Free Outlast the Night by Ariel Tachna Page A

before it fits right.”
    Sam slid the coat over his shoulders and twitched a little, trying to get it to settle correctly. It felt distinctly odd after the suit jackets he had grown accustomed to wearing, but he already knew those would be worthless at Lang Downs. “So, what’s so special about this kind of coat?” he asked while he waited for his body heat to allow it to settle more comfortably.
    “It’s waterproof, for one thing,” Jeremy said, “but the biggest thing is how it’s cut. See the split in the back? When you’re riding, that falls on either side of the horse, and you can wrap the tails around your legs to keep them warm and dry as well.”
    “I’ve never ridden a horse in my life,” Sam said. “Are you sure I need this?”
    “I told you I’d teach you about life on a station,” Jeremy reminded him. “That means riding, especially in the winter when the weather sometimes makes the roads impassable.”
    Sam had a bad feeling about this, but he nodded anyway. Maybe he’d end up making a total fool of himself, but it had to be better than not taking the chance at all. If he had any hope of winning the respect of the men he’d be working and living with—not just Jeremy, although that would be nice, but all of them—he had to learn at least the basics of how the station worked. “You do realize what you’re getting yourself into, right?”
    Jeremy grinned, the expression just wolfish enough to make Sam wonder if maybe Jeremy wasn’t as straight as Sam had assumed. “I’m looking forward to it.”
    Sam gulped and turned his attention back to the Driza-Bone, which had softened around him as they talked. “You know, this is pretty comfortable now that it’s warmed up.”
    “Good,” Jeremy said. “Then the only thing left is a pair of heavy gloves. It gets cold up in the tablelands, and you’ll want the protection for when we’re working too.” He grabbed Sam’s hand and turned it palm up, then put his own hand next to it. “You’ve got a few calluses to develop before you’ll be comfortable working without them.”
    “I see that,” Sam said, his stomach sinking again. He couldn’t think of a single thing a man like Jeremy would see in someone like him. “Guess I better get a pair of gloves, then.”
    “Hey,” Jeremy said as Sam started to turn away. “I wasn’t making fun of you. It’s like I said. You chose a different career, and that’s still your job. All the rest, that’s just helping you be a little more comfortable in your new home. Nobody expects you to be a jackaroo. Caine and Macklin hired you to do the station’s books, not tend the sheep. Believe me, I’d be as lost doing the accounts as you feel thinking about the stuff I do. I can keep track of anything you want where the animals are concerned, but I had to drop the one business class I took, it was so far over my head.”
    “Really?” Sam said. “But it’s just numbers.”
    “And tax laws and hiring regulations and a hundred other things like that,” Jeremy insisted. “It was a disaster. I stayed as far away from the books at Taylor Peak as I could. Now it’s not my problem since I’m just a jackaroo at Lang Downs.”
    Sam didn’t think Jeremy could ever be “just” anything, but he kept that observation to himself. He genuinely liked Jeremy, and he didn’t want to lose his friendship by coming onto him until he was sure Jeremy was interested. Sure, he’d gotten a few signals suggesting he might be, but Sam wasn’t ready to take that risk just yet. Besides, starting a new relationship before his divorce was final would be asking for trouble when the time came. Not that he could give Alison any more than he’d already agreed to give her, but he could do without the drama.
    “So what kind of gloves should I get?” Sam asked. He doubted he’d ever be as comfortable or confident on the station as Jeremy, but he could at least learn enough to take part in the discussions over