Marcus was just passing through Texas when he met Kent. In his cowboy hat, low-riding jeans, and black boots, Kent looks like the type of guy Marcus desperately wants to love.<br><br>But two years later, he's discovered Kent is cold and distant, the quintessential American cowboy, and spends more time drunk than sober. Marcus can never predict his mood and blames himself for the flailing relationship.<br><br>Then, one day when Kent rides into town, Marcus finds a young runaway hiding in their barn. Luke is warm, loving, and quick to please ... everything Kent is not. Though the answer seems obvious, Marcus finds himself torn between the boy who demands his love and the man whose love he craves.

Cowboy

The day after the shower broke, I found an


old aluminum washtub in the back of the barn, scrubbed it up and


hosed it down and it’s so damn pioneer that I find any excuse to


strip off my clothes and sink into a lukewarm bath of suds. Out by


the barn, the sun hot on my naked body, the soap drying on my skin,


it’s as close to heaven as I’ve come so far, and I can’t understand


why Kent won’t take me up on an offer of a bath. I’d heat the water


for him, on the gas grill like I do for myself—I’d wash him,


thatcould be fun, maybe end up with the two of us entwined


in the sparse grass, rolling through suds and water, when’s the


But Kent always says no. “I’ll fix the damn


shower,” he tells me, before I can point out that it’s still


clogged. “Just lay off it already, will you? Can you move back?


As if I’m right up on him. But I do as he


Chapter 3