GENRE: Gay Historical Western Romance
LENGTH: 5,869 words
RATING:

Bo, a young man from Oklahoma, finds himself looking for fortune and opportunity in Texas as a bounty hunter a few years after the Civil War. While achieving his dream of owning a real bank account, he meets a charming and mysterious man with whom he forms a nebulous and strong relationship that builds on a strange notebook Bo found.

Can the wild will of destiny keep them together? Or will the dangerous past of that ineffably charming banker creep into the mix?

EXCERPT:

“This is Alistair Freeman, Mr. Thomas,” the manager said as he stood between them.

The two shook hands. Once the manager was finally out of sight, the banker said cheekily, “Pompous ass, my boss is.” He cringed dramatically. “Hah, no, I’m only kidding. You can call me Al. And your first name was again, kid?”

Bo felt that flutter again. He swallowed some spit.

“Bo,” he said quietly. They made eye contact, and Bo saw that Al had cool, gray eyes.

Almost silver. To Bo, they reminded him of the moon.

“Well, Bo, ya look like something bit you. You okay, kid?” Al asked with a worried look.

Bo nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Don’t call me sir. I hate that. Please, call me Al. Would you like something to drink, so we may sit down and discuss business?”

Bo shook his head. He wasn’t sure why his heart was pounding so bad.

“Please, sit down then,” Al said, and they both sat down at a desk. “Where you from, kid?”

“Oklahoma.”

“They all blonde and brown-eyed from over there in Oklahoma, Bo?”

Bo shook his head, touching his own blonde hair subconsciously.

“Hah! I’m only fooling around!” Al laughed raucously. “I like to tease my customers. I apologize.”

Bo tried to be polite and smiled, but he was starting to feel a little strange around this man. He shrugged, saying, “My older brother teased me as well.”

“Is he here, too? I can sign your whole family up for accounts, if you like.”

“No, that won’t be necessary. He ... my older brother Amos died in Gettysburg. We were both close. During the war, I wanted to fight, too, but Amos wanted me to stay with Ma. I ...” Bo couldn’t believe he was starting to open up, but he kept going. “I wanted to be the first person in my family to have a bank account.”

Al nodded sympathetically. “That’s tough. I’m sorry, Bo. I heard about that horrible battle. It was just ... all that bloodshed. I can’t stand it.” Al shuddered. “I don’t like the sight of blood.”

Bo sat up a bit straighter. “I quite agree, Al. My brother was on the side that was right, with President Abraham Lincoln, and he fought for America to become proper again. No more slaves.”

Al nodded in affirmation. “I hate the very concept of slavery, Bo. It is very immoral to use people for labor without any pay and take away their rights. Their basic sense of humanity. I ... I agree with your brother’s cause.” He coughed a bit, holding his chest for a moment. He smiled at Bo weakly. “I didn’t fight. I’m a little too old, hah.” But as Al said it, he was looking down, almost ashamed.

Bo frowned a bit. He felt like the older man might be sick or had something wrong with him.

Unfortunately for Bo, this was actually the first person he had sat down and spoken to in months, so he didn’t know if this was considered normal. Especially the fact that his heart felt like it was fluttering, almost trembling in his chest whenever they made eye contact.