Chapter Five
Orsen watched Crompton ride over on Billy, his horse.
He had told Orsen what breed the horse was, but all Orsen took in was huge.
Billy was a huge black horse. Seventeen hands or something had been mentioned, but Orsen had no idea what that meant.
Why were the measurements in hands? Was that important?
“Is he coming over, then? The finance man.”
Orsen nodded. “He should be here in a few minutes.” He stood and tried to stretch but winced when pain flared in his shoulder.
Not as bad now compared to how it felt the first few days, but things seemed to be improving very slowly.
He needed physical therapy on it, and that would begin in another couple of weeks.
Crompton had told him he would drive Orsen into town for it, then suffer at a local coffee shop with people he didn’t like until Orsen had finished.
Orsen had chuckled at the word suffer, then seen the scowl on Crompton’s face and quickly stopped.
The fact that he’d offered made Orsen feel warm inside.
He’d never had that before, or if he had, he couldn’t remember.
Maybe Allison had cared for him when he was young, before she’d been murdered.
If he thought really hard, he could vaguely remember her taking care of him, but he’d learned at an early age that he had to do that himself.
Hearing the sound of tires on gravel, Orsen looked up to see Santino driving toward him. Crompton grumbled and nudged Billy away. “Don’t take any of his shit, Orsen. You’re your own man now.”
Orsen nodded and watched Santino get out of his car.
Tall, with chocolate eyes, dark hair, and olive skin, the suit did little to hide the broad shoulders or thick thighs.
The man worked out, and it showed in the way his clothes stretched over him.
Orsen swallowed, watching Santino move, seeing his body had Orsen feeling—
“Morning, Orsen.”
“Do you work out?” he blurted.
“I do. I have to have my pants adjusted. Slim waist and thick thighs.”
“Like a bodybuilder.”
“Not as big as one of those.” Santino smiled. “Why do you ask? Are you interested in working out?”
“The doctor said I needed to put some weight on. Everyone keeps giving me food.”
Santino sat next to Orsen on the swing on the porch and pushed it with his foot. “This is nice. Peaceful. You can sit and let your mind wander.”
“I like it.” Orsen liked knowing he wouldn’t be punched or kicked anymore.
“We have a couple of things to go over. Do you want to do it here or inside?”
Orsen looked at Santino, noting his tanned skin, so different from his own. “You’re different from me.”
“I come from a long line of Italians, and I have their coloring.”
“I don’t really know where I come from.” Orsen looked away, staring out at the tree line in the distance. “I don’t want the family I do… did have.”
“You can create your own family. Blood isn’t always thicker than water, as the saying goes. Look at Cody. He made his own family.”
“I’m not sure TJ had much of a choice. Cody wanted his man, and he got him.”
Santino arched an eyebrow. “Cody did the chasing?”
“Cody moved in and told TJ he’d be staying.
” Orsen smiled. While in the hospital, Cody had talked to him, told him about the beginning of his relationship with TJ.
Convincing the older man to be with him.
“He’s always loved TJ. Even when he was younger.
He told me TJ was the only man for him, and he came back to Robinson to get him. I like them.”
“I do too. Cody is older than his years.”
“I think he went through something bad, and it made him grow up. He didn’t tell me much, just that it needed to happen so he could become the person he was meant to be.
” Orsen watched a flock of birds take flight, the sounds of their cries filling the air.
“Sometimes I think what I went through was so I could find something in life, but I don’t know what. ”
“I personally think you should recover first, but I don’t know you too well, so I could be wrong.”
“No, I need to figure out who I am.” Orsen blinked and glanced at Santino. “It’s easy talking to you. I don’t talk much.”
“Was there any reason for you to talk when you were at home?”
“No,” he whispered. “I stayed quiet. Safer that way.”
Santino hummed softly, pushed the swing again, and Orsen leaned back, letting the quiet fall around them.
It wasn’t uncomfortable either, like some silences could be.
Sitting with Santino felt nice, and he liked that.
With Ambrose, the tension had constantly filled the air, waves of anger and hatred spilling out from him, ready to be triggered.
“Whatever we talk about will stay between us.”
“Is it because I’m your client?” Orsen asked quietly.
“Yes and no. I want to be your friend too. I feel like you don’t have many.”
“Does being so honest get you into trouble?”
“I think with you it’s something you’d want. No lies or subterfuge. It’s what we agreed to.”
“Subterfuge.” Orsen’s brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”
“Deceit in order to achieve one’s goal.”
Subterfuge. He liked that word. Orsen nodded. “I want honesty. It’s important to me. I don’t want any more lies or people only telling me the things they think I should hear. I’ve lived enough of that.” Orsen picked at a thread on the hem of his T-shirt. “I’m going to be eighteen soon.”
“In thirty-four days.”
“I should celebrate. A cake and a soda.” No alcohol. He didn’t want to drink. Too much hurt came when people had been drinking. “Carrot cake or cheesecake, maybe.”
“It’s your birthday. You can have whatever you want. A party or a small gathering of friends.”
“You said I don’t have many friends.”
Santino nodded. “I apologize if I insulted you.”
“I hardly went to school, so I have no friends from there.”
“You can make friends when you’re ready. There’s no rush. Heal and then decide.”
“What about the house?” That had taken some getting used to. Him being a homeowner and the owner of fifty acres. What did he even do with that much land? The house, he would burn down to the ground. He would laugh and dance as the place burned to ashes. A ‘fuck you’ to Ambrose.
