By Chance (8 page)

“Didn’t stop your parents, did it?” she countered. “And who cares that you’re five years older? It’s not like he’s not a legal adult.”

Vince walked into the living room and dropped down onto the couch. “Jane, I hardly have my life figured out anymore. The last thing I’m going to do right now is start dating the kid and fuck up his life too. He’s happy now, and I’ll be damned if I take that away from him.”

“Maybe you should find out what he wants instead of being selfish and hiding under a rock for the rest of your life?”

Vince shifted so he was lying on the couch with his feet dangling off the end. “If he wants something, he’s free to let me know, and then maybe I’d think about it.”

She did laugh this time. “You expect him to make a move on an older guy who happens to be his boss and has done all these great things for him? He has a stable life there; he’s not just going to risk it like that.”

“It’s not like I’d make him leave because I don’t want to date him,” Vince argued. “That would be pretty unprofessional.”

“But how comfortable would he be seeing you every day knowing that you shot him down? Even if he did stay, your friendship would be ruined. You’re going to need to handle it.”

He groaned and ran a hand through his messy hair. “Dammit, Jane, I’m not going to date Dustin. Or anyone. Seriously, I can take care of myself. Stop rushing me into dating. I can’t go from being with you for two years to suddenly accepting the fact that I like guys overnight. When I’m ready for a relationship, I’ll find a dating website.”

She sighed. “I guess you’re right. I am pushing you. I just want you to realize that you guys should be together. He loves his horse like you love yours, and you’re good friends. Let it happen.”

The doorbell rang, making Vince sit up and turn to the door. Dustin was standing on the other side of the door—the screen door. The weather had improved enough to make it sensible to have windows and doors open during the day, and Vince was suddenly terrified. Had Dustin heard any of that conversation?

“I gotta go, Jane,” he said cautiously.

“Okay… bye.” She sounded confused but didn’t ask any questions.

Vince hung up and called for Dustin to let himself in.

“I just thought I should bring your book back,” he explained, holding up the book he’d been reading the night Vince had been drunk.

Vince was relieved to see that he was at least acting like he hadn’t overheard his boss talking about dating him. “That’s fine. Help yourself to more if you want.”

Dustin smiled, and he went to the bookshelf. He put the book back, then grabbed another. It only took five minutes for him to choose a book and thank Vince before leaving again. And the whole time, Vince had sat there telling himself that he couldn’t date the kid, no matter how attractive he was and how good he was with horses—which was a major turn-on for Vince.

There were too many reasons why it would be a terrible idea to start a relationship with Dustin for him to even let his mind wander there. He could put it out of his mind if he tried. Until Jane brought it up again. He knew she’d never let it go.

A
WEEK
and a half later, Vince and Wes left the farm in the hands of Anna and Jane—who was the one best suited to looking after the business side of things when Wes couldn’t—and made the hour drive to the hotel Mandy and Jeff had put them up in for the weekend of the wedding. They left Friday night and would be back sometime on Sunday, and while it wasn’t likely that much would be able to go wrong before they got back, Wes thought it best to have someone besides the stable hands there just in case something did. Whenever both he and Vince left for any longer than a day, he had someone keep an eye on things. When it wasn’t Jane or Mandy, it was Mark.

It was a nice wedding, Vince thought. Jeff’s family was religious, so they had chosen to have the wedding in the church the family attended. Vince knew his sister was not at all religious, so it was obvious that she was just trying to please her new in-laws by having the wedding there. When he entered the church, he wondered with a touch of amusement if his presence would cause the roof to collapse, but apparently, being gay didn’t carry such powers. If there was a god, it must not care about him being there or him standing at the altar as part of the wedding party.

After the ceremony, he smiled for more pictures than he could possibly count, then squeezed into the limo with the rest of the wedding party. The limo took them back to the hotel, where the reception was being held. It was a nice place with a patio outside and a decent bar. All the tables had glittering crystal centerpieces holding silver and red candles to match the wedding. There were flowers everywhere, and quiet music played from speakers on the walls.

Vince wasn’t sure he felt like socializing very much, but Wes felt the same way and kept him company by the bar. At one point, Jeff’s parents approached them and started making conversation. Vince didn’t pay much attention and didn’t contribute unless he was asked a direct question.

