standing up slowly, he walked toward the bunkhouse. Macklin hadn’t been alone in saving him, and Chris wanted to thank the others as well if he could find them. He crossed the yard and the road and had just stepped onto the veranda of the bunkhouse when he heard a voice inside.

“Some of you may have heard rumors about the boss.”

Chris slipped inside to listen.

“You might have heard people say he’s a poofter,” the man went on. Chris thought he’d heard Caine and Macklin call him Neil, but he wasn’t sure. “You might have even heard less polite things about him.”

Chris hoped Neil wasn’t getting ready to deny it. Macklin had said they didn’t talk about it but they didn’t hide it either.

“Let me make this very clear,” Neil continued, all but bristling as he spoke. “Caine Neiheisel and Macklin Armstrong are the backbone of this station. If you can’t deal with working for a poofter, leave now, because there’s not a man on this station who will tolerate any kind of slur against either of them.”

“Wait,” one of the men said. “Either of them? Armstrong is gay too?”

“Do you have a problem with that?” Neil demanded.

“No,” the man said, raising his hands in pacification. “I’m just… surprised. And, well, a little surprised everyone is so open about it.”

“Caine saved Neil’s life,” another of the hands explained. “He now feels the need to defend the boss against any threat, real or otherwise.”

“Like Macklin would let Caine get so much as a bruise,” another hand joked.

“Caine works his arse off just like the rest of us,” Neil insisted.

“And then works Macklin’s arse at night.”

“No way in hell Macklin lets anyone fuck him.”

“Caine’s the boss.”