***
Landon showed up at his parents’ house the next night a little after six. He’d managed to get all the payroll checks passed out and still had time for a shower and a change of clothes. Thank God for small favors, he wouldn’t meet his new mill manager in dusty, day-old clothes and muddy boots. Not that the man would actually be paying attention, and he’d sure understand if Landon was dirty, since he presumed the man was used to dirty work clothes.
Landon had seen the man’s application and his work experience was full of welding, mechanical, and mill work. Hired as a favor to a friend or not, the man had almost twenty years of solid hands-on experience, so he was more than qualified for the position he was stepping into. He’d even been a supervisor at the steel plant he’d worked at in Tupelo before moving back to his hometown. Ms. Lynne knew the family and had shared that Jay had moved to get his kids closer to his in-laws so they’d have family around while he worked.
Landon parked his truck in his parents’ massive, dusty yard next to his father’s dually and pet their two black labs that ran out to him as his mother opened the front door. “There’s my handsome son!” She waved from the porch as Landon approached.
Hugging her neck, he greeted, “Hey, Mama.”
“Glad you could make it for dinner. You work too hard, I never get to see you anymore.”
“Hopefully this new manager is gonna change that.”
“He’s a nice man. Your daddy seems to like him.”
“That’s good,” Landon said with a smile, walking in the house and shedding his jacket. His mother took his jacket and hung it up on her overstuffed coat rack by the door. She asked him about work as he followed her to the kitchen-slash-dining room. As they approached, he could hear his father’s booming laugh, which meant his dad must really like the guy.
“Jay, do you remember my son, Landon?” his mother asked when they turned the corner into the room. Landon blinked and willed his body to behave when he took in the form of the new manager he was going to be training. Holy hell.
The man was as tall as Landon’s father, slimmer in the mid-section, but well-muscled up top from hard work. The baby blue henley he was wearing was tight on his chest and biceps, which were nicely defined. The lighter blue of the shirt set off his sun bronzed skin. His short brown hair and stubbled beard had a few lighter patches that’ll probably grey in another five years or so, but he didn’t seem all that much older than Landon. Those light patches only served to make him more attractive. Kind brown eyes crinkled at the sides with a smile that nearly took Landon’s knees from under him. Jay extended a large hand at Landon, who stood blinking for just long enough that his mother had to smack his shoulder.
Landon shook his head to snap himself out of his embarrassing daze and walked forward to shake the man’s hand. “Surely this can’t be little Landon? Last time I saw you, you couldn’t have been more than ninety pounds dripping wet.”
I’m not twelve years old anymore, man. And his cock was sure reminding him he was well past puberty the way it started perking up at just the contact of their hands. “Uh, yeah. Been a while. Sorry, I don’t remember you much.”
And that was a total lie. Landon remembered now being thirteen the last time he’d seen Jay Hill. Jay’d been twenty, and he was at a Christmas party with Bethany and their baby son. Landon’s body reacted much the same as it was today. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten how incredibly attractive Jay was, and damn if they man hadn’t gotten better with age. It was going to be torture working every day with this guy.