“It’s yours to do with as you please.”
“What if I wanted to destroy it?”
“Then you can do so, but you may need permission beforehand.”
“Why? It’s my house on my land.”
“You need permission for just about everything today, but given the condition it’s in, I don’t think there would be an issue. You could then rebuild.”
“No. I want it gone. He’d hate his precious home being destroyed, so nothing remained.”
“Ambrose?”
“Who else? He cared more for that house than me, yet he ruined it and tried to kill me.” Orsen sucked in a lungful of air.
“I keep asking why.” He let the air out slowly and closed his eyes.
Ambrose shouldn’t be on his mind, but when Orsen looked in the mirror, he saw Ambrose’s face staring back at him.
He got his eyes from Allison, but the features of his face were all Ambrose.
“We can never know the reason why he behaved the way he did.”
“You come from the city. Have you met others like him?”
“Unfortunately, yes. I’d like to say there aren’t many of them, but I’d be lying, and we don’t lie to each other.”
“I hate him.”
“I would be surprised if you didn’t.”
Orsen exhaled and sat up. “I can’t read properly, so you’ll have to read it out to me.”
“I’ve looked into schooling, and I’d like to help you. Be aware, I do work, so there will be times when you’ll have to sit and wait for me to finish a call or an email or a spreadsheet. There’ll be times when I’m in the city to attend court.”
“I want to learn. I don’t like relying on others. Bad things happen then.”
Santino’s eyes flickered over his face, then he nodded. “I agree. I’ll need to have you do some tests so I know your level, then we can go from there. I think English and math first, then we can add any subjects that interest you at a later date.”
“How much do you want?” Orsen knew there was always something involved. Time, money, sex.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? Are you luring me in?”
Santino burst out laughing. “No. I have no need to lure you in, as you put it. Maybe I want to help a friend.”
“Are we friends?”
“I’d like us to become friends.”
“I’d like that too.” Orsen closed his eyes and sighed. “I don’t know what to do. Part of me wants to sell it all and then it’ll be over.”
“Or you could rebuild on the ashes of your old home and make something better. I think that would be a good ‘fuck you’ to Ambrose Catlow.”
Orsen smiled. It sounded like a good idea. He would wake up every morning and flip Ambrose the bird from his perfect bed in a room that had heating and furniture and was filled with warmth and love. Could he dream like that? Could he have those things?
“Fifty acres,” he murmured. “Why did we live like that when he had all that land? He knew he had the land, so why didn’t he sell it?”
“I can’t answer that.”
“I know. It’s one of those rhet questions that doesn’t have an answer. I heard about them once.”
“Rhetorical.”
“You’re really smart. I must seem so young and stupid to you.”
“You are younger than me, but you’ve experienced a life I haven’t. Like Cody is younger, but in some ways far more mature than I am. You have that same air around you.”
“I want a life where I’m not hiding. I want to go out and eat a nice cake and go to a party. Go shopping and not have to steal what I need. Clean clothes and a bed, not some dirty mattress on the floor. Carpets, too. Furniture to hang my clothes inside. That isn’t too much to ask for, is it?”
“You want to go to the city? Maybe move there?”
Orsen furrowed his brow. The city life had never appealed to him.
The bright lights and late nights, then endless parties.
He preferred a quiet life. A life where he went home to a happy place filled with sunshine.
He didn’t need expensive cars, or designer clothes, or the latest accessory.
He only wanted to be happy, to be safe. “No.”
“I left there. I don’t think you’d do well in a city. You appear to prefer this kind of life. I prefer it here too. I grew tired of the hustle and bustle. Robinson has enough for me.”
“I don’t know Robinson, even though I lived here my whole life.”
“Would you like to? I could take you one day.”
Orsen looked at Santino and studied him. He knew when Ambrose lied to get what he wanted, the way his face tightened with anticipation, but Santino seemed open. “I would. Thank you.”
“It’s a date, then.”
“A date?” Orsen’s eyes widened, a flush covering his skin. “I’ve never had one.”
“A platonic one between friends. I can show you around and help you buy some things for yourself. You can afford it, so why not treat yourself to new jeans or a new jacket?”
“I don’t know how to do those things. I always stole what I needed, and then Ambrose would take it from me and ruin them or wear them himself.”
“He isn’t here now, so you can do whatever you want with your money.”
“How much is there?”
“In total, from what I’ve been able to trace, just under two hundred thousand.”
“How much?” Orsen sat up straight and stared open-mouthed at Santino. “How is there that much money and I starved?”
“Most of it comes from Allison’s side. She was an only child, and when her parents died, they left her everything. I can’t say for certain, but she never touched the account, so I’m left wondering if she knew about it or chose to keep it away from Ambrose.”
“But she had money, so why did we stay? Why couldn’t she have taken me and left?”
“I can’t answer that question for you. I’m sorry.”
Orsen blinked rapidly, his hands curling into fists.
“She could have saved us! We could have lived a life away from here. He killed her.” Orsen blinked, letting the tears fall.
“She died when she didn’t have to. He used to beat the shit out of me!
He tried to kill me! All those years of being punched and kicked, and I could have been taken away from it all. ”
“I’m sorry, Orsen.”
“Fuck off with your sorries,” Orsen sobbed. “Just fuck off! I hate you. I hate you all.” Orsen ran inside and slammed the door shut behind him. He hated them all. All of them.