by A. M. Arthur
“Turn her to the left, George,” Levi said.
He carefully pulled the left rein, and Tude angled her big body in that direction. They circled back to their group, and Levi talked him through a trot—really bouncy—and a canter—really, really bouncy. But despite the physical discomfort, George was enjoying himself. Experiencing something brand new with his friend. He kind of wished Orry was here to share it with him, but George liked having something private, all his own.
Something that was his and Levi’s only.
Once George carefully dismounted—something he was pretty good at, thanks to his training—he stood a bit straighter and beamed at Levi. “I loved that. I understand better why you love working with horses so much.”
“They’re amazing animals.” Levi’s eyes gleamed. “You looked very natural up there.”
“It was a little terrifying being that high up, but I got over it.”
I knew you were there in case I fell.
George kept that thought to himself.
“When do we get to ride again?” Faith asked.
“Tomorrow,” Reyes replied. “Tonight, my coworkers and I will figure out which horses are best for which riders, and then we’ll introduce you before the first trail ride. How does that sound?”
“I can’t wait!”
“Everyone,” Reyes said to the corral at large. “Our welcome barbecue will begin at six. You’re free to explore the main areas and trails, but we will have a guided walking tour of the land that begins in twenty minutes. You’ll meet your guide over there.” He pointed to a large sign that indicated the various trails.
As everyone else filtered out of the corral, Levi hung back with Reyes and Miles, and George stuck close. Levi started doing something on his phone.
“What do you think of this week’s group?” Miles asked after he’d climbed through the wood fencing and into the corral to kiss his husband.
“They seem a calm bunch,” Reyes replied. “No one who appears to be the troublemaking sort.”
“Unlike my first time here.”
“Exactly.”
George saw an interesting story there but he didn’t want to pry into their shared past. He wasn’t really friends with either Reyes or Miles, and it wasn’t his place to insert himself into their private lives. His phone pinged with a text. Expecting it to be Orry checking in, he was delighted to find a message from Levi with three pictures of George riding Tude. George almost didn’t recognize himself or that wide, bright smile.
Reyes said, “You did well on Tude, George. You have a natural grace that seems to put the horse at ease. You’ll make a good rider.”
His face went hot. “Um, thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I have to get Tude untacked and brushed down. Miles? Join me?”
“With pleasure,” Miles replied. The couple headed toward the barn with the horse.
“How are you feeling?” Levi asked once they were alone. “You up for the trail tour, or do you need some time alone?”
“I’m not sure.” George leaned against the corral, hands sliding into his jeans pockets. “Everything here feels so different from the city. Open. Freer. Less stifling. I loved riding Tude, and I can’t wait to ride again tomorrow. I just...”
“It’s okay.” Levi relaxed beside him, their shoulders nearly touching. “You take all the small steps you need. I am right here, George. I promise. I didn’t bring you here this week to overwhelm you. Just to help you have a little fun.”
“I am having fun.” George couldn’t help a quick glance at Levi’s mouth. A small part of him wanted to flee to their room and hide for a little while. But what if Levi came with him? Alone together in a small bedroom? Bad idea, and not because he didn’t trust Levi. George didn’t trust some of his own stray thoughts about his friend. “I think maybe the guided hike could be fun. You know the land but I don’t.”
Levi smiled that charming, disarming smile of his. “Then let’s do it.”
Chapter Ten
Levi swore he was watching George blossom right in front of his eyes. Before lunch, the shy blond had been nervous and twitchy, his gaze constantly wandering around the guesthouse, and later the corral. But something had shifted after his ride on Tude. A new confidence Levi didn’t recognize. The face of a man who once skated in front of audience of thousands and knew he would be the best. Do his very best.
During the trail tour, George paid attention to what Burt had to say about the land and the paths they were free to use. They got a glimpse of the horse rescue in the distance, the bright red roof of the training pavilion difficult to miss on such a clear, sunshiny day.
“Do they do tours of the rescue?” George asked Levi quietly, rather than directing the question to Burt.
“Hey, Burt, do you do tours of the horse rescue?” Levi said, because he honestly wasn’t sure. He’d never thought to ask before.
“We can arrange guided tours, yes, for folks who are interested,” Burt replied with a grin. “Only small groups at a time, though. We don’t want to overwhelm the horses or their trainers. They do important, delicate work there, rehabilitating those magnificent animals.”
“Thank you,” George whispered.
“Not a problem.” Levi squeezed his wrist briefly. “You want to visit the rescue.”
“Yes.” His blue eyes shined with determination. “Is it weird that I feel a kind of kinship with the rescued horses? Like, what happened to them wasn’t their fault, and they just want to get better and live again.”
“Kind of like you?”
“Yeah. Like me.” His gaze flittered to Levi’s lips again, and Levi’s heart fluttered with tender feelings for the younger man. Feelings he was pretty sure George reciprocated. If they hadn’t been on a public trail with other people, Levi might have lost his mind a little and kissed George.
Kissed him like he’d wanted to for two weeks now. Find out how those pretty pink lips felt against his. But the tour group was getting farther down the trail, and they needed to catch up, not start making out against a tree. It was also their first day at the ranch, and the last thing Levi wanted to do was making the rest of the week awkward if he was reading George’s signals wrong.
