Dare’s Christmas Gifts Read online

  Dare's Christmas Gift

  By AKM Miles

  Dare stepped into the bathroom with the sack of gifts to hide from JC and Brandon. He was getting quite a stash back there. That's where he hid the boys' presents. Ryan's were hidden over at his neighbor Jackie's house. He thought of the book he'd had made for Ryan. He had no doubt that Ryan would love it, but he'd sure felt awkward doing it.

  While getting coffee from the lounge at his office, where he was a counselor for children, he'd overheard a conversation that got him thinking. His secretary, Jana, knew of a photographer who specialized in doing books for couples: romantic scenes, sexy scenes, portraits, etc. for people in love. The word was, anything goes. This photographer wasn't shy about shooting whatever people wanted to do. At first, Dare had thought there was no way he'd do anything like that. He kept thinking about Ryan and how much Ryan seemed to like his body, especially his stomach. Go figure.

  Finally, he'd contacted the photographer and they did a session, as a secret gift for Ryan. The book had photo after photo of Dare's stomach. He had to admit that, despite his qualms, it was a very artistic book. There were pictures of Dare in a dress shirt, tails out, unbuttoned. The lady had done several poses in each shirt in different kinds of lighting. She'd torn a T-shirt's sleeves out and cut the bottom half off to make a cropped top. She'd sprayed him with sex sweat, she called it, making it look like he'd been running or working out, or…whatever.

  There were plenty without a shirt at all, just side shots of his abs, or different poses. She was a magician with light and shadow. A couple of times, she'd gotten him to think of Ryan and she swore those were the ones that Ryan would love. Something in the eyes, she said. Could be. He'd even had one taken shirtless, holding a jar of gourmet chocolate sauce, lid off, finger dripping over it.

  Delightedly, she'd taken two as he blushed warmly. In both dress pants and jeans, she'd had him unsnap and unzip, and took shots with him going commando. He knew Ryan would be smoothing his hand over the one in opened jeans with the shiny stuff on his stomach and a few beads of it running down into the V of his pants, which were nearly open to the point of indecency. Yeah, his gift for Ryan was going to be a hit.

  Despite the fact that he felt silly the whole time, he couldn't wait for Ryan to look at it. She even left several pages blank in the back and told Dare to bring Ryan in and she'd do some couple shots for them. He liked her a lot and had asked if she would do a shoot with himself, Ryan and JC at the park in the spring. She'd readily agreed.

  Humming as he put two more gifts into his super secret storage place, Dare jumped when he heard the front door slam downstairs. Ryan home with JC…already? He hurriedly put towels in front of the top shelf in their bathroom closet and hurried to meet his men.

  There they were, taking off heavy coats and…arguing? What was wrong with that picture? Dare hurried down the stairs.

  "Hey, guys, what's up? You're home early…and not happy. Ryan?" He left the question open, looking back and forth from Ryan to JC.

  JC didn't let Ryan answer before barreling into Dare's arms and hugging his neck hard when Dare automatically caught him up.

  "Dad doesn't believe me, but I saw him, Dare. I did. I'm not lyin'." JC's face was stuck tight into Dare's neck and he was shaking in righteous indignation.

  "JC, I'm just telling you that you must have seen someone who looked like Mitch. There's no way you saw him; he's in jail. He has a lot more time to be in there before he gets out. I'm not saying you're lying. I know you don't ever lie. I just think you must have made a mistake, honey." JC jerked away from the hand Ryan tried to put on his shoulder. Ryan's face showed his hurt and bewilderment.

  "Not a mistake. It was the mean man. He was watchin' me at the fence when we was outside playing. I told the teacher like I oughta. She believed me." JC was clearly hurt that his dad didn't think he was sure about what he saw.

  Dare looked at Ryan over JC's back and saw the frustration there. Hearing Mitch's name sent a shiver through Dare. He thought that story was long since over. Maybe JC was more traumatized than they'd thought at the time.

