The Way Home

THE WAY HOME By Ryan White

"She's fucking beautiful, ain't she, Bucko?"

Ranch hand Ryan Lavery snickered as he heard his boss praise his prize asset, the wonderful, and indeed stunningly beautiful Arabian pride and joy, and if he had to be honest, the animal that he loved most in this world.

Sasha...a beautiful name, for a beautiful horse.

Old Man Donovan patted Sasha on her behind before sending her to another of the helpers that was always around in the huge, gigantic stud farm that had been in the Donovan family for generations. Ryan always loved to hear his mother, who had been the Donovan's cook and housekeeper for nearly forty-two years now, which meant even since before he was born, talk to him and tell him with wide eyes and an excited smile how much she loved this ranch and the sheer, rich history behind it all.

Old Man Donovan had found his mother next to the side of the road many years ago, after she had just gotten into town and had been robbed of nearly all her belongings. Between himself, and his wife Mama Susan Donovan, they had managed to care and reinstate Elsie back to full health, for his own mother until she was ready to leave...but by then both Elsie Lavery as well as Susan Donovan had struck up a strong, solid friendship that was still going until this day, and both herself and Old Man Donovan had made arrangements for her to learn how to help them in, and around the of farm house.

And when the previous cook had to retire because of age, it was Elsie Lavery who took over things without so much as a question, the understanding there firmly between herself and the owners of the house.

"Come on, Son! Let's get those beers that I had promised you hours ago! You thought I'd forgotten, didn't you?" Old Man Donovan laughed as he patted Ryan on his shoulder, just as he did Sasha, before he stood still for a moment, with Ryan frowning as he wondered what was going on with the man which had literally been like a father for him, all his life, after his own couldn't have been bothered to stick around after he had been born.

"Something wrong, Boss?" he asked, sticking both hands in the pockets of his jeans, and trying to figure out what had this mountain of a man all quiet for a change...Mama Donovan always said, that if Old Man Donovan was ever out of words, you would know that there was something wrong with him or that he would be dead in his coffin. He was the life and soul of this ranch, the workers loved him, Ryan literally couldn't think of any enemy's the man ever had...if any at that. He was just an all-round good guy, with a solid heart of gold.

Old Man Donovan wiped his face with his huge, callused hand, before he slightly smiled and took a deep breath, all the while staring intently at the acres and acres of land in front of him. He sighed once more, before shaking his head and turning towards Ryan at the same time.

"I just...did your mother ever tell you about our son, Greyson?"

Ryan's eyes were etched in total confusion for just a moment, before it actually seemed to lit up as he finally remembered just who his boss was talking about.

"Yeah, I do...I actually remember Mama Elsie telling me something about him, but I was too young to remember it now. He's older than me, right?"

Old Man Donovan smiled and nodded, still deep in thoughts that clearly, only he could see and experience in that brooding mind of his.

"Yeah...long and sad story that I wouldn't dream of bothering you with, Bucko...but as I'm standing here and seeing all of this...I'm just wondering what he would have made of it...oh sure, the kid never had an agricultural bone in his God damn body and believe you me, that was the catalyst for nearly all our fights we ever had. As a father, you wanna teach your son everything about a farm and our ways of doing things...he just never wanted to learn, never showed any sort of interest."

Old Man Donovan reached out and once more placed his hand on Ryan's shoulder, before he was silent for a few seconds, after which he finally looked the young twenty-one-year-old ranch hand straight in the eye.

"I did something...that over time I realized that I never should have done. There's a reason why Greyson is never around...why you for example, have never met him, even though you have been living here your whole life, Bucko. I'm...I was a different man back then...time...all that it took was a little time to get used to...you expect and want SO much for your kids that you create all these expectations...but I'm afraid that he never forgave me, to this day. And quite frankly, Bucko...I wouldn't blame him if he never did."

Old Man Donovan squeezed Ryan's shoulder, before he reached up and slowly wiped a lone tear that had managed to escape his left eye whilst he had been giving his little monologue, to the point where Ryan had actually started to feel freaked out. He had looked up to this man for yonks...he literally couldn't remember a time where Old Man Donovan as well as Mama Donovan hadn't been in his life, in some shape of form. He couldn't imagine life without them, and he also never could imagine living somewhere else, than right here.

Both the Donovan's were getting on in life as well, both of them were well over sixty. Elsie Lavery had once told him of the tough journey they had gone through to actually finally conceive. For some or other reason...they only had their first and only child, at the ripe old age of thirty-seven. Ryan swallowed as he walked side by side with his mentor, however, he was only listening to the man with half an ear, if he was honest.

He had of course seen several pictures of Greyson Donovan in the past, they were all over the living room back at the farmhouse, but he also knew those were a good couple of years old. Greyson hadn't been home in years. And for himself, Ryan, to not even know the dude that well, was saying something indeed, having lived here all his life.

"Beer please, Elsie! Me and Bucko more than earned it today!" Old Man Donovan shouted as they both reached the house itself, and Ryan smiled and took his shoes and socks off before he entered the kitchen area.

Elsie Lavery wiped her hands off on a dishcloth, before she quickly fetched the two beers, opened them on up and handed each to the two men, who had just entered her kingdom, as she always joked around over the years. She signaled to a couple of plates which was situated next to her table where she worked, before she carried on with getting dinner ready.

