Rainbow Hill by Alex Carreras

that supposed to mean?”
    “I have no idea what you’re referring to.”
    “Oh yes, you do, Nikki Carmichael. Don’t play innocent with me because I know that you’re anything but.”
    “Okay.” She pushed a clump of unruly hair from of her face, the same piece that always seemed to be there, and exhaled a long gust of air. “I’m referring to Randall. You don’t talk about him anymore. It’s like he doesn’t… exist.”
    “He’s fine,” he assured. “We’re fine.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “That we’re fine. How can that be confusing?”
    “Fine.” Nikki smiled at a passing acquaintance that Ethan did not recognize. “But if you’re not, you know you can always confide in me. You know that, right?”
    “Thanks but we really are. You know how relationships are. They settle out. The passion that burns in the beginning turns into mutual respect, and you get comfortable.”
    “This shirt is comfortable, Ethan. Not a relationship.”
    “Correction.” Ethan flared his nostril and eyed Nikki’s faded T-shirt. “That shirt is ugly.”
    “My kids gave it to me, and I like it.”
    “I can tell. You wore it the last time we got together. And very possibly the time before that.”
    “You better be careful because I might encourage my children to pick out your next birthday present. Maybe a plaid flannel shirt with matching boxers? I saw a very nice boxed gift set over at Walmart on clearance just the other day. I’m sure they’re still sitting there.”
    “No doubt,” Ethan said, running a hand over his tailored mercerized cotton, button-down.
    In a gust of Irish Spring and man musk, Quinn reappeared, an exuberant smile stretched across his masculine face. “Antonio is very interested in our proposal.” He reclaimed his seat and dug into his food.
    “We have a proposal?”
    “We will. I’ll leave that part up to you.”
    “How exciting,” Nikki chimed. “Your first day back and you have a proposal.”
    “Don’t put the cart before the horse,” Ethan returned. “We don’t have a proposal yet.”
    “But we will.” Quinn winked, Ethan’s heart skipping a few beats. “I have the utmost faith in you, Ethan. And in the future of Oak Hill Farm.”
    Ethan wished he felt the same way.
    * * * *
    After leaving the diner, Ethan and Quinn strolled down Main Street, Nikki in tow until she received an emergency text from her husband stating their youngest boy, Cody, decided that a few crayons were the perfect snack to suppress his ever-present hunger. Less than frantic because this wasn’t the first time the toddler munched down on the waxy sticks, she kissed both men good-bye before racing back toward her minivan parked nearby. Nikki’s absence immediately changed the dynamic of the two men, the sexual energy between them tangible. Ethan tried his best to push it away and focus on Randall while picking out a few articles of clothing at a small men’s store, which didn’t prove to be half bad in their selection. But that only worsened his current state of affairs, because he doubted that Randall was thinking of him.
    They chatted about plans for the future and possible marketing strategies they could implement after doing the basic groundwork that mostly included a bucket of paint, a hammer or two, and a height adjustable ladder. Heading back to the farm, they rode in companionable silence. Ethan hated to admit it, but his hometown was vastly different than he remembered. Or was it because he was experiencing it through Quinn’s eyes? Whatever the case, he found the changes charming, and the people much friendlier than the bigoted rednecks that once inhabited the town, replaced by young entrepreneurs and lifelong residents seeking to make a change. It was the first time in his life that he didn’t feel like a freak, an outcast—the only gay in a fifty-mile radius while walking the streets of Jefferson. The normally anxious feeling that churned in his gut was now replaced with a light