Consumed Pt. 12

"After that, there was no way I was going back. When I came back from the Marines, I was straightforward with my family. I didn't want to hide. I had to hide it during my four years in the Marines and I wasn't about to continue. I found that what I felt was an amazing thing and I wanted to be free with it. My brothers and sisters were okay, but my parents all but disowned me." Not being able to resist anymore, he leaned over the kids and gave Liam a heart-thumping kiss.

"Mmmm," Liam practically growled out, as he pulled back from the kiss and licked his lips, savoring Rick's taste.

"I'm surprised. From what I've seen of your parents, it's hard to believe they wouldn't be supportive," Liam said, trying to keep his hormones in check.

"Yeah, well, it took a while. My Nana on my dad's side came down from Italy for three months. She's like the matriarch in the family, and when she realized that I wasn't coming to any of the family events, she started asking questions. When she found out that my parents had ostracized me, she reamed my dad a new one. Said that she came down here to visit with family and I was not to be excluded. My parents were forced to include me while she was here. That kind of opened the doors and eventually they came around," Rick finished.

"Wow," Liam said again. "I never would have guessed. They seem so comfortable with your sexuality. Your dad even made supportive comments when he caught me staring at you the other night," Liam said, blushing at the admission that he had been staring at Rick.

Rick couldn't help but laugh at Liam's embarrassment.

"Don't you dare laugh; it was embarrassing to have your dad catch me lusting after his son."

"So, you're lusting after me?" he asked, his voice going low and slightly gravelly as he leaned over again and met Liam's lips for another kiss. This time however, he reached out with his hand and pulled Liam to him, so he couldn't separate from the kiss until Rick was finished. They both opened up to the kiss at the same time, tongues dancing together to form an electrifying kiss.

On Sunday, the kids pretty much woke up as soon as the sun was shining. The first thing Chris asked was if they could camp out again tonight.

"No, I don't think my body could handle it. Christ, whose idea was this anyway?" Liam grumbled, as he stretched his sore and aching muscles. "I swear I slept on a huge rock last night. I think I have a permanent dent in my back now."

"Oh, someone woke up on the wrong side of the ground this morning," Rick said, chuckling at Liam and receiving a glare in return as Liam tried to stretch out the kinks in his back. "How about I make some coffee and breakfast?"

"Coffee and food sounds great. The kids and I will pack up all this stuff in the meantime."

"Okay, that sounds like a plan. I'll holler when it's ready," Rick replied as he headed inside.

By the time Rick called them in for breakfast, Liam and the kids had packed up most of the camping gear. While they were eating breakfast, Liam inquired about their plans for the day.

"Well, I figured we could get started on the garden and then just take it easy today. Why, did you have something else in mind?"

"Is there some place I can set up my computer? I actually need to get a little work done tonight. I have a short conference call tomorrow and I need to prepare for it."

"Well, for now, why don't you go ahead and set everything up at the kitchen table. In the meantime, I'll have my mom and dad bring out my old desk from my room. We should be able to set it up somewhere for you."

"That'd be great. Thanks Rick," Liam said, just as his cell phone started ringing.

While Liam was on the phone, Rick turned his attention to the kids and getting the breakfast dishes cleaned up. From the one-sided conversation, Rick could make out that Liam was talking to Robert, his lawyer, and that they were discussing getting together.

Hearing Liam call his name, Rick turned from the sink to face him.

"Robert is wondering if he could come by tomorrow morning to go over the sale of the house. He's got some paperwork for me to sign. Would that be okay with you?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, that's fine. Why don't you invite him over for breakfast?"

"Okay, I'll do that. Thanks!" Liam said, as he returned to his conversation with Robert. Rick wanted to meet Robert. Knowing that Robert was a potential suspect, Rick found that he was actually anxious to meet him. Robert was making quite an offer to Liam for the house and he couldn't help but wonder if there was an ulterior motive or if this guy was just genuinely a nice guy.

"You know, they are going to be sorely disappointed when they don't get instant gratification from what they've planted," Liam said, sometime later, as they were diligently planting up the garden. Chris had got bored pretty quickly and was now playing catch with the dog instead. Cassie, on the other hand, was still helping. She would dig the holes while Rick readied the plants. "I know, but just think how much they'll enjoy it once the vegetables start appearing. It'll be fun to see their faces," Rick replied, as he turned to glance at Chris playing with the dog.

"Look!" Cassie said, nudging Rick. Both Rick and Liam glanced down at Cassie who was holding a very dirty hand that contained a very dirty worm. "I found," She said.

