The Family You Choose
A free Shane and Galen story for y’all!
Copyright 2009
He’d been gathering up old clothes to take to Goodwill when the mail came.
He stared at the return address. Chattanooga. Back home.
What the fuck?
Shane put the envelope down, then went back to eradicating any sign of shiny suits from Galen’s closet. He couldn’t help wondering, though, who’d sent a letter. Why they’d sent a letter. How they’d found him to send a letter.
“Hey, darlin’? Have you seen–” Galen stopped in the bedroom door, staring at him. “What are you doing?”
“Cleaning. Seen what?”
“My good razor.” One dark brow went all the way up and Galen crossed his arms over his wide chest. “That’s my clothes.”
“You are observant. It’s in the medicine cabinet. Khan was wanting to chew on it.”
That was really kind of hot, that stubborn thing.
“Why are you throwing away my clothes, Shane?” Not that Galen had worn a suit for over a year.
“They’re ugly, shiny, and they make your butt look big.”
“Well.” Now both eyebrows were up, Galen straightening up. “I guess we ought to get rid of them. Did you get the mail?”
“Uh-huh. It’s in the front room.” He picked up a pair of jeans, put them back in the closet. At Galen’s look, he shrugged. “Those jeans make me want to hump you like a naughty puppy.”
“We should keep them, then.” Now, that got him a smile, which was almost as nice as when Galen smoldered at him.
“Yes.” He nodded and kept those and the nice white button down and the leather vest, too.
“You gonna toss my letter jacket, too?” Ah. Well, that explained why Galen was still there.
“Nope. That’s special. Those nasty suits aren’t special.” He wasn’t being mean, damn it. He just… Right. He was telling Galen what he liked.
“Okay, darlin’.” Galen moved close, dropping a kiss on his mouth. “I’m gonna go look at the mail. You holler when you’ve done away with the suits.”
“Sure. Maybe we can go dancing later.” He reached out and stroked Galen’s belly, just once.
“I’d like that, darlin’.” That belly was bare more and more, these days, Galen going native. Shane fucking loved it.
“Mmm…” He wasn’t drooling. Much.
“Clean. Mail.” Galen popped him on the butt, laughing like a loon.
“Well, it could be dirty mail, you don’t know.” For that, he’d send those God awful pajama pants off, too.
“Don’t you throw out my good jammies.” Galen popped him again, sending him staggering a few steps.
He grinned and launched himself at Galen without thinking about it too long, tackling the fine son of a bitch. They went down like he was a linebacker, Galen twisting so that big body landed on the bottom. “Oof. You got me, darlin’.”
“Yup.” He leaned down, bit Galen’s nipple, grinning like a new-born fool all the while.
“Uhn.” Long legs came up to wrap around him, Galen’s abs rippling. The man was a stud, especially since he was a stud who had more time to work out and eat better these days.
“Mine.” He liked this game; they both won. He bit again, tugging a little bit.
“You think?” Galen grabbed his ass, pulling him up a little to rub them together.
“Nope.” He knew.
“No?” Pulling back, Galen stared into his eyes, searching a little.
“No. You are mine. No thinking necessary.” And he’d fucking kill anybody who tried to fuck with that.
“Jesus, darlin’. I love you.” Galen pulled his head down with one big hand, palm fitting perfectly to the curve of his skull. He nodded, took the kiss he wanted, one that burned them both right to the ground. Their lips met, their tongues pushed against each other, and damn. Just damn.
Hot son of a bitch. He tugged his T-shirt up a bit so that their bellies could rub together.
“Mmm. Shane.” Galen’s skin was hot-hot, almost burning.
“Uh-huh.” He nodded, not sure exactly what he was agreeing to.
“Kiss me again, darlin’. Prove that you know it.”
Oh, he loved a challenge. He bent down, staring into those big, dark eyes the entire time, then he kissed Galen, putting all he had into it. Grunting, Galen humped up, hot and hard through the faded, soft sweats. Oh, he did love how Galen felt against him.
He pushed back, making Galen fight for it a little bit. They wrestled around a little, but Len got his pants down, got both hands on his ass. Oh, that felt good. His cock was moving from interested to hard as nails, quick as you please.
“Want you, darlin’.” Well, yeah. Duh. Galen was licking at every inch of skin he could get to.
“Yeah?” Shane grinned a little, cheeks stretching. “Prove it.”
“Okay.” Just like that he was on his back on the floor, Galen climbing on top of him. That casual strength still amazed him.
“Hey.” And also, wow.
