Army Green

Army Green - 1

Army Green by J. Rocci Chapter One Evan rested back in his saddle astride Juke, nudging the brim of his baseball cap higher with a grimy thumb. Mounting with one working leg from a wooden fence wasn't any easier today than it had been the first time, so he took a moment to look out over the meadow, let his heart settle with a bone-deep feeling of contentment. The mid-morning sun crested the mountains, rolling across the wide hilly paddocks, broken only occasionally by the granddaddy oaks lining the fences. Everything was green, lush and verdant, fields of grass the same bright color of Cam's eyes. A horse whickered in a far pasture, kicking up some dirt as it broke into a short run, and the echoing whinny from another field made Evan grin. Fifteen horses for Glenhaven Stables, another twenty-one boarded, and they were looking to hire on another stable hand to help, what with Krystal off to college. When Derrick went off to his school come fall, they'd be up the creek without a paddle, down to just Jorge. They were running out of Hooligans. Evan thought back to a phone call he'd received that morning, and realized he should talk to Cam before running his latest hiring idea past Oma and Opa. They'd basically turned the place over to him and Cam to run when Evan started organizing the therapy center, but he still liked their sign off on any major decisions. The past few years had seen some fine improvements to his Army Green - 2

grandparents' respectable little stable, and damned if Evan wasn't proud of his part in it. This was home. "Quit yer lolly-gagging, son!" Opa hooted. Evan looked around, trying to triangulate his location with one good ear. Opa was further down the fence line, letting Magpie prance on the next hill. "The view ain't goin' nowhere and neither are we," the wiry old man shouted. "It's lunch time! Move along!" Chuckling, Evan urged Juke to follow the old mare. The gelding complied with little dawdling, probably sensing his impending meal. Riding up on the new hippotherapy center was still a wonder for Evan. His whole life, he'd been used to the empty paddock lying vast as a football field between the stables and the road to the house and old bunkhouse. Now the sprawling white stables were laid out like a giant "L" with a wing for boarding and a wing for therapy clients, complete with paved handicap parking and access that stretched nearly to the barns. The enclosed therapy ring used to be for their beginner classes but had been converted, and a new teaching ring was over closer to the brood mare barn. "Mr. Van!" Josie called out excitedly as he navigated Juke into the far side of therapy ring. The eight year old was clinging backwards to her saddle as Buttons slowly tromped along, Edna and Juliet, their Army Green - 3

volunteer speech and occupational therapists, on either side. Josie's head lilted in a way characteristic of cerebral palsy with each step. She had improved in leaps and bounds the last few months, though, compared to when she'd entered the program. "Morning, Josie," he yelled back, but didn't head over. Edna and Juliet had a hard enough time keeping the little girl focused without Evan stirring Josie up. Derrick, also known as Hooligan Number Three, was leading Buttons around for them today. When Evan indicated he didn't need help with the mounting block, Derrick just offered a wave. Good kid, but quiet as Cam, unlike the other two Hooligans. Only a couple months had passed since Evan was able to mount and dismount on his own, and he had to admit the pride of the accomplishment hadn't worn off yet. Cam and Edna had worked him pretty relentlessly to get him there, but he'd finally bulked up the muscles in his right leg and abdomen to compensate for his missing left. He carefully swung his prosthetic over to the wooden platform and got to his feet. Juke, used to the routine now, just looked bored. Creaking and rattling, Evan walked down the ramp and led Juke back to the boarder side of the stables, just nodding hello to Josie's mama. He was bone-weary tired and it was only lunch time. Morning fence and trail checks with Opa every other day had been part of his PT regimen for over a year now, but Evan normally didn't feel this wiped afterwards.

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"Getting too old, buddy," he said ruefully to Juke, snagging a cross-tie to hold the gelding in place. "If you're too old, then I must be a fossil," Opa grumbled from a few stalls down, settling Magpie. "Why don't you let me take Juke here and you can head on up to the house?" Normally one to bristle at any unsolicited offer of help, Evan just gave Opa a level stare. Three visits to the doctor in a month and Oma was strictly enforcing all medical advice given to Opa, from giving up his pipe to a massive diet change. "Sir, you realize we can still smell the smoke on your clothes, even if you don't do it in front of us, right?" Opa frowned, sniffing at himself and giving Evan an innocent look. "What're you talking about? I just smell horse crap." Rolling his eyes, Evan tossed him Juke's curry comb. "For that, you can take him." "Whippersnapper!" Opa swatted at him with the brush, but Evan easily dodged it, so Opa wasn't trying that hard. "You're not that old yet!" He called back as he left the stables. "No respect!" Evan just waved over his shoulder. Honestly, he would have refused, but his leg had started up with reminding him his prosthetic was heavy and still there. Not bad, but Army Green - 5

a three, maybe a four, on that little one to ten scale. Enough for some Tylenol, maybe. Oma's indignant laughter broke out as Evan entered the mud room. Smiling, Evan hung up his ball cap next to Cam's battered white cowboy hat and followed the sound. "Lordy, boy, I can't turn my back on you for a second," she was berating Cam between giggles, wiping at his face with a dish towel. Evan tried to stifle his snicker, but Cam heard him anyway and scowled through his own guffaws. The tall cowboy was holding batter-covered hands away from his body, face and shirt splattered with something chunky. He even had flecks in his soot black hair. A giant glop of batter slowly trekked down Cam's cheek as Oma cleared his eyes, standing up on her tippy-toes to reach his face. "Do I even want to know?" Evan asked as he stayed at a safe distance in the doorway. "I'm helping," Cam announced proudly, devilish twinkle in his green eyes. "Oma's been teaching me how to bake soda bread." Evan cleared his throat. "You know, that works better if the mix gets in the oven..." "I'm experimenting with a new method. I'm gonna call it 'interpretive mixing.' Like those dance shows Opa won't admit to watching." Army Green - 6

"Good Lord preserve me, sweetie, your humor gets worse the longer you're with that joker," Oma teased. Evan made a noise of protest, but she just shooed Cam at him. "You boys get cleaned up for lunch." "Yes, ma'am." "Now, where's that rascal you call Opa?" "Right here, missus," Opa said, coming up behind Evan, who was still standing in the doorway and eyeing Cam's sticky hands nervously. Cam grinned at Evan, all evillike, showing off the dimple in his cheek. Evan snorted, such a sucker, and headed for the hallway. "C'mon, Butch, I'll turn on the faucet so's I'm not scraping batter off later." Cam followed him easily into the little half-bath under the stairs. "This from the man who dribbles his toothpaste floor to ceiling--" "Not my fault I'm not a morning person," Evan interrupted with the humor of an old argument neither was ever going to win. He twisted on the bathroom sink and grabbed one of the ornate little guest towels off the back of the commode. "Take a knee, man." Smirking, Cam sat on the lid of the toilet and let his hands hang in the sink basin. "I think I'm old enough to wash my own face, dear." Evan rolled his eyes and started scrubbing. "How'd this get in your hair?" Army Green - 7

Cam mumbled a response into the towel. "Right," Evan drawled. He scrubbed a bit more, then stood back, satisfied. He shifted in the small room, let Cam get in front of the sink to properly wash his hands. "So I got a call from Bobby Ostigard this morning," Evan said, breaking the comfortable silence. Evan had invited his old CO and Ostie’s family out to Glenhaven the previous summer, and Ostie and Cam had gotten on surprisingly well. It helped that Ostie was just plain good people and fully expected the Hooligans to put his two teenage boys to work the couple weeks they were here. "Oh yeah? How's the Ostie clan?" "They're good. Matthew got accepted to the University of Virginia with a football scholarship." Evan shifted his weight off his bad leg, rubbing at his thigh. "Junior's taken up marching band. Percussion." Cam winced in sympathy, drying his hands on another towel. He looked down at the pretty quilted ducks, one covered in bread mix. "She's gonna kill us, ain't she?" "Yup." Balling up the towels, Cam turned and leaned against the sink, crossing his arms. "So if Ostie's good, what has you outta shape?" He asked Evan bluntly.

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Caught out, Evan shook his head and ducked low, rubbing at the back of his neck. He had no idea how Cam did it every time. "Nothing, just--" He shrugged. "One of my guys found himself in some trouble after he got out, just bein' stupid. Ostie's kind of mother-hennin' over him..." "Who?" "Reo," Evan sighed. A wild child, but not mean-spirited or irresponsible, Reo was the topic of many a war story in their squad. Cam had gotten an earful of them when Ostie had visited. If anyone had tested Evan's leadership skills, it was that kid. "He the crazy one from Philly?" The one who saved your life, Cam didn't say. Didn't need to. "Yup." Cam just stared at him expectantly. Evan glanced up. Looked away. Absently fingered the scar on his chin. Talking to Cam about his last deployment in the Army had gotten a little easier after Ostie's visit, like having someone else who'd been there and had good memories in with the bad had been a fact check. But even after a couple years' distance, Evan felt like he couldn't describe the feeling he had for his soldiers without getting mushy or weird. Shy, quiet Cam was just as emotionally retarded, too, so they usually managed. Army Green - 9

Cam wasn't letting him off the hook this time.

Evan shrugged again. "I owe him."

Cam nodded, like something was decided.

"He even know anything about horses?" Cam asked with

an indulgent grin.

"Not a damn thing."

"Boys," Oma called down the hall. "Lunch is on!"

"Then where's the real food?" Opa asked plaintively,

voice traveling to the small bathroom.

"Well, we're still down a Hooligan," Cam said casually,

pushing away from the sink. "From the sound of him,

he'd fit right in the mad house."

Evan had to give him that. "But will the stables survive

it?"

Cam pulled him in for a quick kiss.

"Woman, what's all this green stuff? This is what food

eats!" Opa complained from the kitchen.

"Don't you start with me, you old fart. Get yer fingers outta them cold cuts! Shoo!" Evan sighed as Cam stepped away. So maybe tempers had been a bit short lately, and some days had better humor than others... Army Green - 10

"If we can take Neil quitting his pipe and going on a low cholesterol diet at the same time, I think we can handle anything," Cam mused as he left the bathroom. "You may have a point," Evan conceded and followed. *** "Mama!" Derrick yelled as he jogged down the stairs, dodging a Power Ranger and an overweight Pug on his way. "I'm heading to work!" "Are you eating dinner here?" Rita called from the kitchen. "We have reservations at seven!" "Ms. Susan's feeding me!" He yelled back, tugging his stable boots on and shrugging into his Glenhaven Farms windbreaker. Krystal had done up a spiffy new logo with the addition of the hippotherapy center, but Derrick preferred the old Glenhaven Farms one, the one with a giant number three embroidered on the front breast. "Come say goodbye to your aunt!" Rita ordered before he could make it out the door. He sighed, but changed direction. The smell of hair relaxer was overpowering. Derrick just wrinkled his nose and forged bravely onward into the kitchen. Aunt Jamie was a hair stylist, and when she and Mama got together, they ended up loopy and giggling. Case in point, Rita had her hair in a shower cap, so they must have finished rinsing the relaxer out, and now they were doing their nails.

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The fact that he knew this without ever having done his hair or nails surely signified something traumatized in his psyche. Could Stockholm Syndrome apply to the parent/child relationship? "Mama," he said, kissing the air near Rita's cheek to avoid the cap. He got his wide brown eyes and long lashes from her, but his lighter skin tone was from his dad, more cappuccino than chocolate. She blinked up at him. "I needed to tell you something..." Derrick nodded and opened the window above the sink. Fresh air breezed in. "Aunt Jamie," he turned to his aunt, kissing her cheek when she paused with the nail brush. She was his dad's sister, all blonde hair and hazel eyes artfully done up. Why she got prettied up to come over here, he had no idea. Women were a mystery. "Hey, hon," Jamie said distractedly. "Watch out for Mason, he was chasing the dog." "Bummer's passed out on the stairs." "Oh, dear." She got up to find her son. "You got a letter," Rita exclaimed. "I tucked it in my purse so I wouldn't forget. Go on and get it, sweet pea. Front pocket."

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"Who from?" He asked, curious. Her purse was the size of a small country, but he managed to find a letter addressed to him. "Columbia?" He fumbled the letter open, quickly reading it. He'd already been accepted into the general studies program for the next fall semester and they weren't revoking that, they were just saying that his scholarship application had been received. Phew. "They got my scholarship paperwork," he explained. He hadn't qualified for many of the needs-based ones, what with his parents both being environmental scientists for a Defense contractor, but every little bit helped. "See, I told you taking a year off after high school wouldn't hurt, and now you have a bit of savings to help." "Yeah." He checked his watch. "I've gotta go--" The Bummer alarm went off in the foyer. Dad bustled in with his work satchel bumping down the hall, arms full of a flower bouquet, yapping Pug at his heels. "Ah, my favorite people in the world in one room," Dad boomed, looming big and tall and Nordic, bushy beard breaking into a huge smile. "Hey, kiddo!" He ruffled Derrick's dark curls as he swept past to present the bouquet to Mama on one knee. Bummer lost interest and went back to napping in a corner.

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"My lady! A troth for thee!" He announced as Mama giggled and gingerly accepted the flowers with her wet nails. They smooched loudly. "Happy anniversary, my love." "Oh, why they are absolutely lovely, kind sir..." Derrick wanted to be embarrassed, but he was long desensitized to his parents' dorkitude. It was actually kind of sweet and reassuring, that his parents could be so uncool together after twenty-three years of marriage. Mama looked all hip and stylish, and there was Dad, this giant dork of an absent-minded professor, and somehow they worked. Like Neil and Ms. Susan, or Cam and Evan. Maybe one day Derrick would have that, but not from the nonexistent dating pool around here. He had high hopes for college in New York. First he had to make it through the next eight months, and he was running late. "Happy anniversary, guys," he said to a safe corner of the kitchen above the lovebirds' heads. "I gotta run. Have fun tonight." "Drive safe!" Dad said and tried to get up from his crouch, flailing. Derrick sighed and went to lend a hand. Dad groaned as he made it to his feet. "Ah, yes, thank you, kiddo." "You guys drive safe. I expect you home by midnight!" He called out as he beat feet, the only real way to escape. Army Green - 14

He waved to Aunt Jamie as she tried to wrangle a squirming Mason in the living room. His beat up old truck was an oasis of serenity and silence after the mad house. He loved his family, but he was ready to strike out on his own. His parents had been so worried that having the tagging incident on his record would completely ruin his chances of getting in a good school, but now that he'd been accepted to Columbia, they didn't want to let him go. Arriving at Glenhaven, he was distracted by a flashy yellow sports car parked up by the house, in the usual spot for Cam and Evan's new truck. Frowning, he parked down in the paved lot by the stables, next to Jorge's motorcycle, and headed into the boarding office. "--you going to afford a trip to Greece anyway?" Jorge was pouting into the office phone, tugging neurotically at the small goatee he'd been growing since Krystal had left. "Oh, whatever. Fine, you wanna go to Greece, go to Greece. Here's Derrick." The phone was thrust at him as Jorge stalked out. Derrick raised an eyebrow. "What's going on now?" He asked into the phone. Krystal sighed. "I'm not even sure I want to go on the trip! It's something the Art Department is putting together. He's just mad because it would be over Spring Break. Gaaah! Boys are dumb." "Mmmhmm," Derrick agreed. "Throw rocks at them." Army Green - 15

