Page 77 of Milked

When we reached the baggage claim at the tiny airport, there was Ryder, looking so much better than he had when he left us to come back to his old stomping grounds for a few days.

The first thing he did was rush toward Finn and pull him into a fierce hug. “I’m so sorry, baby,” he said. “If I ever wanted to kill anyone, it would be that fucking bastard. He’s not going to get away with this.”

“Indeed,” I agreed.

Ryder eased off Finn and grabbed me. “It’s so good to see you both. I missed you so much, even though I haven’t been gone that long. It’s felt like ages, but… it’s also nice to be back and fix things with my family and best friend.”

He headed out of the airport, and we followed him, tugging our carry-ons behind us.

“I made arrangements at a bed-and-breakfast in Bennington,” I said. “Is it nice? Do you know it? It looked nice on the website.”

Ryder craned his head to look at me with a smirk. It was nice to see him smiling. “Yeah, I know it. It’s pretty quaint… nothing like your house or anything, though.”

I chuckled. “We’ll live.”

“We’ll get you checked in, then Mom and Dad are expecting you for dinner.”

That stopped me. “They’re… expecting us?”

He turned to face me, frowning. “Yeah, is that okay? I mean, I didn’t tell them about us or anything yet. They just know you’re friends of mine who have been supporting me through all this. You said it was okay to tell them, though, right?”

“Yes, of course. I just… I guess I need to be prepared. They probably won’t like me very much being your boss and so close in age to them.” For the first time, I had doubts they should know about us. I felt like a kid again who was about to get in trouble with my parents. What an odd sensation.

“Yeah, they probably won’t understand, but I love you and Finn. Nothing’s going to change that. Hell, I haven’t even come out to them yet, but I plan to do that while I’m in town.”

“It’ll be okay, Father,” Finn said, tucking a hand through the crook of my elbow. “

“If you say so,” I mumbled.

We had to cram into the old pickup truck, with Finn sitting in the middle.

“Sorry, Dad’s got his nicer truck today, so I got the old one,” Ryder explained.

It took about fifteen minutes to get to the bed-and-breakfast. The house was indeed quaint. It was an old Victorian farm home surrounded by thick trees that were turning color and lush landscaping.

After we checked in and dumped our carry-ons in the room Finn and I shared, we headed out to Jennings’ farm.

“God, I’m more nervous than when I was about to lose my virginity,” I said, staring out the window at the fields and fields of corn and other crops.

Ryder’s laugh was loud, which pulled a chuckle from Finn and me. What a great sound. “I hear you. I am, too,” he said.

“I’m glad to see you laughing and smiling, Rye-baby,” Finn said, reading my thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m definitely feeling better. It hurts still, but being surrounded by love is way better than isolation. I just… had to do what I needed to survive the pain for a while.”

When we pulled up to a little farmhouse painted in a pale blue, I swallowed the growing lump. Well, the house wasn’t that little, but compared to my home, it was.

“You know, maybe you should just mention you’re with Finn. It would make more sense,” I suggested.

“No way. You’re mine, too. I’m not pretending otherwise.”

“You’re very cute being all nervous, Father.”

I huffed at him and climbed out of the truck.

Ryder opened a squeaking screen door, and we stepped inside to the scents of home cooking and love. It wasn’t unlike the home I grew up in. My parents were never wealthy, but they loved me. They had both passed away, but I was lucky to have had parents who cared about me.

“I’m home,” Ryder shouted.

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