Harry was not getting any satisfaction from trying to goad Louis, who was uncharacteristically accepting, passive and almost dejected in manner. Frustrated, with no outlet for his inexplicable fury, Harry got up and walked away from Louis. No way was he going to fight with him. He'd already been seriously out of line. He fully realized he was being foolish and extreme in his manner, but he couldn't seem to thwart it. So he walked away, knowing he could not command his actions because he had no common sense right now.

Louis watched Harry disappear again into the darkness, then grabbed Monkey's leash, turned and tramped back to the house. His legs would barely carry him. He'd done all he could. He was going to take a shower, get all the dust off, and hopefully Harry would be inside by the time he finished.

When he stepped out of the bathroom, Harry was not inside the house, and Monkey was unsettled, whining and trotting back and forth. It wasn't late, but Louis knew he wouldn't be able to read or watch telly, so he simply went to bed, turning out the light and hoping against hope that Harry would come in at any moment. All that met his ears was silence. Monkey was now in his bed, and his head would pop up from time to time, ears pricked and his attention on the door. Louis knew that Monkey was baffled, and displaying wishful thinking, not understanding why his master had left, and he hadn't even heard he truck leave! Louis had plugged in a nightlight so it wouldn't be completely dark in the bedroom, should Harry return.

Sometime later, Louis heard slight noises in the living room. At this point, Louis hardly cared if it was someone other than Harry. If it was an intruder, let them kill him. It was evident though, that it was Harry from the sound of Monkey's tail thumping on the floor.

Harry was angry with him, and had even pushed him down for no good reason. He'd done nothing to deserve it, and his despair was overpowering. Where all this rage was coming from had Louis bewildered and hurt.

He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, so he stayed still, in one position, miserable and lonely without Harry's presence. He grabbed a few minutes' sleep here and there, but when he did, he jolted awake, thinking Harry was in bed, even imagining his body warmth, and then discovering he was not.

He found himself wishing fervently for daylight, but the sun didn't start to come up for what felt like an eternity. He dozed fitfully again, and when he opened his eyes it was beginning to get light outside.

The sheets on Harry's side were cold and unwelcoming. Louis wasn't the least bit sluggish like he usually was in the morning. He was wide awake.

Nothing wakes you up like waking up alone.

Now that morning was here, he had an excuse to get out of bed and see if Harry was in the house. His sigh of relief was suppressed with effort when he spied Harry on the couch. He always looked so sweet when asleep, hair tousled with a rogue lock falling over his forehead. At least he was safe. Louis tried to sneak out the door, but Harry had evidently already been awake, but keeping his eyes closed because he sat up as Louis reached for the doorknob.

"Lou. Lou can you come here?" Harry asked. His voice heavy with either sleep or emotion.

Passively, Louis approached the couch and sat down gingerly, watching Harry closely for signs of what kind of mood he might be in.

"Don't do that, Louis," Harry implored. His green eyes beseeched in a humble way Louis hadn't seen on him before. "Don't be passive or afraid," Harry looked so downcast.

"I'm not tryin' to. I'm just bein' cautious, considering how you were last night," Louis explained.

"You're tearin' my heart out," Harry disclosed. "I'd never hurt you. Please tell me you believe that. You just wouldn't back off. I'm sorry . . . so sorry. I guess I was . . . jealous. . . as ridiculous as it sounds." He had said the word "jealous" so reluctantly that it barely crawled from his lips.

"I don't understand. Why?" Louis was flabbergasted, feeling Harry's dark solemnity as if it was alive.

"Jealous that someone else might still come to claim you. That you were with someone before that you were . . . serious about."

Louis was struggling to understand Harry's logic – and you could hardly call it logic anyway.

"Do you realize how nonsensical this is? You're jealous of someone who doesn't exist!"

"I know. I guess I'm just afraid . . . of that tiny chance . . . "

"This is even worse than when I was jealous of Damien!"

