Finding Darin

[RacerBear]

FINDING DARIN
PART 12​

That evening began a whirlwind week for Darin. His meeting with the real estate agent went quite smoothly. Every room in the large house was measured and a request for a copy of the abstracts was signed and prepared to send to the courthouse the following day. The agent left Darin with a promise that she would have some numbers for him on Tuesday morning.

As he left the property, he called Brady to see if he would like to have dinner. After a quick stop at his hotel room, he picked up his friend and they were on their way to The Lonely Bull. He had enjoyed his first visit there with Tony and wanted to try it again. The two enjoyed a tasty steak dinner and shared more about their lives. Darin dropped Brady off at home just after ten. Brady kissed him as he got out of the car and promised to talk with him the next evening. Both had to be up early for work the next day so the goodnight kiss was all they shared.

Driving across town to the Super 8, Darin realized that, except for the group thing at the restaurant, he and Brady had not yet been intimate. He had enjoyed that scene very much and was hopeful that the four would, at some point, share a repeat performance. As he waited for a red light to change, he pictured Brady in his mind; his soft dark curly hair that surrounded the handsome face, the thick dark hair on his arms and legs, his handsome smile and deep brown eyes.

There was a loud honk from the car behind his reminding him that the light had turned green. As he accelerated, he punched the power button on the car’s radio. An unfamiliar song burst from the speakers.

"Why does the color of my coffee match your eyes?"​

He didn’t remember tuning to this station but he liked the song.

"Why do I see you when a stranger passes by?
I swear, I hear you in the whisper of the wind,
I feel you when the sun is dancin’ on my skin."​

He didn’t know the song but the words echoed deep within his heart.

"And, when it’s rainin’,
You won’t,
Find me complainin’, ‘cause."​

He had to know who was singing. He was hypnotized as the song continued,

"When I think about rain, I think about singin’,
When I think about singin’, it’s a heavenly tune,
When I think about heaven, then I think about angels,
When I think about angels, I think about you."​

He pulled the car over to the curb and studied the radio. As the song continued, he realized it was not the radio at all but a CD, which had been slipped into the slot. It had been programmed to play that song when he turned the radio on. Without hesitation, he picked up his cel phone and punched in Brady’s number. He heard ringing on the line as the song continued.

"Hello, Handsome," Brady’s voice came on the line. "Did you find the song?"

"Yes, I did," Darin answered as he brushed a stray tear from his left eye. "It’s beautiful."

Brady giggled, "I know it’s cheesy but that song reminds me of you."

Darin smiled as the song continued. "When did you sneak it into the CD player?" he asked.

"When we stopped for gas," Brady admitted. " I was gonna play it for you but we got to talking and I decided to wait and see if you found it on your own."

They listened to the song for a few moments.

"Anywhere I go,
Anything I do,
Everything around me, baby,
Makes me think of you."​

"When I think about rain, I think about singin’,
When I think about singin’, it’s a heavenly tune,
When I think about Heaven, then I think about angels,
When I think about angels, I think about you."​

Brady was first to speak. "I can’t tell you how much that song reminds me of you," he said.

Once again, Darin smiled. As he placed the car into gear and accelerated away from the curb, he replied, "Me too."

****​

Tuesday morning, Darin walked into his office humming the song he had found in his CD player.

Jake, who was just pouring his first cup of coffee, eyed him suspiciously. "You’re happy this morning," he stated.

"That I am, Jake," Darin replied, "that I am."

Later, the real estate agent called to let Darin know that she had what she called, ‘a very interested buyer’ for his house. Her recommendation was to list the house at eight hundred thousand dollars. He agreed. She promised to get back to him as soon as she had an opportunity to speak with her buyer. In any event, she would list the house both online and through regular listing venues.

****​

It was around noon on Wednesday when Spencer Morgan stepped into Darin’s office. "Good morning, Darin," he said as he entered. "How are you today, Jake?"

Surprised, Jake answered, "Fine, Sir."

"No need for that ‘sir’ business, Jake. Call me Spencer," he insisted.

"Uh…Okay."

He turned to Darin and said, "I’m going to be out of the office for the rest of the week."

Darin nodded as Spencer continued.

"I’m taking my wife on a little getaway," he said. "It’s been a quite a while since we spent any time together and I think it’s about time I gave her a little attention."

"Where are you headed?" Darin asked.

Spencer smiled. "I’m taking her to Seattle for a few days."

"That’s wonderful."

"After our talk on Monday, I went home and shared with her what you and I had discussed," he said softly. "We’ll be meeting with the surgeon on Monday so I figured, if I was going to spend any time with her, I better do it while I still can. It may be a while before I can travel."

"Anything I need to take care of while you’re gone?" Darin asked.

Spencer thought for a second, then answered, "I’m leaving my car in the garage, can you make sure it gets serviced on Friday?"

"Sure, no problem," Darin said, "What time?"

"They’ll call when they’re ready for it," Spencer said as he turned to leave. "Oh, feel free to use the car if you need to." With a nod and a wave, he was out the door.

Jake sat behind his desk, his mouth open. "Who was that?" he asked, "And what has he done with Mister Morgan?"

Darin laughed. "I think he’s just kept so much bottled up for so long that, once he let it all out, he’s like a new person."

"Well, I for one, like this new person a whole lot better than the old one."

"I know, so do I."

****​

Aaron Banning dropped by the office on Thursday morning for Darin to look over the papers he had prepared. In addition to agreeing to pay off her car, half of the proceeds from the sale of their home and half of the joint savings account, Darin had made an offer for a cash settlement instead of the two thousand dollar monthly payment that Janet had requested. With Aaron’s assistance and a pledge from Uncle Spencer, it was decided that one hundred and fifty thousand dollars would be the starting offer. If, for any reason, Janet did not accept, Aaron had been instructed to decrease the offer gradually until she either accepted or made a counter offer of her own. The only item he was reluctant to agree to was her request for payment of all legal expenses.

Laying the papers on his desk, he looked at Aaron who was seated across from him. "I just don’t know about paying all her legal costs," he complained. "It just seems like throwing good money after bad."

Aaron leaned forward on Darin’s desk. "Look, I know Stabler. He’s an idiot," he said. "As long as he gets his money, he doesn’t care how much she gets. He’ll advise her to sign."

Darin picked up the packet of papers again and continued reading. "Have you talked to Stabler?"

Aaron nodded. "I discussed some possible alternatives with him."

"And what did he say?"

"He thinks she’s a pain in the ass but he wants to see her get a fair settlement."

"If I gave her what was fair, I wouldn’t be giving her a damn dime," Darin barked as he tossed the papers, once again, onto his desk.

Aaron sat back in his chair and smiled. "But, that won’t get her out of your hair now, will it?"

"No, it won’t." Darin rubbed his hands across his face and pushed his chair away from his desk. "Oh, why did I ever marry that bitch?" he lamented.

"Probably for the same reason most guys get married," Aaron laughed, "Because you loved her."

Darin rolled his eyes and pulled closer to the desk, once again. "Oh…yeah…well…there was that."

Clearing his throat, Aaron asked, "So, how are you holding up through all this?"

"I’m doing really well," Darin replied. "I met someone and I’m finally happy." He grinned and blushed slightly.

Smiling, Aaron said, "You’ll have to bring…uh…him over for dinner sometime."

"Excuse me?" Darin was shocked by what Aaron had just said.

"I said, bring him over for dinner sometime," he repeated. "Sarah said she saw you with a tall red haired guy at the new steak house last weekend. She said you looked pretty chummy."

Darin shook his head. "No, not him. He’s just a friend."

"Oh, I’m sorry," Aaron apologized. "I told her we shouldn’t jump to conclusions."

Holding up his hands, Darin looked at Aaron and stated, "No, it’s a guy, just not that guy."

****​

Spencer called on Friday morning to see how things were going. Darin had stepped out for a few minutes to pick up his laundry so Jake took the call.

"Good morning, Jake," he said when the younger man answered.

Clearing his throat, Jake replied, "Good morning, sir…I mean, Mister Morgan."

"Now, what did I tell you the other day?" Spencer scolded.

Jake blushed. "Spencer," he said, nervously.

"That’s better. Is everything going okay?" he asked. "I trust the building is still standing?" His laugh echoed through the line.

Jake shuffled through his notes. "There was a question regarding the Davidson’s account but Darin talked to Eric Richards and they got it worked out," he said.

"Good, I knew you boys could get along just fine without me."

