Alberta, Canada 1963

"You gonna wipe that scowl off your face any time soon?"

Chris Johnson lifted up his head from where the side of it had been resting on his knuckles and glanced at Sam, who looked a little too amused.

"Who's scowling?" He yawned, taking off his glasses to rub at his tired eyes while trying to watch the road. He'd been driving for hours and was exhausted. Getting up at 5 AM to help his father with anything else that needed to be done around the ranch while he was still around hadn't helped, either.

"You are. You know you could have turned the job down, right?" Sam reminded him for the fifth time today.

He chuckled. "And listen to my father for the next five months telling me what a worthless piece of shit I am and how I'm not a real man? No, thanks. Besides, I need the money. Can't support me and Ash if I'm broke."

"Doesn't your dad pay you for helping him with the ranch?"

"Not enough to live off of, Sam. And he stopped paying me as much as he used to." Chris shifted in his seat, slightly uncomfortable. He never liked talking about money with his friends. They all had much more money than his family ever had. They could afford nice clothes and new cars. All he had at home was exactly three pairs of jeans, four shirts, one pair of boots and his pickup truck that was slowly falling apart. He could only fix the damn thing so many times before it gave out completely. He'd need a new one eventually, but right now all his money was going towards building a life and home for him and Ashley.

Sam frowned. "What'd he do that for?"

"I don't know." Chris shrugged. "Just to be a bastard, I guess."

She cursed under her breath and shook her head. "Well, at least Ashley's parents are gonna buy you two an apartment, right?" She did her best to keep her voice cheerful.

"Yup. Money that Ash and I are gonna have to pay back. Add that on top of bills and any other shit we need..." He didn't finish his sentence and he didn't have to. Sam understood.

"Well..." She struggled to find something to say. "It's a good thing you took this job then."

And yeah, in reality it was probably a smart move on his part, but he couldn't deny that he had mixed feelings about the whole thing. Yeah, he needed the money badly. He was getting married at the end of November, only five months away. Taking the job on Blackwood Mountain would give him a chance to get away from his asshole of a dad. And, in all honesty, it would give him the chance to take a breather from Ashley.

Not that he didn't love her. Far from it. She was everything he's ever wanted and more. Been with her since he was sixteen. But lately every conversation they've had has been about either the wedding, money, or reminding him that they had to pay back her parents. She'd go on about one of those topics (or all three, if she was in a bad mood and he was just unlucky), and all he could do was nod and agree with her.

Yes, I know the wedding's coming up soon. Yes, I know I need to make more money for us. Yes, I know we need to pay back your parents.

It was becoming too much for him. He needed a vacation from it all...even though this wasn't like any "vacation" he would have chosen.

For the most part, he had taken this job because his father had pressured him into it. He could have gotten a decent job in town, but his father had heard about this job from Sam's parents (she was apparently good friends with the owner's son). Had wanted him to take this job.

"You wanna be a real man, Christopher?" His father had snarled. "Then you gotta go out on your own like a real man and make some damn money. I'm sick of you expecting me to pay you for every little damn thing you do around this place. This is your home, too, boy. Should be doing this shit for free."

His mother had a different approach. "You need to go out and meet some new people, honey. This is your chance. And it'll get your father off both our backs." She had smiled at him then, sweetly, but he could see the pleading in her eyes.

So that was that.

He packed his bags, had Sam drive up with him since she knew where the place was and he didn't, and left for Blackwood Mountain.

Three months with a bunch of strangers. Can't wait. He shook his head and sighed. Too late to do anything about it now.

"Make the turn here," Sam instructed him. "Their place is right up this hill."

Chris grunted in acknowledgement and made the turn, driving slowly and carefully up the hill for a few minutes before the lodge finally came into view. He pulled his truck up right next to another one that looked like it had been through more hell than his has, and he turned the truck off. He sat there in his seat for a moment, staring down at his hands that were clenched around the steering wheel.

Don't be a fucking baby about this, Christopher, he mentally snapped at himself. You're a big boy now-a man. You can handle working for three months on someone else's ranch.

"Chris?" Sam interrupted his thoughts.

He took a deep breath. "Yeah...I'm coming." He opened the door and stepped out of the truck, grabbing his small bag of belongings. Not like he had much to bring with him.

"Let's go, cowboy," Sam winked at him over the hood of the truck.

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Josh Washington sat on the steps of his parents lodge, smoking a cigarette. In truth, this was his third cigarette in the last half hour. He wasn't ready to go inside and face his parents. Hasn't seen them in a year since his sisters died. Melinda and Bob Washington had blamed their son for it, and after only two weeks Josh up and left without a word.

But he was back now, because he had nowhere else to go at the moment. And shit, did he need money. Doing the occasional odd jobs in town back in Wyoming just wasn't doing it for him anymore. So, swallowing down his pride, Josh had called his parents (and was all too fucking grateful when it was his mother who had answered), and asked if he could come back home until the end of the summer. Melinda hadn't been pleased about hearing from her son after an entire year without any contact from him. She clearly held a grudge against him for leaving, which Josh found fucking hilarious because he only left because of them...and what happened to Hannah and Beth.

"You can stay here until the end of the summer, Joshua," she had finally conceded. "But your father's gonna expect you to help with the ranch. The last boy we had quit."

What a shocker. "That's fine, ma. I need the money."

"And Samantha is bringing up a friend of hers who's also going to be working on the ranch for the summer, so your pay isn't going to be too great. You have to split the money with him."

Fantastic. "Yeah. Sure, ma."

"I expect you to get along with him, Joshua. If he quits because of your behavior-"

What am I, a fucking child? "Don't worry about it. I'll treat him with all the respect he deserves." He couldn't help the sarcasm that slipped through, and it didn't go unnoticed by his mother.

