Whispers of Home (5 page)

Greg, one of Travis’ farm hands came into the barn. “Hey boss. There’s something up with Maggie. Would you mind coming to take a look?” Greg was a young high school student that Travis had taken on last year. Greg lived in the bunkhouse with the other farm hands. He was the youngest to work for Travis. Greg had a hard childhood and it would probably be way worse if he wasn’t on the farm, being looked after by Travis and Leonard, the farm foreman. The kid was crazy smart and with as smart as the kid was, he would probably be Travis’ vet someday. He had no doubt the kid would get that scholarship he just applied for.

He gave Trick one last scratch on the chin before walking with Greg to the barn where the pregnant cows were kept. It was the wrong season for babies, but Maggie had a way of making up her own mind.

* * * *

“I met someone today,” Jaron told his mom, as they all sat down for dinner.

“Oh yeah?” His mom took a bite of her food. Gloria McAllister should have been a cop. No emotion played on her face, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking. “Is this someone a date?”

“Mom,” he said in exasperation.

“Do you honestly think you should be dating with the way your life is right now. You have a son Jaron.”

“I know mother.”

“You don’t need to take him around strange people right now. It took him long enough to get comfortable around me.” She looked at Bobby and smiled, taking the sting out of her words for Bobby’s sake.

“Right now, everything is new to him. This whole town is full of strangers. Not just for Bobby either but for me too. I don’t know anyone in this town. So, I don’t need you to tell me that.” Jaron purposefully kept his voice level, even though he wanted to yell it at her. He tried to take the tension out also, but didn’t quite succeed.

“Let me be your mother for once.” She rose from the table and tossed her food in the trash. “You always wanted me to be your friend. Even as a child.”

“I need a friend, mom. Way more than I need a parent right now. It’s too late for that.” He felt tears well up in his eyes but tried to swallow them down.

Her back was turned, so she didn’t notice his distress. Either that or she chose to ignore it. “Well, too damn bad. I am your mother,” she snapped out.

“Bobby, go in the other room and play.” Jaron looked at his son, smiling at him even though the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Okay, Daddy.” Bobby trotted off into the living room.

“Mom, I am no longer a child.”

“Don’t you think I know that? I can see that.” She turned around and waved her hand in his direction. “I look at you and all I see is years wasted. You never let me be a mother to you. You ran away, just like your father.”

“Yeah, well, I look at me and all I see is Bobby. I have to be a whole person for him. I was just looking for advice on how to do that.” With that, Jaron left the room.

Some things never change. And some people never stopped being strangers.

Jaron had a hard time leaving Bobby. Even after he had talked to Beverly Heath and she agreed that Bobby could come with him on his first day. She had no problem with him bringing his son along. And when he had talked to his mom she told him to just leave Bobby with her because it was Saturday, and she didn’t have to work anyway. He still did not want to leave Bobby. But Bobby had stopped clinging a few days ago. At least he had also become slightly clingy to Grandma. He was adjusting faster than Jaron thought he would. After all Bobby had been though, Jaron was just happy that there was a little light starting to shine through the tunnel they seemed to be in lately.

It was Jaron that was having difficulty being separated from his son.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go with me, buddy?” Jaron asked one more time that morning. He had already asked three times.

“Do you think they would have toys?”

“I don’t know.”

“Grandma says she will take me to the zoo today.”

Jaron glared at his mom. His mom just smiled. “Thank you very much, mom.”

“Now who’s being clingy?” Jaron and his mom came to a silent understanding of sorts after their argument. Neither one of them wanted to talk about the real issue at hand, so they both avoided it like the plague. Neither one of them fully understood what the real issue was anyway. They just danced around each other at the moment. It was working so far, but Jaron knew their truce would come to an end sooner rather than later.

“Right.” His mom did have a way of putting it all into prospective for him.

