Finding Absolution (12 page)

Jon handed Van a small knife before pointing to the broccoli. “Cut the whole plant off at the base if the heads look big enough,” he yelled over the storm’s fury.

Van did as instructed. Most of the heads looked too small to harvest, so he used his best judgement, recalling the broccoli he’d seen in grocery stores to gauge the right size. When lightning cracked in the near vicinity, Van picked up the crate and moved towards Jon. “It’s getting too dangerous out here.”

“I’m almost finished,” Jon called back.

Van knew Jon’s determination was fuelled by grief instead of need, and while he’d stood by and had tried to give Jon what he needed, Van couldn’t let it go on. He waited until Jon cleared the majority of the cantaloupe patch before stepping in again. “Jon! That’s enough.”

Jon jumped as a loud roll of thunder filled the air. He tipped his head back, stared up into the downpour and grinned. “Grandma must agree with you.”

It was the first time since Van had arrived that he’d seen an emotion other than pain or sorrow on Jon’s handsome face. Van took the opportunity to pick up the crate of melons. “Let’s get into the barn.”

Jon nodded and followed.

Once inside the safety of the old wooden structure, Van found a box of clean rags and used several to dry Jon’s face before taking care of his own. Jon shook off his hat and hung it on a peg while Van positioned two bales of hay far enough away from the open barn door to keep them dry. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to let up any time soon,” he commented, sitting next to Jon.

“That’s okay. I think it’s Grandma’s gift to Grandpa.” Jon leaned to the side until he rested his head on Van. “I don’t want him to leave me, but I think Grandma’s ready for him.”

Van remembered what the doctor had told Jon before they’d left the hospital. He wrapped Jon in his arms and kissed the top of his wet head. “Maybe you should tell him that?”

“Yeah.” Jon pulled out of Van’s arms and stood. “Will you stay with me while I do?”

“Of course.” Van retrieved Jon’s hat and settled it on his head once again. “I’m not leaving you again, unless you tell me to.”

* * * *

Dripping, Jon entered his grandpa’s room and immediately noticed the closed window. While he appreciated George for thinking of the century-old hardwood floors, it wasn’t what his grandpa would’ve wanted. “How is he?”

George shook his head. “His pulse has slowed and his breathing is more ragged.”

Jon tossed his hat on the floor and walked into the adjoining bathroom. With one tug, he ripped the shower curtain from its hooks and carried it into the bedroom. “I appreciate you sitting with him, but I’ll take care of him from here.”

George reached out and squeezed Bill’s hand before nodding to Jon. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

“Thanks.” Jon spread the plastic liner out on the floor and opened the window as wide as it would go. He glanced at Van as he started to undress. “Would you do me a favour and run up to my room and grab me a pair of sweats?”

“Sure.”

Jon stripped out of his wet clothes and threw them into the handicapped shower stall along with his boots. When Van arrived, wearing a dry pair of shorts, Jon was standing naked in front of the window. “I don’t think I’ll ever feel rain again without thinking of my grandparents,” he whispered.

Van pulled Jon away from the window and gently dried him with a towel before helping him into a soft pair of sweats. “Is that a good thing?”

Jon smiled up at Van. “Kind of bittersweet, but yeah.” He climbed into bed and snuggled up to his grandpa before patting the space behind him.

Van wasted no time in pressing himself against Jon’s back. Feeling both loved and safe, Jon closed his eyes. He didn’t want Bill’s last hours on Earth to be sad. He was grateful his grandpa didn’t appear to be in any kind of pain despite the fact that his body was beginning to shut down.

“I remember the first time my grandpa spanked me after I came to live with them.” Jon grinned. “I totally deserved it. Actually, I think I needed to know how far I could push them before they pushed back. Grandma Dorothy told me I couldn’t come out of my room until I cleaned it, but I didn’t want to, so I climbed out my window and up onto the roof.”

Jon hugged his grandpa. “Do you remember that? When it was time for dinner, Grandpa came up to get me only to find the room still messy but empty of his wayward grandson. They were both frantically calling me inside the house then outside, while I sat on the roof laughing watching it all.”