"I know! We never even made any concrete plans. He was talking about going down to see his aunt or somebody in Texas, so what was I supposed to think?" She sighed heavily. "Anyway. I'm over it. I am." "Mmmhmm." One day her and Jorge would decide if they were dating or not. "What's this about a new guy? Somebody Evan knows? Is he hot?" Derrick peered out the dusty office window, toward the house. That explained the new car up there. "I have no idea, I haven't met him yet," he responded absently. "If he's ex-Army, he's probably buff, at least. You'll have to let me know. Post pictures on Facebook or something so I can see. We get any more eye candy around the place and Mrs. Suder will rent a stall for herself. Imagine Cam's tears..." "I'm sure if it came to that, Evan would break out the bear mace to defend his honor." Voices were coming down the stable side. Derrick figured he should head to work. "I'll text you later, okay?" "Remember, pictures!" He hung up with a laugh. Evan and Jorge were talking to the new guy outside Juke's stall. Krystal was going to pitch a fit, Derrick thought distantly, because he was hot. Rangy and longArmy Green - 16

limbed, spiky brown hair streaked with blond, a bit of scruff, pert nose. Low jeans and a snug metal band Tshirt, combat boots. Derrick tried to take him in with a glance as he joined the group. "And here's Hooligan Number Three," Evan said with a smile. "Derrick, this is Reo." "Hey," Reo said, voice deeper than Derrick expected. Derrick shook Reo's offered hand, aware of the way Jorge was eyeing the new guy. That could mean either Jorge liked Reo enough already to mess with him, or Reo had somehow magically offended Jorge after five minutes. Either way, it made Derrick nervous. "I just gave Reo the grand tour this morning," Evan continued. "So if you guys could get him set up in the office while I'm in class, maybe we can get him in the swing of things today?" "Sure, no problem," Jorge said immediately. Derrick nodded. "Great." Evan knuckle-bumped Reo absently, pointing a finger at him as he walked away. "Play nice." "Don't I always?" Reo smirked after him. Yeah, Derrick could see where Jorge was getting his hackles up. Smooth confidence and a presence that just didn't care what you thought, down to the way he slouched. "Office is this way," Jorge said casually, in that laid back hey esse way of his that meant he was watching Army Green - 17

your every move and trying to decide if he liked you or not. "So 'Reo,' huh?" "Yeah, Reo," he kicked back distractedly, looking around all over the place as he sauntered behind them. "Unusual name for a gringo. That short for something?" Reo shrugged. "Nickname my squad gave me. Kinda stuck." "Right." Jorge pushed through the office half-door. "Where are you from?" Derrick asked politely, holding the office door open. "Not the South, obviously." "Good to know," Reo quipped, then looked at him full on and Derrick tried not to blush. "I'm from Philly, since I was in middle school. Before that, Brooklyn and Jersey." "City boy, then?" Jorge asked innocently, laying on the Latino accent that usually came and went randomly. "You could say that," Reo shrugged. "Well, just watch out for the copperheads and you'll be fine, hombre..." Jorge offered helpfully. Reo eyed him dubiously, then looked at Derrick to see if Jorge was joking. Derrick tried to keep a straight face. "Okay," Jorge clapped his hands together and waved across the office. "Lockers, desk, computer. We have Army Green - 18

spreadsheets for feed, bedding, tack, hours out in paddock, hours in training classes." Derrick knew Jorge had been angling for an assistant barn manager position if Evan decided they needed more help, so Derrick just stood back and let him do his thing. "The whiteboard is for any special instructions. Check it every day. We have blank paper over here to jot down notes, and one of us enters everything at the end of each shift. Some of the boarders come out to feed their horses themselves. I do morning feeds, Derrick does dinner. We both give lessons and help out with the therapy sessions. Edna, Cam and Juliet run the therapy center from the other office and keep all their own paperwork separate, but we look after the therapy horses. You'll be the go to guy for help with feeding, mucking, barn upkeep, and anything else. Any questions?" "Yeah," Reo said, looking out the window. "What do you guys do for fun around here? Hay rides?" Jorge's eyes narrowed. "More like skateboarding and motocross." Tuning back in, Reo arched an interested eyebrow. "Oh yeah? I used to do some freestyle back in high school..." "Me, too," Jorge said with a wide, shark-like smile. Derrick could tell it was going to be a long day. And it totally was. Army Green - 19

Normally Jorge was long gone by dinner time, back home to get his little sister from school, but today he'd stayed late for a special session and he would not shut up. Reo started right in with him, talking as they mucked stalls about this or that, Jorge running over his sentences, both of them cataloging their lives through motocross competitions and how many Ollies they could do on a board. Finally, thankfully, Jorge went to teach and Derrick had some peace and quiet for the dinner feedings. It didn't last. "You've never been around horses, have you?" Derrick had to ask, pausing with the feed bucket outside the stall as Reo nervously dodged another hairy snout. "Not really, no," Reo said as he danced backward out of Shady's stall. She was just being friendly. "Goats and shit when a village had 'em. But horses aren't really my thing..." "So, if you don't mind me asking," Derrick drawled, "why come work on a horse farm?" Stopping next to him with an empty water bucket, Reo just shrugged. "Seemed like something to do at the time, y'know? I got this habit of mouthin' off to authority figures," he made little bunny ears with his fingers around the words, "and when that happens to be a judge after your third speeding ticket, well. My old man was gettin' sick of Army Green - 20

having me around the house anyway. I'd been there six months, and I didn't want to find my own place in Philly, y'know? It's expensive. So Ostie was all, go talk to Ev, he got himself a nice spread, meet the family, all that. And I says, sure, I'm working at a fucking Starbucks, what've I got to lose?" He shrugged again and looked at Derrick. "So here I am." Derrick blinked. "Oh." Reo went to fill the water bucket. Derrick measured out Shady's grains. "So," Derrick asked once they were back in range of each other. "You really had, like, no plan? Like, what you want to be?" "What, like a career?" Reo scoffed. "For a quiet guy, you sure ask the fun questions." "Sorry, I--" "Nah, I'm just messin' with ya, man." Reo filled Shady's water again. "Hell if I know what I wanna do. I'm twenty-five, aren't most guys my age still finding themselves or shit?" "I guess, yeah," Derrick stuttered, and moved to Juke's stall. "Lemme guess," Reo smirked. "You're one a them that has some ten-year plan or something right?" Army Green - 21

"Not-- ten years." Derrick frowned. "More like eight." "How old're you?" "Nineteen," Derrick said, trying not to sound defensive. Reo grinned and it changed his entire face. Derrick fumbled the feed bucket. "Nineteen and you're not in college yet?" "I took a year off. I start Columbia in the fall." Reo whistled, impressed. "Columbia! Shit, Professor, you're all fancy pants." "I--I'm not," Derrick blushed. "It's where my parents went for undergrad, that's all. They got married there. It's like a family tradition thing. No big deal." Reo snorted. "No one in my family's been to college. I was too dumb, so I went in the Army at eighteen." "Nothing wrong with not going to college," Derrick said, but Reo waved him off. "These days, a college degree is the new high school diploma. You can't get shit without it in the cities. S'why I went military. But I got too much attitude for the Army, and I did my six years active duty then split. I still got one more year of individual ready reserve, so no sense making plans 'til that's up. And I'm not a planner, not like Sarge. He's got a computer in his brain, full of little columns and stats. Makes it seem easy." Army Green - 22

"Yeah, that first inventory was a bitch..." Derrick

shuddered to remember digging through each piece of

equipment on the farm.

"That's Ev for ya. Always knows where everything is."

Reo started on a new stall. "But that's only four of your

eight years, right?"

"Once I graduate Columbia, I'm going to veterinary

school," Derrick said resolutely, determined not to be

embarrassed. "If I can get in one."

"You go to Columbia, I'm sure you can," Reo muttered.

Before Derrick could think of a good reply, Jorge came

back in with his two teenage students.

"Hey, hombre," he smirked at Reo and nodded at

Charlie, a tomboy that had shadowed Krystal for months.

"Charlie was just telling me about a new sky diving

school outside Lexington. You ever been up?"

Reo snorted. "Have I ever been? Man, I got my jump

wings in a box up the house. You ever rolled out the

back of a C-130?"

Derrick followed the ensuing conversation not at all, but

it started off another twisted game of one-upmanship

between them that spanned from hiking to video game

scores.

He loved Jorge like a brother and Reo was hot as sin,

but Derrick checked out of the conversation early.

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By the time Ms. Susan rang the dinner gong, he wanted to turn the hose on the two of them. They'd been going on for literally hours. Derrick could care less how hard it was to get a zombie's head to explode with just a crowbar. Some things he didn't see himself needing to know in life. But apparently Reo and Jorge were bonding over it, because suddenly half the tension was gone. His phone started playing Shakira's She Wolf as he followed Reo and Jorge up to the house. Jorge did his stupid giggle at him, while Reo eyed Derrick with a smirk. Derrick gave him the finger, relieved when he barked out a laugh instead of taking offense. That was the last time he let Krystal pick her own ringtone. Just wait until Jorge realized what she'd programmed for his... He looked at the text. So. Hot or not?? He tuned out a lively discussion on Halo tactics, and quickly sent back. hot :( boys r dum Oh hon throw rocks he'd prbbly catch em. in his teeth. while standing on his hed. Made of that much awesome? Army Green - 24

J's egging him on :( *hugs* "Hamburgers and fixin's are on the counter," Ms. Susan announced as they trekked into the house. Derrick quickly joined the line, bumping ahead of Jorge. Guy was a bottomless pit and nine years of friendship had taught Derrick to be ruthless when it came to resource guarding. Reo settled in around the table with them like he'd always been there. Derrick envied guys who could do that. "Oma, these are mighty tasty," Neil said, smacking his lips and digging in. "Made with love, dear," she replied with a smile. If anyone had noticed the veggie burger package in the trash, no one mentioned it. Neil slathered so much mustard on his burgers that he'd probably never realize anyway. "So, Reo," Ms. Susan asked as she cut her burger in half, "How was your first day at Glenhaven? The boys treat you right?" "Oh, yes, ma'am," Reo said with a charming grin and his military manners. "The boys were real helpful." "I noticed that no one was dive bombing out the hay loft," Evan drawled. "So I consider the day a success." Army Green - 25

"One time, Sarge. I did it one time." "You took years off that poor Afghani farmer's life!" "This I gotta hear," Jorge smirked. "After dinner," Cam told him quietly, giving Evan a knowing look. Derrick figured he'd heard all the stories when Mr. Ostigard visited. "Oh no, sir, after dinner Jorge and I are having a quick Halo tournament," Reo said, and Evan perked up like a hound on the trail of a rabbit. "Halo?" "What's that?" Neil asked, curious. "Video game, Opa," Evan explained. "First person shooter." "Ooh, I seen adver-tiz-ments for that on the TV," Neil mused. "You hooked that X-doohickey up to the big screen yet, son?" Dinner finished up pretty quickly after that, until just Ms. Susan, Cam, and Derrick were left in the kitchen. Derrick started wiping down counters as Cam loaded the dishwasher and Ms. Susan made tea. Times like that, he missed Krystal and her steady company. A hot, athletic young man with a gorgeous smile who was probably straighter than Jorge and good at everything was going to be working at Glenhaven for Army Green - 26

the indeterminate future. College couldn't come soon enough. Jorge whooped in the living room and Neil grumbled something that was probably obscene. "I'm having a vision of the future," Cam drawled, accepting his tea and leaning against the counter. "It doesn't include quiet nights anymore..." Oma patted his hand sympathetically. "Just wait until Opa gets turkey bacon for breakfast tomorrow." Derrick sighed.

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Chapter Two The next Monday, Jorge finished doing the morning feedings with Reo, so Evan cut him loose and "volunteered" show Reo the ropes on grooming. "Sweet," Jorge sang, dancing back to the office. "I don't have no class until noon. This esse is taking a nap, homies! Do not disturb!" He tugged the office door shut behind him. Laughing and tugging his cap on tightly, Evan motioned for Reo to follow him down the stables. "Every morning after breakfast, we turn the mares and geldings out to the main paddock for the day," he said over his shoulder, making note of who was needed for classes that day. "The lesson horses go out too, so the students can bring them in themselves as part of the class, but we keep the therapy horses in and groom them next." "Isn't sending kids out there, like, dangerous?" Reo asked, eyeing Juke nervously. "Nah, the horses know what's what." Once he reached the far end of the stable, Evan opened the main paddock gate. "Okay. I need you to stand there and make sure everybody goes in the paddock." "Yes, sir," Reo nodded. "Wait, what?" "You'll be fine. Think of it as a Traffic Control Point, only you don't have to search the horses," Evan said Army Green - 28

reassuringly and started flipping stall latches open, leaving the doors gaping behind him. The horses eagerly rushed out and down to the end of the stable, well-used to the routine, right to where Reo was wide-eyed and dodging out of the way. But they just trotted past him and out into the open paddock. Magpie, being the old stubborn cuss that she was, starting veering to the other side. Evan finished letting everyone else out, giving Juke a fond swat as the gelding took off, and ambled down to where Reo was flailing in front of her. "Whoa!" Reo yelled. "Stop! Hold up! Go that way!" He waved his arms, backing up the whole while, but Magpie kept trudging forward. "C'mon, sweetheart!" He cajoled. "Don't you wanna go with everybody else?" Evan came up beside her, cupping her neck until her head was over his shoulder, and steered her to the paddock, easy as pie. Reo looked betrayed. "How--?" "She can be a bit ornery at times, but she knows where to go. You just gotta be firm but gentle." "She weighs over ten times more than me! Least when I was doing TCPs I was armed!"

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Evan snorted. "That wouldn't make a lick of difference here, anyway. C'mon, I'll show you how to groom a horse next." Reo muttered under his breath, following Evan back in and down the therapy stable side. Buttons whickered as they came up to her stall, chest butting the door. Reo jumped about ten feet. "That's a therapy horse? Shouldn't they be all calm and stuff?" "She just wants to go run with everyone else. She'll calm down quick enough." "Right," Reo drawled. Evan opened her stall latch and guided her out to the cross-ties. Pulling a sturdy metal hook from his back pocket, he held it up for Reo to see. "This is your hoof pick," Evan said, twirling it. "We use it to clear rocks and junk from the bottom of the hoof." Evan ran his hand down the back of Buttons' foreleg, squeezing above the forelock lightly and leaning in with his shoulder so she'd lift her leg. She shifted her weight easily and complied. Evan cupped the toe and pointed with the hoof pick. "This bit here is called the frog," Evan pointed to the deeper area on the hoof. "It's real sensitive, so don't go digging in it hard. Just make sure it's clean. That gets nasty and the horse can get thrush. Think equine athlete's foot." Army Green - 30

"Gross."

"Yeah."

Evan stepped away. "Now you try it. Get her to lift her

leg and then you can pick it out."

Reo took a fortifying breath and stepped up, leaning

over hesitantly to tug at her leg. Buttons snorted and

didn't budge.

"Run your hand down, like this," Evan guided his hands

to the right place. "Now put some pressure on here, so

she knows to lift."

She still didn't move. In fact, Buttons looked distinctly

unimpressed.

"This sucks," Reo muttered, face turning red from bending over. "Press a little with your shoulder, so she has to--"

Buttons suddenly lifted her foot and Reo scrambled back.

She snorted and shied away.

"Okay, that's it!" Reo fumed.

"Lift up," Evan finished. "All right, I think you're getting

the idea. She ain't gonna bite, so relax."

"It's more the kicking that worries me," Reo said tartly.

"Your horses hate me."