Did he think his sister had made a good choice in marrying Jeff? Of course.

Was the ceremony nice? Sure.

Isn’t the reception room just lovely? Yeah.

Was he seeing someone? Not at the moment.

Could he believe those gays thought they deserved to have these wonderful weddings?

Just then Vince spotted Mark and his wife across the room. “Excuse me,” he said, not bothering to answer his brother-in-law’s mother’s stupid question. He took his drink over to where Mark and his wife, Leah, had just finished greeting Mandy and Jeff.

“How is Justin doing?” Mark asked after they exchanged greetings.

“Good,” Vince replied with a nod. “He actually found himself a new owner already.”

Mark looked surprised. “That was fast. I knew he was a smart horse, though. How’s that boy that you picked up?”

Vince grinned. “I’m glad you didn’t give him a shot. He’s great with the horses, and the biggest problem I have with him is that he doesn’t know how to drive. He gets along with everyone, has no drug or alcohol problems. We’re working on the driving. So you missed out.”

Mark laughed. “I guess I did. Well, I’m glad you could help him. I hated turning him away like that, but it was too risky to take him on.”

“It was worth it for us,” Vince stated with a smile.

T
HEY
WERE
halfway home Sunday afternoon, both of them nursing slight hangovers, when Vince’s cell phone rang. As soon as he saw Anna’s name on the screen, he was worried. He pressed the speaker button and answered.

“Hey, you’re coming home today, right?” she asked.

“Yeah, we’ll be there in about a half an hour,” Vince answered. “What’s going on?”

She let out a deep breath. “There was an…
altercation
between Chris and Dustin this morning.”

“What?” Vince and Wes both asked at once. Vince was stunned.

“What exactly happened?” Wes demanded from the driver’s seat.

“I had just finished the last of the stalls, Star’s, and went to get her. Joe and I were the only ones in the barn. I didn’t think much of it because Mia was riding Foxy in the indoor ring and I assumed Dustin and Chris were there watching. You know how wild that horse gets in the indoor ring; she always has someone spot her in case Foxy flips her shit and bucks her off. I went outside to get Star and found her tacked up in the outdoor ring. Dustin and Chris were both there, and all I saw was Chris haul off and slug Dustin. By the time I ran over, he was practically beating the shit out of him. Joe helped me pull them apart—he must have heard me yelling from inside. And Dustin’s not seriously hurt, to be clear.”

“What the hell?” Wes’s hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly that Vince could see his knuckles turning white. “How did this start?”

Vince had a feeling he knew, but he waited for Anna to answer.

“Well, I guess he tried to get Dustin to ride Star, and Dustin told him flat out that he wasn’t going to. He said he didn’t ride anyone Vince or myself hasn’t told him to because he’s not that experienced a rider yet, and neither of us told him to ride her. Dustin didn’t want to tell me everything, but Chris informed me that Dustin is, in his words, ‘a fucking faggot’ if he wouldn’t ride her and that, again, in his words, ‘faggots get beat.’ Apparently, Dustin didn’t give in to prove his manhood, so Chris beat the shit out of him.” She took a deep breath and asked, “Did you know that’s why Dustin was kicked out of his house?”

“Yes,” Vince answered.

“I didn’t,” Wes added. “But what concerns me right now isn’t his sexual preferences. I want to know what the hell is wrong with Chris. I’ve never known him to be violent.”

“He’s been developing a drinking problem,” Anna admitted. “It started when Alex left. I think he’s pissed because Alex was his gambling buddy. None of the rest of us care that much for him.”

“Why didn’t I know about this?” Vince demanded. His jaw hurt from being clenched so tightly, but he was angrier than he thought he’d ever been in his life.

“This is the first time he’s ever done anything worth telling you about,” she explained carefully. “Everything else was just little things I figured we could deal with unless it got worse. And it got worse. I guess I should have said something sooner, then maybe Dustin wouldn’t have gone through that this morning.”

Vince forced himself to unclench his jaw and his hand that wasn’t holding the phone—apparently he’d formed a fist without thinking about it. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it; just keep an eye on him for now. How is Dustin?”

