103 Kissing Match

[sylnl]

Word Soap: As The World Keeps Turning
Author: SYLnl
Title:  #103 Kissing Match
Rating: PG
Summary:  “There’s nothing to talk about. A kiss is just a kiss.” - Luke Snyder
Big Thanks To: ltklo, for brushing up my grammar

Previously on As The World Keeps Turning:  click here for chapters 1 - 102

The minute they stepped into the kitchen, the smell of coffee and pie reached Reid’s nostrils and he took a deep breath.

“Ahhhh,” he winked at Emma, “I can smell you were expecting me.”

“You’re not the only one appreciating her pies, young man,” the male voice sounded teasing and Reid looked at the man at the kitchen table. Ah yeah, the Ornament Guy. Name? Nope. No idea.

So he just made a quick head movement and concentrated on greeting Emma, who kissed him firmly on the cheek.

“Hello sweetheart, so you’re gonna conquer your demons, huh? How about some pie to give you courage.”

“I think there’s not enough pie in the world for that, but let’s give it a try,” Reid grinned, while helping Danny with his coat.

“Luke went straight to the barn, so he’ll be in after the ride.”

“Smart… looks likes it’s gonna snow in a few hours,” the Ornament Guy nodded, “So no time like the present.”

Reid gave him a quick smile, but his main focus was on the pie in front of him. He winked at Danny.

“You don’t need the courage. So why do you get pie too?”

“Because GG Emma loves me,” Danny’s eyes glimmered, “She just told me so.”

“Ahhh, lucky you,” Reid ruffled the boy’s hair, “but what’s with the GG?”

“Daddy made that up because…” Danny had to think hard for a moment, “great-grandmother was a mouthful.”

The adults chuckled.

“I like that. GG Emma,” the great-grandmother beamed, “makes me feel like a movie star.”

“Well, if anything you’re my pie star,” Reid grinned and took another big bite of his goodie. When Holden walked in he almost choked, though. What had he gotten himself into?

“So what’s this I hear,” Holden sounded teasing, “Your daddy wants to know more about horses?”

“Actually I want to hear more about how safe it is for Danny to ride. Personally I know everything I need to know about horses.”

“And what’s that?” Holden dared him.

“They’re big and they smell,” Reid finished his pie, giving Holden a defiant look.

“True,” Holden agreed to Reid’s surprise, “but they’re also very intelligent. That must have some appeal to you…”

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Reid grumbled. “I know for a fact they are dangerous. When they throw you, your brain is duped. You don’t want to know how many times I had a riding accident on my operation table.”

“I understand. And how many car accidents? That didn’t stop you from driving, right?”

Reid narrowed his eyes. Holden had a point, but Reid wasn’t ready to admit to it.

“Accidents happen, Reid. You know that better than me. All we can do is take as many precautions as possible. A gentle pony, a good helmet and a good instructor. And guess what. All of that happens to be right here.”

Reid looked at Danny. The brown eyes looked so excited, so hopeful. He took a deep breath.

“Alright then. Let’s see if my son is any cowboy material…”

Danny stood next to his chair after the ‘alright’ and was hopping on the ground, with his hands on Reid’s leg.

“Can I really, Daddy, can I?”

Reid pinched the boy’s chin. “Yes you can.”

“You come too?”

The familiar alarm was in the boy’s eyes and Reid nodded.

“Of course I do.”

When they entered the barn, Reid saw the pony - all saddled up - standing outside and when he saw Holden’s smile he understood this gesture was for his benefit.

“I want to make this as pleasant as possible,” Holden gave Reid a pat on the shoulder. “So this way you don’t need to be in the barn.”

“Much appreciated,” Reid gave a quick smile, his eyes on Danny. The boy became radiant the minute he saw the pony and the child reminded him of Luke even more than ever.

As if Holden had read his mind, he said: “It’s a little uncanny. Luke had the same look in his eyes when he was Danny’s age.”

“At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if someone came out and confessed stealing Luke’s sperm to make this kid,” Reid grinned and Holden laughed out loud.

“I agree, that would be a very Oakdalian twist.”

“It’s not an option, though…” Reid lowered his head a little, “their blood types don’t match.”

“You actually checked?” Holden laughed again.

“Yep. In this town you can never be to careful.”

Shaking his head, Holden turned to Danny.

“Okay big guy, let’s meet Daisy.”

Holden ruffled the mane and smiled when Danny approached the pony with care, but without fear.

“That’s very good, Danny. Always be gentle around a horse. Even the little ones like Daisy.”