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"Just stay to the side and stay calm," Cam offered, walking up from the therapy office. "They're picking up that you're nervous. It makes them nervous, too." Reo eyed Cam dubiously then looked back at Buttons. She chewed on her bit. "Mr. Waller's coming in a half hour early," Cam told Evan. "So we're going to need a hand sooner than I expected. Have you seen Jorge?" "He's taking a nap, but I can cover. Tanya had some chest cold over the weekend and I don't think he slept at all." Jorge and his little sister lived with their grandparents year round. Evan knew what that was like -- Hell, there was a reason Glenhaven felt like coming home to him -and normally he tried not to cut Jorge any slack, but he could spot him for a lesson. "Great. If you have the time." "Yeah." Evan turned to Reo. "So I'll give you a speed grooming overview today, and we can work with Buttons more tomorrow. If you run to the tack room, her gear's labeled on the post." Reo took off, obviously relieved to be free of hoof picking. Cam was frowning when Evan turned back, so he stepped in close, tugged at Cam's jeans pocket. "Hey there," he said softly. "How's your morning been?" "Fine, except for this." Army Green - 32

Evan leaned in for a quick kiss, but Cam stiffened and looked toward the tack room. Evan drew back with a frown. "What?"

"What?" Cam threw back at him, a little defensive.

"I don't get a kiss?" Evan asked with mock-hurt.

"No. I--I just--"

"Cam, honey. He's been sleeping in the room next door

for the past week. I think he knows we're more than

friends."

Cam glared at him. "You introducing me as your partner

might have been a clue, too."

"Yeah, so. No problems there."

"It's just--" Cam waved a hand between them, then the

tack room, flustered.

"You don't know him that well," Evan translated.

"Yeah. It's weird. He was in your squad."

Cam had cut him off during Ostie's visit, too. Evan

wasn't living through that again.

Evan leaned in again, voice low. "He's fine with it. I

promise you. The things that boy gets up to in his own

bedroom? Not vanilla, and not just with girls."

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Cam glowered. "Do I want to know how you know that?" "Not from personal experience, promise," Evan said quickly. "But guys talk. Even when we shouldn't. You know things about the guys watching your back, warts and all." "Yeah, he sure likes to run his mouth," Cam muttered. Evan shrugged. "He's always been comfortable around me. Part of why Ostie kicked the idea down here." Mulling it over, Cam didn't look like he was happy, but maybe Evan's life might get back to normal soon. "Do you want to go over the center invoices tonight?" Cam asked instead, obviously changing the subject. "Well," Evan hemmed, shifting guiltily. "Let me guess, another Halo tournament," Cam said dryly. Evan shrugged helplessly. "Opa's having the time of his life. I think he's using it as an aide to quit smoking. We were gonna show him how to play with other users over X-Box Live tonight, in case he wants to play when we're not around." Cam gave a rueful chuckle. "Well, if it might help him quit his belly-aching about his pipe, then I can't say much, can I?" Army Green - 34

Grinning, Evan ducked in for a kiss and got it this time. Cam turned back to the office with flushed cheeks. "I better go dig that kid out of whatever mess he's made," Evan said, heading for the tack room. "Remember to leave it alphabetized!" Cam yelled after him.

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Chapter Three Evan was a man on a mission. Two weeks since their conversation in the stables and Cam still wouldn't fool around if anybody was on the top floor of the house. Since they really only went up there to sleep, Evan was getting desperate. Ever since Cam had moved into his bedroom, Evan had this master plan of renovating the old bunkhouse set back behind the farm house to make it a cozy cottage for two. Steady on six months now, he'd been doing repairs in his spare time, sometimes enlisting Cam or the Hooligans for help, like with hanging drywall. But with Reo staying in Cam's old room next door and Cam being decidedly uncomfortable with the thin walls, the bunkhouse project was back up on the top of Evan's To Do list. If he pushed it, he could finish things up in a month. One of the most relaxing parts of Evan's day was coming down to the old bunkhouse before dinner a couple times a week and just working his projects. When he had the spare time, of course. Before his enforced celibacy, finding spare time had been surprisingly tricky considering he liked to spend his evenings wherever Cam was, and more often than not that meant in the therapy center office, working on his own paperwork. These days, he was a budgeting, dry-walling, kitcheninstalling fiend. Army Green - 36

Most of their money had gone into the renovations for the center at first, before it really got established and they managed to get some corporate donations. The whole business aspect of it was run separate from the stables, a non-profit organization instead of a private business. But Evan had set a small chunk of money aside before that, mostly for emergency vehicle repairs when his truck started to crap out. When he and Cam had traded in their vehicles and just got the one big truck for the two of them to share, that little chunk had gotten siphoned off into a new water heater, then a whole new bathroom, now a whole new kitchen for the bunkhouse. He just had a list of little things after the kitchen, but they'd be time-consuming. Like painting all the walls, and re-finishing all the floors, and replacing the sliding doors off the living room. But it would be theirs, every screw and nail of it, when he was done. And then they'd have all the sweet blessed privacy Cam desired. Today, Evan had to stain the kitchen cabinets before he could hang them. The old bunkhouse had hardwood floors throughout, so he'd just covered the small living area in drop cloths and laid out the stock cabinets and their doors, going to town with a little roller doo-bobby and some stain that stank to high heaven. At least staining wasn't nearly as hard as tiling the shower stall. That had been hell on his legs.

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He worked for a couple hours, coughing and sniffling through the twilight, until he heard the dinner bell on the porch. With a sigh, he put everything away and shut down the lights. The old bunkhouse didn't have the same kind of history for Evan as the main house -- no long-forgotten childhood memories dredged up by dust motes in a beam of sun along the hardwood floor, no tick marks along the soft wood of the door trim mapping out the chronology of his youth. But he was hoping to make a new home of it, one he and Cam shared from the get go. A scuffle nearby got his attention quick as he closed the bunkhouse door, but it was just Reo sitting on the paddock fence and swinging his feet. Kid was facing away from the houses, sneaking a cigarette if the glowing red bud was any indication. Hell, three weeks and just a cigarette habit was more than Evan could have hoped for. Yeah, Reo sometimes got on people's nerves -- had to be the best at everything and heaven forbid Jorge got involved -- but it seemed like he was settling in. Cam still hadn't quite warmed up to him, but Evan hadn't expected that off the bat, seeing as his guy took a while to be comfortable around any new people. Opa and Oma seemed taken with the kid, and Derrick still stammered whenever Evan heard them talking, but he didn't think there was bad blood there. Evan just thought-He got what Ostie meant, that Reo was headed to trouble. The speeding tickets and contempt of court might have Army Green - 38

prompted the move down here, but Evan had seen Reo two steps from the edge before and this wasn't it. Yet. He'd been watching for any tells since Reo's first day. The kid just seemed... lost. Like he didn't know what to do next. Lonely, maybe. Heading carefully over the thick grass, Evan joined Reo at the fence, hooking his elbows on the top post and leaning forward. Reo just kept taking drags off his cigarette, staring up at the emerging night sky. Evan let his mind drift, thinking over supply orders, their next fundraiser, what they could improve... When his smoke was gone, Reo ground it out on the fence and kept the butt. "C'mon," Evan said gruffly with a slap to Reo’s arm. "Dinner." "Not sure I'm that brave, sir," Reo pulled on his joker's grin and hopped down. "I heard the word 'tofurkey' mentioned earlier." "What the hell is that?" Evan stopped walking toward the house before briskly resuming. "Wait, best I don't know." "It's gotta be better than an MRE. Or that goat stew we had that one time, remember? With the spices?" "God, don't remind me. That'll put me off my feed for a week." Army Green - 39

Cam was out on the porch swing when they came up on the house. He gave Evan a questioning look as Reo went in, but Evan just shrugged. The kid would be fine. He took a moment to give a good lung-clearing cough before following Cam, frowning when it made his chest ache. Damn, he should have opened some windows in the bunkhouse. Dinner had enough sauce to hide whatever was underneath, and Evan was eternally grateful to Oma for that, but it just wasn't sitting right. As he and Opa settled down with Reo for their nightly round of Halo, he felt flushed. Hell, all he needed now was to get sick. They had a show coming up soon, so Opa would be out of town, and Evan needed to be on his toes. He cut out of the game early, putting a little tick under his name and "loss" on the whiteboard Jorge and Reo had set up to track rounds next to the TV. Some might say those boys were a bit obsessive. The kitchen was quiet, meaning Oma and Cam had already headed to bed. Evan hauled his sorry carcass up the stairs and hit the bathroom first, digging out some old NyQuil from Cam's last cold. Cam was propped up on the left side of the bed, barechested with his wire glasses perched on his nose. Black hair tousled absently, green eyes sharply focused on the medical journal in his hands -- he was a sight to get any man's blood pumping. Army Green - 40

"Hey," Evan said as he sat on his side of the bed and leaned over to steal a kiss. "You win?" Cam asked absently, eyes on the journal. "Nah. They'll be at it for hours, still." When Cam kept reading, Evan sighed and stripped down to his boxers. The cough syrup kicked in as he bent over to doff his prosthetic, making him woozy. He poked absently at a few scars that had been giving him problems on the stump of his left leg, but either the cold medicine worked really fast or today was just a sore muscle day. Damn, but his legs looked more chewed up lately. "Reo seems to run on four hours of sleep or less," Cam remarked, randomly. "The vitality of youth." "Opa's worse," Evan said as he swung up into bed. "Man is a video game ringer. We could take him to one of Reo's gamer conventions, enter him in some tourneys, and make some money. Better bet than Vegas." "At least you come by your addiction naturally," Cam murmured, flipping the page of his journal. "Aw, I'm not that bad." Evan listed to the side of his pillow. "You're wearing your reading glasses." Cam looked at him over the top of his silver wire frames. "Are you drunk?" "NyQuil." Army Green - 41

"Ah. Not feeling well?" Evan shrugged. "Little cold. I'm good." But it got Cam to set down his journal, frowning with concern. "You were coughing last week, too. Do you have a temp--" "Cam," Evan interrupted, scooting closer until their faces were inches apart. "It's a little sniffle. We're both awake, and in bed, at the same time. Reo will be downstairs for hours." Cam's lips twisted in a rueful grin. "Are you trying to tell me something?" "Cam," he could admit he was whining a little. "You're killing me here..." Huffing out a laugh, Cam leaned in, capturing Evan's lips softly. "Can't have that," he murmured. His journal slid down to the floor, but neither of them cared. Evan was tired, horny, and sore already. Cam's touch was like a balm as those talented fingers slid along his abdomen, tweaked his nipples just like Evan liked, played him like a fiddle until Evan was gasping, leaning back into his pillows and letting Cam have his way. Cam pushed the quilt aside so he could climb over Evan, cover him with his body and plunder his mouth. Evan was so behind that, making low encouraging noises as he slid his hands down the back of Cam's loose flannel Army Green - 42

pants, gripped Cam’s ass tight in that way that never failed to make Cam buck against him. They were tangled in their clothes, but that didn't matter because Cam just ground his erection down against Evan's, quick and dirty and satisfying. This wasn't going to last long and it didn't have to, Evan just wanted the connection, the pleasure. He nipped at Cam's neck, right under his ear, and slid a finger over the cleft of Cam’s ass, catching a little at Cam's hole. That was all it took for Cam to tighten up like a plucked bowstring, spilling in his pants, and fuck, that was hot: cheeks flushed red, grimace of orgasm on his face. Evan was close, so close, but Cam pulled away, swiftly yanking down Evan's boxers and swallowing Evan’s aching cock in one go. Evan stifled his shout, just barely, biting his knuckle and arching his back. When Cam rolled his balls, tugging with just enough pressure, Evan rushed down into his orgasm and gave it up to Cam's mouth and talented tongue. Cam sat back and reached for the bedside tissue, spitting into one. They both sat there and panted for a moment. "Clean-up in the morning?" Cam asked tiredly, hopping up to lose his pants, mopping at his sticky crotch with them. "Yup." Evan just gave himself a few half-hearted swipes with a tissue, then pulled his boxers back up and rolled over on his side, near sleep already. Army Green - 43

Cam killed the lights and curled in behind him. "Love you." He pressed a kiss to Evan's neck. "Mm," Evan mumbled, wiggling back into him. "Love y'too." Cam held on tight. *** When Evan woke before the alarm the next morning, Cam was still draped across his back with a heavy arm on his middle. Evan was facing away from the bed, deaf ear to the pillow, and he just sorta stared vacantly over at the closet door, let himself drift for a bit anchored by the heavy weight of Cam's arm over his waist. "We should go into town Friday night," Cam murmured into his shoulder, not otherwise moving. Evan grinned. "Loose Goose?" "Mmm, yeah. Hot wings and some beer, maybe some darts..." Cam gave his shoulder a lazy kiss. "If you can pull yourself away from that game for a night." "I'm not that bad," Evan scoffed. Cam pushed himself up on his elbow, making room so Evan could roll onto his back. "I've barely seen you in the evening for three weeks," Cam said, keeping his tone neutral. Army Green - 44

Evan reached up, traced a sleep crease on his cheek. "Things've been busy and I'm working on the bunkhouse again." When Cam still looked unimpressed, Evan sighed. "I just want to make sure Reo settles in all right. You leave him to get bored and he starts getting creative. I'm deflecting property damage. 'Sides, I think it's funny to watch Opa yell at all the little tweenies on X-box Live." Cam sighed in exasperation, but gave him a fond grin. "You're a good guy, you know that? Makes it hard to stay put out with you." Evan grinned brightly back and pressed a chaste kiss to Cam's lips, mindful of their morning breath. "S'why you love me! C'mon, let's go see what Oma's inflicting on us today." Reo's door was still tightly shut by the time they were heading downstairs, but the smell of eggs and some sort of meat was drifting up, so Evan banged the door twice on his way past and smirked at Reo's half-awake shout followed by a thump. Probably shouldn't give the kid a heart attack first thing in the morning, but Reo would sleep until noon if given the chance to ignore his alarm clock, and he woke up swinging, so both Cam and Evan refused to go in to get him outta bed anymore. "Up and at 'em, sunshine," Evan yelled through the door. Army Green - 45

Cam looked up at him as they went down the stairs. "I've noticed you've become more of a morning person now that you've got someone to torture." Evan gave him a big grin, gripping the handrail to step carefully down the stairs. "There are some things about the old job I miss; scaring the beejeezus out of the kiddies is one of them." So his day started on a high note that lasted through most of the morning. Cam and Juliet had a late morning patient session, and Dr. Prasheer came out to check on a mare that was near to foaling, so Evan missed seeing Cam during lunch. Hell, Evan missed lunch. He found some beef jerky that didn't look nasty in the boarding office desk, so he was fine for his afternoon class, but it wouldn't last long. That was when things went downhill. Derrick was helping him out, since they had three eight year olds and a four year old. Normally, the two of them would be enough, but the Suder kids were in a mood and that never boded well. Evan had to call Reo in for back-up if they ever wanted to leave the stables. "But I want to ride Shady today!" Marissa, the eight year old, was whining. "Derrick, you said it was my turn next! Why does Nita get to ride Shady? Magpie's too slow." Derrick crouched low, a paragon of patience if Evan had ever seen one. "Look, Ms. Marissa, you said you wanted to try jumping today, right? That's all you been looking forward to all week?" Army Green - 46

Marissa sniffled. "Yeah." "Well, Magpie is the best jumper we got--" More like safest for the short stirrups just learning. "And we need Shady to help your sister with her trotting today. Remember how hard it was when you started your lessons? You learned on Shady then, too." Pouting, Marissa tugged at her helmet strap. "I did fine. I didn't need to be babied with everything." "She's not being babied. You and Annie and Ben are all getting to try a new course today, and you guys have to share Magpie for--" "I want Magpie!" Nita, the four year old, shrilled excitedly in Evan's good ear as he checked her helmet and mouth guard before suiting her up. "Magpie's mine today!" Marissa shrieked. Reo stifled a snicker where he was helping Annie and Ben check the tack. The twins had been coming to lessons for years and were probably teaching him a thing or two, but at least Reo had picked up on the basics quickly. Before Nita could whip out a temper tantrum -- God, Evan hated spoiled kids -- he stood up and cleared his throat. Time to be the adult supervision, because he hated having to get Mrs. Suder involved when her kids were uncontrollable.

