10. Ty
Chapter 10
Ty
W hen Ty woke inside the curl of Hudson’s arms, the warmth of his body, he looked up at the green canvas of the tent. Sunshine was soaking through the canvas, making the air warm and soft. He’d had the best sleep, the most incredible sleep, and had not moved, not once the entire night.
Plus, because Hudson was still asleep, Ty could take a good, long look at him.
Back in prison, you could never look at a guy too long, or even at all, because he might take offense and punch you. Stick you with a shiv. Whatever harm he could inflict, all for no reason other than catching his eye.
Behind bars, Ty had been keeping his nose clean, eyes down, so it was nice, for once, to just be able to look. The bonus was, Hudson was, quite simply, handsome, a beauty he’d been hiding beneath his shock of dark hair that spilled every which way.
Ty wanted to use his fingers to move that hair out of Hudson’s face, but he pressed his hand to his chest and resisted the impulse. And just looked.
At Hudson’s strong forehead, his broad jaw. The nose he must have gotten busted in a fight. The way the dark hairs from his morning shadow curled around the edge of his top lip, making it look like they’d be soft and tickly to kiss. Or pet.
The way his ear, pink and white, poked out from that dark hair. His neck muscles, moving slightly as he breathed. The weight of his arm on Ty’s waist, holding him close. Like he’d let Ty go if he wanted to leave, but hadn’t quite yet.
Almost best of all was the way their legs rubbed together, making Ty sorry he had on any clothes at all. But he’d been so cold the night before, and following Hudson’s orders of putting on dry clothes had made sense. Ty hoped it would rain again and again because falling asleep like he had was too delicious.
“Stop squirming,” rasped a sleepy voice.
Hudson didn’t even open his eyes, just barked the order like he expected it would be followed. Hudson’s bark was worse than his bite, as Ty was discovering, and Ty gave a little shimmy of his hips and smiled as Hudson opened his eyes just enough to glare.
“Thank you,” said Ty.
“I did this for me, keeping you warm,” said Hudson, his expression half angry, half vulnerable. He stretched a bit and opened his eyes. “So I didn’t have to listen to your teeth chattering all damn night.”
Ty nodded, as if he believed every word Hudson said. He stared into those brown eyes that looked like they could keep him warm even on the coldest night.
“What’re you looking at?”
“You need a haircut.” It was such an intimate thing to say, spurred on by the moment, but perhaps it had been too intimate, because Hudson scowled and began to lift his arms, and drew away.
“Hell no,” he said. “Nobody gets scissors near my head.”
“Or mine,” said Ty with a sigh. He actually understood what Hudson meant, how he felt. “Maybe someday.”
“We need to get going,” said Hudson, sitting up, shoving the bedclothes on top of Ty like he wasn’t even there. “I swear I smell bacon.”
Ty’s stomach smelled bacon as well, so the lovely morning interlude was over. Then they heard the bell announcing breakfast, which meant there wasn’t time for a hot shower, nor even a shave.
Ty scrambled into his clothes, tied his work boots and, in the bright, rain-drenched morning, hurried behind Hudson as he strode along the path toward the mess tent. They were late. Everybody was already in the tent, so they got in line behind the last guy, who turned to smile at them.
“Hi,” he said, dazzling them with his blue-eyed smile. His shirt was so crisp, he must have ironed it in his tent. “You’re new, aren’t you? I’m Royce, one of the team leads.”
It was going to take some time to get used to the fact that team leads waited their turn, rather than jumping to the head of the line. Ty smiled back and was prepared to say hi, but then Royce lifted on his toes and looked over Ty’s shoulder.
“There you are,” said Royce to someone behind them. “I thought I’d lost you in the woods.”
“I saw a pair of yellow-headed blackbirds,” said the man. He was dark-haired and scruffy-looking, the exact opposite of Royce. “Hey, I’m going to cut ahead, that okay?”
Again, Ty told himself he’d get used to the fact that cutting in line wasn’t actually a power play. The man just wanted to stand next to his friend. There would still be plenty of perfectly cooked bacon for everyone.
“This is Jonah, one of my team,” said Royce. “You’re Hudson,” he pointed at Hudson. “And you are?—”
“I’m Ty,” said Ty.