Gloria let him borrow the car. The Heath farm was about ten minutes away from town, so way too far to walk. Jaron forgot just how wide-open the spaces were in Pickleville. Or maybe he just never really saw the spaces before. The Heath’s lived on a dirt road surrounded by forest, open fields, and swamps. It was the time of year when everything was green and just beginning to fade.

When did the tall buildings and all those people in the big city begin to make him feel closed up? Not closed in. Not claustrophobic. But closed up like a locked closet door. When he first moved to the city he felt as if his whole life was waiting there for him, ready to begin something extraordinary, make connections with people who were just like him. It took less than a year to realize he was the only one waiting for something to begin and no one else was there to pull him along like he thought they should be. He thought the whole city was going to stand at the city gates with smiles and open arms, like he was waiting at the gates of heaven. Everyone else already had their illusion shattered and had nothing left for him but the bitterness that came with poverty and misuse.

His heart started to hurt that day he met Tracy. At night, just coming back from the fourth restaurant he had worked at in so many months. The street lights had made the pavement look damaged, had made him feel like if he had stepped on the wrong crack of the pavement he would have fallen all the way through. Tracy had been so pregnant and still giving some guy her mouth right in front of his apartment/hotel room door.

This place, this small gossipy farm town, seemed to be so far from his city life that it let him feel untouched by all the ugliness he had found there. He could be something else now. He didn’t have to remember that he had also knelt down in front of his hotel room door with some stranger. He could start over and maybe this time he would find acceptance in this place, because it hadn’t been there before.

He had never actually been to the Heath farm before now. He could see why Beverly Heath thought she needed a housekeeper. It was massive. More like a two-story mini-mansion-ish sort of thing than a house. Several out buildings scattered like animals around the property, all painted red with white trim. He wondered where Travis lived now and what it was like growing up in a house like this. It felt like visiting Oz.

He was nervous as he parked the car and walked up to the door. He took a deep breath before knocking. An older woman, a little older looking then Gloria, answered the door. He guessed this was Beverly. He held out his hand and introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Jaron McAllister.”

“I know dear. And aren’t you just like Travis described.” And how exactly did Travis describe him?

Beverly took his hand between both of hers and smiled at him. She had blonde hair and a complexion that was flawless. Her hand was soft, as if she just moisturized them with some sort of expensive lotion. This is where Travis gets his eyes, except her eyes held only kindness and none of the mischief that Travis’ held.

“Come in. And we’ll get you started.”

She walked him through the downstairs explaining what she would like done. The antiques scattered around, coupled with his clumsiness, scared him more than he would ever admit. She told him about how long he should expect to take in each room. “The upstairs is where I would like you to start first. That’s probably the worst of the mess.” He started upstairs at the last room on the left and discovered her idea of a mess did not match his own. Her home was immaculately clean.

It was two hours later and he was still upstairs, not even close to done. At least it wasn’t difficult work, just basic cleaning anyone would do in their own house. His biggest problem consisted of not knowing if he should go in a door that was closed, which was why he was standing outside a closed door staring at the handle. He decided to knock. “Hello. Mind if I come in?”

No answer. So he turned the handle and walked in.

“Oh my God.” Travis was lying on the bed that sat in the middle of the room up against the far wall. He was face down, naked as the day he was born. His sexy, muscular ass displayed, like he was in a storefront window at a pornographic department store. Jaron had to adjust the hard-on in his pants and take a deep breath before his brain started functioning again.

So should he leave or continue cleaning? Jaron decided to walk out of the room, except he was walking backward because, holy shit who wouldn’t want to look at that perfect ass as long as they possibly could. Then he tripped on the big pile of dirty clothes he had stepped over, coming into the room to take a closer look, and fell on his cleaning supplies, breaking the little tote thing Beverly had given him to carry them around in.

The sound of the impact and Jaron’s girly scream as he fell, of course, woke Travis up. Jaron didn’t know how someone could move so fast or when Travis even got off the bed but the man was suddenly beside him asking if he was okay.

“I’m fine. Just my pride hurts.”

Travis chuckled. “What are you doing here?”

