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  “I like ‘em full dressed, put on whatever you’ve got.” Sam took a swig of his beer. “Ah, that hits the spot.”

  “Nothing like cold beer on a hot day.” Cold beer or hard cock.

  Damn.

  Be good.

  “You said it.”

  Sam aimed his bottle in the general direction of the fields. “You need any help with chores or something? I hate to impose without pulling my weight.”

  “I could use some help feeding after supper, surely. The cattle are good, but the horses will be wanting their dinner.”

  “Just let me know what to do and I’ll shoulder my load.”

  “Cool. You like to ride?” He had an extra saddle and God knew Lexy needed some exercise.

  “I haven’t been on a horse for awhile, but yes, I do.”

  “Yeah? I got an extra saddle. We’ll have to go for a ride over the weekend.” He grinned, pleased. “Hell, if you’re into fishing, we can head down to the pond.”

  “The one I can see from my window? It’s a pretty looking piece of water.”

  He nodded. “It’s full of bass and crappie, too. I keep it stocked.”

  “That sounds great. Haven’t caught my supper in a few weeks.”

  “Oh, then we’ll have to rectify that.” He grinned, then blushed. God, Sam must think he was a fucking looney.

  “Sounds nice, Chance. Thank you.” Sam wasn’t looking at him like he was crazy. Yet, anyway.

  He got up, flipped the burgers. A horn honked and he waved at one of his neighbors without looking up.

  “Guess I’m going to be the talk of the town ‘til something new comes along,” Sam noted dryly.

  “Oh, as many folks as are coming in from Austin, you’ll only have to worry for a few days.” He grinned. “Mr. and Mrs. Daughtry live the next house down; she just had a stroke and is not doing so good. Buck and Brenda Kaye live across the way -- he services vending machines and she manages the grocery.”

  “I imagine everyone knows everyone and their business? Tends to be a trend in small towns. Of course small town folk’ll help each other out more often, too. It’s a trade off.”

  “Well, there’s two types of folks here -- small-town and ‘we’re getting out of the big city and building big-assed houses where it’s cheap’ people, you know? The out-of-towners that work in Austin? Not so friendly.”

  “Uppity?” Sam asked it like he knew all about uppity.

  “Yeah, all big money and big city, you know? Posers.” He hated when they came into the feed store, rolling their eyes and wrinkling their noses and calling the place ‘quaint’.

  “Some people think they’re the cat’s meow, but the cat always knows better.”

  That tickled him and he laughed, nodded. “You got that right. Let’s pull these babies in and eat. I’m starved.” A little shaky, too. He needed his shot and some grub.

  “Sounds good. The smell is good enough to make me starving.”

  He nodded, pulling the burgers off and onto a plate. “Everything else is on the kitchen table.”

  He hurried inside, putting the burgers down and giving himself eighty units before anything else.

  “You all right?” Sam asked, taking a seat at the table.

  “Yeah. Just need to eat.” He was jittering and, fact was, he shouldn’t have given his afternoon snack away, but Sam had looked so fucking miserable...

  “I hear you.” Sam dug in, putting a burger between two halves of a bun and putting some of everything on it. “Damn, this is a fine burger, Chance.”

  “Thanks.” He set himself up and munched down, shakes easing up, body relaxing. “I’m not bad on the grill, if I say so myself.”

  Sam nodded, the way he chowed the burger down and grabbed a second one attesting to the truth of it. Or to the fierceness of the man’s hunger.

  He had some potato salad, some tomatoes, a bit of pickle, then went to pull the cobbler out. “You like peaches?’

  “You pretty much put anything in front of me and I’ll eat it.” Sam gave him a wink.

  “Oh, cool. I’ll warm this up and we can share.” He popped the dish in the microwave, humming.

  “You’ll have to take some room and board out of my pay.”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, yeah?” He didn’t mind having the company, actually. It was nice to have someone to talk to, look at.

  “All right.” Sam seemed content to leave it at that. The man’s pride no doubt demanding he say something, the wallet happy to let it slide.

