Earth and Sky

cross with me just because I mentioned Grant. I know you hate it when he leaves with very little notice and no real reason, but I can’t help that. We both know if it weren’t for his absences, you would have made him foreman almost as soon as Hugh left.”

    Hunter shook his head. “It’s not easy appointing a virtual stranger and passing over Tim and some of the others.”

    “They all know Grant can do it. He’s an all-around guy. Good with the horses, two right hands when it comes to woodwork, and a gentle way with the other wranglers and the stable crew. I’m sure if you give him the job, he’ll be firm with them as well. Nobody messes with the big guy. And I’m sure if you talk to Tim, he’ll tell you he feels fine handling the job he has and doesn’t really want the added responsibility.” She winked when she told him that, silently asking him to keep it a secret.

    Hunter was glad of Izzie’s approval, but he knew it was more than that. There was the fact that Grant had a personal relationship with him, his boss. “But what about….”

    “What’s going on between him and you?”

    Hunter nodded almost imperceptibly.

    “Unless you’re going to scream it off the rooftops anytime soon, I don’t think it matters.”

    Hunter liked his baby sister’s levelheadedness, but he knew not everyone would be so forgiving.

    She gave him her most compassionate smile. “Honey, as long as the two of you stay discreet, nobody will notice. It’s not written all over your face, you know.”

    Hunter bit his lip. “You were pretty quick catching on.”

    “None of these guys went to college and lived with two male roommates who couldn’t keep their hands off each other,” Izzie deadpanned.

    “You lived with…?”

    Izzie nodded, amusement in her face.

    “Those two guys who helped you move out when I drove up there to pick you up after graduation?”

    Izzie nodded again, smiling even more broadly.

    “I never….”

    “You didn’t live with them. In front of strangers they looked pretty ordinarily frat-boy straight, but when it was just me….” She smiled as if she remembered better times.

    “Mom never knew this, right?” Hunter just had to ask.

    “Are you kidding? She’d have had me out of there so fast my head would be spinning. There was a reason I liked the fact she wasn’t the travelling sort, and I was more than happy that it was you and Hugh who helped me move out of there in the end. Mom or Lisa would have shit bricks if they’d known I had male roommates, and gay male roommates at that.”

    Izzie lovingly caressed Hunter’s face. “You’re going to have to break it to them gently.”

    Hunter determinedly shook his head. “I’m never telling them.”

    She let her hand rest on the side of his neck. “You can’t keep this hidden, Hunter. It’s a part of you. Like those mysterious amber eyes of yours and that scar over your brow. It’s inherent.”

    “I’m not so sure of that,” Hunter answered, his voice filled with emotions he was trying to keep at bay.

    Izzie raised herself on the tips of her toes to tenderly kiss her brother. “I’m perfectly fine with having a gay brother, and I’m sure Lisa and Mom will warm up to it eventually. Bernie will be the easiest. I’m sure she’ll love knowing that Grant’s here to stay.”

    “I don’t know if that’s true,” Hunter replied.

    “Bernie’s naïve and sweet, you know that. She worships the ground you walk on and adores Grant, who flirts with her every chance he gets but has made it more than clear to her that’s all she’ll get.”

    “I don’t know if Grant’s here to stay,” Hunter elaborated.

    “Well, make it worth his while, then. Tell him you want him to stay. Start by giving him the foreman job, but tell him you want him to stay for more than the ranch.”

    Hunter pulled Izzie into a tight hug and didn’t let go until she pushed him away. “Let go of me, you big lug.” She took his face in her hands. “You know I love you, right? I’ll love you even more if you find happiness with Grant.”

    “I don’t even know Grant.”

    “And you’re worried about what Gable will think.” It wasn’t a question.

    Hunter nodded. “Grant left Gable after his accident. Disappeared without a trace.”

    “Have you asked him about what happened?”

    “No,” Hunter admitted. “But whenever the subject comes up, you know, indirectly, Grant shuts down. He doesn’t want to explain it to