"Fried a couple of good old chicken wings, with barbeque sauce just like Susan had ordered! She knew you two ain't gonna be here for ages, and she was right, as usual! It's cold as ice out there and you two are working your asses off! Say Ryan, how's that beautiful horse doing that you're always out riding on?"

Ryan took a huge sip of the icy cold beer, before tucking into a chicken wing with the utmost gusto, licking his lips, savoring every saucy bit of gritty goodness, before he looked up at his mother and nodded.

"Nah Mama, she's doing just fine! Beautiful piece of animal ya'll are having here. Say, Boss, I have to ask again, you really never thought of breeding her? She's a damn fine specimen and I'm sure there would be a lot of interest...could mean a couple more bucks in the kitty for you and Mama Donovan?"

Old Man Donovan licked both of his fingers, before he wiped them off with the wet wipe which Elise laughingly handed to him, but the moment that he made eye contact with Ryan, the latter knew that he was on dangerously territory now. He had suggested breeding Sasha before, and at the time, they really didn't need the cash as much as they did now, so he could understand Old Man Donovan's reluctance to a point.

The man wasn't angry, but he wasn't his normal, friendly self either as he calmly spoke.

"Bucko, if you want me and you to fucking fall out right here and now, you gotta keep up with that shit...I told you before...Sasha ain't gonna breed with anyone. Not me, not you, not even the Big Guy up in the sky, can make that decision and SO BE IT! Look Bucko...I ain't wanna fight with you. I know things are looking crap with COVID having changed a lot of stuff for us farmers, but I got this. Okay? Old Man won't be lying to you, now, would he? Elsie, is Susan in the house?"

Else nodded, and Old Man Donovan stood up, and wiped his mouth with the wet wipe, before he placed his hand firmly on Ryan's shoulder yet again.

"I know you mean well, Bucko. But now is not the right time for this conversation, you hear?" he said softly, before he smiled at Elsie and made his way out of the kitchen with those big old size elevens of his, for which he was so well known for.

"What possessed you, child? He said no several months ago, why you gone and asking the wrong kinda stuff about that horse again now?" Elsie whispered angrily towards her son, who simply shrugged his shoulders and took another sip of his beer.

"It all makes sense, Mama! I don't think either you or Mama Donovan knows how badly the books are looking! And as much as I hate it, I think we can make decent money with Sasha! I have the utmost respect and admiration for Old Man Donovan, but he doesn't wanna listen to me! I just don't know what the hell to do, Mama..."

Elsie sighed, and wiped her hands, before she sat down next to her son, and took his hand solidly into her own, before she lovingly squeezed it. Both mother and son were silent for a few seconds, before Ryan looked upwards as he saw that Elsie seemed like she wanted to say something, but at the same time his mother seemed to hesitate, as if she didn't quite know how to, but desperately wanted to.

"Spit it out, Mama," he urged, and she closed her eyes as he did so.

"Child...I don't know whether or not I'm the right person to tell you but...you see, the reason why Old Man Donovan has such a bad time in having making decisions about that horse in particular, was because that horse belongs...it belongs to his son. It belongs to young Master Greyson."

Ryan frowned, before he stood up and walked a few steps towards the exit, as if he wanted nothing more than a fresh bout of oxygen, but in the end, he turned towards his mother, sheer and utter disbelief ripped across his handsome face.

"WHAT? Sasha...that beautiful animal belongs to Greyson? Mama, are you sure about this? Old Man Donovan never told me nothing! I thought Sasha was just another one of those Arabian breeds we have around here! Sure, she's more beautiful and more majestic than the rest, more elegant than the rest of them, but other than that..."

Elsie pursed her lips, and folded both her hands onto a solid simultaneous fist, for a long time, that Ryan actually thought his mother was praying to the heavens above, before Elsie turned towards him with a sad smile across her face.

"Of course, he wouldn't talk about Greyson, he never does! Ryan...I watched that young boy be born...I God damn helped Susan give birth to him that afternoon when Old Man Donavan got stuck in the pub celebrating with his friends that he was finally becoming a father. Child...they were so...so happy and so relieved when they finally conceived, when it finally worked for them. I don't need to tell you that this place has been in the Donovan family for generations...and in order for that to happen, there HAS to be a male heir, you see?"

"Which would have made it impossible if they never had kids of their own?" Ryan asked, his entire exterior having calmed down somewhat listening to his mother soothing voice, as it was nearly always the case, ever since he was a young boy. Elsie composed herself, before she carried on with the story.

"Seven years later you were born...and my God, it was a terrible time in my life. You see, you father, never really wanted kids. Oh...he wanted the stuff that came with making them sure...but actually being a father...hell to the no! Anyway, he soon disappeared after you were born, and so the Donovan's took me in as one of their own, as if they hadn't done it enough over the years. Now, you know, that because Greyson was always away at Boarding School, you two never had very much to do with each other...to be perfectly honest my boy, I think you probably saw each other twice face to face, and even that is a stretch!"

Ryan folded his arms and closed his eyes.

"Mama, forgive me, but what does this have to do with anything?" he asked, finishing his beer and grabbing another one of the delicious chicken wings that his mom had made.

Elsie swallowed and Ryan could see that whatever Elsie was now reliving in his mind's eye, whatever it was, had to causing her considerable heartache and massive regret.

"When...how the hell do I put this...when young Master Greyson was fourteen years old one school holiday, Old Man Donovan bought his son a young foal. That little sprout of curiousness, was Sasha. The very same horse that you are looking after now."

