One good thing about living at the farm was the special lunches that his grandma packed for him. Today Luke had a turkey sandwich on her homemade sourdough bread, salt and vinegar potato chips, and her yummy special recipe oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Thankfully, Maddie Coleman shared the same lunch period as he did which made it one of his favorite times of the day.

Since the beginning of the school year Luke and Maddie had become fast friends. Both were outcasts of sorts at Oakdale High School. Luke the newly outed gay kid. And Maddie was the sister of the psycho slasher, Eve, who had killed several people in Oakdale ending her spree up at Raven Lake the very same weekend that Luke had come out to Kevin. They quickly bonded and have been close friends ever since.

“So,” Maddie said, setting down the can of Coke she’d bought for him out of the vending machine, “what has been going on with you? Neither Casey nor I heard a peep from you all weekend! Did you meet someone special? Go anywhere special? Spill…and don’t leave a single detail out!”

Luke rolled his eyes. “I wish it were something so exciting.”

“Awww…a girl can dream,” she said, popping a carrot stick into her mouth. “What were you up to then?”

“My grandma Emma took in this lady and her son whose car died near the farm. They’re from out of state and from the looks of it they’re kinda poor so my gram is letting them live in this old cabin that’s on her property,” Luke explained. “My dad is a little wary of them so he asked me to live at the farm for awhile to act as an unofficial watchdog.”

“You seem less than thrilled.”

“That’s because I am,” he admitted.

“How old is the son?” Maddie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I think he’s just out of high school,” Luke replied, eyeing her. He knew that tone of voice. Maddie was up to something. “You already have a boyfriend who happens to be one of my close friends so don’t you dare go breaking his heart.”

“Trust me…I won’t.” She grinned. “I simply adore Casey. I was thinking of you. Any chance…?”

“No,” Luke quickly replied.

“No because he’s butt ugly or no because he’s not gay?” she asked.

“He’s not ugly,” Luke admitted. Definitely not ugly. “But he’s straight.”

“Are you sure?” Maddie asked. “You know your gaydar might not be fully functional yet.”

“I’m sure it works just fine,” Luke insisted a bit irritated. After all he was gay so he damn well should be able to spot other gay guys. Right? There should be a special look or signal…maybe a vibe…something.

“That’s too bad,” Maddie sighed wistfully. “I mean how romantic would it be if fate brought you the man of your dreams…some mysterious stranger who was destined to be your boyfriend. That’s why their car broke down at near your grandmother’s farm.”

Luke shook his head as he took a bite of his sandwich. “I think you’ve been watching way too many movies.”

“Probably,” she conceded, “but I just want you to find the perfect boyfriend.”

“There’s no such thing.”

“Oh, Luke, you’re too young to be jaded!” Maddie cried, reaching across the table and snatching his hand. “So you fell for the wrong guy. It doesn’t mean that the next one won’t be.”

Luke leaned closer to her. “Well the next one definitely has to be gay.”

Maddie grinned. “True. Now…tell me about your grandmother’s new tenants. Does the son seem nice? You can never have too many friends, right?” she added with a chuckle as she glanced around their empty table. “I know popularity can be such a ***** at times but there’s always room for one more in our posse.”

Luke wrinkled his nose. “I don’t know. Noah…that’s his name…he seems a bit different.”

“Different how?”

Luke hesitated for a moment. How could he describe Noah to Maddie without sounding like a complete *******?

or the most part, Luke was just pissed that Noah was half of the reason he’d been uprooted from his home. And then there was the whole attraction thing that he would not go into with Maddie. “He just has this odd relationship with his mother,” Luke hedged.

“Are we talking Norman Bates Psycho odd?” Maddie asked.

“Who’s Norman Bates?” Luke asked utterly confused by his friend’s reference. She was forever doing that to him, not that it mattered that he never seemed to get them.

“The Hitchcock classic Psycho,” Maddie replied.

Luke continued to stare at her blankly. “And I should know this because…?”