"That's a worm Cassie. They are good for the garden and will help the plants grow." Rick said, as he reached out and touched the worm. The worm rolled and squirmed on Cassie's hand.

"Worm," Cassie repeated. "Chrissy, look, worm," she hollered in Chris's direction.

"Where? I want to see," Chris said, as his attention turned from the disappointed dog to them again. "That's so cool. Can I hold him Cassie?" Chris asked.

Cassie dropped the worm into Chris's hand and they both took turns gently prodding it and watching it wiggle and roll over Chris's hand. "It tickles," Chris said, giggling along with Cassie.

"This is what I love about kids, watching their fascination with something as simple as a worm. It's almost like experiencing it yourself all over again," Rick said to Liam, as they watched the kids.

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing," Liam said, but his voice didn't match his words and neither did his face.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking that I had better get inside and start getting my computer set up. I've got a lot of work to do." That said, Liam got up and headed into the house.

"Rick, can we keep the worm?" Chris asked, bringing Rick's attention back to the kids.

"No, we can't Chris. The worm is very important to the garden and he needs to stay here and do his job. He'll help the plants grow big and healthy."

"Oh, okay. Sorry Cassie, we can't keep him," Chris said disappointedly as he put the worm back into Cassie's hand.

"Let's put him back now so we can finish up the planting. Then I've got a water pail for both of you. You guys can water all the plants really well. Okay?" Rick said, hoping to distract them from having to put the worm back.

"Okay," they replied in unison as Cassie put the worm back and they watched it slowly burrow into the dirt.

A couple of hours later, Rick and the kids came back into the house to clean up and get some lunch. Liam was working hard at his computer, his cell phone sitting next to his laptop and a printer hooked up behind it. Several small boxes of paperwork sat on the floor surrounding him.

Rick got the kids set up in the living room watching TV and eating grilled cheese sandwiches, goldfish crackers, and milk. While they were eating, he prepared a sandwich and tomato soup for Liam and him and then sat down at the table with the food.

"Here, you should eat something," Rick said, sliding a plate toward Liam.

"Mmmm, smells good. Thanks," said Liam, sliding his laptop out of the way and the putting the plate of food in its place.

They had got about halfway through their meal when Rick noticed a small pile of photographs at one end of the table. "What are those?" He asked, pointing to the photos.

"Those are pictures of Julie and Adam and the kids. I found them in the box that Michelle's mom gave me. I was thinking about getting a few of them framed for the kids and also putting together a photo album. My mom's got tons of pictures too. Do you think that would be a good idea? I don't know if it would be good for them to be reminded of their loss so soon, but I don't want them to forget either."

"I think it's a great idea. We can go tomorrow and get everything you need," Rick offered.

"Yeah, okay. When do you have to go back to work?"

"I usually work two days on and four days off. I was due to go in on Monday morning, but I took yesterday and today off, so now I don't go back in until Sunday morning," Rick said, as he reached out over the table and ran the back of his hand along Liam's bruised face. "How does your face feel today?"

"It doesn't hurt much, as long as I don't touch it. In fact, I had totally forgotten about it until you mentioned it. My head probably hurts the most though. It starts throbbing every once in a while," Liam replied.

"Let's get all this cleaned up and then maybe..." Rick started, but was interrupted by his phone ringing.

"Correction, why don't you answer your phone and I'll work on getting the lunch mess cleaned up," Liam said, as he leaned forward, gave Rick a kiss and then headed out to the living room.

While Rick was on the phone, Liam checked on the kids. They had polished off most of their lunch and were now glued to the television, the dog curled up with them on the floor. Liam picked up their dishes and headed back to the kitchen.

As he entered the kitchen, Rick was just hanging up the phone. "Well, it looks like my vacation has been cut short. It figures. I finally have someone to spend time with and I get called into work. I swear we jinxed it by talking about it."

"Is everything okay?" Liam asked.

"I'm not sure, I haven't been fully briefed yet, but it looks like we've got a forest fire up along the old Incline Railway scar on the mountainside. I've got to head out. They've called all of the crew in. I'm sorry," Rick said.

"It's fine. It's your job. Just be careful," Liam said, as he walked over to Rick and kissed him chastely on the lips.

"Mmmm, I think that if I'm going to put myself in such mortal danger, I at least deserve a better kiss than that," Rick said, before reaching out and pulling Liam against him for another kiss, only this one definitely wasn't chaste and Liam found himself pressing up against Rick, slowly backing him up against the counter, his arms wrapping around Rick's neck and their tongues fighting for dominance.

"Shit! I wish I didn't have to go," Rick said, as he pulled away from Liam.