“I think we’ll start here.” Galen kissed him like there was no tomorrow, like everything was right there, right now, all about them. That didn’t suck at all. In fact, Shane was a fan, balls to bones.
Those lips moved on his, Galen’s tongue exploring, and then Len moved on down, nipping at his chin. Then his shoulder.
“No biting.” Not that he really minded the biting, but there was the principle of the thing.
Len just snorted and bit harder. “Could be worse. I could be Vic.”
“Love bites from Vic are kinda brutal, I bet.” Alligators would leave weird hickeys.
“And his kisses would smell like chicken.” Len hooted, amusing himself mightily.
“Oh, gag. Dude. Len. Not sexy.”
“What?” Those pretty eyes twinkled, Galen laughing like a loon. Crazy man.
“Bitch.” He dug his fingers into Galen’s ribs, tickling for all he was worth. The whole thing turned to a big old farce, with lots of rolling and laughing. That was okay. It didn’t always have to go the way of fucking.
Galen rolled up, poked him. “I’ll grab the mail and some bags for the suits.”
“Cool.” He stayed on the floor, sorting through his old flip flops.
“Be right back, darlin’.” Len left him, and dude, that was a stinky boot.
He tossed that into the back of the closet and found a bag of clothes that were supposed to go to charity six months ago. Those weren’t shiny suits. They were just Galen’s fat clothes. Shane chuckled and tossed them with the suits. They didn’t need those either.
“Shane?” Galen came back in, looking like a thundercloud. “You had a brother, right?”
“Uh. Yeah. He’s a doctor, I think. Money and stuff.”
“Well, not anymore, darlin’.” Galen handed him the letter he had avoided opening.
“You can get fired from being a doctor?” He took the letter, frowning over it.
Dear Shane,
I don’t know how to tell you this, especially as we’ve never met, but your brother Michael was killed in a car accident last month. I would have invited you to the funeral, but I didn’t know how to find you and, as I’m sure you know, your mom’s not the easiest person to get information from. Your nephew looked you up on the Internet and I wanted to let you know that Mike was gone.
He left you a box of things. I can mail it, if you want.
Sherri.
Then there was a phone number and a picture of a big, middle-aged man that looked like Uncle Hal, three little boys and a little girl and a pretty blonde lady.
Huh.
Weird.
“You okay?” Galen’s hand landed on his shoulder, warm and firm.
“Yeah.” He handed the picture back to Galen and then grabbed the bags of clothes. “Gonna take these to the truck.”
“‘Kay.” Those eyes saw way too much. They always did. Len let him go, though.
He loaded the truck up and then headed down to the bait shop instead of going back in. Goober was on his heels, drooling and barking, white-tipped tail in the air. Khan was chasing something, but he didn’t know what. Hell, he was half afraid to find out. That big girl loved frogs. He opened up the shop, started doing inventory.
Man, Big Mike was dead? That was just… His momma must be real broken up.
He pulled out his cell phone, stared at it a minute, then put it back in his pocket. When he glanced up, he jumped about a mile. Len stood maybe three feet away.
“Want me to call her, Shane?”
“Huh? No. No. She don’t want to hear from me.” His momma had one son she wanted, and it wasn’t him.
“No, I mean your brother’s wife. For the box.”
“I don’t need anything. He had kids. They should have it.” Kids. Four kids. Shane shivered a little.
“Well, how do you know it’s not something of your granddad’s? You liked him.” Galen sounded so… reasonable.
“I did.” His granddaddy had been a good man.
“Well, someone ought to call.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s what you do?” Len spread his hands. “She went out of her way to be nice, and you don’t know her at all. What could it hurt?”
“What could it hurt?” He frowned, turned to look out the window over the swamp. He’d been out here for fifteen years. He’d called home for every holiday, every birthday those first years. He’d had letters returned, had his mom look him in the face and close the door. Big Mike had been a doctor already by the time he’d left home and when Momma’d made her choice…
Shane figured it could hurt a lot, hurt him a lot.
“Shane, darlin’. I don’t mean to be an asshole. I just… I don’t know anything about your brother.” Galen squeezed, letting him know he was okay. Not alone.
“He’s smart, tall, straight. He’s not a fuck up.” Mike was the one that his folks kept. “I’ll call her, okay? Tell her I’m sorry for her loss and stuff.”
“Hey, now. You don’t have to, darlin’.” Damn it, Len was so confusing. Call. Don’t call.
“Make up your damn mind.”
“Shane.” Galen took both of his shoulders now, making him turn, meet those eyes. “I’m sorry, darlin’. I wasn’t trying to force you.”
