Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Jericho
Tires crunching on gravel caught my attention at eight that morning. I was just taking the saddle off Trixie, having taken the old gal on a sunrise ride to check the fences.
Thankfully, there were none in need of repair, and all the gates were still secure. I hadn’t ridden the fences since before Bethany Roberts came to help out from southern Virginia.
I’d done little else except mess with the horses and complete some repairs around the barn that I’d been neglecting, and it was time to quit jacking around and do some actual work.
My heart wasn’t in it, and I didn’t know how to move forward since Sean Fitzpatrick had walked out the front door. Damn if I didn’t miss that man.
I stepped out of the barn to see John Langer get out of the passenger side of his pickup with his son, Cody, sitting behind the wheel.
I hadn’t had the chance to call them yet, and for an instant, I worried I was about to get my ass kicked.
John met me pound for pound and inch for inch, but he had two good legs and feet.
He also had fifteen years on me, so we were probably pretty evenly matched.
I grabbed the pitchfork I used to clean stalls, heading out of the barn and stopping by my truck where my Mossberger was resting behind my seat. My Glock 22 was in the living room gun safe.
“Jericho, how are you? I haven’t seen you around much lately,” John said, extending his hand.
I moved the pitchfork to my left hand so I could shake. “John, I’m good. How about you? I’ve got a full barn, so there’s not much time for anything else. I guess the fence-building business is good.”
“Yeah, my schedule’s full up for the summer and early fall, thanks for asking. Look, Jericho, I wanted to talk to you about what happened here the other night.”
John turned toward the truck and motioned for Cody to get out, but the kid gave a stern shake of his head. I damn near laughed.
“Is he okay?” I had yet to learn if I was going to be charged with any kind of crime because Mom and I owned the property where the kid broke in and Bethany shot him.
“Stubborn as hell and petrified of your horse hand. She around?”
“Naw. She was a friend from southern Virginia who was lookin’ out for the place and Mom while I went to DC.
I hate that she shot him, John, but she was defending my stock and my mom.
She was well within her rights to do it, but I hate that he broke into my barn in the first place.
Are you lookin’ to press charges against her?
She was acting under the Castle Doctrine. ”
I did my damn research to make sure Bethany was justified in shooting the kid, especially since she didn’t use lethal force.
When I called Sheriff Jackson to check my understanding at six this morning, he confirmed I could interpret the law that way and asked if I wanted to press charges against Cody.
The kid was sixteen. I really didn’t want to ruin his life.
“That’s what Sheriff Jackson said when he dropped by.
I’d like us to reach a compromise for Cody’s punishment.
It’s really my fault because he wanted to go to Ocean City for the Fourth of July, and I told him we didn’t have the money.
I shot off my mouth about Mindy Spriggs owing me money for building the fence around her property.
“My genius took that to mean if I got paid, he could go, which wasn’t my intention at all. I want his lazy ass to come work for me over the summer, but his mom’s giving me shit about it, so I had another idea.”
John leaned against the side of my truck bed, glancing over his shoulder at Cody, and a second later, we heard the truck locks engage. I chuckled.
I leaned the pitchfork against the truck door, pretty sure I wasn’t looking at an ass beating. John Langer had the reputation around town of being an honest man, but when someone crossed his family, maybe he had an explosive temper? I had no idea.
Before I was deployed to South Korea, I’d hired John to put up a nice vinyl fence around Mom and Dad’s front yard, and he’d done a fantastic job. It had been my Christmas gift to them shortly before my life was blown up—literally.
“Sheriff Jackson called me while I was on the jobsite and suggested I bring Cody over here to apologize and offer that he’ll work for you as a sort of probation. He said you weren’t really interested in pressing charges, and given the situation, he said that woman wasn’t wrong.
“Jackson told me to be grateful she only used bird shot, and I am. He can do stuff like clean stalls or mow grass. He needs another week to lift anything heavy. I should thank you for using small shells. They plucked a hundred pellets out of him, and he’s still sore.
” John moved his hand around his gut where the kid had been shot.