“Yeah, I think you deserved a spanking for that.”

“I did, but it wasn’t the spanking that taught me a lesson. It was the tears running down my grandpa’s cheeks as he administered it.” Jon wiped at his own tears as he remembered. “That was the last time he ever did it.”

Van kissed Jon’s neck but said nothing.

“I wasn’t exactly an angel after that, but Grandpa quickly figured out that grounding me and putting me to work was a pretty good deterrent when I got out of line.” Jon took a deep breath before launching into another story. He had plenty of them. Most of his memories centred on his grandparents and he hoped to remind his grandpa of as many as he could before he took his last breath.

* * * *

Two days after Bill’s funeral, Van drove Kai and Quade to the airport. He’d appreciated the support of his friends more than he could ever express, but it was time he and Jon figured out what was next.

Van arrived at the farm to find the house empty. He knew Jon was expecting a visit from Bill’s attorney, so his love was around somewhere. After checking the barn and gardens, Van headed to the creek.

As he’d expected, Jon was sitting on the bench his grandpa had made. “Hey,” Van said, announcing his presence. “Mind if I join you?”

Jon scooted over. “Did you get Kai and Quade off okay?”

“Yeah.” Van noticed the paperwork clutched in Jon’s hand and assumed it was Bill’s will.

“Grandpa left the farm to me on one condition,” Jon began.

“Okay.” Van waited for Jon to continue.

“I have to sell it.” Jon looked at Van for the first time since he’d sat down. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Although Van didn’t know Bill as well as Jon, he thought he might understand him. He swallowed around the lump of emotion in his throat. “Bill didn’t want you to hang onto the farm out of obligation. He knew you came back because of him, and he didn’t want you to stay after his death for the same reason.”

Jon threw the papers on the ground. “Why should that be his choice?”

“Because he knew you were meant to be more than a break-even farmer. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with working with the land, but he knew you weren’t passionate about it,” Van tried to explain, hoping like hell he got it right.

Jon gestured to the creek and surrounding trees. “But this is where my memories are. This is where I feel closest to them. How can I just walk away from it?”

Van thought of his own home and all the reasons he’d refused to tear it down and build something nicer in its place. He bent over and picked up the papers. “It says that you have to sell it, but it doesn’t say I can’t buy it and give it back to you.”

“You would do that? I didn’t think you liked working in the garden.”

“Honestly? The only part I like about it is being with you, but vegetables isn’t what this is about, is it?” Van didn’t feel the connection to the farm like Jon did, but he was sure Jon wouldn’t feel as connected to the shack as Van did. Compromise was key in their situation if both of them would be allowed to hold onto homes they loved. “We can split our time between here and Oahu if you want. I’m not sure that I want to spend the entire summer here working the gardens, but I’d last a few months until it got really hot.”

“Better yet, maybe we can lease the land to one of the farmers around here and just keep the house with access to the rest of the land,” Jon offered.

“I like that idea even better,” Van admitted.

Jon took the will out of Van’s hand and dropped it to the bench before moving to straddle Van’s lap. “Can I make a confession now?”

Van adjusted Jon to a more comfortable position. “Sure.”

“I can’t wait to move to Oahu.”

“And I can’t wait to share my home with you,” Van whispered before leaning in for a deep kiss.

Epilogue

Jon lifted the reusable grocery bags out of the back of the Jeep. He carried them into the house, stopping long enough to shake the sand out of his sandals before he entered. After setting the groceries on the counter, he put away the perishables before going in search of Van.

In the month that he’d lived with Van, Jon had become accustomed to the laid-back lifestyle enjoyed by Van and most of the other island residents. He’d managed to find a job working four hours a day for a small radio station. The job allowed him to not only make enough to live on but also give him plenty of time for his other passions, namely sex with Van and learning to surf. He still sucked at the surfing, but he’d already become a pro at pleasing Van in the bedroom and anywhere else they ended up.

