Chapter Seven

Jacky got a ride with Steve to the hotel to grab his things then they headed out to the ranch. And the moment they got there, Steve left Jacky with Emily then went to do whatever chores he had been doing. Emily had assured him that everything was being taken care of, but Steve still went off. Jacky didn't say anything about how quickly Steve had left and felt just the slightest twinge that Steve didn't really want to be around him. He hadn't acted that way at the hospital. Unless Jacky had just been reading his kindness completely wrong.

Emily led the way inside and up the stairs to the room he would be staying in. She opened the door and walked in, not bothering with turning on the light. The sun shining in through the window provided enough. All that was in the room was a bed and a few boxes that were being used as storage. "This is the only room that has it's own bathroom," she explained, gesturing toward a door that was next to the closet. "But the shower in there doesn't work. You'll have to use the main one downstairs." She looked at Jacky. "Hope you don't mind sharing one bathroom."

"Oh, I'm used to it," Jacky assured her with a nod of his head. "There's only one bathroom in the apartment back home." But, only three people lived there now and those three people were never using the bathroom at the same time because of jobs. Well, Jacky had always had access to it at any time of the day because he was the one that was always at home. He walked over to the bed and set his suitcase down.

"If you want, I can have one of the guys move a dresser into here," Emily offered. She crossed her arms, nodding toward the closet. "Unless you're fine with the closet."

"I'm fine with the closet," Jacky said, not really planning on unpacking anyway. The thought of unpacking was one of the things that had put him into the hospital anyway. He cleared his throat and turned away from the bed.

"Lunch is around one o'clock," Emily said. "The guys are havin' a cookout at the barn. You can get acquainted with some of them. They'll certainly make you feel at home. Of course..." She gave a small chuckle. "...not as well as Steve could." Before he could wonder what she meant by that, she went on, "Just make yourself at home. Roam around if you'd like. Just don't get in anyone's way." She smiled. "Unless it's Steve." She turned and left the room before he could say anything.

Jacky shook his head then turned back to the bed. He picked up his suitcase and carried it over to the closet. He set it on the floor in the closet then pulled out his phone as he closed the closet door. He checked the time then called Mom, who picked up on the first ring as if she had been staring at the phone, expecting his call.

"Are you all right?" she asked, frantic. "You had me so worried! I kept trying to call, but it kept going to voice mail! I didn't think I'd have to remind you to keep your phone on and everything."

"I'm all right," Jacky assured her, not really wanting to tell her about his episode earlier this morning. She would either force him to come home, or she'd be coming here after him. He wasn't sure if he wanted either situation to occur, but he didn't want her to worry either. "I've just been tied up all morning. I'm staying with some friends."

"Friends?" Mom asked. "You've barely been there two days!" Even so, she sounded happy for him. "What are these friends like?"

"Oh, they're the greatest!" Jacky said, poking his head into the bathroom. It was pretty small and there were more boxes piled up in the shower. "Steve and Emily. They own and run a ranch outside of town. They're really nice and Steve offered to help me out with finding out more about my great-grandfather."

"That's swell, sweetheart," Mom said. "I'm glad you're having a good time and things are going so great! If only I could be there with you. I miss you so much. So does your father."

"I miss you guys, too," Jacky said, stepping away from the bathroom. He walked over to the window and looked out, seeing Steve outside guiding a horse into the barn. "I wish you could meet these people."

"Maybe one day I will," Mom said.

"Maybe," Jacky said, thinking about that short time he had spent with Steve in the hospital, when they had shared that breakfast. Steve had called him pal and Jacky felt like he really belonged around these people at that moment. It was strange. He had felt at home even before Emily told him to do so. "I've gotta go. I'll talk to you later."

"All right," Mom said, sounding hesitant about ending the conversation. "I love you, sweetie."

"Love you, too," Jacky said then hung up. He slipped his phone into his pocket and leaned on the windowsill, watching as Steve came out of the barn with another horse. Steve climbed up onto the horse and trotted around for a minute before riding off out of Jacky's view. Jacky sighed then stepped away from the window.