Danny just nodded, softly caressing the white neck of the pony. His hand stopped for a moment and then moved towards the saddle. With a smile he touched the leather and held his nose against it.

“This smells nice, Daddy. Really.”

Reid understood the invitation, took a deep breath and stood next to his son. Smelling the saddle. He was happy to find out Danny was right. This did smell nice. And the pony didn’t stink too much either. He felt Danny’s hand on his and the boy’s intention was clear so Reid let the boy lead his hand to the neck.

“Isn’t she soft?”

Reid nodded. “She is,” he agreed. She’s probably also germ invested, his brain uttered. He forced himself to keep his hand on the skin, though. His hand was already contaminated anyway. No need to pull back now.

Holden gave him a supportive nod and handed Danny a helmet.

“Let’s try this one first.”

Danny’s grin was huge and he held the helmet up to Reid for a moment.

“Looks pretty cool, huh?” Reid winked at him.

After a quick nod Danny put the brown helmet on and allowed Holden to check the size.

“Yep, just what I thought. Same size as Ethan.” Holden fastened the helmet and pointed at the saddle.

“Okay, just put your left foot into the stirrup and then swing your right leg over Daisy’s back.”

Reid stayed where he was, close to Daisy’s neck. But even more importantly, close to Danny. He noticed how focused Holden was, though. His son was in safe hands. He knew that. But he stayed where he was anyway.

Danny mounted like a pro and Holden smiled. His eyes told Reid the story. Just like Luke. A natural.

Reid had to remove himself from the pony to fulfill a promise. He took out his phone and clicked. With a telling smile he sent it to Luke’s phone. The response came almost instantly.

• OMG. So cute

Yep. It was. Reid wished Luke was here, but didn’t share that.

• Enjoying yourself?
• Yeah. But mixed. Missing out on D

• I know. He’ll do this again though

• True. Have fun. LY

• LY2.

When Reid approached the pony again, the animal looked up at him and he smiled.

“Luke okay?” Holden had shown Danny how to hold the reins.

“Yep. But I think his heart is with us.”

Holden smiled. “I was surprised he didn’t wait for this.”

“He really needed the ride,” Reid explained. “To be on his own for a while.”

“Yeah, it’s been an emotional rollercoaster, hasn’t it?”

“It has,” Reid winked at Danny, “So I’m glad he made himself a priority for a change.”

Holden nodded. “You’re right. That is a change for the better.”

He then disconnected Daisy’s bridle from the rope on the wall and made a clicking sound with his tongue. The pony started moving immediately.

“We’ll walk around the yard for a while. I’ll hold Daisy. Don’t worry.”

Reid didn’t respond, but just watched his boy being blissfully happy on the back of the white germ banquet. Okay, if he had to be absolutely honest the pony was quite elegant. For a germ banquet. And she held her head high. Like she was proud to carry Danny around. As she should be.

Danny looked very proud too. Reid took some more pictures. It was a beautiful sight. His son was listening to something his grandfather was telling him and wasn’t even looking for Reid. Obviously the boy felt relaxed on his own and that was a major step forward. Reid heard the kitchen door open and close and saw Emma and the Ornament Guy watching the little show on the lawn.

“Looking good, Danny!” Emma cheered him on and Danny sat even prouder. Then he pointed at a figure in the distance.

“Daddy is back!”

Luke was in no hurry and let Handsome find his way through the snow, so it took a couple of minutes before horse and hot rider reached the fence. After giving Danny the thumbs up and a heartfelt “You look great up there!”, Luke touched his Stetson and gave Reid a seductive grin.

“Hmmm, what’s a handsome doctor like you doing on a farm like this?”

“I heard some rumors about a sexy cowboy,” Reid came closer, but not too close. “So I guess that’s you.”

“Excuse me?” Holden snorted, “What am I? Chopped liver?”

“You’re a grandpa. A straight grandpa. Not on my radar,” Reid grinned and Holden laughed.

“I’m glad,” he chuckled.

“Me too,” Luke rolled his eyes.

Reid gave him a quick smile. He loved the Stetson, but it annoyed him at the same time.

“So where’s your helmet, Mr. Snyder?”

Luke smiled and knocked on the side of the hat. A solid ‘thoinck’ reached Reid’s ears.

“It’s a helmet in disguise,” Luke explained.

“Good.” Reid nodded reassured.

The doctor was still way out of range and Handsome moved his head up and down. Somehow the movement made Luke think of Reid and he smiled.

“Handsome says hi.”

