Chapter Twenty-Two

Sunday, August 15, 1976

Jack pulled the car into the driveway of Alice and Kelly's house. The kids tumbled from the back of the station wagon and ran up to the door, barely waiting for Alice to say come in before they were through the door. Jack and Ennis followed more slowly and were greeted with hellos from Alice and Kelly and a heavenly scent coming from the kitchen.

"Do I smell turkey?" Jack asked, sniffing loudly.

"Who says turkey is only for holidays?" Alice asked, smiling. "Besides, this isn't one of those tasteless storebought turkeys. This is a wild turkey. Russell Cloud, Tyler's dad, brings us one every now and then."

"He does?" Jack asked curiously, surprised.

"Yes. He brings us wild rice, too, when he harvests it. He doesn't always make it out there. Some years are better than others," she added softly.

When they were seated at the table, Bobby looked around with wide eyes, "How are we gonna eat all o' this?" he asked.

Alice laughed, "Just eat until you're full. I'll send some leftovers home with you."

After the meal, Jack and Ennis agreed it was the best they'd ever eaten. The turkey had been wonderful and tasty, the homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and fresh green beans from the garden were like nothing they'd tasted before.

Kelly took the kids outside, while Jack and Ennis helped Alice clean up, despite her many protests. When they were done, they went outside and sat in lawn chairs, watching Kelly and the kids. Kelly had taught the girls to braid daisies together to make crowns and necklaces. Ennis watched his daughters. Junior, with her long, auburn hair flowing down her back and topped with a crown of daisies, and Franny, her blond hair in a messy pony tail, with strands of daisies draped around her neck. He'd never seen anything so beautiful in his whole life. They looked like wild faeries out of a story. He looked over and met the deep blue of Jack's eyes. Actually, maybe he had seen something as beautiful.

They sat outside, talking and laughing, until the stars appeared and the moon rose. There was enough of a breeze, scented by wildflowers, to keep the bugs to a minimum and Ennis felt a sense of contentment that he'd been missing lately.

Finally, Jack yawned and announced they should head home. Alice brought out a basket full of leftovers she'd packed. Jack and Ennis drove home in silence, while the kids slept in the backseat. The tension between them had been ebbing and flowing for days. Sometimes it was there, sitting between them, and other times it was as if nothing were wrong. Tonight they were swimming somewhere in the middle and Jack wanted to forget it.

He lit a cigarette and wished briefly that he could have a shot of whiskey. He looked over at Ennis, who was watching the road, one hand on the steering wheel, the other on his leg. Jack felt the tension seep out of him and replaced itself in his heart with a love so strong it almost hurt. He reached over and slipped his hand under Ennis's. Ennis glanced over, his face an unreadable mask that turned to a small, crooked smile as his fingers tightened around Jack's.


Beau pulled into the driveway of the farm and parked in front of the steps. He took off his helmet and looked around, liking what he saw. The farm was well-taken care of and the house was just plain cool, built like a large-scale log cabin. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door. Jack opened it almost immediately.

"Hey, Beau. Saw ya pull up. Come on in. Want some coffee?"

"Nah. I had some already."

"Okay, well, I'll show ya 'round." He led him out to the yard and stable, pointing out which horses were work horses, where the feed was, where the tools were, and everything else he'd need to know.

"Where's everyone else?" Beau asked.

"Bringin' in some hay. We set one o' the far pastures t'hay so we don't have t'buy it all." A beat up truck appeared on a makeshift road around the field. "Looks like one 'o the guys is comin' in. Musta fergot somethin'. You feel like startin' today?" Jack asked.

"Sure, might as well."

"Okay, great."

The truck stopped in front of the house and Tyler got out. He nodded at Jack and Beau, then retrieved the green Coleman cooler that was sitting on the edge of the deck and put it in the back of the truck. "We forgot the water. Gettin' hot out there already."

"Hey, Tyler, you wanna take Beau out with you? He's gonna start today."

"Sure, hop in, I'm heading right back out."

"See ya later, Beau. Tyler." Jack said and watched as the truck turned around and followed the track back out to the field.

