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Seth smiled at that, and Aiden knew he was thinking of the same thing he was. Lazy summer trail rides and fishing in Copper Creek while Esta and Bandit grazed on nearby clumps of wild rye.
"How's he doing?" Seth asked, lips curling fondly. "I always knew he'd make a great cow horse."
"He's at my mom's place, mostly," Aiden said evasively, setting down his skis and adjusting his snow goggles over his eyes.
"Mostly?" Seth's gaze was laser sharp on Aiden's face, cataloging every twitch of his expression. "Why isn't he working at the Triple M with you?"
"Oh, you know…" Aiden said vaguely, helping himself to the coiled tow rope Seth had attached to his saddle with a tie strap. He clipped one end of the rope into his harness and gave it an experimental tug. "Let's do this. Don't take it easy on me, okay?"
"Aiden—"
"It's fine!" Aiden clipped into his ski bindings with a vicious stomp, taking advantage of every distraction to avoid meeting Seth's eyes. "You want to stand here jawing all day, or do you want to race? Just keep your eye on the prize."
Seth gave him a narrow-eyed look and tugged suddenly on the tow rope, sending Aiden reeling into him. When he spoke, it was a low, warning breath in Aiden's ear. "Don't worry about me. You just focus on not breaking your neck."
"Bet," Aiden said with a breathless laugh.
Chapter Eleven
SETH
"Ouch! You've got hands like meat hooks. Damn." Aiden hadn't stopped bitching the whole ride home, and it was starting to get on Seth's nerves.
It was dusk before he'd managed to pull Aiden off the practice course, but Aiden had already taken dozens of tumbles by then. One drunken week at a ski resort hadn't prepared him for the life of an extreme sports enthusiast as much as he'd hoped. Aiden had sprawled spread-eagle in the snow, panting for breath, and still, he'd clamored for another try.
"You want me to just drag your body through the snow this time?" Seth had asked skeptically, reining in Diamond and resting one arm across the saddle horn. "Because there ain't no way you're getting up after that last tumble."
"Shows what you know," Aiden had grumbled, attempting to roll over and give himself some leverage, but only flailing like a turtle flipped on its shell.
Ultimately, Seth was forced to put his foot down, and Aiden wasn't looking to forgive him for it any time soon.
"Quit whining," Seth said, pulling up in the wide gravel turn-around of the Shirleen Trailer Park and cutting the engine. Aiden's trailer sat kitty-corner at the edge of the lot, directly beneath a fluorescent light post. It hadn't changed since the day Seth helped him pick it out with his meager savings.
He came around the side of the truck to hold the door while Aiden battled his jammed seatbelt.
"I can do it myself," Aiden protested, irritably shoving away Seth's helping hands. He was moving stiffly, like an old man with his joints locked up from the cold. "You didn't have to drive me home."
"You can barely walk," Seth said. He kept his tone low, but a wash of anger still crept in despite his best efforts.
"So, I overdid it a little. No big deal." Aiden shrugged—or tried—but it was a lopsided mess.
Seth hadn't missed how he flinched every time they hit a pothole. Aiden braced himself against the frame of the truck as he stepped down, but his over-taxed knees instantly buckled beneath him.
Seth caught him by the elbows before he could crumble. "Stubborn as a fucking mule," he muttered.
Aiden laughed, sounding breathless, and said, "That last jump was a real sonofabitch, wasn't it?"
"Wouldn't have been so bad if you'd landed," Seth said wryly.
"I landed!" Aiden protested, elbowing Seth's support away and digging around in his jacket for the keys to his trailer.
"On your face." Seth jammed his hands in his pockets to stop himself from reaching out while Aiden hobbled up his doorstep. "I should've said no to that last run once I saw how tired you were."
"Why didn't you?" Aiden asked while he unlocked his front door.
"I don't know," Seth answered honestly. "I guess I just like watching you sweat."
Aiden hesitated. Uncertainty flashed across his face, as if he wasn't sure how to take the comment, and Seth couldn't help but feel a little smug; Aiden was so rarely tongue-tied. Seth loved his wild, free-spirited nature, and he'd always protected it no matter the cost, but a small part of him enjoyed knocking Aiden off balance. Making him vulnerable. It appealed to his animal side, calling to a part he always tried to keep tightly guarded. He wasn't a caveman, but all it took was one glance into those wide, blue eyes, and all he wanted was to put Aiden on his back, throat exposed, and pin him there. Keep him that way, soft and open, just for him. Fight to the death if anyone dared come close. He'd do it—happily. He'd have done it long ago if Aiden ever gave any indication that it was something he wanted. But he never did, not really; he was just a flirt by nature.
