Earth and Sky

not like you’re jetting off to Las Vegas for a week. It’ll be just like going to an auction or to the county fair.” Grant paused to check Hunter’s reaction, but Hunter’s face remained impassive. “Unless you don’t want to go and spend time with me?”

    A doubtful smile broke on Hunter’s face as he seemed to think of something. “I’ll go. On one condition.”

    “Shoot,” Grant said, feeling apprehensive.

    “I want some straight answers.”

    “Sure,” Grant shrugged. “What do you want to know?”

    “I want to know what happened that day Gable had his accident and you left him. And I want the truth this time.”

    “You think I was lying?”

    Hunter shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t know. I just don’t know if I can be with someone who leaves his lover at the first hurdle. What if something happened to me, Grant? What if I fell off a tractor or got thrown by a horse and landed on one of the troughs? What if I got so hurt I’d need someone to take care of me? Would it be you?”

    Grant felt anger boiling inside him. He’d tried to explain it to Hunter, but it clearly wasn’t enough. How could he explain everything that had happened when he didn’t even know it all himself?

    “You don’t trust me? Well, I can’t exactly make you,” Grant replied, raising his hands in defeat. He had to get away from Hunter before his anger became impossible to hide, so he walked outside into the early fall sunshine. There were clouds on the horizon, and Grant was afraid of roaring thunder of more than one kind.

    He’d been looking forward to spending some time with Hunter away from the ranch, both because screwing your boss was a little hard when he was playing boss all the time and because the sneaking around was getting to him. Being discreet was one thing, but not having a place to share some private time was harder than he’d thought.

    Once outside the stable block, he felt a little lost. All the work was done, and taking one of the horses out for a run wasn’t an option, since all the riding horses were back in the stables and he didn’t want to see Hunter right now. His second option was the wood shop. He could start on what he’d intended to do once he had the time: sort all the scrap wood into piles of useful and not-too-useful wood.

    Usually working hard was what cleared his head, but this time it wasn’t enough. Was it time to leave and find another job? Maybe he could move closer to where he’d come from, so he wouldn’t need to drive through the night every few weekends. It would certainly help him sleep more, and maybe he would be able to make it for visits more often too.

    Grant wiped the sweat off his brow and pulled his fleece sweater over his head.

    “Need a hand?”

    Grant looked up at Hunter standing in the doorway. Hunter didn’t look too sure of himself, and Grant checked his watch just to tear his eyes away from the man he knew he loved. He was surprised to see that more than an hour had passed.

    “Or do you need breakfast first?”

    Grant smiled. Hunter was right. He was hungry enough to eat a horse, which was no surprise, since he’d pretty much worked for four hours straight.

    “Give me a few minutes to clean up and I’ll take you out to Barnaby’s.”

    The smile spreading on Hunter’s face was the reason he’d asked to go out. Grant would do anything for that smile. He picked up his sweater and skirted around Hunter, who smiled even wider as he turned to keep watching as Grant made his way to the crew house.

    He didn’t have time for a shower, but in between taking his dusty clothes off and exchanging them for another pair of jeans and a clean shirt, he threw some water on his face and washed his armpits and his neck. It would have to do. He couldn’t waste time on frivolities in case Hunter changed his mind again.

    Once outside, he found Hunter leaning against his truck, a faraway smile on his face. “I told Bernie I was taking you to go look at some breeding mares in Billings. And I told her I didn’t know whether we’d be back before tomorrow.”

    Grant smiled broadly. “I should have packed some extra clothes.”

    Hunter leaned toward Grant as he passed him. “I don’t intend to keep you in these clothes for long, so they’ll keep for tomorrow.”

    Grant raised his eyebrows. “I’m hungry.”

    Hunter smiled some more. “Well, you better eat your fill at breakfast then. Should we warn Barnaby’s to stock up before