“That’s what it says on my birth certificate.” David knew that Jerry was asking how someone like David had parents like Niels and Marie. Niels had had a privileged upbringing, just like Jerry and David, and didn’t know the first thing about horses or farming or the outdoors. And Marie had been raised on a farm, knew everything there was to know about horses and the outdoors, but spent as little time as possible in it. David, on the other hand, loved the outdoors and mucking stalls and rolling around in the grass and camping. He looked over at Jerry and shrugged, as if to reinforce that his family was far too complex to try to figure out.
“Isn’t calling to invite Mrs. Hill and Anne tomorrow a little short on notice?”
“Maybe,” David said, “but something tells me that they’re not doing much. When I spoke to Mrs. Hill yesterday, she told me that Mr. Hill is off on some business trip and won’t be back until Tuesday.”
“Wonder if he knows,” Jerry said as he finished his beer.
“Something tells me he doesn’t,” David said, getting up and fetching Jerry another beer.
“You’re trying to get me drunk, aren’t you?”
“No,” David said, shaking his head. “When you’re drunk, it’s difficult to have my way with you. You fall asleep on me within minutes.” Jerry laughed at that remark and the two of them enjoyed a few moments of silence.
“What time does the movie get out?” Jerry was looking at the big clock that hung on the wall of the kitchen, just above the built-in desk.
“It’s a long one,” David replied, looking over at the same clock. “I think Cory said they’d be home just before ten.”
“Another fifteen minutes,” Jerry said, waggling his eyebrows. He left his beer on the table and pulled David into the living room, Billie hot on their heels. He laid his husband down on the sofa, David going willingly, and then climbed between his legs, bringing their torsos together before he brought his lips to caress David’s.
Billie was probably feeling a little neglected, and licked David’s face and then Jerry’s. Jerry just laughed and pulled her between them, four hands scratching and loving on her, until she left to go lie down in front of the fireplace.
“Been so busy lately,” Jerry whispered. “Haven’t done much of this.”
David knew that Jerry was talking about kissing and touching, without the need to head to any particular objective. “I know I’ve been a little preoccupied, baby,” David said as he brought his hands up to stroke over Jerry’s thick back. He moved his hand to the nape of Jerry’s neck and pulled his head down for another kiss.
Jerry had his elbows planted on either side of David’s shoulders, his hands reaching out to caress his husband’s face and hair. “No worries. There are bound to be some ups and downs sometimes. I’m just glad that you’re feeling a lot more relaxed.”
David opened his mouth to tell Jerry just how relaxed he was feeling right then, but they heard the door open and William’s voice thanking Cory and Tara for convincing him to go to the movie.
Jerry lifted himself off of David’s body and then held out his hand. They both walked to the front entrance. David’s heart just about flew out of his chest when he saw that William was positively beaming.
“How’d it go?” David asked before William walked over to him and enfolded him in a bear hug.
“Thank you, David.” William let go and then turned to Jerry, throwing his arms around him as well. “Thanks, Dad.”
“I guess it went well, then, huh?” Jerry hugged his son, but didn’t let go when William did, preferring to leave one arm draped lazily over his son’s shoulders. “You’re welcome, chief, but David gets all the credit for this one.”
“I thought he was going to pass out,” Cory said, laughing at William’s obvious embarrassment. “You should have seen the look on his face. And what was the first thing out of his mouth? He was worried that he and Anne were going to get in trouble for being together.”
“Mrs. Hill was there, just as she’d said,” Tara recounted. “She even took a few moments to visit with us before she and Anne left to go home.”
“How was the movie?” David asked, looking from Cory to Tara to William, and laughed when he saw William shrug, his cheeks turning a deep crimson color.
“I don’t think he ever stopped looking at Anne,” Tara said, her smile growing as she looked at William. “The movie was good, but it’s been so long since I’ve seen the last one that I think I missed half of it ’cause I was trying to remember names and events and places.”