I nodded. “I’m just glad she shot low. She’s a damn nice woman, John. She runs a riding school and boards high-end horses in Virginia hunt country. She stayed here with Mom and took care of my horses while I was away. Cody chose the wrong night to make a bad decision. I’m sorry he got hurt.”
John nodded as he stared toward the barn. The red wooden building with white trim and a silver galvanized roof was about fifty years old. My dad bought the land with the house and barn about thirty years ago, just after I was born.
There was still a mortgage against the property because my dad made some bad choices and taken equity from the house and land to invest in an old nag racehorse who someone told him had a few good races left in her—which was just one example—but after the money I’d earned for protecting Sean for a week, Mom and I would be able to manage the small outstanding amount.
It was a relief to be close to debt-free.
What I didn’t like was taking the money and not seeing the job through. Aside from my personal investment in Sean, I’d only worked for a week, and Golden Elite Associates-America paid Bethany in addition to the fee I’d received. It felt like a job unfinished.
Finally, John was able to convince Cody to get out of the truck. The kid’s chin was tucked into his chest as he shuffled toward us. I felt bad for him, but he’d already pulled the pin on bad behavior, and he needed to learn there were consequences.
“Say hello to Jericho,” John snapped.
“Hello.” The boy didn’t raise his eyes.
“Hey, Cody, how are you?” His slow movement and his less-than-tall stance indicated he was still in pain.
“The doctor said I’ll be fine unless an infection sets in. That lady was pretty mean—”
John jerked Cody’s head around. “That lady was damn nice to shoot you where she did. She could have blinded you, Cody. You need to understand what the hell you did.”
I could see the kid wasn’t exactly thrilled with what his father said, and I wasn’t anyone’s savior. I’d made my fair share of mistakes over time, and I’d learned lessons the hard way.
“Look, Cody, I’m damn sure Bethany didn’t want to hurt you. She was protecting the horses. Bethany had the responsibility of watching my property while I was gone, and she had no idea what she was walking into when you broke into the barn.”
John stepped forward and smacked Cody on the back of the head. “Tell him what we agreed you’d do.”
The kid was cute and stubborn. He was sixteen, and based on his reaction, he had a grudge against anyone and everyone, especially his dad. Why? That was a good question.
“I’ll come here and help at the barn. I can feed and care for your horses and do whatever else you need. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t press charges against me for trying to steal those horses. I’ll do it for as long as you say.”
Cody appeared to be about to puke, so I took a breath to let the kid off the hook. “I don’t want to prosecute you, Cody. I want us to get on the other side of this, okay?”
The boy gave me a look as if he wanted to kill me, but I thought back to being his age.
I’d have done the same thing. Back then, I had no idea what the fuck to do with the rest of my life.
At sixteen, I’d known I was gay, but I’d had nobody to tell and nobody to offer any guidance for how to live my life as a gay kid in a fucking small town.
If Cody was willing to help around the farm, I’d try to be compassionate and offer any assistance he needed. He fucked up, but it wasn’t a mistake that should follow him.
“How about this? You give me four weekends of help around here. You can pick the weekends. They don’t have to be in a row, and if you want to earn extra money, I’m willing to hire you to work when you have extra time. I’ll pay you fifteen bucks an hour.”
Cody looked at his dad for approval, and John shrugged. “It’s up to you. If you’d rather help out here, then I won’t make you work for me, but I might ask you to help when I’m shorthanded, and you gotta tell Mom you want to do it.”
John’s large hand came down on Cody’s shoulder with a gentleness I didn’t expect before he spoke. “And I’m not payin’ you.”
I coughed to hide a laugh. John reminded me of my own dad, and at that moment, I really missed him. He’d have laughed with me at what the kid had done because I probably would have done something of the sort at Cody’s age.
I glanced at the barn. “Okay, I’m going to bitch about one thing.
You broke those damn lights over the barn doors and the sensor lights, so your first task will be to climb the damn ladder and replace them.
I expect you here tomorrow morning at six for your first weekend.
I’ll ask you to ride the fences after you fix the lights. ”
I turned to John. “He’s a good pitcher. He broke out the lights like a damn pro.”
