Fifteen Minutes Later

Brian swung his long legs around and jumped down from the tractor, having actually enjoyed his brief ride on the piece of antique farm machinery.  It would certainly never be a speed machine by any means, but he had to admit - it was kind of nice sitting up high in the worn, black, leather seat as he bumped along through the pasture like the king of a mobile castle.  It hadn't been hard to figure out where the berry bushes were from his elevated vantage point - all he had to do was look toward the Taylor farm near the fence line and there they were.  The closer he got, the more he realized that there must be at least a hundred of them.  No wonder his aunt had given him four five-gallon buckets; he calculated he would need every available space to collect all of the ripened berries he could see growing in profusion from them as he approached them.

Turning the sputtering, chugging contraption off, there was one last belch of black smoke before he was greeted with immediate silence, the difference profound and stark.  Soon, however, he could hear another sound that broke through the peaceful quiet:  the faint but familiar clop, clop, clop of horses' hooves.  As he looked over toward the source of the sound, his heart started to pound in anticipation and he smiled over his good fortune.  It seemed that his companion from last night was at it again, almost like some non-stop movie running on a continuous reel.  Justin was perched in the Taylors' sulky, wearing some sort of geeky-looking, round goggles that hid the blue eyes that Brian knew so well by now, his golden, slightly shaggy hair blowing in the wind created by the speed of the horse pulling it in front, the sun angled above making the blond strands almost glow.  His face was a masterpiece of concentration, his oh-so-perfect lips pursed together as he held the horse's reins firmly in his hands and raced the horse smoothly along the track.  He was wearing a pair of tight blue jeans and some sort of V-necked, red tee-shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows that complimented his skin tone perfectly, and those same sneakers that Brian recognized from the other day when he had stolen his clothing at the swimming hole.

A grin broke out on his face; Lady Luck certainly seemed to be with him today!  Berry picking seemed extremely attractive all of a sudden.  Quickly unbuttoning his shirt, he opened the sides and quickly shrugged out of it to let it flutter to the ground as he picked up a bucket with the gloves and walked over toward the fence line, seeing Justin approaching closer and closer out of the corner of his eye.   He quickly walked over to the bush located closest to the fence line and, donning the thick work gloves, began to pluck some jumbo-sized blackberries from the plant as the sounds of the horses' hooves got closer and closer, making a studious attempt to show that he was ignoring him.  He kept his head down deliberately as he listened intently to the ever-increasing sounds of the horse, feeling like his heart was picking up speed as well.  It both excited as well as scared him to realize how this other boy made his body react, but it was still a heady sort of rush to experience it.

Justin was so concentrated on how well Headstrong was reacting to his subtle directives with the reins that he didn't initially notice he wasn't the only one out getting exercise; as he rounded the far corner of the dirt track, his eyes widened in shock and his heart began to thump as he recognized Brian bent over near their perimeter fence with his back to him.  Even without seeing his face, he would have known who it was anywhere; there was no mistaking that sculptured, long, lean body; the same body that had pressed up against him on their porch swing last night and made his own body go crazy with desire.  He swallowed hard as he realized that Brian was naked from the waist up; that immediately served to remind him of their encounter at the swimming hole as he closed his eyes briefly in remembrance.  "Oh, no," he murmured in dread, knowing this boy was definitely going to be an impediment to his concentration today, even though Brian apparently was deliberately trying to ignore him.  That had to be the case; there was no way that he couldn't hear him approaching with the horse.   Or was he trying to taunt him somehow since he had already informed him that he wasn't ‘good' enough for him?  Well, two could play that game, he decided, as he let out a breath and pressed his lips together tightly in determination as he neared where Brian stood.  He flapped the reins in a silent command for Headstrong to speed up and the horse grunted briefly and began to trot more quickly, the dirt now flying up all around his feet.

Brian smiled as he heard Justin getting closer and closer; there could be no way that he could avoid noticing him.  Get a good look, Farm Boy; see what you're missing out on, he thought smugly.  He waited for the horse and sulky to slow down, but instead it sounded like the clopping noise just grew more rapid and frantic until he could hear it rushing by him.  Frowning, he slowly raised up and stole a glance behind his back as his mouth hung open in disbelief; Justin had passed by him without so much as a greeting or acknowledgement!  "What the fuck?" he growled as he watched the departing silhouette of horse and rider as it grew farther and farther away.  His mouth still hung open in shock over the other boy's audacity; he couldn't help the slight smile of grudging respect that appeared on his face.  He had to hand it to him - Justin had balls.  And he liked spunk - and something told him this little, fiery farm boy had a LOT of it; in more ways than one.  He grinned.  Maybe he would have to be a little more ‘direct' next time, and from the way Justin was rounding the corner of the track near the Taylors' stables, he was coming back around for another lap.

Putting his bucket down, he pulled off his gloves and walked the few steps over to the fence, skillfully hopping over it to land on the other side, right onto the dirt race track.  His smile widened as he saw Justin now on the opposite side of the track, the horse's hooves pounding furiously in rapid cadence as he began to head toward the nearest curve.  Now grinning ear-to-ear, he quickly walked a few more paces before he suddenly plopped down on the ground and promptly stretched his body lengthwise across the width of the track, placing his hands casually behind his head as he heard - and now felt- the rumble of horse's hooves and secretly prayed that Justin's skill was as masterful as he hoped.

Justin rounded the corner, purposefully trying to avoid even peering in Brian's direction for fear what he might be doing now.  Knowing the other boy, he could have his pants off by now as well as his shirt, just to get his attention.  He had to admit it, too; the shirt alone had made him practically salivate.  If Brian had doffed any other piece of his clothing since the last lap, all he would have to do was flash that sexy smile at him and he would be truly fucked; principles be damned.

He was so busy peering over at the side of the fence to look for the other boy that at first he didn't even see what lay in front of him.  "Shit!" he cried out in shock as he began to desperately pull back on the reins with all his might.  "Whoa!  Headstrong!  Whoa!  Fuck!  Stop! Whoa!"  At that moment, he didn't know WHAT he was calling out.  He was merely shouting out anything that came into his head; anything that would stop this 1,000 lb. equine powerhouse from running over the idiotic boy currently stretched out across the dirt track like he was taking a Sunday nap.

