Page 72 of Cowboy Seeks Husband
“I’ve been known to take it on occasion.” He looked Roan up and down. “If the offer’s right.”
Roan laughed, going red to the tips of his ears. “Does it ever get cooler around here?” he asked, not caring how blatant he was about changing the subject.
Walker snorted but didn’t call him out. “In winter, yes. Summers are brutal.”
Callie swayed beneath him, and Roan felt the odd urge to close his eyes, so he did. It felt a little unsettling at first, but he eased into her rhythm, feeling every movement of her muscles beneath him.
“You look good on a horse, little lion,” Walker murmured, and Roan’s eyes snapped open. Heat traveled up his throat.
He took in Walker, riding one handed, hat tipped back, his hair slightly sweaty underneath. He owned that saddle like he’d been born in it. “So do you, cowboy.”
Walker ducked his head and settled his hat a little lower over his eyes. “You want to know more about my family, huh?” he asked.
“Well, about you really. Growing up here. What was that like?”
“There’s a lot I loved about it, and a lot I hated. Sometimes it came down to the same things.”
Roan waited, and when Walker didn’t go on he said, “Wow, you’re an open book, aren’t you?”
Walker laughed. “About some things.” Then he scratched at the stubble on his jaw, and Roan was the one to laugh. “It was hard work growing up on a farm,” he eventually said. “Early starts and late nights and sometimes I hated it, especially when I was a teenager and I had friends who went to movies and on dates and hung out together all the time. I didn’t have much of that. But then when I figured out I was gay…those years in high school were real tough and this place became a refuge.”
“Did you get bullied?” Roan asked softly.
“No, but I felt isolated and worried I might get beaten up if anyone found out. Going to college changed all that, and then when I came back I found out the odd temporary ranch hand was sometimes willing to give a different sort of hand too.”
Roan rolled his eyes.
“I had a boyfriend for a while, too, and I stopped messing around with the hands since I took over from Dad, though. It’s not fittin’.”
“So how did you make the leap from handsy ranch hands to a reality show like this?”
Walker leaned back in his saddle, and Whiskey slowed to a stop. Roan flailed for a second, then did the same, although he suspected Callie only stopped because she wanted to.
“Meeting people when you’re gay down here isn’t easy. Meeting them when you’re a farmer is pretty much impossible. No one wants to do this kind of backbreaking work for hardly any pay anymore.” He looked away, took his hat off for a second, ran his hand through his hair, and plonked the hat back on his head. “I honestly never thought they’d pick me as a candidate. Hell, to be honest, I never even applied. My ranch hand did, and Tessa, my step-mom, she was all for it when he told her.”
“Are you two close?”
“Yeah. My mom died when I was a baby. Never knew her.”
“I get that. Like I said, my dad left when I was two, and I never knew any other way.”
“Tessa came along when I was a kid, and she’s been like my mama ever since. She’s amazing, really. Helps around the ranch and keeps up with all the office work around here.” Walker rubbed his neck and shot Roan a sideways look. “I want to be honest with you, Roan.”
“I’d like that, too.”
“Okay, well, everything isn’t what it seems here on Reed Ranch. We’ve got debts here. The wealthy, successful rancher they’ve played up on camera isn’t real. A couple of hurricanes hit us hard, and we’ve had a lot of losses. So when the call came that they wanted me to be the bachelor for the show…” Walker’s jaw looked tense and his shoulders rounded.
“I’m not judging,” Roan said, risking his balance by reaching out and patting Walker’s thigh. He wobbled precariously when Callie did a little sidestep and righted himself quickly. “It’s all bullshit, this show. Every last one of us knows that. And you’re doing it all for understandable reasons. It’s okay, Walker. I get it.”
Walker gave him a quick smile and nudged Whiskey forward again. The cicadas’ song began to thicken in volume as the sun dropped nearer to the horizon. The air smelled sweet and humid, like some herb he recognized but couldn’t quite pinpoint. “What about you?” Walker asked. “What made you quit college?”
Roan chewed on his lip and stared at the red and orange horizon. The fading sunlight glistened in what must be various ponds in the distance, and Roan wondered if they were full of gators. The truth was on the tip of his tongue, and he wanted to share it with Walker, but he also didn’t. He never wanted Walker to think he’d given him the ‘sob story’ as Molly called it just so he could win.
“I ran out of money,” he said and tried to smile. “It’s no big deal. I’ll just have to work for a while until I have some more funds and then I’ll go back to finish it.”
Walker nodded at him. “You should do that. You’re a bright guy, Roan. If more school would make you happy, you should pursue it. Is that why you’re here? For the funds to go back to school?”
Roan blinked at the sunset and nodded slowly. He thought of his mom’s proud smile when he got the acceptance letter to his first choice university back when he graduated high school. He thought of the guilt lurking in her eyes when he’d left Grad school to work at a coffee shop and help out after she got sick. “Yeah. That’s why I’m here.”