****​

To celebrate an offer being made on the house, Jake had invited Darin and Brady to dinner at the home he shared with David that Saturday night. He had told them both he would not take ‘no’ for an answer. While on his way to pick up Brady, Darin was involved in a minor traffic accident. Although the car was not heavily damaged, the right front fender was pushed back far enough that it rubbed the tire during a right hand turn. As he waited for the tow truck to arrive, he dialed Brady’s number on his cel phone. Hearing the ring, he waited. Finally Brady answered.

"Hello," he said, out of breath.

"Hey, it’s me," Darin said. "You sound winded."

"I was out on the porch waiting for you," Brady told him. "Where are you?"

Darin laughed. "I kinda ran into a little snag," he said as the tow truck arrived and began backing into position to pick up the front of Darin’s Lexus.

"What’s that beeping sound?" Brady questioned.

"Well, actually it wasn’t a snag, I think it was a Taurus," Darin answered. "I’m gonna be a little late," he added.

"Where are you?" Brady asked, "Are you okay?"

Darin turned to check the street signs as the wrecker driver tossed the heavy chains onto the pavement. "I’m at the corner of Nineteenth Street and Jamestown Road," he said. "I’m fine but the cars a little messed up."

Grabbing up his keys from the desk, Brady said, "Wait there and I’ll pick you up in ten minutes."

"That’s okay," Darin protested. "I’ll just get a cab and go by work to get another company car."

"I’m coming to get you, don’t argue with me," Brady insisted as he hung up the phone.

The driver of the other car approached Darin while the police officer checked the progress of the wrecker operator. "I’m really sorry," he said. "Are you sure you’re okay?"

Darin turned as he closed his cel phone and looked at the young man. "I’m fine," he said, "What were you thinking when you ran through that light?"

Still visibly shaken from the accident, the younger man diverted his gaze toward the sidewalk. "I was trying to get home before my dad found out I took the car," he stated. "He’s gonna kill me when he finds out…" he added, turning to look at his car. Both doors on the left side were caved in where Darin’s car had collided with it.

"I’m sure he’ll just be glad you weren’t hurt," Darin said, trying to calm the youngster. He studied the young man’s face and realized that he bore a striking resemblance to the young man he had met in Redfield. The hair was slightly different and somewhat longer but he had the same thin build and very handsome facial features. Although slightly shorter, the two could very easily pass as brothers.

Or, was Darin just imagining that this young man resembled the other one. He could not understand why he could not get that young man out of his mind. His was a one-time chance encounter, never to be repeated. When he had called the number that was recorded on his cel phone from that night, it had been disconnected. He had probably moved to another county by now, and had forgotten all about Darin and the night they had spent together. But, what if he hadn’t? What if he had fallen on further financial hard times and his phone had been disconnected simply for his lack of ability to pay the bill? What if he was living in that small trailer without heat or electricity? What if he needed Darin and Darin had failed him by not trying harder to contact him?

The high pitched honk from Brady’s Toyota pickup roused Darin from his thoughts.

The officer approached while Darin waved to Brady. "Here’s your driver’s license and registration, Mister Johnson," the officer said. "Can I call you a cab?"

"No thanks, my ride is here," he answered, pointing as Brady approached.

"Okay, well your car is going to Simpson’s. You can call them to make arrangements to pick up your personal belongings." He turned toward the other driver. "Here is your license and registration," he continued. "And this is a citation for failure to obey a traffic signal."

It was at this point that another car arrived. A rather tall man and a short plump woman got out and approached the younger man. "Are you all right?" the woman asked, obviously upset. She rushed to hug her son.

Looking toward the older man, the youth began to cry. "I’m so sorry," he said.

The older man did not speak. He merely reached for his son and pulled him into an embrace. "I’m just glad you’re okay," he said as he kissed the boy’s hair and wrapped his arms around his slender frame. "The car can be fixed. This doesn’t mean you’re not in trouble but…" he continued as tears trickled across his cheeks.

"Excuse me," Darin said to the older man, "I don’t mean to interrupt."

The boy’s father looked toward Darin and replied, "I’m sure sorry about your car. We got good insurance," he added.

Darin smiled. "I just wanted to make sure your son was okay," he said.

The boy wiped his face with his hand and said, "I’m fine." Then looking at his father again, his lip quivered and the tears returned. "I’m so sorry, Papa."

"It’s okay, son," the older man soothed as, once again, he wrapped his arms around him. Looking at Darin, he said, "Thank you."

Not wanting to intrude any further, Darin waved and said, "Good-bye then," as he draped his arm across Brady’s shoulder and they walked to the rusty Toyota.

Brady unlocked the passenger door from the outside and gathered up a couple of plastic bottles from the floor. He tossed the bottles into the bed of the old truck and rounded the front. Lifting up on the driver’s door, he slammed it twice before the latch engaged. He poked the key into the ignition, turned it and heard a soft, ‘click.’

"It usually does this a couple of times," he said with a laugh. "Not to worry."

He turned the key once more and heard, ‘click.’

Darin shifted in the seat as he rolled down his window. "Are you sure about this?" he asked.

Brady nodded. "Oh, yeah. Most times, it takes off on the third try."

The third time Brady turned the key, the engine sputtered to life. Darin said a silent prayer as Brady let out the clutch and accelerated away from the curb. He marveled at the way Brady worked the shifter as they headed off to join Jake and David for dinner.

He also knew what he wanted to give Brady for his birthday in a couple of weeks.

TO BE CONTINUED​

 

[kcm17480]

A foursome eh? It sounds like fun. Good chapter and you write very well. I can't wait till Rodney comes back into the picture.

 

[harry113]

Yep! I second that! Rodney is promised to return to the fold!!
Is Brady going to get lucky, & have a new set of wheels???
Thanks Scott, greatly enjoying this, more please.
Harry

 

[RacerBear]

I promise you that Rodney is coming back soon. I think Brady has pretty much hit the jackpot this time. You'll learn more about him soon too. In case you haven't noticed, there's been no mention of finances with him and Darin. There's a reason for that. Some surprises coming soon as well. I'll try and post the next chapter on Sunday evening or Monday morning.
Thanks for staying tuned.
Scott

 

[tomersh]

I promise you that Rodney is coming back soon. I think Brady has pretty much hit the jackpot this time. You'll learn more about him soon too. In case you haven't noticed, there's been no mention of finances with him and Darin. There's a reason for that. Some surprises coming soon as well. I'll try and post the next chapter on Sunday evening or Monday morning.
Thanks for staying tuned.
Scott

how many chapters do you have ready?...how about you don't post for a week or so get a couple more chapters done and post them all one after the other......just and idea

 

[RacerBear]

FINDING DARIN
PART 13​

"You’re so cute when you’re sleeping," Darin said as Brady opened his eyes. He gently rubbed his right index finger over the thick stubble on Brady’s cheek. It was just past eight.

Brady giggled, turned his head and pulled the sheet over his face. "What were you doing?"

Darin pulled the covers away and laughed. "I was watching you sleep," he admitted.

"That’s creepy."

"I think it’s romantic."

"It’s creepy. What if I drool or something?"

"You did a little," Darin said as he pointed to a wet spot on Brady’s pillow. "And I think it’s sweet."

"You’re a strange, strange man."

They kissed as Darin pushed the sheet away, exposing Brady’s chest. Gently, he ran his right hand over the soft dark hair that covered it. Locating the left nipple, he squeezed, causing Brady to moan softly into his mouth. Slowly, he lowered his hand until it grazed the tip of Brady’s rapidly expanding erection.

Unlike the night before, their lovemaking was slow and gentle. Finally, when each had explored the other’s body thoroughly, Brady grabbed a condom from the nightstand, ripped open the package and gently unrolled it over Darin’s throbbing member. Then, with a huge smile on his handsome face, he straddled Darin and slowly lowered himself until the entire length was buried inside him.

"That feels so good," he purred as he began to slowly ride up and down. Darin wrapped his right hand around Brady’s thick shaft and slowly eased the head out from behind the foreskin, matching his rhythm, stroke for stroke. After several minutes, Darin began to moan. Brady increased his movement while Darin did the same. Suddenly, Darin’s body became rigid as the first wave of his orgasm erupted from deep within his testicles. Feeling the first blast shoot inside the condom, Darin released his grip on Brady and placed his hands on his partner’s furry butt. Brady grabbed his own, throbbing member and pumped only a few times before he too began spraying semen onto Darin’s hairy chest. The first volley hit Darin squarely on the chin as he continued to blast out several more thick spurts.

