the owner of this beautiful piece of land you’re visiting this week, and I want to say welcome. That big, strapping lad over there is my grandson Mack, and I’m glad to have him with us. He’s usually too busy with his own attraction to bother visiting with this old man.”
“Hush up, there, Arthur,” Mack replied. “You’ll start seeing so much of me you’ll be begging me to reopen the ghost town.”
George chuckled at the easy, familial banter between the pair, even as his heart lurched with grief. He missed his grandparents immensely. Maybe he’d go visit them next week if Orry was able to drive him.
“Anyhow,” Arthur continued, “this here barbecue is a long-held tradition here at the ranch. Gives us all a chance to get to know who we’ll be spending time with this week. It might seem a little silly, and it’s not a requirement, but I hope some of you fine folks will tell us who you are, where you’re from, maybe a bit about yourself and why you’re visiting us.”
George had absolutely no desire to do that, and Levi had already been introduced to everyone earlier at the corral, so George sat at the nearest picnic table and kept his gaze down. Rey introduced his family with a big smile. The Porter and Sanchez couples were all best friends, and they were here celebrating Mr. Sanchez’s recent promotion. The Harrison family, it turned out, had a tradition of taking unusual vacations right before Christmas as their presents to each other.
That one was actually kind of cool. Gifting experiences instead of material objects.
He glanced up at Levi’s profile. Levi had done the same thing for George by giving him a vacation instead of, say, a gift card or other material things as an expression of his thanks. Levi chose that moment to look down, and their eyes met in a new way that lit George up deep inside where he’d hidden his attraction to men for too damned long. George tumbled into the blue depths of Levi’s eyes and gentle smile and the entire character of the man.
“Thanks for speaking up,” Arthur said, breaking that beautiful spell. “It’s a right pleasure to get to know y’all a bit better. I can hear your stomachs growling from the mouthwatering scent of this here meat. So I think it’s time we all line up and eat!”
The words felt canned and practiced in some ways, but also authentic. Maybe it was the country-bumpkin persona Arthur exuded with his overalls and intonations. The man knew how to play an audience.
Other guests started getting in line, along with the hands, but George held back. Levi stood beside him, hands in his jeans pockets and perfectly at ease. No one gave George a cross look for not introducing himself. Once the line thinned, George stood and Levi followed him to the line. The table had an array of cold salads, baked beans, fresh fruit, and yeasty dinner rolls. George took a small selection of each salad, no beans, and a pile of fresh fruit.
The grill was a harder decision. His own diet consisted of mostly chicken and fish, and while they had some barbecue chicken breasts that looked delicious, George chose this rare opportunity to indulge in the ribs. He asked for two, and Arthur gave him three. Levi got ribs and a sausage.
They ended up eating with Robin, Shawn, Reyes and Miles, and George was thankful for the familiar faces. He wouldn’t have minded eating with the Briggs-King family again, but they had a whole week to spend with the pair, and Levi seemed happy to share the meal with his best friend. Shawn showed off pictures of their house to anyone who’d look at them, and that familiar pang of jealousy shot through George at how happy and in love Shawn and Robin were.
I want that. I really do.
First, he had to trust enough to let another person in.
The food was, as promised, amazing, and George was thankful for the extra rib. The sauce was tangy with just a hint of spice. Even though anyone could go back for seconds or thirds, he limited himself so he didn’t end up with a stomachache later. The fresh fruit tasted boring after all that delicious meat.
“What do you think of the ranch so far?” Miles asked George.
“It’s amazing.” George forked a piece of sliced strawberry but didn’t eat it. “I feel at peace here. Like it’s this entire planet separate from the