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"Ms. Nita, you're riding Shady. Ms. Marissa, you're sharing Magpie with Ben and Annie. Everybody fall out now. To the ring. Let's go!" Wasn't that much different than doing drill, just the sullen faces marching past were hip height instead of shoulder. "You're good with kids, Professor," Reo was murmuring to Derrick as Evan herded the kids out. Derrick looked away and cleared his throat. "Nah. Better with animals." Reo chuckled, smiling at Derrick where the other man couldn't see. Evan got a sinking feeling. Knowing what he did about both of them, or at least having his suspicions in Derrick's case, Evan wasn't going to touch that situation with a ten foot pole. But he'd keep an eye on it. For all that he called Reo a kid, Evan was aware Reo was a grown man and that six years was a world of difference between nineteen and twenty-five. Derrick might have a crush, maybe they'd talked already, who knew. Reo flirted with anything on two legs. If Derrick even realized Reo was flirting. God, he felt old, and he was only twenty-nine. "C'mon!" He waved to Derrick, heading into the ring. The lesson was an hour long and went as smooth as any hour involving the Suder kids could. Derrick mostly Army Green - 48

worked with Nita, going 'round the outer ring, while Evan coached the kids over the short jumps -- less than a foot tall -- in the middle. Mrs. Suder, normally one to cheer her hellions on from the fence, was conspicuously absent when Evan thought to look for her, but her SUV was still in the lot. "Shoulders back, Annie!" He called out, glancing at his watch. Close enough for Nita. He motioned for Derrick to take the younger girl and Shady back to the stable first. "All right, everybody gather in!" He gave his end of lesson pep talk, a habit he'd picked up from Opa, before dismissing them from the ring. Magpie trudged back placidly with him, seeming not to care of her impending torture by eager eight year old hands. Caring for the horses was part of every lesson, and the younger kids shared the responsibility between them. Something twigged Evan's radar when he came into the stable. He surreptitiously looked around as he assigned the kids their chores. Jorge and Reo were mucking stalls at the far end, joking and laughing. Derrick was helping Nita groom Shady, shoulders tense and face obviously trying not to show he was upset. Hm. "Late lunch?" Cam asked, coming up from behind him. A paper bag swung in his hand. Army Green - 49

Grinning, Evan turned so he could watch the kids and Cam. "Office picnic?" "You know it." Cam headed for the boarding office. "Meet you there." Another five minutes and the kids were done. Jorge and Reo took a break from mucking, Jorge coming over to talk to the twins, Reo sauntering behind. "Oh, Mr. Miller," Mrs. Suder called sweetly as she gathered Nita and Marissa. "I know it's the first of the month, but my husband forgot to leave the check with me this morning, and you know how I am with finances. Can I get it to you next time?" "It's no problem, ma'am," Evan replied, keeping the smile on his face. She did this every couple months and he wasn't sure if it was on purpose or not. "You're a doll," she cooed, flashing her perma-white smile as she turned to leave. "Have a nice night, boys. And Reo," she stopped to give him a sultry look, "it was wonderful to finally meet you." "A pleasure, ma'am," Reo grinned back, cocky and charming. "See you at Sunday's picnic," Evan called after her. As soon as the kids were out of ear shot, Annie and Ben off with their grandma, Jorge smacked Reo on the arm. "What'd I tell ya, huh? Cougar." Army Green - 50

"Dude, I know."

Evan turned to glare. "Excuse me?"

Jorge and Reo stopped snickering. Derrick was

glowering at them, too.

"We keep our opinions on the clients to ourselves,

guys," Evan said evenly, giving the two a stern look.

"Yeah, yeah, of course," Jorge mumbled, flushing.

"Sorry, sir," Reo added. "Won't happen again."

"Good." Evan looked from them to Derrick, but Derrick

still looked upset. Evan was missing something, but that was also the price of being the boss. As long as it didn't negatively impact morale, he'd keep out. "I've got lunch waiting on me. I'm sure you guys have things to do...?" They scattered. He shook his head and went to his date.

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Chapter Four It was Friday, Derrick had the upcoming Saturday off, and he just wanted to spend it holed up in his room with a couple good books. Justin Timberlake's SexyBack started blaring in his pants. Derrick rolled his eyes and paused long enough to whip out his phone and send it straight to voicemail. He really didn't feel like dealing with Jorge right now. "Hey, Professor," Reo said, lounging against the empty stall wall. "Haven't seen you all day." Or Reo. Who wasn't his best friend, and he had only known a few weeks. Who was a jerk. Derrick shrugged and resumed hammering at the new salt block mount. "What, you still not talking to me?" Reo joked, scoffing in disbelief. Giving a final pound, Derrick wiped the sweat from his upper lip and tossed the hammer in his tool bucket. "Maybe I just have nothing to say," he finally responded, avoiding eye contact. Two days since Mrs. Suder and their little bet, and Derrick still got mad when he thought about it. And they had just laughed him off.

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"You're still pissed? Really?" Reo was giving him an incredulous look and Derrick felt trapped in the small stall. Gathering up his tools and the mount wrapper, Derrick brushed past Reo out into the stables. "Whatever, man," Derrick said over his shoulder as he went into the supply room. "It's your life." "Hey, now," Reo sounded wounded as he followed. "That's harsh. It was just a joke." Derrick let his bucket hit the ground with a resounding thud. He let all the disappointment he felt show on his face. "Just a joke? You made a bet on whether or not you could get a married woman's phone number the first time you met her," he declared baldly. "So? Lots of guys do." Reo looked at him with a frown. "She offered it. It's not like I'm actually going to call her." Derrick blinked, not sure why he bothered getting so worked up over this when Jorge and Reo obviously didn't care. Maybe because they didn't see anything wrong. "So why take it then?" He drew in a breath. "You may have just rolled into town a couple weeks ago, but we live here. That's one of our neighbors. Our clients. Yeah, she has an unhappy marriage -- we all know that, the entire freakin' county knows that -- but that doesn't make Army Green - 53

it right to toy with her for laughs. She's married. She has kids!" Reo reared back, offended. "Hey, she's the one that slipped me her number. I think she's old enough to make her own decisions." "And you're old enough to know better!" Derrick shouted. That was his main problem. He'd honestly come to like Reo the last few weeks, man's ego aside, but this had just dashed all his expectations and he was mad at himself for caring most of all. "Yeah, we're both adults," Reo shot back. "So why don't you let thems that know do their own things, huh?" "That makes no sense!" Derrick spluttered. "You're not making sense!" "Oh, forget this," Derrick growled and turned away. He angrily started filling the sweet feed bucket. He never lost his temper, not like this. He felt stupid and childish and near breaking. "There a problem in here?" Evan asked from the supply room doorway. Great. Perfect. Let Evan think he was just a dumb kid, too.

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"Nah, everything's fine," Derrick muttered. "I have to go do dinner." Reo looked like he was going to protest, but Derrick just waved him off and gave Evan a tight smile. He heard Evan ask gravely as he walked away, "What was that about?" "Hell if I know," was Reo's muffled response. Derrick paused, holding his breath to hear. "Spring fever?" Derrick wanted to march back in there and brain him with the bucket. "Uh-huh," Evan responded. At least he sounded like he didn't believe a word. "You were kinda sharp last night, too..." Reo paused. Derrick debated moving on, but he kind of wanted to hear the explanation. Reo was different when he talked to Evan, less of a bastard than he was to Jorge. He hadn't been a bastard to Derrick at all until Mrs. Suder and her pastel little notebook page of numbers. "Guess that's just who I am." There was a long moment of silence. Derrick stared down into the sweet feed with a frown. He wondered what the two were looking at.

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"Well," Evan finally said. "Cam and I are going into town tonight. Maybe you should come with. Get off the farm for a bit." "Into town for what?" Reo asked wearily. "Darts and hot wings, mostly." "Sure I won't be interrupting?" "Nah, Cam won't mind. More the merrier." Derrick cringed. Cam and Evan were, like, his role models and all, what he wanted for himself one day, but sometimes Evan had no clue. "Alright then." He heard Evan move, the creak of his leg, and Derrick quietly hurried down to the other end of the stable, around the curve to where they boarded the therapy horses. So Reo thought Derrick was the one in the wrong? Whatever. He went through the feeding with brutal efficiency, slowing down when the horses started getting restless around him. When he first returned to the supply room for more feed, Derrick wasn't surprised that Reo had vacated. Neil had mentioned touching up the paint on the paddock fence for Sunday's picnic -- a fundraiser type deal for the Army Green - 56

center and a chance for Glenhaven's clients to get to know each other. Evan and Cam normally invited everyone in the tricounty area on top of that, from the neighbors like Mr. Beaman to Dr. Prasheer. Derrick's parents were even talking about coming. God, he hoped they didn't. Glenhaven had been hosting the picnics every couple months now, but they still managed to get in a tizzy over them. Ms. Susan did most of the arranging, and a guilty part of Derrick's mind, with a voice that sounded suspiciously like Mama, reminded him he hadn't asked her if she needed help yet. Tamping down his bad mood, Derrick stopped in the office to jot down his notes for Reo since he'd be the last one in that day, and headed up to the house. He let himself in the front door, pausing at the sight of Neil standing precariously in front of the living room couch, a headset perched on his bushy white head, shouting at someone over the video game console while he mashed buttons on his controller. "I said flank 'em from the right, boys! The right! Your other right!" Derrick crept past to the kitchen, not taking his eyes off the older man. "Has he--" He turned to Ms. Susan. She was shucking corn husks at the table.

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"All day, sweetie," she said serenely. Derrick lowered himself into a chair and took a cob from the pile. "Hooah! Hit 'em with everything ya got!" Simulated explosions bombarded the living room. "...Right." "It keeps him young." She looked over at Derrick and they both burst out laughing. Derrick guffawed until tears pooled in his eyes. "Ah, I needed that," he sighed, once their mirth had died down to snickers. Ms. Susan patted his hand. "I could tell, honey. You been walkin' round here wearing a thundercloud." Sobering, Derrick picked at the corn silk on his cob. "It's been one of those weeks." "Well," she said briskly, not dwelling, and Derrick loved that about her, "you will have plenty of distractions come Sunday. Have you thought about what you're doing for the kids?" He'd stupidly volunteered for kiddie paddock duty. "I was thinking maybe a miniature petting zoo?" He hazarded. "We got the new round of chicks I could set up with a warming box and Jorge has his sister's 4-H rabbits. Maybe I could bring Bummer and dress him up like a zebra?" Army Green - 58

She giggled. He squinted at her. "Okay, so maybe a koala? Bumblebee? Pumpkin?" "Oh, you." "Or maybe I can just buy some popsicle sticks and glue, and hope no one loses an eye..." The mudroom door opened and someone tromped in. Derrick tried not to frown when it was Reo. The guy had streaks of white paint all over, down his pert nose and muscled forearms. "Well lookee you," Ms. Susan crowed. "Surely you got some paint on the fence, too?" "Those are the purdiest fences this side of the Mississippi, ma'am," Reo drawled in an overdone Southern accent. Pausing to wash his hands first, he raided the fridge for a soda. "What're you's guys up to?" "We got a deal on twenty pounds of sweet corn," she preened. "But Derrick and me are trying to come up with activities to keep the young'uns outta trouble come Sunday. Any ideas?" Reo mulled it over, glancing at Derrick under his lashes as he took a sip of his soda. Derrick quickly focused on the corn, hands working on automatic. "Well," Reo finally said, "if we get some paint and glitter, I used to work for a face painting company in high school. I might be a bit rusty, but I can do simple stuff..." Army Green - 59

"Oh, Reo, that would be wonderful!" Ms. Susan was entirely taken with the idea and Derrick's gut sank. Surely she wouldn't-"You and Derrick can be in charge of the kiddie paddock together, then. If you want to take a run to the craft store for supplies this weekend, I can give you some money." She wiped her hands and got up to get her purse from the living room. Derrick kept shucking, aware of Reo's gaze on the side of his face. After a moment, Reo sipped his soda again and belched. Derrick yanked a particularly stubborn green husk off with a vicious snap. "Here we go," Ms. Susan bustled back in, handing Reo the cash. "Feel free to use the farm truck to save gas, too." "Thank you very much, ma'am." Reo looked over at him again as Ms. Susan resumed her seat. "Are you gonna be here early on Sunday? We could go then." Derrick gave a weak smile. "Sure. Sounds great." "Great. It's a plan." Reo looked almost hesitant. Yay, awkward. Derrick focused very carefully on cleaning the next cob. "Well," Reo said, "I'm gonna go get cleaned up." "Don't forget to scrub your face," Ms. Susan reminded him sweetly. Army Green - 60

Derrick bit back a sigh as Reo went into the other room. So much for his quiet and relaxing weekend. *** Evan changed into a clean T-shirt and jeans with a satisfied groan. He felt like he'd spent the entire day on the phone getting ready for Sunday's fundraiser, and now he was looking forward to a Friday night out with his guy. Cam emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, fully clothed but bare-footed. "You about ready to head out?" Evan asked. "Reo should be along in a sec." "Reo's coming," Cam stated, a question and a fact in one, with all the enthusiasm of a man facing the dentist. Evan felt a prick of guilt, realizing belatedly that he hadn't asked Cam first. It had just been one of those days. "Yeah," Evan grimaced. When Cam gave him a look, he stepped in close and kept his voice low. "C'mon, Cam. The kid's been cooped up here with us every weekend since he got here. He's getting bad-tempered. Maybe we can introduce him around, help him make some friends." Cam stared at him for a moment, lips pursed. Evan tried not to fidget. Hell, he knew Cam took a while to warm up to people from personal experience, but he didn't think it'd take this long with Reo. The kid was like a goofy puppy, hyper and tripping all over himself. Army Green - 61

"All right," Cam said quietly. "But I'm not picking up his tab. I've heard too many stories to fall for that one." And that was as good as it got until they were all ensconced in Cam and Evan's new truck. Reo must have picked up on Cam's lack of enthusiasm, because he sat quietly in the back seat of the extended cab, tapping his foot and staring out the window at the Kentucky meadows slowly rolling past. Evan took a minute to look himself, purples and blues over the mountains, but the silence was getting to him. He could say something to Reo, get the kid going, to fill the silence. Maybe Cam would take pity on them then. Glancing at Cam, Evan looked down at the speedometer. It wasn't just in his head, they were actually going the speed limit. Cam never went the speed limit. Almost like he knew what Evan was thinking, Cam settled deeper into the leather seat, calm as you please and driving like they were headed to Sunday church. Oh, two could play at that. "Speed limit's fifty-five," Evan pointed out, all helpfullike. Reo shifted restlessly in the back seat, jiggling boot hitting the back of Evan's seat like a toddler on a sugar high. "Yup," Cam acknowledged him, and the speedometer stayed resolutely at fifty-four. Army Green - 62

Evan started tapping the joint of his prosthetic, a steady thump-thump-thump that he knew drove Cam up a wall. Reo twitched. Cam clicked the radio to a country station. Evan barely stopped himself from wrinkling his nose. "Seriously, man?" Reo finally exploded, sticking his head between the seats. "Who goes the speed limit? You've got a V-8 engine under this hood, open 'er up. We're in the middle of nowhere, dude. There haven't been any cow crossing signs for miles. My grandmother drives faster than this and she's an eighty-two year old boozer!" "You sure do love painting fences," Cam drawled with amusement, grin sharp. Reo's mouth audibly snapped shut. "Or I could stop backseat driving and let you do your thing. Obviously, you got it covered, man. I mean, this is your home turf and all. How long have you lived here anyway?" "All my life." "Really?" Reo asked with the faint horror of someone who'd moved around a bit and liked it. "Like, here in this state, or here in this township?" "Yup," Cam said simply. "How long did you live in Philly?" Evan asked the back seat while keeping a wary eye on Cam.

