Sam's car was parked behind the bushes, and he was still hidden from sight. It might have been a little too cautious of him, but he didn't want to reveal himself needlessly.
The car didn't pass him by though. It slowed and Sam got worried. His heart started to race. He couldn't see the driver, so he had a good look at the car instead. The car was a tan Nissan Rogue. It looked new even if it did have some road dirt on it.
Brian wouldn't have a nice, new car like that, but as long as the driver remained a mystery, Sam couldn't convince himself that it somehow couldn't still be him.
When he finally saw a blond, well built man step out of the car, Sam only breathed a little easier. He was still a stranger, and God knows what he might be up to.
He watched the good-looking man stand by his car and stretch for a second like someone who had been driving for a long time. The man then went to the back of his SUV and leaned into the back seat. Soon a little fuzzy, white dog jumped out of the car and Sam grinned.
The man crouched and petted the dog. "Look, a whole field for you to pee on. How great is that?" he said as he put a leash on the little dog.
"So I guess I should watch my step," Sam said. He wanted to announce his presence and not startle the guy and his dog, but he did anyway.
The man jumped a little then spotted him coming out from among the bushes. He gave Sam an intense, blue eyed stare then he smiled apologetically. "Oh hi. Sorry. We've been on the road a while," the man said. "We didn't mean to intrude or trespass." Maybe he thought Sam owned the field.
"Me either. It's not my field. If you're trespassing, then I am too. I was just picking these," Sam told him.
Seeing the armful of branches he carried, the man said, "They look interesting."
"They're firethorn berries, and they're poisonous, so keep your dog away from them." Sam was glad he knew to tell him that. He'd hate for such a nice dog to get himself into trouble.
"Did you hear that?" the guy asked his dog then he turned to Sam. "Thanks for the warning. For a minute there, I was thinking of letting him off the leash so he could run around on his own. Now I know better."
"He seems like a good dog," Sam said.
"He is and he wants to say hello to you," the guy let his dog get closer and rest his front paws on Sam's shins so he could look up at him.
"Hello, there," Sam said to him and he wished he could pet him, but he had all those thorny branches to keep away from him.
"His name is Barney, and he has never seen such open places. He's a city dog. Aren't you?" the man said and then got down to rub the dog's side and kiss the top of his head. When he stood up again, he frowned at Sam's arms. "You got scratched up."
"That's nothing. It's for a good cause. My employer asked me to get her these. She's been good to me, so I don't mind," Sam said. He caught himself smiling at the man because he looked so concerned.
The guy had startled him when he pulled off the road so close to where he was, but he seemed nice and his dog was sweet. Glancing all around, the guy now looked a little uneasy, especially when his sad, blue eyes stared off into the distance.
There was nothing there that would make Sam uneasy. In that direction, the fields stretched out to the horizon. There were plenty of hills dotting the landscape in other directions, but Sam liked the flat, open spaces to the west. They gave him peace of mind.
"We've been traveling for a while. This seems like a nice area," the man said, but he seemed kind of doubtful of that.
"It is. It's very peaceful," Sam told him. He wanted to keep talking to this guy, but he couldn't think of any excuse to keep hanging out there. Plus his shift would be starting soon. He had nearly forgotten about that.
When he set out for this spot, he had planned to be back in plenty of time. Now he might be late. It had been a while since a good-looking guy could distract him so easily. To Sam, guys like this one were like firethorn bushes -- enticing but dangerous.
Sam noticed that the dog was now straining at his leash. "Looks like your dog is ready for that walk," he pointed out.
"He's reminding me why we came out here," the man said.
"Bye, Barney," Sam told him as he went off with his firethorn branches. Setting them on the passenger side, he got behind the wheel of his old Honda and realized that he had learned the dog's name but not his handsome owner's.
Oh well, it wasn't like Sam would ever see him again. He was probably just passing through. Most likely the man would continue on this road, blow right past the little town of Peach Tree and never look back.
Chapter 2
Wyatt didn't have high hopes for life in a small town, but that bathroom break for Barney might have raised his hopes just a little. If that guy lived anywhere around there, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Or Wyatt might never run into him again, and if he did, he might find out that the guy was straight.
Wyatt sighed. This wouldn't be like the places where he used to live, where the next good-looking gay guy was just around the corner. Living in a small town, he might have to get through a lot of lonely nights.
They were pretty close to Peach Tree, when Wyatt turned to his little passenger. "We're almost there. I bet you can't wait," he said to Barney.
