Clouds and Rain

so Flynn kissed him. When they broke apart and Gable shook his head, Flynn started to fear he was retreating again, but then Gable wrapped his arms around Flynn and squeezed him tightly.
    “I don‟t know….” Gable seemed to stop midsentence, then change his mind. “Thank you,” he told Flynn.
    “There‟s nothing to thank me for,” Flynn said, pulling back slightly so he could look at the expression on Gable‟s face. He hoped to dispel any doubts Gable still had, but he wasn‟t sure he was succeeding.
    “Oh, there‟s plenty to thank you for,” Gable replied. “But we should get up. The horses are waiting.”
    Flynn was happy that Gable was smiling, but he realized he was still putting himself down. Flynn let it go, though. After everything Gable had gone through with Grant, it would take time for him to trust again, and the only way that was going to happen was if Flynn stuck around and showed him there was plenty to love.
    Reluctantly, Flynn left Gable‟s embrace and crawled out of bed.
    After a quick wash and a short visit to his old room for clean clothes, 59

    Zahra Owens

    Flynn took Bridget downstairs to make breakfast, giving Gable the time to get ready as well. He was standing by the old stove, making scrambled eggs, when he felt Gable wrap his arms around him from behind.
    “I‟ve been wanting to do that since the first time I came down to you making me breakfast,” Gable whispered in his ear.
    “You should have tried earlier,” Flynn replied, turning around in Gable‟s arms so they could kiss.
    The eggs were slightly scorched that morning, but neither of them seemed to care.
    Calley came by after breakfast, bringing them supplies from her store, and judging from the looks she gave Flynn, she seemed to notice the change in Gable. Flynn was happy that she didn‟t say anything, though, at least not until Gable was out of earshot.
    “What did you do to my Gable?” she asked Flynn with a broad smile as he followed her to carry her empty boxes to the truck.
    “Oh, nothing,” Flynn answered. He was eager to share with someone, but he didn‟t think Gable would appreciate him spilling the beans to Calley so soon, especially not since he still didn‟t know the extent of Calley‟s relationship with Gable.
    “Nothing, my ass,” she teased. “He‟s darting around here like a lovesick puppy. I haven‟t seen him this happy…. Come to think of it, I don‟t think I‟ve ever seen him this happy. Whatever you did, it seems to be working.”
    She nudged him with her shoulder in what seemed like a very unladylike gesture, then placed her hand on Flynn‟s arm and made him look at her. “You‟re making him very happy, Flynn, and he needs that.
    He deserves it too.”
    Flynn simply smiled at her, bursting to tell her outright, but at the same time preferring to keep it between him and Gable for the time being. Flynn was pretty sure she knew exactly what was going on, and for now, that was enough.
    She touched his face briefly in what felt like a very motherly way and then turned around to get into her truck and drive away.

    60

    Clouds and Rain

    Flynn waved her out and then turned to Bridget. “Come on, old girl, there‟s work to be done!”

    THEY started out as they always had, with each doing their daily chores around the ranch, but Flynn felt the change almost immediately.
    Before today they‟d worked as two individuals and Flynn barely saw Gable before lunchtime, but now Gable seemed to seek out things to do close to Flynn. On several occasions he even asked Flynn to help with things he usually did alone, and Flynn was always rewarded with a quick kiss and a fleeting touch. Flynn didn‟t mind Gable looking for excuses to be near him; he could only hope that soon Gable wouldn‟t need excuses anymore and they‟d simply work as a team, but for now, Flynn enjoyed being courted.
    The day passed quickly, with a brief interlude just after lunch where Gable pulled away during a searing kiss, claiming they couldn‟t possibly have sex in the middle of the day. Flynn had to bite his tongue, remembering Gable‟s admission from the previous night that he and Grant had had sex everywhere around the ranch, at every hour of the day, but he didn‟t want to break Gable‟s uplifted spirits. It left him hungry for more, though. Lots more. Still, Flynn was pretty sure that good things were worth waiting for, and that he‟d get what he wanted later, after their work was done.
    That time came