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

At the bottom of the hill, he lay motionless.


I picked my way through the snow, making a path I could follow to get him back up to the crest.


He looked stunned and was gasping for breath.


When I bent down to check him, he tried to stand up.


“Wait a second,” I cautioned. “How’re you doing?”


“Fucking damn,” he yelled. “I’ve got a red hot poker stuck up my ass. Shit. Gimme a hand so I can stand.”


He was floundering like a deer caught in one of the furrows out in the fields. I stuck out my hand and planted a boot at an angle so he could use it to get some leverage.


He grabbed hold of my hand and tried to stand, only to slip back and land on his butt again. His hand dropped from mine. He stared up at me, his wide eyes looking stunned through the goggle lens.


“Okay, hot shot. How about you try it nice and easy this time, and grab onto me as you get up?” I gave my hand a shake. He’d just about pulled it off last time.


Chapter 20