Ryan swallowed his chicken and shook his head, his mind working overtime in trying to process the information he had just been given.

"I know that she was getting on in years, but I didn't know that she was Greyson's horse to begin with? What happened there? Why is he never here?" he demanded.

Elsie smiled again.

"Child...and this is the hard part, and I know for a fact that it still haunts both Susan and Old Man Donovan to this very day. One afternoon, we were all out to the market, because it was to be Susan's birthday that same weekend. She had offered to help me with the cooking, as there was many and MANY guests coming over the ranch, and I wasn't about to say no...now I normally stayed RIGHT here at home when they went out, but that afternoon, I went with them, and young Master Greyson was the one who stayed. He...he had a friend over, one from the neighboring farms. And since they were two strapping young fourteen-year-old boys, Old Man Donovan said it was fine to leave them here on their own. The ranch hands were here as well, so that was all in order."

"Why don't I remember any of this?" Ryan moaned out loud as his mother took another breather.

If looks could kill, then poor Ryan would have been six feet under by then.

"For God's sake, child! You were seven years old, barely! And you normally stayed inside the servant's quarters as a sign of respect to the owners! You know all of this!"

"Yeah okay...I get it. Different times back then, and all that. Go on," Ryan stopped Elsie before she REALLY on his last nerves as all mothers probably did once in a while. He loved his mother dearly, but sometimes...holy shit, she could be a handful.

Elsie shot her son another dagger right into his eyes, before her features softened. She grabbed the remainder of the chicken wings and placed them securely into the oven, before she turned back to her son.

"Well...when we came back...they obviously weren't expecting us to return so quickly, because when Old Man Donovan entered his son's room...you see, the door was closed. Whatever they were doing inside of that room...they didn't hear any of us. And Old Man Donovan...Ryan Lavery, as God is my witness, I had NEVER seen that man as angry as I did that afternoon!"

Ryan's eyes widened slightly as he finally realized what Elsie, in her own charming way, was trying to tell him. He sat down at the kitchen table, and his mind raced as he remembered what Old Man Donovan told him mere hours ago.

"You for real, Mama? Greyson is a homo?"

"DON'T SAY THAT WORD IN THIS HOUSE!" Elsie shrieked, her eyes firmly now on that of Ryan.

Ryan immediately held both of his hands upwards in a solid gesture of peace and surrender, still shocked at what he had just been told.

"Sorry, Mama...real sorry. It's just...it's the last thing that I ever expected to hear! He really found Greyson and this other boy...in bed? Or what were they doing?"

`Never you mind! It's not our business! Anyway...to make a long story short, that is why young Master Greyson hasn't been back home in years. That is why Old Man Donovan is leaning so hard on YOU to take over from him when he finally retires! I can still see his face...the angry look spread across his face, and Susan...poor Susan...she just...STOOD there and watched him and listened to her husband yelling and screaming these terrible, horrible words at their son. And she just...seemed to stand there and take it. Master Greyson was still saying something about how he couldn't help feeling the way that he did about this...this boy and suddenly from out of nowhere, Old Man Donovan only gone and SLAPPED his boy to his face, to every inch of his life!"

Elsie took a few seconds to take a deep breath, before she turned back to a still, very much stunned Ryan.

"You see, my child...I don't think Greyson EVER came back here ever again! I don't know what happened exactly...I only know that Susan came to tell me that they were sending Greyson away to somewhere he could heal from his...his illness, she called it. Fat lot of help that would do! I am a God-fearing woman, as you well know, but I also know, that you can't help one BIT who you are! Or where you come from! I haven't seen that boy in...what, it must be about thirteen years now! A boy that I helped raise like my own! I fed him, I clothed him!"

Ryan stood up, and rubbed his hands over his arms, as he suddenly felt a chill in the air. It was the middle of winter after all, and these days he found himself in bed earlier and earlier at that. It was fucking freezing here on the ranch every year along this time. But Jesus Christ...the Donovan's were the last people on this earth that you would EVER think would have a gay son...it simply just didn't seem possible!

They sent him away. They fucking actually SENT him away, for being gay.

Ryan himself had nothing against gay people, in fact there was a time where he was worried that HE might have feelings for another ranch hand on the team, but he quickly figured out that it was just a phase.

He didn't have a girlfriend at the moment, and he preferred it that way, because his full focus now, was to save the farm from its precarious position. This place was his entire life and if the Donovan's had to sell the ranch, he didn't have a fucking clue what would happen to him or his mother.

Where would they even go? When this place was all that, they knew?

**

A week or so passed, and another offer came in to breed with Sasha, as well as another to buy out the entire ranch and farm, both of which Old Man Donovan had swiftly refused.

Ryan bit his lip during the whole entire meeting, knowing that the money it would bring in to this ranch could help to fucking save it, but now that he knew of Sasha's origins, he felt it best to stay the hell quiet, which his boss clearly picked up on.

"You were awfully quiet in there, Bucko," the older man said as he placed a steaming cup of coffee before him, sitting on the opposite side of Ryan, and taking a huge sip of the hot liquid as he did.

Ryan shrugged before he took a sip of his own, and looked straight ahead of him.

"Sasha ain't my horse, after all. I ain't having a say in how or where she needs to be used," he said softly, all the while he couldn't stomach to look at his mentor.