  “So, tell me stuff about you. You like watching movies? Music? Axe-murdering?” He grabbed the ice cream and two bowls and spoons.

  “You should have asked about the axe-murdering before inviting me home.” Sam gave him another one of those winks, blue eyes glinting.

  “Oh...” He gave Sam his best stupid redneck look. “You got yourself a point there...” Then he winked, grinned. “I’m a great judge of character.”

  Sam chuckled, digging into his dessert with gusto. “I don’t mind movies, though I prefer sports, playing over watching, but watching will do. And I like cards -- anything with strategy and a little bit of something to sweeten the pot.”

  “Yeah? I play catcher on a softball team. Wednesday nights. It’s fun. I do a lot of riding and fishing and such.” Oh, Daddy’d love that -- another victim to kill at poker.

  “Softball, heh? Open league or you got to sign up at the start of the season?”

  “Open. You oughta come out one week, meet Mike and Aaron -- they’re the coaches. It’s a thirty dollar entry fee, but we got extra gloves and shit. You look like you could hit a ball a mile.”

  “I did okay playing with my unit. Usually took second base or short stop, but I do okay in the outfield, too. Been awhile since I played, but it sounds like it could be fun.”

  Chance nodded, finished his dessert. “Yeah. There’s something about a good game, gets the blood pumping.” Of course, the guys in their shorts and muscles shirts wasn’t bad either...

  “Yep. I do like riding and fishing, too. And believe it or not, running. Got into the habit with PT and never really got out of it.”

  “Running? As in jogging and stuff? There’s lots of guys do that in Austin.”

  Sam chuckled. “I’m not uppity about it, I promise. Just got used to moving and kind of need to keep doing it or my knees freeze up on me. Hell, they give it their best effort regardless.”

  “Oh, I hear you. I’m always trying this or that to keep the diabetes from eating me.” Hell, the first thing to go would be erections and, even if he wasn’t getting some a lot, some was better than none.

  “You look pretty fit for it. Only diabetics I knew before you were pretty old and rickety.”

  “Well, I’ve had it since I was three and I try to take care of myself, you know?”

  “So I guess you don’t really even remember a time when you didn’t have it, then.”

  He shook his head. “I remember being in the hospital, sort of, but even then it might have been the stories. Momma said she had to bring Lucky up because he wouldn’t stop screaming for me.”

  “You two were that close? You hear stories about twins, but you never know if they’re just wives tales or truth.”

  “Oh, we were damned close. He was nine minutes younger than me and we spent all the damned time together before he left for basic.”

  “Was that hard? Getting split up like that?”

  “Oh, hell, yes. I was so pissed -- at him for going, at me for being diabetic, at God for everything. He loved it, though, and honestly? He’d never have been happy here on the farm.” Teasing his gay brother, playing practical jokes and shit.

  “But you obviously are -- you look right at home.”

  “This is my home.” He shrugged. “I’m not an exciting guy, you know? Just
damned near forty-year old cowboy who likes to fish.”

  “Excitement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

  “No shit. Boring means nothing’s fucking up, yeah?”

  “Hell, yeah.” Sam pushed his plate away and stretched in his seat. “Damn, that was a fine meal, Chance.”

  “Well, you stick around any time at all and you’ll get it again. It’s my favorite.”

  “I’m partial to burnt meat myself.” Sam got up with a bit of a groan, stretching out again. “I’ll do the dishes.”

  “Cool. I’m gonna run out and start feeding. Come out when you want, I’ll introduce you around.” He put his plate in the sink and grabbed his hat on his way out.

  It was nice to have another person about to chew the cud with.

  Real nice.

  ***

  It didn’t matter that it was Sunday and there was no work and he could sleep as long as he wanted. For nearly all his life, Sam had been up by six am. When he’d been little he would play with his matchcars and his GI Joes and then there was school and then training and PT and a body just got used to being awake at the same time everyday.

  He came in from doing his morning run along the fences that broke up the fields in Chance and his Daddy’s places, and started doing his stretches and simple PT exercises.

