Page 33 of His Fresh Start Cowboy
“Thank you.” His heart squeezed tight with affection for his old friend. “I’ll be honest with you, pal, I’ve really questioned my decision to come back here since yesterday. I thought by being away my mother would realize she missed me. That maybe I was worth more to her than Frank and Buck. But I think the opposite happened. I think me staying away made her cling to them harder. And that’s my fault.”
“Hey, fuck that. You left because you weren’t safe in that fucking house, and that’s as much on your mom as it is on Frank and Buck. But you do still have family here. My family. Mom adores you, and you’ve really impressed Dad and Brand with your work. Maybe we ain’t blood, but we’re your family, too.”
Hugo closed his stinging eyes, unwilling to cry over Rem’s kind words. “Thanks, brother. I needed to hear that.”
“Anytime. Maybe we aren’t as close as we once were, but I miss my friend. I hope we can be best friends again.”
“Same.”
“So what’s your lazy ass gonna get up to tomorrow with an extra day off?”
Hugo snorted. “No idea. Probably sleep a lot. I might help Elmer out in the barn. He’s been teaching me a little bit about welding, and I like watching him work. He’s making some kind of weathervane or something out of a box of old silverware he picked up at a swap meet last weekend.”
“That man and his mind. He really should set up a booth at the county fair and try to sell some of his crazy shit.”
“I mentioned that last week, and he just laughed at me. Says he doesn’t need the money, he just needs to keep busy. He mentions his son, Michael, once in a while, but I get the impression they don’t have a good relationship.”
“Yeah, that’s always been the gossip. Elmer’s good people, though.”
“I know, he’s been great helping me out. It’s funny to think that way back when, we used to be scared of him. Like he was some kind of crazy recluse who’d capture and eat kids like the witch in Hansel and Gretel. Honestly, I think the poor guy is just lonely.”
“You’re probably right. And hey, if you need to really talk about Buck getting out and how that makes you feel, I’ll listen. We can go get a beer or six. Dump it all on me, dude, I can take it.”
“I’ll think about it, Rem. Honestly, even though it hurts that my mother chose them over me, as long as Buck stays the fuck away from me I think I’ll be okay.”
“Cool. Listen, I gotta go. I think Shelby’s ready to head home.”
“Home?”
“Yeah, we had dinner at the house tonight. It’s why Brand cornered me about you. And he does seem to care, so if you don’t wanna talk to me, I bet he’d listen.”
No fucking way was Hugo ever telling Brand about the shit Buck had once put him through. If he did, Brand would always see him as the helpless teenager he’d turned down all those years ago. “Thanks, but not gonna happen. I’ll see you Friday, okay?”
“Yeah, see you then. Bye.”
Hugo shut off his phone, uncaring about any future calls or texts from anyone that night. His head hurt, his hands ached, and his soul wanted to screech its discontent. For as much as he’d wanted to try and win over Brand as an adult, he could never do that if Brand knew the whole truth about Hugo’s past. A past who’d be walking the streets again in less than two days.
A past Hugo had tried so hard to forget, especially after the most embarrassing moment of his life...
“This is seriously what you want for your graduation present?” Brand asks.
Hugo stands slightly behind Rem, who’s just announced what he wants for his high school graduation present, and it kind of surprises Hugo, too, because it’s pretty ordinary. But also very Texan. Rem graduated last night, around middle of his class, but his family is still crazy proud of him. He isn’t as book smart as his older brother Brand, but Rem still glows with pride over the accomplishment.
“Yeah, this is what I want,” Rem replies, beaming like he’s won the state lottery. “You said anything within reason, and this is definitely within reason.”
“A four-hour drive to a truck stop for their corn nuts.”
“They aren’t corn nuts, you heathen, they’re Beaver Nuggets and they are so worth it. The entire experience is worth it. Where else but there are you gonna find a fifty-thousand-square-foot truck stop with everything you never knew you needed?”
“We’ve got one of those near Amarillo.”
“Not as big and not the same. Dude, all you have to do is drive. And maybe pay for half the snacks.”
Brand rolls his eyes. Twenty-four, two years out of college, and Hugo’s living wet dream, Brand is the perfect blond-haired, brown-eyed cowboy, complete with leather boots and his first, newly purchased Stetson. Real Stetsons are pricier than most cowboys can afford, but Brand’s is perfect for his height and face shape. Hugo only dreams of one day getting a genuine Stetson fitted for himself.
“So you want your graduation gift to be a road trip for junk food?” Brand asks. He’s six years older than Rem, who has the darker hair of their mother, and eight years older than Hugo. But eight years is nothing when just looking at Brand makes Hugo’s heart sing. Not that he’s told anyone, not even his best friend, Rem, that he’s gay and has the world’s biggest crush on Brand.
Living in a small, homophobic town is a great reason to stay firmly in the closet, but damn. Brand gives Hugo thoughts. Dirty, dirty thoughts.
