Page 9 of His Fresh Start Cowboy
The little shit was under his skin already, and they’d only spent an hour together today. Spending multiple hours with him daily going forward? Not good, which was why he was having Jackson show Hugo around tomorrow.
The Roost was an unassuming building on the outskirts of town with a gravel parking lot and only a handful of neon beer signs in the windows. Less flashy than the other two bars in town, which tended to attract the older, grumpier clientele who loved to down pitchers of beer and loudly complain about liberals ruining the country. He parked his pickup next to half-a-dozen others and climbed out. Despite being close to town, thousands of stars still twinkled brightly overhead, and he took a moment to admire them. To wonder if his big brother, Colt, was seeing similar stars as the sun set over California.
Brand had been sixteen when Colt ran away from home and disappeared from their lives, and it had hurt. A lot. And then sixteen more years passed before Colt drove back home with his boyfriend in tow, and Brand finally began to understand Colt’s reasons for leaving. He’d left to be his true, gay self, while Brand...hid. And worked. And denied himself anything except the most basic physical pleasures.
But Hugo had stirred things back up, and Brand needed to talk to his best friend.
He stepped into a familiar space that was mostly a long, oval bar, with a few tables and chairs off to the left, and a meager dancing area in the back. The place served basic bar food like nachos and potato skins, which allowed them to open at ten on Sunday and appease old liquor laws. It smelled like cigarettes, booze and sweat, and the dim lighting made it look sleazier than it actually was, because the owners were good people. Took care of their guests and made sure single women got to their cars safe at night.
Brand plopped himself on a free stool at the bar and waited for Ramie to notice him. She was pouring something out of a shaker into two martini glasses, which she eventually delivered to a pair of women. When she noticed him, she winked, then took the order of someone who’d been there before Brand.
He took a moment to admire his friend. Ramie was his age, with thick black hair and a very curvy figure she showed off with tight blouses and even tighter jeans. “It helps me get better tips,” was her excuse for the clothes, and he didn’t blame her. Bartending was a hard gig sometimes, and despite her petite frame, she took no bullshit from her customers, snapping right back with on-point sarcasm or dry wit.
Brand didn’t have that same sort of self-confidence; no wonder he liked her so much.
She finally came over with his standard longneck and a bowl of peanuts. “He got in today, didn’t he?” she asked.
“Yeah.” Brand took a long, hard pull on the beer, savoring its yeasty goodness. No one sat on either side of him, so Brand leaned in. “I knew I’d feel something when I saw him again, but this is more confusing than I imagined. And I’m his fucking boss now, so I can’t do anything about it.”
“So what are you going to do? Avoid him at all costs? Spend every night either banging me or Jackson, so you don’t have to think about him?”
Brand grunted and drank more beer, nearly emptying the bottle this time. “Maybe. I don’t know. Can’t see that working anyway, since we’ve always been a once-every-few-weeks sort of thing.”
“Well, youaregood enough to scratch the occasional itch. Be back.” She moved off to serve another customer. Eight o’clock on a Sunday didn’t mean booming business, but tips were always better if customers didn’t have to wait for service.
If Brand wasn’t still full from supper, he might have ordered a plate of their spicy wings just for something to do with his hands while Ramie handled customers. She moved fluidly around the bar area, filling drinks and delivering food from the window to the small kitchen. They’d first met here, not long after Brand came home from college, and they’d hit it off right away. A strong connection that didn’t turn into a sexual relationship until a few months later.
The sex had been good, and it still was, but they didn’t have that deeper emotional attraction to make this anything more between them than the need for the occasional one-off. They had, however, become great friends, always there to lean on the other in times of drama or personal crisis. Like now.
He ate a few peanuts, then nursed the second beer Ramie left in front of him. They both knew his drinking limits. By nine, two people were dancing to a Kenny Rogers song, but a lot of the bar had thinned out, so Ramie parked herself near Brand’s spot.
“So do you still have feelings for this kid?” she asked as she wiped a glass dry.
“Fuck if I know.” Brand poked at the paper label on his bottle. “And he’s hardly a kid anymore. He’s very much grown and has gone through stuff, I can tell, and I’m curious but...ugh.”
“You don’t want him to read too much into your curiosity and make a pass that you might not be able to resist?”
He glared at her. “Maybe. It was just so odd the way he left without a damned word after we...you know.” He couldn’t make himself say the wordkissedeven though he’d admitted it to her years ago. And maybe a year stood between that kiss and Hugo leaving, but it had still hurt in its own way. “Just left the whole state without a word.” More than once, he’d considered asking Rem if he knew what had happened, but Brand had been too scared that Rem would say he knew what Brand and Hugo had done that day in the barn.
Then years passed, Hugo stayed away, and Rem never said a word. Not even after Colt came home and announced he was gay. So Brand had left it alone. But what if his little brother knew more than he was saying?
Tonight was not the night to ask.
Ramie glanced around the almost empty bar, then ducked her head low. “If you still have questions about that night, then ask Hugo. Be an adult and talk to him. At least get it off your chest so working with him won’t be so weird for you. You owe yourself that much, especially with all the other stress you’ve got going on right now.”
“You’re right.” As much as Brand dreaded it, he did need to talk to Hugo. To clear the air between them so they could work together well as boss and employee for the next, well, however long. “Shouldn’t I give it a few days, though? Let Hugo get comfortable at the ranch and his new job?”
“That’s up to you. I’d think about being honest sooner than later, considering you’re his boss now, but that’s just me. I don’t know Hugo at all, but I do know you, Brand. You’re a good guy, and you deserve to find someone who’ll make you happy for a long time. Not just for an hour of fun.”
“Thanks, Ramie. You do, too, you know.”
She grinned. “Maybe. But I don’t want anyone long term. I’ll scratch my itch and then go about my life. And I promise if you find someone who’ll keep you for the long run, I won’t be jealous. I’ll be first in line to cheer you on.”
He held up his hand, knuckles out. “You’re a good woman, Rachel Marie.”
“Don’t you tell anybody.” She fist-bumped him, then went off to take a drink order.
Brand watched his friend work her magic, whether expertly snapping a cap off a beer bottle so it flew straight in the trash or pouring a mixed drink for the occasional high-end patron. They got along great, had decent chemistry in bed, and they both listened really well. Until Brand got his Hugo problem figured out, he’d need someone to listen.
