Jack forced himself to get up the next morning. Before the sun. When he lived in town, he didn't sleep too late even though he had night shifts. Living here on the ranch would make him wish he had those mornings back. He yawned as he dragged his feet and got dressed. It was summer, but it was chilly and he had to turn up the heat just a bit to get comfortable. The cold woke him up faster, but he didn't like it. He would rather have a cup of coffee and a nice breakfast.

And about three or four more hours of sleep.

Jack walked out of the bedroom just as a knock came at the door. He had gotten up just in time then. He turned the heat off as he made his way to the door. He unlocked it and pulled it open to see Joe standing there with his eldest son. Ron was seventeen or almost that. Jack had met him and his sister when he met the Aguirres at the restaurant, but hadn't gotten much of an impression of him until last night. In public, Ron Aguirre was an angel. In the privacy of his own home, Ron was rebellious. Joe had told him to go upstairs in the middle of dinner last night.

"Didn't expect you to be up and dressed already," Joe said, clearly impressed. Jack wanted to tell him not to be too impressed since he felt like he'd drop and pass out right now. "I have some errands to run, but Ron will show you around and get ya familiar with everything. You don't mind, do ya?"

"No," Jack assured him. He held back the yawn that was trying to escape. "What my body minds is the lack of sleep."

Joe gave a light laugh. "You'll get used to it," he said. Easy for him to say since he probably grew up with this sleep pattern. It always amazed Jack that people got up this early and weren't tired. Well, at least, they didn't show it. "I better get goin' or I'll be late." He nodded at Jack and Ron then turned and hurried off.

Leaving Jack and Ron in an awkward silence.

"So..." Jack started.

"Ever work on a ranch before?" Ron asked. At least he wasn't the silent type. He sounded like he was comfortable talking with complete strangers. Even though Jack wasn't that much of a stranger.

"Nope," Jack said, shaking his head. He wasn't going to mention the fact that he had never even imagined himself anywhere near a ranch. The closest he had ever gotten before now was either driving by it or seeing it on TV. "I was pretty much raised a city guy."

"Then you'll probably never get the hang of it," Ron said then turned and led the way away from the house.

Well, ain't he charming? Jack shook his head as he stepped out of the house, pulling the door closed behind him. The sun wasn't up yet, but at least it wasn't completely dark. He checked his phone and saw that it was a little past five-thirty. He grumbled inwardly, knowing he would get tired of this sleep pattern real quick.

Ron took him to the barn first and showed him the machinery and tools that were used. He got Jack a pair of gloves and showed him how to stack the hale or take it wherever it was needed. This job was going to be a lot of lifting, which sucked for Jack since he had never really pushed himself to the limit like this. Ron grabbed the bales of hay as if they weighed nothing. And Jack got the feeling that he was showing off. He might be rebellious, but this was his element and he was better than the weak-ass city boy.

Jack was shown around the ranch a bit more. His least favorite part was cleaning up after the animals. He probably would never get that smell out of his nose. And he hadn't even done anything! He had just stood around watching Ron and trying very hard not to breathe. And the cows looked at him as if they knew how uncomfortable he had been through all of that. Jack had imagined once or twice the cows rolling around in their own mess laughing at him.

Joe got back around lunch. Jack could feel the lack of sleep hitting him harder now. He was sitting on the porch of the house with Ron, eating a sandwich and drinking lemonade that Joe's wife had made. The cool drink helped keep him awake, but he still felt as if passing out would make him feel a lot better.

"You boys gettin' along?" Joe asked, a couple of grocery bags in his hands as he stepped up onto the porch. He looked at Jack. "How do you like workin' so far?"

"Well, I've dragged around hay, wood, and buckets of water," Jack said. "And I think the cows completely ruined my nose." He caught a smirk on Ron's face. The first emotion that came out of the kid other than complete indifference to what was going on around him. Maybe they were getting along better than he thought.

"I'll be around to help ya later," Joe said, walking over to the door. "Y'all get enough to eat?"

"Yes, sir," Jack said with a nod, lifting his half-eaten sandwich. "It's absolute heaven after skippin' breakfast."

"You can always come over here for breakfast," Ron invited, which completely shocked Joe, Jack could see. Apparently his kid being nice and neighborly was a rare or nonexistent thing. "It'd give you more energy." He took a drink of his lemonade, his eyes never leaving Jack. Which made Jack highly uncomfortable.

