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Chapter Ten
Josiah stared at the piece of scrap paper he’d scrounged from a drawer in the trailer’s compact kitchen and tapped his pen against it, unsure if he had everything he needed on his list. Michael and his friends had managed to collect the bulk of what belonged to Josiah, including clothes and personal things from his bedroom. Things like his toothbrush and deodorant could be replaced easily—someone had grabbed both toothbrushes but Josiah needed to get a new one anyway—and he was forever grateful to Michael for not bringing up the giant elephant in the room.
The fact that Michael and his friends probably hadn’t known which toothbrush was Josiah’s because it was in the same holder as Seamus’s. That their toiletries shared the master bathroom, rather than Josiah’s being in the guest bathroom. Michael understood that Josiah hadn’t simply been Seamus’s roommate, and he was trying to be discreet about the information. Josiah owed him for that.
He finished putting his things away, stored the flattened boxes and suitcase under the trailer’s bed, and then took a quick shower since he now had clean clothes to wear. The tiny bathroom didn’t have the enema attachment Seamus liked him to use, which was comforting in its own way. No expectations, only a shower. Refreshed by the simple act, Josiah headed to Weston’s only general store for supplies.
The place stocked the bare basics of everything from food to clothing to the hardware farmers usually needed last minute to mend a fence or fix a tractor belt. Not a lot of variety but it did its job, saving folks from a much longer drive out to the nearest big-box store. He gathered up his list of items, including food for a few meals next week. What little he had in his account barely paid for the bill, but he wasn’t completely broke. He’d figure out his finances on Monday. Make sure whatever pay he received from the Pearces was his alone.
No one in the store bothered him, and the young lady who rang him up only gave him a curious smile. After being in town for about two years, he was known by face, but he was also an outsider. Not born to Weston or any of its tiny neighboring towns.
“You’re Josiah something, right?” the clerk asked as she bagged his stuff. “You’re taking care of Elmer Pearce right now.”
“I am.” He glanced around but no other shoppers were nearby. “You are?”
“Sorry, Leanne Miller. My parents own Woods Ranch, where Michael Pearce is working now. I talked to my parents the other day and they told me all what’s happening around the ranch. Staff changes and stuff like that. Between working and the kids, it’s hard to keep up with everything.”
“Right. Nice to meet you, Leanne.” Josiah tried to modulate his voice so his anxiety didn’t bleed through. “I don’t know your family well, but it seems like Michael is content working there.”
“As content as you can be with a sore ass every night.” She handed over another plastic bag of stuff.
As much as Josiah knew she meant a sore ass from riding a horse for hours a day, he couldn’t stop a brief flashback to his last night with Seamus. “Right. It’s honest work, though, and I think I can safely guess that Michael is grateful for it.”
“Yeah, I heard he had some sort of falling-out with his gay lover down in Austin before his dad’s stroke.” Leanne glanced over her shoulder, then hushed her voice. “I mean, I’ve got a gay brother who’s married, and now apparently one who’s bisexual and with a guy, but I don’t get that stuff.”
Totally done with this conversation, Josiah grabbed his last bag off the counter and dropped it into his cart. “People love who they love,” was all he could manage before quick-stepping it out of the small grocery store. He honestly didn’t care what she thought about him and his abrupt departure. His default mode when people brought up anything gay-related was to ignore or deflect, mostly out of self-preservation. Whenever Seamus hosted poker nights, he went right along with every homophobic joke his pals made, and that had always hurt, considering their arrangement.
Today was no different, even while a tiny, unacknowledged part of him hated that instinct. He wanted to scream “I’m gay!” at the top of his voice and be done with it.
Survival kept his mouth shut.
After loading up his groceries and returning his cart, Josiah hit the road—in the wrong direction. Habit had him going toward Seamus’s house, and he had to turn around in a church parking lot to go the other way to the Pearce property. That was going to take some getting used to, but in a good way. He could go to sleep tonight, alone, and not worry about any sort of pain.
He hoped.
Michael’s car was still parked behind Elmer’s truck, which didn’t really surprise him, since Elmer shouldn’t be left alone for very long. Not until his mobility increased dramatically, especially in his hand and arm. Josiah parked closer to the trailer and began unloading his haul. It really wasn’t that much, but as he tried to put his cold things in the small fridge, he realized it wouldn’t all fit. He’d bought a whole chicken for a slow cooker recipe, but it was too late today to try it.
He’d planned to share the meal with Michael and Elmer, so maybe it was okay to ask if he could put the bird in their fridge. Hadn’t Michael said it was?
Once everything else was in its proper place, Josiah grabbed the chicken and walked over to the house. Rang the bell with a slightly trembling finger, because they’d already done so much for him in the last twenty-four hours. Even storing a chicken in the fridge felt like too big of an ask, but his only other option was wasting the meat. Raw or cooked, it had to be refrigerated somewhere.
Michael pushed open the screen door with his familiar, patient smile on his face. “Hey, what’s up? You can’t miss my dad already.”
“I, um, was hoping to take you up on your offer to put something your refrigerator,” Josiah said, hating the tremor in his voice. He wasn’t used to asking for things. Hadn’t been for a long time. “My chicken won’t fit in mine.”
Michael’s lips twitched like Josiah had said something funny, but Josiah was only being honest. “Sure you can. Come on in. You know where the fridge is.”
“Thank you.” The only reason he wasn’t more nervous about going into the house after asking a favor was because Elmer was awake, his attention split between the TV and what they were talking about. Sometimes being alone with Seamus was so stressful he’d wanted to vomit.
Josiah put the chicken on an empty bottom shelf, glad he wasn’t taking up much space in the large appliance. He turned and nearly yelped because Michael was standing a few feet away, still smiling but so damned tall and broad and justthere.
“Do you want to stay for dinner?” Michael asked. “I have no idea what I’m going to make, but you can stay. I’d offer the food that was still in your slow cooker when we grabbed it last night, but I honestly didn’t trust that McBride hadn’t tampered with it in some way, so I tossed it.”
Josiah didn’t blame him. Seamus really was that petty. “No, that’s okay, really. I have stuff.” Lunch meat and white bread wasn’t fancy but it was stuff. And it took up less space than frozen dinners. He hadn’t forgotten Michael’s story about the college ice monster, so he’d only gotten a few frozen breakfast sandwiches for now.
“That’s cool. Another time?”
“Sure. I, um, the chicken is for a meal I planned to make Monday while I’m here with Elmer. It’ll be enough for multiple people and meals.”