Panting, and dripping with sweat, Brady collapsed onto Darin’s chest, mashing the semen between their two hair covered torsos.

Their breathing gradually returning to normal, Brady looked into Darin’s brown eyes. He noticed the large glob of semen on Darin’s chin and silently leaned forward to lick it up. "I got you good this time, didn’t I?" he giggled.

"You sure did. How many was that?" Darin asked as he wiggled his hips, pushing himself deeper inside Brady’s warm love chute.

Brady pressed against Darin’s pelvis and cooed. "Damn, that feels so good inside me. I think I shot like six or seven times."

Just then, the alarm clock went off. It was five minutes past ten. Brady silenced it and leaned down to give Darin a quick kiss before slowly pulling himself up and off. Once he felt the head of Darin’s penis slip past his sphincter, he reached around and removed the condom, hopped up and dashed into the bathroom.

Darin could here the sound of Brady peeing and then the toilet flushed. Returning with a warm washcloth, Brady gently mopped up the pools of evidence their lovemaking had left on Darin’s chest.

"Let’s get cleaned up, I’m hungry," he said pulling Darin to his feet.

Standing in front of the large mirror, Darin smiled when he took in the sight of the two of them. Except for slightly less dark hair on his stomach, no moustache, and the fact that Brady’s penis was smaller than his when flaccid, he could have been staring at a younger, smaller version of himself. They traded loving glances as they shaved and prepared to step into the shower.

****​

"Do you have anything planned for today," Darin asked as Brady pulled his white jockey shorts over his hips and reached for his tee shirt.

Turning the shirt right side out, Brady answered, "I have to turn in some keys but, after that, I don’t have anything. Why?"

Darin pulled a clean pair of boxer briefs from the drawer and sat on the edge of the bed. "I thought you might want to do something."

Brady smiled as he sat down next to Darin and put his hand on his hairy thigh. "You mean something besides this?" he asked as he leaned in for a kiss.

Falling backward on the bed and pulling Brady on top of him, Darin wrapped his arms around the younger man as they kissed passionately. "We could do this all day," he finally said as Brady rolled onto the bed next to him.

"You mean you didn’t get enough last night?" Brady teased. "Or this morning? I’d have thought you’d be sick of me by now."

"Never," he said as he pulled him in for another kiss.

Brady gently pushed on Darin’s hairy chest. As he stared into his eyes, he said, "Would you like to go with me to drop off the keys? I want to show you something."

Sliding his hands inside Brady’s underwear, Darin answered, "You already showed it to me last night." He wrapped his hands around Brady’s growing manhood. "And again this morning," he chuckled.

"Not that," Brady giggled. He leaned forward and kissed Darin softly on the lips. Then, pushing away, he added, "No, I have something else I want to show you. Before I turn in the keys."

Darin propped himself on his elbow. "Okay," he said.

Brady lifted himself off the bed and searched the pile of clothes on the floor. Turning toward Darin, he repositioned himself inside his shorts before sitting on the other bed to put on his socks. "I’d like to swing by my house and change clothes," he said, reaching for his jeans.

Darin sat up and stretched. "Can you drop me by work so I can pick up Uncle Spencer’s car?" he asked. "Then I can pick you up at your place."

Brady smiled. "Are you sure you want me to know where you work?"

"Sure, why not?" Darin said as he swung his legs off the side of the bed.

"You never know, I might start stalking you."

"If you were a stalker, you’d already know where I work."

****​

Brady stopped as he took in the sight of the two-tone gray car parked at the end of the driveway. "That’s a friggin’ Rolls Royce," he said.

"Yeah, so?" Darin replied.

Shaking his head, Brady continued, "It’s a Rolls friggin’ Royce!"

"It’s just a car."

"It probably cost more than I’ll ever earn in my life."

"It belongs to my uncle, besides I can’t get a rental today."

"Can I ride in the back?"

"No, Miz Daisy, Y’all are ridin’ up front with me," he said, opening the passenger door for Brady to climb in.

Darin slid into the driver’s seat, started the car and turned to give Brady a quick peck on the lips. "Where to?" he asked as he slipped the car into gear and eased his foot onto the accelerator.

****​

When Darin pulled the car into the gravel driveway of the brick split level home, Brady explained, "It doesn’t look like much right now but I thought it had lots of possibilities."

Turning off the engine, Darin scanned the front of the house. The dark green aluminum siding was pulled loose in several spots near the bottom where it met with the brick, about six feet up.There were several pieces of rain gutter hanging from the edges of the roof. Although the roof appeared to be in good shape, he could only guess what may be hidden by the layer of moss that covered most of the front section. "Looks like it’s seen better days though."

"Oh, it has. It’s been empty for almost ten years now. The owner died and her family didn’t want to do anything with it."

"It’s got plenty of frontage, that’s a positive," Darin said looking at the large circular driveway.

"Wait until you see the inside," Brady said as he unlocked the front door. "All that over there goes with it too," he added as he pointed to two large rectangular pole buildings and a red barn a short distance to the south.

When the door opened, the pair was assaulted by the smell of a house that had been closed up for a long period of time. Curling his nose, Darin complained, "Ooh, smells like old people."

Brady laughed as he stepped inside the entryway. "The kitchen is up that way and the living room is to the right," he said, pointing up a small flight of stairs. Another short stairway to the left led downward. "There are three bedrooms and there’s a family room and three other rooms down that way."

Aside from the musty smell and a thick layer of dust on everything, the home was rather neat. "Nothing a good cleaning crew couldn’t fix," Darin stated as they started up the stairs to the main level.

Brady nodded. "That’s what I thought," he said. "Come on, I want to show you around. He took Darin’s hand and pulled him up the stairs.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Darin surveyed the home. The living room was rather large with a limestone fireplace at the far end. The floor in that room, as well as the dining room and hallway, was covered in hideous orange shag carpeting. The walls were painted a dark gold. "That would have to go," he said, laughing. There was a large, cream colored sofa along the front wall and a couple of end tables sat near the fireplace. The kitchen was laid out very efficiently with cabinets along three of the walls. The white refrigerator had a large ‘x’ of duct tape across the front which prevented the door from being opened and the built in range had a thick layer of greasy residue covering the burners. There was a built in oven next to the cook top and a built in dishwasher with the door torn off.

"The cabinets are birds-eye maple," Brady said. "The appliances are, pretty much shot though."

Darin nodded.

To the left was a short hallway leading to the three bedrooms and one of the bathrooms. Stepping down the hall, Darin opened the first door on the right. The bathroom was basic with avocado green fixtures. "Very sixties," he said, closing the door and stepping to the next. That door opened into a small bedroom with a single twin bed in one corner. He closed the door and turned to open another directly across from it. This room was much larger and showed evidence of where the furniture had been. Deep indentations showed where a double bed and two large bureaus had sat. While the carpet in these rooms was a better quality, it would certainly need to be replaced as well. He could also see quite a few clothing items hanging in the small closet, which was open.

"This is my favorite room," Brady said as he directed Darin toward the fourth door at the end of the hallway. The door opened into a huge master bedroom that went from front to back. There were two doors on the opposing wall, the one on the left was open to reveal a nice sized master bath with a deep tub and separate shower stall visible. There were two large windows on the front wall and a large sliding glass door on the back and there was a large chest of drawers between the bathroom and closet doors. "At one time, this was two rooms and they took out the partition. If you look close, you can see where the ceiling was patched."

"It has potential," Darin said as he opened the other door to reveal a huge walk-in closet. "Oh, this is nice," he added as he looked inside. A few articles of women’s clothing hung on the bars. "Gees, it’s almost like they just left everything and walked away."

Brady was standing; looking out the sliding door at the back of the room, fighting tears as he stared at the balcony which overlooked a small, in ground swimming pool. Silently, Darin stepped behind him and put his arms around him. Brady leaned back as Darin kissed the back of his hair.

"I hate to give this place up," Brady said sadly. "But, I can’t get the financing."

Darin pulled Brady into a tight hug from behind. "What’s the asking price?"

Turning to face the taller man, Brady answered, "It’s in foreclosure and, with back taxes it’s only seventy-five thousand."

Darin whistled. "It’s got to be worth five times that," he said as he pulled Brady into a bear hug. "This is a really nice view," he added.

"There used to be a hot tub at the bottom of the stairs," Brady said. He unlocked the sliding door and pushed it open. They stepped out onto the balcony and breathed in the smell of fresh air. From this angle, Darin got a better look at the pool. The liner was pulled away from the one side and the bottom was covered with thick black muck but, all in all, it was not in that bad of shape. There was what appeared to be a gas barbecue grill built into one corner next to the house. "What’s that over there?" he asked, pointing to an attached structure on the right.