Brian's heart began to pound in extreme anxiety as the rumble got louder and louder, feeling now like a freight train was approaching.  Had he been wrong about Justin's abilities?  Or was he going to wind up as the lead in the evening news cast:  Human speed bump run over by one-thousand pound racehorse.  He hadn't stopped to think that he was literally betting on Justin's talent  with his very life as finally, over the sound of Justin's constant entreaties, the horse  began to slow down and eventually came to a stop, no more than two feet away from his head.  He could hear the horse whinny in dismay and frustration as his two front hooves briefly left the ground before he dared to crack open one eye to see the beast's head shaking angrily from side to side as it loomed over him.

The horse's ire, however, was nothing compared to what was about to burst forth as Justin let out a huge sigh of relief before he promptly hopped down from the sulky and stared furiously at his unexpected obstruction.

"What in the HELL do you think you were doing?" he erupted at Brian as he stood there, hands on hips and blue eyes flashing; Brian thought that Justin in all his indignant fury looked quite hot at the moment.  "Are you out of your fucking mind?  You could have gotten yourself KILLED!"  That is, if I don't kill you first, came unbidden to his mind.  When he had seen Brian, his first reaction had been abject terror that he wouldn't be able to stop in time; now that he had, however, that initial feeling had quickly been replaced with much different emotions:  rage and disbelief.    "I can't believe you!" he added just for good measure as he shook his head.  "Well?" he pressed as Brian merely turned his head and looked up at him lazily.

He shrugged, which wasn't very easy to do while he was lying flat on his back.  "Just think of me as a speed bump.  You were going so fast around the track I was afraid that cute little ass might get wind burned."   Just for good effect, he bestowed a sexy sort of grin on his companion and lifted his brows in challenge.  "You owe me now."

Justin huffed in disbelief as he reached out to grab his horse's bridle to try and calm him down.  He instinctively reached up and stroked Headstrong's head soothingly as he said, "I owe you?  I owe you for nearly scaring me to death?  For almost causing me to have a heart attack?  How do you get that, Brian?  You're fucking unbelievable, do you know that?"   As angry as Justin was, however, it was hard to concentrate on being infuriated when the other boy was eyeing him like some prize catch and staring up at him with that bare, bronzed, lightly sculptured, sweaty chest gleaming in the sunlight and those piercing hazel eyes that almost looked like they were boring right through him.  To his consternation, Brian merely grinned back at him.

"Do you know how fucking hot you look when you get angry?" he asked him unexpectedly as Justin promptly turned a deep shade of red.  "Come over here and give me some CPR to resuscitate me and I'll show you."

Justin sputtered indignantly, "I will do no such thing!"  Inside, however, his heart was skittering like a scared baby bird and his stomach contained more butterflies than a botany exhibit.   Instead, he told Brian, "In case you failed to notice, I was practicing for my race on Saturday, and now thanks to your antics you've put me behind schedule.  If my father finds out, too, he's going to be pissed."

Brian slowly propped his torso up by his elbows as he pulled himself to his feet, taking a moment to dust off the seat of his jeans with his hands.  He thought he saw Justin's gaze lower briefly to his crotch before he swiftly averted his eyes as Brian sauntered up to him until they were mere inches apart with an insufferable smirk on his face.  Fuck, he is so beautiful when he's riled up, Brian couldn't help thinking.  Justin's eyes were wide and expressive, a darker-than-normal shade of blue as they stared back at him defiantly.  He lowered his voice as he drawled out huskily, "Come on, Justin.  You know neither your father nor my uncle can even see us way out here.  What are you afraid of?"

Justin huffed.  "I am not afraid!" he growled.  He instinctively began to back away like a rabbit caught in a snare, only to be caught by Brian as he grabbed onto his upper arms like a steel vise.  "Let me go, you asshole!" Justin sputtered out as he began to struggle, albeit half-heartedly.  Brian responded by wrapping his arms around Justin's back to trap him flush against his chest, savoring the feeling of warmth and softness, but also surprising strength, under his touch.  It was an intriguing combination, which only inflamed his desire for this boy even more.

"You sure that's what you want, Justin?" he asked, his voice sounding like some molten, liquid fire.  "That's not what I'M hearing."

Plastered chest to chest, Justin's hands were trapped, palms down, against Brian's hard torso.  He could feel the slickened, hot skin beneath his splayed fingers and knew he was quickly losing control of the situation; all he wanted at that moment was to feel those warm, probing lips kissing him passionately again and Brian's hands roaming all over his body as he claimed him.  All he craved was to be totally and completely possessed by this boy.  What had happened to his pride and his dignity?  It was quickly failing him.  His sense of responsibility to his family was quickly being challenged by his heart, which was rapidly falling under this boy's spell if he didn't do something quick.

"Well, then you need to get your hearing checked," Justin retorted.   "I have to practice.  My family is counting on me to win on Saturday."

"But that's what I'm doing; helping you to practice.  They say practice makes perfect, and I'm about as perfect as they come."

Justin rolled his eyes at Brian's lack of humility, but he couldn't help thinking that perfect certainly covered it where this boy was concerned.  No doubt about it; he was fucking gorgeous.  Arrogant as all get out, but still sexy as hell.  That didn't mean, though, that he was just going to fall at his feet, although kneeling down and worshipping a certain part of his anatomy did have its definite appeal.  Fuck, he thought to himself as he felt himself growing hard over the thought; get a hold of yourself, you idiot!

He took a deep breath and prayed that when he spoke his voice would sound more confident than he currently felt.  "Well, despite your high opinion of yourself, Brian, I told you.  I have to practice with Headstrong this morning, and I can't let him get stiff from lack of exercise.  So you'll just have to ‘practice' with someone else."

"What about ME?" Brian replied.  "I get stiff without exercise, too."

