by Lynn Stark
“The case was a goodbye present from friends. They own a small craft brewery. This is one of their most popular lagers.”
“Nice friends to have. It was probably a difficult decision to move out here.”
“It was. But life’s an adventure. I was getting bored where I was at. Not just the physical location, but my spiritual location, too. I needed something more. I’m not actually looking for myself, in a cliché sort of way, because I know who I am. It’s more of I need to be satisfied at the end, that I didn’t waste my time here on earth.”
That was a purpose Brag could admire. It also made him think a little more deeply about his own life and future. What was he going to do with the rest of his life? He didn’t think he had done anything to be ashamed of. But had he done anything to make an impact on the world, even if it was only in his small corner of it?
Peyton’s cough brought him out of his thoughts. “Well, enough of philosophizing. I see you got the fencing up. Were those your brothers I saw helping you?”
“Yes. Dirk and Cam volunteered.”
“By the time I saw them, they were driving off. They’ve gotten a lot bigger since the last time I visited here.”
Brag laughed and nodded. “Yeah, they have. They’re bigger jerks, too,” he added, but without explanation. “I saw the trucks leaving. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would.”
“No, it didn’t. I got everything in the rooms where I wanted it. It’s a mix of my stuff and my parents. A lot of the boxes have books in them. Fortunately, the library is downstairs.” There was a pause, and then Peyton asked, “I saw there was a package of hot dogs in the refrigerator. I thought I’d light the grill outside and chill out there for a while. It should be a nice evening for it.”
Brag couldn’t help himself. “Are you asking if I want to eat a wiener?”
He’d had to ask. It was worth it, when he saw the color rush into Peyton’s cheeks. He thought he might have finally got his answer as to whether Peyton was gay or not.
“I guess that’s what I’m asking.”
Chapter Three
The schedule Peyton kept was so strict he left little time for anything that wasn’t penned into the zippered planner that was always nearby. He woke every morning at four, took a shower, dressed, made coffee, and wrote until six. Then he would feed the dogs and go to the barn to feed the horses. Brag had asked Peyton if he wanted him to feed the horses for him, but he had refused the offer, saying he enjoyed taking care of his animals.
Once the horses were fed and fussed over, he would return to the house to write or do research for another two hours. Then he would make a late breakfast, after which he would go to the barn and let Charlie and Chuck out. Peyton and Brag had discussed letting the two geldings run with the herd in the canyon. He was considering it. As far as he knew, neither of the horses had ever lived a life that included such freedom. They were retired race horses his parents had adopted. Adopted and fussed over, which made him consider what they would have wanted for the two animals they had loved so much.
When Brag drove in around noon, Peyton broke from his schedule to go talk to him. It had been three weeks since his arrival. They spoke almost daily, but it was never about anything personal. Although he suspected Brag was gay, it hadn’t been confirmed. The man was sexy as hell, but Peyton reminded himself that he wasn’t looking for sex or romance at the moment as he tried to settle into his new life.
Brag was putting a large toolbox into the back of his truck by the time Peyton got outside. The man appeared surprised to see him. Peyton chuckled. He really needed to loosen up more, something his father and mother had teased him about a lot over the years.
“Hey, how’s it going?” Brag asked. “Did your pencil break?”
Peyton laughed outright at the teasing. “No. I sharpened all of them this morning. They’re in perfect condition.”
“A little OCD?”
“A smidge,” he admitted. “I was thinking about your suggestion to let Chuck and Charlie run with your family’s herd. It’s a good idea and I’m going to do it.”
“And Kroenraad and Zappa?”
“That’s going to take a little longer.” The two retired show horses didn’t deserve anything less than the other horses. However, it would take more time to let them go. “I can’t let them go just yet.” He chuckled. “I suppose it’s like taking your child to kindergarten. You want them to experience the world, but you want to hold them close forever.”
Brag nodded. “Well, why don’t we plan on letting Charlie and Chuck out tomorrow morning?”
“Okay. That’s good.” Turning away slightly, he asked, “I’m going into town later. Do you need anything?”
He expected a list of anything length. What he didn’t expect was Brag saying, “Would you mind if I went in with you? I’ll show you around.”
Despite having moved to the area three weeks before, Peyton hadn’t been to Silver yet. The house had been so well-stocked, and his creative juices were pumping, so he hadn’t felt the need to go to town to shop or explore.
“I don’t mind at all. I was going to go in around five o’clock, after I feed the dogs.”
As if he had conjured them, King and Cupcake appeared from behind Brag. They had obviously been in the barn, which was open to allow in the breeze. The pair of dogs walked on each side of the tall cowboy and leaned into him, waiting for the attention he always gave them.
“It looks like your’re best friends now.”
“Yeah, they’re pretty cool. I’ll be ready to go when you are. I better get going. I have more fencing to repair.”
“It sounds like a never-ending job.”
Brag laughed, a sound that never failed to curl Peyton’s toes. “Pretty much. There’s a lot of that kind of work on a ranch. I’ll see you later.”
“Later.”