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"Not that long, really," Reo chatted. Kid could do oblivious, too, it seemed. "My parents moved there about a year before I enlisted. I was in Jersey and Brooklyn longer." "Always wanted to visit New York City," Evan mused, and that was all it took to hit a topic that lasted them to the bar. "Aw, man, you gotta go to this comedy club that rocks-" Cam kept quiet the rest of the drive, pulling into the parking lot of the Loose Goose with the air of someone who wanted to be somewhere else. Evan was starting to feel a little bit like a putz. They really hadn't been out on a date in forever. "Wow," Reo breathed as they got out. "There is an actual neon blue goose waving above my head." "Welcome to Kentucky," Evan grinned. Friday nights were lively and the bar was crowded, with music blaring over the little dance floor, sports on the TV over the bar, pool tables and dart boards in the back. Evan greeted some people they knew right off the bat while Cam went to find a table. They'd only discovered the Loose Goose the previous year, but it was one of their favorite spots now. Relaxed and friendly, two guys or two girls could go out on the floor for a dance as easy as any guy and girl. "I didn't know this many people lived out here," Reo smirked, head whipping around to take in the place. He Army Green - 64

was puffing up under the appreciative glances coming their way from ladies and gentlemen alike. "We ain't that far from Lexington, brat," Evan laughed, and flicked his ear to get his attention. He slapped a twenty in Reo's hand. "Go fetch us some beers and wings." "Yes, sir," Reo said, already grinning at the bar. Cam had found a spot back near the dart boards, one of the taller tables with the stools that were easier for Evan to maneuver around than the bench seats. Evan slid onto the stool across from him. "Hi there," he said over the music with his best charming smile. "Come here often?" Cam gave him a look and snorted out a laugh, shaking his head. "Not often enough." "True." The crowd was getting loud enough that Evan would have to lip read soon. He tapped Cam's foot with his own boot. Just cause it was a friendly space didn't mean him and Cam were into being all googley-eyed in public. "Thanks for coming tonight." Cam's grin was genuine this time. "Where else would I be, doofus?" Evan shrugged, smiling back. Two beer bottles were plunked on the table in front of them. Reo set an empty down too, and lifted his second to his lips. Army Green - 65

"Much as I'd love to stay and chat, my friends," he announced, "there is a mighty fine gentleman over at the bar who'd like to 'introduce' me to the game of pool." "You get wings?" "They're on their way!" He yelled over his shoulder, weaving back into the crowd. Nudging a bottle toward Cam, Evan claimed one for himself. "You don't think he'd try hustling people here, do you?" Cam rolled his eyes. "C'mon, I think a board just freed up. Let's play." Evan followed easily, glad to be in the open area of the dart boards. He got the itch to be in a crowd every so often, but he still didn't really feel comfortable being hemmed in by one. Snagging the battered set of darts from the cubby below the board, Cam handed Evan his three. "Five-oh-one?" He asked, taking up his throwing stance. "How's about eight-oh-one," Evan countered. "We're gonna be here a while, right?" "You're still gonna lose…" Cam sing-songed. "You wanna bet?"

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Cam threw his first dart. Near bulls eye. He glanced at Evan. "I win, you take me anywhere of my choosing next Friday, no complaints." Hell, Evan would've done that anyway. "All right. I win and you let me drive for once." Cam was surprised into a laugh, his next dart going wide. "No fair distracting!" Evan mimed zipping his lips and waited his turn with a smile. When the wings came, he even let Cam have first dibs. *** A game of eight-oh-one, where they subtracted points from eight hundred, turned into three games of five-ohone, and they reclaimed their table when it was obvious Reo was still living it up by the pool tables. Of course Cam had won at darts. Evan didn't mind at all. Evan was only on his second beer of the night, but he'd been sipping pretty steadily. A warm feeling had spread in his gut, out to his limbs, despite the little basket of wings he'd chomped. In fact, he felt kinda fuzzy, and the bottle was only half-empty. "Shit," he exclaimed in mock-disgust. "I'm such a lightweight!" Army Green - 67

Cam burst out laughing. He'd stopped after only half his first. "You were never exactly a big drinker to begin with, Ev." "Psh." He wrinkled his nose at him. A commotion broke out over by the pool tables, third one of the night. Getting this close to midnight, people'd had enough time to soak up their liquor, so it wasn't that unusual. This time, though, the bartender cut the music to be heard. Rowdy only did that when he was short on bouncers for the night. "Take it outside!" Rowdy commanded over the noise of the crowd, pulling his old Louisville slugger out and tapping it on the bar. Cam had craned his neck to see what was up. He stood with a curse as the crowd gathered around the side exit doors to watch the display outside. "Shit, I think that was Reo and Beaman!" Evan perked up. "Jerry 'the Butcher' Beaman? He could bench press the kid." The music cut back on. Cam looked down at him. "Yeah, that's the problem." Evan waved a drunken hand. "Reo bites. He'll be fine!"

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"Evan," Cam said tightly. "He's going to get his ass kicked by our neighbor. Who is also our farrier and has about eighty pounds on him, Army trained or not. Do you see the issue?" Evan had to concede the point. He pushed away from the table and followed in Cam's wake through the crowd. The night was brisk and Evan hacked out a cough as he watched Cam wade into the fist fight playing out on the grass. It looked like Jerry had Reo in a headlock, but the kid was punching at the big guy's kidneys, and Cam was yelling at them both, trying to pull them apart. If he'd been steadier on his legs, Evan would have waded right in too, but he had enough sense left to realize that would be a bad idea. Jerry's wife Lisa walked past Evan with a five gallon bucket of soapy water from the bar, her beefy arms slinging it back to let it loose in a massive spray over the spectacle. The fighters were shocked into stillness. Cam's hands slipped away from where he was trying to loosen Jerry's massive arm. "Ya'll done?" Lisa demanded, hand on hip. Cam wiped at his face, expression grim as Reo and Beaman staggered apart. The two were dripping blood and soap suds, eyeing each other warily.

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Then Jerry started to laugh and Reo joined in, slapping each other on the backs. The crowd dispersed with a disappointed air. "You're all right, man," Jerry guffawed, swaying on his feet.

"Nah, man," Reo said around a split lip. "You're all right.

Butcher."

"Oh for fuck's sake," Cam muttered. He turned to Lisa,

still dripping. "We're really sorry about all this--"

"Honey, it ain't your fault," she said with a tired wave.

"Not like this don't happen every Friday."

Evan nodded.

"Jeremiah Diggs Beaman," she continued sharply. "You

get your ass back in there and clean up."

"Yes, ma'am," Jerry mumbled, tripping back into the bar.

She turned to Reo. "You -- You need to work on your

common sense. Man has a hundred pounds on you."

"Oh, I'm a scrapper, ma'am," Reo slurred.

"Sure, kid." She looked at Cam as she turned away.

"Sorry for catching you in the shower there."

Cam waved off the apology. "No worries. It was good

thinking."

"See you boys Sunday."

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Reo sat down in the grass with a moan, head between his knees. "Oh wow, I'm dizzy." Sighing, Cam glanced at Evan. "I think that's our cue to leave." *** They dumped Reo on his bed, sprawled on his side, and Evan nudged the trashcan closer to Reo's head. Kid was probably going to need it come morning. Never could do things in halves. "Should we ice his face?" Evan whispered. "No." Cam stomped off, headed straight to their room. Evan eyed the tense line of his shoulders and sighed. His leg was killing him and his buzz had long worn off. "That kid is nuts," Cam exploded as soon as Evan closed the door, stripping off his dirty T-shirt. "He attacked Jerry--" "There weren't no attacking going on. It was just two guys blowing off steam," Evan said with a shrug. He limped to the bed and sat down. "Beaman knows that. Shit, he does it every weekend. Everybody was happy at the end, so no harm done."

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"No harm done?" Cam stared at him incredulously. "If Jorge or Derrick tied it up with our neighbor, you'd be through the roof--" "Well, that's different," Evan interrupted, starting to get frustrated. Beaman wasn't gonna hold a grudge. "How is that different?" Cam shouted, arm waving at the wall separating their rooms. Jaw snapping shut, Evan frowned at him. They never yelled at each other. Never. They got snippy, gave cold shoulders, maybe got a little loud, but they never yelled in anger. Cam must have realized it, too, because he didn't look any happier, but he held his breath and let it out slow a couple times. He went over to the dresser and got out a new shirt, slipping it on. "Sorry," he finally muttered. Scrubbing at his face, he stomped over to the door and yanked it open. "I'm gonna go check on the horses." Evan sat on the bed for a while, head pounding. "Aw, hell." He got up and trudged down stairs. Opa was sprawled across the couch snoring with the remote on his chest. Evan crept past through the kitchen to the mudroom. Cam's jacket was still on its peg, but his hat was gone.

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Cam was easy to find, sitting on the bench outside the therapy center office in the moonlight, chin resting on his fists, elbows on his knees, picture of exhaustion. Evan sucked in a breath and went over. He dropped Cam's jacket over his shoulders before sitting down. "So I'm an ass," he admitted. "And you're right, Reo was outta line. He shouldn't be fighting." Cam shifted, shrugging into his jacket. After a moment, he leaned against Evan's side. "Guess I'm just getting frustrated in general," Cam mumbled. "From what?" Cam ducked his head, hiding under the brim of his hat. "Nothing particular. Just seems like we haven't had much time for each other lately," he said softly. "If it ain't the farm, then it's the center. You've been pushing yourself hard on the bunkhouse and it's like I can't find time to help... Now we got Neil's health to worry about and someone new to deal with." Cam sighed and took off his hat, running a hand through his hair and tossing the hat to the side of the bench. Sitting back, Evan rubbed at the scar on his chin, feeling the rasp of stubble around it. "Well, I promised to spend time with you, and then I went and invited Reo along, so I know I'm not helping." Army Green - 73

Evan took in a deep breath. "I know we got a lot going on. Seems like we hit the ground running last year and haven't slowed down since. I just don't know what to do about it." "Let's start by not getting in some feud with the neighbors," Cam muttered, but Evan heard it and it made his heart hurt. "Is Reo being here that much of a problem?" He found it in himself to ask. Lot of things had been brewing in that statement. "You want him to go?" "What kind of question is that to ask?" Cam scoffed immediately. "I'm not jealous of some kid, Ev. You don't have to kick him out on my account." "I didn't say jealous," Evan pointed out quietly. Cam got to his feet, but it was only to walk off a couple paces. He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. "I'm not jealous," Cam protested, voice gruff. "Not cause of anything the kid's done." "Is it something I did?" Evan asked carefully, so carefully. Cam shook his head sharply, and the sharp ache in Evan's chest uncoiled. Opening his mouth to speak, Cam shut it again, looking at a loss. Finally, he waved a helpless hand.

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"It's just -- we both got a past before each other, right? Every couple does. And you went through -- over there - stuff I'll never see, and I know I'll never really understand. Never really get it the way your buddies do. I know that." Evan tried to interrupt, but his mouth wouldn't work. "And that's something I need to work out," Cam continued. "That's on me. I try not to take it out on the kid, but sometimes... It's hard, being outside of a part of you. Knowing you got parts -- these big defining parts -I'll never touch. I mean, I noticed it when Ostie visited, but I could be okay with that before, when I wasn't reminded of it every time I turn around." "Cam..." Evan frowned and got to his feet. He tugged Cam in with a hand on one wrist, his touch gentle and coaxing as he felt the tension in Cam. Evan was silent for a while, let himself breathe in the smell of sweet grass and horses and Cam. Home. The words were there, Evan just needed to make them make sense, so he took a deep breath and curled his hand in Cam's, stared down at their battered knuckles and calloused fingers. "That's not just on you," he finally said, tapping Cam's knuckle with his thumb. "It's me in there, too. And honestly, there're parts of me I don't want you to see." He glanced up to catch Cam's hurt expression, and tightened his grip. "I want you to have all the good stuff, Army Green - 75

Cam. I need you to see that in me. I don't want you near those dark parts, 'cause that's not who you are. Not to me." Cam's stiff posture relaxed. "I don't need you to protect me, Ev," Cam said softly, fingers sliding up to Evan's neck until that broad palm rested there, burning hot and grounding Evan, keeping him safe and whole. "Not even from yourself. I'm your partner, and I came into this with open eyes. I love you. All of you. You got a burden, I'll shoulder as much as you'll let me. And I know that works both ways." Evan looked down at the worn collar of Cam's T-shirt. He thumped his prosthetic with his free hand, let the inorganic sound stand between them in the night. All the technology in the world, and it would still never be his leg again. "Some burdens can't be fixed. You find ways to live with it. Work around it. But it's always gonna be there." He swallowed. "Some stuff, it's gonna be with you 'til your dying day." "Well," Cam said gruffly. "I'm gonna be there 'til then, too, so them burdens of yours better get used to having company." Evan leaned into Cam's touch, closed his eyes and gripped Cam's shirt, and tried to breath. They loved each other, said it all the time, but they'd never declared their intent so openly. 'Til death. Yeah, Evan could live for that. Army Green - 76

He opened his eyes, stared into Cam's bright green gaze.

"Good company," he finally choked out.

"The best," Cam whispered, resting his forehead against

Evan's.

After a while, Cam pulled away with a soft kiss. "It's

late. We should go to bed."

Evan yawned, big and shuddering. "Good idea."

Cam retrieved his hat from the bench, then captured

Evan's hand and refused to let it go. Evan bumped

shoulders with him.

Before they hit the porch, Cam hesitated.

"About Reo..."

Evan sighed and scrubbed at his short hair with his free

hand. "I'll talk to him. I've been meaning to, anyway."

"Good enough." After a moment of deliberation, Cam

nodded. "And he's painting the barn. The entire thing."

"Yes, sir," Evan agreed softly with a smile.

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Chapter Five Derrick rolled into Glenhaven early Sunday morning, ready to help Jorge with the morning feeding and grooming so they would have plenty of time to prepare for the picnic. Luckily, Jorge was a zombie in the mornings so Derrick wasn't expected to make small talk. They worked with the efficiency of two guys who'd been doing this for years, and Jorge only dropped the water bucket twice. Derrick snickered as he led two of the boarded horses out to a side paddock, but the laugh died in his throat when he saw that Reo was out already, halfway up a ladder on the barn, in just a wife beater and a snug pair of jeans. Shakira started blaring. He set the horses free in their paddock and checked his phone. NEbody there yet? He texted back quickly. n. U on kiddy paddock? y. get paper crayons and tape. make paper horses from here:

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A web link followed. He clicked on it and a kids' paper project site pulled up on his phone, with a pattern he could print. Thnx. Big help.

U still owe me eye candy pics. :( pay up.

