Chapter 29

Dan decided, once again, as he had after meeting Calvin, that he needed to reassess where he was going and where he ultimately wanted to wind up as a gay man. Was there really any such thing as a stable gay relationship?

All Dan knew for sure was he didn’t want to be alone. However, he’d tried three times to find a partner and none had worked out. The bar scene definitely was a failure. His answering ads on the gay dating sites had proven fruitless and, even when he’d tried placing one himself, it had led nowhere.

After a weekend spent with the dogs, doing yard work, and yet another cook-out with Julee and her husband, Dan came into the office. Ezra was already there reading over his schedule of farm calls for the day.

“Hey,” Ezra said over his shoulder as Dan came in.

“Good morning,” Rose called from her desk, giving Dan a big smile. “I’ll have your schedule done in a minute.”

“I was on call and had a chance to see the old Hatcherson place yesterday,” Ezra said.

Dan perked up. “Really?”

“Yeah, that guy, Scott, sure has done a great job with it. He said the house was finished last week. The family had just moved in.”

“What was wrong?” Dan asked, concerned for Scott’s girls and their horses.

“Scott said that grey gelding…?”

“Shadow,” Dan supplied.

“Right, Shadow. Scott said he came in from the pasture three- legged lame. I used the hoof testers on him. I think it’s just a bad stone bruise. Probably gonna abscess, though. I told Scott we’d just have to wait and see. If it does abscess, I told him it would probably pop on its own. Told him soaking the hoof in a warm Epsom salt bath for ten minutes once a day would help. If it doesn’t pop on its own, I told him we might have to come out and do it. Told him to give it a couple weeks.

“By the way, when he called he asked specifically to have you come out last night. But I told him I was on call and he’d have to settle for me. Met his daughters. They’re a couple of cute kids. The one, Susan I think, was very worried about her horse. I tried to reassure her, but I’m not sure I did a very good job. She kept asking her dad why the other vet that he liked so much didn’t come to help Shadow. Guess you got some sort of in with the family.” Ezra grinned.

Later as Dan drove down the rural roads to his appointments, he couldn’t get Scott out of his mind. Dan was disappointed. He’d have liked to see Scott again—and meet the girls. Damn! He actually was supposed to have been on call that weekend, but traded with Ezra as Ezra wanted the next weekend off. But what’s supposed to happen, does, Dan mused ruefully.

* * * *

Dan stared blankly at the computer monitor. He watched as multicolored bubbles hypnotically floated around the screen, and bounced off the edges of the frame. He hadn’t been tempted to log onto any of the gay dating sites for a while. Every time he was tempted, he’d think of his experience with Damion. It was enough to deter him.

Tonight, however, after taking Lad and Lady for their evening stroll, he’d opened his email to find a notice telling him a message from someone on Man to Man had been left for him on the site. Dan vacillated between ignoring it and investigating it. Finally, curiosity and loneliness won out over caution. He opened the site and logged on.

The message was from a man named Steve.

Saw your profile and have to admit I find you very attractive. We seem to be interested in the same values, the main being a long term exclusive relationship. Was glad to find you are willing to wait to get physical until we get to know each other. Due to my living situation, I can’t host, but would be willing to share the cost of a motel. If interested, here is my cell number: 555-2176

Steve had attached a picture. He was wearing only shorts.

As Dan reread the note and looked at the picture, there seemed to be something familiar about the man. Dan went to his archived profiles, and, sure enough, he found Steve. Dan had come across the profile when he’d first gone online searching for a partner.

Dan reread Steve’s bio. He remembered being attracted to the man, but what Steve had written had made Dan just a bit uneasy. Steve had written that he was looking for a regular playmate, about his dick size, and that hairiness was a plus—all things that made him sound shallow. However, he’d also said personality was more important than physical attributes and, in the current communication, said he was looking for something monogamous. He was even looking for someone willing to wait for sex.