“I think you’re our last newcomers for the summer,” said Royce.
“Oh,” said Hudson. He was eyeing Royce like he didn’t quite know what to make of him. “Is that so?”
Hudson was doing the sensible thing, as noncommittal answers had always been the best way to go in prison and on the chain gang. But maybe now it was time for something different.
“Why are we the last?” asked Ty.
“It’s the end of the season,” said Royce. “An awful lot of work has gotten done, so there’s only finishing touches and maintenance now. And clearing fallen trees, which I understand you’re doing on Gabe’s team.”
“That’s right,” said Hudson, looking at Ty as if to make sure he was watching while he, Hudson, made stupendous leaps into acting more normal. “It’s decent work, just like Mr. Tate said.”
“He’s a man of his word,” said Royce. “Say, why don’t we sit together at breakfast? I always find it’s a less lonely place, especially if you’re new, if you know a few faces.”
“Sure,” said Ty.
There was no way Ty wanted to say no to that, and he was especially glad they hadn’t because after they’d gotten their breakfast and sat across from each other, he and Hudson on one side, Royce and Jonah on the other, he felt more normal than he had in a long time..
Luckily, there wasn’t anything he needed to do or say or know because Royce did all the talking. About everything from bats who lived in a cave along the path to the top of the ridge, to the variety of trees in the valley, to how the growth of aspen wasn’t a thousand trees, but simply one tree, one root system with a thousand shoots.
Jonah, a rough-looking guy who Ty would have normally taken great pains to avoid, hung on Royce’s every word, like a devotee.
After breakfast, as they were cleaning up, Gabe came to stand near the steam tables and raised his voice. “Head’s up,” he said. “We need to take both trucks, hitch up two flatbeds, and go on up to La Grange to get some hay for the horses in the pasture. Who wants to go?”
Six arms went up all over the mess tent, all of Gabe’s team, and a guy named Gordy, leaving Ty astonished all over again at how the valley was run. He’d only worked a few hours on Tuesday, and now here was the offer to do something different. He held up his hand and elbowed Hudson good and hard to raise his.
“Do it,” he hissed, and though he’d been fully expecting Hudson to resist, Hudson held up his hand.
“Hudson,” said Gabe.
“Yes, sir,” said Hudson.
“You drive one truck, and I’ll drive the other,” said Gabe. “We’ll meet at the grange in Chugwater, where the flatbed trailers are. Everybody, go grab gloves and hats. We’ll supply snacks and drinks.”
Ty raced to tent number eight, tightened the laces on his boots, dug around to find his gloves, and put on his new straw cowboy hat with some pride.
“What’re you scowling at?” he asked Hudson, who was doing the same, only slower.
“He’s testing me,” said Hudson, his brows lowered into a scowl. “Making me drive like this.”
“He might be,” said Ty. “But you’ll be fine. Can I ride with you?” It was going to be a good day, but it’d be a better one if he got to be near Hudson.
He paused, his hands still raised to his hat, and looked hopefully at Hudson.
“I don’t think I get to decide,” said Hudson quite slowly as he tucked his gloves into the waistband of his jeans, the way Ty had done, and adjusted his hat on his head with as much grace as if he’d been doing it for years.
“Yes, you do,” said Ty, unwilling to let anything get in the way of the bubble of happiness that was rising up inside of him. “I’m riding with you.”
Gabe seemed content to let them sit where they wanted, which meant that Ty got to grab the passenger seat in the truck Hudson was driving.
Gordy got in the back row, and off they went into the breezy morning sunshine. The sky overhead was a beautiful blue, and Hudson, who drove steadily without stopping, seemed to be enjoying himself just the same. He was relaxed behind the wheel, and they rolled the windows down to let the breeze in. Ty amused himself by stealing glances at Hudson, timing it so Hudson wouldn’t know he was doing it.
It was odd to take the same road as they had when they’d almost decided to drive on forever without stopping. They even went past the spot in the road where it wound to the top of the bluff overlooking the plains below, which, with a sharp pang, made him think back to the choice they had almost made. He was glad they hadn’t.
