The Washington's home was bigger than Chris could have imagined.

How the hell could they have afforded all this? He thought to himself as he stared at the huge space around him in awe. Why would they have a ranch if they got plenty of money?

"Close your mouth, Chris," Sam teased him finding the expression on his face quite amusing. "You don't want to catch flies"

Embarrassed, Chris snapped his mouth closed.

Josh chuckled and set Sam's bag down. "Impressive, huh?"

Chris nodded and then asked, carefully, "So your family is rich then?"

"Not at all," Josh scoffed. "This place has been in my family for years. Luckily my father was the one to get it. This place is the only decent thing we've got."

Before Chris could reply, a hard feminine voice came from up the stairs. He looked and saw who he assumed was Josh's mom, considering they looked pretty much exactly alike. The only difference seemed to be that her hair was long and wavy.

"Joshua, is that you?"

Chris didn't miss the look of nervousness and annoyance cross over Josh's face.

"Yeah, ma," Josh sighed. "And I've got company."

"Oh-hold on, let me get your father." The woman retreated back to wherever she came from.

"Great," Josh grumbled, scratching the back of his head nervously. Chris could tell that Josh had some kind of problem with his parents.

At least that's one thing we have in common, the blond thought.

Sam comfortingly put an arm on Josh's shoulder and he shot her a grateful look. They waited in silence for a minute, before Josh's parents came downstairs.

"Joshua," Bob Washington greeted stiffly.

Chris noticed that the father and son looked nothing alike. Where Josh had dark hair, Bob's was greying a considerable amount. Where Josh's brown eyes were warm and filled with light (why the hell was he noticing Josh's eyes?), Bob's blue ones were cold and almost lifeless. They didn't look similar in the face, either. Josh looked more like his mother.

"Dad," Josh muttered, not meeting his father's eyes.

"Are you gonna look at me like a man, or stare down at the floor like a boy?"

Josh clenched his jaw and met his father's eyes. The anger and distaste in the older man's eyes was all too clear. His father has always been a bastard, but there was still a time when Bob had actually cared about his son. Now his father couldn't stand the sight of him. If the man could go back in time and have Josh switch places with his sisters, he surely would.

"How's Wyoming?" Bob asked, a sneer in his tone.

Josh shrugged, suddenly looking even more uncomfortable than he already did. "Fine, I guess."

"You guess."

There was judgement in Bob's eyes that made Josh flinch. Like his father knew what he was really doing in Wyoming. And with the incident with the boy who used to help run the ranch with the Washington family, Josh could only imagine what his father was thinking.

Chris spoke up then, feeling his own discomfort.

"Uh, hello, sir," he said, extending his hand towards the older man. "I'm Chris Johnson. I'm here about the job-"

"I know who you are," Bob said coolly. He didn't shake Chris' hand, and the blond pulled back awkwardly.

"Right..." Chris glanced at Sam for help, but she was looking at Josh. "Uh, well...what do you want me to do? When should I start?"

"Bright and early tomorrow morning. Josh will show you how we do things around here. Until then, he'll show you to your room." With that, Bob gave a nod to Sam and turned around and left. Everyone remained quiet until he was up the stairs and out of earshot.

Melinda cleared her throat. "Samantha, are you staying the night?"

"If that's okay."

"Of course it is," Melinda waved her off. "You can stay in Hannah's room."

Sam bit her lip and gave a hesitant nod.

"Well, that settles it," Melinda clapped her hands together. "Christopher, I'm sure you're exhausted after that long ride. Joshua, show him his room. Nancy will have dinner ready for us in a few hours."

Josh nudged Chris. "C'mon, Cochise." Without waiting for a reply, he began to walk away. Chris stood there for a moment, staring after Josh, before he sighed and began to follow him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Why do you call me that?"

Josh's hand paused on the doorknob and glanced at Chris. "What, Cochise?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know." Josh shrugged. "It just came to me."

Chris raised his eyebrows. "All the names you could call me, and Cochise is the one you thought of?"

The other boy smirked. "You want me to call you something else?"

"You can just call me by my name," Chris suggested. Though, he didn't actually mind the nickname.