  The warm weather and consistent use were working a number on his knees -- he felt better than he had since he’d discharged. He pulled off his shirt and wiped his face with it before lying on the ground and starting his sit-ups.

  The curtain in Chance’s bedroom window twitched, then settled. Damn, he hoped he hadn’t woken Chance. The man wasn’t usually one to sleep late, but possibly he’d just been polite the last couple of weeks, having a guest and all. He didn’t think he’d made a lot of noise, but Chance was used to being on his own.

  Sam turned over to his belly and started in on his push ups. A couple hundred of those to go with the sit-ups and he was done.

  He headed in to see if the bathroom was free. The bathroom door was open, Chance’s bedroom door closed. He could hear Chance moving around, waking up.

  “Alright if I take a shower?” he called.

  “Huh? Uh. Yeah. Yeah, cool.” Man sounded like he was catching a cold, all husky. He hoped not. Colds were miserable buggers.

  He hopped into the shower and washed quickly, hands slowing as he washed his cock and balls. He lingered long enough to jack off, and if he was thinking on what the long, lean cowboy in the other room might look like naked and hard beneath him, well that wasn’t hurting anyone.

  As he was shaving, he decided he needed a haircut. It had been awhile since he had money for that kind of thing and he was bit flush now. Chance had been letting him mooch off the man longer than was right. It was time to settle their arrangements. It worked out well for him to stay here, they seemed to suit each other well enough, but he could understand if Chance wanted his privacy back and if that was the case, he’d find himself a room to rent somewhere now that he could pay.

  And if Chance was amenable to him staying, then it was high time he pulled his own weight.

  Clean, shaved, dressed and determined to settle the matter before the breakfast dishes were done, Sam headed for the kitchen and the smell of coffee.

  Chance was whistling, wearing a pair of ancient old jeans and a muscle shirt, eggs and sausage sizzling away on the stove. “Mornin’, sir.”

  “Morning.” He was glad he’d taken care of business earlier, because Chance looked mighty fine. “Food smells good. As usual.”

  “Yeah. I was hungry this morning.” Chance chuckled, cheeks a little pink. “We’re fixin’ to have to go shopping, though. We’re getting low on the necessaries.”

  “We are, are we?” He sat, figuring this was as good a time as any to broach the subject. “You happy then, with the arrangements of me staying here with you?”

  He got a surprised look from bright eyes then Chance ducked his head, turned bright red. “Yeah. Shit, Sam, I’m sorry. I’m bad about that, turning me into we. Blame it on being a twin.”

  “No, that’s all right, I just wanted to be sure you meant what I thought you meant about it. If I’m staying it’s time I started paying my way. I’m renting the room from you and I should be helping out with the groceries -- I certainly eat more than my share of them.”

  He wasn’t upset about the ‘we’, just didn’t want to be taking advantage. Chance left himself wide open for it, and he wasn’t the kind of man who’d take advantage of that.

  “Well, you sure? You need to build up a little buffer first?” Chance grabbed the tortillas and the orange juice.

  “It’s been three weeks -- I imagine I’ve got a buffer. I appreciated the help when I first got here, I was pretty desperate for the job and a place to stay, but I’m not anymore and it’s time I started paying my way.”

  “Okay, the grocery budget could use the help, yeah.” Chance settled in a chair. “You happy with the room set up and stuff? I mean, since you’re not going to be a guest anymore?”

  He reached over to fill a tortilla with eggs and sausage, nodding. “Hell yeah, it’s a damn site nicer than most rooms I’ve been able to afford.”

  “You’ve got a nice view from there, too.” Chance made himself a burrito, then gave himself an injection.

  “Yep. I’m happy with it. And I’m willing to give you a fair price for the privilege of using it.”

  “Fair enough.” Chance nodded, relaxed and easy. “Now that that’s over, you interested in taking the boat out today?”

  He shook his head -- looked like he wasn’t going to get an amount out of Chance. Well, if the man didn’t deduct anything from his next paycheck, he’d just leave some money in the coffee jar, where Chance was sure to find it.

