Page 45 of On the Land, We Shoot Straight

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rady didn’t remember falling asleep on the couch, but he must’ve because the next thing he knew, Charmaine was shaking him awake. He was greeted by her frowning down at him, sighing, and then pushing Cole’s books aside so she could sit on the coffee table. Grady sat up.

“You want to tell me why your hand gave me an earful when I asked if he wanted breakfast?”

“He has a name,” Grady said and rubbed his eyes.

“That’s not really the point.”

Grady studied her in front of him. She was showered, dressed and made up, but she couldn’t hide the bags under her eyes or the bloodshot color to them.

“Ain’t it?”

“I used his name when I asked.” She rolled her eyes. “So, no, it’s not the point.”

Grady shrugged and stood. Charmaine sat back and looked up at him.

“You know I know about.” She waved her hand.

Grady felt his heart accelerating slowly. He wasn’t anxious to be talking about this—he knew she knew, everyone damn well knew, and everyone knew you were never supposed to talk about it—but he didn’t reckon he wanted to talk about Cole in relation to this.

“And I get it ,” she said with an odd emphasis. Grady looked at her, really looked; she was staring right back, on the level like a woman under oath.

And, oh.

He got it then. Of course she had someone in the city. More than one someone, probably. He wondered if he was supposed to feel more at hearing that.

“But you might want to be careful with that one.”

“Whaddya mean, careful?”

“Just”—she stood and moved past him—“make sure he gets it, is all.”

Grady followed her into the kitchen. He needed to let it go. This was something no one talked about for a damn good reason.

“Ain’t nothin’ to get.”

“Isn’t there?”

Grady went over, put the kettle on, got his mug out and tried to exit the conversation. But Charmaine wasn’t about to give him that.

“I mean. I know I’m your wife, you know I’m your wife. Does he?”

“He ain’t slow.”

She blew out a breath. “I don’t know if you’re being deliberately obtuse or if you’re actually this stupid.”

“Yeah, all right,” Grady turned to face her. “We all know I ain’t as smart as you, we all always known that.”

“Don’t start on that.” Charmaine pointed a finger at him. “This isn’t about that.”

“Then what’s it about?”

She flicked her eyes back and forth on his and he watched her back, face blank. She shook her head and headed for the back door.

“I’m going riding,” she said as she slammed the door behind her.

Grady almost told her she didn’t have a horse anymore, but managed to stop himself just in time.

He made his coffee, took it to the front porch and stood in his socked feet and stared out at the horizon, at where the sun hadn’t yet fully risen, just the cool blue before it was about to, and thought it was a lot of drama for a day that hadn’t even started yet.

Then he heard Cole’s voice, getting louder and sounding alarmed.

Grady was about to head for the barn when Chloe busted out of the barn doors, running at full tilt and streaking towards him where he was standing on the porch.

She made a sharp turn and launched herself over the yard fence, belted past him, and then jumped the next fence and took off in the direction of the pasture on the opposite side of the one she shared with Red.

Grady turned back at the sound of boots running up and saw Cole tear past him, shouting as he went, “I told her not to go from the front!” And then he was gone too, over the northern horizon after his horse. Charmaine came up to the porch, looking winded and pissed off.

“What’s he gone and done to that horse?”

Grady raised his eyebrows at her and sipped his coffee.

“I reckon he done told you not to approach her from the front.”

She raised her eyebrows right back and then, like she couldn’t help herself, burst out laughing. Grady joined her. Her eyes were dancing, and he remembered what it was he always did love about her—she was always ready to laugh at herself, at the world.

Charmaine leaned over him, took his coffee and finished it.

“Think I might head into town.”

“All right.”

She handed the mug back.

“You want to come?”

“Think I’ll stay here.”

“Yeah,” she said and shifted her gaze to the golden rays of light touching what was left of the wheat stalks. “I think you will.”

She went inside, and Grady looked at where Chloe and Cole had disappeared and said nothing else.

It was near noon by the time Cole came riding in, bareback, Chloe tossing her head about and having a time of it.

