Page 15 of His Fresh Start Cowboy
He wanted it but he couldn’t have it. So he nursed his beer and tried to ignore the sense of being watched from behind.
Hugo tried not to stare while Brand and Ramie spoke, unsure exactly what they were discussing but he had a good feeling it was him. Hugo was generally an easygoing person who got along with most people, and he’d been friendly with everyone at Clean Slate Ranch. He was friendly with everyone at Woods Ranch, too—except Brand.
Brand was keeping a deliberate distance, and that not only intrigued Hugo, it also woke up the part of himself who’d pined for Brand for a long time. The part of himself that knew Brand had enjoyed and responded to their first and only kiss. And it made him want to fight. Fight for exactly what, he wasn’t sure, only that he wasn’t letting this go.
They would have their damned conversation about that kiss.
Rem and his dancing partner came back to the table and downed some beer. “Hey, where’d Brand go?” Rem asked.
“Over to the bar,” Hugo replied, pasting on an affable smile. “Guess I smell.”
“You kinda do, pal.”
He took a swipe at Rem’s side. “Asshole. If I smell, you smell.”
“Hey, I’m not the one who spent all day mucking stalls.”
“True.” They had a boot scraper outside the barn doors but some odors stuck to your skin, too. Oh well, it wasn’t as if Hugo had come out to meet a girl. He just wanted to spend time with his friend and celebrate a successful first day. Running into Brand here had been an intriguing bonus.
It was getting late, and Hugo had a bit of a drive out to Elmer’s place on his scooter, so he thanked Rem for the beer and headed out. Wasn’t too hard getting the scooter out of the truck bed himself. It was sturdy like a Vespa but not as heavy as a proper motorcycle. He put on the helmet, stuck the keys Rem had given him earlier into the ignition and she roared to life.
He took one last glance at the Roost’s front door, just in time to see Brand step outside. Their eyes met, and even from the distance, he could tell Brand’s narrowed. Brand turned and walked toward the other end of the parking lot.
Interesting.
It took Hugo about ten minutes longer to get to Elmer’s house on the scooter, because his property was farther from town than the entrance to Woods Ranch. Only a few lights were on in Elmer’s house when he parked by the trailer, but more lights and a commotion were coming from the barn out back. Curious, Hugo hung the helmet on the scooter and ambled toward the barn.
Both big doors stood open, and just inside a sea of sparks colored the air. Elmer was bent over a workbench of some kind, a welder’s mask on, working on a project. Hugo had admired all of the iron and metal artwork littering both the front fence and Elmer’s yard. Apparently, he’d begun the hobby not long after marrying and buying the property. He was retired now, and a widower, but that was really all Hugo knew about the man.
He watched from the barn’s entrance, one shoulder leaning against the frame, as the elderly man worked. After a few minutes of careful welding, Elmer turned off his torch, put it down, then snapped up his mask. He finally seemed to notice Hugo watching him and smiled. “How’d your first day of work go, lad?”
“Pretty basic, but it went fine. Jackson showed me the ropes.” He took another step into the barn, now better able to see the piles of metal objects strewn all around the place. Bike frames, old tools, appliance parts, a rusty woodstove. It was a picker’s paradise. “Went down to the Roost with Rem for a beer. It was a good day. You?”
“Can’t complain too much, can I? Got a roof, food, and a hobby that keeps me busy most days. Could be a lot worse.”
“Yes, sir. I never was very artistic. Always had a good head for math and science, though. I like puzzles.” He chuckled over the memory of seeing his very first Rubik’s cube when Hugo watched his ex-roommate Slater sit there and solve the damned thing. Hugo had looked it up on his phone later, and it was apparently pretty hard to master. So he’d bought himself one, which was tucked away in his dresser drawer. He was so close to solving it...
“Jigsaw puzzles? Because I’ve got a two-thousand piece going on my dining room table and can’t seem to manage it. You should come inside one night after work and help me.”
Jigsaws weren’t his favorite, but how could he tell his landlord no? “I’d like that, thank you. I also like those logic problem books, and I was really into Sudoku for a while.”
“Bah, that numbers stuff bores me. I need to do stuff with my hands.”
Hugo grinned. “I completely understand. I can only sit still for so long.” A wide, unexpected yawn made his eyes water. “Gosh, I should be getting settled in for the night. Another early day tomorrow. Good night, Mr. Pearce.”
“I told you to call me Elmer.”
“Elmer.”
He turned and headed for his trailer, eager for the privacy after being around other people all day. His interaction with Brand tonight still stuck in his craw. He got the sense that Brand did want to talk to him, but something was holding him back. Something big. Maybe scary. Maybe potentially amazing.
He walked inside and smiled at the latch hook rug Slater had made for him as a going-away present. After the gruff cowboy busted his ankle almost two years ago, he’d taught himself craft projects as a hobby, and he’d made profane pieces for all his friends. Hugo’s rug said “Live, Laugh, Fuck Off.” He loved it.
As he shucked his boots and jeans, Hugo reminded himself he wasn’t here to find a boyfriend. He was here for a job, first and foremost. Then he was here to try and patch old hurts, and while that included talking to Brand about their toe-curling kiss, it also included reuniting with his mother. He wasn’t ready for his mother yet. Maybe after he’d settled in a while longer. Gotten more comfortable being back in Texas. He did miss her, but he also hadn’t forgotten the way she’d brushed off his concerns about how Buck treated Hugo.
“Boys will be boys,” she’d often said.
He despised that phrase down to his bones.
