David felt Jerry’s breathing calm and then he felt the big man pulling away. He looked up and saw the red eyes and the shy grin. “The feeling’s more than mutual. Told you before that you three saved me just as much as you think I saved you.”
“Come on,” David said as he led Jerry to the swing on the veranda. “I just want to sit for a minute. Everyone’s been so busy lately. I just want to sit here and hold your hand.”
Jerry said nothing further, but sat down, stretched an arm behind David’s head and placed his other on his thigh, palm up. He leaned over and kissed his husband when he felt David’s hand fall into his.
“Cory and Tara doing last minute goodbyes?”
David leaned his head back against the strong bicep and sighed. “They’re spending some time with Paulie and Wayde.”
“We should probably invite Paulie over before school starts.” Jerry brought David’s hand up to his and kissed it softly. “I wonder how much longer he’s going to be able to keep that place running on his own.”
“He’s a strong old fart,” David said with a chuckle. “And besides, he’s got Wayde for another year or so. And he’ll always have us.”
“Yes, he will,” Jerry agreed, tucking David a little tighter into his side.
They sat there, huddled close together, neither of them speaking as their eyes took in their surroundings. Their ranch, their house, their beautiful boy out in the corral with the girl he loved. They were content—tired, but content—to just sit and take it all in, enjoying the last few moments before there would be more food, more laughter, more time spent with their family.
WILLIAM made sure that Anne was steady on the saddle before venturing outside of the corral, promising her that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. He’d asked her if she wanted to try riding King or Biscuit, but she’d just shaken her head and stayed by Mountain Lion’s stall. As they walked through the opened gate, William wondered if she wanted to ride Mountain Lion because it was his horse. He hoped she did.
With his hand at the back of the saddle, William walked Mountain Lion and Anne out into the pasture that would lead to the lake, Billie staying close by. His father had given him permission this morning to take Anne out there so that he could show her the little body of water that had been the place where he’d shared so many wonderful memories with his two fathers.
Before he could get to the well-worn path that ran parallel to the fence and the deserted township road that veered to the south and the lake, William pulled gently on the lead to stop Mountain Lion, both his and Anne’s heads turning as they saw the familiar car heading up the driveway. It was Anne’s parents’ car. Billie issued her single bark at the arrival, and William turned to face his girl.
“What is my mother doing here?” Anne whispered the words, her confusion obvious to William.
“I don’t know.” William shrugged, debating whether he should return or not. “Maybe it’s your dad?”
“No,” Anne said, shaking her head. “He’s not back until tomorrow.”
William decided to err on the side of caution, pulling on the lead again and guiding his horse back to the veranda. He called for Billie to follow. As he approached, he saw Mrs. Hill exit the vehicle. He waited to see if Mr. Hill was with her, but he wasn’t. Mrs. Hill was alone and already walking quickly to the veranda, but she was met halfway by Jerry and David.
William’s heart sank as she pointed toward them. Had she changed her mind? Was she here to tell Jerry and David that she’d been wrong? That she didn’t trust him after all?
He turned them around, telling Anne that it was probably nothing, and headed for the veranda. Jerry and David were nodding and then looking out to William as well. His hand moved to the small of Anne’s back as they grew close enough to hear the voices of the three adults.
Mrs. Hill approached them, with David, while Jerry stayed near the veranda. William tried to smile as Mrs. Hill and David drew near. Billie sat at William’s feet, her confused gaze looking at everyone in turn.
“What’s wrong?” William asked, trying not to sound overly concerned.
“It’s nothing,” David said quickly, taking the lead from William’s trembling hand. “You two go with Mrs. Hill and wait over there with Jerry. Take Billie, William. I’ll take Mountain Lion back to the barn.”
William nodded and helped Anne dismount, worried when he felt her shaking.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” Anne’s voice was hesitant, and William could tell she would be in tears soon. He knew that voice, recognized it as the same voice he’d heard when she’d told him about the possible pregnancy, and when she’d run away from home promising that she would never go back.
“I’ll explain,” Mrs. Hill said as she turned to William. “You’ll be able to finish your afternoon together. I promise.”
William followed behind Anne and her mother as they made their way to where Jerry was standing on the veranda. He was glad for the comforting arm of his father around his shoulders as Mrs. Hill began to explain, glad also for the beautiful and loyal dog at his feet.
“Your father came home early from his trip, sweetheart.” Mrs. Hill’s hand was stroking Anne’s back reassuringly. “You weren’t home.” William realized that Mrs. Hill had been bringing Anne here and letting her go to the movie behind Mr. Hill’s back. She hadn’t told him. “I tried reasoning with him, telling him how wrong he was to be treating you this way, but he wouldn’t listen.” Mrs. Hill looked to Jerry. “I told him that I was taking Anne and that we were leaving, and he became very angry.” William wasn’t sure if he’d heard correctly. Was Mrs. Hill taking Anne away somewhere? From the look on Anne’s face, William figured she’d not heard anything about this either.
“Where are you going to take her?” William felt the reassuring squeeze on his shoulder, heard the fear and uncertainty in his own voice.
