Running Wild

long for Seamus to move on after their breakup as it was.
He had to laugh, thinking of how he’d toyed with the idea of calling Pete about Ri being Zachariah’s grandson. Right now, he didn’t want Pete to have an inkling of Ri’s existence. It was hard for Seamus to pinpoint why he felt that way. Especially given he was pissed off at Ri’s strange behavior. He was pissed off at Pete too, so they were even.
“I drove two hours.”
“I know it’s a two-hour drive from Winnipeg,” Seamus responded. “I didn’t ask you to make it.”
“No,” Pete acknowledged. “Your mother did. She thinks you need company.”
“Gawd.” Seamus leaned on the counter for a moment, taking it in. He supposed he should be happy his mother was matchmaking with another guy. There’d been a couple of years there where she’d thought unsubtle pushes towards the opposite sex would straighten Seamus out and have him falling in love with some woman.
“Thanks a lot, Seamus.” Pete looked hurt.
“I don’t want my mother interfering in my life! You wouldn’t either.” Pete’s mother was as laidback as they got.
Okay, neglectful might be the better word, Seamus acknowledged. Pete had liked Seamus’s parents because, well, they had parented. But he didn’t want to go down this route either, feeling sorry for his ex and his lousy childhood.
Pete’s mouth quirked, though without humor, at the talk of mothers. “I wouldn’t know what an interfering mother is like.”
“Exactly.”
“Okay, look. Stop sulking. I’m here, let’s have some kind of visit before I take off. Seriously, your mother’s worried that you’re lonely and desperate.”
“Desperate?” Seamus became offended. “Desperate about what?”
“That wasn’t clear.” Pete’s amusement shone through. “Though I’ll admit she got me worried. One of the reasons I drove over.”
Seamus sighed, assessing Pete’s words. Pete was insensitive but he wasn’t all bad. And he had had this protective streak, overbearing though it was. “Thank you for your concern. Call next time.”
Pete stepped towards him, and Seamus shook his head.
With raised eyebrows, Pete asked, “Someone new in your life your mother doesn’t know about?”
Again Seamus shook his head, though the first thing his mind had to go to was Ri, sitting at the kitchen table in a T-shirt, all ripped muscle and lean body, his brown eyes and sharp cheekbones giving him an almost exotic appearance, despite everything about him saying Manitoba farming stock.
“You were never good at dissembling, let alone lying. But I’ll leave you be. Any coffee?”
“Only instant.”
Pete pulled a face. “Coke?”
“Yep.” Seamus grabbed two cans from the fridge. “Let’s go to the back porch.”
“Sure, if you don’t think Man o’ War will return to trample me.”
“I think he’s gone.”
They sat down and proceeded to catch up on each other’s lives.
A half hour later their conversation stuttered to a halt. Pete didn’t get why Seamus was here and had apparently made it his mission to understand Seamus’s current goals in life. Working a summer job was one thing, Pete opined. Vacationing or considering a new livelihood was quite another, and he disapproved, spoke like Seamus was living out at the edge of the postapocalyptic world and needed to be brought in from the cold. Okay, that was mixing science fiction and Cold War metaphors, but Seamus didn’t care, he just wanted his visitor to leave. Why Pete put energy into his disapproval of Seamus toying with idea of farming, Seamus could not fathom.
He cleared his throat as Pete looked at him. “So, are you ready to head out?”
Pete laughed. “I don’t know why you’re so keen to get rid of me. Are you worried someone might get the wrong idea?” He cast his gaze around. “Not that there’s anyone here or close by. Now that Thunderhead has thundered off.”
As if to contradict Pete’s words, from inside the house a door slammed shut. The noise surprised them both, and Pete’s entire demeanor changed, body on alert. He stood with a start, sniffing the air with that old gesture of his.
Why do you sniff the air, Pete?
Pete had always looked a bit embarrassed, though he’d blustered through with his answer of Because I have an excellent sense of smell more than once.
Of course, normally Seamus would have been concerned by such inside noises too, but this could only be Ri, returning during the day, as Seamus had asked him to. He’d work on