“Well,” David said, smoothing his hand over William’s hair and brushing a forelock out of his eyes. “We’ll just have to rent it when it’s out so that you can finally watch it.”
“I’m gonna head to bed,” William said, his smile still broad and beaming. He gave one last hug to his dad and to David and then headed up the stairs.
“Beer?” Jerry said to Cory and Tara as he headed back to the kitchen, David following him.
“Sure,” Cory said with a shrug.
The four of them sat around the table and talked about the movie, about how excited William had been to see Anne again, and about David’s idea to invite Anne and her mother over for a barbecue tomorrow night.
“She didn’t seem upset?” David looked from Cory to Tara. He was referring to Mrs. Hill’s reaction when she’d come to pick up her daughter at the theater. “Or worried about anything?”
“No,” Tara said, shaking her head and looking at Cory. “I mean, she seems like the nervous type anyway, but she was smiling and telling us how grateful she was that we’d chaperoned.”
“Jerry and I aren’t sure if Mr. Hill knows what’s going on,” David admitted to Cory and Tara.
“We were saying the same thing,” Cory said, his brow furrowed as he looked over at Tara. “I was telling Tara that I couldn’t believe that Mr. Hill would be okay with all of this.”
“Mrs. Hill said something about Mr. Hill being out of town until Tuesday,” Tara said, the sentence seeming more like a question than an observation.
“I wonder what’s going to happen if he doesn’t know and doesn’t approve.” Cory looked intently at David, who just shook his head.
“We’ll figure it out if and when that happens,” Jerry observed and turned to Cory. “In the meantime, David’s parents are coming over on Sunday, possibly, because his mother wants to meet me and you two, before you have to head back to Ontario.”
“William said she was nice,” Cory observed. David figured that William had probably told Cory and Tara that Marie was a little cold and aloof, which was true enough, but didn’t want to use those exact words.
“My mother can be an incredibly loving woman,” David said, his smile strained. “But she can also be a little… cool, especially to people she doesn’t really know. So….”
“It’ll be fine,” Tara said. “Cory can practice, pretend he’s trying to land a new client. It’ll be good for him.”
“What about you two?” Jerry asked as he picked at the label of his beer. “Have you discussed dates and places, or….”
“We were thinking next summer,” Cory said, his smile growing as the topic changed to the wedding. “And we were thinking here.”
“But, of course, we could do it at Grandpa’s if—”
“Here works for me,” Jerry said and turned to David.
“Absolutely,” David agreed, and turned to Tara. “You let me know what you’ll need, and I’ll arrange everything from this end.”
“Thanks,” Tara said before she let go of a big yawn.
“We’ve been keeping so busy here, we’re going to need a vacation when we get back to Ontario.” Cory raised himself off his chair, and Tara, hers, and they said their good nights to Jerry and David. They watched Cory and Tara head off to bed.
“Wonder how your mother’s going to react to being a great-grandmother,” Jerry teased as he finished his second beer.
“One step at a time here, okay?” David asked, as he le
aned his head against Jerry’s shoulder. “I just need to get through the weekend first.”
Chapter 15
JERRY pulled his truck up to the house and parked it, wondering how he was going to get all of his new purchases into the house without David noticing anything. He’d spent the morning at Harry Rosen, getting fitted with his new suit, picking out the right tie, and even getting a brand new pair of shoes. He was going to make sure that their night out at the symphony would be a night his husband would never forget. But he had to figure out how to get all of the stuff inside and into William’s closet while David was running around getting everything ready for the barbecue with Mrs. Hill and Anne.
He’d received a phone call while he was in the middle of his shopping spree. David had just gotten off of the phone with Mrs. Hill, and everything was arranged. Mrs. Hill, according to David, had been thrilled at the idea of coming over and getting to know William and his family. Jerry had asked if David had screwed up the courage to ask her about her husband’s thoughts on all of this, but David had not. He was still too hesitant to stick his nose in where it didn’t belong.