  “Yeah, fishing sounds like a nice relaxing way to spend the day after a week of working my rump off for the boss.”

  “Yeah, I hear your boss is a real bastard and a half.”

  He chuckled and winked. “You think he’s bad, you should see his father.”

  Chance’s laugh filled the room, low and happy and husky.

  He ate the rest of his breakfast, helping himself until he was full up. It was easy and peaceful here. Chance was good company, but didn’t need to be having a conversation all the time. He was glad they’d worked it out because he didn’t really want to have to move on, even just to a new place to room.

  He was... as close to happy as life had brought him in a lot of years.

  They’d worked themselves into a routine -- food, dishes, chores, fishing. Lots of time in the sunshine, lots of iced tea. His own skin was going as leathery brown as Chance’s was -- he was just missing the cowboy boots and hat and he could have been mistaken for one of the locals himself.

  After the kitchen was straight, they headed out, the horses hightailing it from the back pasture at Chance’s whistle. He went and got their feed and then made sure the dogs were topped up. There was an older horse that had become fond of him, nudging and nickering, nibbling his pockets.

  “Go on, I don’t have anything for you.”

  It was their routine, the horse would nibble and search and he’d grouse and complain and then finally dig out the sugar cubes or carrot sticks or apples he’d stashed.

  Magpie pushed again, tossing her heavy head, whinnying. He pushed back a little, muttering something about old horses who didn’t know when to make themselves scarce. She was quick today, figuring out which pocket he’d hidden the carrots in. Chuckling, he took them out and handed them over, rubbing her nose.

  Chance chuckled. “She’s got your ticket, Mr. Sam. You want to saddle up and ride down instead?”

  “I’m easy, Chance.” The old girl would probably appreciate the stretch.

  Chance chuckled and went back to work, whistling the entire time. The man had a way with the a
nimals, easy and lazy and completely at home. It was good physical labor and he enjoyed it.

  Chance’s cell phone rang and the man answered it. “Jeff Andrews! Good lord and butter, man! I haven’t heard from you in a hundred years. How’s Ricky doing? Y’all still... Oh. Oh, man. That sucks. I’m sorry, you deserved better.”

  Sam led Magpie back out, giving Chance his privacy.

  “Me? No, no. Not since Justin headed up north to ride the rodeo. Where you living now...” The words trailed off as the barn door closed.

  He wondered who Jeff was and Ricky and Justin. A lot of guys for someone who was on his own, who seemed so content that way. He teased Magpie for awhile, wondering if their fishing trip was off.

  Then Chance came out, hauling his saddle. “Sorry. Old friend. Which pole you want?”

  “We still heading out? Cool. I’ll take the blue one.”

  “Yeah. Jeff is driving -- he’s a bus driver for a band and they’re taking a break and he decided to chat.” Chance handed the saddle over with a grin.

  He saddled Magpie up. “So where do you know him from?”

  Lacey came dancing up and Chance threw the blanket over her back. “We met at a club in Austin. He was in college at UT and I was looking to play pool. There were a handful of us, mostly college kids, who played around twenty years ago. Now we’re scattered to the winds.”

  “Wow, that’s a long time to keep in touch.” He got up into the saddle, waiting for Chance to finish up before heading toward the pond.

  “Jeff’s a good’un. Dropped out of school to follow somebody to Hollywood, then ended up driving busses across country and dealing with no-good bass players.”

  He frowned. “No-good bass players?”

  Chance nodded, moving them up a rolling hill. “He has troubles with love-em-and-leave-em types.”

  “Funny, I wouldn’t have pegged too many bass players as women. Shows you what I really know about music, doesn’t it?”

  Oh, those cheeks went a bright, fiery red. “I... Uh... Oh, look at that hawk!”

  He turned and looked for a hawk, not expecting to see one. There it was though, soaring through the morning air, wings spread wide. “Wow, look at that.” He watched it, debating whether or not to call Chance on the distraction. In the end he decided that if Chance wanted to change the subject, he should respect that.