Clouds and Rain

Flynn felt that it was practically ready. Although the look Gable gave Flynn, almost asking 16

    Clouds and Rain

    him whether he was satisfied now simply by his intense stare, stopped Flynn from opening the discussion again, Flynn knew he had to test it on some of the older horses, the three- and four-year-olds that were ready to be sold.
    Outside, the thunderstorm seemed to abate a bit, but the rain kept coming down in steady sheets. There was no use fretting over the horses. They were fairly calm in their meadow and it wasn‟t like there was space to bring them all inside; besides, they were working horses and they lived outside even during winter, albeit sheltered by a sturdy lean-to. Flynn turned away from the window and huddled into his blankets, trying to get cozy enough to sleep, but when that didn‟t work, he pushed his hand between his legs and touched himself. As he closed his eyes, he let the image of Gable‟s sinewy body invade his mind, imagining joining him under that shower. It made him rock hard and terribly turned on. His release didn‟t leave him all that satisfied, but it did make him drowsy enough to drift off to sleep.

    TWO hours after fleeing to his bedroom, Gable was still on the bed, fully clothed and wondering what had happened to the time. It was dark outside now and the wind was blowing hard around the house, slamming the rain against the window. Why had the kid done that?
    Why had Flynn tried to comfort him? He always thought he‟d kept his emotions in check quite nicely around him.
    Oh, who was he kidding? For almost a year now, he‟d managed to not think of Grant. In the hospital he‟d simply decided to banish the man from his thoughts, and most of the time, he‟d succeeded.
    Somehow, this kid brought it all back. Flynn was smaller than Grant, but he had the same teasing smile and unruly black, curly hair. Grant had been a drifter too, yet he‟d stayed for a while. Could he hope the same for Flynn? He could do without the heartache of him leaving, though.
    Gable just had to look around the ranch to notice how good it looked now. Flynn was a godsend. The stables actually looked like they got regular maintenance, the horses were happy, and even Bridget 17

    Zahra Owens

    wagged her tail at him. Gable didn‟t remember how long it‟d been since his house looked habitable. Actually, he did. Before the accident, he used to do the cleaning, since Grant wasn‟t all that house-proud.
    Grant had always taken it for granted that he‟d have a clean house and clean clothes and Gable seriously doubted that he had ever given a thought to who had actually done all these things for him.
    Gable sat up on the bed and started taking his shirt off. He winced as his foot hit the floor a lot harder than usual and cursed himself for being so distracted. He let his head drop into his hands and sighed. He couldn‟t let his emotions get to him anymore. He simply had to stop thinking about Grant. And about Flynn too.
    The next morning Gable got up early, since he couldn‟t sleep anyway. He bypassed the kitchen, despite the tempting smell that was already drifting out of it, and saddled Brenner, his brown stallion, to go take a look at the herd.
    It took more than an hour of walking his horse between the other animals for him to be sure they were all okay, then another two hours of riding along the fences before he was calm and satisfied that all was well and he could return to the stables.
    He had just cleared the trees when he saw Flynn exit the stable block, followed by a tall, dark man. Gable turned his horse around immediately, not wanting the two men to notice him, but curiosity won in the end. He rode a little closer and recognized the stranger. Hunter owned the ranch next door, a much bigger place than Gable‟s, and he always came by to get the first pick of the herd. He‟d buy a few horses for his wranglers and a few more that caught his eye and that he thought he could sell for a profit. He was probably here to buy some more now.
    Hunter was also an incorrigible flirt, in an unassuming sort of way. Right now he was putting the moves on Flynn, and although Gable knew Hunter wasn‟t gay, he felt his stomach clench. Despite what it did to him, Gable couldn‟t look away. Flynn was smiling, possibly even urging Hunter on. Flynn was leaning against the doorpost and Hunter was standing fairly close to him, his hand resting on the same doorpost as he was saying something that made Flynn