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him. You know how much I love engines.”
“It sounds like you had a good afternoon,” Chris said, the spate of words widening his smile. It had been too long since he last saw this kind of enthusiasm from Seth. He might not trust Caine’s offer completely, but anything that gave Seth this kind of joy was worth it, no matter what the price was down the road. “Maybe this was the right decision after all?”
“Maybe it was,” Seth said with a shy smile.
    “Just remember they don’t know us yet, so if you get up to your tricks, tread carefully until you know people better,” Chris warned. “We don’t want anyone to get hacked off and have to leave because of it.”
    “I’ll be good,” Seth promised. “If we stay, I can maybe get a dog of my own.”
Chris’s smile faded. For as long as he could remember, Seth had wanted a dog, but when they were little, there hadn’t been space in their flat, and later, after their mother married Tony, they had space, but Tony didn’t like dogs. Seth had learned not to ask, but the desire clearly hadn’t gone away. “Maybe you can. You can ask Jason where he got his dog and maybe we can save up enough money for you to get one of your own. If we decide to stay, that is.”
Seth’s face grew serious as he sat down on the floor next to Chris’s bed so they were close to eye level. “I want to stay.”
Chris ruffled Seth’s hair affectionately. “Then we’ll have to do our best to fit in. I learned two things today.”
“What’s that?” Seth asked.
“That pretty much everyone here thinks Caine is a saint and that everyone except Caine and maybe Kami the cook lives in awe and fear of Macklin. Keep that in mind when you’re talking to people.”
“They saved your life,” Seth reminded Chris. “I’m not going to repay that by doing stupid shite.”
Chris cuffed the side of Seth’s head lightly. “Watch your language. You’re not one of the jackaroos yet and I don’t want to hear it.”
“You swear sometimes too.”
“I know. It’s a bad habit I need to break,” Chris said. “More than that, though, you said Jason was only fourteen. Do you want Jason’s dad to decide you shouldn’t come around because you’re a bad influence on him?”
“No.”
“Then watch your mouth so he doesn’t have a reason to question you being there.”
“I will,” Seth promised. “I really want to stay. I won’t do anything to mess that up. I promise.”
Chris pulled Seth into a tight hug. It hurt his ribs, but he held on anyway. He didn’t know how badly Seth needed the embrace, but he knew how much he needed it. It would just have to hurt.
Finally Seth squirmed a little in his arms so Chris let him go. “So who else did you meet today? Anyone?”
“One other jackaroo,” Seth said. “His name’s Jesse. He’s also a mechanic, although I don’t think he was hired for that. I think he hired on just as a jackaroo.”
“It sounds like you’ll have plenty of people to teach you then,” Chris said. “That’s good.”
The bell tolled signaling mealtime. “Help me up so we can go eat dinner. I’m starving.”
Seth helped Chris get out of bed and stayed at his side as they negotiated the steps. By the time they made it to the canteen, it was full of men waiting for their dinner. Chris looked around for any familiar faces, but he really only knew Caine, Macklin, and Neil, and he didn’t want to impose on the boss. Seth solved the problem by dragging Chris over to meet Jason and his father. Chris smiled politely and let the rest of the conversation drift past him as they discussed the various kinds of machinery on the farm.
“You look bored.”
Startled, Chris looked up into the greenest eyes he’d ever seen. “N-no,” he stammered, fighting not to let his eyes linger inappropriately on the other jackaroo. He’d learned how to look without being caught, but it was hard not to stare since they were actually talking. “Lost, but not bored. I’m not much of a