Wayne Gray

Thanks, John! I look forward to reading the comments and reactions to these chapters as they are posted. This is probably the tightest plotted story I've written (maybe with the exception of Curing Humanity, that one is hard to beat), and I'm absolutely curious how this story feels to readers. See you next chapter.

Chapter 2: Tightening the Line Early the following morning, Ash sat in their assigned truck, warming the cranky engine. Once he was sure it'd keep running, he got out to open the tailgate. He inspected their small pile of metal posts, a stack of pressure-treated lumber, rolls of coiled barbed wire, a toolbox, a box of fencing staples, a wire-stretcher, and a post-driver. It was everything they'd need for fence repairs today. Footsteps on gravel brought his head around. Taggert sto

Thanks for your help with this one, Kitt. 🙂

Great to have you along for the ride. Thanks for commenting and reading! More to come. See you next week. 🙂

Thanks, Chris! As you can probably imagine, Taggert has his reasons. And over time, those will be revealed-if he can find a way to stick around long enough. We'll just have to see if that's the case. More to come.

Thanks for reading and commenting! Ohhh, look at you. Being so clever! Okay, fine. Maybe it's a bit of a tell. Maybe that's the hallmark of a guy trying reeeeeally hard to avoid temptation. Or maybe he just likes privacy. I guess we'll see! 😁

I like the qualitative. "yet" So much faith in me!

I will finish Engineer Benson. It just wasn't "speaking" to me while this one was, so I wrote this one instead. I've learned I can't force something, so I've just got to wait for inspiration. But that story will finish. Sorry about that wait. I'm using the time to polish the hell out of each chapter. So it'll be about the best thing I can produce. I'm glad it's worth waiting on. Thanks for reading and commenting, Larry. More to come.

I like the vote of confidence. Real helpful.

Thanks for reading and commenting, VBlew! Well, a few folks are interested in Taggert. But he's an interesting guy, despite what he may want. This story was fun for a few reasons. One was the idea of what "masculinity" is. What that means, how it's displayed, and how it appears in different ways. I think it should become apparent what I mean as the story goes on. See you next chapter. There's a lot more to come.

Thanks for commenting and reading! Glad you're interested in the story so far. And you're right - the reason for Taggert's approach to life will be revealed. I do like this one. It sorta grabs expectations and shakes them. Not all, but some. And really, I think that makes it fun. More to come. See you next chapter.

Thanks for reading and commenting, spyke! It's hard to say no to a cowboy, so I can't blame you there! I'm glad you're along for the ride. This one is fun, I think. 🤠

Thanks for reading and commenting! Yeah, I wanted to do a modern take on the genre. There are a few reasons for that, but chief among them is that I thought I could do a better job with modern than with a story set in the 1800s. Stick around. I think folks will like this one. 😊

Thanks for taking the time to comment! Glad you enjoyed the chapter. The second one is coming next week. See you then!

Thank you, Mike. Glad you liked the first chapter. This is my first stab at a Western. I grew up on a farm with cattle, and that gave me some insight, but a lot of this was written through research, and by leaning on others with experience I don't have ( @Kitt ). The goal is to make it come across as authentically as possible, and I'll keep pushing for that. I really do enjoy the journey these characters take. There are some absolute highs and lows, and they feel like real people to me. I hope you stick around, and if you do, let me know if you feel the same. Thanks again.

Thanks, tim. 🙂 And thanks for being one of the first to lay eyes on these characters for me. you and kbois were great to bounce ideas off of, and I appreciate that. There's quite a bit more to come for these guys. I like the shape of their journey, and I hope others do too.

"...definitely gay..." eh? We'll see if you're right about that. I mean, I'm writing a romance, so... probably. LOL As for the rest, well, you'll just have to wait for that. Thanks for reading and commenting, Bft!

Thanks for reading and commenting! I'm glad you enjoyed this first chapter. This one will go eighteen chapters before it's through, so there's a bit to go for our guys. The first chapter is also the shortest. Most will run between 3500-4500 words. I personally think all of the characters get a chance to shine. Some are more overtly visible to the reader, but they all have a place and a part to play. But yes - you picked out two of the more interesting characters in the story. Taggert and Eric both get a lot of "screentime" in this one. There's more to come. See you next week.

Thanks, andy! Taggert is a bit mysterious, isn't he? Hard to resist a quiet, hard-working man with a past, eh? And that's the idea. hehe. Glad you're along for the ride. See ya on the range.

Hehe. Thanks again for offering feedback in the early stages of this one, kbois. It has changed somewhat from what I'd initially plotted, but I think it's a lot better now. Hopefully you think so too!

Chapter 1: New Hands Ash stepped under the bale, his shoulder against the green, fragrant hay, and pushed with the two struggling cowboys. "Shit." Rupert scrambled, finally getting his body under the load. "Thanks, Ash." Grunting in reply, Ash added his strength to the effort and rolled the big, round bale back into place on the feed truck. "That was close." Dale chuckled and brushed hay off himself. "It shouldn't have been." Ash straightened and shook his head. "Y'all k

Ash is a modern cowboy on a large cattle ranch in Oklahoma. He lives a fairly simple life and has found his place on Nasser Ranch, along with his friends and fellow cowboys (and girl). Things begin to change soon after their new hands arrive. And one of those new hands turns Ash's world upside down.

I've loved (and still do) a man with severe depression. The only thing that seemed to help him was Ketamine, and he was genuinely doing better with a tiny dose of that drug than anything else he'd tried. For three months, he had his life back. He went back to work after almost a year of being unable to, and he was just so bright again. It was like finding someone who'd been lost in a deep, dark wood. His provider moved away. And he searched for another who would prescribe the med. No one else local would. Even with him showing proof that this was the only thing that helped him. So I watched as he slowly disappeared again. Under this tide of chemistry he couldn't fight. Eventually, he moved. He had to. Left to find a city with providers willing to prescribe what he needed. Now, he's back to doing well. He just had to leave to do it. Ketamine may work for you. It may not. But just the fact that you have the option is encouraging. Because that means you have all the tools available to find what does work. I only know a tiny sliver of how hard it is to get up. Breathe. Eat. Move. And I have the deepest respect for him and for you, for doing exactly that. Thanks for encouraging people to get help. This isn't something people can just "walk off." And treating it like it is is less than unhelpful. It's dangerous. Good luck with the treatment plan, tim. you've fought a long time, and I'd love to see that come to fruition.

Happy Saturday, folks. Feeling good in my little kingdom. Very little. Behind my desk, writing, having coffee, listening to music. But it's still my kingdom. Well, until my cat bothers me for pets. Then I'm a servant.

I like this. Creativity is never a straight line. It's all over the damn place. We pick things up, put them down, hear them calling us from the shower, then watch ideas evaporate as soon as we sit down. The key is the stubbornness to just stick with it. My hobbies are writing, weightlifting, video gaming, cooking, and watching geeky things on YouTube.