He had so much respect for Old Man Donovan, but what Elsie told him several days before, really shook him to his very core. Even more so, when he had thought for a while that HE himself was homosexual, and thank God he wasn't...but he couldn't help to wonder and think what Old Man Donovan would have done to HIM...if he could throw his own son out on to the street, so much so that Greyson Donovan hadn't returned to the ranch to this very day.

Old Man Donovan sighed, and sat back in his chair, once more gently staring out at the swaying fields and horses being ridden by the bunch of ranch hands. This was so much better than the city life. Ryan had been to the city just ONCE before in his life, and even that was too much to bear. He preferred the quiet, serene farm life they had here, which could explain his lack of a girlfriend, because as soon as the cherries around these parts were old enough to open their legs, all they wanted to ever do was get the hell out of here and straight to the glitz and glam of city living.

"Bucko, I want you to do something for me."

Ryan sat up and finally focused his attention on his employer.

"Sure, Boss. What and where does it need to be done?" he asked.

Old Man Donovan reached inside of his jacket pocket, and handed several folded-up papers towards him. Ryan looked at them curiously. Wow...it seemed...yeah, it seemed that his boss had contacted a private investigator a couple of months ago. It sure seemed that way, if the insane amount on the bill was anything to go by.

"Before you ask or say anything...I hired that nuisance not for me, but to find my son," Old Man Donovan said softly, before finishing his coffee.

Ryan quickly looked upwards.

"And? Did he?" he asked, his heart racing as he did so.

Old Man Donovan nodded slowly, and pointed towards the papers in Ryan's hand.

"That's the favour I wanted to ask you. I'm...for reasons you ain't gonna wanna hear, I don't think he's gonna answer his phone if I made the damn call. It's all there, and it's worth every penny, that guy really came through. Name, address, phone number, even where he works! Can you believe it...my own son is a qualified doctor! A GP, or whatever you wanna call those folks! I just...Bucko, I just wanna see my boy and hug him. I wanna give him the biggest fucking hug that an old man can give his adult son! I wanna hold him and tell him how sorry I am...how FUCKING PROUD of him I am! But I need your help, Bucko. I know it ain't gonna be easy, phoning a dude you don't know from Adam. But I'm begging you. Do this for me. Please?"

Ryan's eyes hovered over the information on the papers on more time.

Greyson James Donovan. Age twenty-eight. Lives all the way out in Cape Town.

Jesus. That was far from here. Fucking worlds apart from the simple and serene farm life that they were situated right here. More than that, the dude was a damn doctor. He probably made more in a month, than the entire ranch did in a whole year. If he could help...possibly...lending his father a few bucks, then maybe, maybe, they could even save the ranch!

"I'll call him first thing tonight. Doctors normally work until five in the afternoon, right?"

Old Man Donovan nodded, but he signaled to Ryan to wait.

"Do it on Saturday. I know for a fact that doctors have weekends off, and I sure as hell ain't wanna go bothering my boy when he's busy with his patients. No, if you're gonna do it, you wait until the weekend. Lord knows, I ain't going anywhere. I've waited thirteen years, Bucko. I can wait another four and a half days."

**

Gun shots.

Fucking hell.

Like a F1 racing car driver, Ryan was out of his bed and grabbed the shotgun next to his chest of drawers. These days, with several farm murders happening across the entirety of South Africa, you just never know when and where these bastards were gonna strike.

As he opened the door, he saw his mother in the corridor, with an extremely terrified look on her face. She watched the news religiously every night, she knew what happened when these fuckers attacked vulnerable old timers on their own land. Oh, she knew, and her whole body was shaking as he made his way to Elsie as soon as possible, and held her to his body for a few seconds.

"Where is Mama Donovan?" he whispered urgently to her.

"I don't know...I just heard the shots...be careful, Child! I know you have to go but be CAREFUL!" she whispered; her eyes as wide as saucers by that time. Ryan nodded and pushed her into her room, of which he closed the door and made sure he locked it.

"Whatever happens you stay inside there! You hear?" he shouted towards her, before he grabbed his gun, and slowly made his way toward where the shots were fired from. Make no mistake, if this was any other country, you would be calling the cops as soon as the first shot had been fired, but the best way to deal with these BASTARDS, was to fucking kill them yourself. They were coming to do the same to you, after all.

Relief sprouted over him as he saw Old Man Donovan situated inside the passage way that led towards the kitchen. As the elder man laid his eyes on Ryan, he quickly motioned for him to come closer, which Ryan did.

"There's fucking four of them! I saw them on the CCTV thing! They always hunt in bloody packs, the cowards! You listen to me, Bucko! I ain't gonna become another farm murder statistic, so you better shoot the fucking shit out of them and ask questions later, you hear?" he whispered towards Ryan, who could do nothing but nod in agreement.

Another shot fired towards them, and it sounded way closer than what it did a few minutes ago. Even worse, they could have fucking split up. For a few minutes, everything was quiet. Deadly quiet.

It was as if Ryan knew it was coming and happening, before it actually did. He saw the bright light, the fiery blitz or cloth coming towards him and he managed to pull Old Man Donovan away from the window SECONDS before the handmade petrol bomb catapulted through said window, and it was within seconds that literally everything around them was on fire.

"Gotta get out of here!" he shouted towards the elder man, but it was like talking to a brick wall, as Old Man Donovan pushed Ryan away and made his way towards their bedroom.

