Page 21 of Whiskey and Wildfire

Dakota’s eyes met mine, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of something - longing? desire? - before he quickly masked it. “Yeah,” he said, his voice a bit rougher than usual. “That’d be nice.”

I nodded, my hand on the doorknob. “Well, I’ll see you around then.”

As I stepped outside, the cool morning air hit me, a stark contrast to the warmth of Dakota’s cabin. I heard him call out behind me.

“Hey,” he said, and I turned to see him leaning against the doorframe, his muscular frame silhouetted in the dim light. “Be careful out there. It’s still pretty dark.”

His words were heavy with unspoken meaning. It was such a tiny gesture to tell me to be careful, but somehow it seemed to mean so much more.

I nodded, my throat suddenly dry. “I will. Thanks.”

As I walked away, I could feel Dakota’s eyes on me. The weight of his gaze sent a shiver down my spine that had nothing to do with the early morning chill. I resisted the urge to look back, afraid of what I might see - or worse, what I might not see - in his expression.

The ranch was quiet as I made my way back to the main house, the sky just beginning to lighten with the promise of dawn. My mind raced, replaying the events of the night andmorning over and over. The warmth of Dakota’s body, the tension in the air, the way his eyes had lingered on me as I left. It all swirled together in a confusing mix of desire and shame. He’d told me in no uncertain terms that we were not going to be together. I wanted to obey his wishes, but my heart and my dick… well, they had other ideas.

“Early mornin’, son?”

I gasped as my father’s voice called down from the porch. Looking up, I saw him sitting there in the old rocking chair, a cup of steaming coffee in his hand. I’d forgotten how early he liked to get up in the morning. So much for sneaking back into the house.

“Y-Yeah,” I stammered. “Just couldn’t sleep after that long nap last night,” I said, pretending I hadn’t just walked out of Dakota’s cabin not fifty yards away.

“Uh-huh,” he replied, obviously not convinced.

I felt my cheeks flush as I climbed the porch steps, avoiding my father’s knowing gaze. The old wood creaked under my feet, each sound seeming to emphasize my guilt.

“Funny,” my father drawled, taking a slow sip of his coffee. “I could’ve sworn I saw you headin’ towards Dakota’s cabin last night with supper. Didn’t realize you were plannin’ on stayin’ over.”

I froze, my hand on the doorknob. “I... we were just watching a movie. I fell asleep on his couch.”

My father nodded, his expression unreadable. “That so?”

I swallowed hard, unsure how to respond. My father had never been one to pry into my personal life, but I could feel the weight of his scrutiny now.

“Look, son,” he said after a moment, his voice softening. “I ain’t gonna pretend I understand everything about you. But I do know when somethin’s weighin’ on your mind.” He paused, taking another sip of coffee. “You and Dakota... well, I’ve seenthe way you look at each other. And when you came back from the drive wearin’ his clothes… well, I figured things must’ve changed.”

My heart skipped a beat. Was I that obvious? And more importantly, had Dakota been looking at me too?

“Daddy, it’s not like that—” I started, but he held up a hand to stop me.

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me,” he said. “What you do is your business. But I want you to be careful, son. Not everyone around here is as... accepting as I am. Being gay is one thing, but goin’ in with a Cherokee fella at the same time… well, people can be cruel.”

I nodded, feeling a lump form in my throat. “Thanks, Dad,” I managed to say.

He stood up, wincing slightly.

“You alright?”

He rolled his left shoulder with a nod, stretching the muscle. “I’m fine.” Then he reached out, patting me on the back. “Just remember, you’re my son. Nothing’s ever gonna change that. And Dakota’s a good man. He’s got more sense than most. Probably be good for someone like you,” he said with a wink.

With one last grin, he patted me on the shoulder and went inside leaving me standing on the porch in the early gray before dawn. My heart was still racing, but I felt a rush of affection through my chest. My father hadn’t said anything like that before. I knew he didn’t mind my being gay, but he’d never been one to speak about his feelings much. Not only that, but he gave me his blessing to be with Dakota who I wasn’t even with.

I stood there for a moment trying to process it all. But as the first touches of pink appeared in the eastern sky, I let out a long sigh. There was no point in trying to figure it all out right now. I was too tired, too sore, and too horny to think about anythingelse but jerking off and sleep. Which I planned to do, in that order.

And once I was done with that, I’d do my best to keep things casual between Dakota and I. But before I tried to save that friendship, I had another I needed to mend. I’d been neglecting Lucas for weeks. It was time he and I had lunch.

Chapter 9

Dakota

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