“Oh, Luke,” Maddie was positively exasperated, “you really need to see a movie that was made before you were born!”

“I have!” Luke protested. “I’ve seen Star Wars!”

“Then you need to see something that isn’t in color,” she amended. “Really! How can you not know about Psycho and the famous shower scene? It’s a classic!”

“So you’ve said…over and over…” he muttered.

“I’m going to make you watch something in black and white if it kills me,” Maddie vowed as she took a sip of her water. “So does Noah have a mother fetish or is he just close to her?”

“I guess he’s just close to her,” Luke admitted. “It’s probably because his dad is dead. I don’t know…he just seems really sheltered.”

“Maybe he’s just shy,” Maddie replied. “I hope you were at least nice to him.”

He was polite, wasn’t he? Well…for the most part. Luke shifted a bit uneasily in his chair.

“Oh, Luke,” Maddie sighed.

“I wasn’t mean,” Luke quickly clarified. “I just…I guess I probably could have been nicer. But I’ve been going through a lot of s’hit.”

“I’m sure that Noah and his mom haven’t been living it up if they’re stranded on your grandmother’s farm,” Maddie replied.

She had a point. Luke remembered seeing what looked like were all of the Carlsons’ belongings stacked up next to their wreck of a car. And it wasn’t much. They were poor as a couple of church mice. No wonder Noah had been freaked out about losing their car. It had been basically all they had in the world.

“You’re right,” Luke sighed, feeling like a bit of a heel. He’d definitely have to try to make a better effort the next time he saw Noah. Maybe they could be friends…if he could find a way to get past those amazing blue eyes.

“I’m always right.” Maddie grinned triumphantly.

“Well…well…well…isn’t this special,” Kevin Davis mocked them as he sauntered up to their table with his new best friend, Mark Vero, in tow. “The fairy and the freak…a match made in heaven.”

“F’uck you,” Luke spat.

Kevin leaned over, leering. “Oh…don’t you wish, Snyder.”

“Yeah, Snyder…you wish Kev would pop your sad, pathetic, virgin, cherry ass,” Mark chuckled sadistically.

“Sometimes I wonder why I ever pulled you out of that lake,” Luke muttered, staring down at his sandwich.

“So you could get a cheap thrill by giving me mouth to mouth,” Kevin hissed, “because you knew the only way you’d ever be able to touch me was for me to be unconscious, you sick f’uck.”

“He saved your life,” Maddie reminded Kevin.

“Yeah…and I’m still getting asked if I’m the f’ag’s boyfriend,” Kevin sneered. “Sometimes I wish he would have just let me drown. It would have been better than…”

“Better than having a gay guy give you mouth to mouth?” Luke asked, folding his arms across his chest, shooting daggers at his former best friend.

“What do you think?” Kevin countered.

“Personally, I would have wanted to drown,” Mark scoffed.

“Come on, Luke,” Maddie said, getting up from her chair. “Let’s get out of here. We don’t need to listen to this s’hit.”

Kevin took a step back from the table. “Now be a good f’ag and listen to your hag.”

Luke didn’t say anything as he gathered the remnants of his lunch and stood up. However, he was sure to march close enough to Kevin that he gave him a not so subtle bump like he would to an opposing player on the basketball court. He completely ignored Mark who was just plain evil in Luke’s book.

“The only place you’d scare me would be in the shower!” Kevin called over him.

Luke squeezed his eyes shut while Maddie draped her arm around him as they headed out of the cafeteria. “Hey, don’t let those guys get to you,” she said in a soft, soothing voice. “Kevin’s an *******. And Mark is a raging homophobe.”

“Maybe I should have left Kevin…” Luke couldn’t even finish the sentence because it wouldn’t be a true statement.

No matter how bad things had gotten between him and Kevin…even with the Kevin calling him a f’aggot after he’d come out…Luke could never have sat there on the lakeshore and watched him drown. He wasn’t raised that way. From an early age he’d been taught how precious life was, especially growing up so close to his grandmother’s farm. As a young boy he’d seen many foals brought into the world and every time he’d been awed by the experience.

