“Scoot over,” Xander said. He moved to the other side of the bed and moved those pillows as well. He turned down the blanket too while Wright stared at him.
“What are you doing?” Wright asked. He moved, giving Xander plenty of space in the bed.
“I’m going to stay right here and watch over you,” he said like it was obvious.
“You’ve already done enough,” Wright said. He opened his mouth to say more, but Xander interrupted him.
“I want to,” he said quietly. He kept a little space between them in case Wright wanted to sleep on his own. He reached down to grab the pillows and situate them between their bodies. “I’m going to be around you so much that you’ll get sick and tired of seeing me.”
“I doubt that will happen,” Wright said. He wasn’t sure if he meant for Xander to hear it, but something sprouted low in his heart at the words. His ex had said it, that he was tired of Xander’s tendency to take care of him. He shut down thatthought quickly. Wright was fifteen years younger than him. “What are you doing?”
“I’m fixing the pillows back for you.”
“Oh.” The word was dripping with disappointment. Xander looked up at him, stopping his movements to fix the pillows. Wright was watching his hands, avoiding him.
“Oh, what? Wright, if it makes you uncomfortable, I can go back to the living room or bring a chair in here to sleep on. I don’t want to leave you alone, though.”
“No, it doesn’t make me uncomfortable. I just-” Wright looked away, toward the bathroom door. The room was mostly dark, all the lights in the house were off. There was a small flicker of light coming through the bedroom door where he’d left the TV on when he came in. He watched Wright’s head move to look down, focusing on his lap. His right hand started picking at the bandage that was holding his shoulder and elbow in place. “I thought you were talking about laying together.”
Xander argued with himself. He could hear the disappointment in Wright’s voice. On the one hand, he wanted Wright to feel better, to help him however he could. He even thought about just holding him and comforting him earlier. But he knew he shouldn’t get too close to him. Even under the bruises and cuts, Xander could see that Wright was attractive. He was cute, in a younger way. Being thirty-five and having been in a relationship for the last three years with another guy similar in build to him, having a smaller man in his bed was different. He was torn between wanting to help him, to make him feel better, and keeping from crossing a line.
“I’m sorry. I’m going to try and get some more sleep.”
“No, no. I’m sorry.” Xander moved the pillows again, one going to the floor and the other he put behind himself. “Come here.” He would deal with his thoughts later. Right now, he just wanted Wright to feel better.
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, if that wasn’t what you meant.” Wright stayed where he was as he continued talking. “You’ve already done enough for me.”
“If you weren’t injured, I would pull you over here myself but you are. So, come here.” Xander situated himself on his pillow, propped up enough that when Wright snuggled against his side, they were both half-sitting still. Wright’s head rested against his shoulder and Xander closed his eyes. It’d been six months of living on the ranch. After the breakup, he’d been the one to move out since his name wasn’t on the lease. He’d thrown everything he had into helping with the ranch, the business side and helping to keep the new houses clean and in working condition. They were spaced out just enough to give privacy and Xander was the one that kept the grass cut low. And the one that got a snake out of the bedroom one evening.
Each night, he’d come back to this exact bed and ask himself why he kept such a large bed for one person. More than once, he thought about downsizing or finding a new place in the city again. He loved being back on the ranch and it wasn’t like he would have time to date or anything if he was working in an Emergency Room or somewhere similar.
“Are you okay?” Wright’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He realized he was brushing his fingers against Wright’s middle back, across his spine from side-to-side. He made sure to avoid where he knew the bruises were, the one on his side and the space on his lower back.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just get some sleep, okay? I have my alarm set to give you more pain medicine in a couple of hours.”
Xander woke up hours later to his alarm for the second time. The sky was just starting to lighten, a soft glow curling around the edges of the curtain. It was barely six in the morning, but he was on feeding duty this morning. He would have to make his way to the barn soon to care for the horses.
He’d woken up at two in the morning with his first alarm to Wright still pressed up against him. He’d slipped a leg between his own and was drooling on his shirt. It was adorable, really. Xander’s arm was wrapped around his back, resting gently against his hip. He’d barely woken up when Xander slipped out of the bed and gave him the pills and a glass of water. Instead of moving him again and waking him back up, he decided to sleep the rest of the night on the couch. He kept the door open to listen out for him, but they had both slept the entire time. Now, he needed to get up and make sure he was good before starting the day.
“Good morning, gorgeous,” Xander said softly as he bent over the edge of the bed. Wright was laying on his stomach- something that Xander wasn’t the surest of with his injuries but he’d probably have to just deal with. His head was buried in the pillow, still drooling, and he looked so peaceful. He wanted to let him know that he was leaving the house though. In case he woke up alone. He ran his hand through his hair, pushing it behind his ears. “Wake up, Wright.”
“Sleepy,” Wright mumbled. “Don’t want to get up.”
“You can sleep a little longer, but I have to go help with the horses. I’ll be back in a little bit to get you for breakfast. I’ll leave a couple pills on the counter for you when you’re ready to get up. If you’re hurting or feel dizzy, just walk outside, okay? I’ll keep an eye out for you. My phone is in the living room too.”
Wright made some type of noise but didn’t move. His good eye never opened during their short interaction. Xander gave him one more brush of his hair and then turned to grab fresh clothes before walking outside. It was the beginning of June, the air was already hot. He’d have to check the forecast for the rest of the week, see if they were getting rain or not. The horses protested him being just a couple minutes late.
“I know, I’m late. Sorry, guys.” Xander got to work quickly. The barn was nice, state of the art for their business. They’d been a cattle ranch for generations, selling meat locally and across the state. Patrick was the fifth generation of their family to own the ranch. It was going strong and the additional income of the refuge only made it more stable. No pun intended.
Three of them were in the barn right now, the other two out in the pasture for them to graze. He started by taking all the buckets and baskets out of the stalls and mucking them out. He opened the doors to let them out into the paddock while he cleaned the stalls and laid fresh bedding and then replaced their food and water.
He was sweating from the heat and working by the time he was finished. He brought the horses back in to let them eat, including the ones that were out in the pasture. They easily came in with the promise of food.
“You’re a good girl, Luna.” He rubbed between her eyes as he passed. She was a Palomino, five years old. He moved to the next one, stopping to say hi as well. “Raven. Were you behaving outside last night? Of course you weren’t. The question is, did you get Willow into trouble as well or was it just you?”
“Do you always talk to them like humans?” Wright’s voice pulled him from his horse, Benito. He was a mustang, all black except for the white spot between his eyes. He turned from the horse to the sound of Wright’s voice. He was standing in the open door of the barn.
“What are you doing up and walking around?” Xander moved quickly to stand closer to Wright. His face was several different colors and he was still in the oversized shirt and sweats. He immediately leaned against Xander’s arm when he held it out. “You should be resting. I told you I would come back to get you.”
