Amalgamated Read online

  Amalgamated

  Becca Seymour

  Rainbow Tree Publishing

  Escape with Leo and Zak in outback Australia as they discover it sometimes takes time, distance, and interfering family to amalgamate.

  * * *

  After five years of living in the UK, it’s time for Leo to return home to his dad’s stud farm in outback Australia. He has no idea what to expect when he arrives. He didn’t exactly leave with balloons and banners.

  Nope. His farewell involved destruction and his own heart split in two.

  He knows seeing the man who’s always held his heart, Zak, is going to be awkward. The older farm manager made his feelings pretty damn clear when Leo hightailed it out of there.

  Leo quickly figures out life is going to get complicated and a whole heap more exciting as his trip home becomes so much more.

  * * *

  Amalgamated is a fun and steamy M/M short story in Becca Seymour’s Coming Home series. Stand-alone romances complete with heat, wit, and happily ever afters.

  Amalgamated © 2019 by Becca Seymour

  * * *

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any written, electronic, recorded, or photocopied format without the express permission from the author or publisher as allowed under the terms and conditions with which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution, circulation or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.

  Amalgamated is a work of fiction. All names, characters, events and places found therein are either from the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to persons alive or dead, actual events, locations, or organizations is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  For information, contact the author: [email protected]

  Editing: Hot Tree Editing

  Cover Designer: Soxsational Cover Art

  Publisher: Rainbow Tree Publishing

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-925853-50-6

  To farmers and cowboys who offer me inspiration.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Also by Becca Seymour

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  About the Author

  Chapter One

  I flipped off the tap and grabbed a couple of paper towels, relieved they were available rather than a hand dryer. I had an aversion to the damn things. After patting myself dry, I stood up straight. Pleased I’d decided to spend a night in the airport hotel after my international flight before this shorter domestic one, I nodded at my reflection.

  It had been a long-arse time since I’d been home—five years pretty much to the day. I shouldn’t care what anyone might think of me. I frowned at myself, calling bullshit. There was no “anyone.” There was a “he.”

  Wasn’t there always?

  I shook my head derisively, unable to lie to myself. And wasn’t that a kicker? If I couldn’t even do that—pretend that I wasn’t so damn eager and equally terrified about seeing Zak again—how in the hell would I behave when I actually came face-to-face with him after all this time? It was inevitable we’d be thrown together at some point.

  With a calming exhale, I let my mind continue on the dangerous path of Zak, wondering whether he’d appreciate the good shape I was in, the care I took in my appearance. It shouldn’t matter, but it did. And I really wished it didn’t. But still, after this shorter internal flight, I felt fresh and ready to get this visit over with.

  Armed with my small case, I extended the handle and moved out of the restroom. Jenny was waiting for me, so preparing myself any better was a luxury I didn’t have.

  The dry heat hit me first; next was a shorter figure complete with strong arms that wrapped me up. My big sister always gave the best of hugs, and after three years since last seeing her—the last time she’d visited me in the UK—her arms felt so damn comforting.

  “Hey, you big oaf.” Jenny gave one tighter embrace before releasing me and stepping back. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, kiddo. Damn, I’ve missed you, Leo.”

  I grinned down at her like a loon before tugging her back to me and giving her another fierce hug and planting a kiss on top of her head. “Missed you too, Jen.”

  She sighed; I assumed feeling the same relief as I was from being close to her again. The moment of quiet contentment lasted approximately another five seconds before she dug her annoying fingers deep into my sides and flexed.

  I grunted and fought my squirm and laughter. “Hell, Jen, stop already.” I jolted out of her arms. “I’m gonna kick your arse, you know that, right?”

  She cocked her hip at me, her palm pressed against it and her brow raised. “You think you can take me?”

  I snorted. “I know I can.”

  “Ha!” She looked me up and down and wrinkled her nose. “I know you look fit enough, but I can bet whatever the hell you damn want, all those measly muscles are gym created rather than hard-labour earned.”

  I rolled my eyes at her. It was hardly like in my position I was doing hard labour. I was stuck studying samples and attached to my computer most of the day. “Your point?”

  Her smart mouth lifted into a smug smile. There’d been so many times as a kid I’d wished for a brother instead of Jenny. But still, I didn’t expect a brother would have fought any more fiercely than she had the times she’d stopped bullies; nor did I expect a brother would have given me humiliating, albeit sage, advice on how to give good head when I’d turned sixteen. With that in mind, I figured it was a good job I’d kept her as a sister. I had considered selling her on eBay a time or two. Who was I kidding? I actually did it once, and sported a black eye for a week when she’d found out.

  But still, annoying or not, a terrifyingly strong left hook or not, she was Jen, and I couldn’t imagine being in a world without her.

  “It means you’ll be on your back gasping for air after two minutes.”

  I quirked my brow at her.

  “Piss off.” She rolled her eyes. “Stop being a weirdo perv.”

  I laughed. “I didn’t say a word.”

