Chapter 21 #2
“I don’t know. I’ll have to ask. Anyway, I won’t need a car at the ranch, and if I need to run to town, I can use your mom’s. Maybe I’ll buy a car or a truck— Can you imagine me owning a truck? You know, we could replace your truck, and I could drive this one.”
Jeri turned, and the grin on his face was a mile wide. “I’ll make a country boy out of you yet.”
We both laughed. I didn’t want to tell him how difficult a task that would be, but the sexy man behind the wheel certainly looked like he was up for the challenge. He appeared to be ready for any challenge I’d throw his way. I was sure there would be plenty of them.
We arrived at the ranch to see a pickup truck parked in the driveway by the house. “Oh, John and Cody are here. Good, I don’t have to feed.” Jeri pulled around the truck and parked by the tool shed where he usually parked.
We got out of the truck and when I got to the front, Jeri pulled me into his arms. “Been wantin’ to do this since we got on the road but I didn’t want to kill us. Welcome home, baby.” Jeri kissed me senseless before he picked me up and swung me around, both of us laughing.
The back door opened and a loud whistle sounded, prompting Jeri to put me down. We both turned to see Gayle standing in the yard with a handsome older man by her side. “Oh, that’s the guy Mom was talking about. That’s John’s dad, Kenny. Mom has the hots for him.”
I chuckled. “I can see why. Well, let’s go meet him. I hope he’s not upset by our display.”
“I don’t give a fuck if he is. This is my farm, and he can go the fuck home if he doesn’t like it.”
Was that a little jealousy in Jeri’s voice, and was it because I said the guy was hot, or because Gayle was spending time with him? Hey, if Gayle found a gentleman to spend time with, I would be more than happy for her.
“Mr. Langer, it’s nice to see you. It’s been a while. This is my boyfriend, Sean Fitzpatrick. Sean, this is Ken Langer.” I stepped forward and shook the man’s hand. The handshake was firm, but not aggressive, which probably meant there was nothing to worry about.
“Call me Kenny. Gayle tells me you’re some hotshot from DC,” the man said.
“I don’t know about being a hotshot, but I work in DC as a lobbyist for the LGBTQ+ community. And worse than that, I’m an attorney.” Thankfully, Mr. Langer laughed.
“Boys, come inside and have some lemonade. It’s pretty warm out here. Jeri, I’ll get a thermos of lemonade for you to take down to John and Cody in a minute. I need to talk to you about somethin’.” Gayle’s beaming smile told me Jeri might not like what she was going to say.
We followed her and Kenny inside, and I grabbed glasses from the cabinet as Gayle retrieved the lemonade from the fridge. Kenny sat at the head of the table where Jeri usually sat. The quick snarl from my guy confirmed my suspicions about what had made him jealous earlier.
After Gayle poured the lemonade, I handed out the glasses. “I’ll just get my stuff from the truck.” I was trying to give them some privacy to have a difficult discussion.
“No, Sean, honey. Take a seat. This affects you, too.” Gayle pointed to the chair I usually sat in and smiled at me.
I sat down and braced myself. I reached under the table and took Jeri’s hand, hoping I could soften the blow of what was coming.
“Jeri, after you called to tell me you were bringing Sean home with you for the summer, I thought maybe it was a good idea for me to swap my bedroom with yours. When Kenny was helpin’ me take my bed apart, he told me about the complex where he lives.
It’s that new assisted living community on the other side of town, Shady Acres.
Anyway, he took me over to look at it, and it’s just gorgeous.
“They have games and book clubs. Oh, and we’re going to a picnic there next week for the Fourth of July. They have two swimming pools, a putting green, and all sorts of things to do. I, uh—”
“Are you moving in with Kenny?” Jeri asked. The disappointment in his voice was palpable.
Gayle giggled. “Heavens no. They’re small apartments, and neither one of us wants to get married again, son.
I filled out an application, and they called yesterday to tell me I’ve been approved.
I can move in as soon as I want. I’d like to move there, and then you and Sean can have the house to yourselves. ”
Kenny jumped in with the hard sell. “It’s really a nice place.
There are activities all the time, and once a month, there’s a bus to take us to the local casinos and the horse races.
John used to bitch that I spent too much time on his job sites, but now I don’t have time to go supervise.
I think Gayle would really enjoy herself there. ”
Jeri turned to me, but I just smiled. It was the home he’d grown up in, where he’d lived his whole life, aside from when he was in the Army. It was probably a lot to accept.
“Jer, I’m not askin’ your permission. I love you, son, but I know that a young couple doesn’t need to start their life together with a mother-in-law lookin’ over their shoulders.
Besides, I’ve got a lot of life left, and I want to stay active.
You don’t like me to do much around here because you’re worried I’ll get hurt since I fell off Trixie and broke my wrist. I’m not delicate, Jer, but if somethin’ was to happen, I couldn’t be in a better place than the assisted-living facility. ”
“That’s right. We have a health clinic at the complex.
If anything were to happen, they’d be able to get Gayle the attention she needed or get her to the hospital immediately.
That’s been a worry for John about me and my blood pressure.
It’s actually down because I’m takin’ my pills every day like I should because the nurse brings them around for me twice a day.
” Kenny reached over and patted Gayle’s hands that were folded on the tabletop.
I could see Gayle and Jeri needed to chat alone, so I stood. “Kenny, care to help me take some lemonade down to the barn?”
He grinned. “Sounds like a nice idea. We’ll be back.”
I hoped they figured everything out. I didn’t want there to be hurt feelings on Jeri’s part, and I didn’t want Gayle to feel like we were pushing her out. If anyone should leave, it was me.