Page 49 of Cowboy Seeks Husband
“No apologies needed on my account,” Walker said, taking a step back to give him room to stand. “I’ll be downstairs.”
“Five minutes,” Ben told him, and Walker nodded before leaving the room.
Damn. Ben was packing some heat.
Walker wandered into the kitchen to wait and made coffee to give himself something to do. The camera crew had followed him down so the guys at least got some privacy showering, it seemed. He’d have to ask Roan. If he got a chance to see him later, that was. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking of Roan all night—remembering his sweetly perfect black brows, wondering what they’d feel like beneath his fingertips, and the lightning-strike memory that came again and again of Roan’s nude body, nipple piercings, and sweet ass. He’d spent too many hours the night before imagining what might of come of both the post-noodling nudity and the tender scene on the couch without cameras or witnesses. His balls still ached from coming so hard.
He cleared his throat and sipped his coffee, directing his mind away from such images beforehestarted packing heat, too.
“Hey, man. Ah, thanks. Can I grab a coffee?” Ben cracked a huge yawn, patted Walker on the back and reached for a mug. “What’s the problem you need help with?” he asked, then peered at the clock on the microwave. “At five-fifteen in the morning.”
“Sorry about that. One of my tractors isn’t starting.” He glanced at John. Fuck it. They could edit. “I can usually tinker enough to get it going but not today. I was hoping you could take a look. But then John caught me sneaking in to ask you for help and made me turn this into our mystery date.”
Ben didn’t say anything for a long moment, then started to laugh. “Whatever, man. I haven’t worked on heavy gear in a long time, but sure, I can take a look.” He poured a dainty cloud of milk in his mug, which made Walker smile. He glanced at Walker, then stirred the coffee. “So if you weren’t doing this show, what would your day look like today?”
“Feeding and checking the cattle, getting the fields ready for the winter forage, preparing for fall calving season. Sometimes we’re still baling hay at this time of year, but we got that out of the way thankfully. We’ll have to cut hay again in July, mind you, after all this shooting is over.” Walker shrugged. “A lot depends on the weather, especially in Louisiana.”
“Who’s doing the work now that you’re so busy?”
Walker stared out of the kitchen window. A thick fog clung to the brightening horizon but Walker figured it wouldn’t stay bright for long. “My dad still helps out, and I’ve got two full time farmhands. I hire in more folks when I need to.”
“So a permanent extra pair of hands here would be nice, I bet.” Ben’s face was half hidden behind his mug but there was a touch of wariness to his blue eyes. Walker wondered why he was worried.
Weighing his words, Walker said, “If I ever find someone—on this show or otherwise—I’d like them to do what they love. If that’s working on a farm, great. I’m willing to teach them whatever they want to know. But if they’ve already got a job and they want to keep doing that work, that’s fine by me. I ain’t gonna make no one quit doing what they love. Why are you smiling?”
“Your drawl got stronger.”
Walker laughed reluctantly, reached for the hat he’d left on the counter and planted it on his head so he could pull it over his eyes. “Yeah, well you put me on the spot.”
“I didn’t mean to.” Ben hesitated, then gently nudged Walker’s shoulder. “Let’s go fix that tractor.”
“This way.” Walker directed Ben toward the Ford. One of the crew was fiddling with the mounted camera in the car, and John was already climbing in the back. Privacy. Walker never realized how much he used to have and how much he’d loved it.
Ben had appeared in another one of his white T-shirts and a torn pair of jeans, which was a good thing because he was covered in grease within ten minutes. Somewhere in the background cursing broke out. One of the crew had discovered what a cow patty really was the hard way, and Walker tried not to laugh. Ben kept muttering to himself while he handled Walker’s tools. After asking three times if he could help but getting waved away, Walker just leaned against the tractor and settled in to watch. Judging by the angle of the cameras, John was making sure he got an optimum shot too.
“What kind of engine do you usually work on?” Walker asked.
“Luxury cars mostly, these days. But I worked as a heavy truck mechanic for years, if you’re worried about what I’m doing.” He straightened and grinned at Walker.
“Just making small talk,” Walker grumbled.
Ben’s smile widened. “What about you? Did you always want to take over the farm?”
“I’m an only child, so it wasn’t ever something I questioned. But I’d have chosen this life regardless. I love it.”
Ben reached for a rag and wiped his hands. “Hard work.”
“So’s being a mechanic.”
“It’s different though. I still have my set hours and I mostly get to work inside. You’re out there in all kinds of weather. Not to mention the animals.” His smile dimmed a little as he chewed his lip and fell silent. Then he said, “I heard you had to remove a couple of leeches off Roan.”
Walker’s head snapped up in surprise. “He told you about that?”
Again, Ben hesitated. “I heard him tell Chad about it after the horseshoe thing. He wasn’t bragging or anything,” Ben added quickly, rubbing the back of his neck and leaving a smear of grease there. “Chad was digging for details. Shit, I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”
“No, it’s okay.” Walker laughed although he wasn’t amused. “I guess nothing’s private on this show anyway, right?”
Ben winced. “Right.”