“Can we have this conversation when you’re clothed, please?” Jaron looked directly at the man’s gorgeous cock when he said it too. Damn, he wanted a taste. He had no shame when it came to this man. Honestly.

Those mischievous eyes again. “Now, what would be the fun in that?”

Jaron looked at him in exasperation and probably lust, although he wasn’t about to admit that or acknowledge it in any way.

Travis pulled him to his feet and stepped away.

Oh, man. Jaron had not gotten laid in a really long time.

He stood there, watching as Travis rummaged around in his dresser searching for clothing. At least Jaron hoped he was searching for something to cover that gorgeous body. Okay, Jaron was seriously riding the fence on whether or not he actually wanted Travis to get dressed. Because let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to look at that for the rest of the day. Or longer. Whatever.

“Shit.”

“What?”

“No clean underwear.”

Jaron groaned, closing his eyes so he could get his dick to calm the fuck down. That was not an invitation, he silently said to it.

“I can start some laundry for you. It will take a while though.”

“You don’t have to do that, man. You are not my personal servant or anything.”

Can’t I be, please? Oh please. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.” He began picking up the mess he made of his supplies. Once he finished that, he gathered up a large arm full of the dirty clothes he had fallen on and carried them down the hall, leaving Travis searching around his room for some mysteriously nonexistent clean boxers.

Jaron switched loads, immediately starting on a load for Travis. It was two hours later when Beverly found him downstairs in the kitchen, starting on lunch for everyone.

“Jaron, can I talk to you, please?”

“Sure.” He washed his hands and followed her to the library. Or he guessed that’s what they called it on account of all the books in the room.

“Travis told me you went into his room earlier.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I didn’t know whether to just go in or not. I knocked, I swear.”

“Oh, it’s me that wants to apologize. I completely forgot to inform you that my son would be sleeping here. He got in very late last night.”

Jaron just bet he did. Jaron clenched his jaw. He realized how absolutely irrational his jealousy over Travis staying out late was. They weren’t even friends. A few text messages does not constitute friends or lovers. They certainly weren’t dating. It was just stupid. Stop acting obsessive, Jaron.

“It’s okay. I promise to knock louder next time.”

Beverly laughed. “I’m sure you got an eye full.”

Oh God, how embarrassing. Jaron just knew his face was beet red. He looked down suddenly enthralled with the neat little swirls in the carpet. “I broke your cleaning tote thing when I fell.”

“That’s fine, dear. As long as you’re okay.” Beverly smiled warmly at him, letting him get back to making lunch. Beverly had told him to just make simple ham sandwiches. He piled them high with veggies and also added a fruit salad to each plate.

Travis came through the kitchen door just as Jaron sat the food down.

“Wash up. Eat.” Jaron could not let go of his jealousy from earlier, so the comment came out sharper than he intended.

“Yes sir.” Travis smiled, the mischief in his eyes reaching his yummy lips this time.

Jaron put the plate in front of him when he sat at the table and turned to the sink. “This looks good. Thank you.” Jaron didn’t reply, not even to be polite. “Aren’t you eating?”

“No.”

A few minutes later Beverly came in. “Mom, Jaron isn’t eating.” Jaron glared at Travis, who looked smug. The bastard.

Beverly looked up sharply at him. “Why ever not, dear?”

“Just not hungry, Ma’am.”

“Oh now, sit down and eat. You worked hard all morning. And I just have to tell you, I have never had anyone do such a great job before.”

Jaron blushed. The woman knew just what to say to him. That was for sure.

Jaron gathered up two plates and sat down at the table to eat.

“How are Maggie and the baby, dear?” Beverly asked Travis.

“Doing really good this morning, mom,” Travis said around a bite of his sandwich.

“It’s a good thing Greg was in the barn when she started having trouble.”

Travis nodded his head. But he was looking at Jaron when he spoke next. “Glad everything worked out for them both,” he said, absently.

Jaron gave him a look right back. “What?”

“What?”