"Well, remember how you told me about someone driving through your gate? Well, I just replaced one of those big Ranch Hand bumpers. That thing was seriously fucked up, too. I mean, I had to cut off the brackets and re-weld new ones because the whole framework was just mangled. What kind of fucking gate do you have on that place?"
"A heavy steel one that people aren't supposed to drive through." And then I realized what he was saying. "Wait, you know who owns the truck that drove through our gate?"
"Mhm," Mike said. "Now, I'm not gonna give you shit for taking a little while to clue in on that, because I know you haven't had your coffee yet. So how long is it gonna take for your dick to go down and your coffee to get brewed? It's ten-thirty now, so you think you can make it up to the Grill by noon?"
"I'll make sure of it," I said. "Me. You. Grill. Noon. Got it."
But the moment I was off the phone, Cy made a noise that sounded like he disagreed. "You are not going up to the Grill all by yourself. You know what happened to Ash."
"I'm hungry anyway," Ash said even though he hadn't yet moved. "I'll go."
Evidently, I wasn't the only one awake anymore. Granted, walking around the bedroom talking on the phone wasn't the best way to let them sleep in. I also hadn't managed to do anything more thanfindmy pants. They were a bit filthy, and I really needed new ones, but I hadn't yet committed to a shower, so I was still standing there trying to make my brain work.
"Mike knows who drove through the gate," I told them, scrubbing at my face to kick my mind into gear. "He wants to have lunch at the Grill."
"Grill sounds great," Violet decided as she hopped out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
"Wait..." I flopped my arms against my side. "If we all go, then who is going to keep an eye on Faith? And while Billy seems to think it's fine to talk to her about everything, I know Mike will want to talk about this..." I made a circle in the area of the bed we'd all just shared. "And I really don't want her to hear that."
Ash just sat up and scooted back to use the headboard as a backrest. Then he began ticking people off on his fingers. "Darnell, Cessily, Billy, and even Berto. That's just in this house. Now, down the hill a little bit, we have Emily and Zeke - who would probably love a little help with unpacking."
Cy scooted over a little more so he could hug Ash's waist. "I think Luke's a little more worried about his childhood friend figuring out that he doesn't just like the dick, but also the guys attached to those dicks."
Ash smiled at me. "I can stay hands-off. Let you get your grope on with Violet."
"No," I decided. "I really don't want to get into that habit, because it's too easy and I amnotashamed of you two."
"But dating three people is a lot," Cy countered. "It's ok, Luke. We get it."
"Well, stop," I told him. "I am not in the closet anymore. Maybe that wasn't all my decision, but it's what I wanted anyway. I just... When someone catches me off-guard, I don't think, and..."
"We know," Ash promised. "We've all done some version of the same thing. Doesn't matter if that's saying that we go to church when we don't or that we're straight when we're not. We get it, and I promise that we..." He gestured between himself and the man curled up in his lap. "...Won't get upset."
"Well, I do," I said. "If I'm with Violet, then she can't be with either of you. If I'm too chicken-shit to admit I'm doing this, then I don't deserve it. Just give Mike a little leeway? He just learned that fag is a bad word."
"From the garage?" Cy asked. "The guy who knew before you did?"
I ducked my head and nodded. "Yeah. He said he's my best friend. I always thought we just hung out because we were bored, and the whole time he was offering a shoulder. I used to think he wasn't that smart, and now I'm wondering if I was the idiot, you know?"
"You're not an idiot," Ash assured me. "You were a single dad in a small town. Now, you're a polyamorous dad in a small town. Makes some things easier and some things harder. We still have your back, Luke."
The bathroom door opened and Violet stepped out. "So, let's go give you the chance to brag," she said. "Look, Billy thinks we need to be social anyway. The Grill is where people hang out and socialize. Noon on a Sunday? That should be the after-church crowd, right?"
"And we did just upgrade Emily," Ash added.
"No," I said, stopping him before he could go there. "I do not want to even hint that her job was charity. That woman is too likely to believe it." Then I glanced over at Violet. "Unless it was?"
"It's not," she promised.
"And that's not what I meant," Ash explained. "I was thinking that we could do a little bragging for her. About how she's our first employee and how perfect she is for the job and things like that."
"How hard it must have been trying to raise Zeke on her own and work two jobs, and she didn't do too bad - all things considering," Cy added. "How we're going to need more employees. Seeing if there are any teachers out of work, hiring retired military vets, and so on. Mingling, Luke. Talking a little too loudly. Doing what Billy told us to."
Violet walked up and grabbed my shoulders. "Emily is my friend. I honestly like that woman and I adore Zeke." Then she kissed the side of my neck. "And you are absolutely adorable when you're being overprotective, but you smell like sex. The three of you have about five minutes before I'm getting in the shower."
"Full-face day?" Ash asked her.
"Definitely," Violet decided. "Lashes too. I'm going to make an impression. My boyfriend wants to show off his lovers."
