Taking Chances, by E. L. Van Hine and L.H. Nicoll

[belbbmfan]

And more from chapter 34 (hey, i'm on a roll here  )

A conversation between Wes and Ellery, between father and son

“Listen Wes, I’m worried about Ennis.”

“You’re worried about Ennis? Well that is interestin. Because Ennis is worried about you.”

“Worried about me? What for?”

“He called my wife for advice.”

“You are shittin me.”

“My wife generally is not given to bouts a fantasy of that nature, Chief Deputy.”

“All right all right. What kind a advice?”

“On how ta be supportive ta you durin a crisis type a situation of the personal kind. Are you tellin me what type a crisis he might be alludin to now that you have come ta me of yer own free will?”

“Well let me see, after lookin into Ennis’s former lover’s murder, an bein chased down and hunted by the man, an havin em savagely ambush me an my loved one at my home and then hunt him down immediately thereafter an attempt ta murder em in cold blood, then findin out he is afflicted with a fatal sexually transmitted disease... shit Wes...”

“What’s the end a the sentence Ellery? What happened new that is the exclamation point to all a that crap?”

“Well there was a guy I had a thing with showed up last year caused a disturbance last weekend...”

“Yes, you called a 911 on him didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Ennis an Dupree threw him out a the bar an he came circlin back, got into a little mix with my bartender just to get my skirts up an then Ennis ended up putting his pistols in the safe.”

“But that ain’t what Ennis called Edna about....” Wes said. “Ya know I chose law enforcement because I didn’t want ta be a dentist, an here I am pullin teeth anyway.”

“It’s about that lawyer’s son, okay? Eagleton.”

“Ah. Boy you went ta school with.”

“Boy I spent all freshman year in bed with,” Ellery said softly.

“Oh ho, so it’s like that.”

“Yeah. Like that. An then went off an got married in the summer an sent me an invite to his weddin.”

“Ya know, Ellery, if there were ever an argument for not bein queer that is it right there. On the barrel head.”

“Well yes it is sort of the worst possible thing ta happen to a couple a guys who are gettin it on, for one of em to suddenly have a white weddin. Leaves things in an indeterminate state as it were.”

“So you ever talk to em after?”

“Nope. Gave my card to his dad last Sunday at the hospital an been starin at my phone since then.”

“An he didn’t call. Is he gonna call?”

“He never called the summer after he moved outta the dorm at the U. He didn’t call after I woke up from takin too many downers that summer. Why would he call now?”

“Curiosity? Regrets?”

“Wes. It’s bad enough I’m havin nightmares about it. Yer not helpin.”

“An you sittin there starin at the phone ain’t helpin neither. You talk ta Ennis about this?”

“Yep. Not all a what’s on my mind but yeah he knows, he brought me ta the damn hospital when I thought it was Beagle lyin there with a head wound.”

“Beagle?”

“Nickname. Bruce Eagleton. Beagle. I was the Beatle an he was the Beagle.”

“How little I know about my employees,” Wes said, tapping his fingers to his forehead.

“So now you know all there is ta know a bout my checkered former love life.”

“Except what I don’t know. Talk ta Ennis. He would not have called my wife for advice if he wasn’t worried sick.”

“He just told me on the phone he was there for me ta lean on.”

Wes burst into a wide grin. “That’s my Edna.”

“He bought a charcoal grille. He cleaned the oven an changed the sheets on the bed.”

“My wife is an immensely powerful domestic influence, Ellery, do not underestimate her.”

“I will remember that, Sheriff.”

“Talk to Ennis.”



A powerful domestic influence!   

[MaineWriter]

Ladies, thanks for helping out with the quotes! I appreciate it...

Here, some famous lines from Chapter 35:

“Well well, Marlboro man, you look like yer expectin somebody.”

“I’m expectin Chief Deputy Darlin as a matter a fact,” Ennis said, smiling tightly. “You gonna gimme a ticket fer havin an illegal fire or somethin?”

“Nah, I figured I’d eat first an maybe spank later.”

“Huh, that’ll be the day you get me over yer knee, Officer.”