“I just… He… I ain’t… You and Momma, y’all are my family. Y’all wanted me. This lady, she writes to tell me about Mike, huh, but she doesn’t know me.”
“Okay.”
Galen smiled, reaching up to run a thumb over his cheekbone. “I just thought you might want that to change.”
“Mike’s gone, Galen. It’s too late for that.” He leaned, kissed Galen’s thumb. “He had four kids. Weird, huh?”
“Yeah. The one boy looks like you.”
“I didn’t look close.”
“Yeah.” Finally Len just pulled him in and gave him a hug, arms going around him.
“I’m sorry, man.” He really needed a beer. Really.
“Why? I got you, huh? I say we go get a beer and make something deep fried.”
“Okay.” Galen’s Momma would want to make waffles.
“I love you, darlin’. You know that, right?” Galen had said that after they’d gone where Shane’s momma lived and she’d shut the door rather than talk to him.
Len had said some bad words, too.
“I know. I do. I don’t know why they don’t, but I know you do,”
“They don’t because they never took the time to know you.” Galen kissed him. “Oh! Waffles?”
“Huh? I haven’t had any waffles.”
“No, I mean we should make waffles.”
“I like waffles.”
“Me, too.” Galen had learned something from his momma after all, including the arm around the waist, chatter all the way to the kitchen thing,
Galen sat him down in their red and white kitchen and started cooking, talking hard while he sat and stared.
“You remember that cousin of mine, Charlie Armstrong? His wife had a brother they’d never even met. Her momma had told everyone the kid was her baby brother. He was no account, for sure.” Galen sat out the butter and the warmed-up syrup. “Shane? You want bacon, too?”
“Nah. It’s okay. Waffles are good. I wonder what they told everyone about me, sometimes.”
“Yeah?” Galen put a plate in front of him. “I know my daddy’s sister used to tell people I was a male stripper.”
Well, that was unexpected. “Momma let her?”
“Sure. Said it was good for the mystique. ‘Sides, everyone knew I was too hairy for it to be true.” Galen laughed for him, eyes dancing.
“I could sorta see wanting to watch you strip, Len. For me.”
Obviously they hadn’t told Mike’s wife he was dead, or she wouldn’t have written.
“Yeah? I wore chaps for you. Guess there’s not much I wouldn’t do.” Len reached over and grabbed his hand. “Eat your waffles, darlin’.”
“Those chaps…” He shifted a little. They’d made his mouth dry.
“Uh-huh. Bet I’d fit back into them now.” They’d been from like a high school rodeo club, or something. They’d gone into a box when Len had gone on the road.
“Uh-huh.” He licked syrup off his finger. “They made your ass look… and your legs. Uhn.”
“Then we’ll get ’em out.” Look at Galen, being all sweet.
“Do it when you want to tear my ass up, though, not when you’re feeling sorry for me.”
“Shane.” Len sighed. “I don’t feel sorry for you. I hate that you’re upset, is all.”
“Hey.” He nudged Galen’s foot with his own. “I feel sorta sorry for me.”
“Oh.” Galen chuckled, playing footsie. “Well, okay. I made Momma waffles, huh? I did okay.”
“You did great. It’s weird, thinking about him being gone, man.”
“Were you close when you were kids?” Len traded out his mostly full beer for a coffee.
“Not a ton. He was eleven years older than me, but I thought he was damn cool.”
“Wow, that much?” Head tilting, Galen chuckled. “Though I guess I’m glad, because I don’t want to think about you going young. Not a bit.”
“He was the good one, you know? He did good in school, he got married to the homecoming queen, he made money.” He didn’t get lost in a bar in Florida until the finest son of a bitch on Earth found him.
“Define good.” Rolling his shoulders, Galen got up and started doing dishes. “Look where doing what I was ‘supposed’ to got me. I damned near lost it all.”
Shane followed, like he was attached at the chest. “Yeah. Good thing we got each other and Momma and the dogs, huh?”
“Yeah.” Turning, Galen caught him up in another hug, just holding on this time, standing there like a rock.
“I can’t be more than I am, you know, but I can be this here with all my heart, and it’s good.”
“It’s good for me, that’s for sure.” The warmth was back in Galen’s eyes, the really hot look that meant he was special and wanted and they should back away from the syrup.
“Galen? Do me a favor?”
“You name it, darlin’.”
“Fuck me good enough that none of this matters for a little while?” He was getting good at this telling Galen what he needed thing.