Josh thought about this for a second.

"Nah," he finally said. He turned away from Chris and opened the door to the bedroom. "Well, here's your new room." He leaned against the doorframe and jerked his head towards the bedroom. "You gonna go in or what?"

Chris went into the bedroom and gaped.

This room was twice as big as his small one at home. The bed was fairly big, with a brown comforter and two fluffy white pillows. There was one nightstand on each side of the bed, one with a lamp and a phone and the other bare for him to put his picture of Ashley.

"Nice, huh?" Came Josh's voice.

Chris nodded.

Josh stepped closer to Chris, hands shoved in his pockets. "You know, my father's a real bastard."

I noticed, Chris wanted to say. But he didn't.

"So is mine," he shrugged, turning around to face the other boy. "I'm used to this."

Josh grimaced. "You sure you wanna spend an entire summer with us?"

No. "I need the money."

"Desperate times?"

"I'm getting married at the end of November."

"Oh, right. Sam mentioned that." There was a look that flashed on Josh's face that Chris couldn't quite place. "What's her name?"

"Ashley."

"You love her?"

It was an odd question, and Chris was taken aback.

"Uh, of course I do." I'm marrying her, aren't I?

Josh gave him a half-smile. "Fair enough."

They stood there for a moment in awkward silence.

"So, uh..." Chris racked his brain for something to say. "You got anyone?"

The smile fell from Josh's face.

"No," he said flatly, "I don't."

"Oh." There was obviously more to it than that, but Chris wasn't gonna push.

Josh suddenly looked like he was more than ready to get out of there.

"I'll be downstairs with Sam," he told Chris, starting to back out of the room. "Holler if you need anything."

Chris nodded. As soon as Josh left the room, he sighed and collapsed on his bed, his hat on his chest. He supposed he should call Ashley. She hadn't taken the trip with him because she hadn't wanted to spend the night like Sam was. But she had demanded he call her as soon as he got in.

Groaning, he forced himself to sit up and reached over to grab the phone, dialing her number. The relief he felt when he heard her voice was almost embarrassing.

"Hello?" Her voice was cheery.

Chris couldn't help but smile. "It's me, Ash. I made it here safely."

"Chris! Oh, good. I was starting to get worried." She gave a small laugh. "How is it? Do you like what you see so far?"

"It could be worse."

"Are they nice people?"

"Bob Washington is a bit of an asshole, and his wife doesn't seem too nice, either. But their son seems okay. He and Sam are best friends, so..."

"So maybe you'll make a new friend."

Chris sighed. He was starting to really dislike that. Maybe you'll make a new friend. Like he was twelve years old and not nineteen, a grown man.

But he wasn't going to say that to her.

"Yeah, maybe," he agreed.

"I miss you."

His jaw clenched slightly. "I miss you more."

"I have to go. Daddy wants me for something. Call me every night, okay?" She said, voice starting to shake.

Chris swallowed down the lump in his throat. "I will, Ash. I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye." She hung up. Chris sat there with the phone still pressed against his ear. The conversation hadn't lasted as long as he had wanted it to. It was funny-he wanted some time apart from her, yet now he just wanted to be back home, lay outside and watch the stars like they used to do.

God, I'm such a girl, he internally groaned. Man up, Christopher.

He snorted and kicked off his boots. Right now all he needed was some damn rest, considering he'll be working all day every day for the rest of the summer.

At least there was Josh. He knew nothing about the guy, but he seemed fine. Maybe they could be friends. Then he wouldn't feel so alone, and it might make the summer go by faster.

Yet, at the same time, there was something off about Josh. There was a double meaning behind Bob's words when he asked his son about Wyoming, and Josh had shut down the minute Chris asked him if he had anyone back in Wyoming. Chris wasn't sure what it meant, but obviously it was an issue that he shouldn't bring back up again.

Probably just a bad breakup or something, he thought to himself as he settled down on the bed. The pillow was nice and soft and the mattress was comfy. His bed back at home had so many lumps in it that it always took him almost ten minutes just to find a way to get comfortable.

Ain't really home anymore. This is my home for the summer.

And little did he know what an eventful summer it was going to be.