Jerry had asked William to look after the horses that morning, grooming and cleaning out the stalls, while he went to get his new attire for the symphony, and noticed that William was just coming out of the barn, a big smile still on his face.
“Hey, partner,” Jerry greeted as he exited his vehicle. “Need you to distract David while I get this stuff into your closet.” Jerry had already asked William a couple of days ago if he could hide his new outfit in his son’s room so that David wouldn’t wonder why there was a new suit hanging in their closet.
“Or,” William said quickly, “you could go and distract him, and I could take all of that up to my room.”
“Works for me,” Jerry said as he squeezed his son’s shoulder and made his way into the house.
It was just after lunch, but David had already begun to prepare the food for the barbecue with Anne and her mother. They would probably be arriving before four this afternoon and would be here for several hours while William and Anne visited, William finally getting the chance to show his girl the horses he loved so much.
“Meeting go well?” David asked as he came over for a kiss.
“Very,” Jerry said and obliged his husband with a quick kiss. “Can I help with anything?”
“No,” David sighed. “I think I’ve got it all under control.”
“Okay. How about if we take a little break?” Jerry said, but David eyed him suspiciously. “I was talking about having some tea.”
“Oh, okay,” David said, his cheeks flushing. “I have to wait for the dough to rise anyway.”
Jerry moved all of the materials that littered the table to the other end so that David would be forced to sit with his back to the door. “You sit,” he said, guiding David into the right chair, “and I’ll get everything we need.”
“Thank you, baby,” David said as he sat and leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Jerry fetched some mugs and put them on the table, glancing to the door and seeing that William was peering through the screen, all of Jerry’s purchases slung over his shoulder. He waved William in, and then put a finger to his lips, telling William to be very quiet.
“I think on Monday and Tuesday,” Jerry said, sitting down in a chair while William sneaked upstairs, “we’re going to order in and have nice quiet evenings with movies, and just relax. You’re not going to cook or do anything. Maybe we’ll even go out to the lake for a nice picnic?”
“Sounds like heaven,” David said, opening his eyes and smiling at his husband. “A nice quiet evening before Cory and Tara have to head back to Ontario on Wednesday.”
“You can get some more work done on your thesis once we’re back to normal,” Jerry soothed, reaching for David’s hand.
“Yeah, but there’ll only be a week before school starts up again.”
“No worries,” Jerry said, leaning forward for a kiss, “you’ll get it done eventually.”
“Yeah,” David sighed as Jerry got up to unplug the kettle and fix them each a mug of tea.
“IT’S so nice that you could make it,” David said to Mrs. Hill as she and Anne made their way to the picnic table. He turned to look at Anne. “William is in the barn getting the horses ready for you. He’s been in there all afternoon making sure they’re clean and shiny.”
“It’s so nice of you to invite us over,” Mrs. Hill said as she handed David a Tupperware dish. “I know you said not to bring anything, but I made some potato salad.”
“That was very thoughtful. Thank you.”
David turned to see Anne looking in the direction of the barn, her face alight when she saw William walking toward them, a smile as big and broad on his face. Billie walked obediently at his side, tail wagging and tongue hanging out.
“Mrs. Hill,” William said as he offered his hand. They shook hands and then William pointed to the barn. “David says we have a little while before dinner is ready. May I show you both the barn? Give you a tour?” David noticed Anne nodding enthusiastically. “This is Billie,” he said by way of introductions, scratching the dog’s ears.
“Thank you, William, that sounds like fun.” Mrs. Hill turned to David and smiled.
David stood, holding the Tupperware container, watching them head toward the barn, before heading inside to store the potato salad in the fridge. He returned to the veranda and saw William leading both ladies out into the corral, Mountain Lion beside the three of them. William was a little too big for Mountain Lion now, but he still loved that animal as much as he ever did.