It took Jon two seconds to spot Van through the back window. Stretched out naked in the hammock, Van was revelling in the cool ocean breeze as he swung back and forth. Jon dropped his shorts, tied a sarong around his waist, and reached for the bottle of lube he kept in one of the kitchen drawers. “You need a drink?” he called through the window.

“Water’d be nice,” Van replied, his hand reaching for his cock.

Jon grinned as he lubed his hole. Fucking in the hammock had quickly become one of their favourite pastimes and they indulged often. Ready, he grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge and carried them outside.

Although the beaches on Oahu weren’t private, Van’s remote and secluded property rarely saw outside visitors. Even if the occasional tourist or native walked by, they didn’t seem to care whether or not Jon and Van were wearing clothes. Jon still wasn’t sure if that was because they’d grown used to Van and his father running around naked or if it was another lifestyle choice the islanders embraced. That said, the two of them had yet to be caught fucking, and he intended to keep it that way.

Jon handed Van a bottle and stared down at the erection in Van’s hand. “Is that for me?”

“No one else.” Van took several gulps of his water before twisting the cap back on and setting it on the table beside the hammock. “Why’re you covered up?”

“I saw a couple of people walking down the beach on my drive home.” Jon set his bottle next to Van’s before stretching out to lie on top of the man he loved. “What’d you do today?”

Van flipped the back of Jon’s sarong up and began to finger his lubed hole. “Watched footage of Kai’s last tournament. He asked us to meet them in Portugal for the next one, but I told him we’d have to pass this time.”

“We can go if you want.” Jon wiggled his ass, silently begging for more. He loved the easiness of their lovemaking.

Van complied with Jon’s wishes and added another finger. “I’m enjoying myself right here. Besides, they’ll be home right after the tournament. The last one’s here in Oahu before the winter break begins.”

Jon sighed. He often wondered if Van would start to miss coaching, but he’d made it clear to Van that he’d support him in whatever he decided. Although to be honest, he didn’t really like the thought of Van working with a young stud. If there came a time when Van wanted to get back into it, Jon had decided to urge Van to challenge himself by coaching females. “In,” he mumbled as the warm day began to sap his energy.

Van chuckled as he removed his fingers and replaced them with his cock. Their afternoon hammock sessions weren’t as much about getting off as they were feeling connected to one another.

“Perfect,” Jon groaned. The hammock swung back and forth just enough to remind him that he was stuffed with Van’s cock but not enough to keep him from dozing off. It was their way, the easy way, the island way.

Also available from Total-E-Bound Publishing:

Brookside Athletic Club: Soul Restoration

Carol Lynne

Excerpt

Chapter One

“Hey, Pete, John wants you to head over to the Wilson job after you finish here,” Brent barked, shoving his cell phone in his pocket.

“Sure thing,” Pete Braxton answered. He opened the last bag of coco shell mulch and sprinkled it around the freshly planted fountain grass. It was almost five, which meant he’d get overtime for making the trip across town.
Cool.
He could use some extra cash. With a leaking water heater and his truck payment overdue by a week, anything beyond his normal six hundred a week was gravy.

After quickly cleaning up his supplies, Pete climbed behind the wheel of the company truck and took a left out of the driveway. When the local news came on the radio, he reached for the knob to change the station but stopped when he heard his brother’s name.

“In overnight news, Shawnee Mission Parkway was the scene of a deadly head-on collision. Both drivers, Braxton Investments owner and CEO, David Braxton, and Wayne Potts of Lenexa were killed instantly.”

Pete slammed his fist against the knob, effectively breaking the radio and splitting his knuckle open. “Fuck.” He shook his hand while looking for the nearest place to pull over. Despite their estrangement, he’d always hoped there’d be time to make up, to become brothers once again. That wouldn’t happen now. It was over. He was well and truly on his own. Coming to a stop in a grocery store parking lot, Pete searched through the glove box and finally came up with a couple of drive-thru paper napkins.

What now?
What was a brother who wasn’t wanted supposed to do?
Pete felt lost, like he was adrift without a boat. Which didn’t make any sense since he’d been on his own for almost ten years, but having a brother who didn’t want him was different than having no brother at all.