"That’s the garage there," Brady answered. Pointing to another extension, directly across, he added, "And that’s the ‘mother-in-law’s’ cottage."

"No kidding?" Darin replied, "That’s cool."

As they stood on the balcony, Brady wrapped his arms around Darin’s waist and rested his head against his shoulder. Darin kissed Brady’s forehead as the younger man sighed. "I could get used to this," he said softly.

"I know, so could I."

From inside the house, a woman’s voice called, "Anybody home?"

"That’s Randi," Brady said as he slowly pushed away from Darin. "Might as well get this over with." He turned and stepped back inside. "We’re in here," he called.

Darin placed his hands on the railing and surveyed the courtyard beneath. A robin landed on the birdbath and splashed in the muddy water. The bird turned and looked upward to where Darin was standing, chirped and flew away. Suddenly, his mind pictured the courtyard except it was beautiful. The flowerbeds were filled with colorful assortments of plantings. There were also various flowering trees and shrubs placed neatly along the edges, next to the privacy fencing. Turning to move inside, he envisioned a king-sized bed beneath the large windows, a beautiful wedding ring quilt spread over the top and a small white dog sleeping on one side. As he stood, staring, he heard a noise in the bathroom. He watched as Brady entered the bedroom, naked. He was drying his hair with a dark green towel as he opened the closet door and stepped inside. Darin closed his eyes. When he opened them, the room was restored to what it was when they had arrived. "That was weird," he thought. He looked over his shoulder to see the pool and courtyard was just as he had first seen it. He stepped inside, closed the sliding door and locked it. Then, he went to find Brady and Randi.

He found them talking quietly outside the front door when he stepped into the living room. Not wanting to intrude, he turned and walked through the kitchen, down the small flight of stairs and through the open door into the garage. It was more than large enough for two cars and still had enough room for a good amount of storage. There was another open door on the far side. He walked through and stopped at the door to the cottage. He was surprised at the lack of clutter inside. Apparently, the cottage had not been used for some time. The paneling was varnished pine and the floors, while covered with a layer of dust, were polished hard wood. To the right was a rather nice size living room with a brick fireplace in the left corner. The kitchen was separated by a bar, which extended from beside the door and reached across most of the width of the room. Along the opposing wall and extending down a small hallway were bookshelves from floor to ceiling. He entered and looked around. "Very nice," he thought. As he examined the galley kitchen, he noticed that, like the main house, everything was built in. The range, oven and refrigerator were old but in very good condition, as was the small dishwasher. He opened and closed a couple of cupboard doors and ran his hand along the dark green counter top. Walking down the hallway, he peeked into the small bathroom. A large cast iron tub took up the space on the right with a pedestal sink and toilet sharing the area on the left. Beyond the bathroom was the door to the spacious bedroom, which had windows on all three outside walls. He turned back toward the living room and heard a noise from behind him.

Turning, he saw a brass queen-size bed on a diagonal to the left. The room was neatly furnished with an antique chest of drawers and other items of furniture from one of the bedrooms of the home he had shared with Janet. Dark green curtains hung on the windows and were waving in the slight breeze, which blew through the open window. A large yellow tiger cat was grooming herself and purring contentedly in the center of the bed. It was then that he heard the sound of a door closing. "Are you in here?" Brady called.

"Yeah, in here," Darin answered as he turned to see the handsome young man appear at the opposite end of the hall. When he turned back to the bedroom, he found nothing but an empty room. He quietly pulled the door closed.


They stood for several minutes, staring out the picture window at the end of the living room.

Wrapping his arms around Brady and pulling him close, Darin nuzzled his neck. "You really love this place don’t you?" he asked softly.

Brady turned and pressed his face into the front of Darin’s shirt. "It’s so perfect for what I want to do," he sighed. "But with all the uncertainty at work and not being able to get financing…" he paused, once again choking back tears. "I guess it’s just not meant to be," he added sadly.

From across the garage, Randi called, "Brady, can you come in here a minute?"

"Better see what she wants," he said, pushing away from Darin’s embrace. "I’ll be right back, I’m sure."

Darin walked with Brady to the kitchen entrance. The entryway was similar to the one at the front of the house only the stairway to the lower level was on the right. He decided to see what was waiting at the bottom of the steps. As he reached the bottom, he found himself in the laundry room. The washer and dryer were in need of repair with the control knobs missing on both. A door to the right of the laundry area opened into a utility room. The furnace appeared to be about ten years old and in moderately good repair. There was also a gas water heater, a huge deep freeze and a water conditioner in the room along with a number of broken screens and storm windows. Closing the door, he proceeded down a narrow hallway to a large room that easily took up half the width of the house. Looking to the left, he discovered another fireplace covering the entire end of the room. Large, rough cut limestone ledges protruded at various heights forming shelves and the mantel was of the same pattern.

To his right, at the far end, were an old console television set and two very well worn overstuffed sofas. There were two doors that opened off this main room. He chose the first and opened it to find another storage room, littered with paper, broken glass and empty boxes. He closed that door and stepped to the other, which opened into a small office. A large bookcase covered the entire back wall and contained a number of Harlequin romance paperbacks and some Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. There was also a large roll-top desk pushed up against the wall to his right.

He closed the door to the office and sensed the smell of apples and cinnamon. When he turned, a crackling fire in the fireplace greeted him. There was a beautifully decorated Christmas tree near the base of the front stairs and holiday music was playing softly. Looking to his right, he noticed a big screen television, with large entertainment units on either side, and the light green sofa from the guesthouse at the property he was leaving behind. He watched as the orange tabby cat bounded into the room and jumped onto the sofa. An Irish setter was asleep on a large round rug in front of the fireplace. A round wooden table and four chairs sat next to where the dog lay, a jigsaw puzzle spread out on top. Brady entered from the laundry area carrying a tray of baked goodies and two glasses of milk. Turning to face Darin, he said, "I’m done."

"What?" Darin asked, blinking. When his eyes opened again, Brady was standing beside him but the holiday scene was gone.

"I said, I’m done," Brady repeated. "Where did you go?"

Darin smiled. "Just thinking," he replied. "Are you sure you’ve exhausted every possibility?"

Brady kissed him on the cheek. "I’m sure. Randi even called an investor friend of hers to see if he would buy it and sell it to me on contract."

"What did he say?"

"He can’t do it right now but, he might be interested in buying the house to fix up and re-sell."

Darin took Brady’s hand, kissed it and said, "Well, maybe there’s a better one out there with your name on it."

"I doubt that."

****​

Pulling the door shut, Brady leaned into Darin’s shoulder and allowed his tears to flow. "Good-bye old house," he said softly through his tears.
When they approached Randi, she was talking on her cel phone and smoking a cigarette. She snapped her phone closed as they got closer.

"Say, haven’t we met?" Darin asked when Brady handed her the keys

"I think so," she replied, "At the club the other night. You said you couldn’t stop thinking about me." Her laugh was soft.

Darin laughed. "That’s right. God, I was so embarrassed."

"That’s okay, it happens a lot," she said. "So, how long have you known Brady?"

Brady blushed as he said, "We met a week ago."

She smiled and said, "Congratulations."

"Thank you," they both replied.

"I was thinking of fixing him up with my brother," she stated. Her phone rang once again. "Oh, speak of the devil," she added. "Hey there." Her face quickly turned serious. "Yes, speaking." She held up her hand as Darin and Brady turned to step away and give her some privacy. "Oh, no!" she said. "I’ll be there as quickly as I can." She closed the phone and tossed it into the car as tears began to flow across her cheeks.

"What’s wrong?" Darin asked.

She turned, fumbling through her pockets to find her car keys. "My brother’s in the hospital," she sobbed. "I have to go." She continued to search for her keys. "Damn it!"

Brady put his hand on Darin’s arm. Silently, he pleaded with him to do something.

"I’ll drive you," Darin said.

"No, I’ll be okay," she protested as she found the keys and started to get into her car.

"You’re in no shape to drive right now," Darin insisted. He snatched the keys from her hand and said, "I’m taking you." He put his hands on her shoulders and forced her to look into his eyes.

She leaned forward into his chest and he wrapped his large arms around her. Pressing into him she sobbed openly. "Okay," she finally whispered.

"What hospital?" Darin asked when she had calmed down a little.

She sniffed and wiped at her eyes with her fingers. "He lives in Redfield," she replied.