"BOSS! WE GOTTA GET OUT, WE'RE GONNA BURN ALIVE!"

"NOT WITHOUT SUSAN! I already lost my son, I ain't losing my wife too!" Old Man Donovan shouted back in sheer determination, and Ryan was feeling like sinking towards his knees, the more the flames quickly started to spread along the living room area.

He knew that his mom was safe at least for now, being on the other side of the house inside the sevants' quarters, where he hoped to God it wasn't on fire as yet, before he spotted movement coming in from the kitchen door. He quickly hid away behind one of the solid pillars, and waited for the bastard to show his face. There was two of them, both wearing black clothes and equally black masks over their face as not to be recognized.

Ryan was ready for them. Before they knew what hit them, he fired his shotgun a quick two times, hitting both attackers in the head with a rapid fire, as he had learned from Old Man Donovan many years ago, in case something like this happened and they had to defend themselves.

He ran out, checking that both fuckers were dead as door mouses, before he quickly ran towards the Donovan's bedroom, and saw that they were both crouching behind the chest of drawers as he entered. They obviously heard the gun shots...not knowing who perished and who did not.

"BOSS! IT'S ME! Get Mama Donovan the hell out of here! I shot two of them, but the other two are probably still out there somewhere!"

Susan Donovan was as white as a sheet at that moment and time, and between his boss and himself, Ryan helped into getting her out of the bedroom and towards the porch out back as quick as possible, returning to the living room simply wasn't an option, the fire had already spread way too far and too severe. Ryan turned around in panic as he saw that his mother had come all the way out to join them, and rushed towards in utter confusion.

"I told you to stay in the room! Why didn't you do that? How did you even get out?" he shouted in sheer helplessness; however, Elsie didn't get a chance to answer him as gunshots fired past both of them, he swore, one of the bullets missed Elsie by mere centimeters.

"FUCK! YOU BASTARDS!" Ryan shouted, and saw immediately, even though the thick smoke of the fire becoming worse and worse, at least where one of the shots had come from. A cackling laughter from beyond the smoke send CHILLS up their spines as Mama Donovan sunk to her knees.

She literally had no energy or willpower it seemed, to stand any more. Old Man Donovan swung his own Smith and Wesson revolver out of his holster, and fired two warning shots, of which one must have hit the attacker at least SOMEWHERE, as devastating cries of bullet hitting mere flesh could now rapidly be heard.

"BUCKO! TAKE THE WOMEN AND GET OUT OF HERE!" he shouted, before the last of the attackers made his presence clear, but firing more shots from the opposite direction, where he had been hiding all this time.

Ryan urgently pushed Elsie all the way towards the back of the farmhouse, where at least they would temporarily be safe from the bullets flying thick and fast, and near damn dragged poor Mama Donovan to her, and told Elsie to stay where they were.

Dodging a couple more bullets, he swung his shotgun over his shoulder and fired more shots, and he could swear he heard police sirens get closer and closer with each passing minute...oh please let one of the surrounding farmers have heard the commotion and called them!

Bull's eye.

Old Man Donovan's stray bullet made direct contact with the already injured attacker and even through the heavy smoke, Ryan knew his boss was a sharp enough shooter, to realize he was dead. Only one now remaining. Hope to God, there wasn't a fifth and a sixth around here somewhere.

"WE GOT THIS, BUCKO! WE GOT THIS!" Old Man Donovan roared as the police cars were finally spotted on the horizon, and it took that one little moment, that ONE little moment in time where it seemed that the old man took his attention of the shooter for JUST A TAD...

...more than enough time for the fucker to aim his gun directly at him.

And he pulled the trigger.

**

"NO!!!! YOU BASTARD!"

Ryan saw that the attacker froze before he turned around and ran away from them, as the sounds of sirens could now very clearly, he heard, before his entire stomach churned the very moment that he saw Old Man Donovan crumple into a solid heap next to him.

Kneeling down, he saw that the bullet had directly pierced the area where his heart would be, it was way more than just a bloody mess all around. All he wanted to do, was to go back inside the burning farmers house and get his fucking phone and call the ambulance as quick as he could...

...but a gentle, urgent tug from Old Man Donovan on his shirt, getting more and more bloodier by the moment as the red, warm elixir of life was drained from his mentor's body as his already numb fingers dragged his face closer to that of his injured boss.

"Boss, you're gonna be okay, hang on, okay? Look! The cops are here! Here they are! SOMEONE HELP, OLD MAN DONOVAN HAS BEEN SHOT!" Ryan screamed at the top of his voice, turning his attention towards the elder man as he signaled for him to get closer to where he could actually hear him.

Old Man Donovan's eyes were wretched with pain, with rich, morbid agony, yet he managed to pull Ryan close enough towards him...

"Buck...Bucko...please...find him...find...Grey..." he managed to whisper through puddles and puddles of blood streaming from his mouth.

When the man that had been like a father for him the past twenty-one years stopped trying to speak, Ryan instinctively knew that it was over.

Jesus.

As the police stormed towards the body, Ryan wanted to tell him as sarcastically as he could that it was way too late to fucking care about any of them at that point...the damage had been done.

Another fucking senseless farm murder in this God forsaken country! When the hell will it fucking end? And to make matters worse, that piece of scum...that had taken the life of one of the most decent, honorable men that Ryan had EVER met...

...was still out there somewhere.

