Page 57 of Road to a Cowboy

“No. But I like you.”

Cal tucked his face in Austin’s neck, and Austin could feel the smile against his skin. He settled back more comfortably and gripped Cal’s knee. “How’s it going with Las’s project?”

“Good,” came Cal’s rumbly reply. “We’ve identified which pasture will be converted to cell grazing.”

“It’s not all of them?” Austin asked, pulling a Twizzler out of the bag and handing it to Cal over his shoulder.

“No. Not to start. Just one pasture at first to make sure it works. And that way Las can compare the results of cell grazing versus our current rotational grazing system for his master’s thesis. We start building the cells in a couple of weeks.”

“I’ll talk to Las,” Austin offered. “See if he wants me to be there when you guys are building to document it. I don’t think photos technically go in a thesis report, but he might find them useful for an appendix. And posterity.”

“That’s a good idea. Las has been so focused on the science of things, I doubt he’s thought of documenting the process. Pass me another Twizzler.”

Austin did so and shifted slightly to rest his head on Cal’s shoulder. “Do you like it? Working on Las’s project?”

Cal went quiet for a moment, and Austin closed his eyes, only then realizing that he’d synced his breathing to Cal’s. He smiled into the darkness.

“I do,” Cal eventually said, sounding a bit surprised. “I didn’t think I would at first. Wasn’t sure I had much to contribute, frankly. But it’s been interesting. It’s something different from ranch work. Which, don’t get me wrong, I love. I’ve always loved it. But it’s nice to work on a project that’s out of my comfort zone and learn something new.” He gave a little laugh. “Plus, it turns out I can teach Las a thing or two.”

“Of course you can. You know that ranch better than you know me.”

Cal’s velvety “I don’t know about that” against his ear made Austin shiver. His lips trailed down Austin’s neck, his teeth nipping at skin. “Though you both have some mysteries I’m looking forward to solving.”

“Jesus.” Austin tilted his head back farther, groaning when Cal’s lips met his. The angle was terrible, so the kiss was sloppy, yet somehow, that just made it hotter. “Don’t tease me when we could get eaten by a bear at any moment.”

Cal raised an eyebrow. “Out here? We’re more likely to get mauled by a wolf or coyote.”

“Wow. Way to make a guy feel better.”

Chuckling, Cal kissed his temple. “You packed for tomorrow?”

“Yeah, mostly. Just have to throw a few last-minute toiletries in.”

“You excited to see Ben?”

Austin smiled. “Yeah.” He was going a couple of days early to see Ben in London before meeting Hedda in Norway.

“Does he know you’re coming?”

“I told him earlier this week. I thought about surprising him, but he’s got two jobs. This way he can find someone to cover his shifts.”

“You going to try to convince him to come home?”

“I... don’t think so?” Austin wrapped his fingers around Cal’s wrist. “He sounded excited that I was visiting, but also... tentative? Like he wants me to come but also doesn’t want me to come. I’m afraid maybe he thinks I’ll spend the entire two days trying to get him to come home, so I think I’ll just... not. I want to hang out. Talk. Maybe do a little sightseeing. Make him a home-cooked meal. Maybe several that he can freeze so he doesn’t have to eat frozen dinners for a while.”

Cal’s arms tightened around him. Austin shifted onto the other butt cheek, since his left was starting to go numb, and ate another Twizzler. He liked this. Sitting here with Cal on a quiet night that held barely a breeze. Aside from their breathing, there was only the sound of cicadas, which Austin was trying very hard to ignore.

Still, even with the cicadas, this was nice. Peaceful. Almost magical.

He popped up with a gasp. “I figured it out.” Scrambling up, he grabbed his tripod and moved it behind Cal.

“Your photo?” Cal made to rise, as if he thought he was in the way, but Austin waved him back down.

“Sit. Stay right there.” Austin played with the settings for a minute, moved one of his lanterns, and set the camera’s timer at ten seconds. Then he sat on Cal’s left, shoulder to shoulder. “Smile.”

Cal laughed, the sound booming into the night. “At the camera behind us?”

Austin grinned just as the shutter clicked.

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