Everything That You Are (20 page)

Michael had been prepared to deal with the usual rudeness he’d seen other gay couples subjected to and had decided he’d much rather live with that instead of having to let go of his mate for the sake of propriety. Henry surprised him, though, with his air of nonchalance at the occurrence. Michael reached out his other hand and Henry grasped it in a firm handshake before returning to his desk chair.

“I just want you to know, Mr
Rockheim
, that
I don’t put up with that sort of behaviour around here. I fired the man as soon as I saw to it that Jade was taken care of. He’s a valuable asset to my ranch and I won’t have anyone jeopardising his or anyone else’s safety while in my employment,” Henry said.

Michael looked over at
Kaden
but his mate kept his head bowed, not willing to meet his eyes. Although he had no idea what Henry was referring to, he could feel his anger rising at the picture the man was painting.

“I know that, Henry, and please, call me Michael. I have a feeling that if you’ll still allow Jade to continue to work for you, we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other. There is a situation, however, that I need to continue to take care of with Jade. It shouldn’t take more than another week at most to resolve. Would you mind terribly if I returned him to you afterward?”

“Not at all,” Henry said as he leant back in his chair. “Considering the thousands you’ve helped me save in financial concerns over the years, I think I can suffer without one of my best workers for a bit longer. That is if that’s okay with you, Jade?” Henry turned to the other man with a questioning look.

Kaden
finally looked up and, with a huge smile, said, “Thank you, Mr
Connel
. I’d really appreciate that.”

Henry slapped his hand down on the desk and smiled widely. “It’s settled then. You got time to visit with Mockingbird before you go? Jake’s been working with her but she sure does miss you.”

Michael watched the smile on his mate’s face widen even more as he nodded vigorously. He had so many questions at this point, he didn’t know where to begin, but they would have to wait until tomorrow. He’d promised himself that he’d give his mate at least one day that was carefree, now he just had to bite his tongue long enough to follow through.

Henry walked them out and led the way to the barn where Mockingbird was stabled. By the time
Kaden
had her saddled and bridled, both he and the horse were practically prancing with excitement. The glow on
Kaden’s
face made him look like a kid in a candy shop, and it got easier and easier for Michael to stave off his questions and suspicions for the day.

While walking the mare to the paddock, both
Kaden
and Henry filled him in on the progress
Kaden
had made with the mare. He hated the fact that he needed to relinquish contact with his mate and even grew a little jealous of the horse, but his respect for the young man and the way he put his power to use grew exponentially.

Apparently, Mockingbird had been wild when she was captured by her first owner. After the man had tried unsuccessfully to tame her, he’d started to abuse her when he realised she wouldn’t be the money-maker he’d envisioned. When Henry had purchased the mare, his highest hopes had been only to tame her enough to allow him to breed her.
Kaden’s
care and training, however, had resulted in such great strides that Henry was now planning to enter her in show and jumping contests as early as next year.

“There’re still a few kinks to work out. She still gets spooked by sudden movements and shadows if she doesn’t have an experienced rider on her,” Henry was telling him, “but that boy can work wonders I
ain’t
never seen in a horse whisperer.”

Michael stood beside the man against the gate surrounding the paddock and they both watched as
Kaden
put the mare through her paces. The horse seemed just as eager to please him as he was to spend time with her. Michael was struck again by just how lucky he was to have this young man as a mate.

“Boss,”
Nick sent.

“What is it?”
Michael immediately went on alert, but kept a part of his attention on Henry, who was still talking to him.

“One of the stable hands has been watching you and
Kaden
for the past five minutes. He’s human, but the guy just
creeps
me the fuck out.”

Michael thought back to the trouble the
Connel’s
had alluded to involving
Kaden
just before he’d found him again. Henry had sworn that he’d got rid of the troublemaker, but he didn’t want to take any chances. “
Keep watching him.
Kaden
was involved in an altercation with a human here before he witnessed the murder in the barn. Let me know if the man does anything else besides give you the ‘creeps’.”

Michael could feel the mental equivalent of a growl from Nick as soon as he mentioned the fact that
Kaden
had been in danger before the murder. He smiled inwardly, pleased that his Betas were willing to protect his mate as much as he was. He’d never thought of himself as particularly lucky in life, but thinking about the strength of his mate, the acceptance of his parents, and the loyalties of his men definitely made him feel like one lucky son-of-a-bitch.

Michael waited until Henry ended the story he was relating to him about how he had met ‘Jade’, then said, “Henry, I need you to do me a favour,” while keeping his eyes on his boy.

Henry shot him a worried look. “Is it concerning Jade here?”

“Yeah.”

“Then name it.”

Michael sent a brief smile to the man. “I’m worried that there might be the possibility of a threat to Jade. It’s through no fault
of his own,
and it doesn’t involve his earlier altercation with one of your workers. I will get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible, but I need to take all the necessary precautions.”

“Such as making him
take
a vacation from work?” Henry asked. When Michael nodded, Henry paused to think for a moment then said, “I like you, Michael. You’ve never steered me wrong. And I can tell that you and my boy here have some type of relationship going.” Michael had to grit his teeth against his conflicting emotions at that statement. On the one hand, he was grateful that Henry could accept their homosexual relationship, but on the other, his instincts screamed at him to tell the man that
Kaden
was
his
boy, not Henry’s or anyone else’s. “But I
gotta
say, you hurt that kid and I’ll take it out of your hide.”