“Like I said, no serious injuries. He’s got a black eye and some bruised ribs, plenty of other bruises too. Nothing broken, no blood except that he bit his lip. Jane took him to the ER, but no stitches or casts. I told him to take the afternoon off. Jane’s sitting with him, last I knew. He’s a little shook up is all. I made Chris take over all of Dustin’s work for the day. Except taking care of Justin. I’ll do that.”

“I can,” Vince assured her. “And I’ll deal with Chris as soon as I get back.”

“Okay, I’ll see you guys soon.”

“I can’t believe this,” Vince grumbled as he put his phone back into his pocket.

Wes shook his head. “Me neither. I don’t know if this is a drunken bout of idiocy or a calculated hate crime.”

“Sounds like he planned to hurt him,” Vince replied, running a hand through his hair. “Why else would he try to get him on Star? Everyone knows he’s a novice rider and rides western. Star is ridden English, and she’s a handful. He was trying to hurt him either physically or emotionally. Maybe trying to make him leave because he took Alex’s spot? I don’t really think I care why he did it. I’m not tolerating violence among my hands.”

Wes nodded. “I didn’t know he was gay. Did Chris?”

Vince shook his head. “As far as I know, I’m the only one who knew. I guess he told Anna, though. Maybe he’s out to everyone now.”

“If Chris is going to cause more trouble, feel free to fire him. I don’t want things like this happening all the time because he’s a hate-filled drunk.”

Vince sighed. “I’ll see how he reacts when I talk to him. I’ll talk to Dustin first, see what he wants me to do. Or if Chris has tried anything before.”

Wes nodded. “Good plan. See, you used to doubt yourself when it came to running the barn, but you know what you’re doing.”

“I’ve had a few years to get the hang of it,” Vince said with a shrug. “But this is new.”

“For me, too.”

A
S
SOON
as they got back to the farm, Vince walked to Dustin’s cabin and knocked on the door. Seconds later, Jane opened the door and let him in.

“Have you talked to Chris yet?” she asked as he stepped
in.

“No, I wanted to see what Dustin wanted done first,” Vince explained.

The TV in the living room was on, and Dustin was lying on the couch dressed in dirty jeans and a plain black T-shirt covered in arena dust. Either he was in too much pain to change his clothes or he just didn’t care. Vince could see bruises on his arms, and there was an ice pack over the left side of his face, which he lifted when he heard Vince’s voice.

“I’m sorry,” Dustin said as Vince walked over, cringing at how bad his face looked.

“Why are
you
sorry?” Vince asked, sitting on the kitchen chair nearby that Jane must have brought in.

Dustin shrugged slightly. “For making you have to deal with this.”

“And it’s your fault how?” Vince demanded.

“I just feel bad for making everyone waste their time on me. I didn’t ask Chris to beat me up, but now everyone has to deal with this. If I hadn’t started working here, it wouldn’t have happened.”

Vince just looked at him for a long moment, fighting a sudden need to hold the kid. “Dust, what do you want me to do about Chris? Has he done or said anything to you before?”

Dustin shook his head.

“Do you want to see him fired?”

Again, Dustin shook his head.

“Do you want to press assault charges?”

As Vince expected, Dustin shook his head.

Vince sighed. “Then I guess he’s getting a warning. If he tries to hurt you again, he’s going to be fired. I don’t take well to my workers not getting along like this. But I need you to let me know if he threatens or tries to attack you again.”

Dustin nodded. “Okay, I guess.”

“Last question—does everyone know you’re gay now?”

He shrugged a little. “I told Anna. I don’t know if she told everyone or if everyone just assumes because of the names Chris kept calling me.”

“So do you have any clue why Chris did this?”

“None,” Dustin replied. “Maybe he just wanted some amusement by making me ride Star, but I wasn’t going to do that. And I figured fighting back when he hit me would just make things worse.”

Vince nodded. “It probably would have. And you were right to refuse riding Star. You’re not ready for that horse yet. Anna informed me that Chris is developing a drinking problem, so that could explain part of his reasoning. Or lack thereof.” He sighed. “Don’t worry about wasting our time. You can probably do some light work tomorrow. If not, oh well. Chris has all your work right now, so it’s not like Mia, Anna, or Joe are complaining. And I’ll take care of Justin,” he added when Dustin started to protest. “I won’t let him work with Justin if I can.”