“You don’t think I can? You just let me get this gun off a me an you’ll see what I can muster up...” Ellery passed close by, reaching out with a long arm, feigning toward Ennis’s ass as he did, and Ennis straightened up, giving him a mock-angry glare.

“I don’t think you’d dare...” he said softly, but that smile still played over his lips.

Ennis looked up from lifting skewers onto a serving plate to see Ellery return, naked but for his own cutoffs, hanging tantalizingly from his hips, showing more than half of the line of dark hair leading from his navel down to his pubes, and his eyes widened slightly as he sidled up. “There, that a little better? Gives me maneuverability if we’re gonna scuffle,” Ellery said, beaming a wide, wicked smile at him.

“You can’t take advantage a the Marlboro man, it would upset the balance a masculinity in the universe,” Ennis pronounced, setting the plate down. “Just because I do the cookin around here don’t mean I ain’t the one wearin the pants.”

“I got pants on,” Ellery said, tugging seductively at the dangerously positioned waistband of his cutoffs.

“You got pants mostly off,” Ennis said. “I can see halfway ta France. Good thing your employees from the Red Stallion ain’t here or their tongues’d be on the floor."

“An they wouldn’t be gettin none served to em either. My road ta France is reserved for one man only, Mr. Please an Thank You.”

“Why thank you,” Ennis said primly, sitting down. “Dinner is served.”

“Can I sit on your lap an have you pop pieces a shish kabob in my mouth?”

“Well that might not be good for your back.”

Ellery shrugged. “I figured I’d try.”

Ennis leaned forward, dropping his voice. “Tell you what. We finish off our shish kebab an we can go in the bedroom an I’ll sit you down on my cock, how’s that sound?”

Ellery’s eyes widened. “What are we waitin for, let’s eat!”

L

[MaineWriter]

More from Chapter 35:

Ennis had clearly been bored at work once more, ruminating while cleaning out stalls, perhaps, because it became clear halfway through the finger food that he was already hard and holding back from putting his hands on Ellery, his eyes drifting again and again to his bare chest, the dark line of hair wandering south of his flat belly, and Ellery smiled at him, winking, each time he caught his wandering eye travelling over his body.

“You are a caution, boy,” he said softly. “I never felt so pretty in my life.”

“Pretty ain’t the word. More like... delicious,” Ennis said, popping a cherry tomato in his mouth and squishing it between his teeth. “I got plans fer you.”


and then, later...

“That was real fun, sweetheart.”

“Yeah. Thought a that one all day.”

Ellery grinned. Real glad you are in the horse business, it brings out yer creative streak.”

“Yeah, don’t it...” Ennis said, blushing slightly as he rolled onto his side, looking at him, brushing the hairs away to look down into the pale face. “You doin okay?”

“You asked me that already.”

“I’m kinda worried, cause a that thing, with yer former.”

“Yeah, well. It’s in the past, Ennis. Yer in the present, an I am likin what’s happenin here, an that is all that matters now.”

“Yer sure...”

“Yeah. I had a bad dream. Couple nights ago. No big deal, but it bothered me.”

“What was it about?”

“I had a dream Beagle came home drunk an raped me.”

“Jesus. That ever happen?”

“No. That’s why it bothered me. But I figured... I must still be mad at him for what he done an that’s how I felt when I woke up from the dream, real mad at em for just usin me as a fuck toy an then leavin me for a girl. Not too hard ta figure out when ya have basic psychology.”

“Yeah, but it feels like shit,” Ennis said.

“That is for damn sure. But I feel real good right now Ennis. That’s all I wanna think about right now, is how good I feel, an how much I love you right now.”

”Okay. You can tell me if ya need to... if anythin.. bothers ya.”

“I know.”

Ennis leaned over and brushed Ellery’s cheek gently with his thumb. “You are real precious ta me darlin. That’s why I spend all day thinkin about new ways ta love ya. I want ya ta know.”

“Oh, I know. Right now I feel... real delicious.”

