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I rolled my eyes, getting a dirty look from him. “Theo, we’ll be fine.”
“You will. I’m bored, and I’m lonely.”
“Noah’s coming. Maybe he’ll bring Eli.”
Theo’s lashes fluttered over his cheeks. “That’s not the kind of lonely I was talking about.”
“Oh. Well, another month or so, Burke said they had another weekend at the club.”
He got up, left the blanket, and stormed to his room. I stood there, watching, knowing why he’d done it. It was becoming clear that he wanted more from me than just protection, but I wasn’t going to give him something to do while he was bored. I wasn’t some toy for him that he’d cast aside once the threat to him was over.
When Noah and Eli came, Eli visited Theo in his room while Noah and I sat at the kitchen table, reviewing old man Flynn’s books. There was a list of usual buyers, and Noah was on the list. “I get all my pork from this farm. Good meat is raised right. We used to trade for cheese, milk, and beef. I don’t know how you’ll run your place, but many locals will want the same deal. Theo did well, making that deal with me, and he’ll likely work out fine with the others. Wish you’d take this place over. You and Theo both got good heads on your shoulders.”
From someone like Noah, that was a huge compliment. “Thanks, but I know nothing about farming and ranching.”
“It’s not rocket science. You raise the animals and crops; you make a living. You got two good boys taking care of things for you. You did right by them, giving them a home. I have been talking to some folks about parcels you could buy here once this job is over. Got some leads for you. You could move the operation there if you’re inclined to.”
Eli cleared his throat, and I turned to the doorway to see Eli there, along with Theo. “Yes,” Theo snarked. “Raising pigs would be right up your alley.”
Eli was staring at the ground as Theo stormed off, and Noah was the one that asked, “What the hell was that about?”
Eli looked off to where Theo had gone, then seeing it was clear, he entered the room. “He likes it here, but he hates that he likes it here, and what’s more, he likes you, Hud. You, me, Joel, we’re the first people in his life to not want anything from him except for his friendship. But you, he’s not sure about. He thinks you’re only here for the job.”
“I am, or…I was. Eli, I can’t…” All my arguments died on my lips.
Noah asked Eli, “What do you mean by all that?”
“In a roundabout way, he told me something, and Joel said something similar the other day. They were talking, and Theo said something about buying Joel a nice saddle for the new horse that Joel is so crazy about. Joel asked him why, saying that he had saddles. Theo said that he liked buying things for his friends and that they liked it when he bought them. He didn’t understand that Joel didn’t need him to buy things to be his friend. Then, upstairs, I asked him about that. He told me that no one had ever liked him that wasn’t paid to.”
“That’s…not true with me, Eli. Noah. I have feelings for him, but I am being paid, and what’s more, my job isn’t just about the money. I take my job seriously. I can’t just…fall for someone. It’ll take my focus, and if something ever happened to him because of me, my feelings….”
“It would likely kill you,” Noah said, then gazed at Eli. “I can’t tell you what to do, but it sounds like the boy is so miserable with the world because he’s alone in it.”
“He’s gotten better since Joel and I started hanging out with him,” Eli confessed. “He still gets…like the old Theo now and then, but not much. He’s nice.”
“Not to me, at least most of the time. Theo’s too busy trying to get my attention to realize all he has to do is talk to me like a human being.”
As Noah laughed dryly, he said, “I think he thinks he’s flirtin’ with you.”
“That’s flirting?”
Eli laughed and agreed, “It’s how he was at the club that weekend. Bossing men around, being shitty, then throwing money at them. I don’t think he knows how to…flirt. I mean, Noah, that makes a lot of sense.”
I couldn’t believe they’d seen it and hadn’t when I was always there with him. Then again, I knew he wanted my attention. I just had no idea it was flirting. I just thought he was bored, which could still be valid.
Theo came into the room, leaning back on the counter by the sink, staring at all of us. “What’s the conference about? Me?”
“Yes, Theo,” Noah said without hesitation. I almost had a heart attack, but he said, “Hud called us here to talk about your pigs. Wondering when the smoking was going to start because I have company comin’ in a couple weeks. I’d like to serve them up one of those nice hams.”
“I’m right here. Can’t you ask me?”
I turned around to stare at him. “Really? Okay, Theo, what are your thoughts?”
“You all think I’m too stupid to know what to do, right?”
Everyone protested, but I hushed them. “No. You’re not stupid, Theo. I just can’t imagine you’d be interested in this.”
“I’m not, but it is where I live right now. So, I looked once we got the internet going, not that you can call what we get here internet. I’m surprised it isn’t dialup.”
