1
Miller
“Hey, y'all,” I said, sliding into our booth at Cap's Coffee and Cakes.
“Hey,” my friend Ripley replied without looking up from the papers he was studying in front of him.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“He's looking for recipes for pumpkins,” Frankie said with a grin. “I think they over planted.”
“Hey, I was afraid we wouldn't have enough,” Ripley protested. “So maybe I went overboard.”
I gasped in feigned surprise. “You? Go overboard? Surely not.”
He looked up and rolled his eyes at me. “Look, no way I was bringing a bunch of kids out to the ranch to pick pumpkins and not have plenty of pumpkins to choose from.”
“Can't the goats eat them?”
“Sure, and I’ll feed them the carving pumpkins, but I also have a bunch of sugar pumpkins, and I don't want to waste those.”
“Sugar pumpkins?”
“Yeah, they're the kind that you use to make pies and stuff. I had this crazy idea that the parents would bring the kids to choose a carving one and buy the sugar ones to make pies. I underestimated how much easier a can of pumpkin was to bake with. I didn't have many takers.” He shrugged. “Live and learn, right?”
I picked up one of the recipes and looked at it. “You, Ripley Ellis-Warner, are going to use pumpkins you grew and make”—I glanced back at the paper—“spiced pumpkin butter? Who are you, and what have you done with my friend?”
Frankie laughed from behind the counter where he’d been setting out fresh muffins. “Money says he doesn't make it past the first batch, and the goats get all the pumpkins.”
“Nah,” Cap called over. “My money's on Margo. She runs that ranch house for Reed and Ripley like a well-oiled machine. She won't let 'em go to waste.”
“You're right,” Frankie said, giving Cap a kiss and taking a cup of coffee out of his hand before he came over to sit with us. He pushed the coffee over in front of me.
“Thanks,” I called over to Cap taking a sip. The man knew his coffee, that was for sure. This was a new one, though. “What is this?”
“It's a new blend I got in the city from a small startup. They're roasting the beans on-site, and their end product is really good. I'm thinking about adding that one permanently. What do you think?”
“I think you should. It's my favorite so far.”
“What's your favorite?” Maverick asked, walking in. “Do we have a new coffee?”
“Yes, but the nuances would be lost on you by the time you add tons of sugar and cream,” Cap said. “If you're going to add all that, you might as well drink grocery store coffee.”
“For someone with an entire menu of foo-foo coffees, you sure are a coffee snob. Now give me a pumpkin spice latte and be quiet,” he teased.
“Where's Donovan?” I asked.
“He's doing something with the bees. You know I love that man, but I'm not getting near those hives. I have someone coming in early for an appointment today anyway, so I can't stay long.” Maverick owned the local tattoo shop, and his partner was a retired Navy officer turned farmer. I looked around at my friends and once again realized I was the only single one. That was by choice but knowing that didn't mean it didn't leave me feeling a little lonely and out of place. Not that they meant to make me feel that way. They didn't. They always made sure to include me, but at some point, being the odd man out got old.
“We're meeting Cody and Eli at the Drinking Hole tonight. Y'all coming?” Ripley asked.
“Depends on what time I finish up, but I'll check with Donovan,” Maverick said. “How about you, Miller?”
“Depends. Are Cruz and Landon coming?” I wasn't really in the mood to sit around with a bunch of couples tonight. I knew Cruz and Landon because they worked on the Bluebird Ranch, the ranch Ripley owned with his husband, Reed. We weren't good friends, but I liked both men, and they would keep me from being the only single guy there.
“Nah, they’re heading into the city to hit the clubs. I’m surprised you aren't going. What was it you told me? That there weren't a lot of gay men to choose from in River Gorge, right?”
“Well, the numbers are rising. Unfortunately, y’all keep pairing up, so there still aren't many to choose from.”
“Don't tell me the great Miller Monroe is having trouble finding men,” Ripley teased.
“Nah, not Miller. He could find a man in the ladies’ room,” Cap said with a laugh.
I rolled my eyes and chuckled like his joke was funny. I could have argued with him. Told him it had been months since the last time I found a man, but it wouldn't matter. That was the thing about people who'd known you for years, they had ideas about who you were, and those ideas died hard. Plus, what was I going to say? I hadn't picked anyone up because nobody interested me.
“Oh well, if they're heading to the club, maybe I'll take a trip into the city then. Like I said, pickings are slim around here, but there are always willing boys at the club.
“You would know, you've made your way through most of them,” Cap said, rolling his eyes.
“What can I say? The boys love me. Now, I gotta go. I have a client coming in to go look at the Wilson Ranch. Catch y'all later.”
No need for them to know that the idea of picking up another stranger, fucking them, and leaving without even knowing their name was less appealing than staying home and binge-watching Sugar Rush on Netflix, which was totally what I was going to do. Cap wouldn't believe me, and Ripley would start getting crazy ideas about me wanting to settle down, and the next thing I knew, they’d be trying to fix me. I didn't need to be fixed, I just needed…hell, I didn't know what I needed, but it wasn't that.
2
Landon
While I talked to my brother on the phone, I loaded the last of the items in the back of the truck and went inside the barn to get the horse ready to go. This was the first time Reed had sent me to deliver a horse alone. Usually Cruz or Bart went with me, but they were both tied up with something else today, so I was on my own. It wasn't a difficult thing so it shouldn't have been such a big deal to me, but it was. Reed's business was entirely word of mouth, and knowing he trusted me not only to train the horse but to deal with the customer meant a lot.
I put the phone on speaker so I could work with the horse while my brother went on and on about the holidays. “But, Landon, Mom is going to be so disappointed if you don't come,” Chad insisted. “You know she loves Thanksgiving, and she really wants you to there.”
“I know, but we’re so busy on the ranch right now—”
“I call bullshit, brother. I may not live or work on a ranch, but even I know this is the slow time of year. Plus, you said the guys where you work are all about family, so I can't imagine you couldn't get a few days off.”
“Reed and Ripley are all about family,” I insisted, as I slipped the halter over her head, and she turned to nuzzle my neck. I was going to miss working with this horse. She had been a joy to train, and I'd had to work hard not to get too attached.