After filing his company for bankruptcy, Kyle's wife leaves him and his three-year-old son. Now a forty-two-year-old divorcee with no parenting skills or money, Kyle decides to move back to the small home town he grew up in.
He should have lost all...
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Something was just different.
Kyle didn't know what it was, but he found himself reading too much into every little thing Chaska said or did. If Chaska brushed hands with him while he signed the log sheet for Otis when he dropped him off, he'd think, maybe he had a thing for me? If Chaska was chattier than usual, he would think, he might like me. And if Chaska smiled at him, Kyle's heart would race and he would think, he must like me.
It was wishful, irrational thinking. Kyle knew that. He wasn't as stupid as he seemed. He knew it stemmed from a place of assuming that since Chaska was gay, he'd somehow be interested in every man. He knew that wasn't the case. He knew Chaska was just doing his job and being a decent person, but he couldn't help himself from over-reading simple acts because he wanted them to be the case.
He wanted Chaska to like him that way.
It was a frightening realization that only affirmed itself anytime he spoke to the man. Days had passed since Chaska had come over for dinner. Kyle waited for him to mention coming over since he had promised his mother, but the man never did, and Kyle was starting to think that 'dinner with Chaska' wouldn't happen as frequently as he had assumed it would. He had his number, and he saw the man every day. He could simply call him or ask him if he would like to come over when he picked Otis up, but the thought alone had Kyle sweating bullets. They didn't know each other that well yet, and he was afraid of crossing the line.
Thankfully, Kyle got a break from his conflicting emotions when the weekend rolled around. He didn't stop thinking about Chaska, but at least his emotions weren't intensified, and he wasn't on the verge of a heart attack from the mere sight of him.
It was Sunday now, and Kyle was on a small farm working on the tractor while the owners were away. Sometimes Kyle would spot one of the children he was familiar with seeing peeping at him through the farm house's back door, and he would wave, making the little girl disappear.
Kyle laughed, shaking his head as the child ran inside again. She reminded him of Otis who was back home with his grandmother.
"Alright, a little more, and I'll be done here," he whispered to himself. He was on his knees, and his overalls were stained with oil and dirt. The farm chickens didn't seem to be afraid of humans since they kept hanging around the tractor even when Kyle got up and started it up to check if the engine would respond properly now. Work was generally harder here. People didn't service their vehicles, and they only ever called a mechanic when their stuff was on the brink of death. Kyle had been walking all day, and it was close to mid-afternoon now.
Kyle was rounding up his work when the little girl that had been peeping through the barely opened door rushed out of the house and ran at full speed. Kyle frowned, wondering what that was about. He had turned to call out to her, but he lost his voice when his eyes fell on Chaska. The young man was holding on to a leash that handled a sheepdog. The dog was currently being hugged and kissed by the small child as Chaska smiled at them.