After Brag left, Peyton went back in the house and to his office, which was the room beside the library. Some people would have put their office in there, but Peyton preferred to keep work away from the place where he would relax for hours, immersing himself in a story, living it, dreaming it, until he was completely lost.
He was puzzled by his reaction to Brag. The cowboy was as hot as they came, but something was holding Peyton back. It was like he didn’t want to ruin a good thing. Brag was becoming a friend and Peyton liked that. He would hate to end that by hitting on the man, something that might not be welcome. Brag hadn’t given him any signs. Not clear ones, anyway. One wiener joke did not make an invitation to jump his bones.
Peyton wasn’t in the habit of going around and asking attractive men if they were gay, which was why he would let things progress, or not progress, naturally. The wait would probably kill him, but he didn’t know what else to do.
Four hours later, Peyton was in the shower, preparing for his time with Brag. It was Tuesday, the day he dedicated completely to writing. It wasn’t like he had done anything to get dirty. Hell, he hadn’t even broken a sweat as he wrote a particularly detailed scene involving his hero investigating a house reputed to be haunted. The words came to him easily, and it was his pleasure to put them to paper so he could share them with others.
Once he was washed and dried, Peyton stood in the center of the walk-in closet, trying to decide what he should wear. He wanted to look sexy, without appearing as if he was doing so on purpose. After he had exchanged slacks for jeans, Peyton asked himself why he was making himself crazy. Hadn’t he decided that he wasn’t interested in a relationship right now? That he would rather get to know Brag as a friend first?
There was that part of him, however, that wouldn’t be deterred from trying to attract the handsome cowboy. The man’s rugged good looks were enough to heat up Peyton’s blood. It had been a long time since he’d been with anyone. He hadn’t been interested in hooking up with any man he’d met after his asshole former boyfriend had nearly killed him with a beating.
Before that, there had been times they’d discussed marriag
e and children. Of course, now that their relationship had ended, he was relieved that they hadn’t gone that far.
Because Roger had done such a good job trashing Peyton’s emotions, and his confidence where choosing a man was concerned, his interest in dating and sex had waned significantly.
When Peyton’s hand was drawn to a blue-and-white checkered, button up short-sleeve shirt, he cursed his natural boringness. He tossed it away and went to the drawer that half of which was devoted to T-shirts. These were slightly upscale, with fancy logos on the pockets. Still, the one he chose looked good on him. It was also suitably casual for a shopping trip to Silver.
Cupcake stood as he walked out of the closet, following him to the bedroom where she hopped up on the bed and stretched out. Peyton stopped to stare at her for a moment. “Really? Your bed is, like, three feet away and you wouldn’t have had to jump.”
The dog didn’t bother looking at him. She remained where she was, and Peyton grabbed a lightweight jacket before leaving the bedroom. The fact that she was on the bed was a sign that Roger was no longer around. His former partner would have gone ballistic. One of the things they fought over was his animals. Not only did Roger see them as unnecessary, he constantly bitched about the cost. Considering Peyton didn’t spend any of Roger’s money on his beloved animals, he hadn’t been able to understand the man’s hatefulness.
What Peyton asked himself now, as he had done many times in the past, was why had he wanted to keep Roger around? He had been blind to what Roger had been really like, that he was becoming increasingly abusive toward Peyton. Even then, he hadn’t dumped the jerk. It had taken a severe beating that put him in the hospital to wake Peyton up to reality.
Yeah, Peyton thought, maybe that was what he was really afraid of. Who really knew another person? How could you? Of course, there wasn’t any possible way. Roger had been a perfectly lovely gentleman their first few meetings. They had gone out for coffee and lunch a few times before they’d gone on an evening date. Roger hadn’t pressed Peyton for sex, which was a good thing. While not a virgin, he didn’t hand out free passes to just anyone. He wanted to be certain he was feeling something genuine for Roger before they shared their bodies.
Now it all boiled down to the fact that he didn’t want to get hurt again, either physically or emotionally.
When Peyton reached the rear door of the house, he was turning back and hurrying to his bedroom. He changed from the form-fitting T-shirt to the checkered shirt and black slacks he had rejected earlier.
Once outside, he chose to take his car into town. He didn’t have a lot of shopping to do, so there was no point in taking the truck. Besides, he wanted to see how the car handled on the roads in the area.
As Peyton backed out, he heard King barking. He continued to back up until he could see the dog. His eyes opened wide in surprise as he saw the large moose standing near the covered patio area. The animal was obviously snooping around and didn’t mean any harm, but the protective dog didn’t know that. The moose appeared as if it didn’t care. The large ears went back and the hair went up.
Leaning across the car, Peyton opened the door. “King, come!” he commanded sharply.
There was a pause and then King turned and ran toward the car, the moose close on his heels. King jumped into the car as Peyton put his foot to the floor. The car’s tires spun on the gravel. The dog barked excitedly beside him. Peyton didn’t know if it was because of the unexpected ride or it was one of victory, having won the race to the car. There was a loud thump to the right rear quarter.
When he looked in the rearview mirror and saw the moose was walking in the opposite direction, he slowed the car and did a three-point turn in the lane, returning to the garage. He opened the door and pulled in. He let King out and put him in the house for his own safety. Obviously something would have to be done to protect his dogs and the wildlife. He didn’t want them to face off again, because he was fairly certain his dogs wouldn’t win a fight with a moose.
