“Hope you don’t think this gets you out of getting back on the horse,” I said.
He scoffed and then grinned. “I was hoping it would lessen the amount of time I’d have to be on the horse, but fine.”
Under the table, I played footsie with his foot, trying to grab both his feet with mine. “And how are you feeling about yesterday?”
“Physically?” he asked, and then looked down at the bowl of oats. “I’m surprisingly not too achy, but I will say that I had an excellent stretcher-er.”
“A stretcher-er,” I repeated. “I suppose I can take that title.”
He giggled. “Well, it is what you’ve been doing to me, and in the best possible way that is.”
As I stared at him, I wondered what people would think of us together officially. I knew the town didn’t care at all, but eventually, I would have to take him back to Texas with me to meet my folks, even if that meeting was just for an hour in an afternoon, you know, something short and sweet, and not long enough for them to begin talking politics or their back and forth thoughts on gay rights that I had to grow up hearing over the dinner table.
“Well, looks like we’re going to have to get ready then,” he said. “If we leave it any later, the goats are actually going to try and bite us. They need to stick to their schedule.”
That went hand-in-hand with another thought, always being on the move, always being occupied, and never staying in one place for too long. That would all change, especially if this thing with Jace was the real deal. And maybe I could get used to experiencing all four seasons with him.
After breakfast, we got dressed. Jace went home for coffee and to let everyone know about the lunch plans he was cooking up. I went out to the horses, a nervous anxiety spike in my belly, maybe from too much sweetness on my oats, or maybe it was because this was my first outed relationship. Either way, I knew the only thing to calm me were the horses.
Coal was already looking out over his stall at me. I spoke to him for what felt like hours, just expressing all my thoughts about the situation. It wasn’t like he could tell anyone what I was saying, so I always felt the safest around them. It was maybe thereason I liked horses so much anyway, because they were secret keepers, and I knew they wouldn’t judge me.
“There’s nothing else I can do but smile,” I said. “Through it all. It might be the way the world is rewarding me for all the good work I’ve done, this thing with Jace.” Or maybe they’d hate the idea, and hate me, especially since there was that kid who fell from the back of the horse. I felt awful about it still.
The squelch of mud underfoot caught my attention from the stable door as Jace approached with two thermoses filled with coffee. He came over, trying to avoid the sodden parts of the soil, sighing and nearly stumbling. “I bet you never had to deal with this, did you?” he asked, carrying out his juggling act.
“Well, it does rain, but you’re right, it’s never like that,” I told him. The earth was so soft up here, I felt like I could dig my hand right into the dirt itself and without any rain, I felt like I could pull it right up and cover myself in it. It wasn’t something I was planning on doing, but it was definitely a thought, like an inexpensive mud bath.
“So, are we’re taking the horses out to the field first, or milking the goats?”
“Horses,” I said. “Since we’ve got to take them one at a time. And they’ll be out there all day.”
I nodded. “I’m also thinking that there’s a good chance we could give them more space soon, when they begin to explore and gain more independence, I think they’ll need more open land to explore.”
“We have plenty of fields around for them, but might need to talk to my dad about that, or sister, they know what plans are in place for them,” he said with a shrug. “Actually, first, I think we should drink.” He handed me a thermos.
“Everything good?” I asked. “I mean, with the lunch plans.”
“Oh, yeah, they love that.”
“Then, why do you look a little down?”
He laughed. “I was just thinking about how everyone is going to know soon, and it’ll be nice. I mean, it’ll be incredible once everyone has been told, and we don’t have to actually worry about being caught or anything like that.”
“Aw, you were worried about getting caught?” I asked, teasing him. “Because from what I remembered, you were pretty fearless about the whole thing, coming out to me in the middle of the night.”
Coal huffed a little, reminding us he was there, and probably also wanting to be the first out. He was the only horse standing with his head over the stall. He was definitely trying to see if any of his friends were awake or watching over the place like a security guard.
As we guided the horses to the field, starting with Coal. We spoke about what Jace was going to make and how he was going to announce it. In some ways, it felt a little silly, like we were about to commit to a lifelong marriage, but in other ways, it felt right, because this was something we wanted. I’d yet to fully taste a full meal he’d prepared, I’d tasted the baked goods, but they were always sweet, and a little too sweet sometimes for my teeth.
“You think anyone suspects us?” he asked. “Because I think my sister is probably going to take this the hardest.”
I chuckled. “I think your mom’s friend will take it the hardest.”
“Diane,” he laughed. “Oh my god, you. might be right about that. I definitely think she’s going to shed a tear, but fortunately for all of us, she’s not going to be there for lunch.”
“She’s always around, I’m surprised she won’t be around for lunch.”
He shrugged. “Well, Max isn’t going to be around either, but he doesn’t care what anyone does. In fact, he’ll probably askwhen I’m moving out, and if he could knock a wall through to my room.”
