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“Uh-huh.” Butch kept his faze focused on the road ahead. The I-94 stretched in front of them, low, tree-covered hills on one side, and nothing but green fields on the other.
“What was he like when you first knew him? He seems such a calm person. Was he always that way?”
Butch chuckled. “He’s calm, all right—most of the time. I was nineteen when I got to Salvation. To be honest, I didn’t pay him much attention. I was too busy trying to impress his daddy, because I wanted to keep working on the ranch.”
“Was his dad difficult to please?”
Another chuckle. “He had eyes like a hawk, and a tongue as sharp as its talons. But he took me on when I needed a job.” Butch smiled. “I always wondered if he knew about me and Diana.”
“Who’s Diana?”
“The boss’s sister. She’s about three years younger than him. Married to a rancher. They’ve got a dude ranch too, only theirs is fancier than Salvation.”
“So you and she…”
Butch turned his head for a second, his eyes twinkling. “Uh-huh.” Then he returned his attention to the road. “Every chance we got. Her daddy kept her on a tight leash, but once she hit eighteen, I guess he figured there was no holding her back after that. He married her off to Newt Webster as fast as you please, and that, as they say, was that. Well, it was for me. I don’t fool around with married women.”
“So you fool around with the unmarried kind?”
Butch’s cheeks flushed. “Okay, you got me there. But the whole situation is kinda ironic.”
“In what way?”
“I used to visit Bozeman or Livingston when I wanted to let off some steam. I’d go to a bar for a drink, and then I’d cast my net, so to speak. See what I caught. Well, a lot of the guys who showed an interest were straight married men.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t feel guilty having sex with them,” Sol surmised.
“Most of the time, no. Not that I made a habit of it. I was trying not to draw attention to myself. Then, everything changed.”
“What happened?”
Butch let out a snort. “Teague happened, that’s what. No more trips to Bozeman, not when I had his ass on a plate whenever I wanted it.”
“You said you had a thing going on. How long did that last?”
“Five years. We ended it the day before you arrived.” His face tightened.
“Was it a bad split?”
Butch’s eyes widened. “No, not at all. It’s just…” He pointed to the bottle of water in Sol’s door. “Pass me that, would you?”
Sol removed the cap, handed it over, and Butch took a long drink, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “The last few days, I’ve begun to feel real bad about those years.”
Sol took the bottle. “Why?”
“Teague said he deserved better, and you know what? He was right.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as you think.”
Butch sighed. “Oh, it was. He complained last week that I never once kissed him, or hugged him. And although I didn’t feel like it at the time, right now, that makes me feel like a fuckin’ asshole.”
“I think I can understand why you didn’t, you know.”
Butch’s gaze flickered in his direction. “You can?”
Sol nodded. “You kiss, there’s hair where there shouldn’t be, stubble even, and you know instantly you’re with a guy. A guy feels different, smells different…”
Butch stared at him. “Exactly.”
