Chapter 5 #2
“He was, uhhh…you know…like you…” The older man’s voice trailed off, and he squirmed uncomfortably on his stool. I took pity on him. He didn’t mean anything by it and had sorta stumbled into the awkward part. And I was wearing a T-shirt that read Sounds gay, I’m in, so the assumption was fair.
“Oh, he was gay. There are a lot of us running around out there,” I said with an easy smile.
The clerk nodded at the lifeboat I offered.
“He was always so put together—even when he was out baling hay in the summer with us. He handled that scratchy shit faster than anyone, but he hated every damn minute of it because he was gettin’ dirty.
There’s no damn way he’d join a commune for more of it. ”
“I don’t know about him, but I’m definitely not made for baling hay. I’ll happily stick to my lane.” I snapped my fingers and added, “Oh wait! I forgot to see if you have feed.”
The older man shook his head before answering, “We’ve just got small bags of it, and that’ll get expensive if you’ve got more than one goat. You got more than one, right? You should, ’cause those little buggers like friends.”
“I’ve got four.”
“Good, good.” He nodded approvingly. “You’d be better off stopping by the feed store and getting something. They’ll have big bags in stock.”
“Where’s that?”
“Out of our parking lot, get on 27, right again on High Street. It’s across from the Treue.”
“I’m sorry. The what now?”
“Treue der Union monument. Look for either one, and the other’s across the way.” Well, that cleared up nothing.
“Got it.” He waved away my thanks, and I headed into the Texas heat with vague directions and a mental picture of a statue I hoped was labeled.
Spoiler alert: the Treue wasn’t even a statue.
It was a pointy, column thingy. As the hardware guy promised, once I found it—after doubling back because I went the wrong way—the monument was right across from the feed store.
The gravel parking lot was full, but I squeezed my little car between the rows of trucks that took up most of the lot.
Before I even made it inside, the enormous racks of hanging planters near the entrance distracted me.
They had plenty of bright-colored pinks, reds, and yellows, which were gorgeous in their own right, but I homed in on the far back row.
Hidden in the back were hanging wrought iron planters full of nothing but Purple Wave petunias, if the tag was accurate, and sweet potato vines.
My plan had been to put hanging plants between the columns on the lower porch area, and these would be great for it.
I wanted to kick myself for bringing my car today instead of the truck from the barn.
There were exactly enough for each of the porch spots, so maybe they’d let me buy them today and come back tomorrow to pick them up?
It was worth asking because they were perfect.
I took a quick snap of the planters so they’d know exactly which ones I wanted to buy and made my way inside.
It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the dimness after being outside in the bright sunlight.
It felt more like a cavern than the stores I was used to.
Shelving was piled high with god knows what, but a quick glance around told me none of it looked like potential goat feed.
It didn’t have anything to do with the goats, but a soft peep, peep came from somewhere far in the back of the store.
I abandoned my quest for goat food to track the noise because I knew exactly what I hoped it was.
Through the maze of shelves, I made my way deeper inside.
The noises got louder and more chaotic the closer I got to the back. Goat food could wait.
The clouds parted and the angels sang…chickens!
My sweet ladies might have some competition for the title of Most Adorable Farm Animals.
In the warmed pens were dozens and dozens of chicks, tumbling around, pecking at the shavings and whatever food was scattered nearby.
Most were a soft yellow, but a fair share were dark brown or black.
I cooed at them from the pen as I squatted down for a better look.
“If you want a better look, you’re welcome to get in,” the clerk said while he checked things off on a clipboard.
“Shut. The. Front. Door. You’ll let me pet them?” I hadn’t bothered to hide my giddiness. The opportunity to hold a chick was too momentous to play it cool.
“Sure, just don’t drop one or steal it.” The guy turned around and gave me a wink. I noticed the Pride flag pin on his name tag. Nice.
Almstead Island was queer-friendly, and no one batted an eye. My brothers had been a little worried about me moving down here, but I’d assured them that Comfort was a bit of a gay mecca—and here was proof, in the middle of a feed store. This meeting was going into the group chat.
“Thanks, Jace. I wouldn’t dream of doing either.
” I cooed over the first chickee I picked up.
The downy black feathers tickled my palm.
His? Hers? Their little nails bit into my skin, but they weren’t sharp enough to hurt.
It was more like prickles. When they started to peck at me—looking for food, I guessed—I put them back down and picked up another for some loving.
“How is it that I keep finding you with cute farm animals?” The gravelly voice that had been starring in my dreams for a week made my blood sing.
It also rushed to my cock, which was kinda embarrassing.
In a desperate attempt to hide my problem, I dropped to one knee and put the chick back into the pen. Hopefully, no one would see anything.
“Well, Daddy, water seeks its own and cuteness finds a way.”
