Chapter 6

Jared had stood and groomed Cole's horse when they had come back to the stables, running his fingers over the soft fur over well-formed muscles. Dune's nose was like the most amazing velvet, super-warm and delicately soft to his touch. The big horse had been scary to Jared when he had first seen him, but Cole had moved around him as though born to it and Jared didn't want to disappoint his boyfriend.

The farm was amazing, scenery and sky so big it was overwhelmingly like drowning in heaven. Cole's family even had a lake and Jared wondered how much man power it took to keep a place like this working. As the evening drew in, the light fading too early, Cole had duties to do. He had lifted Jared up, sitting him on the bonnet of the Hilux, before going about his chores. Jared watched him, only minding a little bit about being treated like a child. The speed with which Cole worked, the surety of his big hands was surprising, and when he started throwing hay bales from the roof Jared realised how his lack of being able to hear anything might become dangerous rather than inconvenient.

Cole made dinners for the horses, left them soaking, skipped out, rugged up Dune and went out in two batches to get the other horses, leading three in at once it what seemed to be a complicated system of various rope lengths and a firm hand. Cole fed the horses while Jared watched, locked up the tack room and shut down the stables for the night, leaving the radio on to keep the horses company. He returned to Jared smelling of grass, hay and molasses. Jared took his big hand in his own and kissed the hard knuckles, sniffing him.

You smell funny. He held up the tablet, on which he had been playing while Cole worked. Do you do all this every day?

Cole nodded, smiling, and reached out his free hand to wrap around the back of Jared's head, rubbing the short hairs and leaning forwards. Jared responded with a noise that was nearly a purr, meeting Cole halfway for the kiss. Cole's lips were rough and indescribably warm and to Jared he smelt like a heady mix of horse and ozone and eventually he released Cole's tongue with a sigh, dizzy with lust and a little bit of love.

Oh no, you can't be falling for him already... Jared cursed his scepticism, which felt a lot like a presence of his sister, He doesn't know anything, you can't be all head over heels just because he made the first move.

Cole pulled him from the bonnet of the truck and opened the door.

'Come on. Dinner time.'

The house itself made Jared gape. Cole pulled the Hilux into the cobbled space next to the quad and his mother's Jeep. Black Rock Farm house was a sprawling mass of varying tiled roof lines, brick and flint cladding, lead lined windows.

You live here?

Cole put the truck into neutral, killed the engine and nodded.

Yes. Scared yet?

'Brothers? Sisters?'

Cole recognised the signs, knuckles rubbing together and a hooked finger touching the bridge of his nose.

'One sister, three brothers.' Come and meet everybody

The kitchen was a long whitewashed room with thick wooden beams crossing the ceiling, the huge green enamel Aga at one end. Cole greeted his mother with a wave and toed off his boots, kicking them into the coat room which lead off the kitchen. Jared untied his shoes and handed them to Cole as the dogs ran up to him, apparently yapping, wanting attention. Jared stroked the biggest of the spaniels, a black and white mottled creature with big friendly eyes and avoided facing the idea that he was in a room with lots of people he didn't know. And only one of them knew any sign language at all. It was going to be a long evening.

Jared pretty much stuck himself to Cole as the older boy stood at the back of the kitchen, chatting idly to his mother as she stirred something on the Aga which smelt like meat and heaven and rosemary. Jared wrapped his arm around Cole, holding a fistful of his shirt, trying desperately to calm his pulse. Cole looked directly at him when he spoke, making the signs for the bits of speech that he did know.

"It's OK, you have to be scared. I'll introduce you." he stopped speaking and Jared felt him nuzzle his hair, at that moment he quite liked being significantly shorter than Cole as the boy used the hand that rested over his shoulder to sign 'boyfriend.'

Jared smiled and waved at a succession of people who looked like increasingly younger, paler versions of Cole. Everyone in his family had that same blond hair, though not quite as sun-streaked as Cole, and Cole finger spelled for him a litany of names; Clayton, Caden, Chase, Cory. And every single one of them started babbling at once. Jared felt Cole's chest vibrate as he snarled at them, silencing his younger siblings.

