Page 55 of Mr. Naughty List
“Good to meet you, sir.” RJ put out his hand and they shook. Again, Rutty seemed to be testing RJ out in some way, but he didn’t hold his hand longer than any other man would.
“Nice manners. You a country boy?”
“Knoxville proper, actually. Through and through.”
“Too bad. Not that Knoxville’s a terrible place to be from. There’s just something about a country boy that you know you can trust.”
“Dad…” Aaron hissed in warning.
Rutty grinned. “You boys want some coffee before we head out to the barn to see that thing I found for ya, Aaron?”
Aaron shook his head. “We had plenty of coffee in the car, actually. RJ’s mom sent some along this morning.”
“In fact,” RJ said, with an embarrassed chuckle. “Speaking of all that coffee, is there a restroom I could use?”
“Heck yeah. Come on inside.”
Following Rutty into the hallway of the farmhouse, RJ blinked in amazement. It was set up beautifully with old, burnished wood floors and wood-burning stoves in every room. Rutty led them toward the kitchen, which boasted glossy, brick floors and wide windows that looked out on the river. It was from there that RJ was pointed toward the bathroom down a back hallway.
The entire house was tidy, and so was the bathroom. RJ wasn’t sure what he’d expected from a solitary farmer, but it wasn’t this. Quickly, RJ did his business and washed up. As he stepped back out into the short hall that led to the kitchen, he heard Rutty’s deep voice. “He’s a handsome one, Cracker. So you’re sleeping with him?”
Aaron squawked and a crashing noise followed.
“Now don’t go droppin’ the plates. I asked you to help me put them away, not break them.” Then Rutty laughed gently. “Look, son, I’ve known you were gay since you were a young’un. Just because you never saw fit to come out and tell me directly to my face doesn’t mean I didn’t know.”
“Dad, I…I’m sorry. I should have told you.”
“Yeah, you should have.”
Aaron voice shook slightly. “I wasn’t sure how you’d take it and—”
“I don’t give a shit. That’s how I take it. You’re my son and I love you.”
Aaron grunted oddly, and RJ held back, waiting a minute before striding out into the kitchen. Aaron was in his dad’s arms, accepting a giant, warm hug. They broke apart as RJ came in. “Nice wallpaper,” RJ said, gesturing with his thumb back the way he’d come. “In the bathroom, I mean. Floral. Pretty.”
“My mother chose it in the nineteen forties. It’s aged well. So’ve the rest of her choices.”
Aaron went back to putting the plates from the drying rack into a cupboard, and Rutty gripped him by the neck and shook him gently. “Never mind that now. I’ll get it later. Let’s head out to the barn. Candace found something of your gran’s in the basement out in that old house she and her husband are wanting to fix up. They want to use it as some Airbnb or somethin’. Anyway, she said you could have it. We both figured you’d want it for sure.”
“Well, put an end to the suspense. Tell me what it is.”
“Nah, let’s go have a look.” His dad grinned. “It’s best when you see it.”
As they sauntered out toward the barn, goats and dogs milled around the yard, playing together. In the fields leading down to the river, there were cows huffing in the chilling air, and everywhere RJ looked there were chickens squawking, scratching, and pecking around.
“This is a working farm, sir?” RJ asked, keeping his best foot forward, using all the Southern manners his mama had instilled in him long ago.
“For over a hundred and fifty years,” Rutty said. “Been a Danvers farm from the start. Used to pass down just to the boys, but the girls get included now, if’n they want. They don’t all want.” He nodded at Aaron. “Even the boys have better things to do these days than plow and feed cows.” He winked at his son. “That’s not to say I’m not real proud of my teacher here, because I am.”
Aaron winked back at his dad but didn’t say anything.
Rutty turned his speculative gaze on RJ again. “What do you do, son?”
“I’m a guitarist. I tour with bands. Play music.” RJ smiled. “It’s a lot less admirable than shaping young minds or working on a farm, but I love it.”
“So long as you love a thing, you should do it,” Rutty said, nodding firmly. “It’s the only way to live.”
They’d reached the barn then and Rutty beckoned them inside. The scent of hay, horseflesh, and manure was familiar from a summer RJ had spent mucking stalls at a local riding school for extra cash as a teen. A horse stamped its feet in a stall nearby and Rutty called out, “I’ll let you out soon. Have some patience, darlin’, the vet says you have to take it easy a few more days.” He grabbed a handful of what looked like a combination of raisins and some kind of oats and fed it to the horse out of his palm.