Beau looked at Tyler's profile as he drove, noting the dust and hay clinging to his sweat-soaked t-shirt. His hair was pulled back and hung in a braid down his back, but a loose strand had escaped and clung to his cheek. Tyler glanced at him, sensing the attention, and flushed at Beau's frank admiration. Beau smiled and looked away as Tyler pulled next to the tractor and trailer. Ennis, Dwayne, and Dayle were standing by the trailer and approached the truck when it stopped. Tyler opened the cooler and handed out jars of water. It didn't escape Beau's notice that Ennis flinched when Tyler handed him a jar and their fingers met.

A few minutes later, they returned the jars to the cooler and Ennis announced that the break was over. He showed Beau what to do and they went back to work. They worked hard until lunch, then Ennis drove back to the house while the rest of the guys rode in the back of the truck. Kelly had a picnic lunch ready for them outside near her garden.

Ennis got up, after eating, and said, "Since Beau's here, I'm gonna send you guys back out t'work without me. I wanna spend some time with Junior and Franny. It's almost time fer them t'leave."

"Sure, boss," Dwayne said.

Ennis gave him a steely look. "Don' call me that, boy." Dwayne just grinned at him and was pleased to see he almost got one in return.

After Ennis left, Dayle turned to Beau and asked, "So, was your sister gone all weekend, or just avoiding my calls?"

"Hey, man, I'm not getting involved in my sisters love life," he replied, putting his hands up. "Although, she may have made a comment about being too old for you."

Dayle snorted. "That's ridiculous."

"I'm just telling you what I heard. I don't think I'd give up, though," he said in a conspiratorial whisper. Dayle got a bemused smile on his face.

Dwayne got up and started clearing the table. He brought the dishes in the house and didn't come back for a long time. Finally, Dayle stood up and said, "I better go find him, if we're ever gonna get back to work," and disappeared in the house.

Beau looked over at Tyler, watching him curiously. Tyler glanced at him and dropped his eyes. Beau was intrigued by this man, who was a contradiction in strength and weakness, sensualness and innocence. Ennis came out the door, showered and dressed in a clean t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers. He glanced at Tyler as he headed down the path to the lake, obviously looking for the girls. Beau watched Tyler watch Ennis, a look of desire and regret naked in his dark eyes. Beau tore his own eyes away, feeling like an invader into this man's heart.


"Jack, I was thinkin', maybe we should take the kids to Duluth one day this week, take 'em to Lake Superior. I ain't seen it yet, either, an' I'd kinda like to see it with them."

Jack thought about it for a minute, "Yeah, okay." He undressed to his boxers and went to brush his teeth. When he came out of the bathroom, Ennis was already in bed. Jack got in beside him and turned towards him, "I was doin' some thinkin' too. Thought when you brought the girls back t'Wyoming, maybe me an' Bobby could come with an' we could take a trip to see my parents in Lightning Flat. They ain't never met you or Bobby. I know my momma's dying t'meet both o' ya. Now that we got the station wagon, it ain't no problem fer all o' us t'go somewhere t'gether."

Ennis thought about it for a minute, unsure of how he felt about meeting Jack's parents, but finding no good reason to refuse. "I guess so, bud," he finally agreed.

"Don't worry, Ennis. My momma understands. My daddy, well, that's another story, but he ain't never gonna change, so might as well just deal with 'im as he is and get on with it. I was thinkin', too, that maybe you an' I could get away fer a coupla days while we're there. Go back up on the mountain."

Brown eyes met blue, both shuttered and hiding secrets not able to be shared yet. "What about Bobby?"

"I already talked t'momma. She said he could stay there fer a few days."

"You trust yer daddy with him?"

"He ain't gonna hurt 'im. It's me he don' like an' he ain't dared t'do anythin' t'me fer a long time. An' I'll make sure he knows he ain't t'lay a finger on my son."

"This what you want, Jack?"

"Yeah, Ennis, it is."

Both understood what this trip would mean. "All right, darlin'."


Ennis was up before dawn the next morning, deciding to keep to his schedule of working in the morning and taking the afternoon off to spend with the girls. He dressed and went downstairs and was surprised to see Tyler at the table. Ever since their kiss, he'd stopped coming in for his morning coffee. Ennis walked hesitantly to the coffee pot, poured himself a cup and took a seat at the table. "Mornin'," he said, lighting a cigarette.