Hiding like the rotten rat that he was.

**

In the days that followed, Ryan found himself staring at the half burned out farm house, and wondering why all of this had to happen. The government themselves did nothing to help the desperate farmers who had to be on fucking red alert all the damn time because of these senseless murders, claiming that it wasn't a fucking priority.

Yeah right.

He knew that he had to honor Old Man Donovan's last wish...the final words that his beloved mentor had spoken to him. He told him to find Greyson. To bring him home.

Ryan sighed. He was so not looking forward to this conversation.

Reaching into his trousers, he pulled out the papers that Old Man Donovan had given him the same afternoon before the attack...it was actually insane...it was like he somehow knew that SOMETHING was going to happen.

There it was. The mobile number of Greyson Donovan. Damn...Ryan took a huge breath, before he bravely punched in the number, but he didn't activate the dial function.

How was he supposed to tell a man that he had never met, or once or twice according to Elsie, that his father was dead? The same exact father who had chased him away from this ranch because he caught him in bed with another boy?

Would he even wanna come? Even though his father was dead?

Well, there was only one way to find out. He made Old Man's Donovan a promise, and he sure as hell was gonna at least TRY and keep it.

He once more punched in the number, only this time, he made quite sure to actually dial the number. Said number managed to ring a few times, and Ryan was just about to give up and put the phone down, when a strong, male voice sounded crystal clear on the other side...

"Donovan?"

Silence.

Ryan swallowed a few times...that voice was so...fucking intimidating, he could actually shit himself, he hated feeling this way! A guy that he didn't even know, only this voice was more than enough to make him bloody well feel THIS small in comparison!

He cleared his throat and closed his eyes.

"Greyson Donovan?"

He could hear the man breathing on the other side of the phone. Literally.

"Who is this? I can track this number very easily, what the fuck do you want?" Old Man Donovan's son, supposedly, dwarfed his own voice over the network airwaves.

Fuck this shit.

Ryan rolled his eyes, angrily. It wasn't like he was doing anything wrong, for God's sake! Why was he the one actually feeling like utter shit right now? He stood up and focused his attention on the horses being lead out of their stables after they had been cooped up solidly ever since their owner's gruesome murder.

"Mister Donovan, my name is Ryan Lavery, and I'm the foreman on your father's ranch. I'm calling because I have to tell you something...something has happened to him. And you need to know."

More silence.

More quiet moments.

Jesus Christ.

"Has something happened to my father?"

Finally.

That voice suddenly didn't sound half as loudmouthed and obnoxious as it first did.

Ryan licked his lips and sighed.

"I'm afraid, Mister Donovan, I have bad news. Two days ago, we were the victims of a farm attack here on the ranch, and I'm sorry to tell you, that your father unfortunately didn't make it. His last words to me, was to find you, and make sure you came back home. He even hired a private investigator and everything...hello? Mister Donovan? Hello?"

Ryan took the phone from his ear and looked at the screen. Greyson had ended the call.

Fucking hell.

What was he supposed to tell Mama Donovan now?

There was a very, very real possibility that her only son wasn't even gonna attend his father's funeral, the way it was looking right now!

**

"Child, you tried your best. You called the man and you told him what was happening. You did what you could. And you gotta remember Boy, I helped raised that young man! You mark my words as I live and breathe, he will be here."

Ryan sighed.

"Mama, it's not even that. It's the way that he spoke to me. Like he was the shit and I was just the dirt underneath that fucking shit..."

"RYAN! LANGUAGE!"

"Sorry. Man, he better come for that funeral if he knows what's good for him, I swear! I ain't gonna be the one to tell Mama Donovan that he's not gonna be here!"

It was nearly two days later, and all the funeral arrangements had been made. Elsie and Ryan made sure of that, including each and every ranch hand that had worked for Old Man Donovan.

He was a good boss, the best, and he treated everyone that ever worked for him with the utmost respect, and they knew it, and they remembered that. Showed it. Within two days, everything had been arranged. From the catering, to the damn priest, to calling everyone and telling them that Old Man Donovan had passed away. Everyone did their bit, never mind how small it actually was.

Riding on Sasha's back cleared Ryan's head, that was literally all that was working right now. When you had to concentrate every move you made, you tended not to think about what was going on around you. The amount of food that the neighbouring counties all were piling up on the kitchen table was a sheer worth to the community, who all knew and loved Old Man Donovan and lamented the horrible and senseless way that he had perished.

Leading Sasha to the stables and making sure she and the other horses were tucked in safely for the night, Ryan closed and locked up with a heavy heart. He was the man of the house now...he supposed. Fucking hell.

The last thing that he wanted to do now, was to go in there and face Mama Donovan...but he knew he owed it to Old Man Donovan to be there for his widow. He just didn't know how he was going to get through the next few days...not even to mention the funeral itself.

Taking off his shoes at the kitchen entrance, he saw that Elsie wasn't where she usually was at this late time of the evening, glancing towards the clock, he could smell the rich aromas of the frozen food people had brought over, that she must have started to heat up, but she herself was nowhere to be seen.

Passing through the still, defecated living room, to the back of the house, on the porch, where he could now clearly hear multiple voices speaking, he sighed...more visitors. More people who wanted to pay their respects to his former boss...he knew the people meant well, but for God's sake, how much more was Mama Donovan supposed to take?

Turning the corner towards the backyard and the massive swimming pool, Ryan stopped.