“I done told her,” Cole said as he went by Grady working on the new stall. He said it like he’d been preparing in his head for the argument all the way back.

“I’m sure you did,” Grady replied and went back to sliding the slat of oak between the support beams he and Cole had made the day before.

Cole took Chloe over to the pasture and slipped down, and Grady watched from under his brow as she stood and waited for him to open the gate.

Damn horse, anyone else and she’d have bolted again.

But she strolled through for Cole when he had the gap wide enough for her, then trotted over to Red like she was going to tell him all about her morning escapade.

“Where’d you find her?” Grady asked as Cole stomped back over.

“The far dam,” Cole said. “She made no fuss, just wanted a run, I reckon.”

Grady snorted and shook his head at that.

“She didn’t! I done told her.”

“Ain’t no one accusin’ you of anything,” Grady said and pointed at his tools. “Pass me the drill and get the screws.”

Cole did as he was told, still blustering and wound up.

Grady let him stew for a bit as they got to building the wall.

“Where is she, anyway?” Cole asked after a while.

“Where’s who?”

Cole rolled his eyes. “You ain’t cute.”

“Ain’t I?” Grady grinned at him. “Hold it steadier than that.”

“I am.”

“You ain’t.”

“Answer the question.”

Grady drilled in a few more screws. “Town.”

Cole nodded. “When’s she comin’ back?”

“Dunno.”

Cole nodded to that too. Grady knew what he was asking.

His dick knew it too. It was a bad idea.

Charmaine would be pulling up any minute.

Probably. And she was damn well right too, maybe Cole didn’t get it.

But as Grady set the drill down carefully and walked over to Cole, who was looking back at him with a serious expression that disappeared the second Grady was in reach, then tugged Grady in by his shirt and smirked up at him, Grady reckoned he might not get it anymore either.

Charmaine came back later that evening. She was drunk and definitely shouldn’t have been driving, but when Grady told her that, she said, “There’s no cops around.”

Which was true enough, but “Ain’t just cops you gotta worry about it.”

“You worried about me now, babe?”

The front door slammed, and they both listened as Cole trudged out to the barn.

“I heard some interesting stuff about your boy there in town.”

Grady felt every muscle in his body tense.

“I ain’t interested in hearin’ it.” He got himself a beer and put the kettle on for her.

“I’ll have one of those,” she said. He also wasn’t interested in arguing with her, so he handed over the beer, got another one, and turned the kettle off.

“You don’t wanna know about the person living under your roof?”

Grady sat and looked at her, dead serious. “I done lived and worked with him for almost a year. Reckon I know him.”

“Do you now.” She drank her beer, and she had that mean look again.

But Grady knew he could look like a right bastard himself. He gave her that look now and watched her clock it. A bitchy smile took over her face, and he knew she’d made her decision to ignore it.

“’Cause I heard he’s been whorin’—”

Grady stood and slammed both hands on the table, the bottles rattling.

Charmaine looked up at him, mouth open. Grady wasn’t a violent man, but right then he was shaking with a rage that was coming from somewhere deep in the midsection.

He turned from her, went out the back door, and she didn’t say another word.

Grady walked over to the barn, his hands shaking.

Cole was lying on his front, a kerosene lamp he’d probably found down in the basement burning beside him, Chloe’s head over the stall again, a book open in front of him.

He turned as Grady opened the stall and came in.

He looked annoyed like he had since Charmaine arrived, but then he must’ve seen what Grady was throwing down because he shifted to concerned and said, “Grady?” softly.

And Grady realized Cole hardly ever said his name, other than sometimes when they were fucking.

Hearing him say it now shifted his anger to something painful, and he bit out, “Can I sit with you?”

“’Course.”

Cole shuffled over, and Grady lay down beside him. There was a careful space between them and Grady breathed, let his hammering heart settle back down. Cole watched him for a while, and Grady could feel him thinking of asking. But of course Cole knew him better than that and went back to his book.

The lamp burned, and Grady closed his eyes against it. He listened to Cole turning the pages, Chloe snorting and settling, Cole shifting and breathing, and Grady felt everything in him calm back down, and he dozed off.