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He returned to the living room with Elmer’s iced tea, which Elmer deliberately gulped like he hadn’t had a cold drink all day. Josiah ignored the display and showed Elmer how to adjust the bed with the controller, which someone had originally placed on the right side of the bed. Elmer’s weak side. After Josiah fixed it and Elmer was comfortable, Josiah perched on the foot of the bed and asked, “Do you have any questions for me?”
“You datin’ anyone?” Elmer asked.
Josiah’s brain stuttered for a few seconds. Technically? No, he and Seamus were living together and fucking, but he’d never call what they did dating. But was he technically single? “I’m not sure why that’s relevant to your care, but no, I’m not dating at the moment.”
“Just curious. You’re a good-looking fella. Didn’t know if there’d be someone around distracting you on your phone or whatever.”
“No. I may get the occasional text from my roommate, but I will never be too distracted to see to your care, Mr. Pe—Elmer. While I’m here, you are my top priority.”
“Good to know. You don’t mind workin’ with my son, do you?”
Michael rolled his eyes, a gesture Josiah only saw because of his position. Elmer couldn’t see him. “Why would I?” Josiah asked. He had an idea what the question referred to but couldn’t make himself say it first.
“‘Cuz the boy’s as queer as a three-dollar bill and always has been. Sometimes makes folks uncomfortable. Don’t want anyone around who’d shame him for being who he is.”
Josiah’s lips parted, and he glanced at Michael in time to see his surprise shift back into an expression of familiar patience. “Elmer, I have absolutely no problem with Michael being gay. He’s shown himself to a be a very kind, considerate person, and that’s what’s important. It doesn’t matter to me who he dates.”
“Good. Boy, where are you?”
Michael moved from his spot by the kitchen archway and stood near the TV, in Elmer’s line of sight. “Right here, Dad.”
Elmer pointed at Josiah. “You be nice to this one. I like him.”
“I have no intention of being anything less than nice to Josiah, I promise. I like him, too. Might have found someone able to put up with your grumpy ass.”
“Hmph.”
Josiah smiled, amused by the banter between father and son, aware the pair had a decades-long separation to work through. Hopefully, with enough time and patience, they would come out better on the other side.
Chapter Five
After his first full day at the ranch, Michael was pretty sure that his four-days-a-week workouts at a paid gym was kid’s play compared to how sore and abused his body felt, and all he’d done was work around the barn. Then again, mucking horse stalls and hauling around bags of feed wasn’t the same as squats or running on a treadmill. Very different muscle groups were used, and he was pretty sure his arms might fall off on the drive home.
Dad had still been fast asleep when Josiah arrived that morning with a small lunch box and thermos of coffee. Michael had been relieved to see him on the porch, bright-eyed and smiling, ready to start his first day at a new job, too. Even though handing Dad a bottle to piss in last night around eleven and then emptying and cleaning it in the bathroom weren’t the most humiliating things he’d ever done, Michael had a terrible bedside manner. He was not, nor had he ever been, the caregiving sort.
Meanwhile, caregiving oozed off Josiah in very pleasant waves.
They’d chatted a bit before Michael had to leave, trusting Josiah to handle breakfast and Dad’s morning medication, plus a daily sponge bath. Michael definitely didn’t need to be around to witness the bath part. So much of this entire situation was outside of his comfort zone and hinted as to just how selfish he’d been in his pursuit of fame and fortune. Cutting out this part of his life until an emergency forced him back into it. But he was here now and doing his best.
He’d arrived at Woods Ranch on time to meet Hugo Turner, Brand’s boyfriend. The younger guy had a sweet earnestness about him that was also tempered by world-weariness that Michael understood all too well. The only current employee he hadn’t met yet was Alan Denning, who’d been out in pasture with the herd yesterday and was off today. Everyone seemed to rotate duties, and Brand kept a schedule clipboard in the break room so everyone knew what to do. Michael hadn’t been surprised at being stuck on barn duty, but his body definitely resented it by the end of the day.
All he really wanted, as he trudged up the porch steps, was a long soak in his old, multijet hot tub, but that hot tub was back in Austin. All he had here was the modified stand-up shower in the downstairs bathroom, or the claw-foot tub upstairs. The shower had a jet, the tub a chance to sit and soak.
I need a fucking drink or five.
He’d gone back to the cowboy life reluctantly, because it seemed the lesser of various evils, but now he wasn’t so sure.
He let himself into the house, not surprised to see Dad snoozing in his bed and Josiah watching some sort of reality show rerun. Something about storage bin auctions, so Dad had probably requested it before dozing off. Dad used to attend storage bin auctions when Michael was younger, but they had to travel a long way and his father rarely won anything, so after a while Dad stuck to salvage. That gave him the raw materials he preferred working with and he was even paid to haul the stuff away.
“Hey,” Josiah said softly, his smile making Michael’s heart trill in an unusual way. “How was your first day?”
“Painful. I feel like the football in a sudden death overtime game against high school rivals with a grudge.”
“That’s vivid.” Josiah glanced at a still-snoring Dad, then stood and walked over to where Michael stood in the entryway. “If you have a tub, a long soak in Epsom salts can do wonders for sore muscles.”
“Too bad I don’t have someone to rub my shoulders.” The comment slipped out before Michael could censor himself, and he realized too late how flirty and inappropriate it was. “Sorry.”
Josiah shrugged, seeming unoffended. “I can recommend a good massage pillow for use at night. I can’t imagine the work will get any easier.”