There was a strange man, one that he had never seen before, as well as a beautiful, very beautiful woman sitting alongside of him. The woman had a little girl of about...five or six years of age, he guessed, on her lap, meanwhile said little girl had her arms stretched out towards Mama Donovan herself. In another time and place, it would have been too cute for words.

Ryan gently and slowly walked over to where his mother was sitting, along with the rest of the family.

"Excuse me, I didn't realise you had guests, Mama Donovan, I really didn't wanna bother...Mama Elsie, can I speak to you?" he asked, smiling awkwardly at the strangers who was so candidly talking to Mama Donovan.

"Oh of course, you two have never really met, have you?" the latter said, as she stood up.

Ryan was shocked...the difference in her facial tone between this morning when he had last seen her, to now...it was like night and day. He smiled as he took her outstretched hand into his own, before she led him to the strangers that had so suddenly appeared in their lives.

"Ryan, I wanna introduce you to my son! Can you believe it, he's finally home! Ryan, this is Greyson, my son, of course, as well as his wife Bella and this...is their cute as a button little girl, Cassie! Can you believe it! I have...I have a granddaughter! Oh Lord, if only your father was here to see her, Grey, he would have ADORED her! All of you, this is our foreman, and your father's right hand, Ryan Lavery. He's Elsie's boy, don't you remember, Grey?"

Ryan's eyes flickered towards that of Greyson Donovan.

FUCK.

His chest suddenly felt clasped tightly shut. His hands were all sweaty, out of literally nowhere. He swallowed a few times, before he saw the hand that Greyson had stretched out towards him in greeting.

"Yeah, I think I do remember...he was this irritating little shit back then!" Greyson laughed, but Ryan saw immediately that said laughter never actually reached the older man's eyes.

You know what...two can play this game.

Ryan smirked as he clasped Greyson's hand tightly inside his own, and the wince in the other man's eyes shocked him just a tad. Electricity, as sharp and as clear as the day was long, vivid voltage so strong and so intense ripped through both of them as their skin still longed to touch.

It was Greyson who cleared his throat and finally allowed Ryan's hand to fall out of his grasp.

Ryan himself had no fucking idea what was going on. Greyson had dark black hair, like his father used to have, he was wearing a blue jacket, along with a white buttoned shirt, and ripped skinny jeans. He was just...just about the best-looking man that Ryan had ever seen in his entire twenty-one years on this green earth.

"Yeah...Mama Donovan...I do remember him, now that I think about it. Say, whatever happened to that boy you used to hang out with?" Ryan asked softly, as tongue-in-cheek as he possibly could.

Greyson's eyes flickered nervously over towards his wife and daughter, before he quickly re-composed himself.

"Beats me! So, you are the guy I need to speak to regarding the farm, yeah? Well, if my dad trusted you with the goings on around here, then so will I. I'll pop in sometime tomorrow, and then we can talk business. For now, Mom, would you mind helping Bella in getting Cassie settled? It has been a heck of a long flight."

Ryan stood aside as Elsie gathered up the glasses of cooldrink and empty cups of coffee from the patio and swiftly took them inside with her.

Greyson gave Ryan another death stare of note, before he was suddenly all smiles yet again, the moment that his wife had placed their young daughter inside his arms. When they were all back in the house, that was when Ryan blew out some much-needed air. He looked towards the heavens, as if for answers somehow.

There it was again! For fuck sake!

He honestly thought he was over this. That it was just a phase that ended years and years ago.

Fuck me...who was he kidding?

Every time he saw a good-looking ranch hand shirtless, his dick got hard. Every single time he saw a handsome man on TV, he positively drooled. Seeing Greyson Donovan up close and personal, touching him...Jesus Christ! He HATED feeling this way! He hated it!

He had hoped to God that it would have just...gone away. He tried to date girls over the years and every fucking time it felt wrong as hell! He knew that wasn't what he wanted!

He kept telling himself over and over, that he was only twenty-one...the right girl would appear at the right moment, like his mother had always said. He sighed, and planted his ass down on the grass, laying down to look upwards at the several stars scattered across the night sky.

These feelings...these...whatever he felt for guys in general. Weren't they supposed to go away by now? He honestly felt he was over all of that. Sigh.

Then again, he didn't bargain on Greyson Donovan being THAT handsome.

There were only photos of the guy up to as a fourteen-year-old kid in the house itself, now all burned to a crisp...and that boy had acne and braces to boot. Nothing like the complete and utter STUD that he had been forced to endure now.

Man...thank God the dude will most probably be here just until after the funeral, and then would obviously go back to his cushy medical job back in swanky Cape Town, far from here.

Only then, Ryan felt, would he be able to fully relax, and keep his secret, a secret.

**

"Where's Sasha? Has anyone seen Sasha?"

Ryan stood frozen on one spot, as he saw that his beloved horse had so obviously left her stable, and seemingly none of his fellow ranch hands had any clue as to where she was.

"Seriously, how can you guys be so fucking careless? What would Old Man Donovan have said? He loved that horse!" he shouted at the rest of the workers, before the last few bits of his words were completely and utterly dwarfed by the clippety-clapping of so obviously hooves, coming quickly towards them.

Like one man, the whole bunch of ranch hands, including Ryan himself, turned around and saw Greyson Donovan rushing towards the stables...and he was the one bad ass riding HIS Sasha.