Justin harrumphed.  "I would have thought it was the other way around," he quipped to Brian's amusement as he let out a laugh.  Despite his protestations from earlier, Justin couldn't help bestowing a half-hearted smile on the other boy in response as Brian grinned back at him.  His face sobered as he told his captor, "Now, let me go!  I really do have to get back to my workout," he told Brian almost in a regretful tone of voice now.

Brian shrugged, seemingly resigned to the inevitable.  "Suit yourself."  He held his hands out to his sides submissively as Justin breathed out a sigh of relief, glad that Brian was listening to reason for a change, but oddly disappointed that he had given up so easily.  He nodded as he half-turned to go just before Brian grabbed his upper right arm and slammed his body back against his; the force of it was so strong it almost knocked the breath out of him.

Brian locked gazes with his prey as he felt Justin's soft pants against his chest.  You're as turned on by this as I am.  "On the other hand, maybe I should show you what you'll be missing first."

Justin didn't have the proper time to react before Brian captured the back of his neck with his free hand and promptly crushed their lips together; a moan involuntarily escaped Justin's lips, providing Brian with just enough room to press his tongue inside for another tantalizing taste of that mouth he had been craving since last night's little rendezvous as he slid his other hand around Justin's waist to pull him impossibly closer.   To his delight, he found that it was even more intoxicating than their last kiss under the moonlight.  Fuck, this boy is talented, he couldn't help thinking, as Justin's lips glided expertly over his own and his felt him nipping at his lower lip while they kissed, making his body come alive under his ministrations like no other boy had done before.

Justin found himself melting into Brian's embrace despite his misgivings as to the other boy's motives, quickly losing himself in that expertly-given kiss.  At that moment in time, all he could think about was Brian's lips, his hands, his body molded against his, his hardness pressing against him demonstrating his desire for him; nothing else mattered - no worries, no other thoughts but how amazingly alive Brian was making him feel, like he was the most special guy in the world.  He was lost in a haze of lust until he felt Headstrong's nose nudging him from behind and reality came crashing back down into his world.   Nothing's changed since last night, he had to sadly remind himself, as he placed his hands face down on Brian's chest and shoved just hard enough to gain a little space so he could peer into Brian's surprised eyes.

"Why did you do that?" Brian growled, his own breathing ragged and uneven; he was just beginning to thoroughly enjoy himself when Justin unexpectedly separated them.  He was getting just a little tired of being all primed up and then being shot down again.

"Nothing's changed since last night, Brian," Justin told him quietly, voicing his concerns aloud.   "You can't just go around accosting people like this."

Brian snorted.  "Accosting people?  I hardly think that kiss was one-sided, Farm Boy."  He smirked; there was no mistaking that Justin was enjoying himself just as much as he was.  Two could play this game, though..."Your loss," he replied, trying to sound indifferent.

Justin huffed.  "Maybe," he conceded curtly, perturbed by the other boy's nerve and his ability to apparently see right through him.  "But I'll take my chances with the other ass."  Yanking his arm away from Brian's grasp, he could hear the other boy's surprising laughter as he walked back over to Headstrong, feeling his face warm in mortification.  He was just about to hop back up on the sulky, his hands gripping the rein, as he unexpectedly heard Brian ask from behind him, "Justin, how did my cousin die?"

Justin stood there, stock still.  He slowly turned around after a moment to ask, "What did you say?"

Brian gazed at him, no hint of sarcasm or bluster in his demeanor now as he quietly repeated, "I said, what happened with Dale?"

Justin could hear Headstrong softly chuffing, his not-so-subtle signal that he was getting restless.  He knew he had to get going soon, or his practice would be completely thrown off balance.  If his father got wind that he was not doing what he should be doing, he would be pissed.  But there was something about the earnest seriousness on Brian's face that made him ask, "Why are you asking ME, Brian?  That's something your aunt and uncle should tell you; that is, if they want you to know."  Again, Headstrong neighed impatiently as Justin reached up and slowly stroked his neck to reassure him.  "Shh... We'll get going soon," he softly promised the horse.  His gaze turned to the other boy as he told him urgently, "Brian, I really need to go."

"Justin, please," was the surprising, almost plaintive response.  "My aunt has only told me bits and pieces about it, and my uncle, he'd just as soon pluck my eyes out than confide in me."

"He's not that bad," Justin responded in an attempt to defend him.  "At least he didn't use to be."  He bit his lip thoughtfully.  "He's a decent guy.  I mean, he's never been overly friendly toward anyone, but he was never like this before.   He actually used to have a dry sense of humor.  He was always playing practical jokes on me and Jared when we were younger.  But that was before..."

"... Before Dale died."

Justin nodded.

"Then tell me the fuck what happened so I can understand!" Brian pressed, aggravated that everyone was tiptoeing around it.  "I found his sulky out behind the barn earlier today."

Justin's eyes widened over that revelation.  "They still have it?  I thought they got rid of it right after the accident."

Brian shook his head.  "No, they still have it, all right.  I found it out behind their barn covered with a tarp earlier today, and my aunt told me it belonged to my cousin."

"Then you need to ask HER what happened, Brian."

Brian shook his head.  "I tried that; all she told me was something happened at the track."  He eyed Justin intently.  "So he was a harness racing jockey like you are now?"

Justin brushed his hand through his hair in indecision, still feeling somewhat uncomfortable talking about something so private.  "I really wish you would talk to your aunt and uncle about this, Brian."

"I tried, Justin, I told you!" he reiterated in irritation.  He sighed; he wasn't mad at Justin, but the whole matter was quickly making him frustrated as hell.  "If I'm ever going to get along better with either one of them, especially my uncle, I need to know.  Why is it such a fucking secret?  Just tell me!"

Justin bit his lip in thought, torn between needing to get back to work but silently agreeing with Brian.  Dale's death had certainly had a profound impact on both the Walkers, but especially his uncle. Perhaps Brian could actually help them to move on from that terrible incident. Although it really wasn't his place to explain, hadn't there been enough secrecy already?  A decision finally made, he reached back and again lightly stroked Headstrong's neck with his knuckles to reassure him.