“You’d never let anyone die, Luke,” Maddie said. “You’re too good of a person.”

Luke nodded, afraid to trust his voice at the moment. He hated showing signs of weakness, especially at school where he was ripe for the picking.

Maddie wrapped him in her arms, embracing him tightly. “I’m so happy that we’ve become such good friends,” she told him.

“Me too,” Luke murmured.

Maddie gave him one last squeeze before letting him go. “You know what you need?” she asked.

Luke stared at her blankly. “I haven’t the foggiest.”

“A movie night…with a good movie,” she explained, her enthusiasm bubbling over. “I’m going to pick up a one and come over to the farm. We’ll pop some popcorn and all everything will be perfect!”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that!”

“You don’t want to spend the evening with me,” Luke said. He appreciated her offer but at the same time he didn’t want her pity or anyone else’s for that matter. “I’m sure you much rather spend it with Casey.”

“I’ll bring him with me,” she decided.

“I don’t want to be a third wheel,” he groaned. God he was sick and tired of being the single friend…a role he seemed doomed to play. And with the mood he’s been in lately he really didn’t want to be reminded of this fact.

“Well…what about this Noah guy? Why not ask him to join us?” Maddie suggested. “It might me a nice way to get to know him better. Didn’t you say you wish you were nicer to him?”

“You are relentless,” Luke sighed, knowing when he was beat. Maddie wasn’t going to give up on her plan until Luke said yes. And it wasn’t a bad idea. A movie night with friends could be fun. Noah might even appreciate the invite too.

“Is that a yes?” she asked, eyes twinkling.

“Yes…come over around seven with Casey and a movie or two,” Luke told her.

“Yay,” she said, clapping her hands, “this will be so much fun. You won’t regret it.”

And Luke knew that he wouldn’t…not with friends like Maddie and Casey, and maybe Noah. Time would tell on that one.



Holden was impressed by the hardworking boy sitting across the kitchen table from him. He practically had to twist his arm to get him to take a lunch break. Noah had been giving 110% since the get-go, trying extra hard to impress his new employer. Holden had to admit that it was working…to a degree, but he still wasn’t about to let his guard down or have Luke move back home just quite yet. It was way too soon.

But Noah seemed like a good kid so far. And his manners were impeccable. He always addressed the adults as ma’am, sir, mister, or missus. The respect he seemed to hold for people of authority appeared to be genuine. It wasn’t at all Eddie Haskell-like only being used as a ruse in order to suck up or to try to get away with something. If it was, then Noah was one hell of an actor.

Although that always could be a possibility…

“How are you hanging in there?” Holden said, setting a can of root beer in front of Noah.

“Just fine, sir,” Noah said, glancing up from the one of the turkey sandwiches that Mama had left for them before she had taken Gloria into town.

Holden sat down across from him at the kitchen table. “I know it’s a lot to take in but you’ll get the hang of it,” he told him. “You’ve been doing a good job.”

“I just don’t want to mess anything up.”

That was one thing Holden noticed about Noah right off the bat…his eagerness to please coupled with his fear of doing a task incorrectly. The poor kid was wound very tight. He seemed terrified of making a mistake as if one wrong move would have him and his mother kicked to the curb. Holden didn’t want Noah to fear him….respect yes, but not fear.

“Noah, everyone makes mistakes,” Holden reassured him. “It’s part of the learning process. And when I was learning the business I made my fair share. The important thing is learning what you did wrong and move on.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I don’t expect you to remember everything I teach you today,” Holden continued. “We’ll keep going through your duties all week. By the end of it, it will all become second nature.”

After they had eaten breakfast, Holden had given him a complete tour of the facilities which included the barn, the stables, and the exercise ring. Noah’s eyes had been as big as saucers as he guided him around the area. The kid probably had no idea just how much went into running a horse farm. But he would find out and it would quickly become second nature to him.

