Page 18 of Tommy

The path we followed was a footpath through the snow that didn’t keep too much of the snowfall on it due to the salt content in the soil. It was like a waxed leaf wicking away any liquid.

Going around in one giant loop took almost an hour. And the moment the large red barn was seen in the horizon, Tommy made a slight squeal, making Belle pause to neigh at him. Her version of cussing him out.

“When you’re back, you’re gonna want to run yourself a bath,” I told him.

“Oh god. I should’ve put the heater on before I left,” he groaned.

“I did that for you while you were getting dressed.” I knew he was going to need it. “Also, this isn’t. hotel, I’m not going to be coming in and doing that for you all the time. Or restocking your blankets. What you’ve got, you’ll only get the one of.”

Behind me, he made a noise, hopefully an agreement to the terms which I hadn’t set out on our first encounter. In the past, people who’d stayed at the ranch assumed I was a maid as well. I only cleaned up after myself and the animals, although some people could’ve fallen under that latter category.

“What was that you said?” I asked.

“I saidthank you.”

I glanced back to see the scarf around his neck and partially obscuring his mouth. “You don’t have to thank me, I’m just making sure you don’t lose a limb out here.”

“Has anyone lost a limb while you’ve been with them?” he asked.

As we’d already discussed, nobody had lost a limb or even sustained a major incident. Minor scrapes and bruises had been occurred, especially where the goats and chickens came into question.

Overall, he was pretty good on the horse. He made a lot of suspect noises, which was to be expected with the amount of wiggling he was doing on the saddle. His balls had to have been hurting after a while. It wasn’t until we got back to the stable, when he came in last and refused to leave the back of Belle.

“Come on now,” I said, “what are you doing? We need to get wipe the snow off them.”

“I can’t.”

“We you gotta.”

He shook his head, hands firmly tugging on the reins. “I don’t think I can move my legs. My thighs are—are stuck in this position.”

It took about another five minutes where I went around, pulling his feet from the stirrups and forcing him to move like one of those wooden artist block figures.

“Is this what they mean when they say walking like a cowboy?” he asked, his legs parted abnormally.

“Just need to get yourself a Stetson and you’ll be calling yourself a cowboy.” A smirk filled my face. “But it’s nothing a hot bath won’t fix. And maybe some rubber duckies.”

He giggled and snorted. “You have them here?”

I was throwing out all the hints I could possible to get information on him. I didn’t know if he was a little, or little-adjacent. He was gay, assumed single, and right in front of me. Maybe Mick sent him my way because he thought we were a match. He had always been a braggart when it came to romance, and throwing it in my face with his Christmas cards of his family.

“If not, I could probably fish some out of a cupboard somewhere,” I told him. “Assuming you’re being serious.”

Suddenly, more animated, he jumped around, wiggling out of the so-called cowboy stance. “What about bubble bath? I didn’t bring any.”

“I could find some of that too,” I said. “But you’ll have to help me out with drying these horses off. Don’t worry, just do the front legs, I’ll take care of the back.” None of the horses seemed too bothered by the cold, or anything they’d stood on, which was a bonus. I hated it when they picked up a rock in their hoof. It was awful having to scrape it out.

Tommy continued to complain about the pain in his thighs.

“If you keep talking about it, I’m gonna have to look,” I said. “You know, just to make sure you aren’t carrying around huge bruises. The last thing I need is to call June up to grab a bucket load of ointment from the pharmacy.”

“You have a phone?” he asked, his eyes turning big. “You didn’t mention a phone. Can I—”

“It’s a landline,” I said. “So, as long as it’s a number, you can use it.”

“Serious?” he squealed. “I’ve got to catch my friends up back home. They probably think I’ve been murdered or something.”

Kicking up a cough in my throat, I nearly choked. “Jeez. I hope not. The last thing my quiet month on the ranch needs is a SWAT van plowing up the drive.”

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