TO BE CONTINUED​

 

[Endlessnight500]

OMG, is this going where i think it is? Small world Huh? This is a great story, I look forward to reading more.

 

[kcm17480]

Is her brother Rodney by any chance? Yhis story just keeps getting better all the time.

 

[axlsergei]

I'm really, really enjoying this story! Thank you for sharing it with us. Looking forward to the next chapter.

 

[harry113]

Thanks Scott, Great chapter!!
Is Rodney her brother ??
Getting very interesting.
More please
Harry

 

[tomersh]

oh fuck...she's rodney's sister?......dude...hurry up with the other chapter....you are killing me here...by the way....awsome story.....

 

[RacerBear]

FINDING DARIN
PART 14​

Arriving at the hospital, Darin let Randi out of the car near the entrance to the emergency room. Before she closed the door, she turned to him and said, "I really appreciate your help." She closed the door and approached the building while Darin searched for a parking place.

"I sure hope her brother is okay," Brady offered before opening the rear door to exit the car.

Rounding the rear of the luxury car, Darin put his arm across Brady’s shoulders. "I do too," he said.

They walked the remainder of the way to the door without comment. Once inside, Darin found Randi standing next to the admissions desk. "Have they told you anything yet?" he asked.

"Not yet," she replied, "I’m still waiting for someone." She drummed her fingernails on the countertop as she waited. A number of people walked past but no one paid her any attention.

Finally, a large black woman approached the desk. "May I help you?" she asked as she pulled a stool from under the counter and hoisted herself onto it. Her smile seemed genuine and her voice pleasant. The nametag on her white smock said, ‘Rose Whittier/C.N.A.’.


"I’m Randi Green," she told the clerk, "My brother Rodney was brought in earlier."

Rose typed the information on the keyboard in front of her. "Oh, dear," she said as she studied the screen. "Have a seat, I’ll have someone come and speak with you in a moment." She turned and pushed several buttons on a phone that was on a counter behind her. After a short conversation, she hung up the phone and returned to her seat at the desk.

Walking toward the waiting area, Darin placed his hand on Randi’s shoulder. "Rodney is your brother?" he asked, shocked.

"My twin brother, actually," she replied as she took a seat in the waiting area. "Do you know him?"

Darin looked over his shoulder at Brady who was following. "Not well," he replied. "I only met him once."

"You…you know him?" Brady stammered, putting his hand on Darin’s arm.

Darin nodded and moved to a seat next to Randi. She gripped his hand as they waited.

A tall man, wearing blue hospital scrubs, entered and introduced himself as Doctor Adams. "He’s pretty banged up," the doctor told Randi. "Both his ankles are broken along with his left arm. There’s a lot of facial bruising and we’re checking to see if there is any swelling on his brain. He was unconscious when they brought him in."

"Oh, no!" Randi was losing her battle with her emotions. "When can I see him?"

"He’s just coming out of surgery at the moment. He’ll be in recovery soon. I’ll let you know when you can go in." The doctor excused himself and disappeared down the hallway.

Another younger man wearing a brown uniform approached Randi and said, "Excuse me, ma’am, I’m Officer Bailey. Could I ask you some questions?"

"I don’t know if I can help but, okay," she replied, wiping her eyes with a tissue from the box on a side table.

"Do you know of anyone who might have wanted to hurt your brother?" the officer asked as he removed a small spiral notebook and pen from his shirt pocket. He flipped the book open and clicked the pen to expose the ballpoint.

"I really don’t know any of his friends or…"

"The neighbors said they saw a red Crown Victoria parked in front of his trailer late last night," he began. "Do you know anyone who might own a car like that?"

"I own a dark green Crown Victoria but I was at home, in Big Sky, all last night."

"The neighbor was pretty sure it was red," he said. His smile was bright and genuine.

Randi turned toward Darin as his body stiffened and he shifted in his seat. "I don’t know anyone with a car like that," she replied, returning her gaze to the officer.

He handed her a business card. "Perhaps, when your brother is awake, he can shed some light on what happened."

"I hope so," she said softly, taking the card. Looking at the young officer, she asked, "What did happen?"

He cleared his throat and sat in the chair beside her. "Well, from what we can tell," he began, "Your brother came home around eleven last night. He had someone with him and they…uh…I’m not quite sure how to put this…"

"My brother and I are both gay so, if you’re worried about shocking me, don’t be," she said matter-of-factly. "I know what he does I just don’t know who he does it with."

The young officer shifted nervously in his chair. "Sorry, I hesitate sometimes when I don’t know what family members might be aware of. In situations like this, I hate to be the one to ‘out’ someone."

She smiled and placed her hand on his arm. "Thank you, I appreciate that."

"Anyway, like I said, he and this ‘someone’ came home around eleven and they, apparently…uh, had sexual relations." He blushed. "I don’t care how many times I talk about things like this, it still makes me nervous."

"I know."

"We spoke to one of his neighbors and she said that she heard some yelling coming from the trailer around one in the morning and then the car took off in a big hurry a short time later." He paused again as Randi took in a deep breath. "Can I get you anything? Water?"

"No, I’m fine," she replied, her hands trembling.

"Okay. So, when he didn’t show up for work this morning, one of his co-workers became concerned and went to see if he was okay. He found him and called nine one one."

Doctor Adams appeared in the doorway and motioned to Randi. "You can see him now," he said softly, "But just for a few minutes. He’s still unconscious but he’s stable."

"I’ll find you if I need anything more," Officer Bailey said, standing.

She squeezed Darin’s hand. "Do you want me to go with you?" he asked.

"I don’t know," she said. "We’ve been on our own for so long. I just never thought I’d have to deal with something like this."

"I’ll go with you if you need me to," he offered again.

She glanced over at Brady and noticed his anxious look. "No, I’ll be fine," she said, rising to her feet. She followed the doctor out of the waiting room, leaving Darin and Brady alone with the officer.

Darin watched until the doors closed. He shifted nervously in his seat. Finally, the officer rose and nodded to each of them before he exited the room. Taking a deep breath, Darin held it in for several seconds before releasing it slowly. Nervously, he glanced at the clock.

"So, how do you know him?" Brady asked when the policeman had left.

"We…uh…met not long ago." Darin answered, taking Brady’s hand.

Brady pulled his hand away. "When?"

Thinking, Darin replied, "A week or so."

"Did you have sex with him?" Brady pressed.

Taking in another sharp breath, Darin answered, "Yes."

Thinking for a moment, Brady continued, "I see. Is that where you go, when you…zone out."

"Oh, no." Darin turned to face Brady, trying to cover the sadness he was feeling. "I mean, I think about him a lot but, no."

"You think about him a lot? How is that supposed to make me feel?" Brady moved to another chair on the opposite side of the room.

"It’s different," Darin said as he moved closer. "When I think about you…"

"If you sing that song," Brady warned, "I swear, I’ll smack you."

Darin laughed, nervously. "I won’t."

"Good." Brady crossed his arms and looked out the window.

"But, when I think about you," Darin repeated as he, once again took Brady’s hand, "My stomach gets tied up in knots and I get this tingly feeling."

Brady continued to stare out the window. "And, when you think about Rodney."

"All I can think about is how grateful I am."

"Grateful?" Brady asked, looking toward Darin.

"I never knew who I was until I met him. He helped me see that my life wasn’t where I thought it was."

"How did he help you see that?"

Darin didn’t answer the question directly. "And, besides," he said, "I never would have met you if I hadn’t met him." Darin placed his other hand on top of the one he held.

"That’s true. I guess I should be grateful too. I know it’s unrealistic for me to not realize that we each have a past."

Darin pulled him closer and wrapped his arms around the younger man. "Even though my ‘past’ isn’t that long, I still have one."

Brady leaned his head on Darin’s shoulder. "I’m being stupid."

"No you’re not," Darin replied, kissing his forehead. "It’s no different than me being jealous of Tim or anyone you ever dated."

Brady sat up and stared at Darin. "You mean you’re jealous of Tim?" he asked.

"Not at all," Darin answered. "Should I be?"

Shaking his head, Brady replied, "Not anymore. I mean, yeah, once we were an item but not now."

Turning so that they were facing each other again, Darin asked, "But, you still love him, right?"

"Of course I do," he protested. His body tensing, he added, "He’s my best friend."

"And you’ve had sex with him?"

"Well, yeah. But that was different. That was before I met you."

"That’s exactly how it was with Rodney and me."

"No, it isn’t. You said yourself that you think about him a lot."

"And you don’t think about Tim?"

"Not all the time."