“Mrs. Hill is leaving her husband, William.” Jerry looked at William briefly, then nodded at Anne. “Anne and her mother aren’t moving away. They’re just moving out to be away from Mr. Hill.”
William felt the surge of relief flood his confused brain. He felt himself relax as he realized that he wasn’t losing Anne after all.
“I’m so sorry,” Mrs. Hill said, her eyes darting between William’s and Jerry’s. “Jim threatened to call the police to report Anne as a runaway and to give them this address.” She shook her head and took a shaky breath. “I tried to stop him, but… they might be on their way right now.” Mrs. Hill hugged her daughter a little closer. “I got here as quickly as I could.” She turned to look at her daughter and William. “If the police do come, I’ll make sure they understand that it’s a false alarm.”
“We’ll handle it,” Jerry said, turning to face his son. “Why don’t you take Anne back to the barn and stay close, just in case. No sense in ruining the afternoon, huh?”
William smiled at his dad and held his hand out to Anne. She took it and the two of them headed back to the barn, crossing paths with David as he made his way back to the house. William bent down and patted Billie’s head, his hands caressing the thick, soft fur.
“You two try and enjoy yourselves. This will all be over soon enough.” David smoothed the hair out of William’s eyes and then, flashing the smile that always made William feel better, headed back to join Jerry and Mrs. Hill.
William turned around to see that Jerry and Mrs. Hill had moved to sit at the picnic table. He couldn’t help but wonder what all of this was doing to Anne.
“I’m sorry about your parents,” he said softly, as he squeezed her hand and led her into the barn.
“It doesn’t seem real sometimes,” Anne said, her voice nothing more than a whisper. “I love him, but I hate him.” Anne looked up at William. “Does that make sense?” Her confused expression softened when Billie licked her hand. She bent over quickly to give Billie a quick kiss.
William nodded and hugged his girl. He didn’t really understand, but she didn’t need to hear that right now. W
illiam had the best dads in the world. They loved him, encouraged him, told him every day how happy they were to have him as a son. William would never understand what it felt like to both love and hate your father at the same time. He’d never felt anything but love for his family.
William’s family had gotten him through some very rough times. And now he could see that it was his turn to give that to Anne. He would be strong for her, comfort her, help her to see what a family could be like.
If William had his way, they wouldn’t have to wait too much longer and then Anne would become a part of his family.
William smiled at that thought and looked at his girl’s sad face. “Come on,” he said, leading her to Mountain Lion’s stall. He turned and called to Billie. “You too, Billie.” He picked up the little wooden box he’d made with Jerry during his first week on the ranch, the one that contained all of the brushes for grooming a horse. “If you’re going to be spending time here, you should learn how to groom a horse.”
William smiled when Anne just nodded and pulled herself closer to him. He took Mountain Lion’s lead and led his little band of followers out to the corral, tying the lead to a cross bar and then turning to face Anne.
“Horses are just like people,” William started, but stopped when Billie barked. “Sorry, girl. Horses and dogs are just like people. They thrive when you love them and take care of them.” William noticed Anne’s blush. “I know it works ’cause I learned from the best.”
Epilogue
JERRY looked at the suit laid out on William’s bed. He thought this night would never get here. Everything was arranged, and all of the problems of the past couple of weeks had either been resolved or were looking to get there very soon.
The police did not show up at the ranch that Monday afternoon, Cory and Tara were safely back in Ontario and resuming their shared lives, and Mrs. Hill had found a beautiful little condo near the outskirts of town. Anne was now only a short ten-minute drive away from the ranch. She’d been back to the ranch twice since Monday, her mother dropping her off and picking her up each time.
Now it was Jerry and David’s night out. And out of all the drama these last couple of weeks had brought to the McKenzie-Loewenberger ranch, Jerry thought this would be the most difficult one for him. He was stressed, but not in a totally negative way. Even if their plan didn’t work, Jerry knew the evening would be a welcome relief for both him and David. But Jerry was fairly certain that the plan had a good chance of succeeding.
Jerry and William had hatched this plan. William would keep David occupied while Jerry changed into his new suit and then sneaked out when the car arrived so that he could ring the doorbell and surprise his unsuspecting husband. Jerry was in William’s room changing when he heard his cell phone, and snatched it up quickly. He listened as the driver of the black town car explained that he was only minutes away.
Shrugging into his new suit coat, Jerry took one last look at himself in William’s mirror and then tiptoed to the door, his new shoes in one hand. He cracked the door just enough to see nothing in the hall and then headed out, as quietly as he could, heading for the stairs. He heard William’s voice, his son asking questions about David’s thesis as the two of them sat in the living room.
“I thought your father was joining us?” Jerry heard David’s voice, and couldn’t help the smirk that was growing on his lips. If he pulled this off—and it looked like he would—Jerry was going to make sure he did this more often. He hadn’t much liked some of the activities on that list David had asked for, but he was sure enjoying the hell out of this.
“I’ll go see what’s keeping him,” William said, his voice getting closer and closer. “Come on, girl, let’s go find Dad.”
Jerry had his shoes on, barely, and was pulling gently on the door by the time William and Billie appeared in the foyer. Jerry disappeared through the open door, and William closed it, just as quietly.
