Page 30 of Ring Rust

Ryan stared at David’s arms and thought of Jasper’s resistance to strength training in the gym. For years, Ryan had tried to get Jasper to join him, but Jasper preferred to get his exercise outdoors. Mostly kayaking, even in rapids, which was too scary for Ryan to ever consider.

He wished now he’d just sucked it up and joined him. Maybe Jasper would have felt more loved if he had.

“So, what do you say?” David asked.

“Not tonight,” Ryan said. Feeling unnecessary guilt, he added, “Uh, but if you see me in Boston, feel free to say hi.”

David smiled as he ran Ryan’s card and handed over the bag. “I definitely will.”

It was ten fifty-five by the time Ryan got back in his car with the peanuts, donuts, a bag of candy, and a watermelon flavor Monster that he knew he’d regret. He placed an M&M on his tongue and chewed, only making it a few seconds before gagging, anxiety and sadness ruining even life’s simplest pleasures. He spit the tasteless remains into a napkin and hid the rest in the center console before leaving the parking lot, eager to get this day over with.

After arriving at Jasper’s house, Ryan stared at the front door from his car, grateful but disappointed when he didn’t see Jasper’s car. An arborist’s work truck was in his driveway in its place.

A week had passed since he’d dropped Jasper off after his idiotic hike. It’d been so late that night, Ryan hadn’t been able to see much of the property, but looking around now, he could finally take stock of it. There was still a lot of work to do before winter. Much of the grass remained short, not yet recovered from a summer of drought and dormancy, but the hardier patches had shot up to nearly knee height, creating perfect cover for ticks, snakes, and rodents. Ryan made a mental note to find the lawn mower before he left.

It was well into autumn now, and the trees outlining the grassier parts of the property had turned orange and red. Normally, this was a time of year that made Ryan grateful for the life he’d been blessed with. Before he traveled as much as he had over the last few years, he and Jasper spent a lot of time out there before winter hit—cutting back dead branches, mulching dropped leaves. Anything to make Jasper’s life easier when Ryan was gone.

Now, with no travel on the horizon and no home to prep, the view just made him sad. Jasper would be there alone, raking leaves in the drizzly weather, cleaning out the chicken coop inthe dark, dead branches falling on his car or roof after winter storms.

Jasper may not want Ryan anymore, but that didn’t mean Ryan felt the same. Ignoring the original reason he’d made the trek out to the house, he got out of his car and made his way to the back to scope out the trees.

He was staring at his phone, checking for an update from Beni, when he heard laughter. It was a familiar, intimate sound he’d nearly forgotten could sound so carefree and sweet. Out of habit, he glanced up to search for Jasper and immediately stumbled over his feet.

Jasper was fifty feet in front of him, halfway up a ladder. Ryan turned around, confirming Jasper’s car wasn’t in the driveway, then turned back, sure he’d imagined things.

He hadn’t. Jasper was still there, and behind him was another man with one hand on either side of the ladder, far too close to Jasper for Ryan’s comfort. Dangerously close, in fact—the whole point of having a spotter was for them to keep an eye on the person’s positioning and the ladder’s stability, neither of which was possible if the guy’s face was close enough to Jasper’s ass that he could lean forward and take a bite.

“Hey!” Ryan called out. He sounded angrier than he’d meant to. Louder, too.

Both men turned towards Ryan’s voice, Jasper’s look of shock quickly turning to a now-familiar irritation. But he always did find Ryan’s safety consciousness a bit of a buzzkill, so that was probably why.

“What?” Jasper asked, making his way off the ladder to march towards Ryan, the other man following close behind.

“You were way too close to the ladder, buddy,” Ryan said, pointing at the other guy, angry heat rising in his chest as he got closer. The guy was sickeningly attractive up close, dark hair that curled at the nape of his neck from the damp air, broadshoulders that strained the sleeves of his shirt, a jawline that could cut glass. Ryan considered smashing a beer bottle into it, just to see.

“I was holding it still!” he said. “Is there a different way to hold a ladder?”

Ryan glared even harder. “Holding it is only part of the role of spotter.” He looked at the ladder and scoffed. “Look—the back leg is on top of a tree root. He could havedied.”

“He wasn’t going to die falling three feet onto a pile of leaves. What—who evenareyou?”

“Who am I? A better question is who are you, and what are you doing to my tree?”

“Yourtree?”

Jasper rubbed his face. “Stop. Maverick, this is Ryan. He used to live here.”

Ryan’s gut turned on itself.Used to.

“Oh, okay. Right on. Nice to meet you,” Maverick said. He put his hand out to shake Ryan’s, but Ryan didn’t reciprocate.

“Maverick is a real dirtbag name,” Ryan said. “Sorry your parents hate you.”

“What the hell is your problem?”

“Ryan, stop. I hired Mav to help me with the trees,” Jasper said. “That’s what we were doing when you interrupted us.”

“Oh, I interruptedyou?” Ryan asked. “I interrupted you andMav?”