“Thank you,” said Kell, remembering his manners. “It’s been a while since I owned a phone.”
It’d been so long that phone technology had probably moved on without him, though he knew he could pick it back up in a heartbeat and be back to texting his friends in no time. Or calling his mom to please come pick him up. But would he? Those relationships were in the past, and maybe now the only number he wanted on speed dial was Marston’s.
“You earned it,” said Leland. “Well, I’ve got to go. Jamie’s waiting for me in the truck, and we’re going to try out that steak place you told me about, Marston. The one in Torrington.”
“The Bucking Horse Grill,” said Marston. “The steaks there are amazing, and the drive there, and the view, too. It’s on a hill overlooking a valley.”
“We’re looking forward to it,” said Leland, tapping a finger to his forehead. “Good evening, gentlemen,” he said. “Enjoy your new phone, Kell.”
With that, he was off, and Kell looked at the two boxes on the table. Opening the phone was tempting, for sure, as it was a brand-new phone, after all, and his fingers just about itched to start playing with it. But the phone case was one Marston had picked out for him especially, so it meant more. So even as the waitress brought over a tray with their deluxe burgers on it, and the smell was amazing, Kell tugged the slender white box closer, peeled off the plastic and slid off the lid.
“Your food’s getting cold.”
Kell barely looked up from what he held in his hands. It was a plastic phone case, thin but sturdy, like any phone case, but it was a watercolor of a cowboy on horseback, looking over a striped ridge at the storm that was headed his way. It had a retro look to it, sweet and old-fashioned.
It certainly wasn’t something he would have picked out for himself while in high school. Nothing he’d normally admire on anyone else’s phone. But he’d been younger then, unexposed to the coldness of the world. Now, as he drew his fingers softly along the image, he decided he liked it, and looked up at Marston.
“I like to imagine that’s Guipago Ridge behind those clouds. Thought maybe you might like it to remember us by, when you go out into the world.” Marston shrugged as he unfolded his paper napkin and fiddled with it for a moment. “Anyway. I thought it was pretty.”
More than the phone case, Kell knew he would remember this moment, the steady glow of Marston’s gold-blue eyes, the stillness surrounding the booth where they sat. The energy arcing between them, a connection of light and movement and promise.
Shaking his head, Kell looked back down at the phone case again, pulled the new phone out of the box, and slipped the case on.
“I love it,” he said, meaning it, his hands curved around the slenderness of the phone, touching the cool, shiny glass on its front. Then he looked at Marston again.
He could not say what he wanted to say—and could not make sense of the jumble of words in his head, nor the stirrings of his heart. It wasn’t the gift, it was the thoughtfulness behind it.
Had he still been at home, amidst the lush trappings of a middle class life with nothing missing and parents who loved him, would he have been as moved by the simple gift? Maybe he wouldn’t have been, but at the same time, having come through what he had, it did move him, and then some.
“I’ll get your number,” he said, carefully laying the phone on top of the two boxes. “We’ll keep in touch when the summer’s over, right?”
“Sure, Kell,” said Marston, just before he took a huge bite out of his burger.
Maybe Marston didn’t mean it, or maybe he didn’t want to show that he meant it, playing it close to his chest, like he always seemed to do.
But in that moment, Kell wanted more. More than an evening out at a tavern. More than just knowing that beneath the table, their boots were in the same style. More than knowing that last season, Marston had a bout of drinking trouble, and was still fighting his way out of it, struggling to keep his magic job, as if he felt it would save him from everything he thought was wrong with his life.
Only from where Kell sat, Marston had it pretty good, having a job, being independent, without the scar of having spent time in prison. Or maybe there were secrets behind that calm gaze. Kell wanted to know. Wanted to see if the stirrings in his heart, his curiosity, his untried desires might find a safe haven in Marston’s arms.
“Go on, eat now,” said Marston, after he’d swallowed. “You won’t taste a better burger.”
So calmly said, as if Kell’s heart wasn’t filling with energy and movement, as if urging him to say all that he was feeling.
No, he wasn’t won over by a gift of a phone and a case, but it felt like a tipping point because the kind of guy who looked at him like that, who was as thoughtful as Marston was, as still and peaceful as a slow-moving river on a warm day—that was the kind of guy who would be safe to be with. Who might hold Kell in the dark when his fears overtook him. Who could urge Kell to stay put rather than running for the hills when things got tough.
Kell’s shoulders sagged a bit as he made himself focus and he picked up his deluxe burger. Which was no longer piping hot, but still tasted delicious. Eating helped settle him, and he snagged an onion ring and shoved it into his mouth.
“You could also put Bede’s number in there,” said Marston, unexpectedly. When Kell started with a bit of surprise, Marston lifted a shoulder and grabbed some cheese fries. “I read the file. I know he was your cellmate.”
“Yeah.” Though it was a little unsettling to know that Marston had read the file on him, Kell was pleased to have two numbers to enter on speed dial. The question remained, would he enter his parents’ numbers? Maybe not his dad’s, but maybe his mom’s?
That was too many questions to answer and besides, he was here now, in a tavern in the middle of the wilds of Wyoming, enjoying a damn fine burger while sitting across from a man who looked at him with gentle eyes.
Chapter21
Marston
By the time they drove back to the valley, it was just about raining, a fine sprinkle that kept Marston’s fingers adjusting the auto-wipe mechanism, keeping the wipers going as the rain misted and then fell. In the passenger seat, Kell was looking at his phone, turning it over to admire the image on the case. They were too far out of reception range for Kell to do the final setup, but they soon would be in range of the camp’s wi-fi, and then Kell’s first call would likely be Bede.