"Thanks," Jack said. "I might just do that then."

"Great," Ron said then stood up to help Joe with the groceries. Joe just stood there dumbfounded as Ron took his bags and headed into the house.

Joe looked at Jack. "What the hell did you do to him?"

"Don't look at me," Jack said with a shrug of his shoulders. He got to his feet. "What I've been stuck with all day is what you've probably been stuck with for seventeen years."

"Hopefully this change sticks," Joe said then went inside.

Jack followed.


Over the next few days, Jack got into the habit of getting to bed earlier so he could get more sleep. That was easy for him since when the day was over, he was exhausted. Sometimes he didn't change out of his dirty clothes. He just fell onto his bed or the couch and went straight to sleep.

A week after Jack arrived, he got the day off because Joe and his wife were heading into town to meet his friend, Kyle Del Mar. They were going to bring his son over and Jack didn't know how he felt about gaining a roommate. He had gotten used to living on his own and he liked it. He could do whatever he wanted without worrying about someone walking in on him. Joe or Ron never came to the small house except when they were there to get Jack up in the mornings.

Jack went to the house to get a shower since he hadn't bathed since he got here. Being clean made him feel a lot better. In order to wash his clothes, he had to pay; sticking the money in a jar that was sitting on a shelf in the laundry room. Once Jack was dressed in clean clothes, he put his dirty laundry on to wash then headed out of the house since he just felt like he was invading the Aguirres privacy.

When he stepped out on the porch, Ron was sitting there, doodling in a book with earphones on his head, occasionally bobbing his head in time with the music. Jack walked over and sat down on the chair beside him. Ron looked at him once, nodded, then went back to what he had been doing.

They sat there for a few minutes, then Ron put down his notebook, pulling his headphones off. "Enjoying your day off?" he asked. His sister had gone with Joe and his wife. They were here alone.

"For the most part," Jack replied since he was used to going places. He had never had any real friends to hang out with, but there had been at least someone around to do things with. He leaned back in his seat, laying his head on the back of the chair and closing his eyes. "Guess I should make the most of it while I can."

"So you'd rather sleep?"

"You'd be tired, too, if..." Jack trailed off since that statement would be dumb. Ron had grown up with this family. They hadn't lived here forever, but they had lived on a smaller ranch somewhere. "What do you think the guy'll be like?"

"What guy?"

"The guy your parents are going to pick up today," Jack said. "The one that-"

"Oh, the queer."

"Share the same opinion as your dad?"

"Actually..."

Jack opened his eyes when he heard Ron's voice much to close. Ron was standing right there, leaning over so his face was only inches from Jack's. A position Jack really didn't want to be in.

"Ron-"

"Can I tell you something?" Ron asked. "It's been driving me nuts wanting to say something. I feel like I can tell you anything."

"Ron, can you just-"

Ron placed his finger against Jack's lips, silencing him. "You're not like other guys, Jack," he said. "I can't seem to stop noticing that." He lowered his hand. "And it's as sexy as-"

Jack got up, forcing Ron to back off. "First off," he said. He pointed at Ron. "Minor." He pointed at himself. "Almost twenty-one." He lowered his hand. "See the predicament?"

"So it's just age."

That was when Jack realized he had been steering this the wrong way. "No, it's not just age," he said. "It's the fact that you're my boss's son. And I'm not-"

"Gay?"

"The guy that's comin' is gay," Jack said. "Bother him."

"But I know you."

"Get to know him!"

Ron stepped forward, causing Jack to back up quickly. And right off the porch. His foot slipped on the step and he went sprawling onto the dirt. Ron was by his side instantly, grabbing his arm as he sat up.

Jack pulled his arm out of Ron's grip. "Ron, I don't know-" He was cut off by the sound of two cars pulling up. He got to his feet quickly, dusting himself. Joe and his wife go of the first car.

"Hey!" Jack exclaimed when he felt Ron dusting off his rear end a little bit too much. "Your dad-"

"Relax," Ron said, his hand on Jack's lower back before he spanked him. "Let's go meet the new guy."

Jack pushed what just happened out of his head and went to greet the Del Mars.


TBC