“You know it. I was worried about you and the kids, and I had to come see this place. You’re out in the middle of nowhere!”
Ellis didn’t think this was the middle of nowhere. Town wasn’t that far away. He tilted his head and moved closer.
The kids were on their last day of school. Little Bit was in day care so she could attend her Christmas party. And he wanted to know who the hell this stranger was who would think paying an unannounced visit could be a surprise Christmas present.
Ichabod caught his eyes and smiled at him over the guy’s shoulder. “Hey! Look who showed up! It’s Brian. He and I were roomies in college.”
“Yeah?” That still didn’t tell him enough about who Brian was to Ichabod. “Good to meet you, Brian. I’m Ellis. I’d shake hands, but I’m covered in cow shit.”
The guy’s eyes went wide, and the proffered hand disappeared. “Oh! Well then, yes. Hi…um…hi. You’re the cowboy.”
“Be nice. This is my lover. My…boyfriend is so weird. Partner?” Ichabod seemed like he was trying the word out. “How do you feel about partner, Ellis?”
Ellis’s position was—until they got married—as long as Ichabod called him, he didn’t care. He wanted to be called and informed when strangers were coming to visit.
He also wanted to know there were these strangers Ichabod talked to, and he didn’t even know about.
He wasn’t mad. He was weirded out and a little unnerved, which he reckoned was pretty much the same thing as weird.
“Partner is good. I’ll take anything you want to call me, baby. Let me wash up and we can have a—” he checked the sky, since a watch got messed up if he wore one. “Cup of coffee.”
“That sounds great. Come in, Brian. Come see thehouse. I can’t believe you’re here. It’s such a surprise. Did you have business or did you come to visit?”
“When you told me about the kids and the CPS coming, I was worried. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and I needed to put eyes on everything. It’s all so different than anything you’ve ever done before?—”
Ichabod’s laugh was verging on wild. “It is, but it’s been so good for Zane, and Michael loves all the animals. We’re getting a dog.”
Mavis woofed and came to sniff Brian. “Um, looks like you have one.”
“Yes, sorry. We’re thinking about getting another dog, possibly a puppy, maybe two, especially if they’re herding dogs. That’s good, right, love?”
Ellis turned on the hot water with his elbow and nodded. “It is, and it’ll be a good thing for the kids to watch us training, learn how to deal with them.”
Brian sighed, and he looked like he was fixing to have an apoplectic fit. “Are you sure that this is somewhere Chris would have wanted you to raise your children?”
“Is this where I point out that Chris grew up here?” Ichabod seemed confused. “This wasn’t Chris’s life, but he had fond memories of growing up here. And he loved his dad. He was a business guy, a city guy.”
“But you’re not a cowboy. You’re a bohemian, freaky artist type.”
His Ichabod was not freaky. Well, okay. That whole thing in the pottery studio the other day had been pretty freaky, and he’d liked it a damn lot. Even though his thighs had bruises on them from knocking into the table.
Ichabod nodded. “Yes, we tend to find places to do our work where it makes us happy. I’m doing a lot of good work in the studio—it’s lovely here. I have my own space. I have way less stress because I have help. I have happy children, so I don’thave to spend near as much time running around and dealing with panicky kids. I have my own kiln, a whole setup. You should come see the studio when you get settled.”
Ellis wasn’t sure he liked this guy.
In fact, he was leaning into he didn’t like this guy.
Brian rolled his eyes, which made Ellis grit his teeth. “I’m glad,” he said. “Seriously, man, I’m super happy. I worry there are other places you could have a studio and not be so isolated.”
Ichabod looked at Brian as if he was completely befuddled by all of this. And Ellis didn’t blame him. It was a damn sight harder to defend yourself to your friends, he reckoned, than to people like Rick or some stranger. But really, what did he have to defend?
Ellis took a deep breath. He needed to get his words straight in his head before they came out of his mouth.
And he smiled at Brian, trying to make nice. He hoped it wasn’t obvious it wasn’t real. “This isn’t exactly the Wild West, is it? We’re right smack in the middle between Aspen and Snowmass, and the kids have easy access to all sorts of stuff. There’s galleries where Ichabod can sell his art. There’s pizza. Okay, so they don’t deliver, but God knows I can go pick it up any time we need it.”
“Sure, but it’s not like living in Denver. Everybody had access to museums, art, and lots of culture, concerts?—”
Ichabod cut Brian off. “Look, Brian, I love you, and I’m so glad you’re here to visit, but I need you to not be out there talking up Denver when Zane gets home from school. He’s made such progress, and I don’t want him to get into that mindset again.”
