Earth and Sky

of him, Dad. He’s a real fighter, this one, just like you. And since he’s probably going to be my only one, I’d better get it right. I’ll try my best, Dad, just like you taught me. Can’t do better than my best.”

    When Hunter stayed silent for some time, Grant came closer and eventually sat down on the bench next to his lover. “Your dad would have been very proud of you.”

    “Oh, I know,” Hunter said with an absent smile. “I wish he could have been here to enjoy his grandson. He’s got the best view in the world, though.” He nodded his head at the majestic fields in front of them. There were trees outlining them around the sides and horses grazing in the distance, but it was amazing how far you could see.

    “All the way to where the earth touches the sky,” Grant mused.

    “There’s no better place on Earth,” Hunter agreed.

Chapter 40

    The leaves on the trees were coloring red by the time Hunter and Grant held their housewarming party. Despite last-minute changes to the building plan, the wooden ranch house, although smaller than the homestead where the other Krauses lived, still looked majestic. Hunter’s mother remained in the old house with Izzie, Hugh, and their baby girl, Hugh and Lisa’s son Danny, and Bernie, when she wasn’t show-jumping somewhere else in the country. Christy had chosen to stay there as well, with her kids. It was easier for her, since she worked in the big kitchen, and the kids still saw Grant every day. Christy also looked after Matthew when the men were working, but at night, the baby boy was going to have his own room in his dad’s house.

    They’d added a ramp to the porch, and most of the rooms were on the first floor, just in case it became necessary for Matthew, but other than that, it looked like every other ranch house in the county.

    Hunter was beaming with pride now it was finally finished.

    Their guests arrived around noontime, bringing side dishes for the picnic and extra chairs. Calley brought her twins and told them Bill was too busy to make it. The twins spent more time on Flynn’s lap than in their bassinets. Together with Izzie’s daughter and Matthew, this brought the baby count to four. Danny played with the three other older kids, and Hunter’s mother surveyed it all with the pride of a grandmother.

    Everyone who’d helped out with the building arrived to celebrate the men moving in, and Hunter felt the love. He’d never imagined that the people who meant most to him would accept the man in his life so easily. The one he’d worried most about was Gable.

    Gable had always been there for Hunter. He’d been Hunter’s best friend for years, and Hunter had always been eager to help out when Gable needed him as well, but of course, Grant was Gable’s ex, and they hadn’t parted in the best of circumstances. For the longest time, Hunter had been afraid that his love for Grant would make him lose his best friend.

    Gable and Grant had found a middle ground, though. They’d found a way to forgive each other, and now all Hunter felt from Gable was the quiet understanding he’d always wanted. Gable was a man of few words, but he’d diligently helped them build their house, and Hunter had even seen Gable and Grant laugh at things together, so this was more than he could have ever hoped for.

    During the building, Hunter’s appreciation for Flynn had grown as well. The man had two right hands and no fear of heights, so he and Grant had been the main men on the roof. Hunter had always felt that atop a horse was about as far from the ground as he felt comfortable, and the only visible reminder of Gable’s bad leg was that he couldn’t get up a ladder, so they were the ones to fetch material for the two roofers.

    The way Flynn and Gable acted around each other in public made Hunter see that it was possible to show you loved your man without being all over him and embarrassing your mother. This was another big step. Hunter’s mother had slowly warmed up to Grant and was now treating him like she treated her other son-in-law, Hugh. She wanted both of them to work hard and treat their better halves like royalty, and expected nothing less from Grant than she did of Hugh. Hunter wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

    The big surprise came when Lisa arrived at the ranch. Hunter had put out a few feelers to figure out where she was and to invite her back home, but he hadn’t received any confirmation, so her arrival was truly a