Right off the bat Holden had decided to see what Noah was made of and showed him how to muck out the stalls. He remembered all too well Luke’s reaction when he taught him this chore. Luke had bellyached a bit but soon became an old pro. Noah had just taken the pitchfork and did the task without uttering one complaint.

Next, he’d showed Noah how to water the horses which entailed filling a bucket from a hose from the water tank in the barn. He had to haul the water to each stall and fill the horses’ water trough twice a day. The horses also had to be feed twice a day as well. Holden explained that they ate corn and oats which were kept in large dry boxes and they also ate alfalfa and hay. The hay was kept up in the loft so Noah would have to climb up there to get it down at feeding time.

But again, Noah didn’t protest.

And in between the chores Holden had also explained what exactly his horse business entailed…they bred American Saddlebreds and sometimes Holden would give lessons but he didn’t do that too often. He also told Noah how long he’d been in business and what he expected from Noah. The boy did a lot of nodding… so much that Holden was sure that Noah was going to have a sore neck by the end of the day. He would be satisfied if half the information he’d told Noah had stuck.

“Does…ah….Luke want to go into the horse breeding business?” Noah asked, picking at his potato chips.

Although that would be Holden’s dream, it wasn’t Luke’s. “No,” Holden replied, “Luke loves to write. And I want my son to go to college and pursue his dreams and not mine.”

“Wow…you’d let him do that?” Noah gasped.

“Yes, his mother and I want him to be happy,” Holden replied. “What is your dream? What do you want to do with your life? And I know it’s not working for me.” He added with a wink, hoping to put Noah at ease so he’d answer truthfully.

Noah focused on his can of root beer, lightly tapping the top of it. “It’s just a dream…I mean…I could never…”

“Don’t sell yourself short.”

Noah slowly nodded and then shyly looked up at him. “I want to be a film director,” he admitted, but quickly added, “But we don’t even have the money for college so it’ll never happen. And I’ve never shot any film so I’m probably not any good…”

Wow…someone had really done a number on this kid. And he prayed to god that it wasn’t Noah’s mother. Noah had very little self confidence. It was painful to see how he doubted himself. Holden was going to make it his mission to change this.

“I would bet otherwise,” Holden said, stopping him before he could say anything else self-deprecating. “You just need a chance to give it a try.”

Noah shrugged. “I suppose.”

“So you like movies then?”

“Oh yeah.” Noah’s eyes lit up. “Especially the old ones like you’d find on Turner Classic Movies. I know that makes me sound like a geek.”

“No…not at all,” Holden reassured him. “It just shows that you appreciate the classics. Just because something is shiny and new doesn’t necessarily make it better.”

“I haven’t had anything new since…” Noah quickly stopped talking and bit his lip as if realizing he’d said too much. He ducked his head, taking another bite of his sandwich.

Holden decided not to press Noah on the issue, but it appeared that the Carlsons’ were pretty bad off and had been that way for some time. He could relate to rough times, remembering what it was like after his father had died. There had been some lean years and Holden had learned at a young age what it was like to put in an honest day’s work. But even during the bleakest days Mama had never let the family give up hope or their dreams. And he wasn’t about to let Noah give up his.

“You know, Noah, colleges offer all kinds of scholarships,” he said, steering the subject back to Noah’s dream of being a film director. “There may be a way for you to go to college.”

“It’s a nice thought and all, but I don’t think so, sir,” Noah murmured.

“I think it’s worth looking into,” Holden gently pressed. “My mother-in-law is one of the top donors to Oakdale University. I’m not sure if they have a film program…”

Noah looked up at him a bit panicked. “Oh…I couldn’t ask you to do me any favors,” he quickly said. “Your family already has done so much for my mom and me….giving us a place to live and me a job. I couldn’t ask for another thing for you.”

“Okay,” Holden replied, “but if you change your mind. The offer still stands. Alright?”

Noah nodded.

“Good,” he said, rising from his chair with his plate and empty root beer can in hand. “Lunch break is over. Now I need to show you how to clean and polish tack.”

“Tack?” Noah asked bewildered.