"I... I can't tell you, not right now," he replied, quickly adding as he watched Brian open his mouth to protest, "I have to get back to work or Headstrong won't be worth shit soon."   He sighed; the words came out of his mouth before he had time to consider how dangerous it might be.  "I can maybe meet you later on so we can talk about it then."  He emphasized the word talk, silently warning Brian he wouldn't keep putting up with the type of shenanigans he had attempted last night, although he wondered how truthful he was being with himself about that.  Brian's kiss last night and just now had been the most wondrous thing he had ever experienced, and yes, damn it, he wanted one again and again and again.  He wasn't going to let HIM know that, though.

Brian smiled.  Oh, we'll ‘talk' all right.  "Okay, I guess that will have to do.  Where and when?" he pressed, secretly delighted as he eagerly anticipated their next rendezvous.

Justin turned to climb back up on the sulky, momentarily giving Brian a wondrous view of Justin's best body part as the denim stretched tautly across his rounded ass; he swallowed hard at the magnificent sight, wondering how it would be to taste it as Justin plopped down on the seat and turned to face him, providing him with just enough time to put his neutral game face back on.

Justin pondered the answer to that; why was he even agreeing to it in the first place?  He had just endured a sleepless night last night because of this boy and now he was agreeing to meet up with him again?  Shit, what was wrong with him?  Had he lost his fucking mind?  Maybe he could still back out of it... "Uh... Well..."  Smooth, Taylor, he chided himself.

"Time?"  Brian reminded him, tapping his finger at an imaginary watch on his left arm.  "It's a simple enough question; I've got berries to pick and you've got some riding to do."  On my cock, he couldn't help finishing silently, feeling himself becoming aroused just thinking about Justin doing exactly that while he dug into those two fleshy globes and held on for dear life as he rode him.  He knew that ass would be a wonder to behold; at least once he got that offending garment off him anyway.  Fuck, he chided himself, feeling distinctively uncomfortable in his pants at the mere notion.

Justin huffed at his impatience.  "You're lucky I'm agreeing to meet with you at all, Brian!  Do you know I hardly got any sleep last night because of you?"  Shit!  Did I just say that? 

"Oh?" Brian asked, arching one elegant eyebrow at him as Headstrong's head swung impatiently back and forth; even without being an equestrian expert - hell, knowing horses at all - he could tell that the animal was raring to get moving again.  "And why is that, Justin?" he asked innocently, pressing his tongue into his cheek.  "I slept like a baby."  Yeah, right, Kinney.  You didn't get any more sleep than he probably did, and for the same reason...

Justin's eyes flashed as he took the reins to remove the slack.  "Because you... You kept me up!"

Brian's lips slowly spread out into a full-fledged grin.  "Oh, I did, did I?  I kept you up?"  His eyes flickered down his body as Justin promptly broke out into a blush of embarrassment at the double entendre.  "I'm flattered but not surprised," he quipped.  "Maybe I can help you out with that later."

"Oh, just forget it!" Justin growled in disgust as he flipped the reins in a flapping motion to signal to Headstrong that he was ready to go.  Headstrong promptly began to kick up his feet and propel the sulky down the dirt track.   "Never mind!" he yelled as they quickly began to disappear from sight.

Brian laughed as Justin picked up speed, the rapid clop, clop, clop of Headstrong's hooves smacking against the packed dirt as they proceeded faster and faster down the track.  He wasn't really worried about Justin's response, though; that was the wondrous thing about circles - they kept going and going in the same direction, over and over again.  He wasn't about to try to lie down in front of that beast again, but that didn't mean he couldn't continue to taunt his prey from the sidelines as he performed his own task.  Walking back over to the first empty bucket, he slid his gloves back on and began to pick some of the blackberries, keeping an ever vigilant eye on the other boy.

Justin watched warily as he rounded the corner a few minutes later, noticing Brian still engaged in his chore near the fence; at least this time he seemed to actually be working.  That was an improvement from his speed bump impersonation earlier.  He worked diligently on keeping his eyes on the track ahead of him, pretending he didn't give a shit WHAT Brian was doing, but as he turned the corner his gaze fell directly on the sexy boy still clad in nothing but his tight jeans and his boots and it made him practically drool over the sight; Brian had beads of sweat on his back that were glistening in the sunlight overhead and his hair was wet with his efforts, making him look even more astounding.  Damn him.  He looked away, but it was no use; besides, it wasn't as if he were invisible to Brian, either.

"I'm still waiting!" he heard Brian call out as he sped by, not saying a word but feeling his face warming under the other boy's scrutiny.  "I'm not going to give up until you talk to me!" he heard Brian add as an afterthought.

Justin rolled his eyes, thinking for someone who had bragged last night that he could go out and find a ready replacement for him he sure was being persistent.  Could he hope that meant that he was genuinely interested in him, though, or merely being driven by the thrill of the hunt and his libido?  And how was he ever going to know for sure one way or the other?  He still couldn't quite figure out how to read this other boy.  One minute he was cocky as hell, the next he seemed almost unsure of himself or even vulnerable.  At that moment, he was glad that Headstrong was more or less trotting around on ‘autopilot,' because he couldn't concentrate for shit on anything else but Brian.

Justin didn't know if he was disappointed or relieved when he and Headstrong jogged by Brian several more times seemingly ignored; he had expected at least some type of reaction after the boy's last comment each time he passed him, but to his secret dismay, Brian kept silently to his own task and continued to stay bent over picking berries and dropping them into a nearby five-gallon bucket.  Naturally, though, he still had to taunt him with his ass and his back to him; heaven forbid if he should turn around and pick berries from the OTHER side.  Well, so much for his ‘I'm not going to give up until you talk to me' speech, he thought, realizing he felt a distinct sense of regret over that fact.

The bucket he was using quickly filling up with plump, juicy berries, Brian watched out of the corner of his eye as Justin continued to exercise his horse, calculating all too well when the duo would be trotting by again.  As Justin came closer and closer, he chose his ammunition carefully, plucking several particularly large specimens from the bucket.