'He's deaf.'

Which was met by one statement from four mouths.

"What?"

Jared felt himself shrink back as Cole explained, not wanting to be involved in the conversation. Cole's movements became tight and hard as he continued to explain and Jared turned from the staring, confused and inquisitive faces. With his free hand he signed to Cole.

'Cole. I don't like it. I'm nervous.'

Cole took his hand and kissed his fingers, bright blue summer eyes looking directly at him. Here in Cole's own world he was so much braver and open than Jared thought he could be. Now that the barrier of touch had been breached, Cole couldn't keep his hands off him.

'Stay.'

Jared sat down at the chair directed to him at the end of the table with Cole's little sister Cory to his right. Cole stroked the back of his head, and went to help with dinner, bringing plates, drinks and steaming dishes to the table. Caden reached for the food and had his hand slapped away by his older brother. Jared caught what he was saying, because he faced him and Clayton's facial expressions were very clear.

"Wait. We have a guest. You're such a moron."

"Cole kissed him." Caden hissed, and Jared realised he didn't want to know what was going on in that conversation. He turned to find Cory staring at him.

'Hi.' Jared didn't expect an answer from the little girl but smiled and waggled his fingers.

'How are you?' Cory signed slowly, with both hands, obviously concentrating on doing it right.

'I'm hungry, ' Jared replied, beaming as Cole's hand rested on his shoulder.

"Cory have you been in my room again?" He sat next to Jared and pointed to the jug of water on the table and then the cider he held in his hand, 'Which?'

Jared stuck to water and waited patiently while Cole got his family round to the idea of lips reading. Carla explained what was for dinner and Jared echoed the signs back almost automatically. Lamb, rosemary, roasted vegetables, onion gravy. Cole served him, which Jared could see was an unusually affair in this household, a pile of gleaming crisp vegetables, slices of pink touched lamb and garlic like golden jewels scattered over his plate. Jared remembered the first meal he'd ever had with people outside of his family.

He'd been ten. His best friend that autumn had been Logan, who had attached himself to Jared from the first day of term and got him to play in every single pretend game, friendly football match and game of catch going on. Shelby had been jealous but his parents had thought it was good for him to have other friends. When Logan had asked him for dinner and a sleepover he'd been excited and gone along with pyjamas and sleeping bag in hand. It had not gone well. Logan was an only child, his mother was very traditional, his father completely conventional, and Jared had fiddled nervously with his food as the pair made no effort whatsoever to talk to him. Having found out that he was deaf Logan's mother had made a little wrinkle-nosed expression of disgust at the odd sounds he made when he signed and talked. It took Jared longer to eat than most people, having to use his hands to talk as well as consume and dinner ended when Logan's father finished. Jared had watched in anguished hunger as he watched most of his dinner being whisked away from him and into the bin. They had never gotten as far as the sleepover part of the evening, Jared had beeped his parents to come and get him and spent the rest of the evening holed up in his room with Shelby, eating cookies and giggling over comic books.

'Jared?' "You in there?"

Jared smiled at his boyfriend and stole a wedge of carrot from his plate. His brother's looked shocked.

"Cole if one of us had done that to you, we'd be bleeding by now," Clayton made sure he had Jared's attention before he continued, "You're lucky he likes you," he blocked Caden's attempt to steal his meat with one arm, "You have to fight for your food around here."

Jared had his tablet on the table on the corner he shared with Cole and typed with one hand.

Can you thank them for me? They're trying.

Cole chuckled, Jared could see the feeling running through him and smiled to see the way Cole lit up.

"They could try harder," he heard something and stilled, "Dad's coming."

Please forgive me for anything stupid my father does.