  She huffed. “You didn’t have to, tadpole.”

  My fingers found her sides quickly. I struck hard and fast as I dug my fingers in and made her squeal like a girl, which I promptly told her.

  “Get off. And girls are kick-arse, so I can squeal all I damn well want.” She eyed my small case, but seemed to think better than to make a comment. Instead, she said, “Do you need help with that? Wouldn’t want you to break a nail.”

  I flipped her the middle finger, then tucked my hand quickly away, not wanting her to study it and figure out that every few weeks, I actually did have a manicure. In my defence, hand massages were the bomb. No lie. They managed to whip away a stressful day within minutes; plus, even nails looked good. “Where have you parked?”

  “Just out the front. Best get a move on before Jed gives me a ticket.”

  I snorted. If Jed was on patrol, there was no way in hell he’d risk giving Jenny a ticket. As many in our small town knew, messing with the mayor’s wife was a no-no.

  Once safely seated and buckled in, we headed out of the small airport and made our way towards the outskirts of town where she lived with her husband, Frank. Our mum had long since abandoned the place. When I’d been seven, I’d watched from the veranda as she’d thrown me one last glance before driving off in a plume of dust. It had taken a while for the emptiness to make sense, and even longer for Dad to convince me that Mum loved both Jen and me but she hadn’
t been well enough to care for us.

  Watching the streets go by, a smile lifted my lips. So much was the same, despite the few new stores that had shot up in our small hometown, but Old Jack’s, one of the cafes, was still up and running, and the five pubs seemed to still be open to the small community. I shook my head, amused. Five pubs in a town as tiny as ours. It just went to show there was pretty much jack shit to do in the area.

  “What?”

  A quick glance at my sister, and I smiled. “It’s just good to be back, you know?”

  She bobbed her head, her eyes flashing to mine a moment before returning to the road. I quirked my brow in response. A quiet Jen was a weird Jen. With no jibes, no sarcasm, hell, even the lack of a quick jab to my side filled me with suspicion that was laced with unease.

  “What?”

  With her gaze straight ahead, her shoulders dropped just a little, but I knew her better than that. Her attempt to relax was forced. “What do you mean what?” Jen’s voice was worryingly casual.

  I turned a little, staring hard at her head. Silent, I remained still, aiming my gaze at her. I knew all the tricks to get her to spill. Not that much had changed over the years.

  “Stop it.” She flicked a glance my way. “I mean it.”

  The stare intensified, and I squinted a little.

  “For real?”

  Jen was close to breaking. I bit the inside of my cheek, determined not to laugh. She professed to be such a hardarse, yet she was so easy to break.

  “Okay.” She sighed dramatically. “Promise you won’t be mad.”

  Groaning, I shook my head. Any request starting that way was going to result in me being pissed off. “What did you do?”

  This time her glance my way had me tensing. Concern flickered in her eyes. When she focused on the road ahead, she blew out her cheeks, her lips pursed. “We’re heading to mine.”

  “Okay?” I dragged out the word. I’d figured that out since we weren’t heading towards Dad and Michelle’s.

  “Dad kinda got excited about you coming home.”

  My stomach dipped. I just knew where she was heading with this. Slamming my eyes shut, I waited for her next words.

  They came out in a rush. “Sohekindainvitedaheapofpeopleover. But…” She gasped for breath. “…it’s not technically a party, as there aren’t banners or balloons.”

  My eyes sprang open, and I stared at her wide-eyed.

  She glanced at me, a mix of horror and amusement on her face. “You owe me big for talking him out of that.”

  “Yet you couldn’t have talked him into a small family meal?”

  She shrugged. “I did try, but, Leo.” She paused, emotion swirling in her eyes, and I swallowed. This was just one of the reasons I’d stayed away. Guilt still clawed at me whenever I gave it life. “Dad was so excited you were coming home. You know he still doesn’t understand why you left. If it had just been heading to the city, that would have been a struggle, but you travelled to the other side of the world.”

  My gut clenched. I still felt shit for leaving my dad, but I had my own life to live, and taking over my dad’s stud farm wasn’t what I wanted. Plus there was the major screw-up with how I destroyed any semblance of a friendship with Zak.

  “There’s more.”

  I flashed Jen a resigned look.

  “Dad obviously invited Zak.”

  My heart seized, and my gut churned. This could not be happening. While I’d anticipated seeing him, I wasn’t prepared for it to be the first night I got home. In hindsight, this was ridiculously naïve of me, considering his place was only a hundred metres or so away from the main house on the property.

  “I know, I know, but best to get the whole awkwardness out of the way, right?” She reached out and gave my hand a small squeeze. After I’d run out on Zak the night I’d left, it had taken just a handful of calls from Jen for her to recognize something was wrong and for me to spill my guts. We remained close, even with the distance of the past five years, and without her in my corner, life certainly would have been trickier.

  “Yeah, I suppose.” There was something to be said for ripping the Band-Aid off, but my heart picked up speed in anticipation.

