Ram nodded. “See if you can get Jesse up to the house for dinner. From the looks of him, he needs a few pieces of Georgia’s chocolate pecan pie.”
“Sure thing. Give us a few more minutes,” Ben said.
“No problem.” Ram left the stables, comforted in the knowledge that Ben would look after Lady and Jesse.
* * * *
Four days later, Gray stood in front of the bedroom window and watched Lady take her first steps around the corral. “I don’t ever want another stallion anywhere near her,” he said to Ram.
“We’ll make sure Lady’s put up when she’s in season. Now come back to bed. We’ve worked our asses off while everyone else took off. It’s their turn.”
When Gray turned away from the window, Ram flipped the covers back, exposing his gloriously nude body. “So we’re going to just stay in bed all day?”
“That’s the plan.”
Gray dropped his robe and crawled back into bed. “I need to make sure Raleigh’s on the pill. Any ideas on how I broach
that
subject with her?”
“You don’t have to. She’s a smart girl.” Ram yawned. “Let me get a couple more hours of sleep, and I’ll show you a real good time.”
“Promises, promises.” Gray snuggled against Ram’s back, sharing a pillow with the man he loved. He liked seeing Ram’s clothes in his closet as much as he enjoyed having the man’s cock deep inside him.
Gray was almost asleep when his cell phone rang. “Damn it.” He rolled over and grabbed his phone. “Hello?”
“Mr Conner, this is Principal John Everett. We’ve got a situation at the high school.”
Gray sat up. “Did something happen to Raleigh?”
“No, sir. Jesse Franks was found unconscious in the boys’ locker room. He’s been badly beaten and the phone number we have on file has been disconnected.”
“Have you called an ambulance?”
“Yes, sir, I could, but there’s no insurance information on file.”
“Fuck the insurance. Call nine-one-one and I’ll pay for it if I have to.” Gray ended the call and jumped out of bed.
“What’s happened?” Ram asked.
“Someone beat the shit out of Jesse at school and they can’t find his mom.”
“Fuck.” Ram pulled on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. “Want me to find her?”
“Yeah. I’ve got to get to the hospital. You know where he lives?” Gray asked. He pulled on a pair of socks and headed out of the room without waiting for an answer.
“I know.” Ram followed Gray. “Think I should call Ben?”
“No. I’ll call him after I get to the hospital and find out how he’s doing. No sense in him walking in on an ugly situation. I’m not sure Jesse’s told his mom.”
Gray held on to the wall and jammed his feet into his cowboy boots before grabbing his denim jacket off the hook beside the door. “Got your cell?”
“Got it.” Ram walked Gray to his truck and opened the door. Before Gray climbed behind the wheel, Ram stole a kiss. “Drive careful.”
“You, too.” Gray got in and closed the door. He pulled out with Ram right on his tail. As he drove towards town anger got the better of him. There was no doubt in his mind why a guy would get beaten up in the locker room. He knew the townspeople were narrow-minded fucks, but beating someone’s ass was crossing the line.
* * * *
Ram pulled up to the single-wide trailer and got out. He struck his fist against the door several times with no answer. Walking around the house, he looked in one of the back windows. “Allie!” he yelled to the woman on the bed.
When Allie Franks didn’t move, Ram forced the window open and crawled inside. “Wake up!” Ram shook the woman several times, noticing the empty whisky bottles beside the bed.
“Leave me alone,” she slurred and rolled over.
Ram decided the kid didn’t need a drunk at the hospital anyway. At eighteen, Jesse was old enough to sign his own paperwork. Refusing to crawl back through the window, Ram walked down the hall to the kitchen. He noticed the chill in the air and stopped beside the thermostat. “Son of a bitch,” he drawled, flicking the light switch. Nothing happened.
No wonder it was so fucking cold. He travelled through to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Beer, ketchup and a jar of cocktail onions. Ram remembered the way Jesse ate on Thanksgiving. Although Jesse didn’t make much working at the ranch, he surely earned enough to buy food.
Looking around at the rest of the house, Ram made a decision. He searched the cupboards until he found a small box of trash bags. Carrying them into Jesse’s bedroom, Ram opened the dresser and started emptying its contents.
By the time he was finished, he had three bags full of Jesse’s possessions. He stopped by the kitchen once more and scribbled a note for the drunk bitch in the bedroom. As far as he was concerned, Jesse no longer lived with his mother.
He threw the bags into the back of the truck and took off. Halfway between the trailer and the hospital his phone rang. “How is he?”
“Couple of cuts they’re stitching up. He’s pretty beat up, but they’ll release him here in a few hours.”
“Did you call Ben?”
“Yeah, he’s about an hour away. I told him we’d take him home with us once they release him.”
Ram grinned. It seemed he wasn’t the only one feeling protective. “Good to hear, since I’ve got all his shit in the back of my truck.”
“Once you get here, I’m gonna go talk to the principal. See if Jesse can finish out school at our house.”
It was the first time Gray had referred to the ranch as their house. The words warmed Ram from the inside out. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“This is what I was afraid would happen,” Gray said before Ram hung up.