Waiting until the last minute, he stood up just as Justin went rushing by, taking aim and landing one of the fat, juicy berries right on his back with perfect precision.  Thanks, Coach, he thought silently to himself with a grin, grateful now that his high school baseball coach had made him practice his pitching skills over and over again when he was a few years younger.

Stealing furtive, admiring glances at Brian's tanned, lightly-muscled back, Justin sighed sorrowfully, wondering if he had done the right thing pushing the other boy away; that is until he felt something hit him squarely in the back.  He quickly twisted around in an effort to see what it was, only to be hit again this time in the face with a distinctive splat.

"What the fuck?" he snapped as he felt liquid running down his cheek.   Was he bleeding?  He reached up to wipe it away with his left hand as he held onto the reins with his other; placing his fingers in his mouth, he instantly recognized it as the remnants of a now-obliterated blackberry.  There could be no mistaking where it had come from, either.  "Whoa!" he yelled out in disgust.  "Whoa, Headstrong!"

For the second time in less than an hour, Justin pulled up on the reins and Headstrong slowly began to heed his command as he grudgingly decreased his speed and finally stopped, none too happy that his exercise had once more been thwarted.  This was so unlike his master to do this to him, and he was not pleased to have his workout interrupted.  He wasn't the only peeved at the moment, however, as he scraped the hard, dirt track with his front paws in agitation and chuffed in protest, shaking his head from side to side as he stood there in disappointment.

Justin jumped down from the sulky and, turning to notice Brian once more bent over the blackberry bushes, he took a moment to pull the goggles over his head and throw them onto the ground before he stomped over toward the perimeter several feet away, letting out a huff of anger as he walked up to his side of the fence and growled, "Why did you do that?"

Brian rose up from his bent-over position and turned around as if in surprise to reply, "Do what?  I'm just minding my own business here; isn't that what you wanted?"

Justin's mouth hung open in response to his audacity.  "You KNOW what!  You... You hit me!"

Brian arched his eyebrows, finding it hard to remain solemn in the face of the purplish smears that remained on Justin's cheek and the petulant expression he was wearing; he would never voice it aloud, but he thought Justin looked positively exquisite at the moment, all puffed up like some indignant peacock.  "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about," he told him, knowing that was totally unbelievable but enjoying it just the same.

"Bullshit!" Justin yelled as he turned around to display a purple rendition of a Rorschach blotch right in the middle of his shirt.  "Look at this!" he told him, twisting his head around but unable to actually see it; he could certainly imagine what it looked like, though, enough to know that his mother - and even worse, his father - would be wondering how he managed to get a blackberry stain right smack dab in the middle of the back of his shirt.  He could just hear himself now:  "I was just riding along minding my own business when all of a sudden this blackberry fell off one of the nearby bushes and somehow sailed over and landed right in the middle of my shirt."  Yeah, right...

As he turned back around, he realized that the back of his shirt wasn't the only part of his anatomy that he was displaying to the other boy, and from the lowered gaze on Brian's face it was obvious he was taking advantage of appreciating it, also; Justin's face warmed in reaction and he pursed his lips together in irritation as he met Brian's gaze and the other boy actually had the gall to smirk at him.  It was obvious that Brian was enjoying his discomfiture way too much as he pointed out, "And this other blackberry just didn't happen to smack me in the face when it fell out of the sky!  Why did you DO that, Brian?  How am I going to explain that stain to my mother when she does the laundry?  What IS it about you and my clothes that you can't leave them the fuck alone?"

Maybe because you normally have too many of them on, came to mind as Brian gazed into his companion's eyes that were full of fire and indignation.  Damn, this boy was just too fucking irresistible when he was all hot and bothered!  His eyes slowly drifted downward to take in the whole, glorious package of Justin Taylor in full drama-princess mode from his head to his chest to the, ahem, noticeable bulge in his jeans to his slim legs and down to his feet and then back up again, noticing his companion's face reddening as he slowly lifted his gaze back up to lock onto his.  Oh, this was too much fun! He decided as he continued to stand there as if he were mute, raising his eyebrows innocently as Justin glared back at him.

Justin placed his hands on his hips impatiently as Headstrong whinnied in displeasure at being interrupted once again.  "Well?"

Brian shrugged as he finally explained, "You're a country boy; you live on a farm and work with messy, dirty, smelly animals every day, all day long.   She should expect it.  What's the big deal?  Just shout it out!  Come out, come out wherever you are, spot!" he commanded before he chuckled at his own joke, feeling like a rural version of Lady McBeth all of a sudden.

Justin shook his head in exasperation before he sighed heavily, not finding Brian very funny at all at the moment.  "You just don't understand, Brian.  We don't live in the lap of luxury out here!  Everything you do has a price; my grandfather who used to own this farm before us always said that the only thing that's free out here is the fresh air.  Until I got older I didn't know just how right he actually was."  He still missed his grandfather terribly; his mother always told him he reminded him of her father, and now that he was gone he fondly recalled all the things they had done together when he was younger - going fishing while his grandfather taught him how to skip rocks across the water, playing catch with him, even learning how to ride his first bicycle and later his first horse.  It was through his grandfather - and with Vic's guidance later - that he had developed such a keen affinity with the horses to begin with, and every time he won a race he silently thanked his grandfather's love and support for that.  How he longed for the same type of support from his own father!  But he had long ago given up on that dream.

Brian frowned at how serious Justin was being; this was a far cry from the other day at the swimming hole when he had been tricked and found himself mesmerized by Justin's twinkling eyes and his mischievous spirit.  "It was a joke, Justin!" He told the other boy.   "Shit!  Where did your sense of humor go?  Lighten up a little!  Jeez!  What happened to you?  Are you 17 going on 37?"

Justin's face reddened in embarrassment over the stinging criticism; suddenly it was like a balloon had deflated as he promptly plopped down onto the ground like he had been shot, sitting Indian style, his legs bent as his arms flopped down by his sides.  He idly ran one index finger through the dirt as Brian silently scaled the fence in one easy motion and flopped down beside him to sit the same way.

