AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Someone's coming to get him, Cels," West said, shooting Seth a grateful wink. He tucked the phone between his head and neck, ran the card through his system, and handed Seth a receipt.
"Careful when you drop him off," he warned cheerfully, "The Triple M's crew is moving cattle today, and they're short-handed. They'll conscript anyone who gets too close."
Seth chuckled and slung the saddle over one shoulder. "Thanks for the warning."
After all this time, it felt strange to be trusted with anything, even something so simple as a ride.
As Seth headed out toward Lone Hollow Road, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd misjudged too many people. Maybe as much as they'd misjudged him. The initial knee-jerk vitriol he'd been subjected to after his father's death had felt like a betrayal, but maybe he'd allowed those first few months of gossip and ostracization to taint his perspective on the whole town. His father had always been an independent man, but he'd preached the importance of community. He'd always lent a helping hand when needed, and his neighbors had tried to repay him in his own time of crisis. They'd suffered with Seth's family, offering decades of handed-down expertise, veterinary services, home remedies, and freezer meals. Anything they could think of to keep the herd from completely dying off. When that failed, they took time from their farms to haul carcasses. Animal husbandry was a religion in these parts, and people were angry, but they still showed up when needed. In his own grief and anger, Seth had forgotten about that.
His guilt and shame had caused him to push everyone away—even Aiden. Especially Aiden.
Seth's desire for him had bordered on obsession, enabling the worst in both of them. Aiden was a loose cannon, acting out just to piss off his mother, flirting with anyone who offered a scrap of attention. Seth couldn't protect him from his choices forever, especially not with his own reputation in tatters. So, he cut him loose. It seemed like the right decision, but he didn't realize it would stop time for them both. All these years later, their lives were frozen exactly how he'd left them. Like they were waiting for another chance.
Seth had never given his sexuality much thought before Aiden, and he still didn't. In all this time, Seth had never enjoyed touching anyone else. Man or woman, it didn't matter. They weren't Aiden. He'd been built for only one man. He might have fallen in love with the way Aiden laughed, but he didn't fall in love with him because he laughed. He loved him for no good reason at all. He'd met him. That was all the reason he needed to love him.
The wind had picked up, and clouds were moving fast. Huge, fluffy snowflakes began to sprinkle down from the sky, melting in splotches as soon as they struck the windshield. He flicked on the wipers and started up the heat despite being comfortable in his jacket. Aiden would be freezing by the time Seth got to him.
The lone figure of a man trudging through the roadside slush materialized out of the snowfall. He was hunched against the cold, hat smashed low on his forehead, and his hands were shoved deep into his pockets.
Seth's heart twisted. It reminded him of the day they met. Seth had spotted Aiden walking to his after-school job dozens of times, but something about his slumped shoulders that day had motivated Seth to pull over and offer a lift. That single decision had changed his life, starting a domino effect of love and lust that hurled him off a cliff. But even now, he'd never do anything differently.
He'd pull over for Aiden every time.
Chapter Fifteen
SETH
With a pang of nostalgia, Seth eased the truck to the side of the road and rolled down the passenger window. "Hop in," he said gruffly.
Aiden's lips were chapped, and his cheeks were red from cold, but he didn't seem grateful. He looked annoyed. "I told Celia not to send anyone," he said irritably.
"Looks like she listens as well as you," Seth drawled, reaching across the seat to throw open the door. "I'm already here, so get in."
Aiden hesitated, looking conflicted, and Seth wondered if he was thinking about the kiss they'd shared. Was he regretting it? Or was he dying for just one more taste, like Seth had been since the moment he forced himself to stop?
As if he'd read his thoughts, Aiden licked his lips, and then he smiled. "Can't say no to an invitation like that."
While he climbed inside on a gust of wind and snow, Seth dug around in his glovebox for a tube of chapstick he used after long days in bad weather. "Here," he said with a casual toss.
Aiden fumbled the tube and then stared down at it, perplexed.
"For your lips," Seth grunted, gesturing vaguely toward his mouth before looking away fast. He was about to shift back into drive when Aiden grabbed him by the hand and pressed the tube into his palm.
"My fingers are frozen. Put it on for me," he said, grinning like a blue-eyed devil.
Seth glared at him, utterly betrayed by the way his cock twitched beneath his zipper. "Flirt," he hissed.
"Yeah, so what? That's nothing new. Help a guy out." Aiden waggled his eyebrows and puckered his lips in an exaggerated fish face.
Seth wanted to laugh and maybe smear the ointment in his ear just to teach him a lesson. It would put them back on the familiar ground of old friendship, marked by practical jokes and games of gay chicken, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not when he had an excuse to touch him again.
With a steadying breath, Seth uncapped the tube and leaned close. The air between them crackled with an invisible charge, drawing him forward and lifting the hair on the back of his neck.
"Hold still," Seth murmured in a voice that sounded too rough in his own ears. He inexpertly pressed the tube to Aiden's mouth, shocked anew by how pliant they felt beneath the slightest pressure.
Aiden's breath was a warm, amused puff against Seth's knuckles. "You're good at this," he mumbled with a hint of a smile on his lips.
"Don't move," Seth muttered, using his thumb to wipe a smear from the corner of Aiden's mouth.