That comment suddenly dispelled his anger. His mate certainly had a way of endearing himself to people, and he couldn’t hold it against Henry for feeling protective over him. “Point well taken,” he said with a grin.

“Good, now tell me what you need me to do,” Henry said gruffly.

“If anyone asks about Jade or comes by here wanting to speak with him, please call me. You still have my phone number?”

Henry nodded and said, “Will do.”

They stood and watched over the next hour as
Kaden
showed off the little tricks he’d taught to Mockingbird and the improvements she’d made while under his care, commenting here and there whenever the man surprised them with his expertise.

Michael knew
Kaden
was using his power to communicate with her, but it was still amazing to see the amount of trust the animal had in him. Dennis and Nick joined them eventually to enjoy the show, but Michael could tell they still kept half of their attention on their surroundings.

A little while later,
Kaden
brought Mockingbird back to the stables where he stripped her of saddle and harness, then rubbed her down affectionately, all the while talking to her soothingly.

Henry bid his farewells and clapped
Kaden
on the back while shaking his hand. Michael saw his mate’s
face
pale and realised the man must have hit one of the bruises still colouring his back. An irrational surge of anger at the man’s ignorant gesture rolled through him, and he had to force himself to stay calm in the face of
Kaden’s
pain.
Kaden
smiled through it all, though, and he felt his pride in his mate grow even more.

Chapter Eight

By the time they had collected Missy and loaded themselves back into Michael’s truck, he couldn’t keep his urges in any longer. He pulled
Kaden
into his arms to give him a gentle but firm hug.

“You’re amazing, you know that?
The way you use your power.
Your patience and dedication.
Mother Earth could not have given me a more precious gift than you.” Michael squeezed him to emphasise his words, then pulled back to look at the most beautiful face he’d ever seen.

Kaden’s
cheeks were flushed and his eyes were dancing with delight. The excited animation on his face was breathtaking, and it filled the air with vibrancy.

Michael let Stephen know that they were leaving and made sure that Dennis and Nick were ready to follow them before starting the trip back to his house.

Missy had brought along a few of her flowering plants and some of her more frivolous possessions such as the MP3 player currently blasting her favourite songs through the headphones plugged into her ears. She’d also collected a few of her cookbooks and was content to flip through them in the back seat.

After several minutes of silence, he heard his mate’s timid voice ask, “You’re not mad at me?”

Michael looked over at him in confusion. “Why would I be mad?”

Kaden
swept his eyelids down and stared at his hands folded in his lap, replying, “I know you got angry when you heard Henry call me Jade and mention that…well…that something had happened.”

Michael took in the way his mate was wringing his hands and biting his bottom lip in nervousness. It suddenly became imperative that he calm the man’s fears, especially due to the fact that they revolved around his reaction to things that he had been unaware of.

“Pulling over, guys.
We need a minute.”
He pulled his truck to the side of the road, which was thankfully free of traffic at this time of day, and unbuckled his seatbelt to turn and give
Kaden
his full attention. He reached over to grasp one of his hands and instantly felt the increasing amount of anxiety the man was feeling.

“
Kaden
, I was angry, but only because I’m concerned about you. I don’t understand why you felt the need to change your name or why you kept whatever must have happened out there on the ranch from me, but I trust that you have your reasons.” Michael reached over with his other hand and unbuckled
Kaden’s
seatbelt as he was talking.

“You’ve given me no reason to doubt you in the entire time we’ve been getting to know each other, while
I
, on the other hand, have given you plenty of reasons to doubt me.” He pulled
Kaden
over to the middle seat beside him and wrapped the smaller man in his arms.

“I know you don’t completely trust me yet, and I can’t fault you for keeping some things from me, but as long as you let me, I’ll be working to rectify that. You’re a very talented, charitable, impressive young man, and I hope one day you’ll be able to see what I and everyone else sees in you. Until then, please don’t be worried when I get angry. It’s nothing against you, and in case you haven’t noticed, it happens to be part of my charm.”

Kaden
let out a bark of laughter at that and actually reached his arms around him to hug him back. He could not have hoped for a better response. They held each other for a few minutes before he released his boy and buckled him into the middle seat.

“I want you as close to me as I can get you for the rest of the night,” he explained off-
handedly
. He kept one arm wrapped around his mate and drove the truck back onto the road with the other. He could still feel the heat from the sun in
Kaden’s
platinum hair as his head rested on Michael’s shoulder. He couldn’t bring himself to lift his jaw from those silken strands for the rest of the trip home.

* * * *

Jim stared at the golden liquid filling his sixth shot glass of the night, although his thoughts were elsewhere. The call he’d just received from his friend still working out on Henry’s ranch had taken his mood from happy to downright, disgustingly ecstatic.

The little slut that had got him fired had deserved what had been coming to him. The boy had the body of a sixteen-year-old girl, and flaunted it by running around in tight jeans and shirts that showed off his figure like a damned drama queen, and yet Jim was the one being punished for it.

You dress like a
whore,
you should expect to be treated like one.
Henry, in his old age, was just too damned blind to see that.

He downed the shot and waved the bartender over for a refill.

“I think you’ve had enough, man. Why don’t you call it a night? I can have a cab here in five minutes to take you home.”

Jim was about to rip into him when a smooth, deep voice from behind him said, “I’ll buy the next one and make sure he gets home all right.”