  The history between Zak and me was complicated. He was eight years older than me, which was no big deal now at twenty-seven, but when I was growing up spending too many nights to count jacking off to the image of him swimming in the creek, I’d known all too well that nothing could ever happen between the two of us. I’d been fifteen when I’d first admitted my feelings to myself, my attraction to him, and was even younger when I first started following him around like a lost lamb.

  He was the farm manager and had worked for Dad for years. My dad had trained him up himself and helped him through his studies at uni. It meant that Zak had always been present in my teenage years, was there for breakfast, for dinner, and would regularly be on our veranda after a long day before heading to the workers’ cottage.

  Looking out at the road ahead, I saw our turnoff in the distance. I needed to get my head on straight and focus on seeing Dad and enjoying spending time with him. That’s what was important.

  I chanted that mantra while visualising beer teamed with a couple of shots to get me through this impromptu party with the family I loved, a town I begrudgingly missed, and the man I’d declared my love to before I’d destroyed his prized possession, before I ran off like a fair dinkum coward.

  Shit, I’d been a wank stain. It was time to face the music.

  Chapter Two

  With a firm handshake, I said my thanks to the Mattersons. I’d lost count of how many familiar faces I’d seen. I was exhausted, but despite my desire for a quiet family dinner when I’d been chauffeured to my sister’s, I’d had a good night and had fun catching up with so many old friends and neighbours. There were only a handful of people left. A few of my old high school buddies, my sister and Frank, and my dad and stepmum, Michelle.

  Beer had relaxed me enough to kick back on my sister’s veranda, but not enough that I could ignore the swirl of unease in my gut.

  He hadn’t shown.

  While I should have been relieved, that was the furthest thing from what I felt. He’d turned down Dad’s invite. Yeah, it had been five years, but Zak was always included in everything and pretty much worshipped the ground Dad walked on, so for him to be a no-show said more than his words ever could. Not only that, Dad was confused. While he knew the destruction I’d left in my wake when I’d bailed, I’d never told him the reasons why. And I’d assumed nobody else had, but what did I know? At the end of the day, Zak was entitled to still be pissed off with me. He had every right to stay far away and not have to put on a bullshit front that he was happy to see me.

  It was what I deserved.

  And while the unease swirled and grew as I wondered what would happen when we did see one another, the pissant in me couldn’t be happier that Dad was none the wiser. It didn’t matter how old I was, being in Dad’s bad books was no joke.

  “You okay?”

  I glanced over at my sister. A slight frown dipped her brow, and her head tilted in obvious concern.

  I nodded and swigged the last drops of my beer. “A bit bolloxed but good. You?”

  The frown marring her otherwise smooth forehead eased, and she smiled. “I am. I’m so glad you’re here.” She reached out her hand, and I took it, giving her a squeeze. I didn’t care how much of a hardarse she pretended to be, she was a legit softie.

  I leaned back and placed my empty bottle down. “Me too.” There were no firm plans for my visit home other than it had been a damn long time since I’d visited and my dad had thrown a stink, complaining I was losing my accent so I’d better get my arse on home soil before I sounded like a Brit. I smirked at the thought. Nobody back in the UK thought I sounded anything Brit-like. I was still Aussie all the way.

  “Dad said that he received a call from Zak.”

  My heart thundered at the mention of his name. “Yeah?” br />
  Jen bobbed her head; her concerned frown was back. “Said one of the mares was fretting.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek, willing myself to not react. “Problem?” The word came out surprisingly even.

  She shrugged, her gaze firmly on me. “There’s a few more weeks till she should be foaling.”

  Perhaps it was a legitimate reason to stay away. Perhaps not. Either way, I had to face him at some point and get through the awkwardness. It was up to me to sort this out. Not make it right, as I didn’t think that was possible. But I could start by making the move and apologising.

  Exhaling a heavy breath, I looked over to Dad and saw him gathering his things. Jen had already said she’d made a room up for me, but with Dad heading back and with liquid courage thrumming through my system, it seemed like tonight was as good a night as any to get this handled.

  “You not staying?” Jen’s voice startled me, and I flashed my eyes at her. Her smirk greeted me.

  With a shake of my head, I snorted. “No damn idea how you do that, but yeah.” I stood and tugged Jen up to give her a hug goodbye. “Thanks for tonight.” I placed a kiss on her temple.

  “You didn’t hate it?”

  I shook my head and pulled away, the smile on my face genuine. “I had a good time. It was great catching up.”

  “But a quiet family dinner tomorrow, right?”

  “That’d be great.” I glanced at my dad and saw him heading my way. When he stepped to Jen’s side, I said, “I’ll head back with you tonight.”

  A large smile appeared on his face, and he nodded. “Sounds good. Michelle will be happy.” He draped an arm around my sister’s shoulders and placed a kiss on her head. “See you tomorrow at six, kiddo.” She nodded. “Love you.”