Non of your business
767 Words
The storm lasted all night.
By morning, the ranch was soaked.
Mud covered the roads.
The fields glistened under gray skies.
And Ethan Hayes was somehow in an even worse mood.
Which Damien hadn't thought was possible.
The first thing Ethan said that morning was:
"You're late."
Damien looked at him.
Then at the clock.
Then back at him.
"It is six o'clock exactly."
"You should've been here five minutes ago."
Damien groaned.
"You make up rules just to annoy me."
"Correct."
At least he was honest.
The day got worse.
A section of fence had collapsed during the storm.
Meaning everyone had extra work.
Including Damien.
Especially Damien.
Ethan seemed determined to work him into the ground.
By noon Damien was covered in dirt.
His shirt was soaked with sweat.
And one of his boots had gotten stuck in the mud.
Twice.
The ranch hands found it hilarious.
Traitors.
All of them.
Around lunch, Claire arrived.
The moment Ethan saw her, his shoulders tensed.
Damien noticed immediately.
So did everyone else.
The atmosphere changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
Like a storm building on the horizon.
"We need to talk."
Ethan sighed.
"Claire."
"No."
Her voice was sharp.
"We need to talk."
The ranch hands suddenly found other places to be.
Very quickly.
Damien tried leaving too.
Unfortunately Claire stopped him.
"No."
Damien blinked.
"What?"
"Stay."
Ethan frowned.
"Claire."
"No."
She folded her arms.
"I'm tired of pretending."
The silence became uncomfortable.
Very uncomfortable.
Then Claire looked directly at Ethan.
"When was the last time you actually talked to me?"
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It has everything to do with this."
Claire gestured between them.
"Us."
For the first time, Ethan looked uncertain.
Not angry.
Not annoyed.
Uncertain.
Damien suddenly felt like he was intruding.
A lot.
That evening, the argument continued.
Louder this time.
Behind closed doors.
Unfortunately, old ranch houses weren't designed for privacy.
Voices carried.
And Damien heard enough to understand one thing.
The engagement wasn't doing well.
At all.
The next morning Claire was gone.
Her truck.
Her bags.
Everything.
Gone.
Damien found Ethan fixing a gate near the northern pasture.
The cowboy looked exhausted.
Like he hadn't slept.
Like he'd spent the entire night thinking.
Damien approached carefully.
"Ethan."
No response.
"Ethan."
Still nothing.
The cowboy continued working.
Finally Damien sighed.
"Did she leave?"
The hammer stopped.
For a second.
Only a second.
Then continued.
"None of your business."
The words were sharp.
Cold.
Final.
Damien immediately got irritated.
He was trying to be nice.
A mistake apparently.
"Fine."
Ethan said nothing.
The silence stretched.
Then Damien snapped.
"You know, for someone who complains about me all the time, you're pretty impossible yourself."
The hammer stopped again.
Slowly Ethan turned.
His eyes were ice cold.
"You think you know anything about me?"
"Not really."
"Good."
Because for a moment there...
The cowboy looked genuinely angry.
Not annoyed.
Not irritated.
Angry.
The kind of anger that came from pain.
And that scared Damien more than he wanted to admit.
The rest of the day was awful.
Neither spoke.
Neither looked at each other.
Even the ranch hands noticed.
By dinner, the entire house felt tense.
Like something was about to explode.
And eventually it did.
Because Ethan didn't show up.
At all.
Hours passed.
Still nothing.
The ranch hands started getting worried.
Then one of them came running into the house.
"Parker's horse threw him!"
Everyone froze.
Parker was one of the younger ranch hands.
Only nineteen.
A kid.
"What?"
The ranch hand was breathing hard.
"He's hurt."
Chairs scraped across the floor.
Everyone rushed outside.
Including Damien.
They found Parker lying near the edge of a ravine.
Conscious.
But injured.
And unfortunately—
The only way down safely required a horse.
Every available rider immediately started preparing.
Including Ethan.
Who mounted his horse without hesitation.
Then paused.
Because another horse was standing nearby.
Untouched.
Damien's horse.
Titan.
The cowboy looked at Damien.
Damien looked back.
"No."
"Get on the horse."
"No."
"We need help."
"You literally hate my riding."
"I do."
"Then why would I ride?"
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"Because someone's hurt."
That shut Damien up.
Immediately.
A few minutes later he was riding beside Ethan.
Through rough terrain.
Toward the ravine.
And despite all their arguments...
Despite all the tension...
Despite how much they irritated each other...
For the first time, they weren't fighting.
They were working together.
Neither of them realized it yet.
But something important had just changed.
Not love.
Not friendship.
Just the first tiny crack in the wall between them.
- Writer
