Earth and Sky

time together, they also had to get some work done, and taking all day to ride along the fence line would look a bit suspicious to anyone taking notice.

    They rode in silence for a while, dismounting a few times to check on things a little closer up, but it wasn’t until they found an obvious break in the fence and were wiring it back together that Grant finally found the courage to speak again.

    “I went to see Gable in the hospital last weekend.”

    “Oh?” Hunter reacted, clearly trying to be casual about it.

    “There was a message on my voicemail saying he was admitted again and doing quite badly, so I had to go see and make sure he wasn’t going to die or something.” They weren’t looking at each other, and Grant didn’t dare to check Hunter’s reaction.

    “Is that where you were for four days?”

    “No,” Grant said definitely. “I went there on the way back home. Back here,” he corrected himself. He couldn’t think of Hunter’s ranch as home yet. That would be way too forward.

    “I heard from Flynn that they had to rush Gable back to the hospital, but that was a while ago. How’s he doing?”

    Grant shrugged. “Still in intensive care.”

    “Wow,” Hunter replied, taking off his hat to scratch his hair. “We keep an eye on his horses, but I didn’t think he was in such bad shape.”

    “Flynn seems to think he’ll be okay eventually, but he’s still pretty worried.”

    “You two talked?” Hunter said, clearly surprised, since he stopped what he was doing to stare at Grant.

    “He planted his fist against my jaw first. Can’t say I blame him,” Grant said with a serious face, and rubbed his jaw at the memory. “I bet Gable’s told him some horror stories about me.”

    Hunter went to his saddlebag and took out a thermos of coffee. He sat down on a fallen tree trunk and poured a cup. He gestured for Grant to join him. “So what happened between Gable and you?” Hunter asked, a little hesitantly.

    Grant shrugged. “We didn’t have some sort of torrid love affair, Hunter.”

    “I know,” Hunter replied.

    “We were both lonely and sex was easy, but we weren’t in love. At least I thought we weren’t. I guess I was wrong about him.”

    “Judging from how miserable he was, I think he loved you,” Hunter said softly.

    Grant noticed there wasn’t any sort of reproach in Hunter’s voice, and he had to admit he was glad of it. “He was very closed off. Didn’t share his feelings. I swear I never knew how he felt about me. I never knew he felt more than lust.”

    Hunter handed Grant the cup of coffee and then put his warm hand on Grant’s thigh. It was a comforting touch, and Hunter didn’t speak. They just sat there and shared the coffee. They sat for a long time without speaking, but Grant had to admit it wasn’t entirely uncomfortable.

    After all the coffee was finished, Hunter got up. “I guess us country boys aren’t very good at sharing our feelings, hey?”

    Grant looked at Hunter and then surveyed their surroundings. When he was satisfied they were completely alone and nobody could see them, he took a step toward Hunter, and when Hunter didn’t step away from him, he put his hand on the back of Hunter’s head and pulled him into a kiss. There was nothing hesitant about their exchange. By the time they pulled apart, Grant was so turned on he was about ready to rip the shirt off Hunter’s back. In fact, he noticed he’d dislodged one corner of it from Hunter’s jeans already, so he pointed at it and smiled.

    Hunter returned the smile and tucked it back into place.

    “We really need to get away this weekend,” Grant said quietly.

    “I’d like that,” Hunter admitted before reluctantly turning around and mounting his horse again.

    They rode back in silence, and after taking care of their horses, they went their separate ways. Hunter had books to do, and Grant needed to help bring in the hay from the meadows so they’d have food for the horses during the winter.

    He didn’t see Hunter again until Friday evening, when everyone picked up their paychecks. He’d been looking forward to Friday all week, anticipating the weekend to come and remembering Hunter’s promise that they’d take Saturday off to go somewhere together. When he came face to face with Hunter, his handsome boss didn’t say anything, though, so Grant lingered around the office.

    “Do we need to do Saturday chores before we leave tomorrow, or is someone