Hay and Heartbreak (16 page)

Duke’s attention shot to Frankie. “No, honey, that’s not what I meant at all. I reckon it wasn’t anyone’s fault, really. Even if someone was out there, it ain’t like they leaped out and shouted boo. Whatever spooked my horse was more subtle than that. Could have just been Diablo being crazy, too. He don’t like anyone other than Carlos to ride him.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not so fond of Diablo,” Frankie said. “He looked an awful lot like a potential bag of dog food when he threw you.”

“Frankie!” Duke bellowed. “That’s mean!”

Frankie turned his nose up. “Well, he hurt you. How’d you feel if it’d been me that went flying through the air like a crazy trapeze artist?”

“The things you say.” Duke chuckled. “Yeah, I’d have been pissed at Diablo, but it wasn’t his fault. It really wasn’t. He’s easily spooked but not as mean as he wants people to think he is.”

Dan had seen Diablo, a big spotted horse with attitude that just rolled off him.

“I’m pretty sure that put an end to Carlos trying to socialize that beast.” Duke sighed and shifted in his seat. “That’s a one-person horse. Diablo put up with me because he wanted to, not because he thought he had to. Damn critter was humorin’ me.”

“You’re sure he wasn’t just being ornery?” Dan hoped not, because to him at least, then that meant the animal was dangerous.

But Duke merely hitched one shoulder up in a weak shrug. “Eh. For all the Diablo can be a mean bastard, he really does have better manners than to flip out for no apparent reason. If he’d not wanted me to ride him, I’d never have been able to get on him in the first place.”

After that, Dan listened to Duke and Frankie talk. Thoughts of Hector had plagued him all day. Dan hadn’t let that stop him from getting out and enjoying the company of his brother and brother-in-law.

Hector had been gone when Dan had woken up that morning, as had everyone else but Duke and Frankie. Dan’s heart hurt, which was ridiculous. He glanced out of the window, admiring the mountains in the distance. “I want to hike them someday,” he said, more to himself than to anyone else.

“Hike?” Duke groaned. “Why? Why would you wanna do that when you could ride a horse or an ATV? Or just…just admire them from a distance. There’s some real pretty post cards with those mountains on them, too.”

“I’ll hike them with you,” Frankie promised. “You come back in the early summer, and we’ll take a few days to explore.”

“Aw, damn it, now you know I’m gonna have to go, too,” Duke whined. “Y’all can’t go havin’ fun without me.”

“Even if you don’t think what we’re doing is fun?” Dan had to ask, amused by his brother’s way of thinking.

“Damn right, especially then, ’cause obviously, I’m missin’ somethin’ and I won’t figure out what it is by not givin’ it a shot,” Duke explained. “And maybe I shouldn’t gripe too much about somethin’ I haven’t tried before.”

“Think of the sense of accomplishment you’d feel after you climbed a mountain,” Dan offered, experiencing a thrill himself just from thinking about it.

Duke seemed to consider that, letting the silence fill the cab of the truck for several seconds before speaking. “Huh. Maybe. Could be I’m intimidated. Don’t make me think too deep, brother.”

“I’ll try not to.” Dan knew Duke had a deeper side than what he generally showed, as evidenced by him spending the night sleeping in the rocking chair beside Dan’s bed. A shallow man wouldn’t have even guessed that Dan needed comfort and support.

“How about an early supper at the diner?” Frankie suggested. “Then we’ll head back to the MG.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Duke agreed. “Dan?”

“Yeah, I could eat.” They’d spent the day in town, first taking Duke to another appointment, this one to set up physical therapy schedule, then going here and there, letting Duke get some exercise when he felt up to walking, driving around when he didn’t.

Dan had met a lot of people in town and only a few had looked askance at him. Ashville was nothing like his and Duke’s hometown, not at all. Dan had a bad opinion of small places like where he’d grown up, but he learned in that trip to Ashville that he needed to stop with the stereotypes.

Something he really should have known.

Dan liked Ashville, the mom and pop shops instead of the big-name stores, the brick and mortar downtown, the fact that Main Street really
was
the main street. He could imagine living in a place like Ashville, and that was something to think about.

“Would it bother y’all if I moved here?” he asked before he could chicken out.

“Of course not,” Duke answered first. “I’d… I’d really like to have you closer.”

“Ditto. I wish you’d move to Ashville. What’s holding you back in Birmingham?” Frankie looked at him in the rearview mirror. “Is it the lawsuit?”