Harry shot a look at him and their eyes held and latched on to each other. "I agree," Harry mumbled almost under his breath. "We were both unreasonable, but I was massively out of line."

"Come on, Haz. I was worried about your state of mind. You didn't even throw a punch. It was pure frustration, and that's clear to me now. I was bulldozin' you when you only needed a little time to chill about it."

Harry saw now that Louis understood. His relief was evident in the way he sighed and his body tension eased.

"I'm a possessive son of a bitch, aren't I?"

"Quite. If you want an ass-whoopin,' I'll give it to you," Louis deadpanned.

Harry pulled him onto the couch, landing Louis on top of him with the limited space.

"You've got such a mouth on you," a grin ghosted Harry's lips. "And why do you think I didn't take it to the next level? You could . . . well, whoop my ass. You're a strong little shit. And sexy, and snarky, and perfect."

They wrestled playfully, both suddenly so grateful and reassured. The wrestling turned into kissing. Heavy, intense. But the sweet side of it surfaced too. They were needy.

They ended up in bed, of course. Harry wrapped his legs around Louis' waist.

"Now there's no way you're gonna get away," Harry teased.

"Don't wanna get away," Louis returned. A laugh bubbled out of his mouth – a sound of pure joy and contentment.

There was a gentle breeze outside, and they could hear the fall leaves rustling as they dropped flat on the bed. They began to kiss again. But things were changing. It was subtle, but the feelings seemed to be exaggerated. The kiss was slow as molasses, and just as sweet.

There was no sense of urgency. There was more honesty when they touched each other than ever before. A down-to-earth rawness, and Harry felt like he would choke with emotion. Louis rolled them over so he was on top. He held both Harry's hands in his own and pinned them to his sides. Harry was his prisoner, and Harry was willing. There wasn't another person on earth who could hold him down like this without a fight, but with Louis, it was just . . . natural.

Still with sweat pants on, which they wore every night before bed without deviating, they rubbed their crotches together very tenuously – almost tenderly. This expanded into some gentle frotting.

When, a few minutes later, Louis removed Harry's sweats and settled himself between Harry's legs to worship his cock, he absorbed everything about Harry and his body. Every little detail. Harry's cock thick and heavy on his tongue, the taste of his sweet, salty pre-come ravishing his mouth with its tang. Harry's breath being pulled into his lungs loudly and raggedly, Harry's hips bucking involuntarily.

Harry threw his head back in the waning moonlight, which was giving way to the sun, his exquisite face perfect as he lost himself in lust. Louis, looking down at him, could hardly believe this man was his, and that maybe there was a forever in their future.

Muffled gasps and moans came from Harry as the stimulation from Louis' mouth got more ardent and impassioned than Harry could have ever imagined.

Louis, now lost in lust himself, threw any reservations he had to the wind, like those leaves falling from the trees outside. He sucked Harry with more fervor than he himself knew he had. As he sucked, his tongue stroked, and Harry took a walk on the wild side. He began to murmur sweet yet filthy things, just loud enough for Louis to hear. Like a domino effect, Louis fed off this, and became feral in his own way, making savage noises in his throat, and the obscene sound of his sucking filled the room.

He'd learned how to swallow Harry, and his throat was now constricting around Harry's cock. He felt Harry's cock thicken, his balls draw up tight as he rubbed them with one hand. The orgasm was building, and Harry thrusted hard, gagging Louis without meaning to. But this just aroused Louis to greater heights. Eagerly, he used his tongue and throat in tandem until Harry let go and exploded in a rush of release down Louis' throat.

He made more noise than any of their previous encounters. All of these sensations and sounds set Louis off, and he grabbed his own aching erection and came only seconds after Harry did. Louis lingered, licking and sucking until Harry became too sensitive.

Ten minutes later they had finally caught their breath as they laid on their backs.

Harry turned onto his side.

"I wanna go into town and call that foster home again tomorrow. Up for it?"