He laughed. Derrick could send her Reo's picture. He'd been holding off if only to keep from having the inevitable "Is he, isn't he?" conversation with her, and also because Jorge was refusing to send her any out of jealous spite, so Derrick didn't want to piss Jorge off. Feeling like a bit part in a spy movie, Derrick surreptitiously angled his phone and snapped a picture of Reo on the ladder, zooming in on Reo's trim backside and arms streaked with white paint. He quickly texted it to Krystal before he could change his mind. Her answer buzzed in his pocket before he was back in the stables. TAP THAT LIKE WOAH!!1!

U haven't seen his face.

Put paper bag on his hed, if that bad.

He burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Jorge demanded groggily.

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Derrick swallowed his snicker. "Nothing, man." "Whatever." Jorge staggered into the office and plopped in the chair. "I'ma write up our notes. Think you can grab Macho Man and finish the grooming? He's been up on that ladder since yesterday morning. I swear he'll kiss the ground you walk on." "Right," Derrick sighed, then paused. "Macho Man?" "Wait 'til you see his face." The grin on Jorge's was evil. Derrick nodded slowly and went over to the barn. He wasn't happy with Reo, but he wasn't as pissed. Some guys were just dogs. Whatever. Derrick wasn't one to hold a grudge anyway. "Hey," he called up the ladder when he got close enough. "We need a hand in the stables." Reo twitched in surprise, but he didn't drop anything. Slowly, he lowered his paint can on the ladder's rope and pulley, then made his way down. When Reo turned to face him, Derrick forgot everything he was going to say. "What happened to your face?" He demanded, shocked. Reo's left eye was swollen, blood red cornea and purple cheekbone. His bottom lip had an angry black scab on it. There was an ugly blue bruise on his bicep. Reo just looked resigned. "I walked into a door." Army Green - 80

"Not funny," Derrick snapped back. "Oh my God." He couldn't even roll his eyes at Derrick, it obviously hurt too badly. "I tied it up at the bar on Friday night, that's all. They'll heal. I've had worse." "You're supposed to hang out with a bunch of impressionable kids today!" Derrick spluttered. "What will their parents think?" Reo bent stiffly to grab his paint can and started walking back into the barn. "I'll tell 'em I'm a rodeo clown or something. Maybe I'll paint something over it. I could rock the Ronald McDonald look." "Oh God, no," Derrick shuddered. "Then you'd just look like some creepy ass pedophile." Reo snorted a laugh. "No, seriously, are you going to be okay to help out?" Derrick asked, following him. "What did Evan and Cam say?" "Evan had a whole lot to say. Read me the riot act yesterday," Reo said ruefully, putting away the paint and cleaning the brushes in the utility sink. Not one to stand idly by, Derrick grabbed a brush and started rinsing. "Is that why you're on barn duty?" Army Green - 81

"No," Reo drawled. "That was Cam being magnanimous after I groveled for his forgiveness." "You groveled?" Derrick's voice cracked. Cam was so mellow. What exactly had Reo done Friday? Was "tied it up" some new euphemism Derrick didn’t know? Reo sighed, tapping out his brush. "Let's just say Sarge had some good advice on priorities and not being an ass. And on how to get out of having to paint the bunkhouse and the stables, too." Derrick set his brush to dry and wiped his hands. "Wow." "Anywho." Reo scrubbed at his arms with a paper towel. "Let's go do whatever you need done. Then we gotta hit the town." "Yeah, we gotta groom Buttons and Shady. Edna and Juliet want to show them off today." They headed back to the stables, Derrick sneaking glances at Reo's tired face the entire way. Derrick didn't hold a grudge, and Reo was obviously having a miserable weekend. Derrick cleared his throat. "So," he asked lightly, "What level did you get to on King of Fighters again?" Reo looked over at him slyly. "I know you don't wanna talk video games, Professor." Derrick shrugged. "I play." Army Green - 82

They led Buttons and Shady out to the cross ties, and got

to work.

"Right," Reo snorted. "How about books? I saw you

reading Hemingway the other day. A Farewell to

Arms?"

"You've read it?" Derrick tried not to be surprised.

"For school, yeah."

"I never did in school. Evan lent it to me."

"Sarge?" Reo laughed. "He's a morbid man. Morbid."

"What--?" Derrick started, then caught on. Goodbye. To

arms. Synonym for limbs. Right. "Oh. Oh. That-- is kind of messed up." Reo snickered. "He'll surprise you."

Derrick hesitated, but mentioned anyway, "You really

look up to him, don't you?"

Sobering, Reo glanced at him over Buttons' back. When

he saw that Derrick was being serious, he nodded.

"He's a good guy. One of the best."

"You served with him long?"

"Most of my time in, yeah. Until the fucking IED. He

was one of those soldiers that really believed, y'know? It

wasn't just a party line to him. Treated us decent and

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made you wanna be more than yourself, y'know? Didn't matter our personal beliefs or preferences, he'd go to bat for us no matter what 'cause we were his guys." Derrick stroked Shady's back lightly, following with the curry comb. "Do you miss it?" He asked quietly. "Being in the Army?" "Not really. Not my style. Besides, if I re-upped, I'd have gone right back out into the sand." Reo shrugged. "No thank you, sir. I still got grit in places it ain't never supposed to be. More than enough for three lifetimes." Derrick kept brushing Shady, but he glanced over at Reo long enough to watch those muscled forearms flex as Reo gave Buttons a vigorous rubdown. He looked away quickly, cheeks burning. "So you spent a lot of time over there?" He asked, cursing himself for sounding inane. "Yup," Reo said, casually clipped. "Hated just about every damn minute of it, too." "It couldn't have all been bad," Derrick protested. "What about the people you helped?" Reo paused, giving Derrick a wry look over his shoulder. "Shit, man. Half of them were afraid 'cause I had a fucking M-4 strapped to my chest, the other half were afraid 'cause I had a dick." He turned back to grooming.

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"Sure we helped them -- y'know, make some friends with the locals, give 'em training, and police the town and all that -- but the entire fucking time, you're on your guard. Village over from us, terrorists strapped a bomb to a kid and had him beg in the market for food, then boom. IED that took out Sarge? Hidden under a refugee corpse. They waited 'til we were returning from patrol one night, so we couldn't see shit until it was too late. All that shit was fucked up. They always go for you when you're showing some human fucking compassion, y'know? But I guess that's what makes 'em terrorists." Derrick swallowed, brush faltering. He'd seen enough movies that his imagination supplied him with a host of unwanted images. When Reo looked over again, he paused, expression contrite. "That was probably too much info, huh?" He started to look worried. "Guys always say I don't know when to shut my mouth. You can just throw a horseshoe at my head or somethin' if I start going off--" "No, no. You can talk to me about anything you want. Just--" Derrick said quickly, with an awkward shrug. "Evan never said -- what happened. Over there. Like, details... I didn't know, that's all." Reo grimaced. "Yeah. Let's just keep that between us, then. Ain't my story to tell." "But you were with him," Derrick said slowly, realization dawning. "That day." Army Green - 85

Focusing on Buttons, Reo didn't answer for a minute. When he did, his tone was subdued. "Yeah, for all the good it did. We got him outta there, but Johns was drivin' and..." Buttons interrupted the moment before Reo could finish, stamping her foot and tossing her mane uneasily. Derrick regretted saying anything, for putting that bleak and broken look on Reo's face. Reo visibly shook it off, back in the present, and gave Derrick a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Eh. It's the risk we take, y'know? Bad shit happens to good people." Resuming his grooming, he didn't look at Derrick when he obviously changed the subject. "So what's this I hear about Cornell after Columbia? You gonna be Dr. Doolittle?" "Something like that," Derrick said easy, going with the new subject. Jorge had been talking. "So I should call you Doc, not Professor?" Reo finally looked at him again, smirk a faded copy of his usual. "Nah," Derrick shook his head, looking down at Shady's coat. "I'm kinda partial to Professor now..." When he glanced up, Reo's smile was genuine. *** For the fifteenth time that day, Evan reminded himself that fundraising was a good thing and having everybody Army Green - 86

together was awesome and he needed to keep smiling, damn it, because he was an adult and this was his duty. "Well, Bob," he answered the slimy git's smirking question about their 'tiny' facilities. "We've been thinking about expanding some, yeah. We've got a steady client base now and more insurance companies are paying for riding therapy as well as hippotherapy, so there's a definite interest in the community." "Mm," Dr. Robert Smith hummed, looking out over the manicured lawns where more than a hundred people were mingling. It was a good turn out. "I don't think I've seen many published articles on it, though. In reputable peer-reviewed medical journals, of course." There was a small gathering of visitors watching their exchange, so Evan let the dig slide. "There's a growing body out there," Evan said, and shifted his weight to his right leg. "A few universities are looking into it heavy, too." "And has it helped you personally?" That was a little out of line. From the way Lisa Beaman's eyes narrowed next to him, she'd thought so, too. But Bob Smith was part of a large doctor's consortium in Lexington where Glenhaven received a lot of referrals from the non-skeptics, so Evan just kept smiling. "Yes, sir, I think it has. Over a year since I started and I barely use my cane anymore." You Mercedes drivin' yuppie, he didn't add. "We're looking to bring on another Army Green - 87

speech therapist, and we've been talking to the local colleges about internships." "Oh really," Bob said absently, then looked beyond Evan. "Ah, and here's the man of the hour. Mr. Jackson, pleasure to see you again." "Dr. Smith," Cam greeted him all fresh and pleasant. Evan had left Happy Land in the dirt an hour ago. "I would love to catch up with you, but I'm afraid I need to steal Evan for a moment." "Of course, of course," Bob conceded, all greasy. "I've been monopolizing his time." "Not at all," Evan remembered to lie politely before he followed Cam back into the house, up to the kitchen. Oma was manning the huge spread out on the lawn, where the rental company had set up tables and benches. Opa was working the crowd, catching up with old buddies and showing the place off. Cam-Cam had been talking to patients and potential patients, introducing the parents and all that, but apparently he thought Evan needed a break, because there was nothing for him to do in the kitchen. "Sit," Cam said gently, pulling a soda out of the fridge. "Here. You were starting to wilt. Either that, or you were trying to kill that jerk with your brain." "He only comes to these to look down on us," Evan grumbled. "With his 'Your facilities are so tiny' and 'Oh, how many horses?' Grr." Army Green - 88

"Funny that he's polite to me, but spends most of his time riling you." Cam's grin was mischievous and Evan just glared. Taking pity on him, Cam came over and kissed the top of his head. "Face it, Ev, you just weren't cut out to be a politician. Thankfully." "Yeah, well, we need one, to keep this place running," Evan mused darkly. Cam kissed him again. "We're doing fine. You see how many people are out there? Just breathe, and relax, and take some time out for a couple minutes." "How's everything else going?" "Food's almost gone, Reo's face painting is a hit, and Jorge's setting up badminton for the teenagers." "Do we have badminton?" Evan didn't recall any nets or rackets in their inventory. "Oma found one down in the basement. Jerry hauled it up." "How's his face?" "Better than Reo's. I don't think the kid could reach it." Cam snorted. "He mentioned peeing blood though. They compared their manly battle wounds and declared it even." Evan just shook his head. "To each his own." Army Green - 89

"Hrm." Cam frowned, then he walked over to the sink to wash his hands. "I'm gonna head back out before they send out the dogs. Take your time." If quiet Cam was willing to brave the crowds on his behalf, Evan probably looked like the dogs had already found him. He just really wanted a nap, and to stop getting random fevers. Slowly exhaling, he finished his soda and stood up. "Once more unto the breach," he intoned and went out the back door. Rita and Lawrence Fettler were coming up the drive from parking, their little Pug looking like a sausage in an argyle sweater. "Hey, there, strangers," he called out, coming down to meet them. He got pulled into hugs from both. "What ho, Evan," Lawrence said in that huge, enthusiastic voice of his. How Derrick turned out so quiet, who knew. "What are you doing back here when the party's on your front lawn?" Rita teased. "Sanity check," he said with a laugh, and started around the house with them. "You guys see Derrick yet?" "Not yet. I brought my camera," Rita confided giddily. "Krystal called and asked for pictures to update the website. I couldn't resist." Army Green - 90

Evan grinned. God, Derrick was going to die of embarrassment. Evan had seen the hot air balloon Reo had painted on his cheek at Josie's insistence. "The kid wrangling is just over here," he directed them. Rita was stealthy. She got a few shots from a distance before anyone could duck for cover. The "kiddie paddock" was a roped off area with toys and activity tables, and a little moon bounce for the kids to play in. Reo had commandeered a table and had a line of kids waiting. Not only did Derrick have a balloon on his cheek, but one of the little girls had crawled in his lap and put her purple brimmed Sunday hat on his head. He looked like he was taking it all with good grace, but he hadn't seen the camera yet. "Oh dear," Lawrence murmured. "Who is that young man next to him? The one with the shiner." Evan swallowed a sigh. Honestly, he'd thought the clown makeup idea had been pretty sound, but Cam had vetoed it outright. "That's Reo, our new hand," he said instead. "He's the one doing the face paint." "Oh," Rita said in a knowing tone, lowering the camera to peer over it. "That's Reo." Evan shared a glance with her. She gave him an appraising look. Army Green - 91

"He's not too crazy, is he?" "No, ma'am," he answered honestly. "Good. It looks like he's going for honorary Hooligan status, with that face." "He had a rough night," was all Evan said, ushering them down. Derrick's expression was priceless when he saw his mother's camera, but the telltale nervous twitch on Reo's was the best part. He probably thought he was playing it cool, but Evan could tell as they went through introductions. "Well," Rita said as a group of under-tens surged to the face painting table, "I am going to find Ms. Susan and see if there's any of that delicious barbeque left." Bummer was squirming in Lawrence's arms, trying to join in the chaos. "I am right behind you, dear." After they walked away, Derrick grabbed Evan's arm in a desperate grip. "You need to destroy that film," he whimpered. "I will pay you." "Aw, c'mon, Derrick. Purple's your color," Evan teased. When Derrick hung his head, Evan patted his arm. "It makes you look like a good sport. Don't worry. Army Green - 92

Everybody digs a guy who's good with kids. It'll up your marketability." Derrick sighed, but looked resigned. Evan clapped him on the back and headed over to check on Jorge. The badminton game was going full throttle, but Hooligan Number Two was hunched at a table, texting furiously on his phone. Evan dropped onto the bench next to him. "How's she doing?" He asked. Jorge glared at his phone. "Still going on the trip." Evan nodded, not really surprised. "It's a good opportunity. Probably won't be able to afford it again." "I know," Jorge admitted grudgingly. He tossed his phone on the table. "Her birthday's coming up. I figure she'll need a new camera for Greece..." "We can all pitch in, get her a nice one." "Cool." Jorge looked over at him. "You doin' okay, man? You don't look so good." Evan shrugged. "I'll be better when Dr. Bob toddles off to the nearest Starbucks." "Shyeah. I know, right?" They fell silent. Jorge watched the kids playing badminton with a smile. "Still, nice turnout. Who'd a thought we'd get this big, huh?"

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Evan looked out over the lawn, at the people laughing and talking, the kids running around, the horses in the distance. The new stables were gleaming bright, the crisp lines of the fences broke across the verdant grass of the pastures. The house sat there at the heart of it, surrounded by people, and Evan found Cam easy in the crowd, sipping a plastic cup and talking to Edna, dwarfing her petite figure. Oma and Opa had built this, laid its foundations, but Evan and Cam had polished it. Made it shine. He could put up with a few more hours of socializing to keep it. "Yeah," he said. "Who'd a thought?"

