There was a painting on the wall above the headboard of a small cabin in the woods. All in all, the room had a homely feel to it.
He opened the window which faced a slope with a gathering of pine trees at the back of the house. Endless stretches of woods as far as the eye could see. The vastness of the woods and the endlessness of the blue sky gave him a sense of freedom for the first time in a long time. Maybe ever. Colton couldn’t remember when he’d last looked out into his future and not felt his chest tightening with uncertainty and regret. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he let the crisp October air caress his face.
This is my life now,he thought to himself.A new beginning, perhaps. Maybe I can get rid of the ghosts in a place like this.Or at the very least maybe they won’t haunt me too often here. Give me some reprieve at times.If only thinking these words held some kind of power that could make it come true, he thought to himself as he closed the squeaky window and proceeded to unpack his modest belongings.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Henry
THREE DAYS WENTby before Henry encountered Colton again. Not that he had been counting or anything like that. That would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it? He’d been busy at the clinic, mostly with some regular check-ups, but he’d also had to make a late-night emergency call to the Milton Farm five miles outside of town. One of the horses was in labor and things had gotten critical as the horse appeared to be bleeding too much for the farmer and his farm hand to manage. In the end, everything turned out okay when Henry delivered a healthy colt and stabilized the horse.
It was still early morning when Henry got back to his house. Pinks and oranges were smeared across the still dark sky. The buzz of adrenaline after the emergency visit was still coursing through his body. Even after almost two years in the clinic, it just never got old helping people and their animals. Instead of going to bed and tossing and turning for the next couple of hours, he took a quick shower, washing away the grime and blood. After putting on some worn jeans and a denim button down, he went to Tilly’s for some early breakfast. She always opened a bit early on Sundays in order to not mess with the church schedule of some of her regulars.
Henry recognized Colton right away when he entered the diner and looked around for a vacant spot. He was sitting at the same table which he and Hank had occupied a few days ago, but this time Colton was alone. Henry signaled Tilly that he was there to eat and then headed towards the slumped over figure at the table in the corner.
“Morning,” Henry offered a timid smile as he looked down at the other man. Colton seemed to have been far away in his thoughts and he briefly shook his head before he turned and looked at Henry. He looked worn and his hazel eyes were even darker than usual.
“Hey,” he replied, a weak smile ghosting his lips.
Henry pointed at the empty seat across from Colton.
“Do you mind if I join you?” he asked as he cautiously reached to pull out the chair. Something in Colton’s posture gave off a woundedness and he almost felt like he was nearing a wild, trapped animal.
“Uhm…” Colton hesitated while he looked at his half empty cup of coffee in front of him.
“Don’t worry, we don’t have to talk,” Henry smiled. “Or I can do all the talking if you prefer. Give you a rundown of the latest breaking news from Hayley’s Peak. It’s hot stuff as you may imagine.” He chastised himself internally for the acute case of word vomit that appeared whenever he was in close vicinity of the other guy. Colton shrugged, his answer coming out in a resigned voice.
“Sure, but I’m afraid I’m not very good company today.”
Henry hurried to take a seat before Colton could change his mind. He looked at him, taking in his features. Colton didn’t look like a man who’d gotten much sleep since arriving in town and Henry couldn’t help but wonder if the panic attack the other day in front of his clinic was the sole reason for this lack of sleep.
“Not sleeping well? Hank keeping you up with loud country music at all hours?” Henry hoped that if he could just play down the seriousness of the situation, Colton would perhaps open up and talk to him. He couldn’t yet explain the ever-present urge to get to know Colton better. Not only because he was physically attracted to the guy, which he was. A lot, in fact. Colton had all the physical traits that Henry liked in a man. He was older, of course. But he was built and muscular and even though Chad had been of average built, Henry had always preferred his men big.
If he was being honest with himself, he was a bit of a slut for the protective type of guy. Someone whom he could cuddle with, disappearing in his big muscular embrace… Spoon him in bed… Someone who’d manhandle him a bit. Yeah, he’d like that. Henry felt his neglected dick salute him at the images passing through his mind. This was the second time that being around Colton had caused Henry to almost pop a boner in public.Settle down.For all you know the man is straight.
He tried to pry his runaway thoughts away from Colton’s impressive body. He didn’t dislike his demeanor either. Henry had always preferred the shy, quiet types to the full of themselves men constantly feeling the need to promote themselves and their own achievements.
“Nah, Hank is a pretty quiet room mate,” Colton smiled softly. “At least he’s a big step up from thirty smelly guys in a barrack during a heatwave.”
Henry chuckled at the remark. Thirty sweaty soldiers didn’t exactly sound off-putting. On the contrary.
“He didn’t join you today?” he asked.
“Nah, he’s a bit under the weather this morning. Nothing serious. Told me to just go ahead and go on without him. Promised to bring him back something. Tilly’s got a chicken noodle soup cooking.” Colton, who had up until this point avoided eye contact, looked directly into Henry’s eyes. Colton cleared his throat as he continued, not taking his eyes away from Henry’s.
“I want to thank you for the other day. In the street. You know, when I had the panic attack.”
Henry could tell that it wasn’t easy for Colton to address the topic. The muscles around his full mouth tensed and a frown appeared in his forehead.
“Of course,” Henry replied. “There’s no need to thank me. I assumed it was a panic attack and I’m just glad that I could help.”
“Well, thank you anyway. It’s been a few months since the last time, but that car backfiring took me completely by surprise…”
Henry was stunned at Colton’s openness and decided to voice his suspicion.
“Is it PTSD? I mean, the underlying diagnosis?”
“Yeah… At least that’s what they told me. That’s why I had to leave…” Colton was interrupted by Tilly, who arrived at the table with Henry’s coffee and their food.