“I can so do that.” Len stuffed the rest of the dishes in the sink, which they’d learned they had to do to keep the Goob from countersurfing, and grabbed his hand. “Bedroom, darlin’.”
He nodded, leading Galen down the hallway, his nerves all on fucking edge.
Len knew. It took his man a while to catch on sometimes, but when Galen did, he was a champ. They hit the bedroom and closed the door in the dogs’ faces, Len twirling him around and kissing the stuffing out of him.
Oh.
Better.
He crawled right up Galen’s body, knees settling against Galen’s hips.
Len held him easily, hands under his ass, keeping him right there. It rocked hard, having muscles like that at your disposal. Galen kissed him again, then again, before licking at his lower lip. Oral man. Sweet, oral man.
Shane started rocking, dancing against Galen’s belly.
“Mmm.” They spun in a lazy circle, Len making good on his promise to dance later, even as they sorta stripped each other down, slow and easy. Yeah. Len was way better at promise-keeping these days.
“Want you bad.” Not that Galen didn’t know that, with his cock hard and right there.
“I hear you, darlin’.” They moved to the bed, Galen easing him down, careful, almost like he’d break.
He let his fingers drag hard all down Galen’s body, letting Len know he wasn’t fragile.
“Uhn.” Len bent down and bit him, right on the base of the throat, sucking hard.
“Fuck.” Oh, that was gonna leave a bruise.
“Okay. Now is good.” His legs were bent up toward his chest, Len’s hands got on his skin.
“Uh-huh.” Those fingers pressed in deep, feeling so fucking good.
“So hot for me, Shane. Still the tightest, sweetest place on earth. Love you.” Galen stretched him, opened him, made him want to scream.
“More.” He grabbed his knees, held on tight. “Come on, Len.”
“I got you.” Three fingers now, and the burn made him grunt. They pushed and pushed until he thought he was gonna go crazy.
Words sorta started pouring out of him, low and deep, and he didn’t hold back. Galen moaned, bending him near double to kiss him, that heavy cock pressing against his hole when Len’s fingers slid out. That was it. Yeah.
Galen slammed into him, the entire fucking room spinning.
“Galen.” He reached up, grabbed Len’s shoulders and held on.
“Shane. All mine. Just right.” Galen moved, faster and faster, just really giving it to him.
Their bodies knew exactly what to do, and they kept their rhythm, speeding it up as they flew. Galen always made him soar. Always made him want to scream out to the sky how good it was.
“Love.” He moaned the word, meaning it.
“Yes. God, darlin’.” Len never let up. In fact, that big body pressed down against his, giving his cock something to rub on.
The touch of that fuzzy belly against his prick was electric, making him buck and grunt, deep in his chest.
Nodding, Galen panted, pressing down hard. “More, darlin’. More.”
“Uh-huh. Uh-huh. More.” Fuck, this was it, what he needed. All he needed.
The friction built, the heat ramping up until he thought they’d set the bed on fire. His Len knew where to touch, where to kiss. What to do.
Shane started panting, cock so hard it ached.
“Come on, darlin’. Want to smell you on my skin. Need it.”
His eyes rolled, a shot of pure pleasure snapping down his spine. Len shouted, bucking on top of him, body snapping up and down like a too-tight wire. He felt it when Len let go, filling him.
Hell, yeah. That was. Right. Wow.
“Shane.” The moan was the last straw. It sounded like Len was being torn apart. Hot as hell.
He came so hard that the room went white and gray.
Len held him all through it, solid as a rock, right there on top of him when the world stopped spinning. “Love you, darlin’.”
“Good.” He blinked up into Galen’s dark, dark eyes, grinned and meant it.
“Yeah. No matter what, you’re my Shane, ‘kay?”
“Yeah. Yours.” He blinked, going a little babyheaded.
“Cool.” Galen slumped right down on him, panting, chest and forehead wet with sweat. “Mmm.”
“Uh-huh.” He could agree with that.
“Did we eat our waffles?” Len was drowsing already, slurring his words.
“Most of ’em, yeah.” He thought. Maybe.
“Cool. I’ll do dishes.” A light snore punctuated Galen’s sentence, and five seconds later, Kahn figured out how to open the door, so they had dogs in bed.
He chuckled, rested for a couple-three minutes, then he slipped out of bed, intending to grab his phone. One hand circled his wrist, Galen’s eyes cracking open. “Where y’goin’?”
“Making a phone call.”
Those eyes opened a little wider. “Thought you weren’t going to.”
Shane shrugged. “I changed my mind.”