"Justin, I can't believe you're this worked up over a blackberry stain," Brian told him quietly after a moment's pause.  "What's really bothering you?"   He noticed Justin kept his eyes cast downward as he spoke almost as if he hadn't heard him; taking a chance that he wouldn't get smacked silly, Brian reached over and placed his right hand under Justin's chin to get his attention and gently but firmly raised it to force him to look him in the eyes.  "Justin?"  The gaze he received was much too serious for his liking.  "Cut out the bullshit and just tell me."

Justin sighed again as Brian dropped his hold and impulsively reached over to link their hands together; he was heartened to feel Justin tightly returning his grasp in response, marveling at the feel of his hand in his, almost like it was made just for him, as he waited for an answer.  It was several seconds before he was rewarded with a response.

"It's... It's just that all this pressure sometimes gets to me," Justin admitted softly.

"Pressure?  You mean about the racing?"

Justin breathed in a deep breath and let it out to try and calm his nerves; of course, having Brian sitting next to him, holding his hand, didn't help his nerves much, but it was a different sort of tension, a good type of tension, one that was much different than the other kind.  "That's part of it," he told him as Brian's thumb began to idly stroke the top of his hand back and forth, setting off a tingling in his entire body.  He tried hard to concentrate as he told him, "Our farm wasn't doing much better than the Walkers' is doing now; not until I started racing a few years ago, anyway."  He lifted his head to look out onto the newly tilled soil of their farm, acres and acres of it that would eventually (if the weather cooperated) yield soybean and corn crops.  "Every year it seemed like we were running into something going wrong; either we had a drought and it didn't rain enough, or it rained so much we couldn't get the crops planted on time.  And one year our combine broke and it cost thousands of dollars to fix it."  He huffed.  "Of course, each year my father always found enough money so Jared could play his sports, even though with the school levy failing three straight years in a row, the cost to play athletics was hundreds of dollars once you paid the participation fee and the uniform costs."

"Yeah, I know how that is," Brian responded.  "My father about shit a brick a few years back when he had to shell out hundreds of dollars for me to play soccer and baseball.  It got me out of his hair, though, and at the time the coach thought I might actually wind up with a full scholarship, so I think my old man thought I might get a free ride to college."  He huffed out a cross between a laugh and a snort.  "When I got busted for speeding so many times, though, and was caught with pot in the gym after school one day, suddenly I didn't seem quite so marketable."

Justin turned his head to look into Brian's eyes.  "Why would you do that?  I mean, when you had something that big riding on it?"

Brian smiled a little self-deprecatingly as he answered honestly, "Because I was young and stupid, I guess.  I never could go the speed limit; I always had this ‘need for speed.'  Well, at least the driving kind of speed anyway; I always stayed away from the hard drugs."  He got a small smile in return this time as he shrugged and his face sobered.  "When you're young you never really think about the consequences of what you do - you think that's for the old folks - your parents - not you."  He peered into Justin's eyes, so large and expressive; it was as if everything he needed to know was contained in those eyes.  He almost felt like he was being sucked into a swirling vortex of blue, never to come back out, but surprisingly he wasn't really scared about it or apprehensive.  It actually felt sort of exhilarating in a way.  "At least that's the way it's supposed to work; I think someone forgot to give you the proper manual, though, because you are WAY too serious for someone your age and have way too much responsibility on your shoulders.  So you're telling me you got into racing because of this misguided sense of responsibility that you had to win to keep the farm solvent?"

Justin nodded.  "Well, where else was the money going to come from?  My grandfather deeded the farm to my mother when he died, right after she married my dad.  By law it became both of theirs.  My father tried to do some accounting when he got out of college, but from what my mother told me he only got average grades in school and no one wanted to hire a mediocre CPA.  My dad really didn't know anything about being a farmer when my grandfather died, but he had to learn on the fly once it became apparent that he didn't have any other way to make a living.  My mom doesn't talk a lot about it, but I don't think we were ever what you would call too well-off financially-speaking, but the past few years would have been down-right terrible if I hadn't started winning so many races with Headstrong."  Brian squeezed his hand in silent encouragement for him to continue as he finally expressed what was really bothering him.  "Now I don't know what's going to happen next year."

Brian frowned as he cocked his head to look into Justin's troubled face.  "What's happening next year?"

"I'll be graduating from high school and hopefully going to college."

Brian felt an odd sense of disappointment over that statement; why should he care, though?  He wouldn't be around either way.  "College?"

Justin nodded, a small smile appearing on his face at the thought of being able to fulfill his dream.  "That's partly why I got into horse racing to begin with; at least, working with horses anyway.  I want to go to Vanderbilt in Nashville and get a degree in equestrian therapy."

"Equestrian therapy? They actually have a degree in that?"  Brian watched as Justin's smile got larger and his face transformed into one of enthusiasm.

"Yeah," he confirmed as his eyes lit up at the thought.  "And I want to learn how to combine that with my love of art to help heal children.  Working out with horses can be very therapeutic for children who have suffered either physical or emotional trauma.  And art can also be very effective in allowing them to express their emotions:  fear, anger, sadness, rejection, loss.  I can't think of a more fulfilling occupation than being able to literally transform a young person's life from one of hopelessness and despair to one of optimism and hope for the future instead."

Brian looked at Justin in amazement as he spoke; it was like a light had suddenly flickered on into full brilliance while he talked about his dreams and ambitions.  The worry and anxiety that had been clearly written all over his face and heard in his voice before was gone, replaced by excitement and anticipation.  It was obvious that Justin's idea wasn't just some goal to be reached in school so he would have a fancy-looking document to display on a wall later; it was a burning passion for him.  If he had thought that Justin was beautiful before when he had been all worked up over his attempts to get his attention, he was ever more spectacular right now as he talked about his future, and he found himself completely and utterly enthralled.  He also knew at that moment that there was no way that Justin would be happy relegated to staying here on a farm out of some jaded sense of responsibility to support his family.  "That really means a lot to you, doesn't it?" he asked softly as he continued to lightly stroke the other boy's hand.

