For the first time since Treston had figured out what Harlan had done to him, he felt a wave of relief. He looked up at the ranger and said, “I’m not getting arrested? You’re not going to call the police?”
The ranger smiled. “I think you’ve been through enough. I’ve seen all kinds of things in this job and I think I know how to tell the criminals from the decent people. From what I can see it looks like the only thing you’re guilty of doing is being too nice. And as far as I know that’s never been a crime.”
If Treston hadn’t cried so much, he might have started crying again. But this time it would have been for a different reason. “Thank you so much. I don’t think I can ever thank you enough.”
“You just have to promise me one thing,” the ranger said.
“What?”
“The next time some creep asks you to take off your clothes you’ll tell him to go fuck himself. Decent men don’t ask nice guys like you to do things like that. Decent men treat nice guys like you with respect.”
Treston smiled for the first time that afternoon. “I promise. Oh, have I learned my lesson.” He didn’t go into detail with the ranger because he wasn’t sure if he was gay or straight. He knew straight guys got uncomfortable when gay guys talked about things of a sexual nature, even the most harmless things. He wanted to say he’d never trust another lying bastard like Harlan again. He’d never suck another dick like Harlan’s again and he’d never fall in love with a man who wore sunglasses all the time. But he just nodded and said, “I think I learned my lesson once and for all today. Never trust anyone.”
The ranger reached down and patted him on the shoulder. “You don’t have to stop trusting everyone, man. You just have to know who to trust and who not to trust, is all. I promise you that you can always trust me.”
* * * *
The park ranger brought him back to a small office where they found an overweight man sitting behind a metal desk eating doughnuts. The moment the man looked up and saw Treston enter wearing nothing but the blanket, the ranger said, “I’ll tell you what happened later, Frankie. Right now I want to get this guy into some clothes and get him home. He’s had a rough day.”
The heavyset guy swallowed his doughnut and shrugged his shoulders. “There’s an extra sweatsuit back there from nature day. It’s on a shelf next to the lockers.”
After Treston put on the sweatsuit, the ranger brought him back to the pick-up truck and drove him to his apartment. He put the radio on and tried to make light conversation, but all Treston did was stare down at his lap and either shrug or nod. It was getting late and he knew he had to be at work in an hour. He couldn’t call the club and say he was sick, because he needed the money now more than ever before. When he thought about how that bastard Harlan had cleaned out his bank account, and with his permission, he clenched his back teeth so hard his jaw hurt.
When they reached the outskirts of town, the ranger asked, “Have you eaten today?”
Treston hadn’t eaten anything; he had no appetite at all. “I’m fine. Thanks.”
“I can stop for something,” the ranger said.
Treston sent him a glance and smiled. “I’m okay. I just need to take a long, hot shower and forget about everything for a while.” He didn’t want to admit he had no money and he didn’t want this nice park ranger paying for him.
Treston lived in a small apartment that had once been a motel. It had a low, square look of the 1950s, with an art deco sign out front that read, “The Desert Queen.” Either the people who had turned the motel into apartments didn’t care or they were too busy to notice, because they’d never even bothered to remove the “vacancy” sign below it. They painted the stucco white every year but it still had a chipped, unkempt look no matter how hard they tried. And the aqua blue front doors and trim could have been defined as either high camp or offensive. In any event, it was home and it was the only thing Treston could afford. When the ranger pulled into the parking lot, Treston felt a rush of relief pass through his entire body for the first time that day.
He pulled right up to an empty space near Treston’s door. He stopped, turned off the engine, and sent Treston a sideways glance. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay, buddy?”
Treston wasn’t certain how he felt about anything anymore, but he turned and said, “I’m fine. I really can’t thank you enough. And I’ll wash the sweatsuit and bring it back tomorrow. No one’s ever been this nice to me before.” He laughed and tossed his head back. “I have this feeling this is the point where you’re going to grab my arm, shove me down on the seat, and strangle me.”
The ranger laughed and said, “You’re much too cute to strangle. I wouldn’t harm a hair on your sweet little head.”
Treston flung him a look and smiled. This time, for the first time that day, he looked directly into his blue eyes. Treston knew for certain this park ranger was gay. No straight man ever would have said he was cute, and Treston had a feeling it was the ranger’s way of letting him know without actually saying it. “You’re a very nice man,” he said. “I always pictured the knight in shining armor who would rescue me would be different. He would ride in on a white horse and scoop me up in his arms. I guess I have to work on that fantasy a little.”
“I’m just plain old Cooper Boon,” the ranger said. “I work as a park ranger and I’ve been on plenty of horses, but never a white one.”
Treston extended his right hand and said, “I’m Treston Fair Leigh. It’s nice to meet you, Cooper Boon.” His name had a historic sound, as if he’d been named after some wild cowboy from the old Wild West. He probably looked great in a cowboy hat with his rugged jaw.
Cooper shook his hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you, too, Treston Fair Leigh.”
Treston glanced at his watch and said, “I really have to go now. I’ll be late for work. I work nights and I have a very strict boss.” He didn’t mention what he did for a living. He knew how people often judged male strippers and he didn’t feel like being judged anymore that day.
“I have to get back to the station,” Cooper said. “I’m on duty until nine tonight.”
“I’m sorry again you had to go through all this trouble,” Treston said. “I can’t thank you enough for helping me out this way. I thought that asshole had taken all my sunshine away. It’s nice to see there are still some good people left in the world.”