Nathan actually continued shovelingmanure that morning. Not pretending. Like, actually doing it. The grossness of the task outweighed the gross feeling of his hangover. The bottle after bottle of water he drank eased his headache and gave him renewed strength. And he hated to admit Liam was right about anything, but he did get used to the smell eventually—or rather, his disgust was subsiding into strong dislike. He puffed out his chest with pride when he looked out on a field free of shit.
By the time he was finished, his arms and shoulders ached so badly he thought they were going to slide off. He discovered new muscles and new kinds of bodily pain. His back hunched with acute soreness. The only respite was that it was a cloudy day. He supposed he didn’t need his sunglasses.
Nathan checked his phone. Three hours had passed. Time flew, but when would this day actually end?
He sunk to the floor of the hoof house and rested his head against the opening to one of the sheep sleeping areas. There was an aisle in the center with resting areas on both sides, like a sheep apartment complex. One sheep rested in the fresh hay, hay that he had moved there.
“You’re welcome, by the way,” Nathan said to her. He assumed it was a girl since Liam had said something about the ewes using this space. “Would it kill you and your brethren to learn to use the toilet?”
She let out abaaaa. He found it kind of endearing.
“This is the life, isn’t it? Eating, sleeping, shitting. If you add shagging and getting smashed, we could be twins.” He looked at the name scrawled on her collar. Matilda. Of course Liam gave his sheep such proper names. That tracked.
“Is it all right if I call you Tilly? Tilly is probably what all your friends call you.” Nathan moved a patch of hay closer to her head, so she could have more of a pillow.
Tilly closed her eyes contentedly and nuzzled into the hay. Another surge of pride hit Nathan, something he hadn’t felt since the day he aced his first audition at boarding school.
“I see Liam allows you to get fat and lazy. Us farmhands don’t have it as easy.”
“She’s pregnant.”
Nathan jumped back when Liam approached. He couldn’t stand up, though. His body would not let him.
“I needed to take a break. I’ll get back up soon.”
“Here.” Liam handed him a mug.
Nathan nearly somersaulted with joy when the aroma of caffeine and ground beans filled his nose. “This is real coffee.”
He took a healthy gulp and let it burn his throat.
“I have milk and sugar in my house.”
“No. This is brilliant.” Even though Nathan was desperate for caffeine, that wasn’t just what made this cup amazing. It had a mocha flavor with a hint of spice. “This is really good. Pardon me. It’s reallygood as. Did I say it right?”
“Hard out. That means yes.” Liam’s smile sent a pulse of energy through Nathan. “There’s a coffee farm the next town over. I give him wool, and he hooks me up with beans.”
Life slowly came back to Nathan. Liam handed him a full water bottle.
“Drink that, too. You need to stay—”
“Hydrated.”
Nathan did as instructed. He didn’t know water could taste so good. He felt it cool his dry, salty insides. “Is it also from a farm?”
“No. I think you were just very thirsty.”
True. It had been a while since Nathan drank plain water. His hydration usually came from coffee and the mixers and fruit garnishes in his drinks.
“Keep drinking. I don’t need you passing out on your first day.” Liam watched with care as he drank the water. Nathan found it rare for people to be concerned about his wellbeing, and Liam’s gaze was both a welcome and uncomfortable spotlight. “You did a good job out there, eventually.”
“I’ve been told I have a talent for shoveling shit. Metaphorically and now literally. When do we stop working for the day?”
Liam smiled at the pure exhaustion in his voice, his full lips peeking out from his full beard. “We’ll have lunch soon, then a few more hours and we should be done. I like to work before the sun is strongest.”
“Cheers, mate.” He handed back the mug. Their fingers touched for a second, like an electric shock, before both pulled away.
“I’ll get you a refill of both.” Liam walked back to his house, and Nathan watched Farmer Tight-ass’s tight ass bounce around in those jeans.
