“Did you just give me theit’s not you, it’s meline?” asked Clay, his smile making a familiar appearance.
“I think so,” said Austin, pretending that he could go along with the flirting, while deep below, he was bestirred in a way he’d not thought ever to be again.
They were having a disagreement, a misunderstanding that back in the days of Mona would have ended in him apologizing over and over, giving Mona whatever she said she wanted or needed, just for a little peace. Only now, he and Clay—it was different. He didn’t want to hurt Clay’s feelings and, it seemed, Clay didn’t want to hurt his, either. It was all so new, behaving this way, he wanted desperately to keep it going.
“Only I forgot my script, so I’m not sure.”
“Leland would not approve,” said Clay with a shake of his head. “You need to have the script with you at all times.” He picked up his tray and took a step back, as if he wanted to give Austin the room he needed to make his choices. “Will I see you at the barn at ten?”
“Yes,” said Austin, nodding extra hard so there was no mistake.
He didn’t have anything on his schedule that couldn’t be shoved aside, and hard. Even if he didn’t know what he was doing, even if he didn’t quite know how to handle the fact that a young man wanted to flirt with him, wanted to show off for him, the way he felt when he was with Clay was miles away from the way Mona always made him feel. And that, in and of itself, was reason to continue, wasn’t it?
“You’ll see me,” he said, wanting to make a small joke to ease things between them. “And I’ll see you.”
“Great.” Clay’s smile was broad, and the lights were back in his eyes. He seemed to relax his shoulders as he and Austin bussed their trays and walked together through the open double doors. “I gotta hustle. See you then.”
“See you,” said Austin, the words faint in his ears as he gestured with an unseen wave at Clay’s departing back.
He only had around two hours of work to occupy him till he met Clay at the barn, so he raced to his room to grab his laptop, then went down to the office to make himself a space on Bill’s unused desk. For the most part, as he sorted through a stack of receipts to break down the categories for future tax filings, Maddy seemed busy with her own work, though at one point, she brought him a can of Endust and a dust rag.
“You may as well have at it and make yourself at home,” said Maddy. “Seeing as how you’re going to be here every day.”
Which maybe meant Maddy had been a little lonely and didn’t mind his company. It was only when she brought him a cup of coffee at ten that he realized he had somewhere he needed to be.
Being late was offset by the realization that he’d kept himself so busy, he’d not had time to question what the hell he was doing or how he felt about it. But could only bid Maddy good morning and walk as fast as he could up the hill and under the trees to the barn. There, he found a battered truck hauling a flatbed trailer, upon which was stacked many, many white sacks, rather than the burlap ones he’d been expecting.
A young man with curly hair was hefting one of the sacks on his shoulder, while nearby Leland looked like he was desperately trying not to help. Next to him, an older man tossed a sack on his shoulder like it weighed nothing.
And then there was Clay who, while he was carrying only one sack, looked sturdy and strong enough to be carrying two. His hat was off and he’d rolled up his shirt sleeves, and he went striding into the barn, into the shadows, vanishing from view.
“Hey there,” said Leland, coming up to him. “This is Jamie, our groundskeeper. Jamie, this is Austin Marsh, our new accountant.”
“Nice to meet you,” said Jamie, pert and wide eyed and so very young as he held out his hand.
“Nice to meet you as well,” said Austin, shaking Jamie’s hand, thinking how subtle it was between Leland and Jamie, and how they might be taken for just friends, just employer and employee. That is, if it weren’t for the gentle way Leland touched the middle of Jamie’s back during the encounter.
“Here to help or just to watch?” asked Leland.
“Here to help,” said Austin, though that had not been his intention. His intention had been to hide in the shadow the roofline of the barn created, watching and thinking about what had happened between him and Clay that morning while he waited for Clay to come back out again. “I need a break from numbers anyway.”
“How’s it going with Maddy?” asked Leland. “Here’re some gloves. You’ll need them, as the sacks can be kind of slick to the hand.”
“It’s going good,” said Austin, slipping the gloves on. “I think she’s past the point where she feels her job was slipping out of her control, which I can totally sympathize with. We’re scanning receipts as soon as the scanner arrives.”
“How much did that set us back?” asked Leland.
“Around two hundred, but it’s a sturdy model and will last you for years.”
“Sounds good,” said Leland, then he jerked his chin, and when Austin looked, there came Clay, all sweaty and golden and, somehow, marvelous. “Just follow Clay, he’ll show you where we’re storing some of these. The rest will go in the supply shed behind the barn.”
“Got it,” said Austin, smiling at Clay when Clay smiled at him like they were sharing a secret, only it didn’t need to be hidden.
“About time you showed up,” said Clay with a mock frown, which was replaced quickly with a smile and a small laugh. “Actually, I’m glad you’re here because I need to get this finished and set up the canopies by the fire pit on account of Bill said it’s going to rain later.”
Austin looked up at the cloudless sky.
“It’s going to rain on account of I say it will, you young fool,” said the older man as he took off his felt hat and wiped his forehead with the back of his forearm.