  Months ago, both JC and his best friend, Brandon, had seemed to handle the violent dealings with Brandon's mother's ex with ease. It was probably too good to be true that the boys would be able to forget Mitch scaring all of them to death. It may have ended well, for everyone except Jackie's ex, but they were probably being too optimistic in thinking there wouldn't be any more repercussions.

  Knowing this needed to be dealt with right now, Dare said, "Let's go to the big couch, all of us, and talk this out. No anger, JC. Ryan believes you saw something that scared you. Will you tell us all about it? But first, you have to do the telling after you give your daddy a hug. Okay, little man?"

  It was a testament to Dare and Ryan's parenting that JC gave it a moment's thought before turning and reaching for Ryan. The love on Ryan's face when he took JC into his arms was clear and heartwarming. Ryan squeezed JC till he squeaked.

  "Da-ad, yer breakin' me."

  "Sorry, baby. I just can't stand it when we're not getting along. Now, let's sit down like Dare says, and you tell us both exactly what you saw."

  The three settled on the couch, JC on Ryan's lap, facing Dare. He told his tale in his usual fashion, without stopping for a breath.

  "Okay, it went just like this. I was on the monkey bars hanging upside down and goofy Jenny Nance was tryin' to tickle me. She moved out of the way and I saw him at the fence, just watchin' me. He didn't move, just kept lookin'. I flipped over and landed on the ground…it didn't hurt or nothin'. When I stood up to look again, he was gone. He was there, Dare, I'm telling you. He still looks mean, too."

  Dare looked at Ryan, trying to keep the questions, doubts, and fear out of his eyes.Dare didn’t want all that translated to the boys. They were scared enough. Surely there was no way that Mitch was out of jail, but this was not something they could ignore. JC wasn't one to make up things to get attention. He didn't need to, since he had total love and adoration from his two dads.

  "Can you check with the policemen who were here? Maybe they've heard something. If you'll do that, I'll take JC over to Jackie's and he can play with Brandon while I tell her to keep a look out," Dare suggested.

  "You believe me," JC said, looking back and forth between Dare and Ryan.

  "Of course we believe you. I just was shocked when you first told me and frankly, I was hoping it couldn't be true. Will you go with Dare…and hey, buddy, I wouldn't say anything to Brandon yet. No reason to scare him until we find out what's going on. You all can talk about what you want for Christmas, huh? Is that okay with you?"

  "Yeah, I don't want him to be afraid again. I won't say nothin'. Yer gonna find out why he was there, right?" JC had complete faith in both Ryan, his uncle-turned-father after the death of both his father in the war and his mother in an accident, and Dare. He'd taken to Dare immediately upon meeting him and had no trouble accepting him as part of the family.

  "Yes. I'm going to find out. Don't you worry. We won't let anything happen to you," Dare answered.

  "I know." JC reached up to kiss his dad. As Dare stood, JC reached for his hand.

  They headed to the back door to go across the yard to Jackie and Brandon's house. Ryan went to the table by the recliner for the phone book to make some calls.

  Chapter Two

  Mitch was an idiot who'd lost his mind and come after Jackie and Brandon earlier in the year with a gun. He'd scared them both and roughed up Jackie pretty bad. Ryan and Dare had heard her scream and a gun shot, and his lover had decided that he just had to go help out. They'd called the police, but they were slow in responding. Dare had managed to get Brandon out a side window without Mitch catching t
hem.

  Ryan's heart almost couldn't take it when Dare had gone back to try to help Jackie against the madman. Dare's argument, that Ryan now had responsibilities with JC and couldn't risk something happening to someone else in his young life, was valid. It had nearly killed Ryan to stay back and watch the conflict unfold next door. There was a happy ending to the situation, but not without a lot of drama. The ensuing newspaper reports caused quite a bit of damage, because the reporter felt compelled to tell not only what Dare did for a living, but that he was gay.

