Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Vince pulled back and winked at him. “I like the sound of that.” He took off his shirt and wiped them both off. “I have another in the truck. Hopefully no one asks me where my first shirt went as I make my way over. I’ll grab it, and then we should get back to work. You’re distracting.”
“Are you complaining?”
“Fuck no.”
There was a sink in the barn, which they used to wash their hands. Vince left first, and a few minutes later, Colby followed. As soon as he did, his parents came speeding his way on one of the golf carts, his dad in the back seat. He could tell by how fast they were going that something was wrong.
They pulled up to a quick stop, his dad sitting sideways with his leg up on the seat and ice around his foot and ankle.
“Jesus. What happened?”
“Nothin’. I’m fine,” his dad said.
“He is not fine. He fell off a ladder, and I’m pretty sure he broke his foot,” Mom told him.
“It was only a few feet. I can’t break my foot stepping down wrong from that distance. I didn’t fall,” he argued.
Colby’s heart was beating too fast. It was likely just a broken foot like his mom said, but all these years of working Covington Acres and Colby had never known his dad to break anything. He was the first one up and the last one done with work for the day. Well, until recently.
“Your bones aren’t what they used to be, Charles. Even so, anyone can break a foot.” She turned from him to give Colby a sad smile, one that said his dad was going to take this hiccup as him getting older and not being able to do his job anymore.
“Take me to my truck, and I’ll drive you to the hospital,” Colby said, noticing Vince coming over.
“No. The wedding is in three weeks. There’s too much to do here. We need you on the farm, Colby,” Dad said.
“How the hell are you going to get into the truck?”
“I’ll take care of what needs to be done here,” Vince assured them. Because of course, Dennis wasn’t in today. That’s the way things went. “I’ll figure everything out. Take care of your family. That’s what’s most important.” Vince reached over and squeezed Colby’s shoulder, and…he wanted to bury himself in Vince’s arms, right there in front of his parents. He was the biggest asshole in the world because as worried as he was about his dad—and simple broken foot or not, Colby was worried about him—all he could wonder was if this was the beginning of it. If his dad would have to slow down and stop working and Colby would have to take a more active role in Covington Acres.
And while he’d just been thinking about how much more he enjoyed it with Vince…it wasn’t all he wanted. He wanted more.
“Are you sure?” his mom asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Vince replied in unison with Colby’s, “Vince will do whatever needs to be done. The farm is in good hands with him.” Probably better than with Colby, who had dragged Vince into a barn to have sex with him while there was a shit ton of work to do and his dad was getting hurt.
“Get in,” she told him.
This time it was Colby who reached out, who squeezed Vince’s shoulder. He wanted to lean in and kiss him, to tell him thank you. To explain his conflicting feelings because he knew Vince would understand.
But he pulled back, and Vince winked at him. “See you soon, babe.”
Colby nodded, got in the golf cart with his parents, and couldn’t stop thinking about how he wished Vince had called him baby.
They were able to get his dad into Colby’s truck fairly easily. The local hospital was in Chelsea, so he drove them there.
“I should call Dennis and have him head down to the farm,” his dad said.
The automatic need to defend his friend bubbled up inside him, even though really, it wasn’t as if his dad was attacking him. Still, Colby couldn’t help but say, “Vince can handle it. I trust him.”
“We trust Vince. That’s not what your dad meant,” his mom said.
He shifted, feeling her penetrating gaze on him. She was too damn good at reading him, and he didn’t want to take the chance of her asking if anything was going on with them. He wouldn’t deny it again. He didn’t want to deny it, but it would add more pressure to the situation while they were still figuring things out.
“He does good work. He’s a good man,” Colby’s dad added.
“He might not be a Covington,” Colby said, “but he loves the farm. It’s a few hours. Let Vince be. Plus, I’m sure Dennis will want to see what’s going on with you.”