"Morning." They sipped their coffee and Ennis smoked, all in silence that seemed to stretch on and on until it became another entity in the room.

Tyler cleared his throat, put his hands on the table, leaned forward, and said quietly, "Ennis, I just wanted to say . . ." he stopped, hesitant to go on.

Ennis finally looked at him, "You don't need t'say anything. I know I made a mistake an' I regret it. It ain't never, never gonna happen again. I jus' wanna ferget about it."

"Yeah, yeah, me too. I'm really sorry, Ennis. I didn't mean to . . ." he stopped again, swallowing past the lump in his throat.

Ennis saw the misery on his face and put his hand over the brown one resting near him. "Tyler, if I was free, god help me, I wouldn't have no regrets," he said vehemently. "You an' me, we're so much alike. God knows, you're . . . I'm attracted . . ." he stopped and took a breath. "But I'm not free. I have Jack. I have Jack, after waiting thirteen years! He's the reason I'm here. He's the only reason I'm here. I love him, do you understand? I love him an' I cain't do anything t'lose him. I don't even know if he'll forgive what I've done already, but I can't lose him. It'd kill me."

Ennis saw the tears that made shining tracks down Tyler's cheeks as he said hoarsely, "I know."

Ennis let go of his hand, "If you can't work here no more, that's okay. You can leave with no hard feelings."

Tyler sat up straight, sniffed, and wiped his cheeks with the palms of his hands. "I'm okay. I'll be okay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I just want to start over. Pretend none of this happened. Okay? That's all I wanted to say." He drained his cup and set it back on the table. He met Ennis's eyes again. "I'm gonna get to work. See ya later," he said and disappeared out the door.

Upstairs, Jack went back into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. He hadn't heard what they'd said, but he saw Ennis put his hand on Tyler's and felt the intensity of their conversation. Jack put his head in his hands. It coulda been purely innocent, just a comforting gesture. I will not think the worst. I won't, he repeated, as if the repeating could make it true.


Janie looked at the clock on her desk, wishing for it to be 4:30 so she could leave. She sighed, pushed her chair back, and picked up her coffee cup. A cup of coffee was always a good excuse for a break, even if she didn't want one. She walked to the lounge and found the coffee pot empty, so she prepared another pot. She stood at the window, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. She was lost in thoughts of a blonde-haired, green-eyed young man when she heard someone say her name.

She turned to see her supervisor, Dave Wachowski. He was a big man with a bald head and bushy beard, as if all his hair had migrated south. He stood near the coffee pot, holding it up. "Are you waiting for this? It's done."

She nodded her head, her face coloring, "Yeah, thanks, Dave." She held her cup out for him to pour her a cup, then added some cream and sugar.

"How're things going with that Twist case I gave you?" he asked.

She finished stirring, then put the stir stick in the garbage. "Pretty good. I've told you I don't have any concerns about Mr. Twist's ability as a father."

"Yeah, but the situation out there can't be good for a boy to grow up in. Know what I mean, Janie?"

She didn't ask what situation he meant; she already knew. "Dave, I agreed to monitor the case, even though I don't have any concerns. If you don't trust me, you can put someone else on it." She challenged, mentally crossing her fingers that he would not take her up on it. She knew that if she defended Jack too much, Dave would be suspicious and probably take the case himself. She tried to keep her air of nonchalance, while silently quaking inside. Janie knew that she had crossed a line with this family, knew it with everything in her, but she couldn't hand the case over. She was fearful of the consequences if she did. How she, of all people, ended up with the case, she didn't know, but she was grateful.

He thought about it for a minute, while she hardly dared breath. "I guess not. You've been a good social worker, Janie, so I trust your judgement. I just worry about a kid being raised by men like him." The way he said it made Janie furious, but she coached her features to blandness.

"Don't worry, Dave. I'll go out there more, if you want me to."

He thought about it again. "You know, that might not be a bad idea. Especially since his father-in-law is calling every five minutes, wondering what we're doing." He rolled his eyes. "As if we don't have enough to do."