"Do you ever think about him romantically?"

"I haven’t thought about him that way at all since I met you."

"But you have thought of him that way in the past."

"Well, yeah. Of course I have."

"I can’t expect you to stop thinking about him now, just because you and I are…" He thought for a moment. "Whatever we are."

Brady’s eyes grew wide. "You’re not even sure what we are?" he asked. "That’s comforting." He turned to look out the window again.

After several minutes, Darin reached for Brady’s hand and kissed it. Then he said to him, "You know, I can’t imagine where I’d be right now if it hadn’t been for Rodney."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Brady faced him once again. "It doesn’t," he added.

"But I can’t imagine how empty my life would be without you."

"It wouldn’t really be that much different."

"In just over a week, you’ve shown me more love than I felt from my wife in twelve years of marriage."

"But you still think about him all the time." Brady pulled his hand away again and turned toward the window. "I can’t just forget that." Turning back to face Darin, he asked, "I mean, when do you think about me?"

Darin thought for a moment. Placing his right index finger under Brady’s chin, he turned the younger mans’ face toward his and stated, "Rodney occupies a great deal of my thoughts but," He kissed Brady softly. "When I dream, you’re the one that I dream of."

****​

"Are we okay?" Darin asked. They had been driving for nearly thirty minutes and neither had spoken. Randi had decided to spend the night at the hospital and had insisted that they go on home. She would call with any news. Her friend, Lisa, would drive over the next day and take her to pick up her car at the house. Brady stared out the side window into the darkness.

After several more moments, Brady said softly, "I think so."

Reaching for his left hand, Darin added, "When I first met Rodney, I thought I might be in love with him."

"That’s not so hard to believe," Brady said, a touch of sadness in his voice. "I’ve done the same thing. More than once."

"So, you know what I’m going through then?"

The lights from a passing car shone on Brady’s handsome face. "Tim was my first love," he said. "We met in junior high school."

"I can understand how you could fall in love with him," Darin offered, "He’s a very handsome guy."

"He never really knew it. I was too scared to tell him. Besides, I didn’t think he would ever feel the same way about me."

Darin smiled as Brady finally looked at him. "Now, I realize that I wasn’t actually IN love with him as much as it was the idea of being in love," he offered.

Shaking his head, Brady asked, "What do you mean?"

Darin thought for a moment. "I think I mistook the love I felt for him to mean that I was in love with him," he said. "Once I had time to think about it and after I met you, I realized that I wasn’t necessarily in love with him as much as the whole concept of being in love."

"You mean, because you hadn’t felt loved in a while, the first person who showed you some attention, you immediately thought you were in love with him."

"Exactly."

"I guess that makes sense."

"When I met Rodney, the attraction was instant. But, I think I was so starved for affection that it could have been anybody."

"I know what you mean. Been there, done that."

"But," he paused, making sure he had Brady’s full attention, "When I met you, it was different."

"You mean you didn’t feel the same?"

"No, not really. I mean, I was crazy about you but…the feeling was different. It was more…from here," he said patting his chest. "Not so much from my dick."

"Do you want to know when I first started falling for you?" Brady asked.

"Sure."

"At the bar when I caught you checking me out. And then, when you ordered a Coke instead of a beer."

"For me, it was when you dropped me off at the hotel that night. When you didn’t come up to the room. I wanted to get you up there and rip your clothes off and make mad passionate love to you but…"

"But, I was a gentleman, huh?"

"Yup."

They continued on in silence. Finally, after about twenty more minutes, Darin asked Brady about his work. "You said something about some uncertainty at work. What’s going on?" he asked.

Brady shrugged his shoulders. "I heard from one of the accountants that there is some type of investigation."

"What do you think that’s about?"

"I don’t know but it can’t be good."

"So what did you mean when you said the house was perfect for what you wanted to do?"

"I had hoped to turn the two old chicken houses into kennels where we could take in the overflow from the center. And with the barn, we could take in larger animals. We’re always getting calls about horses and goats and sheep and stuff."

"And you can’t take them in?

"No, we don’t have any room for anything but cats and dogs and smaller animals right now."

"Hmm," was Darin’s reply.

"But, that’s not gonna happen," Brady added sadly. "Even if I could have gotten the financing, I would never have been able to afford the renovations on the other buildings. I’m better off to just forget about it"

"You sure about that?"

"What sucks is that I had a name picked out and everything," Brady stated, becoming agitated. "I was gonna call it Black Sheep Farm."

"Why Black Sheep?"

"Well, whenever anyone talks about being an outcast, they always say that they are the black sheep of the family."

"I understand."

"When Tim and I were in high school, we were sorta outcasts."

"I find that hard to believe."

"No, really. Neither one of us was athletic," he said. "And we weren’t exactly brains so we didn’t really fit in with that crowd either. It was later that we figured out we both liked boys."

"At least you had a friend," Darin said, recalling his own painful high school years.

"Yeah, but we always felt like outsiders." Brady was picking at the hem on his shirt. "Then, when Tim’s folks found out he was gay, they kicked him out."

"Just like your folks?"

"Oh, not at all. At least my folks put my stuff on the porch for me. His folks took everything he owned, put it in a big pile in the backyard and set fire to it."

"That’s awful."

"It sure was. His dad is a real macho redneck type. He used to brag about when he was in the navy, he and his buddies would get drunk and beat up queers. Tim had a teddy bear that his grandma gave him when he was three. His dad ripped the head off of it and put it on a fence post before he lit a match to the rest of Tim’s stuff."

"What a prick!"

"Tim cried for a week. I think it hurt him more to lose that teddy bear than his family. He hasn’t spoke to any of his family in over eight years."

"I can’t imagine how any parent could do that to their own child."

Thinking for several moments, Brady finally said, "You know what? I’m pretty much the only family Tim has now."

"I didn’t realize."

"I just wanted a place where anyone, human or animal would feel welcome. And loved."

"I wouldn’t expect anything less." Darin patted Brady’s thigh and smiled.

"Darin, I need to tell you something," Brady said.

"You can tell me anything, I want you to always know that," Darin replied.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Brady finally said softly, "I love you."

TO BE CONTINUED​

 

[RacerBear]

So, you all think you're pretty smart, huh?

At first, I was surprised that you all figured out who Randi was so quickly. Then, when I went back and read it again, I thought, "Duh!" It was pretty obvious, wasn't it? Hopefully, the upcoming chapters won't be so transparent. If you figure out some of the future surprises, it will mean you've been paying attention.

Glad you are enjoying it. It's been fun for me to write.

Thanks again for continuing to read it.
Scott

 

[kcm17480]

Yes, I am enjoying this story very much . It looks like Darin fell for Brady which could leave Rodney out in the cold. Of course that could depend on how Rodney feels about him.

Thanks for wrting it. You've got me hooked and will keep reading it until you stop writing it.
Ken

 

[tomersh]

So, you all think you're pretty smart, huh?

At first, I was surprised that you all figured out who Randi was so quickly. Then, when I went back and read it again, I thought, "Duh!" It was pretty obvious, wasn't it? Hopefully, the upcoming chapters won't be so transparent. If you figure out some of the future surprises, it will mean you've been paying attention.

Glad you are enjoying it. It's been fun for me to write.

Thanks again for continuing to read it.
Scott

well it needs some thought about how rodney is going to come back into darin's life...but about the blacks heep farm...since darin is going to be filthy rich from his part of the money when the company gets sold he'll buy it and fix the place up.....that's what i think....i'll try to figure out more later on....it's too late now....6 am actually...too early

 

[harry113]

Hey, Scott. Great chapter, Thanks!! I reckon you will get all devious with us now, lol!!
Not surprising the guys second guessed you, you gave us enough hints !
Most enjoyable
Hugs
Harry

 

[RacerBear]

Hey guys,
Sorry I gave you grief for figuring out the Randi/Rodney connection. I just appreciate that you are paying attention to the details and I'm glad the story is holding your interest.

I'm was working on the next chapter and a couple that will follow and was going to post it tonight when I got an idea. I decided to add a bit to it to tie up some other events that have kinda been left hanging so I had to do a quick rewrite on part of it. I think you'll like the result. If possible, I'm going to post it on Sunday.

Thanks again for continuing to tune in. I appreciate it more than you know.
Scott

 

[RacerBear]

FINDING DARIN
PART 15​

As of Wednesday morning, Janet had not responded to his offer for a cash settlement. He had called her several times but she either did not answer or refused to speak with him. The one time that Aaron was able to reach her, he was told, "I’m too busy to worry about any of this right now. You’ll just have to tell Darin that I’ll let him know when I’m ready."