John laughed, which surprised me. “You got extra bulbs? We’ll do it now.”
I went into the machine shed and found the extra bulbs for the sensor lights and the regular flood lights. I carried out the bulbs, happy to see John had the tall ladder that had been hooked to the side of the shed. “Again, Jericho, I’m sorry about this.”
Shrugging, I turned toward John. “Look, John, I respect the hell out of you. I did some amazingly stupid shit when I was Cody’s age.
When I was sixteen,”—I swallowed the bile in my throat—“I’d just figured out I was gay, and before you start freaking out or being a dick, I have no interest in your son.
That’s always the first thing straight guys go to. I’m not a pervert.”
John chuckled. “I didn’t think that at all, Jericho.
I’m not a homophobic asshole. I have several guys working for me who have told me they’re gay or bi, and it’s not my business at all.
I happen to think Cody is trying to figure some things out for himself right now, and working with you might help, okay?
I’m not shirking my responsibilities as a dad, but I don’t have any advice for Cody if he is wondering about his sexuality.
Could I coax you to help him out if he has questions? ”
I nodded. “Yeah, of course, John. I’ll do anything I can to help. Cody’s a good kid, maybe just a little confused. If he has questions, I’ll be happy to answer.”
John hugged me before we went around the corner of the barn where Cody was staring at the broken lights. We propped the ladder up for him, and he climbed up to replace the bulbs.
After Cody finished, he climbed down. I started to thank him, but John spoke first. “Thank you for undoing the damage you did. That’s the mark of a man who owns his mistakes. I’m proud of you.”
Cody wrapped his arms around his father’s neck, and I quietly walked away. It was beautiful to see the two of them come to an understanding and John remind his son he loved him and was proud of him.
“Jer! Phone, honey.” I was in the pen, exercising Orion, when I heard Mom calling me. I waved, got off the horse, and walked into the barn to pick up the extension.
“This is Jericho.” For a moment, my heart fluttered. Maybe it was Sean?
“Hi, Jericho. This is Mindy Spriggs. I wanted to make an appointment to come out and ride Fancy. How’s the colt doing?”
I deflated a little. “Hi, Mindy. Thunder’s just fine. About ready to be weaned. How was the show?” I didn’t really care, but I felt obligated to listen. Once she finished complaining about how inconsiderate some people could be, I cleared my throat.
“Yeah, I hear ya. Say, uh, I wanted to talk to you about something. Seems you haven’t paid John Langer for the fences he built at your place, and he’s got a family and needs the money. If you’re coming out to ride, maybe you could drop off a check for him?”
Was it my business to remind her about a debt? Nope. Was I doing it anyway? You bet your ass. I depended on people to pay me for my time and effort. John deserved the same respect.
“Shit! I thought my bookkeeper mailed that check before I left the country. I’ll definitely take a check to him, Jericho. I’m so embarrassed. I promise I’m not the type of person who would ever cheat anyone out of money they earned.”
Mindy sounded truly upset, and to date, she had been fair with me. Fancy wasn’t the first of her horses I’d worked with, so I had no reason to doubt her.
“I was sure it was just a misunderstanding, Mindy. When do you want to come out?”
We chatted and agreed on Monday morning before we ended the call. I thought about how my chest felt when I hoped it was Sean calling me, so I went into the house and pulled up his office number on my cell, which I’d turned back on since Sean had left.
It rang twice before it was answered. “The Fitzpatrick Group. How may I direct your call?”
My tongue felt as thick as a slab of meat. I pulled the phone away and started to end the call, but something told me not to. “May I speak with Sean Fitzpatrick, please. Tell him it’s Jericho Hess. I’ll hold.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hess, but Mr. Fitzpatrick is out of the office. Would you like to speak to his executive assistant?”
My gut churned. “No. Thanks though.” I ended the call.
I was sure Sean was busy making up for being with me for a week. I was proud of him for everything he was working toward, but I missed the fuck out of him.
Sean had captured my heart in an instant, and now he was gone. How the fuck was I supposed to deal with the hole he left behind in my chest?