  Life had calmed down in the last few months. Dare's career as a child counselor was back on track after losing a few clients, but gaining others. Ryan and JC had asked Dare to move in with them after Dare's birthday party. The three of them had settled into Ryan's house and adjusted well to being a family. As he dialed, Ryan prayed JC was mistaken about seeing Mitch.

  When Ryan finally got Officer Holmes on the phone, he had a hard time being calm and rational.

  "How in hell could this have happened? How could Mitch be out of jail already?" Ryan demanded of the officer.

  "Hey, I'm just finding out about it. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. I understand that he's a wild card," Holmes said.

  "You know if he's out, he's coming after us. He's crazy. He's an idiot. I've got children to take care of here." Ryan was so frustrated that his voice actually shook.

  "For now, just be careful. Check your security at your house and keep an eye on your loved ones. I promise to get back to you as soon as I know something concrete."

  Officer Holmes hung up and Ryan stood there, not feeling any better after the conversation.

  Ryan locked up and took the keys with him as he headed next door to report what he'd learned…nothing. As he headed in the open back door of their friend and neighbor's house, he saw Dare and Jackie both jump.

  "It's only me, but I think you should lock that from now on. By your reaction, I assume Dare told you," Ryan said, before going to Jackie for a quick hug. He touched Dare's shoulder and sat at the kitchen table with them.

  "No, uh…Jackie was just about to tell me about Brandon and how he's been acting strange lately. Now, tell." Dare reached across and took Jackie's hand as she started to talk about something that had evidently been bothering her.

  "For the last few days, Brandon has been…different. You know how he tries to be tough and cool all the time. He says he's being like JC, who, of course, is smarter and stronger than anybody." She smiled, acknowledging Brandon's love for JC.

  "Hey, Brandon is a tough little guy himself," Dare responded.

  "I know, but just lately he's been very…clingy. He seems scared all the time. He keeps checking the doors to make sure they're locked and wants me near him all the time. That's not like Brandon, not since he met JC, anyway. He's been my big guy, you know? I've even missed my needy little boy. How sick is that? Now that I have him back, I see that it's not healthy…for him, anyway. There's something wrong, isn't there?" She looked at both Ryan and Dare, as if waiting for bad news.

  Ryan spoke up. "Jackie, JC came home swearing he saw Mitch today while he was on the playground. I told him it couldn't have been since Mitch was still in jail, but he was adamant about it. He got angry with me for not believing him. He's sure it was Mitch."

  Jackie's hands flew to her mouth and she stifled a gasp. Her eyes filled and she looked from one to the other of them, obviously wanting to hear better news.

  "I'm sorry, hon. I've called Officer Holmes and he's checking for me. He hadn't heard anything about it. He suggested to make sure we were secure and to keep a look out." Ryan reached for Jackie and she stood, shakily, and went to him. He pulled her onto his lap and hugged her, stroking her back. His eyes met Dare's over her shoulder.

  "There you are, hittin' on my man again. What have I told you about that, young lady?" Dare, bless his heart, was clearly trying to tease her into calming down. She sat up and turned to him, sniffing.

  "Dare, what'll I do? What if he's out? How can he be out? I thought he had a lot more time in jail. This can't be right."

  "How about we tell the boys that there's something wrong with your house, water pipe or something, and you both can stay with us for a few days? We've got the Christmas party coming up this weekend and you can help us wrap gifts for the kids that the church is sponsoring, and we'll all go together as planned. We'll just go from our house. That's okay, isn't it, Ryan?"

  "I think it's a great idea. We'll act like it's a big, long party week before Christmas. School's out for the holidays, and I've taken the time off to be with JC. I was going to ask if you could take the rest of the week, too. That possible?" Ryan asked, looking hopefully at Dare.

  "I don't know. I'll check. A lot of people canceled because of trips and such. Maybe I could swing it. If we find out Mitch is out there, then yes, for sure. I'll reschedule appointments if I need to. We'll keep him safe." Dare looked fierce as he finished and glanced at Ryan.

