Page 7 of His Fresh Start Cowboy
Brand kept his face perfectly neutral—he hoped.
“Do your parents know you’re back?” Mom asked. “I almost called and invited them for supper tonight, but I didn’t want to overstep.”
“They don’t know yet, ma’am,” Hugo replied, his expression pinching briefly. “Like I told Rem, I want to settle in first. Not just at the trailer but with my new job here. Then I’ll call Mom and let her know I’m back in the county.”
“Good, good. You do what’s best for you, hon. Now, if you men are hungry, supper should be ready to go on the table.”
Their spacious kitchen had a built-in breakfast nook where they took most of their meals nowadays, since it was usually just Mom, Dad, and Brand. But Brand wasn’t surprised to see Mom had set the formal dining room for the meal with five places out. Brand offered to help bring food to the table, mostly to keep his distance from Hugo for as long as possible. He was far too aware of how the younger man’s ass fit in his faded jeans.
Mom had cooked up a pot of short ribs, along with mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, and dinner rolls. A fairly typical Sunday evening supper. She had been raised in a very conservative household with the expectation of becoming a wife, mother, and homemaker, and while that irked Brand on occasion, she was an amazing mom and cook. And especially now that Colt was back in their lives, she was happy in her role here, spoiling her grandkids and keeping their bellies full.
“This all looks amazing, ma’am,” Hugo said as the bowls went around the table. “After so many years of eating Patrice’s home-cooked meals, eating with your family once in a while is gonna be a huge treat for me. The trailer I’m renting doesn’t have much of a kitchen for me to use.”
“Colt’s mentioned a lady named Patrice,” Mom replied. “She’s the Clean Slate cook, right?”
“Yep. She’s a sweet lady who’s been there a long time. Does a great job looking after the hands and guests.”
“Not that I’m complaining, because we can definitely use the help,” Brand said without thinking, “but I’m really surprised you left. Sounds like you had a sweet setup there with room and board built into your pay.”
Hugo looked right into Brand’s eyes, and a kind of challenge seemed to linger there. As if daring Brand to mention their shared history.
“Boys, a moment, please,” Mom said. “Let’s say the blessing first so we can eat.”
Brand lowered his head and stared at his plate while Dad said Grace, all familiar words and phrases that Brand rarely felt deep inside. He only occasionally attended church with his folks, mostly holidays or if Mom guilted him into it. It just...wasn’t his thing anymore. Youth group trips had been fun when he was a kid, but so much of what their local churches preached on made his skin itch in a bad way. Maybe he wasn’t entirely sure of his sexual orientation—although Jackson might argue about that—but he knew he wasn’t destined for eternal hellfire just for liking dick on occasion.
His mind must have wandered deeply during the blessing, because Mom nudged him in the ribs to start eating, while everyone else already had.
“To answer your earlier question,” Hugo said after a moment, “I left for a lot of reasons. To be honest, since I was eighteen, I haven’t stayed at any single job longer than a year, so Clean Slate was a bit of a record for me. I can’t promise I’ll still be working here five years from now, but I can promise to do my very best every single day and help this ranch continue on the way your family wants.”
Brand held Hugo’s firm gaze, kind of liking the subtle challenge there. The way Hugo looked him right in the eye now when he rarely had before. Brand nodded. “Fair enough. You start tomorrow, eight o’clock.”
“I’ll be here. Boss.”
He squinted, liking that nickname a little too much. Liking the way Hugo’s pink lips closed around the tines of his fork a little too much. “I’ll have Jackson show you around, introduce you to the horses, get the lay of the land again. He’s been here a few years and knows his stuff.”
“Okay.” If Hugo was the slightest bit disappointed that Brand wasn’t showing him around personally, he didn’t show it. Instead, he kept eating.
Brand shoveled mashed potatoes into his mouth and tried to ignore the cute guy across the table from him. And to ignore how complicated his personal life had just gotten.
I need to talk to Ramie. Soon.
Chapter Three
The entire hour-long dinner with the Woods family was a unique exercise in patience for Hugo, and it had everything to do with the tall, broad man sitting across the table from him. Brand was a younger version of Colt, with slightly lighter blond hair and less of the sassy flirtatious nature Hugo associated with Colt. Brand was serious in an oddly joyful way, as if the burden of keeping Woods Ranch afloat hadn’t completely squashed his zest for life.
Brand was almost exactly the guy Hugo remembered, right down to him seeming to have no clear idea why Hugo had left the state nearly a decade ago. Apparently, Rem had kept all of Hugo’s secrets, and he adored his former best friend for that. If the other adults in Hugo’s life hadn’t seen fit to do something about it, why would Brand have?
Except...maybe he would have? All kinds of murky water under the bridge now, though, so whatever. Hugo ate his supper and praised the cook more than once. Bringing groceries back to his new trailer on a borrowed scooter would probably be a time-suck and pain in the ass. Maybe he could bum a ride off Rem again so he’d have basic supplies for a couple of days. Protein bars for breakfast were easy, but he had no idea how lunch worked around here nowadays.
“Mr. Woods,” Hugo said, “I hate to bring business into such a lovely meal, but I’m curious how lunch, um, happens.”
“No worries, son,” Mr. Woods replied. “We’ve got a small break room of sorts in the barn for staff to keep snacks and food, and it’s got a refrigerator, so if you’re working close to the house, feel free to bring what you like. If you’re out in the pastures, I’d pack something that will keep in a saddle bag. But I dare say we’ll have you close to the house and barn for the first week or so, until you get acclimated.”
“I see. Thank you.”
“We’ve got two different herds right now,” Brand said. “Our grass-fed, organic steer get a lot more pasture time so they can eat as much natural grass as possible and keep their certification. The regular beef stay closer and still get feed and hay.”
“Got it. Rem mentioned the change to organic beef. I mean, it’s popular right now so it’s gotta be worth the extra effort.”