Ennis’s face stilled. “Shit, I left all that stuff on the patio. We’ll have skunks by mornin. You stay there, this won’t be long.” He slid out of bed and put on his cutoffs, and distantly, Ellery heard the bang of utensils and plates as Ennis cleaned up the patio from their interrupted meal, drifting off, thinking idly to himself... if only I coulda dreamed about this when I fell asleep the other night. And that was his last thought before he fell into a peaceful slumber, spreadeagled on the bed.

L

[MaineWriter]

Okay, re-reading today, 36-40, and 36 is so freaking sad...

http://louisev.livejournal.com/59326.html

Ennis sat quietly, watching him, brown eyes black in the gloom, face still.

“He never told me he loved me, or even wanted ta be with me. I guess, if I think about it objectively, the whole romance part of it was just me.”

“Well, what did he say when you was doin it with em?”

“Usually just ‘roll over,’ or ‘on yer knees’ or ‘suck it’ or whatever, he wasn’t big on endearments.”

“Huh. Not even when he came, or after?”

Ellery smiled wryly. “Said fuck a lot. Lots a loud gruntin.”

“Shit darlin, ya deserve more’n that.”

“One night I told em I didn’t want ta be his fun an he should go out an watch a movie or play skeeball.”

“What’d he do?”

“Swore a lot, then he took off, went out an played skeeball, won a big plush panda an came home an gave it ta me an said sorry.”

“Then what?”

“Then a course he had ta fuck me cause he said sorry, an like a sap I bought it. Bent me right over the panda an stuck it in an never another word about havin a relationship or us bein queer or where we’re goin with it, which is what the whole fight was about. I shouldn’t a given in. But I was eighteen, Ennis... an he gave me a stuffed panda.” Ellery’s eyes glittered strangely, and Ennis’s hand came up, his thumb brushing his pale cheek.

“Still hurts though.”

“It was twenty years ago. Maybe rememberin all those hurts is part a what makes a man queer, I dunno, I shoulda be over it. I don’t cry nearly so much about my daddy dyin like he did as I did about this.”

“Maybe he didn’t know how ta love ya, darlin.”

“Huh, that is a pretty safe bet, Ennis. A pretty safe fuckin bet.”

“So if he calls what’re ya gonna say?”

Ellery twisted his face into a grimace. “I’m gonna say – you ready to apologize yet?”

“Really?” Ennis grinned. “Good fer you.”

“I dunno. I might be in too much shock hearin his voice if ya want ta know the truth. I think I’d rather face an armed man with a rifle than ta talk to em again right now.”

“C’mon, c’mere,” Ennis said, holding out his arms, drawing him in. “Whatever ya say is good enough fer me.”

“Wes said you called Edna fer advice.”

“I guess I shoulda asked her ta keep it to herself.”

“There ain’t no keepin it to yerself between Edna an Wes, Ennis,” he murmured against his shoulder. “They are a crack team a investigation professionals.”

“I guess so. I was worried about ya.”

“Yeah, I know. An I’m glad.” Ennis laid him back gently in the bed, smoothing his long hair against the pillow.

“An I’m still worried.”

“Maybe it’s time I got worried about Ennis, cause it feels a little dark right now.”

“I’m right here,” Ennis whispered, lips against his cheek. “An I love ya.”

Ellery’s eyes closed, tears leaking out from beneath his long lashes. “Thank you.”

L

[MaineWriter]

Ha ha, a little trip down memory lane...

After chapter 36, the annnouncement of this thread!

http://louisev.livejournal.com/59433.html

The good old days...hey, the days are still good in Ennis and Ellery-land!

L

[MaineWriter]

Chapter 37:

Ellery’s eyes drilled into Wes hard, his expression grim. “Without Amos there?”

“Without Amos there,” he nodded. “An another thing. Eagleton will be ready tomorrow to go ahead with his preliminary motions on Steele. He is back from Jackson tonight.” He kept his eye on Ellery when he finished talking, and Ellery stared back at him.

“What?”

“The boy didn’t call ya?”

“No, he didn’t call me. I don’t expect em to. But to keep you from buggin me about it every six minutes I will tell you if he does, okay?”

“Why not call em an get it over with?”

“Because.”