I knew Hank had expected me to shrink away from flirting with him since we were in public. Not a chance. Throwing him off-kilter was my new favorite game—since my actual favorite game would distract me too much from my very serious and important business goals.
The clerk snorted a laugh at my obvious flirting. I wasn’t sure what I had expected Hank to say, but I figured he’d at least tell me to knock it off. Instead, he smirked and tipped his ball cap to me before moving to a different part of the store.
Oh, that man! He won that round on coolness factor alone. There was no denying the view was good, though, as I watched him disappear into the dark of the store. That ass in tight denim? That was the stuff of dreams.
“I can’t help you catch that cowboy, but is there anything else I can do for you?” Jace asked as he tucked his clipboard under a counter near the chicks.
“I saw some planters outside. Could I buy them today and come back tomorrow for them? There’s no way I can get them in my car.” I pulled out my phone and showed Jace the pics of the flowers I wanted. “And some goat feed too, but I never did find that.”
“Oh yeah, that’s no problem. Follow me up front, and I can help you with all of it.
” With one last longing look at the baby chickees, I followed Jace to the front of the store to buy the planters.
While he got me squared away, I had time to daydream a bit about Hank and how good he looked in his jeans and boots today.
“Whatcha gettin’?” Hank, king of the sneak attack, asked as he loomed over me. For a better view, he leaned over my shoulder to read the paperwork.
“Aren’t you a nosy one?”
“Busted. You could just put me out of my misery and tell me.”
“Well, Mr. Nosy, I’m getting some goat feed and flowers for the main house porch because I’m a responsible business owner with the most organized to-do list you’ve ever seen.”
Hank rolled his eyes at my declaration, but then looked puzzled when he glanced down and saw the amount I’d ordered. “How are you getting all that stuff home? I thought I saw your car out there.”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect the planters, so I brought my car instead of the truck. I’ve got a few days of food, so I’ll just come back tomorrow.” It was beyond me why Hank was so interested in my logistics, but I liked the concern. It gave me the warm fuzzies.
Jace glanced back and forth between us with speculative eyes. If he knew what was up, I’d love it if he’d clue me in. I didn’t have the damnedest clue where these silly games were going. What I wanted—obviously Hank—wasn’t what I was going to get—obviously nothing.
“I hate for you to make a second trip. I have a few more errands to run, but I can swing back by, load up your stuff, and bring it out this evening,” Hank offered.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to put you out.”
“It’s fine. I need to run by Bert and Faust’s place, but it’ll only take me a few hours.”
“Oh, wait, if you’re going out there… They have an order scheduled for delivery tomorrow, but if you want to take it to them, you’d save me a trip,” Jace said.
“Oh, look at you, Hank. If the whole ranch thing doesn’t work out, you’ve got a head start on a delivery business,” I said brightly.
Hank’s look was nothing short of smoldering. Smoldering.
“Careful, sugar. I’d hate for you to go too far.”
I opened and closed my mouth like a guppy out of water. My mind went fully blank on how to respond. Then that man gave me a wink and sauntered away. The absolute nerve of the man.
Two to zero, Hank.
Jasper
Okay, so I went to the feed store today for some food…
Gage
Texas doesn’t have grocery stores? I find that kinda surprising.
Rowan
Gage, shut it. Jasper, and?
Jasper
First, until you’ve been to an H-E-B, don’t diss Texas grocery stores.
Second, a dude was working there with a Pride pin on his name tag. I told you this place is a gay mecca.
Dad
Huh. Well, that’s good, I guess.
Jasper
I just thought it was cool.
Dad
You get the B&B opened yet?
Jasper
Not yet, but I’m working on it every day. I’ve got all the rooms cleaned, and I’m getting it together as quickly as I can.
Did you know Sissy had a brother?
Dad
Really? I don’t remember hearing that.
Jasper
Well, we didn’t know Sissy until the ancestry thing.
Dad
Right, right. I guess that makes sense.
Just make sure you’re not getting sidetracked. It’d be nice to see this one stick.
Jasper
Yeah, I know.
Dad
I don’t mean anything by that. I just don’t want you to get discouraged. Losing that money at the coffee shop really shook your confidence.
Vaughn
Dad…
Gage
Oh boy. Did I tell you someone told me I was incompetent today? Wanna weigh in on that too?
Dad
Ha! They called you that? I’d say they just caught you before your second coffee.
Look, I’m just saying Jasper’s got a good thing here. Be a shame if it fell apart ’cause of timing or he lost focus or whatever.
Jasper
Yeah, I’m on top of it.
Dad
I know you want to be.
Jasper
I’m gonna get going. Bye.
Vaughn
I’m glad to hear the mecca thing was true.
Gage
TTYL.