His Ranch

Chapter 18 A House is Home

Coult woke up to sound of whistling. Sitting up, he glanced around the bunk room to find the source of his "alarm clock". 

Danny stood in the door way of the wash room with a face full of shaving cream. He whistling a few low notes while shaving the right side of his cheek. Suddenly, Danny turned towards the mirror in the wash room and spread his arms out wide. He threw his head back.

"'Cause you're my lady! And I am your maaaaaaaaaan!"

Coult stared as Danny continued to yell out the lyrics of a song Coult knew he had heard before, but never cared to find out the singer.

Danny turned his face to shave the other side of his cheek when he caught a glimpse of Coult sitting up.

"Holy shit!" he yelled, dropping his razor on the floor.

Coult couldn't hold back the laughter that filled his lungs. Danny's face turned bright red as he bent over to scoop up the razor.

"That's not funny, Coult" Danny said, grumpily.

"Love the enthusiasm," Coult said, clapping. "A little pitchy."

"Shut the fuck up," Danny grumbled, as he went back to shaving the rest of his face. Coult climbed out of his bed and proceeded to get himself ready for the day.

Danny finished his shave and walked over to Coult's bunk where he was buttoning up his shirt.

"Hey, Coult, can I talk to you about something personal?" Danny asked with wide eyes.

Coult turned to look at Danny and saw the vulnerability in his eyes. Coult had always enjoyed Danny's company. He always had a bounce in his step and a joke for his fellow ranchers, but the man standing before him was very serious.

"What's on your mind, Danny?" Coult asked, turning to fully face him.

"I've been working here a long time, right?"

"Right," Coult agreed.

"I've worked hard right? Been a good worker?"

"Right," Coult agreed again, very curious as to where this conversation was headed.

"I've never asked for a raise or anything, right?" Danny asked, shifting between his feet.

"You want a raise?" Coult asked. He wouldn't be opposed to upping Danny's salary, heck, he was thinking about giving him a bonus this coming spring.

"No, no, no. I was thinking, well, maybe I could build a house on the ranch and become a permanent rancher."

Coult crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Danny. This didn't seem like Danny. Permanent employee? Seriously?

"Look," Danny continued, looking nervous. "You met Emma last night, right?"

"Right."

"Well, you know I was a little wild in my younger days-"

"Younger days, as in a month ago?" Coult asked, his lips slightly pulled up at the sides.

"Semantics" Danny murmured. "Here's the thing, Coult...I've fallen in love with her. Like, she makes my life so much better. And she makes me better! I never thought that loving someone would be so...wonderful. God, I sound fuckin' ridiculous."

Coult laughed and patted Danny on the back.

"I understand a lot better than you think," he said as Flannery's face appeared in his mind.

"Flannery?" Danny asked with a wink.

Coult chuckled.

"You want to build a house for you and Emma?" he asked, changing the subject. He didn't want the man to know yet how deep his feelings went for Flannery. He wasn't even sure how deep her feelings for him went. He knew that he would love nothing more than to shackle her to him for the next fifty years until they were on deaths door step, but did she feel that way?