see us,” George said.
“Definitely. I owe them some treats for being away this long.” Levi freed his lap of wrestling cats and got off the ATV. He’d nearly tripped more than once walking to his home, because they wouldn’t stop weaving around his ankles. He didn’t bother locking the door right now because they were in the middle of nowhere with no tourists coming and going—plus Wes was walking over to feed the girls—so he went right inside.
George hesitated.
“Please, come in,” Levi said. “Welcome to my very humble abode.”
“I’ve never been inside a tiny house before.” George stepped inside, then put Ginger down. The trio of cats stared up at them expectantly.
“Feel free to explore. Everyone always wants to see the composting toilet.”
George chuckled. “I’ve heard of them but never seen one.”
“You have to get used to them. Oh, and if you don’t mind, will you remove your shoes? I’m not a clean freak or anything. It’s just something I’ve done since I got the place.”
“Of course. This is your house, your rules.” George put his sneakers on the small mat next to Levi’s boots, then began to poke around the simple living and kitchen space. The bathroom was beneath the lofted “bedroom,” which was little more than a queen-size mattress and built-in dresser for his clothes. Levi grabbed a bag of their favorite treats from a cabinet and offered a few to each of his girls. Then he sat on the floor and petted them for a while, enjoying their soft fur and excited purrs. Three beautiful little lives he’d had the great fortune to rescue from a box on the side of the road.
One of the reasons he’d chosen this particular home model was because the design turned the steps up to his loft into tiered shelves/cabinets that he used for storage. Plus, the litter box when they were traveling or experiencing bad weather. George ascended those steps carefully, one hand on the wall for balance because there was no rail. It had taken Levi a few weeks to get used to it, but the cats loved chasing each other up and down them.
George gazed around a moment, then sat on the top step to look out over the compact living space. “This is pretty cool. A house you can take anywhere you want.”
“That was the point. I missed the nomadic life I’d had with the rodeo. I wanted the freedom to just go where I could drive to, but I didn’t want to have to rely on motels.”
“Did you stay in a lot of motels with the rodeo?”
“Not very many. We had a bunch of RVs. I used to share one with Robin, my brother Xander and a guy named Petey. It was cramped but we loved what we did and we made it work. Although sometimes the sound of Xander and Robin fucking through a wall as thin as a bedsheet got to be a little much. But I think some of that was just me envying how in love they were.”
“I know I said it before but I’m so sorry about Xander. I can’t imagine how devastated I’d be if something ever happened to Orry.”
“Thanks.” Levi’s throat didn’t tighten the way it normally did when he talked about his late brother. “It’s hard to believe it’ll be four years this Christmas Day.”
“I guess that’s a hard holiday for you, huh?”
“Yes and no.” He stroked Baby’s soft head. “I have hundreds of amazing Christmas memories from the first three decades of my life. And last year was a huge turning point for my grief, because I spent it here with Robin. The brother I’d missed. I fell in love with this land. The peace and the beauty.”
“How long do you think you’ll stay?”
Levi didn’t miss the subtle tremble in George’s question. He looked up and held George’s gaze. “I don’t know. I love trick riding and I love working at the ghost town with Robin. Shawn’s great. Everyone who works here, be it the ghost town or the ranch, is great.”
“But?”
“No but.” He didn’t like that they were having this conversation so far apart but if this made George feel comfortable, Levi wouldn’t complain. “Sometimes I get itchy feet. A rolling stone gathers no moss and all. I’d actually hoped to spend some of the ghost town’s down time traveling a bit. Seeing more of Northern California.”
“Shit, I wrecked those plans.”
“Hardly.” Levi pulled Sporty off his lap and went up three steps. Sat. “Ginger getting hurt