AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Preacher, the P.I. who was great at finding anything anyone needed, had gone silent. It wasn’t that he was ghosting anyone, but he hadn’t delivered any news either.
Not only were we worried, because while we lived in the state of worry about Gerald, but Robin was also frustrated. His brother was entrenched in this. Griffin told us often about how his worry had only grown in the last couple of months.
It was hard to believe time was moving as quickly as it was without Gerald around. I didn’t understand it one bit. I’d blink and days would pass.
It seemed like only yesterday Clancy was falling out in the yard and then coming home, pretending to be ok. It seemed like only yesterday we were laying him to rest and mourning his loss.
Yesterday. It was just a word. The meaning of the time was abstract, and as much as I wanted to understand it and keep track of it better, I couldn’t.
“Maybe he has a lead. He could be getting ready to call us at any minute,” Elton chimed in as the voice of reason. He was good at that. His life and struggles had given him a perspective others didn’t have.
“Even so, I wish we knew something." Griffin said. “Robin is going to make himself sick with worry. I’ve wanted to step in and say something, but it’s kind of hard to when he’s so down.”
“You’re his friend, though, aren’t you?” At Ashley's question, he nodded. “Then, as his friend, you should say something. Let him know that you care and you’re there for him if he wants to talk. It can make a world of difference when someone feels alone and then they realize they’re not.”
My boy was more involved in the ranch than ever. His hearing aids had come in and had been an almost flawless fit. We did a tiny bit of adjusting at Dr. Beverly’s orders, then he was good to go. We still struggled at times, of course. Some noises get to be too loud, and he had to adjust. Other times he’d just sit around mesmerized that he could hear in both ears again.
I couldn’t explain how blessed I felt to be along for the journey. How blessed I felt just to have him. He was everything to me.
“It feels weird hosting the market without him. I know that we’ve had several now, but I’m going to just say the quiet part for everyone to hear. Gerald is a big part of this when it started and now, he’s?—
“Gone,” Atticus said to Travis’s plea. “Right now, Gerald is gone. He has chosen to be somewhere else and to live his life without us in it. We have to respect that until such a time when we can do something else about it. Wallowing in the frustration isn’t healthy for any of us. We'll have our market day just like we have been, and it’s gonna go great. The ranch is doing so well, I can’t ever remember a time where things were this good with the books.”
“I understand what you’re saying. I just don’t like it.” Travis crossed his arms as Holt snickered. He whispered something in the other man’s ear, which had him hiding his face in his hands.
I ignored them to focus on the rest of the conversation. We were trying to figure out if we should clear off more land to use for the market. It had grown so exponentially that people from all over were asking to come set up stands. While the ranch was doing much better, the other people in the community were also benefiting from it. People who set up shop made money hand over fist.
The discussion finished around the same time dinner did. We all went our separate ways after everyone decided to keep things the way they were. We never wanted to be bigger than what we could handle, and it had already grown so much.
Maybe if Gerald was around, and we had the extra hands, the answer would’ve been different. But since he wasn’t and things were how they were, this was what we had to go with. I was sure the day would be fine, no matter what.
When the market day arrived,it was a beaming success, like always. The day started out with our normal surplus of customers coming early. Lights would flash along the drive into the makeshift parking lot long before the sun came up. People camped out so they could be the first in line for their favorite products and things that they couldn’t get in stores.
I knew for a fact that some people who sold at the market only did so in that one instance. They didn’t have a website or sell anywhere else, which made their product even more desired.
The day went as normal as could be. I floated around, helping where I could, and making sure that my boy was doing ok with Harlan at the food table. The two of them had some strange bond. I didn’t know if it was because they were both really big guys in terms of size, or if it was because of the prison time andmilitary time being kind of similar. They had made jokes before about how they were basically the same except for you got paid for one.
I was doing another round of checking up on my boy when I noticed his smile widen. It was a look that I was accustomed to only receiving, not witnessing for someone else. When I followed his line of sight, I found someone I didn’t expect.
Stalking towards him, I patted his shoulder. “Adler. Care to tell me why my boyfriend is looking at you like he looks at me?”
He chuckled softly as he shook his head. “I imagine it has something to do with fond memories.”
I nearly growled at his words. His smirk should’ve been a hint that he was kidding, but my little green monster had risen and would not be satisfied until a proper answer was given. My hand squeezed harder on his shoulder, the grip well past comfortable and into painful.
“Fond memories? Do tell.”
At his wince, I loosened my hold, but I didn’t let go. “I just meant that I had driven him home. To you. I drove him to you, dammit. The day he got here.”
My hand flew off his shoulder quickly. The memory of my boy telling me about his arrival hit fast and sudden. Right behind it was guilt. I had hurt this man out of my jealousy.
“Shit! I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“I’m pretty sure I know what it was. I guess I should be glad that you’re not the Hulk, and you didn’t just pummel me with your big green muscles.” At least he was smiling as he said it. He rotated his shoulder a couple of times, then motioned for us to move towards Ashley, who had been watching the conversation go down.
My boy’s hands were on his hips, and his scowl was firmly in place. “You did not just do that!”
Adler, the little shit, stuck out his bottom lip and nodded. “He did. Did you see the big bad man come after me?”