Justin nodded, swallowing at the hard lump that abruptly formed in his throat.  He was so torn - torn between chasing his dream and needing to make sure the family farm would survive.  He knew how much this home meant to his mother especially.  There was no way that he could let her down and see the land and home she cherished be pulled out from under her.  But how could he ever hope to fulfill his own hopes and dreams if he was forever tied down here?  There was nothing here for him - farming was a noble profession, but it wasn't his profession.  He knew in his heart that he wasn't meant to till the soil or raise livestock.  He wasn't even born to race horses, even though he did love working with them.  He STILL intended to work alongside them, too, just not for profit.  His heart lay in another path.  Would he get his wish, though?

"Yes, it means the world to me," he admitted, not sure why he was telling Brian this, but somehow it felt right; it felt comfortable.

Brian nodded, watching as Justin's ebullient expression quickly turned into something decidedly more morose.  He squeezed Justin's hand and released it before he replied simply, "Well, then, that's what you need to do.  End of story."

Justin huffed out a type of derisive snort.  "I wish it were that easy.  I just told you..."

"I KNOW what you just said," Brian said softly.  "But you can't spend your life being the financial standard bearer for your family, Justin.  What about YOUR life?  YOUR dreams?  Wanting to take care of your family is very admirable, but don't allow their troubles to drown your own aspirations.  And besides, aren't you forgetting an older brother here?  What is HIS sorry ass doing to help support your family?"

Justin rolled his eyes at the thought of his brother as Brian declared, "It's time that HE take some action to help out; since I've been here all I've seen from him is nothing but narcissism and self-indulgence.  And believe me, I'm very familiar with both; I'm normally the master at that."  Oddly enough, though, since he had come here and gotten to know his aunt better, especially, his needs had slowly been pushed aside and replaced by a desire to help both her and yes, even his uncle.  Perhaps he could understand, then, why Justin felt the way that he did, but that still didn't make it right that he had to give up his own dreams for his family's benefit.

"Jared's about as useless as packing peanuts," Justin growled.  "No, I take that back; even packing peanuts have their purpose.  Ever since he got out of school, Jared's only goal in life has been to either constantly harass me or work all day on his latest muscle car."  He let out a deep breath.  "The only time he has to be made to do anything is the week before my races; then Dad has to practically threaten him to within an inch of his life to get him to do my chores.  Of course, the only reason why our father does that in the first place is because he can smell money on the horizon, and he knows those purses can either make or break us for the season if I don't compete."

Brian shook his head.  "Justin, that is totally fucked!  You're seventeen, for God's sake!  That should be your father and mother's responsibility, not yours!  When do you have any fun?"

Justin shrugged.  "You saw me at the swimming hole the other day," he pointed out.

Brian smirked as he replied, "I sure did - and it was a sight to behold."  Even now he couldn't get that image of Justin floating on that water out of his mind, nor how he had stood up to him; his estimation of this boy rose dramatically after that, and each time he was with him and he stood up for himself it just seemed to get higher and higher.  He watched now as Justin blushed at the husky tone in his voice.   You really are beautiful in so many ways, he couldn't help thinking, but he wasn't about to express that aloud and give this younger boy the power he would derive from that knowledge.

Justin felt his face warm at the sexy tone of Brian's voice; even if he was woefully inexperienced, there could be no mistaking what he meant by that.  "Well, I was relaxing then," he explained.

"Uh, huh," Brian responded doubtfully.  "And when was the last time before that when you weren't actually working around the farm or practicing for another race?  When do they occur, anyway?"

"About twice a month," Justin told him, "at least during most of the year."

Brian nodded.  "Okay, so you work out for a week before each race, and in between time you're taking care of the horses' grooming and doing chores around the farm."  Justin averted his gaze downward as he picked up a stick lying nearby and began to trace geometric designs into the dirt, knowing where their conversation was leading.  "That must give you a LOT of time to have fun, then."

"I do what I have to do, Brian; life's not always fair, is it?" he replied curtly as he lifted his gaze to look into Brian's eyes, eyes that seemed to see straight through him.  He sighed heavily in resignation, a mournful sort of sigh as he began to push himself off the ground to stand up, but Brian quickly reached over and grabbed his upper arm to stop him.  "Brian, I have to go back to my practicing - not only will the horse get stiffened up from lack of a workout, but if my Dad sees me out here goofing off talking to you instead of working, he'll give me hell for it.  Trust me, it's not worth it to get him ticked off."

"No," Brian agreed quietly as he gazed intently into Justin's eyes.  "We can't have our little meal ticket just sloughing off, now can we?"

Justin's eyes flashed.  "I told you, Brian!  You don't understand!  Try living out here in the country for a while and then maybe you would!"  He rose to leave now, pulling his arm out of Brian's grasp as he stood there, glaring down at him.  How could this boy make his emotions jump all over the place?  One minute he was sitting there savoring the touch of his hand in his, and the next minute he's driving him crazy with exasperation and aggravation.   "Now I have to go; just go back to your berry picking and leave me alone!"

"Justin..."  Am I hitting too close to home here, Farm Boy? he wondered as he quickly stood up.

"No, Brian!  I don't want to hear any more!  Fuck, don't you think I already know all this?  It's not that easy to change things!  I've tried; believe me!"  Damn it.  He silently cursed himself when he felt tears stinging his eyes.  He was NOT going to look like some prissy little kid in front of this older boy.  He turned around to walk the few steps back to Headstrong, who began to chuff excitedly as Justin picked the reins back up; he knew that meant they would be moving again very soon.  As he nimbly climbed back onto the seat, he heard Brian call out his name again; he was startled to hear him talking now from inches away.  He twisted around to see Brian standing just behind him, holding his previously-discarded goggles out toward him.  Justin blinked, finding to his dismay a few teardrops escaping and trickling down his cheeks.

Embarrassed, he reached up with his free hand to begin to wipe them away, but before he could Brian reached over and brushed the wetness from his face with surprising gentleness.

