Page 160 of Nothing Special X: The Last Stand

He took a couple of steps and his thighs objected immediately.

Fox grinned. “Feels great, huh?”

“Shut up.”

Syn led Nimbus into the grooming bay, brushing him down with more confidence than yesterday. He cleaned dust from his coat, checked the tack under Fox’s watchful eye, and fed him cold apple slices.

Nimbus took them all from his palm with warm, ticklish lips, then nibbled at Syn’s pocket in search for more.

Fox laughed from Diablo’s stall. “He likes you.”

I like him too.

Syn stroked Nimbus’s warm flank.

“You know,” Fox said, not looking at him, “Walker wasn’t just running his mouth at breakfast.”

“What do you mean?”

“The sheriff position.” Fox glanced at him then. “County needs somebody. Interim guy’s been warming that seat, collecting the benefits, but he doesn’t know shit about honoring a badge.”

Syn’s hand slowed.

Fox noticed his reaction. Of course he did.

“Comes with a decent salary, a quieter kind of trouble, and if you ask Walker, probably a free horse. Nimbus could use a rider.”

Syn didn’t answer.

But the words settled somewhere that was lacking inside.

Fox didn’t push.

Once Nimbus was settled, Syn washed his hands, grabbed a towel, and headed in the direction of the petting area.

Fox smirked.

“Not one word.”

Fox put his hands up in surrender.

Syn left him there and crossed the yard.

Of course Furi had drawn a crowd. He wasn’t trying to, it just happened.

Kids hovered around him as if he worked there, asking about the animals, whether the goats knew their names. Does bacon really come from pigs? Are chickens always in a bad mood? Is the donkey married? Why is his hair so long? Did he ride a motorcycle like the one tattooed on his forearm? A little girl asked if he was a cowboy vampire because he was so cute.

A few grown-ups lingered too, pretending to have an interest in rabbits while stealing glances at him. The women whispered and fawned over him, their husbands fumed.

Syn stopped near the fence. Furi handed the feed cup to Amelia, brushed grass from his jeans, and came to him.

His eyes warmed and his lips curved easily. The attention he’d been giving everyone else folded inward until it all belonged to Syn.

“Are you leaving?” One little boy pouted.

Furi smiled down at him. “For a little while.”

The girl who thought he was a vampire pointed at Syn. “Is that your boyfriend?”