If there were any trees that came down, could Marston and Kell be sure to clear them away? And could they feed and water the horses and cattle that were being kept in the large pasture over the winter?
At first, Marston had figured the valley could take care of itself over the winter, and that the livestock could be kept at the ranch, where there was already staff on hand. But evidently, there was some money to be made from tending the horses and cattle, which belonged to the guest ranch and to other ranches, during the cold winter months, and Marston guessed that Leland figured it would be cheaper to keep on Marston and Kell than to deal with it another way.
You’ll have a nice setup, I assure you,Leland had said.And two guaranteed jobs, either on the ranch or in the valley, come spring.
The lure of a job so he and Kell wouldn’t have to take to the road looking for work meant that, of course, Marston wanted to say yes.
When he and Kell talked it over, Kell had said that whatever Marston wanted was okay with him. Marston had insisted that what Kell wanted was equally important. They had a little spat about it, after which they’d kissed and made up and then some. And agreed to stay in the valley over the winter as caretakers.
The icing on the cake had come in the form of the shelter Leland had provided for them.It’ll be small and humble, Leland had said.But it’ll keep you safe from the elements.
Small and humble, it most certainly was, and it was keeping them safe from the rain and the wind, the snow and the cold. But it being a tiny house on wheels, it was so durn cute Marston could hardly bear it.
Never in his life had he imagined living in such a small space and calling it home. Never in his life had he imagined Leland would take the trouble to special order it in time for the first snowfall, rather than having them make do by setting up the Quonset hut for them to live in.
It wasn’t his forever home, but it was perfect for two men who wanted as much closeness as life could possibly give them. And, given that the tiny home was just a hair under three hundred square feet, there was a great deal of closeness to be had.
The tiny house sat on a trailer in the lee of the trees just to the east of the parking lot. The fit had been close, but the guy driving the truck that’d hauled it had been a genius, and parked the tiny house without a scratch, either to the structure on wheels or the surrounding trees.
Because of the trees, Marston and Kell had a windbreak to the west and a little private space around the tiny house on the east side, where they’d snagged some extra flagstones to lay a patio. Which, currently, was under two feet of snow, and it was next to this that Marston pulled up the snowmobile, parked it, and turned off the engine.
The silence from the metallic roar of the engine was replaced instantly by thehush-hush-hushof the wind in the trees, the soft sloughing sound the snow made as it spun from the branches as if shaking off a white coat in preparation for a second one to come when the blizzard really hit.
He patted Kell’s thigh through his thick gloves. The warmth of the tiny house awaited them, once they unloaded the groceries, covered the snowmobile, and shaken the snow from their outerwear before hanging them up.
While Kell dismounted and started hauling things inside the tiny house, Marston took the opportunity to walk around the small structure, checking on the hay bales that bolstered the bottom border, keeping snow and cold from getting beneath the tiny home.
Everything was in order, so he went to the trailer and grabbed the two armfuls of wood, along with the last of what was in the trailer. The wood would go inside the tiny house because, even if they took up room, the wood would dry in the warmth and provide a nice, crackling, albeit small, fire in their little iron stove.
Pausing on the wooden deck, Marston stamped the snow from his boots, and smiled as Kell opened the door for him.
“Hey, you,” said Marston. As he put the two cords of wood down, he was welcomed with a cold-nosed kiss, and warm breath on his cheek as Kell hugged him, hugged him hard, as if they’d not seen each other for weeks or maybe years, rather than just a few moments. “Shall I make us some coffee?”
“I’ll make it.”
But instead of turning to step into their compact galley kitchen, Kell remained with his arms around Marston’s neck, pressed up full, as if Marston’s outerwear wasn’t still dappled with snow, wasn’t cold. As if Kell desired only to warm Marston with his own body heat, and to linger as Marston whipped off his gloves and wrapped Kell in his arms. He heard the satisfied oof from Kell, and the sigh, and felt more kisses.
The love Marston felt in that moment, the warmth seeping through him as he bent to unlace his boots and straightened to unsnap his snow pants, combined in a delicious, heady realization that this was his life now.
Sure, the mornings and evenings when they went out to feed and mind the livestock were cold. And yes, the novelty of bringing home groceries on a snowmobile and trailer had quickly worn off. And yes, sometimes he and Kell bumped into each other as they tried to pass each other in the kitchen. And yes, Kell hogged the spot nearest the small, wood-burning stove. And yes, it was a pain in the ass to have to do dishes by hand, like, all the time, because there simply wasn’t a dishwasher.
And yes, he could list a dozen other small things that were, at best, irritations or inconveniences. But what did they matter when, as soon as he’d stepped out of his snow pants and hung up his thick, down jacket rated to thirty below, he had an armful of Kell, and a delighted sigh in his ear, and the press of Kell’s warm body against him, all up and down.
Everything else simply faded away as he held Kell, and let the feeling of connection resonate all through him, and imagined sending out those vibrations, up and up, till they reached the stars, and spread everywhere in the universe, and to distant galaxies beyond.
Yes, since Kell, Marston could finally believe that love vibrated, vibrated hard and high and fast, and was the most powerful energy in the universe.
“I’m sorry about the blizzard and your mom,” he said, giving Kell’s cheek a kiss as he set him on his own feet. Still holding on. Still not letting go.
“We’ll see her at Christmas, right?” asked Kell. He reached to close the door, then grabbed the two cords of wood to bring them inside, where they could be warm and dry and be perfect for a fire.
“No, not at Christmas.” Marston busied himself putting his things away, a must-do task inside any tiny home. Otherwise, the place would quickly become overrun with clutter. “Remember? We’re going to California at Christmas, just the two of us.”
“That’s right.” Kell planted a quick kiss, then reached to fetch the broom and dustpan to collect all the wood scraps that shed themselves from the two cords of wood. “Don’t know why you’re being so mysterious about it all.”
“It’s supposed to be a surprise,” said Marston.
He’d researched the heck out of all the B&Bs in the area, and picked the most romantic, the cutest one. It had a fireplace, a soaking tub in the sleek bathroom and, outside, a balcony with a hot tub. All the windows and the balcony overlooked the ocean. He was planning on waiting till just before sunset, and then he was going to propose.
