Page 38 of Cowboy Seeks Husband
John and thesound guy followed them along the river bank with their handheld camera and microphone, while the second set of crew members came behind in a small boat they’d brought along. Another guy waded in front of them with a shoulder camera.
A very deeply buried part of Roan found the whole situation hilarious, but he was too busy watching the river and trying to keep his torso and arms out of the water to give in to the humor of it all. But it was interesting, that was for sure, being strung between panic and hilarity.
Walker didn’t seem to care in the least about their potential imminent deaths by snake or alligator bites. He walked confidently through the water like it was a chlorinated swimming pool, a god of a man who, every once in a while, made sweeping gestures with his arms, looking for catfish homes. His skin glistened with the water.
Roan wished he wasn’t too scared to really enjoy that.
“Here,” Walker called out eventually, keeping his voice low. Despite all his grinning earlier, Roan could tell adrenaline was thrumming through Walker now. He was all tense, bunched muscles, searching, brilliant eyes, and his breathing came rapid and deep. A camera guy on land climbed as close as he dared, leaning over a sturdy tree limb hanging above the water while John called directions and a second sound guy hovered behind them on the boat with his giant fluffy microphone.
“There?” Roan asked. “How do you know?”
“Shh, I just know. Get ready to grab me if you need to, and if it’s a big one you’ll have to help me carry his weight.”
“Fucking fuck, we’re going to die,” Roan gasped. Then he threw his chin up. “All right. Let’s do this.”
Walker laughed and gave him a playful little shove, catching his arm before he could topple over with his feet stuck in the mud.
“Ready?”
Roan rolled his head on his shoulders and took a two-point football stance he remembered from his high school days. “Yeah. Noodle me, baby.”
Walker laughed hard, patted Roan’s back, and then took a deep breath. He plunged his arm into a darker abyss of the river and went tense all over, his back muscles roping along his spine. Then he gave a startled shout and lunged forward. Without thinking, Roan grabbed him around the waist and hauled. Walker stumbled back, weighing ten times more than he should.
“Grab its body!” Walker yelled, which was when Roan noticed Walker had his hand buried in the ugliest fish Roan had ever seen. Grabbing the beast around the head, Walker told Roan to grab its body again, and so Roan shoved his arms under the monster’s belly.
“Omigodomigod, it’s so squirmy,argh.” He was breathing so hard his lungs hurt, and the thing weighed an absolute ton as it struggled and fought, slapping Roan with its tail. Walker worked his hand out of its mouth.
“Did you get that, John?” Walker called out.
“Got it!” John hollered.
“Okay, let go!”
“Wait, what?”
But it was too late. Walker had already released his hold and the fish gave an almighty lurch. It caught Roan in the ribs, hard, and just like that he went under. Water rushed over his head and down his throat.
He wasn’t under for long, though. Walker hauled him up almost immediately, but it was enough to scar him for life. He gagged and sputtered, spitting out the most unfiltered water he’d ever had in his mouth.
“Oh Jesus, this water is probably full of salmonella. And e-coli. And vibrio. I’ll probably die from it.” He hadn’t noticed he was leaning against Walker until he felt a warm, calloused hand explore the curve of his lower back. It made his knees go a little weak. He grinned up at Walker. “But we caught a fucking catfish.”
Walker laughed and his hand stayed where it was for an extra second even when Roan had regained his balance. Then he asked, “You want to try next?”
“Me? Do the fingers in the hole thing?”
Walker’s eyebrows shot up, and his smile took on a whole new shade of amused. “If you feel like it.”
Wiping the water from his face, Roan slung his arm around Walker’s shoulder and gave the camera a thumbs up. “Never let it be said I shy away from sticking my fingers in dark, wet holes. I’m a real pro at that.”
John cracked up, and Walker snickered against him. It’d been a bit unexpected, but he and Walker were actually nearly the same height, which was nice. Walker was much more muscular, of course, but he didn’t tower over Roan like he’d thought he would.
Standing there with him felt pretty good, even though he’d probably have nightmares about this damned date for the rest of his life. He didn’t care. Right that second, he felt elated and invincible, and the world and its worries fell away.
He propped his fists on his hips. “Show me a nice hole, cowboy.”
Walker shook his head, laughing at the ongoing teasing, but his cheeks pinked a little. “Found your courage, little lion?”
“It only lasts ’til midnight so c’mon.”