Holden chuckled, “It’s a term used to describe any of the equipment and accessories worn by horses…saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, harnesses…”

“Wow…that’s a lot of equipment,” Noah said, joining him at the sink with his plate. “I never realized that horses used so much stuff.”

“Noah, when I’m through with you you’ll be an expert when it comes to horses,” Holden declared. He took the plate from Noah and placed it in the sink. “Now come on, we’ve got a long afternoon ahead of us,” he said, returning to business.

And Holden knew that he was going to be teaching Noah a lot more than the horse breeding business. This young man needed to realize that dreams were worth fighting for and that he mattered. This would probably be the most challenging lesson too.

As they headed out toward the barn Holden came up with a way that might help put Noah at ease. So far, he had kept Noah away from the horses and for good reason…they were big and unpredictable and Noah had no experience with them so he could get hurt.

But there was a special horse that Holden trusted and wanted to introduce to Noah so that Noah could get used to being around the animals. Whitman was Luke’s baby. And he was a sweet, gentle…a perfect way for Noah to get his first introduction to a horse.

“Before we tackle the tact I want to meet someone,” Holden said, ushering Noah into the barn.

“Okay,” Noah replied uneasily.

Nervous Noah was back.

Hopefully Whitman would be able to get him to at least smile a little bit. Holden stopped briefly at the bag the hung in the barn where the carrots were kept, pocketing a few and then led Noah over to the horse’s stall. “This is Whitman, Luke’s horse…his pride and joy. My son loves to ride and just adores this horse.”

“Wow…he’s so big,” Noah said a bit awestruck, still keeping his distance.

“Yes…he’s big…they’re all pretty big,” Holden said, stepping into the stall. “Come here with me. I want you to get a closer look at him. I’ll be right here with you. And Whitman is really a big baby.”

Noah nodded. “Okay.”

Holden stroked Whitman’s mane. “Hey there, boy, this is Noah,” he said in a soothing voice. “He’s going to be around here helping to take care of things.”

“He’s beautiful,” Noah said as he stared at the horse.

Beautiful wouldn’t be the first word Holden would use to describe Whitman…at least on the outside…dapple grey with a Roman nose, which made him stick out like a sore thumb among the Saddlebreds. But Luke loved his ugly mutt of a horse. And Whitman did have a beautiful soul there wasn’t a doubt about that.

“Whitman’s different from the other horses here,” Holden told Noah as he slowly stroked the horse. “He isn’t a show horse like the others. We rescued him.”

“Rescued? From what?” Noah asked.

“A few years ago I took Luke with me to Kentucky. He’d always wanted to go with me on one with my trips to meet with the other horse breeders,” Holden explained. “Even though Luke doesn’t want to go into the business he does love this farm and the horses so I figured he was old enough and brought him along with me. Well…while we were there…we got wind of this one year old colt that was going to be put down because he had foundered.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Noah interrupted, “but what does that mean? Why would they want to kill a horse that was so young?”

“Well…as you can see Whitman here isn’t much of a looker couple that with a serious hoof disease and the owners basically wanted nothing to do with him.”

“Oh my god,” Noah murmured.

“Luke was positively frantic. He couldn’t fathom a horse being killed so inhumanely,” Holden said sadly shaking his head. “He begged me to do something. So we met with the owners and once Luke saw the horse he was a goner. He just had to have him. Luke promised he’d help take care of him and do whatever it took. And, honestly, I couldn’t bear to let this guy go once I heard about him so we took him home with us. Luke was true to his word too, helping look after him. I was so incredibly proud of him because it took a lot of hard work. And Whitman just adores him. You should see how he perks up when Luke comes into the barn…it’s like he knows that boy saved his life.”

“Wow,” Noah whispered, eyes shining.

Holden reached into his pocket, pulling out a carrot. He held it out on his palm for Whitman to take. “Luke really has a good heart,” he said as Whitman took the carrot from him. “He’s been going through a rough time lately so sometimes his sarcastic streak gets the best of him.” He wasn’t sure if Noah knew Luke was gay but it wasn’t his place to tell him if he didn’t know yet.