As he strode over to the barn, prepared to rescue Mrs. Hill, who seemed rather jittery around the horse, David wondered what William would be doing with Billie when he went off to university in Guelph. Of course, he knew that Billie would be heartsick if William didn’t take her with him, and he was pretty sure that William would, but he still made a mental note to raise the subject at a later date.
David reached the fence and leaned against it, trying to imagine how William would fare without Billie there to keep him company. They’d been inseparable since the day they’d met. David had tried to get Billie to sleep in her own bed, beside William’s, but he invariably found her curled up beside William in the morning. It had taken him only a matter of weeks to realize he would never win that particular battle.
He noticed Mrs. Hill walking back toward him, her arms folded protectively over her chest. “I’m afraid I’m a city girl,” she said as he bent to pass through the middle railings of the fence. “Animals that big scare me. I couldn’t believe how big the other two horses are,” she said, her emerald green eyes wide.
“I didn’t know much about horses, either, until I came to live on the ranch.”
“Your boy is very well-mannered,” she said, leaving David to wonder about the change in topic. “I’m sorry he had to go through all of this. He and Anne have learned their lesson, I think.”
“Oh, thank God,” David said, letting go of a lungful of air. “I was so worried there for a while. William was just inconsolable.”
“As was Anne,” Mrs. Hill said, looking over at the pair of them, Billie enjoying Anne’s affectionate petting as she listened to William explain about horses and grooming and riding. “I found a bottle of pills in her backpack two days after you brought Anne back home… after she’d run away.”
David looked over so suddenly that he felt his neck crack. “Did she…?”
“No, thank heaven,” Mrs. Hill said, her voice a mere whisper. “I only went into her backpack to replace her EpiPen… the old one had expired.”
David wanted to tell her that she didn’t owe him any explanations. He didn’t want to invade his children’s privacy, but he wasn’t going to question a parent who did, especially in a situation like Mrs. Hill’s. Invading Anne’s privacy may have very well saved her life. “I’m so sorry, Sheila. That must have been a horrible shock.”
Mrs. Hill just nodded, he
r gaze still on William and Anne.
“Why don’t we go and sit, have some tea or coffee.”
“Tea sounds lovely,” she said as she walked beside David to the picnic table.
David excused himself long enough to get mugs and tea bags and fill a carafe with hot water, returning moments later to find Mrs. Hill sitting and staring out at her daughter. William had somehow convinced her to go for a ride around the corral while he held the lead. David couldn’t help but notice the big grins on both of their faces, or that Billie was trailing behind William, glancing up at this new rival for his master’s affections. He wondered what was going on in the dog’s mind, and wanted to be able to tell Billie that she didn’t have anything to worry about, that William would be as true to her as he’d always been.
“He seems like a wonderful young man,” Mrs. Hill said, accepting the mug and picking out a tea bag from the stash that David saved for guests.
“He is. We’re very proud of him.”
“I can see why Anne loves him so much.” A smile ghosted over Mrs. Hill’s face, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. “I remember when she came home after meeting him for the first time. She said he’d been very nice, but she didn’t believe that someone as handsome as William would ever be interested in her.”
“But she’s absolutely lovely,” David said, sitting beside the petite woman and preparing his own mug of tea.
“I think so,” Mrs. Hill laughed, “but then I’m her mother.”
“William told me that she’s taken some abuse at school?”
“Yes, and I think that’s why Jim has been so overly protective of her. I can’t blame him, really.” She studied the cup in her hands for a moment. “But I’ve decided to leave him.”
David turned quickly, looking at her. Her gaze was still on her daughter. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you, but….” She sighed, sipped some more of her tea. “Things have started to get out of control.” She turned to look at David. “As you said yourself, he doesn’t seem to be thinking of anything other than what’s best for him.” Her eyes moved back to the corral and its occupants. “We can’t keep her locked in the house forever. And I think William has been so wonderful for her self-esteem. To have someone like him take an interest in her.” David didn’t know what to say, what to do. “You and Mr. McKenzie did a wonderful job raising him.”
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