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caught doing something he shouldn‟t.
    Flynn shivered in the cold evening air and could only imagine how cold Gable was. “I wouldn‟t have suggested the outside shower exactly….”
    “Yeah, I know. I didn‟t realize it was this cold until I took my clothes off.” Gable chuckled as he quickly looked at Flynn and then looked away again.
    “Will you be okay getting back inside? Maybe you should come inside to dry off and get dressed, because it‟s freezing!” Gable nodded and Flynn reluctantly left him outside. A few minutes later Flynn heard the familiar tick-tock-step sound of Gable‟s crutches and waited as long as he could in the kitchen before walking into the living room. By that time, Gable was half-dressed, and although he was discreet about it, Flynn couldn‟t help but notice how he tugged the leg of his trousers down over his stump as soon as he saw Flynn.
    “You know, I don‟t mind seeing it. Your leg,” Flynn elaborated as he sat down on the bed next to Gable.
    “Well, I do,” Gable replied curtly.
    “I suppose I‟ve had more time to get used to it,” Flynn shrugged, trying to make light of the situation. “I saw it right after the operation and then when it was healing….”
    Gable scooted further up the bed and away from Flynn, but Flynn put his hand on the cloth-covered stump. He purposely didn‟t look at Gable‟s face, knowing it could show anything from surprise to disgust, but when Gable didn‟t pull away, Flynn put his hand inside the trouser leg and did look Gable in the face. Feeling the stump was strange, but he hoped he could keep his face from displaying any emotions.
    “It‟s a part of you, Gable.”
    Gable‟s eyes welled up and he looked away. “Well, I can‟t deal with that part of me right now.”

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    “Don‟t you want to walk again? Be able to leave those cumbersome crutches behind?”
    Gable didn‟t respond.
    “We‟re going to have to call Craig soon, because the longer you wait, the harder it‟s going to be.”
    Gable nodded and Flynn could tell he was fighting his emotions.
    “You don‟t have to do this alone, Gable. I‟m right here for you.” Flynn let go of Gable‟s leg and moved up the bed so he could put his arms around Gable. Although any other time it would have felt stifling, now Flynn reveled in feeling Gable cling to him.

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    Chapter 16

    GABLE pretended to be asleep the next morning. As usual, Flynn got up early to start work, and more often than not these days, Gable joined him for breakfast, but today Gable wasn‟t ready for the confrontation.
    It had been an emotional evening and he really didn‟t want to think about what had happened, but he couldn‟t shake it out of his mind. Flynn‟s revelation that he was making up for a mistake of his youth by taking care of him now wasn‟t the easiest news to take, but Gable had to admit that Flynn‟s care was just about the only thing that had kept him from killing himself.
    Flynn had stayed with him, holding him tightly against his chest, and Gable had slowly calmed down enough to talk. It was clear they‟d avoided the really important subjects, talking about the ranch and how everything was going and how Flynn would need to start working more to keep the ranch going now that the winter was almost over. Later, after Flynn had helped him upstairs and they‟d gone to bed, Flynn had again pulled him closer, this time with the objective of persuading him to call Craig, but Gable wasn‟t ready. He‟d agreed with Flynn, just to get him off his back, but his leg still hurt too much to learn to walk again. He was fine getting around on his crutches. He‟d done so for weeks after the accident and now that he was slowly feeling the strength return to his muscles, it was getting even easier.
    The mornings were long, though, and sitting by the window trying to catch a glimpse of what Flynn was doing near the barn and the lower paddocks only kept him occupied for so long. He knew he‟d be useless in the barn with his crutches, but he was longing to see Brenner and T.C. again and smell the horses. The snow had melted and he estimated he could make it there and then he could rest a bit before walking back. It was still reasonably cold outside, so Gable put on his 119

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    oilskin duster and started making his way to the barn. Despite his initial courage, he had to stop halfway there to catch his breath. He wasn‟t about to be defeated though,