Thirty-three-year-old gay farmer Vladimir Wozniak IV lives for his crops and the hard work that makes them profitable every year. Five miles up the road, former rodeo bull rider and rancher Thomas Sullivan is just as committed to his corn-fed beef. Once best friends until VJ kissed Tommy during freshman year in college, they stopped speaking when Tommy rejected VJ. Ten years later, after the country doctor who helped bring them into the world dies and his will names them as co-owners of property, they decide to check out their inheritance together to see which one wants to buy out the other. As they travel down memory lane through the Doc’s correspondence and visit familiar sites on the land, can they work their way back to friendship ... and possibly beyond?

The Thaw

The rest of the day was spent moving in, making sure the appliances worked, going to the little town nearby for groceries, and checking that the barn and house were ready for habitation. As we were listening to the weather report on Tommy’s docked iPod, we looked over the Doc’s topographical map and plotted out how we’d ride the land for the next few days and where we’d camp if the weather held.


I explained to Tommy how I’d gotten the heat started in the house and told him about my exploration of the barn.


“There’s a utility vehicle inside that looks like it’s still alive. Seats two. Not much else, though. Lots of cobwebs and piles of useless junk,” I reported.


“Well, then we can siphon some gas from our trucks and see if we can get the UTV started. I’d rather use it when we ride around than get my truck more beat up than it is.” Tommy looked down at the topographical map. He ran his finger down the creek bed. “We could go down here and see if it looks all dried up or not.”


Chapter 7