His gaze meets mine while he drinks, and I’m drawn to the column of his throat as he swallows. “To friendship,” I return and take a drink while we walk to the Mercantile along Main Street.
He’s still drinking the cream soda, so he’s not a monster, at least.
Ethan’s head is on a swivel as he takes in everything as we walk. He reminds me of a curious child, always stopping to look and ask questions. I don’t mind, though. I was born and raised here and can tell him almost anything he asks. Even how often the city park gets mowed, if he cares to ask.
He stops outside the Mercantile to take a photo with his phone. Ethan takes a lot of photos, I’ve noticed, since we stopped and parked. Sometimes of the weirdest things, like the fire hydrant painted like a fish head, and now the sign on the store. It must be exhausting to always view your world through a camera lens like that.
“Why do you take so many pictures?”
Ethan pockets his phone and tilts his head to study me. “Because it’s mostly my job. I use them to create content.”
There’s that phrase again. Am I really such an old school ranch type that I’ve missed something so vital there’s a job for it?
“Um…what does that mean exactly?”
Ethan’s eyes widen. “Do you own a cell phone at all, Colt? A computer?”
I know my cheeks are flamingred because I’ve had this talk with Jesse and the guys on the ranch many times. “I own both, but I, ah…I don’t use them much.”
Ethan remains quiet for a moment. “You don’t use them,” he states flatly.
“Right.”
His brows scrunch as if I’ve just asked him to answer a complicated math equation.
“So how do you keep in touch with people if you don’t use a phone or computer? Or find out what’s happening in the world?”
“Well, I work with the people I’d need to know about, mostly. I come downtown like this and talk to people sometimes. Then I’m up to date on local news.” Ethan seems glued to my response, and I feel a little self-conscious over his rapt attention. “I can go to websites sometimes if I want to order things, but I try to give my business to the local shops, and to be honest… I often forget to charge my phone.”
I don’t know many people who would want to call me. Just Uncle Albert or his retirement home. If they try my phone and don’t reach me, they usually call Gunner, who comes to find me, then gently reminds me I need to carry the dang thing more.
Other than that, there aren’t exactly legions of people I need to keep in touch with so much to carry a phone. I turn it on when I remember and check for messages, but that’s about it. Most of the time, I forget it at home.
Ethan nods and claps me on the shoulder. “Well, I guess I’ll show you content as I create it. Then you’ll know what it is I do.” He winks and leans closer. “Maybe I can even get you carrying your phone and doing it, too.”
I can’t contain the laugh that sputters out over his confidence with me and a cell phone. “Not likely.” I gesture to the steps in front of us. “So this is the place to get what you need for ranch life. When’s the last time you’ve been on a horse?”
Now it’s Ethan’s turn to be embarrassed. We enter the store together, and he huffs a laugh with a quick glance my way. “Does it count if it was a pony at the fair when I was ten?”
My feet stop moving, and I stare at Ethan. “You’ve never ridden? Ever?”
He shakes his head with a shy smile and empties his soda. “I’ve never wanted to try it, I guess? I had some friends into rodeo back in Canada, but like…I never asked about riding their horses. I was just happy to watch.”
“Wow.” I didn’t think Jesse would hire someone so green for this job. Not that he needs to be a seasoned horseback rider, but some kind of experience would be nice. How do you promote a ranch or a trail ride adventure if you don’t know a thing about horses? “I assume you want to learn now, though, right? Jesse told me to show you all the best things about the ranch, and that’s going to involve being on a horse.”
Ethan grins, and I like how his eyes crinkle at the sides. Like he spends more time happy than not, and my fingers grip my soda bottle tighter.
“Hell yeah, I do! Show me what I need here to be a proper horseback rider. Let’s do this.”
For the next hour, I lead him through the store and ask questions about what he owns and what he doesn’t. He chooses mostly jeans and long-sleeved shirts while we wander, and I leave the cowboy boots until the end because they aren’t really a necessity. He could buy something cheaper and just as functional and get the boots later, but he’s already asking the woman working for sizes and sitting to try them on before I finish telling him that.
“You know, there’s just something about a man in cowboy boots, isn’t there? I should’ve bought some years ago.” He looks me dead in the face and says, “Don’t you think the boots are sexy, Colt?”
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, and my ribs try to escape my chest. The woman arrives with Ethan’s boots, and it’s all I can do to whisper, “I’ll be outside.”
Somehow, I make it outside without creating a scene. Once on the sidewalk, I lean against the building and suck air back into my lungs. Was I imagining the look in his eye? I don’t think so. He’s flirting with me and…well, I don’t know how I feel about that.
The easiest way for me to deal with these kinds of situations is to leave. Just like I did now, by walking out. The difference this time is that I have to keep seeing him for months. He won’t just go away. He’s not some random guy I worked up the courage to leave with, knowing I’d never see him again.
