Page 94 of The Texas Sterling Collection
“We’ve already been outed by Mitzi,” Rod said. “Let’s take that outing to the next level.”
“Are you crazy?” Wyl latched onto Rod’s arm. “I know I said all that stuff about being myself, but isn’t doing a big exposé like putting targets on our backs?”
“A minute ago, you said you wanted to give her a taste of her own medicine.” Rod took Wyl’s hand. “Who are we hiding from? The ranch hands know. The college knows. The town knows. Our friends and neighbors in Kerrville know. And because of Mitzi’s shenanigans, now the world knows.”
Wyl blew out a sigh. “My Marine frame of mind is shoutingDanger, Wyl Sterling!”
Rod chuckled. “Seriously? And you gave me a hard time about a television inference? If you want to cower in fear for the rest of your life, afraid to be open about who you are and who you love, we can do nothing. That’s not what you said after the Dusty debacle, remember?” He squeezed Wyl’s thigh. “Silence only fuels speculation and stokes the fires of idle gossip. I don’t think cowering in silence is what you want, is it? Are you trying to crawl back into the closet?”
Wyl sipped his drink and pondered Rod’s words. His husband was right. He did promise to be himself. Mitzi’s shenanigans pissed him off, and her continued badgering was older than dirt. Fuck. He needed to show Mitzi she was not winning and could not conquer the Sterlings. He tugged at Rod’s hand and threaded their fingers as he gazed into his eyes. “No, I’m not fucking climbing back into the closet.” He leaned over for a quick kiss. “So, what do we do?”
“If you don’t mind postponing a trip to Kerrville for a few days, we’ll make this a media event to dwarf all media events. We’ll create a YouTube video featuring the horses and us, and film it on the ranch. It will be short, but we’ll talk briefly about our life as gay cowboys and end with a kiss. Our video will make Mitzi’s attempt look amateurish and desperate. We will star in the most spectacular outing ever imagined.” Rod chuckled. “She thought she could make us sorry for turning her down, but we’ll extend a big thank you for her little Facebook shenanigan.” Rod’s smile split his face. “Not only that, but it will also piss her off further, and there is nothing she can do about it. What she did borders on libel. However, libel is not a criminal offense; it is a tort, so we could sue Mitzi. We don’t want to go down that road, though. It is costly, and public opinion based on legal proceedings is rarely positive. Taking the wind out of Mitzi’s sails on social media is beating her at her own game.”
Wyl chuckled. “I like it when you’re a genius, Rod Sterling. Throw in a few cuss words, and I’ll pant at your feet like a puppy!” Wyl leaned in to kiss his husband. A kiss that lasted longer than a peck left them both swooning.
“Okay…so where were we?” Rod asked, gazing at Wyl with starry eyes. “Oh…yes…a YouTube video. Let’s do it tomorrow and post it.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Wyl pulled Rod into another kiss.
“Bedroom?” Rod gasped as passion flared and cocks stood at full attention.
“Bedroom!”
* * *
Over lunch, they discussed the video.
“Do you have any ideas for where we’ll shoot this video?” Wyl said.
“How about the bluff? That’s one of our favorite spots.”
“Good idea, but would the ranch show up in the video? It would be in the background, but that view is probably better seen in person,” Wyl said.
Rod nodded. “Good point. What are you thinking?”
“How about the spring? We haven’t been there since Walt’s accident.”
Rod took a swallow of his beer. “We never went back and cleaned up that site, did we?”
“No.” Wyl shook his head and sighed. “I never mentioned it because it reminds us of Walt’s death.”
Rod snaked an arm around Wyl’s shoulders. “Another reason to use the spring. Wouldn’t Walt be proud of what we’re doing? Think of it as honoring him.”
Wyl shoulder-nudged his husband. “You always know just the right thing to say. Why don’t we ride out there and pick up the stuff we left? It’s been, what, eight months? I wonder if the tent is still there.”
They cleaned the lunch dishes, saddled the horses, and rode to the campsite. Rod shook out and folded the sleeping bags, while Wyl shook out and folded the tent. They picked up the old, charred coffee pot. Nothing else remained except the ashes in the fire pit surrounded by stones. They left that as a remembrance of the camp-out.
They picked the perfect spot to stand while filming and then rode back to the house.
Chapter Five
They chatted over scrambled eggs, bacon, sliced fresh garden tomatoes, and toast on Sunday morning.
“So, how do we shoot this video?” Wyl bit off the end of a bacon slice.
“I created a short script yesterday while you grilled the steaks for supper. We can run through it a couple of times to get the timing. We’ll saddle the horses, dress in cowboy attire, and ride to the spring. After I set up the camera, we’ll do several takes so we can pick the one we like best.” Rod stuffed the last bit of buttered toast in his mouth and followed it with a swallow of coffee.
“Sounds simple enough. How do we get it ready for YouTube once we record it?” Wyl’s drained coffee mug thunked onto the breakfast bar.