Noah nodded. “I know all about rough times.”

Holden smiled. “I suppose you do.”

“Can I touch him?”

Holden took Noah’s hand, immediately noticing that Noah flinched when he touched him. “Sure…I just want to make sure that you don’t startle him,” he replied.

“Right…that’s a good idea,” Noah readily agreed as Holden placed his hand on Whitman’s neck.

“You can go ahead and pet him…and talk to him too…Luke does it all the time.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Holden assured him. “And I talk to the horses a lot too…so does Mama…it’s a Snyder thing.”

“Hi, Whitman…it’s nice to meet you,” Noah said. Some of the tension seemed to have disappeared from his voice. Whitman turned his head, dipping his nose down toward Noah’s pocket. “Ahhh…what’s he doing?”

“He’s looking for carrots because Luke always hides carrots in his pockets when he comes to visit him,” Holden chuckled, digging in his pocket for the remainder of the carrots. “Here...” He handed them to Noah. “Just put them in the palm of your hand and he’ll eat them right out of it. There’s no need to be afraid. He won’t hurt you.”

“Okay,” Noah said as he opened up his hand and held it out for Whitman.

Just as Holden said Whitman took the carrots out of Noah’s hand which garnered a large grin from the boy.

“That was pretty cool,” Noah said, glancing at Holden.

“And now we really need to polish the tack,” Holden said, steering Noah out of the stall.

“Thanks for introducing me to Luke’s horse, sir,” Noah said, glancing back at Whitman and smiling. “He’s really something.”

“Yes, he is,” Holden replied.

Hopefully the little visit had done the trick and Noah wouldn’t be so uptight the rest of the afternoon.



The hot water was heaven on his skin, washing away the dirt and grime from his first day of working with Holden. Noah was amazed that his boss hadn’t raised his voice at him once. Not even when he knocked over one of the newly polished saddles or asked dumb questions. He’d expected Holden to yell, scream or at the very least tell him how incredibly stupid or worthless he was.

But none of those things happened. Instead, Holden had told him he’d done a great job.

A great job.

Holden had also told him he looked forward to working with him again. Noah had been so certain that Holden didn’t like him. But now…he was realizing otherwise and it felt good. He knew that he probably hasn’t fully gained Holden’s trust, but he would. It was just time some time.

Noah stepped out of the shower, snatching the towel off the sink and drying off. Since he wasn’t going right to bed, he’d brought a pair of briefs to put on underneath his sweats. He tugged on the same Red Wings t-shirt he’d worn to bed the night before. Noah ran the towel through his hair trying to get most of the water out of it. Then he raked his fingers through his hair so it wasn’t sticking up everywhere. This was his styling method…nothing fancy…just like him. Noah stuffed his dirty clothes inside the tote bag his mother picked up while she was in town today since it looked like they would be taking showers at the house for a little while (Emma’s plumber was on vacation for the next two weeks).

Once Noah had his sneakers on, he headed downstairs only to encounter Luke at the bottom of them. <i>Dammit…why does he have to be so f’ucking beautiful?<i> he wondered. Noah had never seen jeans and a red and black striped polo look so good. He wanted to say something witty, but all he could do was stare.

“We have to stop meeting like this,” Luke chuckled.

“Hopefully our shower will get fixed soon so I won’t have to be barging in here to use yours,” Noah said nervously, clutching his tote bag.

“No worries,” Luke replied. “How was your first day working for my dad?”

Noah was a bit surprised, having expected some sort of sarcastic remark from Luke. He certainly wasn’t expecting him to strike up a conversation here at the bottom of Emma’s stairs but it was nice. “Good…I survived…the horses survived and I don’t think I made your dad mad.”

“He’s a good teacher. I wouldn’t worry about making him mad. What did he have you do today?”

“The first thing I did was muck out all of the stalls.”

“Wow…Dad literally started you out with the s’hittiest job,” Luke snorted.