“Dad?” William yelled from the foot of the stairs. “We’re waiting. Come on. Hurry up.”
Jerry could hear William playing his part to perfection, glancing through the little window in the door. Jerry took a deep breath and reached out to punch the doorbell, hearing one bark from Billie. He noticed William duck into the office, signaling for Billie to follow, probably pretending to be upstairs so that David would have to come to the door. Jerry stood aside, away from the window, listening to David calling for him and William. When he heard the whoosh that the door always made when someone opened it, Jerry stepped out in front of the screen door and opened it.
Jerry smiled and tried to contain his laughter at the look on his husband’s face.
“Wha… Jerry, what are you… I thought you were upstairs.” David was stammering, and Jerry could see that the smaller man didn’t know whether to smile or frown or keep asking questions.
“There’s one more activity that we can do together,” Jerry said as he stepped closer to David and put his arms around the trim waist. “I thought of it before we’d made the lists, but I figured it was more than appropriate.” Jerry noticed William come out of the office, his smile as big and broad as his own.
“Happy date night, David.” Jerry saw William’s eyes dart between his and David’s.
“Wha… I don’t….”
Jerry reached into his suit pocket as the crunch on the gravel drew David’s attention to the driveway. He showed his husband the tickets for the symphony. “Two hours of romance,” Jerry said, his grin lopsided and his hand reaching for David’s.
“I’m not dressed… what… how….”
“You’ve got as much time as you need, baby. I’ll be waiting right here for you. Overture doesn’t start for another two hours.”
David’s hands finally reached out and caressed Jerry’s new suit. “You bought a suit? Just for this?” He leaned forward and kissed his husband. “Date night,” he whispered as he turned to hug William. “You knew about this? And I never suspected a thing.” David bent to scratch Billie’s ears. “And you, did you know too?” Billie barked just once and David laughed. “Geez, I’ve got to get dressed.”
Jerry and William and Billie watched as David ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. William turned back to look at his dad. “We pulled it off,” he said as his dad stepped inside the house.
“Of course we did,” Jerry said with a wink. “We’re McKenzies. McKenzie men are smart.”
“And lucky,” William added as he reached out to adjust Jerry’s cerise tie.
“And handsome,” Jerry said as he wrapped his arm around his son’s shoulders. “Now remember what I told you about locking up and making sure the barn’s closed before you go to bed.”
“I won’t forget,” William said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a sheet of paper. “I wrote it down, along with all the other things I have to check.”
“That’s my boy,” Jerry cooed, studying his son’s brilliant blue eyes. “You have our cell numbers if you need them, and you know the hotel we’ll be staying at.” William nodded.
“I’ll be right there,” David called as they heard his footsteps on the hardwood of the hallway. The footsteps became muffled, probably because of the carpet in the bedroom, but then were back in the hallway. “Are we coming home or do I need to pack something?”
“Got it covered, mountain lion,” Jerry yelled and looked down at his son. “Have you heard from Anne yet?”
“I got a text from her an hour ago,” William said, nodding his head. “They finished moving and they’ll be unpacking all weekend.”
“Glad to hear they finally got out.”
“Me too,” William sighed. “I can’t wait until she’s all unpacked, so I can see her again.” William looked up at his dad, and Jerry reached with his hand to smooth the hair out of his son’s eyes.
“She’s getting to be a pretty good rider, huh?”
“Yeah,” William said, Jerry noticing the pride on his face.
“She had a good teacher,” Jerry said
as he hugged William a little tighter, his son’s fair skin blushing.
“Okay,” David said as he descended the stairs, blushing at the whistles from his men. “I’m glad you approve,” he said, bowing slightly. David hugged William—and Jerry figured he’d spend more time doing that than getting ready—and then bent down to love on Billie for a moment or two. “Make sure the doors are locked and… that… the….” He stopped talking when William held up the list. “Fair enough.”
“Our chariot awaits,” Jerry said as he held out his arm for his husband.
“You have our cell phone numbers, and….” David turned to Jerry and then back to their son. “Do you know where we’re staying?”
“Yes,” William said, trying not to laugh. “Now, go. Have a good time. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jerry watched David open his mouth again, but William cut him off. “I know,” William laughed, finally. “I’ll make sure that King and Biscuit and Mountain Lion get their regular visits. Now go. Before I threaten to come with you.”
David laughed, but stifled it when he saw Jerry glaring at him, his lopsided grin betraying any real indignation.
Jerry and David turned when they were outside on the veranda, each of them taking his turn hugging their son and petting Billie before heading to the car, waving at William before the driver closed the back door.
Once seated, Jerry took his husband’s hand. “Got some more good news today. We’ll have to get the boys together on the phone tomorrow so I can tell them that friend of mine is interested in publishing their graphic novel.”
David clapped his other hand on top of Jerry’s. “Oh, man, they’re going to go crazy!”
“And,” Jerry continued, “I found out from Kitty this morning that the show in Toronto is a go. So we’ll be able to make a little detour to Guelph to visit with Cory and Tara. Maybe take William out of school for a couple of days so we can all visit.”
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