I nodded. “I’m just glad she shot low. She’s a damn nice woman, John. She runs a riding school and boards high-end horses in Virginia hunt country. She stayed here with Mom and took care of my horses while I was away. Cody chose the wrong night to make a bad decision. I’m sorry he got hurt.”
John nodded as he stared toward the barn. The red wooden building with white trim and a silver galvanized roof was about fifty years old. My dad bought the land with the house and barn about thirty years ago, just after I was born.
There was still a mortgage against the property because my dad made some bad choices and taken equity from the house and land to invest in an old nag racehorse who someone told him had a few good races left in her—which was just one example—but after the money I’d earned for protecting Sean for a week,Mom and I would be able to manage the small outstanding amount. It was a relief to be close to debt-free.
What I didn’t like was taking the money and not seeing the job through. Aside from my personal investment in Sean, I’d only worked for a week, and Golden Elite Associates-America paid Bethany in addition to the fee I’d received. It felt like a job unfinished.
Finally, John was able to convince Cody to get out of the truck. The kid’s chin was tucked into his chest as he shuffled toward us. I felt bad for him, but he’d already pulled the pin on bad behavior, and he needed to learn there were consequences.
“Say hello to Jericho,” John snapped.
“Hello.” The boy didn’t raise his eyes.
“Hey, Cody, how are you?” His slow movement and his less-than-tall stance indicated he was still in pain.
“The doctor said I’ll be fine unless an infection sets in. That lady was pretty mean—”
John jerked Cody’s head around. “That lady was damn nice to shoot you where she did. She could have blinded you, Cody. You need to understand what the hell you did.”
I could see the kid wasn’t exactly thrilled with what his father said, and I wasn’t anyone’s savior. I’d made my fair share of mistakes over time, and I’d learned lessons the hard way.
“Look, Cody, I’m damn sure Bethany didn’t want to hurt you. She was protecting the horses. Bethany had the responsibility of watching my property while I was gone, and she had no idea what she was walking into when you broke into the barn.”
John stepped forward and smacked Cody on the back of the head. “Tell him what we agreed you’d do.”
The kid was cute and stubborn. He was sixteen, and based on his reaction, he had a grudge against anyone and everyone, especially his dad. Why? That was a good question.
“I’ll come here and help at the barn. I can feed and care for your horses and do whatever else you need. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t press charges against me for trying to steal those horses. I’ll do it for as long as you say.”
Cody appeared to be about to puke, so I took a breath to let the kid off the hook. “I don’t want to prosecute you, Cody. I want us to get on the other side of this, okay?”
The boy gave me a look as if he wanted to kill me, but I thought back to being his age. I’d have done the same thing. Back then, I had no idea what the fuck to do with the rest of my life. At sixteen, I’d known I was gay, but I’d had nobody to tell and nobody to offer any guidance for how to live my life as a gay kid in a fucking small town.
If Cody was willing to help around the farm, I’d try to be compassionate and offer any assistance he needed. He fucked up, but it wasn’t a mistake that should follow him.
“How about this? You give me four weekends of help around here. You can pick the weekends. They don’t have to be in a row, and if you want to earn extra money, I’m willing to hire you to work when you have extra time. I’ll pay you fifteen bucks an hour.”
Cody looked at his dad for approval, and John shrugged. “It’s up to you. If you’d rather help out here, then I won’t make you work for me, but I might ask you to help when I’m shorthanded, and you gotta tell Mom you want to do it.”
John’s large hand came down on Cody’s shoulder with a gentleness I didn’t expect before he spoke. “And I’m not payin’ you.”
I coughed to hide a laugh. John reminded me of my own dad, and at that moment, I really missed him. He’d have laughed with me at what the kid had done because I probably would have done something of the sort at Cody’s age.
I glanced at the barn. “Okay, I’m going to bitch about one thing. You broke those damn lights over the barn doors and the sensor lights, so your first task will be to climb the damn ladder and replace them. I expect you here tomorrow morning at six for your first weekend. I’ll ask you to ride the fences after you fix the lights.”
I turned to John. “He’s a good pitcher. He broke out the lights like a damn pro.”
John laughed, which surprised me. “You got extra bulbs? We’ll do it now.”
I went into the machine shed and found the extra bulbs for the sensor lights and the regular flood lights. I carried out the bulbs, happy to see John had the tall ladder that had been hooked to the side of the shed. “Again, Jericho, I’m sorry about this.”
Shrugging, I turned toward John. “Look, John, I respect the hell out of you. I did some amazingly stupid shit when I was Cody’s age. When I was sixteen,”—I swallowed the bile in my throat—“I’d just figured out I was gay, and before you start freaking out or being a dick, I have no interest in your son. That’s always the first thing straight guys go to. I’m not a pervert.”
John chuckled. “I didn’t think that at all, Jericho. I’m not a homophobic asshole. I have several guys working for me who have told me they’re gay or bi, and it’s not my business at all. I happen to think Cody is trying to figure some things out for himself right now, and working with you might help, okay? I’m not shirking my responsibilities as a dad, but I don’t have any advice for Cody if he is wondering about his sexuality. Could I coax you to help him out if he has questions?”
I nodded. “Yeah, of course, John. I’ll do anything I can to help. Cody’s a good kid, maybe just a little confused. If he has questions, I’ll be happy to answer.”
John hugged me before we went around the corner of the barn where Cody was staring at the broken lights. We propped the ladder up for him, and he climbed up to replace the bulbs.