Something inside Ryan seemed to BREAK...Sasha was his horse; he had taken care of her way more than this...this little upstart fucker ever did! Yes...technically Sasha belonged to Greyson, he supposed, but where the hell has he been these past thirteen years? He literally knew her as a foal! Where the hell did he get off in riding her without his permission?

"Morning all! Lovely day, isn't it?" Greyson called out to them as he pulled Sasha's reigns in to halt her, as she stopped abruptly just before they crashed into the stables itself.

He casually stroked her neck, and patted her mane as he expertly got off her and stood on his own two legs, still smiling at the workers every moment that passed. As if to fucking say...look what I just did, and what the hell are you gonna do about it?

"What are you lot waiting for!? Get back to work!" Ryan shouted out to the bunch of idiots who was staring at Greyson as if he was the fucking Messiah for some reason...granted the guy looked like he had just stepped off of the cover of GQ, but obviously the ranch workers simply respected the man for clearly having money, rather than finding him attractive.

Greyson's smile deepened as he saw Ryan coming closer, and gently stood aside as Ryan grabbed Sasha's reigns firmly in his hand.

"Wow slow down, Cowboy! I take it you're angry because I dared to take my own horse out for a ride? I take it do you know that Sasha is in fact mine? I named her that, just so you know."

Ryan turned towards Greyson and seethed his eyes onto the man's own.

"I do know that. I also know that you haven't seen her in yonks, because you weren't here, so guess who the hell had to look after her and turn her into the beautiful animal that she is today! So, if you don't mind, Mister Donovan, can you just please...go back to the house or something and let us carry on with our jobs! We can't all just write out prescriptions for a living!"

Greyson's eyes widened and his facial features reddened to the point where Ryan was sure that he was gonna knock him straight into next week, but the opposing man seemingly forced himself to calm down, and sigh, before he spoke softly.

"Look, Bryan..."

"It's Ryan, actually."

"Right, Ryan...anyhow, I just wanted to take MY horse out for a ride, like you rightly said, I haven't seen her since she was a foal, and I didn't think it would be such a major issue. If I offended you, I'm sorry. I know I wasn't here when my father...when he died, but I can assure you there are reasons..."

"Why don't you fucking talk properly?" Ryan hissed towards him, his eyes rolling with every syllable.

Greyson, clearly appalled of what he was being accused of, shook his head and turned his eyes back towards the farm house.

"Thank God I'm leaving soon...look, as the foreman, you probably have the right to know before anyone else. So, apart from wanting to ride Sasha, I wanted to come and tell you personally. My mother told me last night how much you mean to her, as well as my father...I mean, Elsie helped raise me. So, I hate to do this, but I don't think I have much of a choice."

Ryan lowered his guard. The man was really scaring him now.

"Do what? What's going on?" he demanded.

Greyson grimaced and he looked at his watch, before he turned his attentions back to Ryan.

"I had a good look at the farm's books last night. I scanned them and sent emails to my bookkeeper back home."

"AND? GET ON WITH IT!" Ryan shouted, knowing what was about to come, even though it hadn't even been said yet. He knew EXACTLY what was going on in those accounts, and what, with a bookkeeper of all people going over them...yeah, they were fucking screwed.

Greyson blinked his eyes, before he hardened his features yet again.

"I'm afraid that the farm and the ranch aren't viable options to do our own business with right now. Who knows when it would be again. My mother told me that before he died, my father had two offers to purchase rejected by himself...he refused to sell, no matter how hard things clearly were."

"And so he should have! We can do a lot around here, we ain't giving up! I have a shit load of ideas, if you would only just look at them..."

Greyson silenced Ryan with one look.

"Now who's not talking properly..."

The last bit of colour was drained from Ryan's face.

Greyson wasn't finished there. His voice was like a hot knife slicing through butter.

"As my father's next of kin, my mother has given me permission to sell the farm. In all honesty, she can't see herself living here anymore after what happened to my father. Farm murders are increasing every day, and I refuse to lose the one more parent that I have."

Ryan seethed. His teeth gritted more than what it would have liked, and he wanted nothing more than to fucking bash this sexy ass man's head up so far up his ass, that he would be shitting out of a tube for the rest of his life.

"You come in here...you fucking come in here and you just wanna throw your weight around! Your dad told e himself that you know NOTHING of what we do here! How the hell can you made a decision like that when you don't know ALL the facts!?"

"Well, considering I managed to kidnap my own horse from these stables this morning is a clear indication that you don't have a grip of what is really going on here either. What if it wasn't me, but a thief? That horse is worth thousands!"

Ryan literally sunk to his knees at the sound of the cold hard words. Reality was coming through to his brain quicker than quicksand, and the horror that laid within that voice.

"What the hell...where am I and my mother supposed to even go? All these people...some of them has worked for your dad longer than I have been alive..." he managed to croak out of his dry, sandy throat.

Greyson shrugged his shoulders, his face as hard as stone.

"That, Ryan, I'm afraid is not my problem. You have three months. Three months, in which to find you and your mother alternative accommodation. I'm selling the farm," he said, before he slowly walked back to the house.

**

THANKS FOR READING!

Well, you know me...setting up the storylines in the first chapter, before the hard work really starts! And if you have read my work before, you KNOW how this is gonna go LOL!

Any feedback? Good or bad? I can take it haha! Please feel free to send me some!

liciousryan@gmail.com