Earth and Sky

apology.

    “No you didn’t,” Hunter answered flatly.

    “Yes, I did. You went all romantic on me and I panicked.” Grant sighed. He was no good at talking about his feelings, but this time was as good as any. “I love you, Hunter. You’re my man. I’ve never felt this comfortable with anyone, and that’s scary all by itself. I’m scared of losing all this. I’ve never had this much to lose in my entire life.”

    “You’re not going to lose anything,” Hunter said, looking up at Grant. His expression was so sad and compassionate Grant almost rolled his eyes. Almost. “You built us a house. Our house. For you and me and Mattie.”

    “Hey, you helped a lot!” Grant said with a smile.

    “Yeah, and so did Gable and Flynn and Hugh and Izzie and Tim and all the stable hands, but you built this place with your own bare hands. You told the architect what you wanted changed about the plans, and you knew what to do. It’s our house, and you built it for us.”

    Grant kissed Hunter’s temple. “I’m glad it’s made you happy.”

    “And I hope it means you won’t leave it.”

    “Of course not, Cowboy. We’ve had this conversation before, right? How could I leave you to raise Mattie alone?”

    They stayed like that for as long as they dared and eventually got up and showered before going outside to work. They’d missed lunch completely, and Izzie ribbed them over it, but Grant just had to look at Hunter to make him blush, and it made him not-so-secretly proud. He could get used to this: one big, annoying family neither of them wanted to live without.

Epilogue

    “ This has got to be the best view in the entire state,” Flynn said, sitting down on the bench next to Hunter. Grant was playing with Matthew in the grass and teaching him to roll over. The baby was giggling and laughing.

    “All the way to where the earth touches the sky,” Gable agreed. He sat down on the other side of Hunter and looked at the beautifully maintained headstone on Hunter’s father’s grave.

    “What brings you two here?” Hunter asked his visitors. Hunter looked at Flynn, but Flynn gestured over at his lover, so Hunter twisted his head around.

    “We drove into town this morning,” Gable started. “By the west road.”

    “Past Miranda’s house,” Flynn added, as if he was eager to tell the story as well.

    “The house was boarded up,” Gable continued.

    Hunter nodded. “Miranda moved in with her mother even before Mattie was born.”

    Hunter didn’t miss the looks Gable and Flynn exchanged.

    “We drove past Miranda’s mother’s house too,” Gable said with a sigh.

    “It’s empty and there’s a ‘For Sale’ sign outside,” Flynn said.

    Hunter swallowed and Grant stopped playing with Mattie. Matthew wasn’t happy about that, and he started to cry.

    “Calley says they’re gone,” Gable said softly.

    Hunter got up and took his son from Grant, cradling the baby until he settled down. “Did Calley know anything more?” Hunter asked Gable after a tense silence.

    Gable looked at Flynn again before speaking. “Calley heard that Miranda got a teaching job in Montana.”

    Hunter walked his son out to the edge of the large oak tree and into the sun. “Look, Mattie. All this is going to be yours one day. Right up to where the earth touches the sky.”

Don’t miss Gable’s story in

    http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

About the Author

    Zahra Owens was born in Europe just before Woodstock and the moon landing and was given a much less pronounceable name by her non-English-speaking parents. Being an Aquarian meant she would never quite conform, and people learned to expect the unexpected.

    She started writing fairy tales in first grade; the same year she came into contact with her first group of English-speaking friends, a group which would eventually grow to include people from all over the world. On the outside she was a typical only child, accustomed to being with adults most of the time. On the inside, she sought ways to channel her wild imagination.

    During the daytime she earns a living as a computer specialist, but it’s her former career as an intensive care nurse that tends to seep into her fiction. Maybe this has to do with her weak spot for flawed characters and imperfect bodies, or maybe it’s just her sadistic streak coming through. You be the judge.

    Visit her web site at http://www.zahraowens.com/ and blog at http://zahra-owens.livejournal.com/.

Also by Zahra