Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 10

feel free to tuck into…whatever."
    I surveyed the food spread out on top of a checked tablecloth. There were bowls of chips, guacamole, salsa, salad, ears of corn waiting to go on the grill, alongside two steaks resting in marinade. The potatoes, wrapped in foil, already nestled in the smoldering charcoal.
    "Jeez, you've done quite a spread here."
    "I thought we deserved it with you being busy with the bed and breakfast, and me trying to get these horses sorted out. It's not like we've had much time to sit down and talk even though we live in the same house."
    "True enough." I sipped the wine and reached for a chip.
    Will left the grill and sat down across the table. He'd changed into something a bit less ranchified—jeans, a pale cotton shirt and not a hat to be seen. Instead of the habitual, dusty boots, he was barefoot. "Well, here's to a nice evening." He touched his glass to mine.
    "I'll drink to that."
    He scooped up some guacamole with a chip. "So, are the guests okay?"
    "They seem okay. They've all disappeared off into town for something to eat."
    "Good." Will took another chip. "Hope you're hungry."
    "Starving." I helped myself to a piece of bread.
    Will leaned on the table. The breeze rose a little and toyed with his hair. "Are you happy here?"
    "That came out of left field."
    So did his foot, which covered mine.
    "You just seem…I don't know…more settled."
    "I guess I am. I like it here. I like having something to do." I returned his appraising stare, liking that his eyes were amber in the soft, gold light. The shirt was open at the neck to reveal just enough sun-touched skin, dark against the pale fabric.
    "Do you think you'll stay a while?" He curled his fingers around the stem of his wine glass.
    I slid my foot from beneath his and touched his ankle. "I don't know. I'm not sure yet."
    "I'd like you to stay." Will's smile faded to something altogether more serious. He reached across the table and curled his fingers through mine. "Am I being too pushy?"
    I stared at him while I tried to find the right words and put them in the right order. "Where's this coming from? I didn't even know you were gay."
    He brushed his thumb over my knuckles and studied our entangled fingers. "Being gay isn't something you tend to fess up to around here. Being attracted to someone living in the same house isn't easy to own up to either."
    The feelings stirred by his touch warred with common sense. My first instinct was to run. Instead, I let my hand remain. "No, I guess not."
    "What do you reckon? Will you stay?"
    I took a deep breath and looked at him. "Can we just see how it goes? I walked away from a train wreck a few months ago. Everything still hurts a little, you know?"
    Will withdrew his hand. "Sure. I understand."
    I retrieved his hand and held it between mine. "I'm not saying no. I wouldn't still be sitting here if I didn't want to give things a chance."
    "Really?"
    "Really." I raised his hand to my lips and kissed his knuckles. His warm skin smelt of sunlight and horses.
    Will unfurled his fingers and touched my cheek. "Thank you." His hand fell away. "I'd best see to our dinner while I can still see what I'm doing." He picked up the dish with the corn and placed the cobs carefully on a corner of the grill.
    I watched him tend to the corn. His faded jeans did little to conceal the smooth curve of his ass and his long, slender thighs. It took another mouthful of wine to tear my gaze away. The steaks sizzled when Will placed them on the grill. The aroma of garlic rose into the evening air.
    "What do you reckon?" Will flipped the steaks. "Will that do you?"
    "Hell yes. I can't remember the last time I had a steak."
    He placed a steak and ear of corn on my plate before taking the potatoes from the coals. "Here you go. You need feeding up."
    "Um…thanks." I took the plate and applied butter to the corn and potato.
    Will joined me at the table and spooned salad onto his plate, before sliding the bowl toward me. "Dig in."
    "I intend to." I addressed the steak first.
    We ate in silence, both intent on enjoying every morsel. The steak tasted of charcoal and garlic and the corn was sweet. Will's foot rested against mine beneath the table. I was all right with that. I was pretty much all right with everything.
    Will pushed his empty plate away. "That hit the spot."
    "It certainly did." I glanced at my nearly empty plate. All that remained was a stray wedge of tomato. "I think I needed that."
    "I think we both did." He