He sat down on the bed, remembering the doctor's orders to get some rest. He was a guest at this place and if he was just resting all the time, he felt as if he wouldn't be respectful to his hosts. But they understood his predicament and would tell him to do as the doctor ordered. He laid down with a sigh, not knowing what to do.

Steve came back to the barn after taking one of the horses out for a run. He dropped off the horse, leading her back into the stall and ignored Emily standing there, not looking happy. He brushed the horse and checked its water then came out and shut the stall. "All right, let me have it," he said.

"You brought a guest home and you just ignore him," Emily said. She held up her hand before he could say anything. "I made sure he got a room and everything he needed." She lowered her hand, crossing her arms as she did so. "Something you should have been doing."

"I got him here, didn't I?" Steve said, walking past her and heading out of the barn. She turned and followed after him. "He knows I have chores to do around here."

"He knows that they were taken care of because I made sure he heard me say that," Emily said. "And what did you do?" She grabbed his arm, stopping him and turning him to her. "You went off anyway! You didn't see the look on his face-"

Steve gestured toward the house. "Do you want me to go in there and make sure he's tucked in?" he asked with a slight tilt of his head. He dropped his arm to his side. "The doc told him to rest. I'm giving him the peace and quiet he needs to in order to get that rest. If you think that's the wrong thing to do-"

"You're just avoiding him."

Steve pointed a finger at her. "You're just seein' something that ain't there," he said. "He's a kid that's never been away from home for too long. He's got that innocent lil angel aura around him. So stop playin' cupid! All he needs is friends. And he's got that. End of story."

"He may be an innocent angel now until you get to know him," Emily said. "I'm pretty sure there's more to Jacky Twist than he's showing. Maybe even more than he's aware of."

"I'm sure not gonna make him aware of it."

"We'll just have to see how your trip to Brokeback Mountain turns out," Emily said. She smirked then walked past him and headed off. Steve watched her go then shook his head and headed for the house.

Jacky hadn't realized he had fallen asleep until a knock on the door woke him. He pushed himself up and saw Emily standing in the doorway. "Up for a cookout?" she asked. "You're probably pretty hungry."

"Now that you mention it..." Jacky said, placing a hand over his stomach when it growled. "Maybe Steve shouldn't have helped me with breakfast." Emily laughed as she headed out of the room. Jacky stood up and followed after her. They went outside and over to the barn where the cookout was set up. There were no tables. Everyone just had to stand or sit on the hay bales that were strategically placed around.

Steve walked over with a plate for himself and one already prepared for Jacky. He handed it to Jacky. Emily smiled and nodded then stepped away, leaving the two standing there on their own.

"How's your room?" Steve asked, breaking the silence. Other people were talking, but they had just been standing there. "Emily had to clear it out. We don't really use that room that much."

"What if you had kids?" Jacky asked then immediately wished he could take it back at the look on Steve's face. "Was it something I said?"

Steve cleared his throat then turned to Jacky more. "Emily and I aren't like that," he said. "We're just friends. Hell, Emily came to work for me to get away from any kind of relationship. And nothing will ever be between us."

For some reason Jacky couldn't explain or understand, hearing that made him feel even better. He looked down at his food then back at Steve. "The room's great," he said. "The bed's real soft. I had a nice nap." He picked up his burger and took a big bite.

"Yeah, Emily made sure we had the best mattresses," Steve said with a small smile. "We were a bit late with the bills that month." He gave a soft laugh that made Jacky's heart skip a beat.

Where had that come from?

Steve placed a hand on Jacky's back. "Let me introduce you to the guys," he said then led Jacky forward.

He was introduced to the other ranchers and talked with a few of them as he ate, but he mostly just wanted to spend more time with Steve. He couldn't help but wonder if Steve was just trying to avoid being around him. It hurt his feelings and confused him. Why would Steve want to avoid him? And why did Jacky want so desperately to be around him? These were thoughts that were on Jacky's mind for the rest of the afternoon.

Over dinner, they discussed upcoming plans. In the morning, Steve would take Jacky into town for that shopping trip that had been planned for today. Then they would make the appropriate plans to head up to Signal then on to the Brokeback Mountain Resort for a few days.

Jacky was excited when he went to bed that night.

to be continued...