“I know.”
“We need to talk.”
“I know.”
* * * *
Gray stepped into Principal Everett’s office and took a seat. Although it was a different principal, the office was exactly the same as when he’d attended the school.
“How’s Jesse?” the principal asked.
“He’ll live. What I need to know is what you’re going to do about it.”
“Jesse Franks was found in the showers alone. We have no proof of who did that to him,” the principal explained.
“I bet I could figure it out real quick. Jesse’s face was beat bloody. Check out the hands of the boys who had gym with him.”
The principal held up his hands. “Just relax. We’re looking into it. We’ll need to speak to Jesse as soon as he’s well enough.”
“If you gave a shit about Jesse, you would’ve hauled your tight ass down to the hospital. Now tell me what’s really going on here.”
“I have a school to run. Other students who need me to be here. I’m sorry that this happened, but Jesse purposely tries to stick out among the crowd. You can’t blame teenagers for pointing out the differences in him.”
“I can when they almost kill him.” Gray stood and leaned against the desk, putting his face in front of Principal Everett’s. “I’m going to encourage Jesse to go to the police with a list of names of the boys responsible for this.”
“They’re kids,” the principal tried to argue.
“Kids who beat another kid so badly they had to bring in a plastic surgeon to sew up his face.” Gray straightened. “You do me a favour. You tell those little fuckers if they want to go toe to toe with a fag they can come out to the ranch, and I’d be more than happy to take them on.”
Principal Everett’s eyes rounded at the admission. “I realise you’re upset, but please remember where you are.”
“I’m done here. All I need from you is my niece.” Gray hoped Raleigh wouldn’t hate him for pulling her out of school, but he suspected things in Wellington were about to get ugly.
* * * *
“Uncle Gray, why did I just see Dr Moore help Jesse up to the loft apartment?” Raleigh asked, stepping into the dining room.
“Why would you ask that? You know what happened to Jesse today. You think I’m gonna just stick him out in the bunkhouse looking the way he is?” Gray filled a glass with lemonade.
“Doesn’t he have a home? Why’s he our problem?” she continued.
Before Gray could answer, Ram reached out and covered Gray’s hand. “I went to Jesse’s house today to find his mother. Believe me, he’s a lot better off here with us. At least we’ll know he’s warm and eating.”
“Can you do that? I mean, won’t you get into trouble?” Raleigh asked.
“Jesse’s eighteen. If he wants to go back to that he can, but for now, he said he’d rather be here.” Gray studied Raleigh for several moments. “What did you hear around school after it happened?”
Raleigh shrugged. “Just that some of the guys caught him looking and decided to teach him a lesson.”
Ram laughed. “All guys check each other out in the locker room. They may not admit it, but they do. If Jesse got beat up for it, I take it people know he’s gay.”
“Yeah, well, they know he’s not like the rest of them. It’s Wellington. Anyone who’s different gets picked on,” Raleigh explained. “I’m okay with him being here.”
Gray glanced at Ram. He needed to tell both Ram and Raleigh what he’d done. “I came out to Principal Everett.”
Raleigh’s face paled. “Please tell me you’re lying?”
“Nope. I was mad, and I guess I just wanted him to know this wouldn’t get swept under the rug. I’m sorry if it causes more problems for you.” Strangely enough, despite his fears, Gray felt liberated by the admission. There would surely be fall-out from his choice to step out of the closet, but if Jesse had the balls to accept who he was, Gray owed it to the kid to do the same.
“What about the business?” Ram asked.
“I guess we’ll see.”
Chapter Seven
Gray was at the perfume counter in Brower’s department store doing a bit of last minute Christmas shopping when he felt eyes on him. He glanced over his shoulder to find Ted, an old friend from the hardware store staring at him. “Hey, Ted.”
The older man gestured to the bottle of perfume in Gray’s hand. “That for you or that new manager you have working for you?”
Gray set the bottle on the counter before he was tempted to throw it. Although he and Ram had received their share of stares and odd looks since the news of their relationship hit the town, Gray hadn’t yet had to deal with a verbal assault. The way Gray saw it, he had two options. He could break the fool’s nose or back off and be the bigger person. “It’s for my niece.”
“Is it true?” Ted asked.
Gray didn’t need to ask for clarification. He knew exactly what Ted was asking. “You’ve known me my entire life, Ted. Does who I choose to love really matter to you? Ram and I aren’t planning to corrupt the town or have parades down the centre of Main. All we want is the kind of relationship you have with Debbie. Is that so wrong?”
“Don’t you dare compare my marriage with what you and that manager are doing,” Ted fired back.
Gray wasn’t willing to get into a verbal battle with Ted. Instead he handed the bottle to the wide-eyed sales clerk. “I’ll take this one.”
“That’s it? You’re just going to turn your back on me?” Ted asked.
Gray pulled out his wallet and handed the clerk a hundred dollar bill before facing Ted. “I’m not going to fight with you about my personal life. So if my being gay means you don’t want to talk to me any more, it’s your loss.”