He wasn’t but kept telling himself that anyway.
“I’ll make sure and ask Reyes about a tour of the rescue, then,” Levi said. “We better catch up.”
“Huh?” George blinked like he’d been a hundred miles away. “Oh, right.”
As they walked, elbows casually brushing once in a while, George snapped a few photos of the land that he texted to Orry. “Did you send one of you riding?” Levi asked.
“Yup. I can almost feel the first flash of terror, followed by pride and maybe even a bit of jealousy that I’m here and he isn’t.” George’s smile dimmed. “It really does suck that he can’t get a solid, well-paying job that actually offers benefits, but that’s what we were dealt, I guess.”
“I can’t imagine the struggle. Some years, money was tight for the rodeo, but my dad had a good head for investments so we never went hungry. Never really went without.”
“Can you tell me more about that? Having a loving, happy family around you?”
“Sure can.” Levi had a lot of stories to choose from, most of them centered around Xander, and it didn’t hurt to talk about his brother like it used to. He spun one of those stories for George while the hike continued, slowly circling the group back toward the main buildings. George listened with a serene expression, completely unlike the nervous man Levi had picked up this morning. Levi had heard Robin, Reyes and the other horsemen say that the land had a magical air to it that whispered to everyone who cared to listen.
George was definitely listening.
When they arrived back, some of the horses were wandering the corral, and several folks headed in that direction. George’s cell rang, and his en
tire face lit up. “Hey, did you get my pictures?”
Levi gave him privacy for his call to Orry and turned toward the barn, unsure of his exact destination. Colt Woods intercepted him halfway there. Colt was a handyman on the ranch, married to a history professor who worked in San Francisco, and one of Mack and Reyes’s best friends. Levi and he were friendly but didn’t have very many private conversations.
“Hey, man, fun to see you as a guest this week,” Colt said in a familiar, sunny tone.
“I figured since I’m on vacation, I might as well try taking a vacation.”
“With one of Slater’s twin neighbors?”
One of Slater’s hot twin neighbors who is sweet and way too appealing, yes.
“I owed George for a favor,” Levi said instead. “Please, tell me someone told you about my cat on Thanksgiving?”
“Yeah, I heard about it from Mack, Reyes and Robin. And I think from Derrick, too, but I’ve lost track at this point. Y’all are definitely the hot topic for ranch gossip.”
Levi swallowed a groan. “Why? We’re friends. The kid needs more friends.”
“Because we’re an insulated bunch, and we’re also gossipier than a group of grandmas in a sewing circle. Hugo said he thinks George was a figure skater once, that he kind of recognized him.”
“Okay.”
Colt quirked an eyebrow. “So was he?”
“If he was, it’s George’s business.”
“Well then that’s a yes. You know why he quit?”
Colt was obviously not letting this go, so Levi gave him a little bit. “Not the specifics, only that the training and performing got unbearable. He didn’t want to do it anymore. Doesn’t want to be a celebrity or his life to be a spectacle.” He put just enough force into his final sentence that Colt visibly backed off.
“Right, sorry. Point taken, man.”
“Thank you.”
“George is still hella cute, though.”
Levi snorted. “Do people our age really still say hella?”
“I don’t know about you, but I do. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi, and if you and George are ever in the city at the same time as me and Avery, maybe we can do a double date.”
“George and I are not dating.”
“Says you.” Colt winked before strolling into the barn.
Levi stared for a long time, turned around by the conversation. It didn’t matter if Levi wanted to date George, kiss George, or do all sorts of things with George. George was coming out of his shell—and the closet—for the first time in years, maybe even his whole life, and Levi couldn’t be selfish. Couldn’t keep George’s attention all to himself. George deserved the freedom to explore the wider world and all the people in it.
No matter how strongly Levi wanted to keep George all to himself.
* * *
“Dude, are you okay?” Orry asked.
George rolled his eyes as he strode toward a big tree opposite the guesthouse. “I’m perfectly fine, why?” He hadn’t expected Orry to open the call like that but he also wasn’t surprised.
“I don’t know. I mean, you were on a horse. How was it?”
“Scary, but really cool. Getting up into a saddle is not as easy as it looks on TV, but I had a lot of fun once I was up there. I can’t wait to ride again tomorrow.” George ran his hand over the tree’s rough bark. “It really is beautiful out here, bro. And peaceful.”
“I believe you. You sound different.”
“In a good way?”
“Yeah. Stronger. Maybe we should have put you on a horse years ago.”
George laughed. “Maybe. I really think this week is going to be good for me. Levi and I have already met a couple with a little girl, and they are crazy nice. I’m talking to people, having conversations. It’s weird but also kind of amazing. I’m even looking forward to an overnight camping trip.”
“Camping? Ugh.” Orry made a weird noise. “Then again, I know what it’s like to sleep on the streets, so camping really isn’t ever going to be my thing.”
“Sorry.” George didn’t know all the details of the few months Orry had spent homeless when they were both sixteen. They simply hadn’t talked about it because Orry didn’t want to. But he’d seen enough and read enough to imagine what his twin had gone through as a homeless teenager.
