The First Day of Hell
674 Words
Damien regretted everything.
Especially agreeing to stay.
The guest room Ethan had given him looked like it hadn't been updated in twenty years.
The bed was too hard.
The room was too hot.
And at five in the morning—
Someone started banging on his door.
Hard.
Damien groaned.
Then pulled a pillow over his head.
The banging continued.
Even louder.
"Go away."
The door suddenly opened.
Damien sat upright.
"What the hell?"
Ethan stood in the doorway.
Already dressed.
Already awake.
Already annoying.
"We start at five."
Damien checked the time.
Five in the morning.
"No."
"Yes."
"I'm sleeping."
"No, you're not."
"I am."
Ethan grabbed the blanket.
Damien immediately tightened his grip.
Ethan pulled harder.
Damien pulled back.
For several seconds, two grown men fought over a blanket.
Finally Ethan won.
Damien glared.
Ethan looked pleased.
A sight Damien quickly learned to hate.
"Get dressed."
"I'm the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company."
"Congratulations."
Ethan turned toward the door.
"Today you're cleaning horse stalls."
The door closed.
Silence.
Then—
"YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?!"
---
An hour later.
Damien stood inside a stable.
Holding a shovel.
Looking horrified.
Absolutely horrified.
A ranch hand laughed.
Another one laughed.
Soon all of them were laughing.
Damien looked at Ethan.
"You enjoy this."
"Very much."
The cowboy looked far too happy.
Damien wanted to hit him.
Instead he pointed at the horse.
The horse immediately snorted.
As if judging him.
"Even the horse hates me."
"His instincts are excellent."
Damien's eye twitched.
---
By noon.
Damien's expensive boots were ruined.
His back hurt.
His hands hurt.
Everything hurt.
Meanwhile Ethan seemed completely unaffected.
The man carried heavy feed bags like they weighed nothing.
Which was incredibly irritating.
Even more irritating was how attractive he looked doing it.
Damien immediately shoved that thought away.
Absolutely not.
No.
Never.
The man was impossible.
And engaged.
And rude.
And infuriating.
---
Lunch wasn't much better.
Damien sat at the kitchen table while Ethan and Claire ate.
The silence was uncomfortable.
Claire broke it first.
"So."
Damien looked up.
"So?"
"What exactly makes you think Ethan will sell?"
Straight to the point.
No friendliness.
No small talk.
Damien almost respected it.
"The offer is worth millions."
Claire shrugged.
"He doesn't care."
"Everyone cares."
Ethan finally looked up.
"No."
The single word carried enough finality to end the conversation.
Unfortunately Damien wasn't done.
"You really plan to spend your whole life here?"
Ethan's expression hardened instantly.
The room grew cold.
Claire noticed it too.
"You got a problem with ranches?"
Ethan asked quietly.
Damien leaned back.
"You have thousands of acres of land."
"Correct."
"You could sell."
"Correct."
"You could live anywhere."
"Correct."
"Then why stay?"
For several seconds Ethan simply stared at him.
Then he answered.
"Because this land belonged to my grandfather."
The room became quiet.
"My father worked it."
Ethan's voice remained calm.
"My mother is buried here."
Damien froze.
Ethan stood.
Pushed his chair back.
And walked out.
The front door slammed shut.
Claire sighed.
"Nice job."
Damien stared after him.
For the first time since arriving, guilt crept into his chest.
He hadn't known.
And judging from Claire's expression...
He'd just stepped on a landmine.
---
That evening.
Damien found Ethan repairing a fence near sunset.
The cowboy didn't look up when he approached.
"What?"
Clearly still angry.
Damien shoved his hands into his pockets.
"I didn't know."
Ethan continued working.
"I figured that out."
Silence.
The sun slowly disappeared below the horizon.
Finally Ethan spoke.
"You think this place is just dirt."
Damien didn't answer.
"You think everyone has a price."
The hammer struck another nail.
"But some things aren't for sale."
For the first time, Damien had no comeback.
No clever response.
Nothing.
Ethan glanced at him briefly.
Then returned to work.
Conversation over.
Again.
Damien walked back toward the ranch house.
More frustrated than ever.
Because somehow...
The longer he stayed around Ethan Hayes...
The harder it was becoming to hate him.
And that was a problem.
A very big problem.
- Writer
