Page 5 of Wellspring
Webster nodded, looking at the crates for a moment.“Let’s get the smaller ones in first, up near the front.We’ll save the big one for the back, right over the axle.It’ll have more support that way, plus we won’t have to move it as far.”
The smaller ones were hardly small as far as Erick was concerned, but he saw the logic of what Webster suggested.It took both of them, the shipping agent, and one of the warehouse workers to move even the smallest of the boxes from the warehouse onto the wagon, and Erick was sweating by the time they had it aboard.By the time they loaded the last crate, he had done more hard labor than the rest of his life put together.
It felt wonderful.
“We’ve ruined your suit.”Webster climbed onto the box seat of the wagon next to Erick.“I’m sorry.I’ll buy you a new one to replace it.”
“Nein,” Erick replied immediately.“My new life is not suits but clothes like yours.It does not matter if the suit is ruined.I would have no reason to wear it anyway.I will donate the others to a local church before we leave for your ranch.”
“That would be a shame,” Webster blurted, the color staining his cheeks visible even beneath his tanned skin.Erick allowed himself a moment to hope it meant Webster had noticed his appearance.“You should keep one of them so you’ll have something to wear if you meet a gal you want to court.”
Erick shook his head.“I left that behind when I buried my wife in Prussia.There will be no more… gals for me.”
“You don’t know that,” Webster insisted, though his voice had an odd tone to it that Erick didn’t know how to read.“I’m sorry to hear you lost your wife, but you’re still young.You could fall in love again.”
“I did not say I loved her,” Erick pointed out, his voice dry.“Our parents arranged our match.She managed the house while I managed the estate.We had a partnership, not a love affair.”
“Just like Miz Roarke, but she’s made a new start.You can too.”Webster slapped the reins on the horses’ rumps to start them moving toward town, the tension that had invested his compact frame as they discussed his marriage gone now.“You want to have options if you meet the love of your life.”
Images filled Erick’s mind of a life spent on the range with a cowboy much like the one sitting beside him, a campfire burning next to them as they snuggled into a bedroll for warmth.“I will think of something should I meet such a person.I lived in a world where nothing mattered but meeting the expectations of others in behavior and in dress.I am happy to leave that world behind.”
“I can see that.”Webster pulled to a halt in front of the local mercantile.“We should be able to get the gear you need here.If we can, we could leave for the ranch first thing tomorrow morning.”
“I would like that.”Erick said.“I would like to see your home.”If fortune favored him, perhaps it could become his home as well.
CADE HADdone many difficult things in his life, leaving behind the Comanche who had adopted him after his parents’ death being one of them, but standing in the Galveston mercantile watching Heller come in and out of the dressing room trying on new clothes had to rank up there near the top.The entire morning had been fraught with tension to the point that Cade was almost convinced the other man shared his preferences if not his attraction.That only made it harder because he caught little hints to suggest interest, but nothing so blatant it couldn’t be a simple misunderstanding or difference in cultures.Without his jacket to hide Heller’s lower body, the pants they had selected visibly hugged his thighs and backside, outlining muscles hard from riding.That and the hint of hair he could see at the open shirt collar were enough to feed another night’s fantasies and more.All he needed were boots and a hat and he’d be dressed for the trail.
“It fits?”Heller stretched and turned to try to see himself in his new clothes.
“They fit perfectly.”Cade swallowed hard around the lump of desire in his throat.“Now we need to get your trail gear and we’ll be ready to hit the road.”
After setting Heller’s new garments and boots on the counter, they spent the next hour picking out a bedroll, saddle bags, a Western saddle and bridle to replace the English ones Heller’s horse came with, a mess kit, and a hat.They also added more tins of beans and a packet of beef jerky.Cade had brought enough food for himself, but not for both of them.
“You’ll want to pick out a gun as well,” Cade said as Heller stacked his purchases on the counter.“You never know what kind of varmints you’ll meet out on the range.”
“Varmints?”Heller repeated.
“Bad things,” Cade said, not really sure how to explain the word.“Rattlesnakes, coyotes, horse thieves.You need to be able to defend yourself.Plus, when we’re out on the trail for weeks at a time, being able to hunt for fresh meat is useful as well.”Cade hunted with a bow and arrow rather than a rifle, but he didn’t figure Heller would want to learn that particular skill.And he carried a rifle too, because he never knew when having one would be useful.
“I can hunt,” Heller said.“I hunted on my family’s land in Prussia, although I did not bring my rifle with me.”
“Have you ever used a pistol?”Cade patted the Colt on his hip.
Heller shook his head.“Do I need one?”
Cade shrugged.“It has certain advantages over a rifle.Most of the other cowboys on the ranch carry one, but I don’t think it would be a deal-breaker if you didn’t.I can teach you how to use it if you want.”
“You will be much teaching me,” Heller observed with a wry smile.
“I don’t mind if you don’t,” Cade replied with a wink.So maybe it was a risk, flirting with Heller so openly, but he’d done it anyway.He needed to know if there was any hope of his interest being returned.
Heller’s smile changed so slowly and so subtly that Cade was still not entirely sure of what he was seeing.“I do not think I will mind at all.”He set a rifle and a pistol on the counter.“What else do I need?”
Cade looked over the pile of goods, trying to see what they might have forgotten.“A holster and ammo, but I think that’s everything.Settle up here and we’ll get some grub.It’s too late to head out tonight, but this way we can get an early start in the morning.”
Heller nodded and waited for the storekeeper to tally his purchases.Cade blanched at the total, although given everything Heller had purchased, it wasn’t an unreasonable price.
“I have only Prussian money,” Heller said apologetically.
