Page 3 of Jorhee

I was not a fan of arranged matings, believing that such things should be left to fate and love, and when I’d first heard about the Mylos and their sentient AI’s mate matching system, it had left me feeling similarly about it. But I was a prince, raised to always do my duty for the betterment of the Dragonii Empire, and this was no different. I’d do it and smile, pushing aside any personal qualms I had. Which, to be fair, I only had about the program because one often was required to sign up to be tested in exchange for what they sought. No one was being forced to sign up, as far as I’d ever heard or read.

Except for me,I thought morosely. Then I perked up, recalling the odds of my being matched.So close to zero, the chance might as well not exist.Feeling much more upbeat, I popped a succulent piece of meat in my mouth, my eyes closing at the delicious flavor of the kilt-ha, delicately seared just enough to seal the juices inside, but still delightfully raw inside.

Yes, all signs point to this being a good thing for me, and as a personal bonus, I’ll have that nitwit Grekl out of my hair for good.

2

JESSE

I passed the dish of mashed potatoes to my father.

“So, I was thinking I could maybe go with Jerry to the auction and help him look over the livestock and stay to see if any of the horses that come in for the next day’s one show any promise,” I said.

The table stilled. “Why would you want to do that?”

“Because I’ve been helping Jerry with everything else for the past three years,” I pointed out reasonably. I had, in fact, been doing almost all of the head ranch hand’s work for the last two, as he groomed me to take over for my father one day as the boss. I also helped Ted, my sister’s husband, with the accounting by doing the accounts for my father, which he then handed over to Ted to scrutinize and make suggestions on how we could lessen our tax liability. Ted was an accountant and the junior partner in the local tax preparer’s office in town, so that made sense.

“Well, you can keep helping him here on the ranch, but you don’t need to do so off of it. In fact, I was meaning to tell you that your sister will start doing the runs to the feed store and such. You just concentrate on what’s happening here on the ranch.”

I paused, my fork midair. Something about the way he said that and Ted and Lauren wouldn’t meet my eyes didn’t sit right. I narrowed my eyes.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

“Well, you know I’ve been courting Susie Milburn these past eighteen months and all,” he hedged.

“Yes, what does that have to do with me not going to the feedstore or auction?”

He sighed. “I never thought she’d give in. Before, it was always ‘my Gerald this,” and ‘my Gerald that,’ and the best I could do was get her to sit next to me at the church picnic, and even then I was pretty convinced that only because ours was the only picnic table that had room. But, a couple of months ago, she agreed to coffee and once she realized I wasn’t tryin’ to make her forget Gerald, but make room for me just like I was for her, we started going to the movies and such.”

This was news to me, but then again, if he was taking her out on evenings he knew I was going into the city to hang out with friends at the gay bar, there was no way for me to know unless someone told me. Which they hadn’t, and that was suss as all shit.

“Setting aside that you obviously made sure I didn’t find out you were going on these dates, which we can revisit in a bit, I still do not see the connection.”

“Damn it, Jesse,” Dad growled. “Quit being obtuse! She’s a church goin’ woman who never misses a service at High Mount Baptist. She brought it to my attention that folks know you’re queerer than a three dollar bill and it makes folks around here uncomfortable. This is Oklahoma, and there’s no place for no Brokeback Mountain shit in this town. Now, I love you, son, but I need you to stay here on the ranch until folks have someone else they like to gossip about. I was going to invite her for Sunday dinner this week so we could make a proper announcement, butwe’re getting married at the courthouse and buying an RV so we can go see America on an extended honeymoon. And those were her terms. She’s trying to protect you and the ranch, even if you don’t see it.” He sighed. “So, I’ll be handing the ranch over to Lauren and Ted before we go. You and Jerry and the other hands can handle everything here for him, and he can deal with the numbers side of stuff like always. Lauren can do the store runs and bottle feeding anything that needs it as and when, and later, start going with Jerry to the auctions as he’s getting on a bit in years too.”

My ears were still ringing from the “three dollar bill” and “Brokeback Mountain” BS my father had just spewed.

I tossed my napkin down onto the table. “Nice to know I’m loved and accepted and that all the hard work I put in here growing up as well as in recent years after you asked me to return after college is so very valued,” I spat.

Lauren looked at me sadly. “Jesse, wait. I never thought things would go this way, but you are invaluable, and you know Ted and I aren't like the folks at church. It’s why we stopped going except for holidays and such. You know that. We’ve talked about it when you said why you quit going too. And it’s not like you will be stuck here forever. You’ll get to go to see your friends in the city, and after Dad and Susie go off on their honeymoon, Ted and I can revisit the auction part at least.”

“And as Dad just said,” Ted interjected, “Jerry is going to retire soon, probably in the next year or two, and then you’ll be the new head ranch hand.”

I stared at them, not believing my ears. I’d gone from being the future owner of the Double J Ranch to future head ranch hand. An employee, while my sister, who’d spent her childhood doing Girl Scouts instead of 4H and whose sole contribution had been helping feed rejected calves and foals while actually working as a beautician at the town salon, and her city bornand bred tax accountant husband got the ranch and became my bosses.

“I feel I must decline this oh so gracious offer of employment and instead, tender my immediate resignation.” I turned to glare at my father. “I hope she’s worth it, as you might have gained a wife, but you sure as hell just lost a son.” I spun on my heel and strode upstairs, leaving the stunned silence behind me. I got halfway up the stairs when I heard the low arguing start, no doubt my father calling me ungrateful and Ted and my sister begging him to find a way to smooth things over as they would struggle without me. Too damned bad. They helped engineer the circumstances that had just blindsided me, knowing full well they were stealing my birthright. Hell, those two didn’t even live on the ranch!

Probably moving into the master bedroom once Dad leaves with his new missus,I thought bitterly.Lauren will probably open her own little salon here at the ranch. She used to talk about doing that when she first went to beauty school, before meeting Ted.

I reached my room, the one where my mom used to sit and read me bedtime stories as a small child, and Dad helped me figure out the instructions to my model tractors.

Mom would be so ashamed of them all right now. She simply accepted everyone as they were, saying God didn’t make mistakes, only people did.

I closed the door behind me, locking it in case one of them decided to come pester me up here. They could still pound on my door and shout through it, but I didn’t want to have to deal with them face to face anymore. I sat down at the desk where I'd spent years doing homework and building models and opened my laptop. I navigated to my messaging app, and seeing my friend Jase was on, sent him a quick hi. He responded quickly,asking me how I was doing. I told him what had just gone down at dinner, and he sent me a virtual hug.

I’d offer to let you come crash at my place, but I’ve got my cousin staying here. It’s my niece’s Sweet 16, and there’s a big family party.

That’s okay. I’m going to pack all my shit up, toss it in the truck, and go stay at the long stay motel place until I figure my shit out. New job and all that.