  "Okay, until we can find out more, we put on a show for the boys. Here, let's put some water on the floor by the sink so they'll believe the story for now." Ryan stood up, got a glass of water, and poured it on the floor by the sink. He grinned at Dare as he did it, feeling like a kid doing something wrong, waiting for a scolding from Mom.

  "I take it the boys are in Brandon's room?" Ryan asked Jackie.

  Chapter Three

  JC watched Brandon playing with the action figures on the floor of his bedroom. He thought Brandon was awful quiet. Usually, he talked all the time.

  "Are you sad, Brandon? Why're you not talkin'?"

  Brandon looked up at his friend. JC could see fear in his wide eyes. "'M scared."

  JC got on the floor by Brandon and put his arm around his buddy.

  "What'sa matter, B?" As he asked the question, JC got a sick feeling in his stomach. He didn't like for his friend to be upset. He'd figure it out and make Brandon feel better.

  Brandon just shook his head and turned to hide his face. JC moved the figures out of the way and got in front of Brandon, pulling his arm away so he could see Brandon's face. There were tears on his cheeks, dripping off his chin.

  "Brandon, what's wrong? I'm you best buddy; you can tell me. Is it your mommy? You all have a fight or somethin'?"

  Brandon shook his head and, taking a deep breath, he raised his face and whispered, "I saw him…the mean man." His eyes were huge, and his face was pale, like he was talking about his worst nightmare.

  "Oh no! I did, too. Where? Where'd you see him?" JC was filled with a mixture of fear, anger, and righteous indignation. He knew he'd seen Mitch and his dad had said there was no way. Well, ha! Brandon had seen him, too.

  "You tell yer mom?" he asked, settling in beside Brandon.

  Brandon shook his head and muttered, "I don't want to scare her. Dad hurt her, JC. I'm scared he's comin' back to kill us."

  "I saw him today, watchin' me at the playground. I told the teacher and I told Dad and Dare. At first they didn't believe me, but Dad's calling the police to see what he can find out. Don't be scared. I'll protect you, okay?"

  Brandon looked to JC again. JC knew that Brandon thought of him as a big brother sometimes. He took that very seriously.

  "Let's go tell them. Come on, they're big and brave. They'll take care of us. Where was he when you saw him?"

  "At the Wah-Mart parking lot and then at the park when Mom was swingin' me yesterday 'til we got too cold."

  "Wow, you saw him twice? I bet he's gonna do somethin' mean." JC got to his feet and took Brandon's hand. "Come on, we'll tell them and we'll be ready."

  JC and Brandon headed for the kitchen, hand in hand, where they heard their parents' voices. As soon as the grown-ups spotted them, Brandon broke away and ran for his mom. She picked him up onto her lap and hugged him, her eyes wide and bewildered as he sobbed against her.

  JC went to his dads and reached up. When Ryan had him in his arms, JC said, "The mean man wants to come and kill us all, but yer gonna stop hi
m, aren't you?"

  Chapter Four

  Dare watched Ryan clutch JC tighter in his arms and gasp when JC dropped his bomb. What happened to not scaring Brandon? He looked over at the weeping child held tight in his mother's arms. He met Ryan's eyes and they shrugged.

  "Hey guys, what's up? JC, I thought we said we weren't going to…"

  Before Dare could get any further, JC interrupted him to say, "Brandon saw the mean man, two times, Dad. Two times! I didn't scare him. He was already scared. You have to stop the man before he kills them."

  "Okay, everybody, let's get this all straightened out. Brandon, you saw Mitch?" Dare asked the little boy.

  Brandon turned in his mom's arms, looked at Dare, and nodded his head. He held up two fingers. Dare figured he meant he'd seen Mitch twice.

  "Where'd you see him, honey?" Dare asked. He used his very calm, quiet voice, trying to ease the boy down from his heightened state.