Page 34 of The Texas Sterling Collection
A heavy sigh came over the phone. “Look, Rod, Wyl never had many friends. He never laughed much, but changed after his first day in class. The guy beamed when he came home and couldn’t wait to tell me about his day. I can’t remember Wyl ever being happier. Now he’s lower than a pregnant sow in a mud pit. I don’t think he misses school. I think he misses you.”
I pondered Walt’s words. If he did miss me, he had a funny way of showing it.
“Rod?”
I sighed. “I’m not convinced.” Despite what Walt told me, Wyl’s actions were all I had. Yeah, I ran from him. But he could come and talk to me. He didn’t, so his staying away didn’t match Walt’s words. “He needs to figure out what is important to him.”
“You two need to talk.”
“I agree, but I’d rather Wyl made an effort. It would have been better if he had called instead of you.”
Walt sighed again. “I can see your point.”
I massaged my forehead with my fingers, struggling with what to do. “Tell him to come early on Monday like he used to, and we’ll chat over coffee before class.” Maybe if we got back to our old routine, things would work themselves out.
“Rod?” Walt seemed to want to say more.
“I need to go, Walt. A student just walked in. Thanks for the call.” I hung up. Yeah, so I lied. No student. If Wyl called, it would be a different story.
* * *
That evening, I sat in the living room reading the newspaper. It usually took all of five minutes, and that’s if I read the comics. I sipped, no gulped, a glass of wine while I read. A soft knock sounded at the front door.
I ignored it. Probably a student selling magazine subscriptions for a fundraiser or something. I was in no mood to talk to anyone.
The knocking grew louder. Then, pounding. “Rod. Open up”
Wyl's voice.
Shit. I couldn’t ignore him. We needed to heal this wound before we could move on. I stood and went to the door. I could seeHis Handsomenessstanding on the porch through the glass door, cowboy hat and all. The pieces of my broken heart began to put themselves back together. He didn’t just call, he made an effort to come in person. I opened the door.
“I can’t fucking wait until Monday,” Wyl growled. “We need to talk now.”
He was pissed, but I didn’t know if he was pissed at me, pissed at the situation, or pissed because I didn’t drop everything and come to the ranch to talk. I unlatched the screen door and nodded for him to enter. “Come in.”
It was a warm evening, so I latched the screen but left the front door open. “Let’s go into the living room.” I motioned to the left. “I’ll bring you a glass of wine. You look like you could use it.”
Wyl’s growl surprised me. From what Walt said, he was depressed. He didn’t act depressed. I opened a new bottle in the kitchen and grabbed an empty wine glass for Wyl. Back in the living room, I set the glass on the coffee table in front of him and poured. I topped off my own glass before sitting in my chair.
“Two weeks, you don’t show up for class. Why Wyl?”
Chapter Twenty-One
WYL
I sighed. “I need to explain.”
Rod huffed. “Please. I know it was wrong for me to leave that night, but what happened to us? We used to talk.”
I hung my head. I was still reeling from punching myself for turning my back on Rod in the first place. But I had to fix this, and I had to fix it now. Otherwise, Rod and I would both be unhappy. With a deep breath and renewed determination, I spoke. “I apologized for the kiss, but now I need to apologize for the two-week cold shoulder.”
Rod glared at me. “Your actions said everything.”
“Roddy…” I was not willing to give up. Somebody had to wear the pants here.
“Don’t call me Roddy.” His voice was less insistent, but his glare softened. “Only my friends can call me Roddy.”
“Okay…Dr. Bonner…”