Louis smiled. "I can't believe how dedicated you are to this. Yeah, I think it's a good idea."

Over the next few times they called, they could tell the woman at the foster home, who had previously been somewhat sympathetic was running low on patience. They called every other day, Harry continually trying to impress on her how important this was to Louis, even though he knew she didn't have the authority to release the history. They were both, admittedly, starting to lose hope.

Into the next week, on Wednesday, they got a surprise when they called yet again.

"I have some news for you," said the woman with barely suppressed excitement in her voice. She no longer sounded jaded and impatient.

"Oh?" asked Harry, with Louis listening in, as he couldn't bring himself to talk to her personally.

"The person who owns the foster home knows Louis' story because I've appealed to her several times. She has taken pity on Louis, especially since he has lost his memory, and has decided to release his foster history to him!" Clearly, the woman was pleased for them.

"I almost feel as if I know you," she said to Harry. "Your devotion is remarkable."

Harry glanced at Louis and could tell he was minutes away from breaking into happy tears, but he had to ask one more question.

"We appreciate this so much," he emphasized. "But will the records include what happened to Louis' parents?"

"Yes," the woman responded immediately. "A copy will be made of his entire file and sent to the address you have already given me several times over," she chuckled. "You're lucky we still had it. Many have been destroyed after this long of a time. Someone above must be looking after you two."

"Yes," Harry agreed. "I know there is." His eyes went to Louis' own bright blue eyes, overflowing with tears.

"Just fax a copy of Louis' birth certificate and Driver's license. That's all that will be necessary. Let me give you our fax number," the woman offered.

"But it won't be the original if we fax it . . . " Harry almost regretted it after saying it.

"If you don't tell anyone, I won't," the woman had a trace of humor in her voice.

After many thanks, and double checking that she had the address correct, and being reassured the records would be copied and sent within a couple of days, pending Louis' birth certificate and Driver's license being faxed to her, Harry bid her goodbye and hung up.

Louis sat there beside him on the bench seat of the truck, hunched over, hands covering his face with his shoulders heaving.

"It's done, Lou," Harry said, tears collecting in his eyes as well. He held Louis until he'd finished purging all his many emotions, and was able to sit up and converse again.

"I can't believe it," Louis kept saying over and over. "Calling all those times paid off!"

"In a matter of a couple of weeks, depending on how fast the mail moves from England to here, you'll know everythin.' Now all we have to do is fax your stuff to her, but damn! We forgot to bring your birth certificate!"

Louis' eyes lit up with amusement. "Remember? Me birth certificate and Driver's license are in me wallet?" Louis pulled his wallet out of his jeans pocket. Harry cackled his delight.

They entered the library, returned the books they'd checked out several days ago, scanned Louis' info and faxed them to the foster home right then and there.

"I'm rememberin' more each day, but as you've said, I probably won't ever remember anythin' about what happened to me parents. So this is me savin' grace. I was nervous about what was in the boxes Mr. Hoffman had, but this tops that about a million to one!" Louis said later on their way home.

"I'll be right there beside you when you read it - that is, if you want me there," reassured Harry.

"Of course I do. I want you with me, right there, and present for every part of me life." Louis felt his cheeks get warm. He'd spoken from the heart though, and it didn't seem to bother Harry in the least. Quite the contrary. He had a huge smile on his face.

"I say we celebrate this occasion," Harry said, clearing his throat to try to gain control over his feelings.

"Celebrate?"

"Yeah. Let's go out to dinner tonight."

"I won't argue with that!"

They went home and took care of the ranch, showered, rested for a couple of hours, then had a nice dinner in town.

When they got home, they entered the house with their arms around each other – Harry's around Louis' shoulder, and Louis' around Harry's waist. They slept blissfully and thoroughly, their bodies entwined, the emotions having exhausted Louis.

