Love Means Courage - Andrew Grey

farm’s horses.”
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“I have a group lesson tomorrow afternoon. Why don’t you join us? I’d be happy to have you.” Her offer, along with her smile, felt genuine. “Thanks, I’d like that.”
    “Good. I’ll see you at two.” People began arriving, and Len excused himself and went into the tack room to straighten up before heading to the hayloft. Opening one of the trap doors in the hayloft floor, he began retrieving bales of hay and dropping them through the door. “Don’t you ever question me in front of the other men!” Len turned around to meet Cliff’s wrathful stare.
    Len wasn’t about to back down. “Then don’t be a complete ass!” Len almost smiled when he saw the surprised look on Cliff’s face. Defiance was obviously not what he’d been expecting. “Fred and Randy have been keeping this farm going for the last year with very little help from you, and they know what needs to be done. And they most certainly don’t deserve to be ordered around like children!” Cliff’s eyes were fierce as he stepped closer. “You may own this farm, but you’re not the King of—” Len was taken completely off guard when Cliff kissed him and kissed him hard. Damn, that felt good, and Len felt his indignation slip away as Cliff’s lips assaulted his, teeth lightly scraping over his lower lip.
    Hands wound around Len’s waist, pulling their bodies together. Len ran his hands down Cliff’s back, cupping his butt and holding him still, thrusting his hips forward as he ground himself against him. Len closed his eyes as pressure built at the base of his spine, and slowly he began to ease the pressure on Cliff’s body and lips. If he didn’t, he knew he was going to be a mess for the rest of the day.
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Cliff stepped back, looking into Len’s eyes.
Len shook his head to clear it. “—Siam. These guys love the farm as much as you do.”
Cliff held up his hand in surrender. “Jesus, I thought kissing you would shut you up.”
    “Nope. It’s going to take a lot more than a kiss.” Len winked and smiled. “Seriously, they’ve been taking care of the farm while you’ve been grieving and taking care of Geoff. They’ve really stepped up.”
    “If I tell you you’re right, will you shut up and kiss me?” Cliff grabbed Len by the belt loop and yanked him forward, crashing their lips together again. Len nodded against Cliff’s lips, and this time all his thoughts, except those about how Cliff’s lips made him feel, flew from his head, and he whimpered softly against Cliff’s lips, the heat from Cliff’s body seeping through his clothes.
    Cliff pulled his head back but kept their bodies close. “Dad always said I was a bull in a china shop when it came to the farmhands.” Len didn’t try to pull away. “Seems to me your dad was right.” Len didn’t want to let go. He liked, really liked, how it felt to hold Cliff. “We have to be careful.” Len looked toward the stairs and slowly moved away, breaking their contact.

    “I know.” Len saw Cliff swallow and look down toward the floor. “I should be going.”
    Len wasn’t sure what to make of Cliff’s sudden reluctance and shyness, but he nodded and watched as he descended the stairs. Had he hurt Cliff’s feelings? Jesus, he hadn’t meant to. He just meant that they needed to be discreet, and kissing in the hayloft probably wasn’t the smartest thing. Len let his thoughts swirl as he finished 110
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    getting the hay and closed the trap door. God, he wished he had someone to talk to. But the one person he’d always been able to talk to was Ruby, and she was gone. Len stopped at the top of the stairs.
    “Shit. That has to be part of it.” He just needed to figure out how to broach the subject.
Len slowly descended the stairs. The hay had landed in a pile in the middle aisle of the barn, and Len stacked it near the stalls for easy retrieval. “Len.” He looked up and saw Fred walking through the barn.
“Is everything okay? Cliff just stopped me and told me I was right, and that we should plant this afternoon.”
“You were right.” Len said, matter-of-fact.
“It’s just that Cliff never changes him mind.” Len shrugged and changed the subject. “He did this time.”
    “You about done here?” Len nodded and looked around to make sure. “Then let’s go check out those last fields, make sure we’ve got everything we need. It’s supposed to rain again tonight, and we need to