After turning off the electronic doggie door so the dogs couldn’t get out, he began his evening again. By the time he returned to the car, Brag was standing there with a confused expression on his face.
“Moose,” Peyton said by way of explanation as he walked around to see if there was any damage to his car. There was a dent on the right rear quarter.
Brag nodded. “There’s been a cow in the area. She has a calf.”
“I didn’t see a calf. I hope she doesn’t come back. I’ll need to do something to protect my dogs.” He laughed shortly, without any humor. “Hell, protect myself. I can’t imagine what it would be like to take a nap on the patio and wake up to find a huge animal standing over me.”
“I’ll help you plan a fenced-in yard tomorrow and figure out what you need to keep your dogs safe. Around here, there aren’t many things more dangerous than a mama moose, unless it’s a bear.”
“Please tell me you haven’t seen any of those around,” Peyton begged before he climbed back into the low-slung sports car.
Brag got in beside him. Peyton watched as the space was taken up by the other man. Brag adjusted the seat, making an allowance for his long legs. “There, that’s better,” he commented as he pulled the seat belt across. “Wow, nice interior.” The tips of his fingers stroked the burled walnut covering a portion of the dashboard.
Peyton’s crazy dick began to fill with blood as he imagined what it would be like to have Brag stroking his skin with those long fingers. He really needed to get laid.
“Thanks. I bought it after I got my fourth book published. It’s one of those once in a lifetime things.”
“Your stories are great. I swear I’ve had to sleep with the lights on a few times.”
The thought of the big cowboy sleeping with the light on was amusing. “Thanks. That’s what I like to hear. It means I’m getting it right.”
“You definitely are. It’s too bad the moose damaged your car. I know a couple of excellent bodywork shops.”
“No need to worry. It’ll make for great conversation.”
The man beside him laughed. “I guess it will.”
Once they were out on the paved road, Peyton shifted gears smoothly and allowed himself the pleasure of the curve-hugging handling the car was renowned for. They were about halfway to Silver when Brag complimented the car’s performance. Peyton slowed and stopped on the gravel shoulder.
“Come on. You try it.” He got out of the car and walked around, opening Brag’s door when he just sat there. “Get out, cowboy. Go see if you can handle all the horses this car has.”
Once Brag was out of the car, he didn’t waste time going around and getting into the driver’s seat. They strapped themselves in. Brag adjusted the seat and started the engine. “Any advice?”
“Caution at first. Get used to what it has. Then have fun.”
“I hope you don’t regret this.”
Peyton responded with confidence. “I won’t. Now, let’s have fun.”
After slowly adjusting to the car, Brag began to test his new abilities. There was a grin on his face Peyton thought was positively heart-stopping. He loved how young and carefree it made Brag appear. Not that he was old. They were about the same age, with Brag being older by close to two years. That would make him around thirty-six.
By the time they reached Silver, they were both laughing and feeling carefree. Peyton was glad they had gotten to share the moment. It had been a long time since he’d felt as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He certainly hadn’t felt that way since his father died. Before that, he was dealing with Roger’s ultimate betrayal.
Brag found a good parking spot in one of the lots off the square. Then they walked toward the official center of town, where the original Victorian charm had been carefully preserved. The town’s charm had always touched him. Now was no different. What did surprise him was the sense of coming home.
Taking a deep breath, Peyton shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around. “This t
own is so beautiful. If I didn’t have the horses, I believe I would live here.”
“Some people have two homes here. Of course, most of those people don’t have the obligations of large ranches or farms to attend to. Still, you might like to look into what there is to offer here in town. It’d probably be fun to stay in town a few days a month. Weekends can be wild here.”
Peyton gave Brag a look of disbelief. “I’ll have to wait and see. I have a deadline that’s getting closer all the time.” He shifted his gaze to the square across the street. There were people assembling tent booths and moving tables around. Lights were being placed in each booth space and tested. “What’s going on over there?”
“The Summer Nights festival. It’s a big thing with the artists and craft people around here. If you enjoy the unique, you’ll probably find something here to satisfy you. I believe it starts tomorrow night.”
“Then I’ll have to come back. The house could use a few things to add some personality.”
One of the first things Peyton noticed about Silver was how many people were in town. “I don’t remember there being so many people in town, the last time I visited.”
“There probably weren’t,” Brag replied, “unless there was something special going on. There are a lot of things to do around here now. The ranchers and farmers have started new businesses to help with the financial side of things. A few have glamping, which is a fancy way of camping. Some of them are really extravagant. There’s something for everyone. Others have focused on fishing vacations, birding, and other nature related excursions. We also have a camping area near the nature preserve.”
“Wow, I’m impressed. I might have to look into a few of those things. I enjoy birdwatching.”
“And camping?”
Peyton laughed. “Not so much. I went with my parents, but checking my sleeping bag for bugs and snakes, and waiting for a bear to rip through my tent in the middle of the night, didn’t make it much fun for me.”