It was fear, that was what it was. Dan knew it as soon as Frankie asked those questions. Fear of taking a chance, and maybe, of believing in himself. The lack of money was a hindrance, too.

“It’s not the lawsuit. Edward knows I don’t want to have to go to court. He said he can get me a settlement, most likely, without me having to go before a judge.” Dan unbuckled when Frankie parked the truck. “It just hadn’t occurred to me that I didn’t have to stay there.” Which was also the truth. Dan hadn’t thought much about his future. It still seemed so unreal at times, being out of prison, his conviction overturned, him being exonerated, all of it.

When they were all out of the truck, Duke caught a hold of Dan’s hand, surprising Dan with the touch.

Duke gave his hand a squeeze, and with an earnestness that warmed Dan’s heart, said, “I want you here, Dan. I want us to be close, not just for a couple visits a year, but like brothers should be. I… Okay, I love you. You’re my family, but more’n that, you’re a good man and a good friend to me an’ Frankie both.”

“What he said.” Frankie sniffled then hugged Dan when Duke let go of him. “You’re all the family I’ve got, too, Dan.”

That broke Dan’s heart. He knew Frankie had sisters he’d probably never get to see again, not unless they turned out to be good people despite their parents.

“Come on. Let’s go eat before all the meatloaf’s gone,” Duke said.

Dan felt lighter and more at peace than he had in a long time.
This
was what he needed—people who cared about him, people he loved who he could count on, and who he wouldn’t want to let down in return. As a teenager who’d lost his mom then had been thrust into a family he hadn’t known before, Dan had drifted and felt lost, untethered, insecure. He hadn’t thought anyone needed him or cared about him.

But now he knew better, and, just as importantly, he cared about himself, too, not just about Duke and Frankie.

And maybe he cared about Hector, or maybe he was just infatuated. They’d both dived in head first without looking. Taking a step back, or several steps back, was good for Dan. It just didn’t feel that way.

He followed Duke and Frankie into the crowded diner. Voices rang out, people hollering greetings back and forth.

A waitress came over to them. “Not your regular booth, right?” She frowned at Duke. “Dang. I’d heard about your accident, but seeing you banged up is something else entirely. You’ve got to stop getting hurt.”

“I’m gonna try, believe me, and yeah, can’t do a booth. That table over there with four chairs will surely do, though.” Duke smiled. “How have you been, Betty?”

Betty blushed and plucked at the scarf she wore around her neck. “Oh, you know. Things are the same.”

Duke’s smile faltered. “If you ever need anything, you’ll call me and Frankie, all right? You still have our numbers?”

“I put them in my phone, yes.” Betty nodded. “Sure I’ll call. Thank you.”

Dan didn’t think she sounded very sincere, but he didn’t know her. It wasn’t his place to judge.

They sat at the table, Dan seated across from Frankie so Duke could prop his foot up in the chair beside Dan. Betty handed out the menus. Duke handed his back.

“I’ll have the meatloaf,” he said. “And a cup of coffee, glass of water.”

Dan ordered the same, with a soda instead of the coffee.

Frankie handed his menu back as well. “I want a big, greasy bacon burger and onion rings, and a chocolate shake with whip cream and a cherry. The whole deal.”

“If I ate that, I’d gain ten pounds,” Duke griped. “Wait until you hit your thirties, honey.”

Frankie blew him a kiss. “I’ll be fine, but you’d love me even if I did get a belly, right?”

“Of course. I’m not gonna stay this studly forever, either.” Duke preened.

“You two are so adorable. I wish—” Betty cleared her throat. “Well, I need to turn your orders in. Be right back with the drinks.”

Dan frowned after her. “She seems sad. Right? I didn’t imagine that?”

Frankie and Duke exchanged a glance. “It’s hard being transgender anywhere. People here are a lot less accepting of that than they are of us being gay.”

Dan fought the urge to turn around and look at Betty. He hadn’t had any idea she was trans, and he scolded himself for thinking that because it didn’t matter. She was a person, and one who was having a hard time, it sounded like.

“We tried to get her to apply at the ranch, but she never has,” Frankie continued. “Says she doesn’t have any skills to work there. I worry about her, though.”

“I bet she appreciates y’all being her friends,” Dan said.