Noah tried not to focus on the way Luke’s eyes sparkled when he laughed. Quickly, he averted his eyes. “It wasn’t too bad. Well…I better get going.”

“Hey…a couple of my friends are coming over later on to watch a movie,” Luke said casually. “Did you want to join us?”

Noah definitely didn’t see this coming…Luke inviting him over. “Really?” he asked, trying to downplay his excitement.

It had been about a year or so since he’d hung out with kids his age. They’d been living in Wisconsin at the time. There were a few people he worked with that he’d been friendly with, one had been the girl he’d tried to date and when that had gone awry Noah also distanced himself from his acquaintances afraid that they’d figure out he was gay.

Of course that was crazy thinking, jumping to the conclusion that just because one date went badly people would assume he was gay. But Noah had been so paranoid about his secret getting out. He still was scared, but he also desperately wanted friends. And he hoped that Luke could be one of them.

“Yeah…I thought I could introduce you to a couple of my friends,” Luke said, leaning against the wall. “We’ll probably even pop some popcorn,” he added with a grin.

“In that case I’ll be here,” Noah replied, his smile matching Luke’s. “What time?”

“About seven…you can come earlier if you’d like though.”

Earlier? Oh hell yeah he’d be here earlier. “Okay…sounds like fun,” Noah said, sauntering toward the door. “I’ll see you a little later.”

He could have sworn that he felt Luke staring after him as he walked out the door. But that would have been impossible because he has Blane his rich college boyfriend. And the only reason he was asking him over to watch a movie was probably because his grandmother or father had put him up to it.

Because, seriously, why would beautiful, rich Luke want to get to know him?

Stop it, Noah chastised himself. You don’t know that for sure. This might actually be Luke’s idea.

Regardless. Noah needed to relax and enjoy himself this evening.

“Hi, string bean,” Charlene greeted Noah when he entered the cabin, “dinner is almost ready. Are you fresh as a daisy now?”

“Yes, I am,” Noah said, taking his dirty clothes into his bedroom. “Dinner smells great.”

“I hope it tastes good,” she called after him. “I’m not as good of a cook as Emma.”

Noah deposited his dirty clothes in the hamper and then joined his mother in the kitchen, placing a kiss on her cheek. “It’s been awhile, but I remember you being a pretty amazing cook too,” he told her. “And I always loved your spaghetti.”

Charlene smiled. “I figured that I would get my feet wet with something simple.”

“I’ll set the table,” Noah said, opening the cupboards until he found the correct one the housed the dishes.

“I’ve missed cooking for you.”

“I was beginning to think we’d never have a real home,” Noah admitted as he got a couple of plates out of the cupboard.

“Me too…funny how things work out though.”

“Yeah…ah….Luke invited me up to the house to watch a movie with him and his friends,” Noah said as he placed the dishes on the kitchen table.

“That’s great,” Charlene replied as she checked on the garlic bread that was in the oven. “Wouldn’t it be nice if you two could become friends? He seems like a nice boy. Emma just can’t say enough good things about him.”

“Yes…it would,” Noah said, trying to be causal about the situation. He didn’t want his mother to see just how Luke Snyder affected him…how just the night before he’d laid in bed fantasizing about kissing him.

“I hope you end with more friends than you know what to do with here,” Charlene said. “Can you grab the salad from the refrigerator while I drain the noodles?”

“Sure.”

“I can’t wait to hear all about your first day of work.”

And once they were seated at the kitchen table Noah filled her in on his day, speaking a mile a minute about Holden and everything he taught him. He didn’t realize how proud he was of everything he’d accomplished on his first day until he was explaining it to his mom. She seemed equally impressed.

“I’m glad that you enjoy working with Holden,” she said, taking a final bite of her dinner. “I know it wasn’t exactly your choice…”

“But it was a good deal that you and Mrs. Snyder made.”

“Shouldn’t you get going? Don’t you have a movie to go watch?”

“I need to help you clean up and do dishes first.”