“Hi Handsome,” Reid gave a short wave, but didn’t come closer.

“Just come and feel his nose, Reid. It’s so soft. I’m sure you’ve never felt anything like it.”

Reid gave an insinuative look that made Luke blush and somehow that gave Reid the courage to step forward. As if Handsome knew, the horse turned his head to him like a silent invitation.

After taking a deep breath Reid reached out for the nose and his long index finger softly caressed the spot between the two large nostrils. Reid smiled unwittingly. Luke was right. It was very soft and he liked the feel of it. He looked up and found Handsome watching him. Calmly. Lovingly? Whatever it was, it made Reid feel connected to this huge animal and he hadn’t expected it. So automatically he stepped back again. Handsome snorted. Coward.

Before Reid realized what happened, he felt the soft nose against his mouth and before he could flinch, he heard Danny giggle.

“He kissed you, Daddy,” there was admiration and respect in the boy’s voice, “He loves you.”

Reid’s basic instincts wanted him to snap, to reject, to flee and to loathe. He did none of those. He stepped back some more and looked Handsome in the eye. Slightly accusatory. You startled me.

For some reason Reid’s brain took him back in time. Dallas. Hotel room. Kissing Luke out of the blue. It made Reid look up to the cowboy and the brown eyes were scanning him. Are you okay?

Reid nodded. “Let’s just say I now know how you felt in Dallas…”

They both chuckled.

“I love Handsome but any comparison with that Dallas kiss won't hold for even a second,” Luke grinned.

“O Happy Days. I kiss better than a horse. I was so worried about that. Hooray,” Reid rolled his eyes, but chuckled when Luke calmly replied.

“I never said anything about it being better.”

“Somebody needs a refresher course…” Reid smirked and Luke licked his lips, making Reid groan softly.

“You come and get me,” Luke dared him, but Reid shook his head. He wasn’t going there. Literally. When Luke smiled, Reid pulled the spirit of Mr. Darcy in, straightened his back and said as haughty and as ‘English’ as possible:

“Are you laughing at me?”

Luke grinned. “Are you rejecting me?”

“Not you. That kiss stealing scoundrel you’re sitting on.”

“Thank you for explaining so fully,” Luke laughed and made Handsome walk towards the barn. “I’ll unsaddle him and be out soon.”

“Just put his horsecloth on, son. I’ll take care of the rest,” Holden led Daisy to the barn too and when Reid stepped forward to lift Danny up, the granddad gave him a quick shake of the head.

“Let’s do this right,” he softly said, “and teach him how to dismount.”

After a nod Reid stepped away and watched how Holden taught Danny how to get safely on the ground and when the little feet hit the earth, they made their way to Reid. Danny’s arms were spread and Reid picked him up with a broad swing.

“This was awesome!” the boy cheered and he kissed Reid on his cheek.

“Did you say thank you to your grandpa already?”

Danny lowered his head a little, as he shook his head.

“Let’s do that together then,” Reid walked to Holden and shook his hand. “Thanks for this.”

Holden just smiled and when he turned to Danny, he could see a mixture of shyness, thankfulness, joy and some wariness so he offered the boy his big hand.

“You did great, Danny.”

“Thank you… for everything.” It was a soft whisper, but the smile was sincere and gave Holden hope.

“You’re very welcome. We’ll do this again soon.”

He walked into the barn with Daisy and Reid looked at Danny.

“Do you want to go in too?”

Danny hesitated for a moment, but then shook his head.

Reid smiled and softly caressed Danny’s cheek.

“Tired, huh?”

The boy just nodded, his head on Reid’s shoulder.

“Let’s go to GG Emma, then.”

When he turned, he saw Luke in the corner of his eye and waited for the blond to approach.

“Our cowboy is all washed out,” he whispered and Luke smiled, ruffling the boy’s hair.

“Me too,” Luke admitted, “and according to my dad there’s a snow storm coming soon, so maybe it’s smart to say goodbye to Grandma and head home.”

And Luke was right. They were barely inside their cozy farmhouse, overloaded with containers filled with Emma’s delicacies, when the flakes started to fall at an incredible speed. While Luke put Danny to bed, Reid started the fire and he was just admiring and enjoying the fruits of his labor, when two strong arms hugged him from behind.

“How about that refresher course?” Luke teased and Reid turned around in Luke’s arms and kissed him firmly.

“How about combining that with a shower, Hottie?” Reid sniffed exaggeratedly. “Now we both smell like Handsome.”

And with their hands all over each other, they prepared themselves for another kind of ride.