And now I got to spend a little over six hours in a car with him. I should’ve insisted we fly, but by the time we drove an hour to the airport, arrived two hours early, added flying time, and drive time on the other end, it wasn't really much faster. Plus, not going to lie, I liked the idea of pulling into town in Miller's Mercedes G-Class SUV. That thing costs more than I made in a year. Hell, probably more than I made in two, and I didn't mind if the assholes I went to school with drooled a little when they saw it.
He pulled in to pick me up right on time. I tossed my duffle bag in the back and hopped in. He looked back at my bag and said, “That's it?”
“Yeah, we probably won't go anywhere but my mom’s. There isn't exactly a lot there.”
“So there’s no place where I could take you out to a nice dinner while we’re there?”
“I mean, if we wanted to drive to Lawton, maybe. Besides, the town I grew up in isn't exactly open-minded.”
“Landon, this is your hometown, so I’ll leave it up to you, but I want you to understand that it doesn't matter to me. I've been to places that weren't gay-friendly, and while I’m not about putting either of us in a situation that’s dangerous, if it's just hateful words and looks, then I don't give a shit about those people.”
“Well, we'll see. I usually just go straight to my mom's and stay there. We can feel it out, who knows, Ripley tells me River Gorge wasn't always so friendly.”
“It wasn't. But not a lot of small towns have their star football player move home with his boyfriend to open a coffee shop. That really made a big difference in River Gorge. I mean, I was out before then, and so was Tristan, but the town more tolerated us than accepted us before Cap returned. If things are the same and it makes you uncomfortable, we can just stay at your mom's house. But if you want to flaunt your super-hot boyfriend”—he shot me a grin and waved a hand down his body—“I'm great arm candy.”
“Well, you are pretty hot, so maybe I’ll decide to show you off a little,” I teased back. “Speaking of Cap's, let’s stop and grab some coffee and something to eat on our way out of town.”
I had been worried about what that much time trapped in the car would be like, but I shouldn't have. We loaded up on drinks and sweets, including some fresh croissants to take to my mother’s, and before I knew it, we were halfway there. Miller had kept me entertained with stories about high school with Ripley and his first kiss with Cap. At the time, it was something that they’d sworn to never tell another soul about, but now it had become a running joke among their friends. We took a smaller road going up through Lampasas because Miller said he’d rather avoid the Metroplex traffic, if possible.
“I don't know how Ripley stood it for so long,” he said, shaking his head. “I mean, San Antonio is huge to me, but the Dallas-Fort Worth area is a whole ‘nother thing.”
“I can't stand it. I hated it when we would have to go to rodeos in big cities.”
“I remember Reed saying you had rodeo experience. What did you do? Did you ride the bucking horses or something?”
I laughed. “No, I was not a bronc rider. I have to tell you, as much as I love training horses, getting bucked off of them isn't my favorite part. I was actually part of the rodeo crew, not an actual rodeo cowboy.”
“Part of the crew? I never thought about that. I guess it does take a lot of people to put together a rodeo. What did you do?”
“Well, my main job was as a pick-up man. You know how when a cowboy’s riding a bull and gets bucked off, you have the guys who run out there to distract the bulls?” I asked, and he nodded. “Well, at the same time, you may have noticed a couple of guys ride out there and grab the fallen cowboy up and get him to safety. Then they help herd the bull where it needs to go. Those are pick-up men. I also helped the stock crew with taking care of the animals.”
“That sounds like fun. Why didn't you keep doing it?”
“I don't know. I was never one for traveling much, and I really wanted to work training the horses. One of the stock contractors noticed I had a way with them, and he recommended me to the breeder he bought the horses from, so I took a job there.”
“Reed?”
“No, that job didn't take. Turns out, he was one of those only real men belong on a ranch kind of guys. Didn't want anyone light in the boots as he put it working with him. Reed found out and offered me a job.”
“I like Reed. He’s good for Ripley.”
“Ripley’s good for Reed, too. He was way too serious before Ripley came along. You should have been there the day the goats arrived on the ranch. He was fit to be tied.”
“I bet he was. Ripley told me after he didn't warn him they were coming.”
“He didn't.”
By the time we reached my hometown, I was glad we had driven because I felt like I knew Miller much better than I had before.
13
Miller
As I drove up Main Street in Landon's hometown, I tried to imagine him living there, but I couldn't. River Gorge was just as small, but it was a thriving community. We’d worked hard to keep it that way. But this little town hadn't fared as well. Many of the buildings were boarded up or sat empty, and the street was empty. No people walking on the sidewalk or cars driving down the street. I asked him about it, and he said most of the traffic was on the main road that ran along the edge of town. There were a couple of hotels and restaurants out there for the people who were driving through on their way somewhere else.
“And your mom wants you to move back here?” I asked. “What does she think you’d do here?”
“They own a greenhouse here in town, so she wants me to come work in the greenhouse.”
“Like with plants and stuff?” I asked. The only thing in life that made sense to me was Landon working with horses. Surely his mother saw that.
“Yeah, she means well. She really does. My father gets it, but as I'm sure she'll tell you, I'm her baby, and she wants me back home. She always felt more protective of me. I think even before I came out, she knew. And they were great about it. Which I'm grateful for. I know a lot of kids raised in a place like this can’t say that.”
“But she worries?” I asked.
“Always has,” he agreed. “But I love her, and I don't want her worrying about me.”
“Hopefully, this will help.”
“I wouldn't be doing it otherwise,” he said, and the reminder that he wouldn't be with me if it weren't for our deal kind of stung. But this was my idea, so if it bothered me, I just needed to suck it up. I wanted to take his hand to reassure him, or maybe to stop for a second and just hold him to let him know this was going to work out, but I didn't. The kiss the other day had been skating too close to the line, and especially after the drive here, I refused to cross it. The more I got to know Landon, the more I liked him as a person, which meant we had to be able to stay friends when this whole thing was over.
“Turn up here,” he said, pointing down a street. “You go all the way to the end and then to the left. We live just on the edge of town. The greenhouse faces that main road I told you about, and the house is behind it.”