Charlene shook her head. “You’ll do no such thing. I forbid it…go see Luke. I’ll handle the clean up.”

“But you…”

Charlene stood up, snatching Noah’s plate from him. “But me nothing,” she said, taking the dishes over to the sink. “You’ve spent way too much time taking care of me. Now go and have fun!”

Instead of protesting, Noah gave her a big hug. “Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“I better go change into something a bit more presentable,” he said, glancing down at his t-shirt and sweats. He couldn’t go to movie night dressed for bed.

But once he was in his room, staring into his closet he sadly realized that his other options weren’t too much better. Clothing had never matter before he didn’t care about impressing people before he got to Oakdale. However, now he wanted to look good. Actually he wanted to look better than good. And everything in his closet looked like it came from the Salvation Army. Not one damn thing in it was new.

Noah bit his lip, trying to will the tears to stay away. It was only clothing. It wasn’t that big of a deal. And when it really came down do it, did it really matter?

Luke would never look at him that way. Noah was just the poor boy who worked for his father. God…he was so pathetic.

There was a soft knock on his bedroom door. “Noah honey?”

“Yeah?” he said, fighting to keep the tears out of his voice.

“Can I come in?”

He quickly wiped his eyes. “Sure.”

“I thought you were going to change clothes,” she said, stepping inside his room.

“I am,” Noah replied, quickly shuffling through his t-shirts and sweatshirts hanging in the closet, praying that something more suitable will miraculously appear.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, placing her hand on his back.

Why did she have to do that? Noah could feel himself beginning to crumble. Be a man,he quickly reminded himself. Only a little f’aggot would cry about clothes.

Okay…now he was sounding like the Colonel.

“Nothing,” Noah said, glancing away so his mom couldn’t see his eyes because if she could she’d see that he was lying.

“Noah,” she pressed, gently but firmly. Charlene gave his shoulder a loving squeeze.

“It’s nothing,” he murmured, casting his eyes downward still afraid to look at her.

With her free hand she thumbed through the clothing hanging in the closet. “I think you are long overdue for some new clothes, string bean. We’ll have to take some of my tip money I get when I start working at the diner and go shopping.”

“No…we couldn’t do that,” Noah quickly replied. “We’ll need that money for important things. You can’t spend it on me!”

“You are important,” Charlene reminded him. “You deserve to finally get some new things.”

“But you don’t have to buy them for me,” Noah insisted. “I’ll have money soon.”

“I want you to promise me that you’ll use it on yourself. I want you to buy clothes, DVDs, burgers, go to the movies…do teenage boy things with it.”

“But…”

“Please, Noah,” Charlene said, giving him a squeeze, “you’ve been working hard to help support us for long enough. And you still are by working for Holden. I want you to take the extra money he’s paying you and use it on yourself. You deserve it. Okay?”

“Okay,” he relented, knowing that this was an argument that he wouldn’t win with his mother.

“Now…let’s find something for you to wear tonight,” she declared.

Already Noah felt better about everything. His mom had a way of making things seem better with her calming nature. And in a matter of moments she pulled out a navy blue and red rugby shirt. It was still old, the colors were faded but it didn’t look like a complete rag. He could have sworn he didn’t see it when he had searched the closet the first time.

“How about this?” she suggested.

Noah grinned. “Yeah…that’s good.”

“Great. I’ll leave you to get changed,” she said, heading out of the room and closing the door behind her.

Noah changed, making a mental note to buy try to fit some sort of cologne in his budget. He sauntered out of his room and snatched the flashlight off the small table that was by the front door. “I’m going to head out now,” he called to his mom. “Thanks for dinner and your help.”

“My pleasure! Have fun!”

Noah palmed the flashlight as he trekked over to the farmhouse. As he grew closer to it his heart rate kicked into overdrive. He was nervous…very nervous. S’hit…he needed to calm the f’uck down or else he was going to psyche himself out before he even got there and then he would end up coming off like a complete ass to Luke and his friends…boyfriend or otherwise.