"Then you should know that the offer will be lowered to one hundred twenty-five thousand if I don’t receive an answer by noon tomorrow," Aaron had told her, at which point she had slammed the phone down and ended the conversation.

That time had come and gone and she, still, had not responded. Darin decided that he could wait just as long as she and that he would not pay any of her moving expenses until she either came up with a counter offer or agreed to the one he had presented. Either way, the offer would decrease with each passing day.

He decided to try and reach her once again as he drove to the property on that Wednesday morning. He had met with his realtor and made an offer the day after Brady had shown it to him. With a certified check as proof of his intent to buy, the former owners had agreed to allow him to begin renovations immediately. He had called a number of contractors but only one had the manpower to tackle a renovation of the magnitude that he was requesting. As he drove to meet with a representative of the contracting company, he dialed Janet’s number once more. He anticipated that she would not answer and upon hearing the fourth ring, he was prepared to hang up when her voice came on the line.

"Hello," she said, harshly.

"Hey, Jan." he tried to keep his voice light. "Just wanted to touch base with you one more time."

"I’m not signing your fucking papers!" she snapped.

He decided to try killing her with kindness. "That’s okay, I just wanted to see if you objected to anything specific," he offered.

His tactics did not appear to be working but her tone softened somewhat. "I object to being told that I only had three days to accept your offer or it would be reduced," she complained.

"I see," he began, "How much time would you like?"

"Well, I certainly need more than three fucking days," she shouted.

"I’ll tell you what," he countered, his voice even, "How about I give you until Friday and I’ll stick with the original amount?"

She took in a deep breath before answering. "I suppose that would be better," she replied. "Are you still going to pay my moving expenses?"

"I said I would, didn’t I?" he said politely. "Anything else?"

She was silent for a moment. "Yes," she stated, "Why didn’t you tell me about your little faggot boyfriend?"

Stunned, Darin shot back, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You’re not the only one, who can hire a private investigator," she answered. "Believe me, I know a lot more than you think I do."

It was his turn to be silent. "Tell me what you know!" he demanded.

"No fucking way!" she hissed, "Now I’m in control for a change."

He stopped the car as he tried to think of a way to get her to reveal what knowledge she held. "Please, Janet," he pleaded, "I don’t want to get anyone else involved in this. Just tell me what you know."

"You should have thought about that before you went off and fucked that little whore boy in Redfield," she shouted before she slammed the receiver down, ending the call.

Darin was still shaking, his mind raced with the possibilities of what her statement could mean. He took in several deep breaths and let each one out slowly before he put the car into gear once again and continued toward his appointment.

****​

The contractor was waiting when Darin parked his rental car next to the front of the house. A tall man, wearing a tan shirt, dark blue pants and a yellow hard hat, approached as he stepped out of the car. "Been waiting long?" Darin asked.

"Not long," the man replied. He held a small notepad and a pen. He had been making notes when Darin arrived. "I did a preliminary inspection of the outside," he said slipping his pen into his shirt pocket. He shook Darin’s hand and said, "I’m Steve Carson. You’re gonna probably need to replace all the windows. Some of them are in pretty bad shape."

"Pleased to meet you, Steve, I’m Darin," he replied as Steve released his grip. "I figured most of them would need to go. I want the roof replaced as well."

"Yeah, with that much moss, it’s a good idea. If it was me, I’d pull off the aluminum siding and replace it with vinyl too." Steve removed his hard hat and wiped his deeply tanned face with a green bandana that he folded and replaced into the left rear pocket of his work pants, with about half its length folded to hang over the top. Darin recalled a conversation between Brady and Tim concerning the significance of bandana colors and where they were worn. He made a mental note to ask them about the dark green color.

He nodded and pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to the contractor. "Here’s a list of the things I know I want done," he said.

"Okay, that makes it a little easier." Removing a clipboard from his truck, Steve added the note to other papers that were already secured. Removing the pen from his shirt pocket, he said, "Well, let’s see what else you’re looking at."

Opening the front door, they were greeted by the now familiar smell of the house. "I’ll want all the carpet pulled up so we can see what’s underneath. I suspect the living room is hardwood," Darin told the contractor.

"Most of these homes were," he stated, tapping the walls with a small rubber hammer. "You want the wallpaper stripped off too? The plaster looks good." He tapped again. "Probably won’t need to redo much of that."

"I think I’d like that," Darin replied. "Just get the walls primed and the floors prepped. I want to let him, my…uh…friend, pick out the colors for paint, paper and carpet."

Steve nodded and smiled, showing his white teeth, made brighter by the deep tan of his face.

Darin waited for the contractor to finish his inspections. Following him through the house, he noticed how Steve’s pants hugged his nicely shaped butt. Each time he squatted to inspect some of the electrical outlets, he watched and smiled. He enjoyed watching as the man’s arm muscles flexed when he pushed against the molding around the doors. He especially liked the soft light brown hair, bleached by the sun, which shone on Steve’s muscular arms. At one point, he stepped outside and wiped the perspiration from his own face with the white cotton handkerchief he carried in the back pocket of his suit pants.

While the cottage was being inspected, Darin sat on the stoop between the kitchen and the garage. He was studying the dark stains on the floor when the overhead door on the far side rumbled open and a light blue Ford Explorer slowly entered. Turning off the engine, Brady opened the door. A small white dog bounded out of the car and waited for him to step out onto the concrete floor. Darin watched as Brady reached for a remote control, located on the right visor and pushed the button causing the door to close again. "Let’s go, Monty," he said as he gathered several bags of groceries and a gallon of milk from the back seat and closed the car’s doors. The dog danced and yipped happily as the two headed toward the kitchen door. "Let’s get dinner started. Daddy will be home soon," he said while the dog scampered happily ahead of him. Darin stood and stepped out of the way when Brady passed through the door. He was watching the kitchen door close when he heard a cough behind him.

"Excuse me," the contractor interrupted.

Darin turned to face the taller man. "What’s the verdict?" he asked. He noticed that the garage was empty once again.

"Basically, all the cottage needs is a really good cleaning and a couple of windows. After that, you could start moving in," Steve said, his wide smile accenting his handsome features.

Darin caught himself, once again, looking into Steve’s light blue eyes. "Uh, Great," he stammered. "How long do you think it will take to get everything done?" he asked, clearing his throat.

"Are you gonna need to approve everything as we go?" Steve offered, "Or will I have some freedom?"

"I’d like you to check in and give me progress reports every day or so," Darin replied, "But, for the most part, once I approve the job, I won’t bother you if I don’t have to."

"Great. How much are you planning to spend?"

"I don’t know, you tell me. That’s why I hired you."

"Good answer." The man’s smile was very pleasant.

"I’m not gonna just give you a total blank check but I need it done as quickly as possible," Darin said, searching for any sign of interest from this handsome man. "I know that’s probably gonna cost a bit more," he continued. "But, I also want it done right. If there’s any way at all, I’d like to get the house done for under a hundred."

"Oh, that should be plenty. I’ll do everything I can to get it done within a couple of weeks. To get all the buildings done the way we discussed on the phone, I’d rather have a month."

"I want the house done first. If you don’t have time to get to the other buildings, that can be done later."

"You want me to find someone to do the landscape too?"

"I’ve already talked to someone. I’ll call them when the roof and windows are done," he added, noting the dark tan on Steve’s arms and the part of his chest, which was visible at the top of his khaki colored work shirt. Was it Darin’s imagination or had the contractor actually unbuttoned the next two buttons? Either way, Steve held his gaze longer than most.

"Okay then, Steve said finally, offering his hand once more. "I’ll get a couple of dumpsters out here and I’ll give you a call later today with some figures."

It was just after ten when Darin headed back to work. He adjusted himself inside his boxer briefs as he slowly drove down the driveway toward the road. He made a mental note to drop by periodically while the exterior work was being done to see if Steve, like the young men who did lawn care at the home he shared with Janet, was in the habit of working without a shirt.

****​

When he arrived at his office, there was a note on his desk asking him to stop by the conference room. "I wonder what that could be," he thought as he reached into the small fridge behind his desk and pulled out a can of Pepsi and plopped down in his chair. He popped the top and took a drink. Jake was not at his desk and Sheila had not been at hers when he passed through the outer office. Before he had time to glance through his other messages, his phone rang. "This is Darin," he said as he picked it up.

"Darin, I’m so glad I caught you," the woman’s voice was urgent. "He’s awake."