Wes smirked. “Because? Because a why? You ain’t eighteen anymore Ellery. You got something on yer mind, the man has a phone, an I know you pulled his address out a the DMV computer two days ago.”

“Yer watchin me.”

“I pay close attention to those I care about, Ellery. So because a why?”

“Because it’s best ta let sleepin dogs lie. If he got something ta say he has my number now.”

“Uh huh. Talk ta Ennis.”

“I fuckin talked ta Ennis. He knows all about it.”

“An he thinks you should let it all lie like a growlin dog ready ta pounce.”

“Wes, you know that thing I told you about playin daddy?”

“Mel an Amos’ll be here in an hour. Be polite, an do NOT change yer socks or I’ll make ya go barefoot.”

Ellery cracked a smile, and rose from his desk, hiking up his dress blacks. “Passin muster yet Sheriff?”

“Hunh,” Wes said, glancing disinterestedly at the span of black sock on Ellery’s ankle, and shuffled out of the room, scratching his head.


L

[MaineWriter]

A famous exchange from Chapter 37!

“To the matter at hand, however,” Mel continued, taking a shallow drag on the cigar before continuing. “Amos seems to feel that your personal … er… circumstances aggravate the attempts of the District Attorney’s department to get cooperation from the suspect, and that this has led to a … negative result.”

Ellery gave Mel a long look. “Mel, with all due respect. You went there with me. You did the talkin. You laid the options on the table. You sat through the twenty long minutes a baleful silence when he didn’t say nothin. Now you tell me whether I am the factor exacerbatin things or not.”

Wes spoke up. “The human factor here is really difficult ta sort. But it will be a cold day in hell when I take a senior officer out of an investigation in which he is intimately involved and uniquely qualified ta continue to work with the suspect and witnesses, simply because he is of the same sexual persuasion. If we started doin that then we wouldn’t have anybody to investigate all the so called normal sex crimes since most of our guys are heterosexuals.”

“It ain’t that,” Amos said. “Ellery just ain’t professional in approachin this high profile case.”

Wes turned a baleful eye on Amos. “If it weren’t fer Ellery workin through the weekend you wouldn’t a known whose fingerprints was whose when Steele went ta arraignment a couple a weeks ago, an that was a favour we did you Amos. If yer talking about the sock thing…”

“There’s another thing.”

“Oh?” Mel turned then and all eyes were then on Amos as he looked nervously from face to face.

“This I got ta hear,” Ellery said.

“He… showed up in court with a hickey on his neck.”

“What?” Mel said, squinting as if he hadn’t heard correctly. Ellery suppressed a smirk.

“A… love bite. You know. One a them obvious things.”

Mel frowned, eyes narrowing further. “Amos… don’t tell me… we came over here to discuss whether the Chief deputy handling our attempted murder and stalking case is suitable to continue on this case because he had a hickey on his neck.”

“Uh, Mel… it was unseemly…” Amos stuttered.

Mel stood up. “Sorry to bother you Wes, Ellery. I want to have Ellery come with me back down to County to tell Worrell his time is running out on his options. I have no more questions about Ellery’s professionalism.”

Wes stood slowly, a reserved expression on his face. “I appreciate yer takin the time, Mel. We are all frustrated here an maybe we’ll catch a break if he knows he hasn’t got forever to play us.”

Mel nodded at Amos to proceed him out the door, gesturing with his hat. “Let’s go Amos. You have motions to respond to.”

Wes closed the door on them as they left and sat back down, picking up his cigar.

“Chalk one up for the queers,” Ellery said.

“Is it too much ta ask if next time there is a motion hearing on Worrell you button yer shirt up to the collar?”

“No it ain’t too much ta ask, Wes,” Ellery grinned.

“Just remember,” he said, squinting at the slight impress that marked the healing piercing on Ellery’s left ear. “Earrings are against our uniform code.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“That’ll be all.” He turned and opened the door.

“Hey Wes?”

“Hmm.” The older man’s dark brown gaze rested on Ellery.

“Thanks fer carin. It does help.”


L

[MaineWriter]

Chapter 38...