Still holding the goggles in his left hand, Brian took his right hand and cupped the back of Justin's neck as the blue, glimmering eyes bored into his.  There was no hint of either mockery or ridicule in his voice as he softly told him, "Justin, there has to be a way of helping your family and still fulfilling your dreams; don't let them take them away from you.  In the end, the only one who can really do that is YOU.  If you let that happen, you will regret it for the rest of your life."

Justin blew out a tense, deep breath between partly-opened lips and finally nodded, realizing the simple truth in Brian's words.   He was still at a loss as to how to follow his advice, but Brian's warm hand and reassuring touch on his skin made him feel not quite as hopeless or pessimistic.

"Just think about what I said, okay?"  Brian gazed intently into his eyes, feeling profound sympathy from the pain he could see staring back at him.  He silently resolved that if the situation presented itself, whether it was his business or not, he would have a talk with Craig Taylor himself and give him a piece of his own mind, his mother and father's threats be damned.  Sometimes you just had to stand up for what was right, and this was an egregious wrong.  And Jared?  He'd better not come anywhere NEAR him if he didn't want his sorry ass kicked all the way from here to Arkansas.

As he continued to stare into the deep pools of blue gazing up at him, he had this fervent desire to kiss away all of Justin's troubles, but he knew that wouldn't solve the dilemma that he was experiencing.  With great reluctance, then, he let go of Justin's neck, pausing for a moment to skim his knuckles lightly over the side of his neck and receiving a slight tremble in response; it was an optimistic sign, a hopeful sign and an indication that his desire was being returned.  He also knew it wouldn't be long before he had to explore much more with this intriguing boy but now was unfortunately not the right time.

"Justin?"  A sudden, incomplete task abruptly rose to the surface as he dropped his hands to his sides.

Headstrong began to shuffle impatiently back and forth when his rider didn't give him the short jerk on the reins to signal they were on the move again.  Justin sighed.  "Brian..."

"I know, I know - I have to get back to my chores myself.  But I still need to know, Justin... about Dale... I need to know what happened to him, everything.  Until I do, I'm always going to feel like some stranger peeking in from the outside where my aunt and uncle are concerned."  He surprised himself just then when he admitted, "I want to help them, Justin.  Damn, even my uncle and not just my Aunt Sarah.  But they keep tiptoeing around his death.  What the fuck happened to him at that track?"

Headstrong whinnied louder just then, reminding Justin that as much as he might want to help Brian, it couldn't be now.  "I promise that I'll tell you what I know," he told him.  "But it will have to be later."

"When?" Brian pressed, deciding that having an excuse to meet up with Justin again later wasn't necessarily a bad thing; it would actually serve two purposes.  Not only would he finally get some answers about his cousin's death, but he would get to spend some more time alone with him.

Justin bit his lip; it wasn't as if he had a lot of spare time.  "I... I don't know," he answered honestly.  He knew from previous experience that until the race was over his life wouldn't be his own.  If he were truthful with himself, though, his life hadn't been his own for a long time now.  Brian was right; he had to find a way to change that.

"Justin..." the voice was ringed with exasperation; hadn't they been through this before?  Brian decided he would just have to take the cow, bull, whatever the fuck by the horns.  "Tomorrow night."   He hated having to wait that long to not only get answers to his questions but also see Justin again, but he knew the boy was going to be extremely busy and it made perfect sense to meet up again then when they would both be together anyway.

Justin frowned at the cryptic statement.  "Tomorrow night?"

Brian huffed.  "Yeah, tomorrow night.  You know, the hog calling of all hog calling events?  An event more thrilling than cow chip throwing?  Do you actually do that, by the way?"  He didn't give Justin a chance to answer before he added with disdain, "Why do you think Aunt Sarah's got me out here picking all these fucking berries?  She had me feeling up chicken asses earlier for eggs."  He shuddered.  "I'll never think of getting laid the same way again."

Justin's face warmed quickly at the thought of being Brian's recipient of that particular activity as his eyes grew large in surprise.  "You're actually going to the town social tomorrow night?"  He never in a million years would have expected someone like Brian to agree to go to that sort of small-town, hokey event; Jared, in fact, continues to grouse about it each year when it comes up, and each year their mother manages to apply just the right amount of guilty pressure to make both of them go.  Justin himself thought it was boring as hell, but suddenly the thought of Brian being there made it much more palatable.

Brian shrugged, suddenly hedging a little; it definitely wouldn't be smart to indicate to Justin that he was going merely because he had learned he would be there, too, so he chose to explain it in a different way.  "My aunt asked me to go, and since there doesn't seem to be much else to do in this hick town, I decided what the hell."

Justin nodded, glancing over toward the stables a little apprehensively to make sure they weren't being watched.  Brian was right - they couldn't be seen over at the house, but if his father decided to come snooping around the stables, it wouldn't be difficult at all to see him out on the track - not practicing like he was supposed to, but sitting there  - what was the word?  Flirting?  Well, maybe not quite that, but he was still, in his father's eyes, not doing what he was supposed to be doing.  That seemed to be the story of his life, though.  He sighed softly as he looked over at Brian almost apologetically, hating to leave.  Yes, Brian could be extremely vexing, puzzling, and even annoying at times, but he still found himself distinctly drawn to him for his honesty and his forthrightness.  And despite what his reputation had been prior to his coming here, he was finding that Brian could also be gentle and caring, not to mention sexy as hell; a dangerous combination, he decided, as he told him, "Okay, then.  I'll see you tomorrow night."  He lifted the reins to give them a jerk, but stopped just before he did to add with a smile, "And tell your Aunt Sarah I'll be waiting for another one of her blackberry cobblers."

He gave Brian a small smile and pulled the goggles back on over his head as he finally made the motion that Headstrong had been waiting for; as soon as he flicked the reins with his wrist and let out a sort of "Go" command between his lips, the horse began to take off at a steady but increasingly faster trot.  It wasn't long before the horse had picked up full steam and was quickly rushing down the track, Justin's hair flying in the wind as it gleamed under the intense, mid-day sun.  Brian watched him for several seconds thoughtfully before he turned and climbed back over the fence to resume his own activities.