He didn’t recognize the voice at first. "Who’s awake?" he asked. "Who is this?"

"I’m sorry," she apologized, "This is Randi. Rodney woke up just a little bit ago."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"The doctors seem to think so but it’s gonna be a long battle."

"So, there’s no evidence of brain damage."

"Not that they can tell. He’s alert and he knows who I am and he could answer most of their questions."

"That’s great news."

"I thought you’d want to know."

"I do," he said looking at his watch. "Listen, I have to go to a meeting. Can I call you back in a bit?"

"Sure, I want to talk to the doctor some more and I have to call Officer Bailey."

"Great, I’ll call you in an hour or so. And I’ll be up to see him later."

"I’m sure he’ll like that."

"He probably won’t even remember me."

"I doubt that."

"Okay, I’ll talk to you soon." He hung up the phone and pushed his chair away from his desk. Carrying his soda, he exited his office and headed for the conference room.

****​

The room was already full when he arrived. There were a few more employees who entered at the same time he did. He took a seat at the back of the room as Spencer Morgan rose to address the group.

"Well now that we’re all here," Spencer began. "Good morning everyone."

Several people responded with a cheery, "Good morning."

Spencer smiled as he continued, "I’m sure you are all wondering why I’ve called you here today."

"Well, yeah," one voice called out.

He cleared his throat and continued, "I’m sure by now you’ve all heard rumors but I wanted to tell you personally." He hesitated, studying his notes. "I’m going into the hospital later this week for surgery and I probably won’t be able to come back to work for a while."

"What?" several people gasped.

"I have stage two prostate cancer and the doctors are hoping that, with surgery, I can beat it," he said as the group sat there, stunned.

"Oh, no," came from several areas of the room.

"We’ll pray for you Mister Morgan," one woman said.

"Thank you, I appreciate that, Nancy" he replied. "I know that I haven’t been all that easy to get along with these past few months and, by no means am I asking you to excuse me for that. In my absence, I’m putting my nephew, Darin, in charge." He motioned for Darin to stand. "I want you to go to him if you have any questions or concerns."

Several people applauded as Darin stood up and waved. Others turned to face him and several offered, "Congratulations."

"Now, if you have any questions," Spencer said after everyone had settled down.

A tall, rather thin woman stood up and addressed Spencer. "Mister Morgan, is it true that you are thinking about selling the company?"

Spencer looked nervously toward Darin before answering. Darin nodded and mouthed the words, "Go ahead."

"Well, Sandra," he began, "There is an offer on the table but, at this time, it’s too soon to share any details with you."

Another woman rose and asked, "When will we know? After everything is final and we don’t have jobs anymore?"

"I assure you, Betty," he said calmly, "We will let everyone know just as soon as the details are worked out. In any event, no one will be kept in the dark."

A larger man, with gray hair, stood up and stated, "I heard that the deal was all but finalized but got put on hold by you. Can you tell us about that?"

"There’s nothing to tell, really. It was best for all parties concerned to hold off on the sale right now. I didn’t want to do anything before the end of the year. That way it would not effect bonuses and the like."

"So, we’re still going to be getting our bonuses?" the man asked?

"That’s correct, Ed. Trust me, nothing will change," Spencer assured everyone. "Now, if there are no more questions…"

A slender young man who was seated near the front of the room stood up. "I have one more question," he said.

Spencer nodded. "Go ahead, Steven."

"Can we hold a prayer vigil in here when you go into surgery?" he asked, tearfully.

Spencer stepped toward the young man and wrapped his arms around him. "Of course you can," he said as tears cascaded across his rugged cheeks. "I’d appreciate that very much."

The room was filled with the sound of chairs scraping the floor as, one by one, each employee approached Spencer and offered him wishes for a speedy recovery. Many gave him a hug, most just shook his hand but every single one greeted him, most with tears in their eyes, before they returned to work.

Finally, it was Darin’s turn. Spencer wrapped his arms around him without hesitation. "Thank you for everything, son," he said when he finally let him go.

"It’s my pleasure," Darin replied. "Thanks for not telling them it was because of my divorce."

"It’s none of their damn business," his uncle returned. "Besides, once I thought about it, it made more sense to wait until the end of the year. That way, I could actually reward everyone for their service and, possibly, get the new owners to keep more of them."

"You really do care about these people, don’t you?"

"More than I realized. And I never knew so many of them truly cared about me. I was genuinely touched by all of their good wishes." Spencer wiped a stray tear from his eye and continued, "You know, there’s a line from an old song, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.’ That, pretty much, speaks volumes to me right now."

"It sure does," Darin replied, wiping away a tear of his own.

"Would you do me a favor?"

"You know I’d do anything for you."

"My surgery is set for Friday at ten in the morning. Would you arrange to have some type of lunch brought in for everyone. And try to clear the rest of the day so, if anyone wants to, they can go home early. No sense them all sitting around worrying."

"I’ll get Jake on it right away. He loves that sort of thing."

Spencer looked deep into Darin’s eyes. "Is there something on your mind?" he asked. "You look troubled."

Darin thought for a moment. "A friend of mine is in the hospital," he said. "He was beaten pretty badly."

"Oh, my goodness," Spencer returned. "What happened?"

Without thinking, Darin answered, "They think it was a gay bashing."

Angrily, Spencer stated, "That’s just horrible. I hope they catch whoever did it and give them a good sound thrashing!"

Darin was caught by surprise. "What?" he asked.

"I can’t believe that, in this day and age, a person can still be singled out like that. It’s abominable! Whatever happened to ‘live and let live’?"

"I had no idea you felt that way."

"I’m not my father, thank God."

"No, you’re very different, that’s for sure."

"It’s a pity Simon could never be honest about who he was." Spencer smiled as he recalled his brother. "Oh, I knew for years but we never told Father," he continued, sadly. "We were both almost forty but I think Father would still have taken a switch to him if he had known."

"You mean, Uncle Simon was…?" He hesitated.

"A poofter," Spencer laughed. "Or whatever they call them in England." He smiled again. "He had a gentleman that he had been spending time with for many years who was from England. They met while he was in the service. He much preferred that term to most of the ones from ‘this side of the pond’ as he put it."

"I had no idea. I mean, I wondered why he never married but I just thought he was too wrapped up in his work."

"You know, you remind me of him in many ways."

Panic set in. "How do you mean?" Darin asked.

"You’re very articulate, just like he was."

Darin shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Uncle Spencer, there’s something I need to share with you."

"You can tell me anything," Spencer replied, placing his big hand on Darin’s shoulder.

"I…uh…I’ve met someone and…" he hesitated, try to chose the right words. "It’s…uh…another…"

"It’s okay," Spencer assured. His voice soft and comforting. He squeezed Darin’s shoulder and looked into his brown eyes. "I’d love to meet him sometime. He seems to be very good for you."

Stunned, Darin asked, "What are you talking about?"

"It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you this happy. I’m glad I got to see it."

"Uh, well, since you mentioned it," Darin hesitated, "He does. He makes me very happy."

"And Darin," he paused.

Darin could sense what his uncle was going to say. There was a tinge of regret in his uncle’s eyes. "Yes?" he whispered.

Spencer cleared his throat and whispered softly, "No matter what, I love you." Then he wrapped his arms around his nephew once again. They held each other for a long time.

****​

The drive to Redfield seemed to take forever. While he waited at a traffic light, his cel phone rang. When he saw it was Brady, he decided to let it go to voice mail. He didn’t know how to explain to him that he had gone to Redfield to see Rodney. He remembered something his grandfather used to say. "Sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness than to seek permission."

Finally, a little before three, he arrived at the hospital and parked in the visitor’s parking area. Approaching the information desk, he asked a white haired lady, "Could you tell me what room Rodney Green is in?"

She shuffled through a stack of papers on her desk. "He’s in room six ten," she answered. Pointing to the left, she added, "Go through there and take the elevator to the sixth floor, then go to your left."

"Thank you," he said as he turned and walked to the elevator.

Randi was standing by the elevator when the doors opened. "I’m so glad to see you," she said as she pushed him back into the elevator.

"What’s going on?" Darin asked as she punched the button for the lobby.

"I need a cigarette," she answered, "And I need to talk to you."

TO BE CONTINUED​

 

[harry113]

Oh Dear!!! Complications ??? Thanks Scott, this cliffhanger thing is catching!!
Waiting eagerly for the next chapter
Hugs
Harry

 

[kcm17480]

Boy, this is a pretty loaded chapter. I really like your writing style. I hope every thing is going to be alright with Rodney.