By the time they reached Chugwater and parked at the grange, Ty was an expert on where they were. A sense of comfort at the familiar location settled over him as he stood back to watch Hudson hitch the flatbed to his truck and then helped Gabe with his. In Ty’s mind, they looked more like a group of ranch hands and less like any kind of ex-con, focused on this task so they could get on to the next one.
Ty watched with pride at how skilled Hudson was with the flatbeds, how casually efficient he was as he bent to double check the hitch was solid. And felt a small thrill when Hudson signaled to the others that they were ready to go and then said, “Ty,” as if it was important to announce this to Ty personally. Calling Ty close like he wanted him there.
Ty hopped up and ran to grab the passenger seat again, swinging into the cab as Hudson turned the engine on, rumbling it to life. Gordy rode in Gabe’s truck for the trip to La Grange, so they were on their own.
“If he’s testing you, you’re passing,” said Ty as he secured his seatbelt.
“I guess we’ll see,” said Hudson with a grunt.
It was another forty-five minute drive to La Grange, down the straightest road that seemed to go on forever, until Hudson pulled off at the sign. Hay for sale.
“You didn’t even look at a map,” said Ty.
“Driven through here before,” said Hudson. “Can you get the gate?”
Ty hopped out to get the gate, making sure it stayed open for the second truck, before getting back into the truck with Hudson.
A guy wearing faded yellow Carhartt overalls on an ATV came over and negotiated with Gabe on the price for the hay, and then went away again, leaving them alone on the sloped hillside, which was dotted thickly with freshly baled hay amidst the shorn alfalfa.
“We’ll go to the top of the field and work our way down,” said Gabe.
“How many bales are we taking?” asked Wayne.
“Till the flatbeds are full,” said Gabe. “Pace yourselves and take breaks. I’ve got a cooler of water and snacks in my truck when you need them.”
Ty had stacked hay before, but not like this, beneath such a wide-open sky in the middle of nowhere with all of them going straight to work, carting and stacking, some men on the ground, some on the flatbeds.
Ty watched Hudson’s long strides as he went to the farthest bale in the corner and lifted it up like it weighed nothing. Maybe to him it did weigh nothing, but it brought Ty’s mind to the night before.
Such a powerful man without a whole lot to say for himself. As if he imagined that nobody might care to hear what he had to say. He seemed so angry and all alone, putting up with Ty, for some reason.
As he came closer to the truck bed where Ty was lifting a hay bale to slide it across the metal, Hudson gave him a chin jerk of acknowledgement.
“You got it?” he asked, landing the hay bale quite gently on the flatbed.
“Yeah, I got it,” said Ty, pretending to be irritated, which was how Hudson seemed to like it.
That morning, Hudson had said he’d let Ty sleep with him for Hudson’s benefit, not Ty’s. Which was utter bullshit, but Ty knew how it felt.
The past two years had trained him to wear a mask, deflect and deny. You never told the truth. Instead, you buried it inside of another truth, just to keep yourself safe.
Ty had done the same, but it seemed that the valley was indeed exactly as Mr. Tate had described it. They had only been in the valley three days, but maybe it was time to think about the world in a new way. They could help each other do that, if Hudson would let them.
Gabe made them take a break, even though they’d only been working an hour. Water, iced tea, and beef jerky were blissful in the warm sunshine. Ty propped himself on an edge of one of the flatbeds, pleased when Hudson came to stand close, though he didn’t sit with Ty. Then, after the break, they got back to work, carrying the bales to the flatbeds, loading them, then heading out for more.
Once, Ty slipped on some wet grass and fell flat on his ass. He blinked, looking up at the sky, bits of hay floating in the air, the tops of the grasses waving like a frame around the blue.
He fully expected to get up on his own and pretend nothing happened, even though he’d probably looked like a fool. But there Hudson was, holding out a gloved hand, his brown eyes shaded by the brim of his straw hat, concerned.
Ty let Hudson pull him to his feet and then spread his hands to show he was okay. Hudson nodded as he let Ty go.
When Ty turned around, he saw that everybody was looking. He bowed, and got a round of applause, which made him feel like this was the best day ever and it was only going to get better.