“I’m not trying to guilt you,” Orry said. “I want you to have fun this week, I swear. I guess I’m a little jealous that I couldn’t get the time off to be there with you.”
“Levi’s been a great chaperone. I think he’s even having some fun of his own. Reyes asked him to do some trick riding demos for the guests.”
“Working on his vacation?” Orry blew a raspberry.
“How are you doing? It’s gotta be weird being in the apartment by yourself.”
“I’ve been working all day so I won’t know until later. I’m actually about to pick up my next fare, so I gotta go. Be safe.”
“You too.”
George hung up but remained by the tree, observing the grounds from a distance. Judson and an elderly man in overalls and a bright pink long-sleeve shirt were working around a big brick barbecue pit, and the scents of burning wood and slowly roasting meat had begun to fill the air. Several of the hands were bringing picnic tables out of the barn and arranging them near the pit. Other guests were petting the horses in the corral and feeding them treats through the fencing.
Peaceful was too small a word for how this tiny slip of the world felt to George. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this good or hopeful.
As the daylight waned and time inched closer to dinner, Reyes brought out one of those portable kerosene heat lamp things and set in in the middle of the picnic tables. The rising moon was close to full, and lights from a few oil lantern stakes kept it from being too dark. Patrice and Miles brought dish after dish out of the guesthouse kitchen and put them on a long table. George watched this practiced dance from his spot under the tree, grateful to Levi for giving him these precious moments alone before the socializing began again.
More of the ranch hands began emerging from a row of cabins behind the main house and milling with the guests. George was the only guest not currently over there. Levi was chatting with Robin and Shawn near the grill. He liked seeing how animated Levi got around Robin, and it made sense given their long history together as friends. It also made him a little jealous because George didn’t have that.
Okay, so Orry was his best friend but that didn’t count. Orry was related to him. His twin. George didn’t remember what it was like to have a best friend who wasn’t related to him. For a few years, he’d somewhat thought of Adrian as a BFF. They’d spent hours a day together training, usually seven days a week. They talked about all kinds of things. Looking back, George saw how Adrian had overshared with him, telling him private things that a fourteen-year-old didn’t need to know about their coach and mentor.
It had all been meticulously orchestrated from the beginning.
Until Adrian pushed him too far and George had snapped.
Hugo sprinted up to the guesthouse front porch and rang the same bell that had announced lunch. George stood straighter and strode across the yard to the gathering. Mack and Wes had also joined Judson and the elderly man by the grill, and all eyes seemed to turn to them. George joined Levi by one of the picnic tables and returned his friendly smile.
“Good evening, friends new and old!” the elderly man said. “My name is Arthur Garrett, and I’m the owner of this beautiful piece of land you’re visiting this week, and I want to say welcome. That big, strapping lad over there is my grandson Mack, and I’m glad to have him with us. He’s usually too busy with his own attraction to bother visiting with this old man.”
“Hush up, there, Arthur,” Mack replied. “You’ll start seeing so much of me you’ll be begging me to reopen the ghost town.”
George chuckled at the easy, familial banter between the pair, even as his heart lurched with grief. He missed his grandparents immensely. Maybe he’d go visit them next week if Orry was able to drive him.
“Anyhow,” Arthur continued, “this here barbecue is a long-held tradition here at the ranch. Gives us all a chance to get to know who we’ll be spending time with this week. It might seem a little silly, and it’s not a requirement, but I hope some of you fine folks will tell us who you are, where you’re from, maybe a bit about yourself and why you’re visiting us.”
George had absolutely no desire to do that, and Levi had already been introduced to everyone earlier at the corral, so George sat at the nearest picnic table and kept his gaze down. Rey introduced his family with a big smile. The Porter and Sanchez couples were all best friends, and they were here celebrating Mr. Sanchez’s recent promotion. The Harrison family, it turned out, had a tradition of taking unusual vacations right before Christmas as their presents to each other.
That one was actually kind of cool. Gifting experiences instead of material objects.
He glanced up at Levi’s profile. Levi had done the same thing for George by giving him a vacation instead of, say, a gift card or other material things as an expression of his thanks. Levi chose that moment to look down, and their eyes met in a new way that lit George up deep inside where he’d hidden his attraction to men for too damned long. George tumbled into the blue depths of Levi’s eyes and gentle smile and the entire character of the man.
“Thanks for speaking up,” Arthur said, breaking that beautiful spell. “It’s a right pleasure to get to know y’all a bit better. I can hear your stomachs growling from the mouthwatering scent of this here meat. So I think it’s time we all line up and eat!”
The words felt canned and practiced in some ways, but also authentic. Maybe it was the country-bumpkin persona Arthur exuded with his overalls and intonations. The man knew how to play an audience.
Other guests started getting in line, along with the hands, but George held back. Levi stood beside him, hands in his jeans pockets and perfectly at ease. No one gave George a cross look for not introducing himself. Once the line thinned, George stood and Levi followed him to the line. The table had an array of cold salads, baked beans, fresh fruit, and yeasty dinner rolls. George took a small selection of each salad, no beans, and a pile of fresh fruit.