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Chapter Six Monday afternoon, and Derrick was organizing the tack room when he heard the distinctive growl of the farm truck backing up to the stables. He came out at the same time Reo emerged from the office. "Weekly feed run, boys," Evan announced, stepping down from the truck and coming around to the back. "Think you can help me unload?" "No problem," Derrick said, motioning to Reo. The truck bed was piled high with thirty pound bags of sweet feed. Derrick flipped the tailgate down and climbed up. He started slinging the sacks to the end of the truck. "Here," Reo said as he came in close. "Just set one on each shoulder. I can take two at a time." Derrick eyed him dubiously, but complied, slinging first one bag, then the other on his shoulders. Reo just grunted and trekked off to the supply room. "I think I'll stick to one," Evan mused, and pulled a bag off the tailgate, hitching it up on a shoulder. They worked pretty steady on, the pile diminishing. With Reo grabbing two, Derrick just started tossing the bags to them from the front of the truck. They had a nice rhythm going. Derrick heard the panicked curse before he realized what was going on, that Evan was lurching to the side Army Green - 95

and the feed bag was rolling off his shoulder. Derrick dove forward and dropped to one knee quick, made a grab for Evan's arm, but Evan was already crumpling, open palm slamming on the tailgate of the truck as he went down. Derrick had never seen a look of such agony on another man's face, Evan curling around his bad leg, face red, veins standing out in his forehead. Derrick scrambled down the truck. "Reo!" He called out, voice breaking, throat seized up. Trying to clear space for Evan to move, Derrick shoved the fallen feed bag over to the side, leaving a trail of sweet feed in the dirt. Reo was there in a heartbeat, sacks abandoned. "Shit, Sarge," Reo cursed as he curved a hand under Evan's bicep, dragged him up into a sitting position and steadied him. Once he was upright, Evan gasped a heavy and ragged breath that turned into a wracking cough. It sounded painful, like someone was popping bubble wrap in his chest. The force of the coughs bent him forward, hands still clutching protectively around his bad leg. "Steady now," Reo murmured as he rubbed Evan's back. Derrick remembered the only time he was thrown from his horse, wind knocked out of him, the pressure on his chest. This didn't sound like it, not with that congested thick sound. Army Green - 96

"Your ribs all right?" Derrick asked quietly, urgently. Reo glanced up at him, getting what he was asking. Evan nodded as he struggled through another cough, "Ffine-- 'm fine." Reo wiped at his mouth nervously, settling back on his haunches a bit. "Don't sound fine, Sarge." "Just stepped wrong, is all," Evan said weakly. His eyes were tearing up, a wet track down one dusty cheek. Derrick respectfully looked away. "Uh-huh," Reo drawled. "Don't think that's all, sir." "I--" Evan cut off with a gasp, this time coughing up something that he spit off into the dirt under the truck. He moaned brokenly around his leg. "I'll get Cam," Derrick declared, using the same tone of voice Mama did when she was done talking something over. Derrick surged to his feet, knee stinging from the truck bed earlier, and high-tailed it while Evan tried to convince Reo he was fine. He sure didn't sound fine. Derrick tried not to feel guilty, but God, he'd just slung that thirty pound feed bag at Evan without thinking, without taking his leg into consideration. What kind of person did that make him? He jogged faster. Cam was in the hippotherapy office with Juliet. They were both scribbling notes on legal pads, pushing a file between them. Derrick stopped in the doorway. Army Green - 97

"Cam, Evan fell. He ain't breathin' good." Derrick hadn't even finished speaking before Cam was running past him, back out to the stable. "He's by Shady's stall," Derrick puffed, running to catch up. Juliet ran alongside him. She was just out of college, but she worked for the local school district and volunteered. Between her and Cam, they had to have enough first aid training to help. "How'd he fall?" She asked as Cam rounded the curve in the stalls at a breakneck speed. "Overbalanced with the feed bag," Derrick bit out, shamed. Reo was still crouched down, but he had a water bottle from the truck in one hand and was rubbing Evan's shoulders with the other. "Easy now," Reo was saying to Evan as Cam dropped down next to them. "What happened? Where are you hurt?" Cam demanded briskly, reaching for Evan's wrist before Evan jerked it away. "I ain't hurt," Evan rasped. "Just slipped, that's all. I'll be fine if everybody will just stop--"

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He broke off to cough again. It sounded painful, like something was stuck in his chest. He looked exhausted at the end, shallow breaths crackling. Derrick exchanged a worried look with Reo. Cam just captured Evan's wrist, taking his pulse and lightly touching his forehead. "Your pulse is fast and your skin's clammy," Cam pronounced. "Are you sure you didn't hit anything--" "Nothin' but my pride," Evan growled, voice like rolling gravel. "Damn it, Cam, just let me get up." Cam made a noise of protest as Evan levered himself up using the truck gate, but quickly moved to support his side while Reo hovered at his back. Good thing, too, because as soon as Evan was near upright, his eyes rolled back and his neck lolled on his shoulders, good knee going out like a light switch was flipped. Cam and Reo caught him, guided him back down. Evan blinked a couple times with unfocused eyes. His hands were shaking. "Juliet, call 911," Cam said grimly, face pale. "No!" Evan tried to shout, but just ended up coughing. "No ambulances." "Then I'll drive you myself," Cam ground out. "This is non-negotiable." Bracing himself, Cam dug his keys out and threw them to Derrick, then he motioned to Reo, who didn't need Army Green - 99

any further prompting to get on Evan's other side. Reo mirrored Cam's movements as they each slid Evan's arms over their shoulders and tucked a hand under his knees, supporting his back with the other hand. Evan groaned as they lifted him. Reo nodded for Cam to lead, and they quickly carried Evan out to the drive. Derrick sprinted ahead to Cam's truck up by the house, yanking the driver's door open and hopping in. He threw the truck in reverse and backed down to meet them halfway up the drive from the stable. "I'm fine," Evan was protesting weakly when Derrick scrambled across the seat to push the door open from the inside. Cam didn't even respond, nostrils flaring as they maneuvered Evan in. Derrick backed out the driver's side quickly, holding the door open for Cam. Cam nodded to him once as he climbed in. "Let Neil and Ms. Susan know we'll be at St. Joseph's," Cam ordered out the truck window, then he took off down the driveway. Hands shaking with adrenaline, Derrick looked at Reo and Juliet. Juliet's eyes were huge and she looked freaked out too, but Reo was just sharp and focused. "Okay," Reo said briskly. "Juliet, find Ms. Susan, fill her in. Derrick, call Jorge, let him know what's up. I'll find Neil. We'll regroup in the house."

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Derrick nodded, already pulling out his cell phone. Juliet headed for the house, while Reo jogged to grab his phone from the office. Jorge's phone went straight to voice mail. Derrick left a shaky message telling him to call right away. After he hung up, he realized Jorge would probably freak, so he called back to leave more info. Reo was frowning when Derrick caught up with him in the stable. Tucking his phone away, Reo coaxed Shady out of her stall and started saddling her up. "Neil's not picking up," he explained when Derrick looked confused. "He said he'd be out in the west paddock, checking the pond. Probably can't hear his phone." "Told 'em he shouldn't go out on his own," Derrick muttered and went to get Juke. "No, I need you to stay here," Reo said, clipped. "Call me if you get any news. I'll bring Neil back in." "Will do," Derrick agreed easily enough, standing back as Reo rode out. Watching Reo and Shady cut across the paddock, heading for the back fields, Derrick turned to the house with a churning stomach. Ms. Susan was sitting down on the couch, hands fretting as Juliet crouched next to her.

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"Oh my. Oh dear." She repeated it again. "Do you think it was his ribs? His mother fell off a fence when she was sixteen, broke three of her ribs. The doctors kept going on about punctured lungs. He was coughing? Badly?" "He might have just gotten the wind knocked out of him, Ms. Susan," Juliet said soothingly, taking hold of her hands and rubbing them. "Cam's taking him to the emergency room as a precaution." "Where's Neil? Did anyone call him?" Derrick cleared his throat. "Reo's riding out to get him now." "Oh. Oh, good." Her voice sounded so frail and fragile. Derrick went and got her a glass of water from the kitchen, because he couldn't just stand there. After that, he went back in the kitchen and started putting away the dinner fixings before they spoiled. An eternity passed until they heard the tread of Neil's boots on the porch. Derrick came back to the living room as the older man burst in and zeroed in on Ms. Susan. "There, now, missus," he said, sitting next to her on the couch when she started to cry silently. "We'll head on over right now, darlin'. C'mon. Let's get your lady things." Derrick hugged his arms to his chest, worried. About Evan, about them. The fact that they were showing just how worried they were drove home that Neil and Ms. Army Green - 102

Susan were getting older, weren't as young as when Derrick had started at Glenhaven. Reo came in a moment later, expression tense. Juliet looked up at them. "I was done for the day anyway," she said. "I can drive them to St. Joseph's." Derrick wanted to protest, but they knew best that there were still thirty-some hungry horses to care for. "All right," Reo agreed after glancing at him. "We'll stay here, settle things for the night. Just call us as soon as you know something, please." Neil nodded, then him and Juliet bustled Ms. Susan out the door with her hat and her purse. Reo and Derrick followed them out. After the car pulled away, they stood in the drive for a moment. The sun was still out, maybe thirty minutes had passed since Evan fell, and the farm still looked the same. "We should go clean up that feed," Derrick said grimly and headed for the stables. They worked with determination, unloading what was left on the truck and storing the sacks in the feed bins. Reo pulled the truck back into its parking space while Derrick started bringing the horses in for dinner. They were just finishing up when Derrick's phone rang. SexyBack ringtone. Army Green - 103

"Hey, did you get my message?" "What's going on, hombre?" Jorge's voice was sharp. "Evan fell?" Derrick launched into the whole story, letting Reo write out the shift notes. Thank God they didn't have any classes scheduled or they'd be cancelled. Reo's phone rang halfway through Derrick's explanation. "Hold on," he told Jorge and looked at Reo expectantly. Reo listened, nodding every once in a while, then verbalizing it. He covered his mouthpiece and looked at Derrick. "They're x-raying his ribs now. He messed up his stump pretty bad, but they think it's just a bruise. They're gonna x-ray that to be on the safe side. But Cam says he has a fever of one hundred and two, so they're thinking he's sick, too. And he's on an IV." Derrick relayed it to Jorge, guilt crushing him. He promised to keep Jorge up to date, and Jorge promised to let Krystal know. When they both had hung up, Reo looked at Derrick good and long, then said, "Let's go up to the house. Notes can wait until tomorrow to be typed up." Derrick wanted to protest, but Reo was right. They could wait. He followed Reo to the house, now so silent and empty, and slumped down on the couch. Army Green - 104

Reo went into the kitchen and rustled around for a while before coming back with two sodas and a tray of leftovers from the picnic. Derrick's stomach churned. "I can't eat," he said glumly. "Sure you can," Reo said simply, and dug into some pasta salad. "You don't eat now, you'll make yourself sick." Derrick doubted that, since he already felt sick, but he picked up a biscuit and started picking at it. He kept thinking about the look on Evan's face, on Ms. Susan's. "I can hear you thinking, Professor," Reo said, tone low. He reached over and lightly poked Derrick in the temple. "Wasn't your fault." Derrick glared at him. "You don't know that." "Yes I do," Reo chirped. "Because Sarge is a grown man who makes his own decisions, and all of those are what put him at that tail of that truck today. So there's no use beating yourself up over it, especially when we don't even know what's wrong yet. If there is anything. Maybe he just had a bad spill and we're all over-reacting." Derrick glowered at the dark TV for a moment. "I dare you to say all that to Cam." "Do I look suicidal?" Reo scoffed. He finished shoveling the pasta and reached for a video game controller. "How Army Green - 105

about some senseless violence to pass the time? Unless you got somewhere to be?" Derrick looked over at him, debated going home, but knew he wouldn't. Reo looked like he could use the company, too. "Okay," he gave in and accepted a remote. "What do all these buttons do?" They wandered around shooting things in Halo until Reo's phone rang again. Derrick paused both their controllers. "Hey, Cam," Reo answered, all calm-like. He listened for a moment before bursting out, "You're shitting me. That dumb sumbitch. For real?... Uh-huh... Yeah, he's still here. I can ask." Reo turned to Derrick. "You think you can come in a little earlier than usual tomorrow? They gotta keep Evan overnight, and Cam's going to stay, so we'll need to do some shuffling for lessons and therapy." "Yeah, of course. Hell, I can just crash here tonight if they need me to." Reo nodded and spoke into the phone. "Yeah, we're good. Don't worry about it... Nah, we'll cover it. Tell them not to freak out... Good. We'll see you tomorrow, then. Kick him in the head for me, will ya?" "So what's wrong?" Derrick demanded as soon as Reo hung up. Army Green - 106

"Walking pneumonia," Reo declared with a snort. "The dumb bastard's been taking over the counter cough suppressants for a couple weeks now and wearing himself thin, and now he's got some virus. They're keeping him cause he's got some crunk in his lungs and needs to be on an IV." Derrick blinked, then deflated. "So his leg's fine?" "Yeah. He just stepped down on it wrong when he fell, bruised the hell out of it. No shards or tearing." "But he's gonna be okay." "Maybe not when Cam's done with him, but yeah. His health's not gonna smother him with a pillow." Derrick laughed, a tinge of hysterical relief in there, and Reo joined him, pressing along his side on the couch. "Hey, man," Reo said, rolling his head to face him. "Let's say we go another round, yeah?" "Sure, sounds great," Derrick sniffed, picking up his remote. Reo un-paused his. Derrick was grateful when he didn't pull away, soaking in his warmth. *** Words could not contain the depths of Evan's hatred for hospitals.