“Maybe. She hasn’t ever asked us for help or anything. We just keep offering.” Frankie plucked a package of crackers out of the basket on the center of the table. “We’ve even invited her to some of the ranch barbeques. She always says no.” He opened the crackers. “Yum. I know they’re only supposed to be for people eating soup or salads, but I love these buttery things.”

Duke stole one of the crackers. “All we can do is hope she remembers she has people who care if she needs help.”

“That’s more than a lot of folks would do,” Dan said. He saw Betty heading their way with a drink-laden tray in hand and decided to change the subject. “I was thinking of getting my GED. If I can do that, then I could go to college.”

That set off a whole slew of questions and encouragement, and the rest of the meal passed pleasantly, until sirens blared and Frankie craned his neck around to watch as a police car went racing by.

“Was that Ian? That was Ian,” he answered.

Dan hadn’t yet met Drake or Ian and couldn’t have said if it was him or not.

“Wonder what’s goin’ on?” Duke pushed aside his empty plate. “I guess we’ll find out soon, what with how fast gossip travels. Quicker than Ian was drivin’ that car.”

Frankie frowned, still staring out of the large plate glass window that was the front of the diner. “Maybe we should get back home.”

“Maybe we should.” Duke took the crutch Dan handed him. “Thanks.”

Frankie pulled out his wallet and dropped some cash on the table. “Betty, bill’s on the table,” he called out to her.

“Gotcha.” She waved them off and went back to taking an order.

“Do you think something’s wrong back at the ranch?” Dan almost felt like he was wrong for asking, but Frankie and Duke’s tense expressions had him concerned, his thoughts going right to Hector. “Can you call someone?”

“Sure can.” Frankie had his phone in hand and was dialing before he took another step. “Hey, Drake. Is—” He stopped, eyes rounding as he listened.

Duke leaned close to him, trying to get his ear near the phone.

Dan took the keys dangling from Frankie’s other hand. “Let’s go. I’ll drive.”

He hadn’t driven in a while. Dan didn’t care. His nerves were pinging. He helped Duke get in while Frankie kept listening and muttering, “Okay. Okay.” As soon as everyone was loaded up, Dan got them headed back to the Mossy Glenn.

“But everyone’s okay? I mean, no one’s seriously hurt? Shit. Shit!” Frankie asked. “That’s why Ian is on his way out there. What about an ambulance?”

“What the hell is goin’ on?” Duke demanded. “Put him on speaker.”

Frankie gave a quick shake of his head. “We’ll be there soon.” He ended the call and leaned forward from the back seat, poking his head between Dan and Duke’s shoulders. “Curt, Hector, Joaquin and Barney went back to the line shack after Hector found more suspicious tracks. Carlos went with them. They took off on the ATVs, quicker than riding the horses out there. All Drake knows for sure is, Curt used Carlos’ satellite phone to call the ranch house and he said to send the cops and call for the air ambulance because Joaquin was hurt real bad.”

The relief Dan felt upon learning that Hector hadn’t been hurt made him dizzy. At the same time, he felt like shit because Joaquin
had
been injured.

“He didn’t know anything else?” Duke pushed.

Frankie scooted even closer. “He couldn’t hear Curt very well. Drake thought he said something about a shooting and fire, but he wasn’t sure. Will and Troy were already out on the ATVs headed to the line shack. I don’t know what the fuck’s going on. Can you drive faster?”

“Yeah.” Dan doubted there’d be any cops chasing him if he busted the speed limit. He was careful even so, not wanting to cause someone else harm or hurt the people he cared about in his haste.

“Goddamn it,” Duke muttered when they were still ten miles or so from the ranch entrance. “Look.” He pointed to Dan’s left.

Smoke billowed up, marring the blue skyline.

“Shit. Must be the line shack out there,” Frankie observed. “But it’s not very thick, so maybe…maybe the chimney’s being used? This here fence runs along the backside of the ranch property. We’re not as far from the line shacks as we will be when we get home.”

“We’re not all that much closer, either.” Duke thumped the dash with his uninjured hand. “Damn it, I hate being in these fuckin’ casts! I can’t do a damn thing to help!”

“Throwing a fit won’t help, that’s for sure,” Dan risked pointing out. “I know you’re frustrated, Duke. Don’t make it worse by raising a ruckus. Think about what you
can
do to help.”

“Like not feelin’ sorry for myself?” Duke retorted. “No, no, don’t explain. I know. You’re right. I can see if Drake needs help, or send out any emergency workers that show up. Someone needs to call Joaquin’s family, too, once we know what’s goin’ on with him.”