"I'm serious, Joshua. Your father and I won't stand for it. Not this time," Melinda replied in a clipped tone.

Josh stiffened. "Why do you always have to bring that up?"

"Why? You really want to go there, Josh?"

"Never mind," he said in a hard voice. "I'll be there in a week." Then he hung up the phone.

Something painful and hot touched his fingers. The cigarette he had been smoking had burned down while he was lost in his own thoughts.

"Shit!" He hissed, quickly flicking the cigarette away. He rubbed his hand on his jeans, as if that would make the pain go away, before inspecting his finger. The skin was red and no doubt it would leave a blister, but he was used to that. Working on the ranch since he was a kid had given him plenty of blisters and other injuries.

The sound of an engine caught his attention and he looked up to see a small green pickup truck pull up right next to his own shitty one.

Must be Sam and the new guy, he thought, a smile forming on his face as he watched his best friend get out of the truck.

Christ, he hasn't seen Sam in a year, too. He talked to her on the phone every couple of weeks or so, but he never came back to visit her. He sure as hell never invited her to come visit him. Not where he was living-had been living.

"Sam fuckin' Nelson!" Josh laughed, standing up.

Sam jumped, startled, not even noticing Josh had been sitting there. Then she grinned wide and dropped her bag, running to Josh like she was a child greeting their parent. She didn't give a shit. She hasn't seen Josh in an entire year, so excuse her for being a little excited to see her best friend.

Josh met her halfway and, with a laugh, took her into his arms and lifted her off the ground, twirling her around. He gave her a kiss on the side of her head before setting her back down on her feet, pulling away to look at her face but still kept both his hands on her waist.

"Look at you," he smiled. "You look great."

She sniffed and wiped away the wetness in her eyes. "So do you! God, Josh, I can't believe it's been a whole year."

Josh felt guilt wash over him. He knew how hard it had been for her to lose Beth. Losing him too must have killed her. Fuck. He was an asshole for leaving her alone...

Josh's eyes moved past Sam and focused on the man standing only a few feet away from them, leaning up against his truck with his hands shoved in his jean pockets. He wore a white button up that was tucked into his jeans and a tan cowboy hat on his head. The guy was looking down at the ground awkwardly, trying to give Josh and Sam some privacy.

Guess she wasn't so alone after all, Josh thought, studying the guy for a moment longer. Right as he was about to look away, the guy glanced up and met Josh's eyes.

Holy shit. He's...

Their eyes were locked on one another for a moment. Josh could tell the guy was silently taking in Josh's appearance, and he could see the blush forming on the other man's face. He felt disappointed when the guy quickly looked away.

Sam caught Josh staring and smiled. She turned around and motioned for the guy to come over and join them. The guy looked reluctant to do so, but then he pushed himself off his truck before making his way over to them, hands still stuffed in his pockets and eyes focused on the ground.

"Josh, this is Chris Johnson, my friend's fiancée and also a good friend of mine," Sam introduced them. "Chris, this is Josh Washington, my best friend from high school."

Chris took off his hat and held it against his chest. "Good to meet you."

Well, hello, Cochise, Josh thought to himself.

Christ, the guy-Chris-looked even better up close. Dirty blond hair that was in a faux-hawk style and the bluest eyes Josh has ever seen. He was one of the best looking guys Josh has ever seen. And he got to spend an entire summer with him-

Wait, did Sam call him her friend's fiancée? Damn it.

He felt the disappointment settle inside of him, though he guesses he shouldn't have been so damn hopeful. Hardly any man around here was queer, and if they were they kept it to themselves. That's just how it was. You either kept it well hidden or you got the shit beat out of you for it.

As for himself...He didn't hide it as well as he should have. He didn't go advertising it, but if he saw a guy he liked, he took the chance. Cautiously, though-he wasn't a complete dumbass. He knew how far to push without letting on too much.

Josh knew that it couldn't last forever. At some point he was gonna have to marry some pretty girl and have children. That's also just how it was. His parents had made that quite clear.

Sam nudged him, snapping Josh out of his thoughts. It took him a second to realize that he hasn't answered yet.

"Uh, good to meet you, too." Josh reached out and shook Chris's hand before awkwardly dropping it back to his side.

Chris nodded and looked away again.

Must not be too good with people. Josh cleared his throat. "You ever worked on a ranch before?"

The blond's eyes snapped back to Josh's and he gave a small nod. "My parents own a ranch."

"You got a ranch of your own? Well, then why are you here?" Josh asked with a raised eyebrow.

Chris gave a small shrug. "Needed the money."

Don't we all, Cochise, don't we all.

"Well, can't fault a man for that," Josh chuckled. He noticed Sam's bag was still by the truck where she had dropped it and he jogged over to it, picking it up and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Josh, I can take that," Sam protested, reaching out to grab her bag.

Josh playfully pushed her hand away. "I got it, Sammy. You're the guest, after all. All summer," he teased her, knowing damn well she wasn't staying that long.

"One night," Sam snorted. "I'm driving Chris' truck back tomorrow first thing in the morning."

Josh placed a hand over his heart and said, dramatically, "Well, gee, Sam, thank you for at least gracing us with your presence for one night."

She rolled her eyes and swatted his arm.

"Hey, you, uh, mind if I head on inside and use your phone?" Chris interrupted. "I gotta call Ash."

"The fiancée, huh?" Josh forced a grin.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, go for it. In fact, we should all just go in. It's getting too damn hot out here."

Sam wiped away the sweat on her forehead. "Sure is. I need some water."

Josh looked at Chris and smirked, nodding towards the lodge.

"Lead the way, Cochise," he said with a wink. "And welcome to Blackwood Mountain."