Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
There were goats everywhere, roaming around and begging people for food, and in front, a large screen.
“Do you want to get something to feed them?” he asked Reese.
“Sure.”
August purchased a couple of bags at a stand. When he finished, Clint pointed. “Roe and everyone are over there.”
Christ, he hoped this went well. He glanced at Reese, who didn’t look back at him.
“Shh. Clint’s here. Stop talking about him now,” said the guy Clint had been at dinner with the first night August had seen him.
“Always busting my balls,” Clint countered. “August, you remember Colby. This is his brother, Roe; his partner, Holden; Roe’s son, Wyatt; Holden’s nephew, Sean; and Grady and Deacon. Everyone, this is August and his son, Reese.”
“I hope there’s no test on all the names,” August teased, earning himself a few chuckles.
He was greeted then with hellos and nice to meet yous.
“Dad said you moved here from Orlando,” Wyatt said to Reese. “I bet you’ve been to all the theme parks a million times.”
“Yeah, we used to have season passes. You’d be surprised, but it gets old after a while,” Reese replied.
“What kind of things do you like to do for fun?” Sean asked. August took a couple of steps away, trying not to hover and just let his son be a kid and meet other kids his age. It was hard as hell, though.
August turned to Deacon. “Clint says you make the best ice cream in the state.” Deacon was a beautiful Black man, with a perfectly trimmed beard. He was holding hands with Grady, who was white and equally attractive.
“That’s what I’ve been told,” Deacon replied.
“Because it’s true,” Grady added.
They were clearly crazy about each other. August felt a pang of loneliness pierce him. Had he and Lewis ever looked at each other the way they did? Had they ever spoken about each other that way? He didn’t think so.
“I’ll start getting this stuff unloaded.” Clint reached for the chair on August’s back.
“I can—”
“You visit. I got it,” he countered, so August handed it over.
Clint began opening up the chairs as Roe said, “You’re a veterinarian, I hear?”
“Yeah, over in Chelsea. Just part-time for now. I wanted to take this summer to have fun with Reese and get acclimated to being in a new place.”
“You grew up here?” Holden asked.
August answered their questions, getting to know Clint’s friends, and asked some of his own. Soon the chairs were all set out. Roe had brought a cooler with drinks, and they were all sitting around, visiting. His chair was beside Clint’s, and August couldn’t help feeling more comfortable with him there—hearing his laugh and the deep timbre of his voice spoke of some of August’s favorite childhood memories.
Every now and again, he would glance over at Reese with the boys. He could tell that his son was holding back slightly, that he maybe felt a little unsure or insecure. Wyatt and Sean knew each other so well and were maybe two of the most put-together kids he had ever seen, so he imagined that was intimidating. But Reese was holding his own, even if he didn’t jump in and start many conversations.
“Dad, they want to show me around the farm some. Apparently there’s a clubhouse and a trampoline. Is that okay?” Reese asked. There was still about half an hour or so before the movie was supposed to start.
“Sure thing. Have fun.”
The three of them walked away, August watching them go.
“The boys will take good care of him. They’ll come back the best of friends, you’ll see,” Holden told him.
“Am I that obvious? It’s been hard with the divorce. Reese struggled with it. He went through a period where he was angry at the world and got into a little trouble. He was pissed when we left Orlando, but it seems like he’s starting to come around. I just want him to be happy, ya know?”
“I do,” Roe answered. “All we can do is love them, and it’s clear you’re doing a great job at that.”
August liked these men already. He could see being friends with them, him and Clint hanging out with them while the boys did their thing… Shit, he definitely didn’t have to make that sound like he and Clint were a package deal. He filed that away under things he didn’t want to think about right then.
“Thank you. That means a lot to me,” August finally answered, feeling Clint’s gaze on him. “So, what do all of you do?”
August listened as they explained that Roe owned Covington Supply Co, a one-stop shop for everything someone could want for their farm, yard, animal feed, and things like that. Grady worked with him. Deacon owned the ice cream shop, and Holden was a handyman. Colby worked Covington Acres with his family.
They were all open and friendly. They teased each other and offered to help each other if someone needed it, and as August listened, he realized he’d never really had this. He and Lewis had friends, of course. They had people they hung out with, but it was different from the strong camaraderie he felt sitting there with them. They felt more like found family than friends. These men were good to the bone, much like Clint was, and damned if August didn’t want to be a part of that.