Harry got out of bed first, and after having a wee, looked out the window before planning on snuggling in next to Louis again. But he never made it into bed – instead Louis was awakened with a loud

"Son of a bitch!"

Suddenly wide awake and getting up faster than he ever had at sixty-thirty in the morning, Louis joined Harry in front of the window. All the cows were gone. Granted there were only a few, plus the spring calf they'd kept, they were gone.

They threw on some clothes and rushed outside, each saddling the nearest horse. The cows weren't hard to find, and being gentle, they were easy to wrangle back, and the fact that they were hungry for breakfast definitely made them agreeable to coming home.

But what Harry and Louis saw when they arrived back at the pens stunned them, making an icy chill run down their spines. Holes were cut in both pens that had held the cows. Bolt cutters. This hadn't been a case of accidentally leaving a gate open.

Harry and Louis shared a look, and knew their thoughts were the same.

Brian and Nathan. The guys Louis used to work with on Stockholm Ranch. There was no other explanation.

"You were right," Louis said dismally. "They came back."

They put the cows in the pasture during the time they fixed the fences, then returned them and fed them.

"Let's put electric wire on those fences," Louis said grimly, his temper making him edgy.

"They'll just work around it. A wire or two won't stop 'em," Harry replied.

"Yeah, but the cows won't cross it."

"Good point. I'm just afraid they'll do sommat worse next time. Don't even wanna think about it."

Louis knew Harry was thinking about the former ranch hands harming one or more of their animals.

"How are they able to do stuff like this? Don't they have anything better to do? Like look for a job?" Harry said in exasperation.

"They probably did it after it got dark, when we were gone to dinner. They might have a daytime job, who knows? Which means they probably live fairly close."

"In any case, I'm leavin' Monkey in the house whenever we leave from now on, unless he's with us," Harry said. "No more leavin' him in the dog run. Good thing he was in the house last night."

They were a little tense as they went to bed that night. Both were afraid the men would come back, and not knowing when that might happen made them skittish. Louis knew how to handle a gun, so Harry made sure he had one on his side of the bed, and Harry took his personal revolver out of the bedstand drawer and laid it on top of the bedstand where he could just reach over and grab it.

"I was gonna suggest we call Mr. Hoffman tomorrow, to ask if he'd mind if we look for that Fletcher guy, but now I'm unsure about leavin' this place," he said to Louis as they lay in the dark.

"Yeah, me too. Maybe we'd better put that off for a while."

"Kinda stupid though, if you think about it. Who knows when they'll be back? Might not be for weeks, and we can't let them run our lives. Let's go ahead with the hot wire for now, and let me know if you come up with anythin' else we can do."

"Okay. We can do it first thing in the mornin,' after feedin' everyone."

"Sounds like a plan."

Long after Louis' breathing became regular and deep, and Harry knew he was asleep, he remained awake, thinking about how the day had gone yesterday. It had been so perfect. It made him angry that it had been marred by what had happened this morning. Louis should be excited about getting his foster records instead of having to be worried about the ranch, and the safety of the animals.

Something else was on his mind as well. He had feelings for Louis that he hadn't known he was capable of. He felt comfortable with him as his best friend and lover. They were so compatible. It was as if they were of like mind about everything. Even though they occasionally butt heads, that was because they both had strong personalities, which wasn't, in itself a bad thing. No one was the boss, they both had a voice, and they were in tune with each other, harmonious.

Harry felt he needed to tell Louis how he felt. Exactly how he felt. He'd been suspecting for a little while now that he might be falling in love with him, but he hadn't brought it up for fear Louis wasn't feeling the same way. He thought he'd seen it in his eyes, but perhaps he'd thought he'd seen something that wasn't there because he wanted it so badly.

So he hadn't said a word. He'd kept it inside, hidden away, the mere thought of mentioning it aloud petrifying him.

Now the most absurd thoughts occurred to him unbidden.

What will happen when he tires of me? When the novelty wears off? Will he go looking for someone else and step right out of my life?