"Hi Dad," Cole turned from his boyfriend, yes, yes he is, god it feels so good to say that, and got up to greet his father. William Sathie had already dealt with his eldest son being gay this week, and had handled that very well, but he was not known for his tact, and Cole couldn't bear the idea of his father doing anything particularly stupid in front of Jared. "Dad, this is my boyfriend. His name is Jared. He's deaf. Yes really deaf. Speak normally, face him and please don't be ... er ... like you normally are."

Jared leant around Cole and waved a hello, he saw the look of half panic and love on Cole's face and smiled.

"Well hello Jared," Cole got out of the way so that his boyfriend could speak with his father, "Don't let me interrupt your food. Someone will steal it." Jared turned from William's words to find a hopeful looking brown and white spaniel at his elbow, nose an inch from his dinner.

Cole shook his head quickly when Jared looked at him with pleading eyes and pushed the dog away.

"Don't feel bad for them," Chase said, "They eat plenty."

Jared finger spelled a question to Cole. It took longer, but until Cole learnt more and could lip read properly it worked well.

'Why does your mum call you 'pup'?'

Cole laughed and used the tablet to draw a picture which went along with a sign which looked like two fingered-two handed running.

'A-dog.' Cole showed Jared the picture, a rough sketch of a tall female figure surrounding by what looked like a pack of funny four legged stick men. Jared typed back, and Cole took the opportunity to touch his arm with one hand, loving the contact and closeness of the smaller boy.

If your mum is the big bad Alpha wolf, what does that make you?

Cole gnashed his teeth and Jared fended off his now rabid-boyfriend with his hands on Cole's chest. Cole turned his attention away from Jared as Clayton reached over to try and steal his food and narrowly avoided being stabbed with a fork. Carla came to sit down next to her son and deposited a big steaming bowl of lamb and vegetables in front of her husband.

"So did you boys have a nice ride?"

Jared nodded his agreement and knuckled Cole's shoulder.

"Yeah, Jared's a real good rider," Cole thought about his words and signed while he spoke; Jared-good-riding, and felt Jared's hand move across the back of his neck. He leant into that touch, practically purring, Jared's fingers in his hair letting him know that he was doing well, done good. Cole turned to look at Jared and found his boyfriends darker blue eyes shining with some emotion that made Cole's heart burst out of the stable gates and canter up into the sky. He could barely believe the feeling, and suddenly his rough work jeans were painfully tight. When Carla made Chase and Cory get up to deal with pudding Cole was eternally grateful to whatever luck made his other two siblings get up to clear plates without being asked.

Cole took a couple of big deep breaths and tried to still the frantic pounding of his blood through heart and crotch, the rushing in is ears that rendered him useless as a hearing person, his eyes only for Jared.

"Ice cream!" Cory's high pitched eight-year-old voice snapped Cole out of his reverie as the steaming bowl was put down in front of him, another for Jared.

"And crumble," Chase added, "Thanks Mama."

"You're welcome pup. Good god Cole," Carla clipped him across the top of the head, "Quit gaping and let the poor boy eat something."

Cole buried himself in his dessert as his father spoke. William had taken his oldest son's instructions well and Jared was able to understand him clearly when he talked.

"So you're at college with Cole? How did you two meet?"

With a smirk that Cole was starting to worry about Jared mimed the throwing of a ball and then being hit in the head. Cole groaned and hid his face in his food.

"Nice move big brother," Caden grinned, "At least you didn't hit him with that damn truck." When Cole groaned again and Jared nodded all eyes widened, "You did? Nearly did? Christ Cole."

"He is not teaching me to drive," Clayton piped up, spoon full of rhubarb and crumble quickly stolen by Chase.

'What is this?' Jared's signal were easy to read, pointing at the filling of the crumble like it might be a strange alien. Cole smiled and reached across for the tablet.

Rhubarb. You not had it before?

Jared shook his head. Mum says it's too expensive.

Cole couldn't stop the tide of laughter that spread through him. Jared jabbed him hard on the arm, and Cole realised his reaction had been confusing for the deaf boy, unable to get an actual response.