Page 89 of From the Ashes
But this guy is close to my age based on the lines around his eyes and the scruff on his face.
The first strike against him is that he’s eyeing Walker’s naked torso as if my boyfriend is a three-course-meal. My jaw clenches as I step forward, wiping my hands on a rag I picked up in the barn.
“You must be Kevin. I’m Phoenix,” I say, introducing myself.
The second strike is that he ignores my introduction and goes straight for Walker.
“Holy shit. You’re Walker DeVille!” he exclaims with far too much enthusiasm for my liking.
My teeth grind under the pressure of my clamped jaw as Walker gives me a smug look. It’s about fifty-fifty as to who gets recognized first. Given this guy’s age, I’m a little shocked it was Walker.
“I am,” Walker says, his Texas twang on full display, really hamming it up for this guy. I’m about to kick this dude off my property, but Walker throws me a wink and I calm down…slightly.
“Oh man, I just got into rodeo a couple years ago, midlife crisis I guess.” He laughs nervously. “I couldn’t believe my luck when you came here this year,” he gushes.
“Do you ride?” Walker asks politely.
“Oh, hell no, but I’m trying to break out of corporate prison and started getting into gardening, hobby chickens, that kind of stuff.” And then he quickly adds, “But I’d love to learn to ride.”
I don’t miss the way his eyes travel across Walker’s chest and abs again. How is it that gay guys inevitably attract other gay guys? Like, what are the fucking odds? I just need someone to shovel horseshit and feed the damn beasts, and this guy shows up ready to bareback my boyfriend.
Stepping in between them, I put my arm around Walker’s waist in a petty move to piss on my territory. “We don’t offer lessons. We just need help with the grunt work,” I clarify. Kevin’s eyes are now glued so intensely where my fingers are grazing Walker’s hip that I have to snap the fingers of my other hand to draw his attention back to me. “Yeah, I don’t think this job is gonna work out.”
Nowhis eyes flash to me, disappointment radiating in them. “What? Why? We haven’t even talked about it.”
“Bro, you can’t stop eye-fucking my boyfriend long enoughtotalk about it,” I say a little louder than necessary.
“Phoe.” The warning comes as a rumble from deep within Walker’s chest and I realize I just fucked up. I just outed Walker…to a rodeo fan…hisrodeo fan. And I’m acting like a giant, jealous douchebag.
With my eyes still on Kevin, I apologize. “Shit, I’m sorry, man. It’s been a long day. Forget I said that.” I feel like I should offer more, but I don’t know what else to say.
Thankfully, Kevin is a decent human being—I should take notes.
“It’s all good. For what it’s worth, I’m straight.” I cock abrow at him and he laughs. “I mean, I can appreciate man-hot, which you both obviously are.” He waves a hand toward Walker and I’s connected midsections. “And you make a lovely couple I might add, but I’m not interested in drama…or men. Seriously. I just want to work outside, wear my boots, and feel like I accomplished something at the end of the day.”
Okay, so there’s a possibility that Kevin’s kinda cool.
I take a deep breath and tell myself to chill the ever-loving-fuck out.
“Yeah, alright. Come on, I’ll show you around.” As I reluctantly let go of Walker’s side, his cell phone rings.
He flashes the screen at me. “It’s LXR. I gotta take this. You guys go on ahead, I’ll catch up.” LXR is Walker’s biggest sponsor. A well-known leather company that produces high-end saddles, girths, bridles, etc… At one point, they sponsored me, as well. My nerves are going haywire as I realize he and I are going to have to tell them soon.
Clearly, I need everyone to know Walker is mine, and the idea of coming out doesn’t seem to bother him like it did me when I was riding.
I walk Kevin around the barn and deduce that he’s smart, a fast learner, and although it’s coming on a little later in life, he’s passionate about the horses and farm life. I take him on a tour of the property via my side-by-side and show him the house in the back corner of my twenty-seven acres.
“It wouldn’t be mandatory to live here of course, but it’s available if you choose to do so. The mornings are early and especially if the weather gets bad, it’d be helpful to be close by.”
“Sounds great,” he says without telling me if he’d actually move in or not.
By the time we get back to the house, there’s still no sign of Walker, so I ask Kevin for his discretion for the bomb I dropped, apologize again, and tell him I’ll give him a call latertonight. I’m honest about having one other person interested in the position, but honestly, I’ll offer the job to Kevin. Even after being a dick to him, he was totally cool and by the end, I liked his vibe.
I wave goodbye and head inside to find Walker before our next candidate arrives.
Chapter 37
Walker
