About From Away
Written by Drew Zachary
63 pages / 25800 words
ISBN: 978-1-60370-707-7, 1-60370-707-7
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc
Times are tough all around and East Coast fisherman Freeman has started hauling tourists out to see the whales to supplement his fishing income. Alberta cowboy Josh knows just how bad things are -- he recently lost his father and debt ate up his inheritance. He's out to see the ocean and the whales before he goes back home and looks for any work he can find.
Freeman takes Josh under his wing and makes sure the "from away" cowboy has a chance to experience everything the Maritimes have to offer, including Freeman himself. Can these two hard-working men find a way to make their own happiness work for them?
Review
Jodi Payne, author of Founder, writes: There's nothing sexier than working men. Men with calloused fingers and tanned skin who aren't afraid to put their backs into their work, who don't even think about getting their hands dirty; men who work hard to earn their pay.
Cowboys, of course, are men like that - out all day riding, mending fences, tending horses, working the land. Josh is one of those cowboys, one that's recently lost more than he really wants to talk about. Trying to get away from it all, Josh takes a trip to see the ocean, where people don't live off the land - they live off the ocean.
Fishermen like Freeman are also hard working men. Freeman spends as much of the year as possible on his boat and barely getting by, taking in whatever haul he can every morning and supplementing his income in the afternoons by offering offshore whale watching tours to anyone that happens by.
The last thing either of them is expecting after taking in the vast horizon and catching sight of majestic whales is to discover that the view on the boat is every bit as good. Maybe even better.
And, bless their hearts, neither of them is entirely sure what to do next.
If you like men who are red hot, but green in the ways of love, this one's for you. Freeman and Josh explore each other mentally and physically, discover each other's needs, desires, and little kinks without shame or apology. Holding it all together, Zachary has created a tension so compelling that you just have to keep reading and reading, waiting as impatiently as these lovers do for their next moment together.
Sample
The weather was perfect, no matter which way Freeman looked at it. It was warm enough that the tourists were out walking around the wharf, but there were enough clouds floating by that the water wasn't reflecting up so much that it was hard to see. It was a good day to head out to deep water, and it would be a good day to see whales.
It would be a completely perfect day if he could fill his boat with people who would pay for the gas it took and didn't spend all their time ignoring him when he said to sit down.
Freeman fished with his cousin, both of them working Freeman's father's boat. Once upon a time the family had taken cod, but those days were long over; now it was mackerel in the mornings and ten weeks of taking the paying public out in the afternoons. The sad truth was that the tourists paid for the licenses and the gas. The fishing kept body and soul together.
Freeman and his cousin John were cleaning up, making sure that the Merry Pride was ready to take guests. The morning had been okay, with calm water and a good take. If he could get the cabin presentable for the inevitable tourist who would get off shore a couple of miles and then get bored, they'd be set to start touring the wharf in search of a fast lunch and the latest gossip.
"Hey, John?" Freeman came out of the cabin with two Thermoses. "Can you take these up to the canteen for a refill?"
John nodded and took them both in one hand. "I'll get lunch, too. Burgers?"
"Yeah, fine. Get me a bottle of Coke for later. Don't forget to come back this time, neither."
John laughed and jumped out to the dock. "Back in a few." He wandered off, going no more than a boat length away before stopping to talk to someone.
Freeman shook his head and went back to cleaning, washing down the deck. The sun would dry her off fast enough. Awhile later he heard footsteps returning, but a glance up proved it wasn't John.
No, this guy looked like he belonged on the dock about as much as a fish belonged out of water. Cowboy hat, boots, Wranglers and a denim shirt, the man's hands were stuffed into his jeans' pockets as he slowly wandered down the dock.
Well, didn't that beat all. The east coast didn't see a lot of the cowboy look; most just wore work boots and ball caps with the logo of their feed on them. This guy looked like he needed a horse under him and not anything a fishing town could offer.
Though Freeman could think of a thing or two he wouldn't mind putting under the cowboy.
He stayed where he was, though, and nodded hello. "Help you?" he asked politely. Tourists were money.
"Could do. I've got a ticket for a ride out to see the whales." The man handed over one of the tickets Sheila Parsons over at the travel agency handed out as a part of her package deals. She made good on them, for a ten percent discount on the price.
Freeman nodded and held onto it, but didn't put it in his pocket just yet. "Yeah, I can do that for you. You alone or do you have people with you?"
"Just me." Oh, this one was a big talker.
"Well." Freeman looked around for John and didn't see the bastard anywhere. "Give me ten minutes or so and we can head out. I need to run up to the canteen there and get some food. You can come aboard, though, and make yourself comfortable." The voucher would cover the gas, but another passenger or two would make for profit. But then again, Freeman didn't often get to be alone with cowboys. Maybe it would be like a day off, whatever that was.
"Lunch included?" the cowboy asked as he climbed aboard, boots loud on the deck.
"Only if you like burgers and fries." Freeman offered his hand. "Freeman Gallant. And this here is the Merry Pride."
The man had a firm grip, but not one of those over-manly ones. "Joshua Stubbins, and I do, thank you." Nice warm hand, calluses -- this man worked for a living.
"Welcome aboard." Freeman pointed to one of the lockers on the port side. "Have a seat and I'll be right back with lunch. You ever been off shore before, Mr. Stubbins?" God, he hoped the cowboy didn't get motion sickness.
"Nope. Call me Josh." He wandered over to the side of the boat instead of to the locker Freeman'd indicated, looking out over the bow toward the ocean.
Freeman watched him and only incidentally checked out his ass. Oh, Freeman was totally leaving John behind this trip. Day off it was, then. "Be right back, Josh."