Janie walked beside him back to her desk. She knew he wasn't a bad guy, just ignorant about homosexuality, just like most of the rest of the country. At least Dave seemed as fed up with L.D. as she was, though. She wondered herself about his almost-daily calls. Her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. It was almost like he had someone up here, watching Jack for him. She felt a sudden need to talk to Jack and picked up the phone and dialed the number for the farm.

"Hi, Kelly, is Jack around?" She waited while Kelly went for him.

"Jack, it's Janie. I was wondering, could we meet for coffee? Would right now be okay? Yeah, how about at Perkins. You know where that is? I know. I'm sorry, it won't take long."

She hung up the phone, grabbed her purse and their file, then let the receptionist know she was leaving for a home visit.

She was already seated in a booth at Perkins when Jack entered. She didn't miss the admiring look the waitress gave him as he smiled at her. She knew him so well now that his looks didn't have that effect on her. Not much, anyway, she smirked to herself.

"Hey, Janie, what's with the cloak an' dagger bit?" he asked, sitting down. "I'll just take a cup o' coffee," he said to the waitress.

"I was talking to my boss and I had a thought I wanted to share with you, but I didn't want to say anything on the phone, in case it's bugged."

Jack laughed, "I think you been reading some o' Junior's mystery books."

"Jack, I'm serious. L.D. calls our office all the time, with information that he could only get from someone up here. I think he may have hired a private detective or something."

Jack sobered, then thanked the waitress as she set a cup of coffee in front of him. "I kinda thought that. When Bobby broke his arm, L.D. knew right away. Anna thinks so too."

"You better be careful Jack. I don't think he has much to go on."

"And he won't. It ain't like we do anything bad out at the farm, Janie. We don't even have beer or any alcohol out there. We work, spend time with the kids, an' sleep. Go out t'dinner with friends once in a while, that's all."

"I know, Jack, I'm just saying you better keep being careful."

"I guess this is a good time t'tell you we're goin' outta town fer a few days."

"Did the judge restrict you from leaving the state?"

"No, I suppose he didn't think of it."

"Where are you going?"

"Taking Ennis's girls home, then we're gonna go up to Lightning Flat an' see my folks. They're gonna watch Bobby fer a few days while Ennis and I go camping."

"Do you think it's a good time to do something like that, Jack?"

"I think it's something we need t'do," he replied, a faraway look in his eyes. "'Sides, we'll be back long before the court date."

"Okay, just let me know when you get back, okay?"

"I will. Don't worry darlin'," he smiled at her.

"I should be saying that to you, Jack. I'd be a wreck, if I were in your shoes."

"Well, some days are better'n others, but even so, can't mope around all the time."

Janie looked into his eyes and understood, completely, why Ennis was so in love with this man.


Tyler turned the key in his car and nothing happened. He tried again, still nothing. Shit. He put his head down on the steering wheel. It had been a terrible day, he was exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to go home, take a shower, and fall into bed.

"Hey. Something wrong?"

He looked up and into the blue eyes, noticing that they were not the sapphire blue of Jack's eyes, but lighter, softer, almost gray. "Umm, it won't start."

Beau smiled. "I can see that. Know what's wrong with it?"

"No, I'm not too good with cars."

"Pop it open, let me take a look at it."

Tyler obeyed, then got out and stood by Beau, who poked around. Finally, he looked at Tyler. "I don't know what it is. I'd have to look underneath and I really don't feel like it tonight. I haven't worked this hard in a long time."

"No, of course, no problem." Tyler said.

"I could give you a ride, though."

"I don't want to be any trouble."

"No trouble at all. Feel like stopping somewhere for a beer before I take you home, though? I need one after a day like that."

"Sure, okay."

Beau handed him an extra helmet and helped him adjust the strap under his chin. Tyler got on behind him, unsure of where to put his hands. He finally settled them on his own thighs, but as soon as the bike roared to life and Beau took off, he instinctively moved them up to Beau's waist. Beau turned around to smile at him. "Hang on," he said, speeding up once they got off the driveway.

Inside the house, Ennis walked away from the window, a slight frown on his face.