He woke gradually, eyes opening, to see Ellery standing in the doorway, a smirk on his face, watching him dozing with his wet cock in his hand. “I see you weren’t waitin fer me today…”

“Hey. I was… thinkin a some new things an got carried away.”

“So you did, must a been good.” He unfastened his shoulder holster, unloaded his gun as Ennis sat up, then held out a hand. “No, you stay there, boy.” Ennis eased back onto his bent elbows, cock lolling in his opened fly.

“What a you got on your mind?”

Ellery did not reply, but his eyes flicked to Ennis’s exposed cock, then unbuttoned his shirt and shucked it off, leaving his upper half bare, and he went to his knees by the side of the bed, leaned over, and sucked Ennis’s sticky cock into his mouth in a rapid movement, then began to suck, cleaning off the remnants of his ejaculation, pulling off his now half-tumescent shaft and grinning up at him. “That was too tasty to pass up.”

“Jesus Ellery you do like ta suck cock.”

“So now I got yer attention, what was it that got ya worked up, I want ta hear all about it,” he said, fingers closing over his base, giving it a squeeze and beginning to stroke his cock slowly but firmly.

“I… got some more a those ropes,” Ennis said, stammering, his hips rolling up as he aroused once more. “I was thinking… I could tie ya hand an foot, maybe put that thing in yer ass again an give you a good spankin…”

“Oh my, you have been thinking. What makes ya think I want ta get my ass spanked?” Ellery’s voice was sultry.

“Because a … oh darlin…” he gasped, thrusting in the air once more, his denims slipping down further, “ya came so good last time.”

“Yer figurin out all my secrets, Ennis. Pretty soon I’ll be yer slave.”

"God I hope so. That feels so good," Ennis breathed.

L

[MaineWriter]

More from 38, Beagle on the phone...

“Maybe so.” The distant, familiar tenor voice softened, seemed wistful. “Well?”

“Well what? You come down here an call me yeah we can talk. Maybe you can come to my bar, it’s fer queers only. That is, if yer queer.”

“Maybe not there. Maybe… dinner or somethin…” his voice trembled.

“I’m involved with someone, Beagle. I ain’t interested in gettin anythin together with you.”

“I didn’t … I didn’t think so.”

“All right.”

"So...." Beagle's voice faltered then into silence.

“Sure then, call me when you come ta town.”

“Okay, talk to ya soon then, maybe couple a weeks.” Ellery said goodbye and set down the phone, looked at it for a long moment.

“That was him huh?” Ennis’s voice was thick as he stood in the doorway, face still.

“Yeah.” Ellery turned to him, eyes gleaming with what might have been tears. “I shoulda told em to fuck off I guess. I didn’t.”

“He wants ta see ya.”

Ellery nodded slowly. “Got ta sit down.” He came toward Ennis then, whose arms went around his shoulders, pulling him close and tight.

“It’s gonna be all right darlin, I’m here.”

“Yeah. Good thing.”

L

[MaineWriter]

Chapter 39...

“Oh lord darlin...” he whispered against the sweaty shoulder beneath him. “You okay?”

“Oh yeah.”

The room was silent except for their still-labored but slowing breaths, and Ennis pulled out slowly, rising to his knees, turning his head as he heard something in the sudden quiet. “Hear somethin,” he said.

Then it came again, the sound of a fist banging on the front door, then the chime of the bell once more, which neither had heard during the chorus of sex. “Shit, somebody’s bangin on the door, Ennis...” Ellery sighed.

“I’ll go,” Ennis said, rising to his feet and sliding on his denims, heedless of his dripping cock.

“Sweetheart...” Ellery said, but Ennis had left the room, leaving Ellery completely helpless, tied hand and foot.

Ennis zipped up and ran his fingers through his hair, stopping long enough to remember to look through the peephole before he unlocked the door. “Jesus Christ amighty,” he swore, then pulled the door open.

“Wayne, what the fuck are you doin here?”

Worn, tired, rail thin and looking at least ten years older, Wayne gave Ennis a weak smile, ignoring his sweat-soaked hair and dripping chest.. “I was beginnin ta think you guys was dead in there. I got outta the hospital an came ta say hi.”


L