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Just being in one again made him want to claw out of his skin, memories of months of enforced inactivity rearing up, and even just an overnight stay left him restless. Ready to run. "Almost time," Cam said quietly, hand shooting out to stop Evan's fidgets. His cowboy was sprawled in a chair next to the bed and didn't even need to open his eyes, tired with exhaustion. "You've been saying that for two hours," Evan growled. Then he had to cough, and because they'd given him a bunch of junk, stuff came up. Cam was awake at that, rubbing his back soothingly. "I'm gonna go get a nurse, sweetheart." That set off another round of fussing at him that Evan suffered through, but at least the discharge nurse came back with his paperwork and prescriptions. "All right, someone's ready to go home!" she said brightly. Evan glowered. He'd been waiting for hours in the sweats Reo and Derrick had dropped off last night when they picked up Oma and Opa. God, there was going to be more fussing at home. "Let me just go get your wheels, and we'll get you home," the nurse chirped. As soon as she was out the door, Evan demanded from Cam, "Hand me my leg." Army Green - 108

Cam just gave him a look. "She'll be back with a wheelchair to get you to the truck, don't worry. "I don't care," Evan bit out. "You bruised your leg pretty bad," Cam tried again. "The doctor suggested you leave it off if you're in pain today." "And my crutches are at home," Evan sniped. "Hell if I'm wandering out of here without something under me." Sighing, Cam set down the big plastic bag they'd given him for Evan's things and dug out his prosthetic. Once the initial pain had faded and they told him he just had a big sniffle, Evan had been worried sick that it had been damaged in the fall. Cam had said it looked all right. Evan swung around to the right side of the bed, Cam helping to guide his leg like they were in the barn and Evan was swiveling to dismount. The familiarity of the gesture helped ease the sting of helplessness. Taking a deep breath, Evan scooted to the edge and accepted his prosthetic. He doubled the wool sock with the spare Reo had packed. Evan glanced at Cam, who was looking down at Evan's thigh with a frown. "Does it hurt that much, or have you lost that much weight?" Cam murmured in concern. "Lost a little weight. Stopped eating between meals mostly." Evan shrugged. "I'll put it back on." Army Green - 109

"Stopped--" Cam cut himself off, but looked like he wanted to say a whole lot more, maybe club Evan with his own fake foot. "Damn it, Ev." Evan fidgeted with his leg until he couldn't put it off any more. He took a shallow breath, trying not to cough again, and leaned forward. He paused. He was afraid to stand up. It wasn't the first time he'd taken a spill in his prosthetic. Back at Walter Reed, when he'd first been in physical therapy, he'd pushed himself until he wanted to puke and his muscles felt like jello. Not that different from Basic. You push your limits, you fall, you get back up and walk off the bruises. This time... Just the thought of that moment, the feel of his skin tugging, grinding under the end of his bone-Goose bumps broke out over his arms, and his fists clenched. He never wanted to feel that pain ever again. Just. Hell no. The thought of putting weight on his stump after that... "You okay?" Cam asked quietly, crouching in front of him. "You're looking a bit green around the gills." Evan swallowed. "Yeah." He told himself to nut up and get in gear, but was saved by the discharge nurse wheeling the chair in. "You look like you're rearing to go, partner," she teased. Army Green - 110

"Yes, ma'am," he agreed, grinning back with all his teeth. Both her and Cam helped him ease down into the chair, barely any weight going on his bad leg at all. He was drained and shaking by the time they got him into the truck. Bed rest and plenty of fluids for the next week, the doctors had told him. He had viral pneumonia, so there wasn't much they could do besides give him cough syrups and stuff to help him sleep. "Just nap for a bit if you can," Cam said quietly as he buckled in. "I'm gonna get your prescriptions filled and we'll head home." Evan nodded, already drifting off. "We're still gonna have words, you and me," Cam said mildly, pulling out of the hospital parking lot. Evan roused himself. "Can't we just do that now?" Cam glanced at him. "You sure?" "Least now I still look too pathetic to pop me one, right?" Cam snorted and shook his head. "Brat." Evan bit the bullet, trying to head off the argument he could see brewing. "Look, I know I shoulda been more careful, paid more attention to my health. I pushed too hard. That's just my Army Green - 111

personality. I guess I'm gonna need you to remind me of my 'limitations' from now on..." God, having the ER doctor go on about how he was a "vulnerable population" now because of his "condition" and he had to "guard himself" against illnesses had made Evan grind his teeth. "You're still thinking about that doctor, aren't you?" Cam asked, tone light so maybe the anger was derailed. "Yeah. Next time just drive me straight to the VA hospital," Evan sighed. "Might take me ten times longer to be seen, but at least they don't talk down to me as much." Cam let out a breath, reaching over to hold Evan's hand as he steered into the pharmacy parking lot. "You scared the crap outta me," he said, giving Evan's hand a shake. "I just hauled ass straight to the nearest medical facility I could think of." "Sorry," Evan apologized and squeezed his hand weakly. He chuffed out a cough, trying to breathe lightly to stave off another attack. "You gotta cough that crud out now," Cam reminded, parking the truck and handing him a tissue from the arm rest. "Better out than in." Evan sniffled. "I hate being sick." "I hate it when you're sick, too," Cam laughed. He leaned over and pecked Evan on the cheek. "Just. Be Army Green - 112

more careful, yeah? No more trips to the ER. I need you

to be around for a good long time."

"Roger that," Evan mumbled.

"Good."

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Chapter Seven The sun was high overhead, washing the bedroom in a pale yellow glow. Evan had been up for an hour after taking a nap. He'd tried to get up with Cam that morning, but he'd dozed off again when Cam had rolled out of bed. He should've taken his medications first. Perched on the steamer trunk at the foot of the bed, he gripped the edge and sat there, hunched over, counting his breaths. The rise and fall of his body with each one was hypnotic. Soothing. He stared straight ahead at his reflection in the dresser mirror across from him, bright blue eyes almost black in the dim light. His ruddy brown hair, once close-cropped, was getting shaggy again. He needed a shave. His dark stubble just made the shiny scar that curled under his chin stand out that much more. Another sickening wave of pain -- rolling up the stump of his left thigh and tightening all the muscles in his hips and back and chest -- tried to knock the breath out of him. His chest hitched, stuttered on another inhale. He wanted to cough, but his back was too sore. Movement registered in the corner of his eye. Cam, filling up the doorway with his lanky frame. "You overdid it tromping around the stables the other day," Cam said helpfully.

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Evan growled his agreement. He'd slept through the entire previous day because of it, and now he was bed sore and cranky. "Here, I brought some orange juice and your meds. Quit trying to rough it." He downed them quickly, draining the glass. "I'm going nuts here," he rasped when he was done. Cam sighed and sat next to him on the bed. "It's been less than a week. Let yourself heal. Remember, no more ER trips?" Evan glowered at him. Cam mock-glared back until Evan laughed, shoving at him with a snort. He could feel the exact moment the pain pills kicked in, washing through his nerves with a beautiful numbness. He started to relax. "I just wanted out of the house," he murmured. "I'm sick of TV and games." "I know. But sneaking around in there for a couple hours cleaning tack is not the best way to recuperate from pneumonia," Cam said tartly. "Especially without taking any of your meds." Evan shrugged. Reo had freaked when he came in to find Evan polishing a saddle. Mostly because of what he thought Cam was going to do to them for not discovering Evan sooner. "Work needed to be done." Army Green - 115

"That's what we have Hooligans for. And Reo. But, if you're really going stir crazy, I suppose we can get you down to the stables again," Cam mused. "Supervised this time, of course." "I--" Evan started to protest. "Said that I could be your common sense from now on," Cam finished. "I don't think I said that exactly." "I'm paraphrasing," Cam said with a shrug. He was quiet for a moment, then nudged Evan's shoulder. "Think you're up for a short ride, if someone else handles tack?" Evan took a second to seriously consider that. The pain pills weren't so heavy that his balance was shot. He'd been on higher level meds in the past. "Yeah, I'm up for it." "All right, then. I'll meet you down in the stables in an hour. Try resting until then." Evan tilted his head for a kiss and got one, then nodded. "Deal." Cam stood up, slapping him on the back. "I'll see you then." The prospect of a ride lifted his spirits more than anything else the past week had. After donning his prosthetic, Evan took his time getting into an old pair of Army Green - 116

worn combat pants from his Service days, nice and baggy, and a threadbare T-shirt. He stole one of Cam's sweaters. Comfort clothes, Oma would say. Speaking of, he carefully went down stairs to the kitchen, following the sound of her humming. Breakfast was already cleaned up and she was pounding out something that smelled yeasty and delicious. "Morning," he said as he headed for the coffee machine. "Morning, sweetie. You sleep well?" She asked over her shoulder, kneading the dough. "Eh. I slept," he answered honestly. He found out on day two that 'I'm fine' was not an acceptable answer anymore. "Cam's taking me riding this morning." "So he said," she smiled at him. "I think it'll be good for both of you." "Yeah." He took a seat at the table and just watched her work for a while. He still had a couple minutes until Cam said to meet, but he figured he could head down a little early. "Be careful on the grass," Oma warned without turning around, sensing with her Oma-skills that he was about to leave. "We had a drizzle early this morning." That explained part of why his leg was aching so bad earlier. At least it looked like he was forgiven for giving her a fright. Opa had nearly boxed his ears the other day. Army Green - 117

"Yes, ma'am." In a concession to Cam, Evan snagged his hat and his cane from the mudroom before leaving. The grass still looked a little damp, so he stuck to the cobblestones and pavement. He was just glad the pills worked well enough not to need his crutches. Jorge and Reo had turned the horses out, and Evan heard the hose spraying on the far side of the stables. Reo was filling the trough and did a double-take when he caught sight of Evan. "You are authorized to be here this time, right?" He asked as soon as Evan was close enough. "Special dispensation," Evan replied with a grin. "Don't worry, Cam's going to be my escort." "Good. I thought I was dead meat last time." Reo gave him a friendly glare. Apparently being dumb and giving everyone a fright also meant you had to put up with quite a bit of ribbing and lip. Evan recognized it for the stress relief and worry it was. "Yeah, sorry, man. I'm all legal this time, promise." Reo shook his head. A high-pitched mechanical whining started up through the open doors of the stable. "What is that?" Evan frowned.

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Reo shrugged and turned back to the trough. "Jorge had some projects." Curious, Evan hobbled in. The sound of drilling got louder as Evan approached the stable doors. He picked up the pace and frowned again when he saw Jorge next to the tack room door. "What the hell is that?" Evan demanded over the noise. Jorge gave him a cool look without stopping the screwdriver. "It's a hand sanitizer dispenser, hombre. So we can all be germ free and happy." Evan frowned harder at his deadpan tone. "You're installing hand sanitizer," Evan said slowly. "In the middle of the stable. Where there is dirt and horses and germs everywhere." "Don't look at me, dude," Jorge shrugged, stepping back to check his work. "I'm not the one who got pneumonia. Go ask your crazy-ass boyfriend." "Hey," Evan glowered. "Only I get to talk about Cam's ass." Jorge barked out a laugh. "You are welcome to it." "Damn right," Evan said, then ruined it with a smirk. "But seriously, hand sanitizer?" Jorge rolled his eyes. Evan heard Juke's distinctive whicker, echoing down the corner of the stables. Army Green - 119

"Who's here today?" He asked as he headed that way. "Derrick came in a little early, but then the therapy session was cancelled. Josie has a cold, too. C'mon, bossman," Jorge said conspiratorially, falling in step with Evan. "You got people waiting on you." Cam was swinging up onto Shady as Derrick cinched Juke's girth and tested it. Evan nodded to Derrick when the kid looked up. "Thanks." "He's been missing you, I think," Derrick said and rubbed Juke's neck. "Reo's convinced Juke was trying to eat him the other day." "Reo thinks that about everybody, even Buttons," Jorge snorted. "It's not paranoia if it's true," Reo called out on his way to the office. Evan just shook his head, and looked to Cam, who was grinning down at him. Smiling, Evan took Juke's reins and headed for the therapy ring. Derrick ghosted him, Jorge trailing behind. By the time Evan was up the ramp to the mounting block, Reo had joined them, too. Cam stepped Shady in close, holding on to Evan's cane while he mounted. Settling in, Evan took it back and urged Juke to follow Shady's trail as Cam directed her out of the ring at an easy pace. "Have fun!" Derrick called after them. Army Green - 120

"Don't do anything too indecent!" Reo added. Evan turned to glare, but Derrick was already cuffing Reo on the head while Jorge laughed at them. After that, he just enjoyed the ride and let Juke follow Shady's lead down the hill, along the fences. The sun wasn't too hot, but it was drying out the fields, and bright, near blinding. The view of Cam's behind wasn't too bad either, but Evan might have been biased. Certainly made the scenery prettier. They passed Opa about halfway down the field, but nobody said anything. Opa just nodded at Cam and gave Evan a wink. Curiouser and curiouser. The back acres of the farm had a small lake that Evan had loved to sit next to and read as a teenager, a remote quiet place to escape to when the world was too much. He recognized the overgrown path they were following down to the lake's edge, but the trail had been ridden through recently. A collapsing table was set up on a level patch of grass, two folding chairs next to it. A basket sat in the middle of the table. Evan gave a startled chuckle. The brightly colored lawn furniture was out of place in the middle of the meadow, next to the lake. "You still owed me a date of my choosing," Cam pointed out with a smile, twisting in his saddle. Army Green - 121

"You did win," Evan conceded. Cam smirked. Stopping Shady, Cam dismounted and came over to help Evan. Unhooking his prosthetic foot from the stirrup, Evan waited until he felt Cam's hands gripping his hips before he swung his leg behind him. Cam guided him down, arms circling his waist once he was steady on the ground. "Hi," he murmured in Evan's ear, tilting his hat back to kiss Evan's neck. "Hi there," Evan returned with a smirk. "C'mon," Cam said with a grin. "Oma made us sandwiches and those little biscuit things you like." "And you just threw this together in an hour?" Evan asked in disbelief, snagging his cane and hobbling over to the chairs. He muffled a cough in his sleeve. "Well, it was a slow morning," Cam hemmed. "Maybe I got some prompting and help..." Evan snickered, bad mood definitely long gone. Cam guided the horses over to a rope that someone -probably Opa -- had tied between two trees, securing the reins so they couldn't wander. Evan sank into a chair, resting his cane on the ground, as Cam took off the horses' saddles. Pulling the basket over, Evan started poking through it and laying out the food. Army Green - 122

"You want pickles?" "Sure," Cam said and settled in his chair. They dug in. Evan hadn't realized he was hungry until he smelled turkey and cheese. "Oh God," Cam moaned. "Real cheese. Real meat. I didn't think we had any left in the house." "Oma loves us," Evan agreed. "I can't believe she let Opa bring this out here." "That would explain why there were three sandwiches instead of four..." They laughed, and started eating with serious intent. Evan only coughed a couple times, pain meds making him boneless and chill. Cam finished first, stretching his long legs out in front of him, cowboy boots crossed, fingers threaded over his stomach. "So I was thinking," Evan drawled, picking at the remains of his biscuits. "What's your opinion on tattoos?" Cam squinted at him from under the brim of his hat. "Like, on other people or on me?" "Either?" With a shrug, Cam mulled it over. "Depends on the tattoo. Good ones are hot. Why?" Army Green - 123

Evan looked away and scratched his nose, embarrassed.

"We're in this for the long haul, right?" He said, more

rhetorical than questioning, but Cam nodded.

"Yeah, we are."

"But rings ain't really our style, right? So I was thinking

maybe we get tattoos, don't have to be matching or anything. Just, y'know, something that means something to the other, right?" Cam pursed his lips. "Like what?"

Evan shrugged. "That was as far as I got. I figured I

should wait until I wasn't on pain killers to make body

art decisions."

Laughing, Cam tilted his head back to look at the sky.

Juke stamped a heavy foot over by the tie.

"I could see you with something Celtic," he finally said.

"Maybe a quote for you?" Evan mused. "Or a horse?"

"We could always get Krystal to design something,"

Cam pointed out. "Each of us sit down with her, design

the other's tattoo."

"And we don't get to see it until it's on us?" Evan joked,

but Cam looked like the idea appealed.

"That would take a whole lot of trust..."

Evan swallowed, gazing over at him. "I trust you."

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"Likewise." They grinned at each other like dopes for a bit, but no one was around to call them on it, so Evan didn't care. It felt good. This was good. They might hit some bumps, Evan might be a dumb ass and Cam might be emotionally tongue-tied at times, but they had each other. They had a halfway renovated bunkhouse, they ran a horse farm together, and they were both where they wanted to be. Life was good. Evan reached over, caught Cam's hand. "Good company," he said simply. Cam squeezed his fingers. "The best." *** If you liked this book you might like: Taction by J. Rocci (http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page= product_info&products_id=2507)

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Army Green Copyright © 2010 by J. Rocci All rights reserved. No part of this eBook may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address Torquere Press, Inc., PO Box 2545, Round Rock, TX 78680 Cover illustration copyright Alessia Brio Used with permission ISBN: 978-1-1-61040-040-4 Printed in the United States of America. Torquere Press, Inc.: High Ball electronic edition / August 2010 Torquere Press eBooks are published by Torquere Press, Inc., PO Box 2545, Round Rock, TX 78680

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