Love Means Courage - Andrew Grey

big-mouth bass, he smiled and placed his order. She smiled back at him and walked away, being sure he was watching.

    Fred clapped Randy on the back. “Way to go.” Shell brought their beers a few minutes later. “Here you go.” She smiled at Randy and turned to leave but then came back. “You still work out at the Laughton farm, don’t you?”

    “Yeah,” Fred said as he motioned across the table, “and Len just started this week.”

    Shell looked around and then leaned in dramatically. “You know this place is gossip central, and I don’t place much faith in it, but I’ve been hearing that he may be having some money troubles.

    Don’t know if it’s true, but I overheard some guys talking yesterday.” She straightened up. “I’ll be right back with your food.” All three of them stared at her as she retreated, wondering if it could be true. “Should we start looking for new jobs?” 59

    Love Means Courage

    “Whoa, Randy. That’s just idle gossip. If Cliff was having problems, he would have told us. Wouldn’t he?” Fred’s gaze shifted from Randy to Len, who just shrugged.
    Len spoke up. “Don’t worry about it now. It’s probably just gossip. Besides, Randy got himself a date, or at least her phone number.” The lightness returned to the conversation as they raised their glasses and toasted Randy. Their food arrived, and they started eating. Well, Len and Fred started eating. Randy talked to Shell, and they made a date for next Saturday night.
    It was still raining when they paid the bill and left the restaurant. A quick dash to the truck, and they all climbed inside.

    Fred turned on the radio, and they heard the end of Steve Perry’s Oh Sherrie and then the news. The reporter droned on, and Fred sped up when they reported a barn fire but relaxed when it wasn’t Cliff’s.

    They arrived at the farm, and Len made a run into the barn while Randy raced to his truck, and then both vehicles crunched down the drive.
    The barn was quiet, and Len peered into each stall occupied, making sure the occupants were settled and happy. He was about to leave when he heard the door open and close. Turning, he saw Cliff and Geoff under a huge umbrella. Geoff squirmed to get down and ran to the nearest stall. “Hos.” His little blue-jeaned legs were going ninety to nothing.
    “He has a one-track mind.” Cliff let him go.

    “That he does.” Len walked to the toddler, who at that moment was jumping up and down, trying to reach the horse. “You want to give him a treat?” The small body stilled, and he turned and smiled.
    “Yes!”
“Yes, what?” The scolding was mild.
60
Andrew Grey
    “Yes, pwease!” Len picked him up and handed Geoff a carrot from the bag he’d brought that morning, and the boy immediately put it in his own mouth.

    “That’s for the horse.” Geoff took it out of his mouth and held out his hand, giggling as the horse took the carrot, its lips sliding over his tiny palm.
    “More, Wen.” Geoff insisted on giving each horse a carrot, tasting them all first. Len held him as he fed each horse. Len peeked over at Cliff, making sure he was okay with this, and the look on his face nearly stopped Len in his tracks. His face was relaxed, soft, with a gentle smile and sparkling eyes—the Cliff he remembered.
    Len felt the flippity-flop in his stomach start up again. As soon as Len put the toddler down, Geoff raced back to his dad, laughing and clinging to his legs.

    “I should be getting home.” He packed up the carrots and put them in the tack room. When he got back, Cliff had the umbrella up and Geoff in his arms. “I’ll see you in the morning,” Len called as he raced to his car.

    61

    Love Means Courage

    “THE commerce department reported yesterday that failures of family-owned farms reached their highest level since the Great Depression.” Len turned off the radio as he drove. That type of news he didn’t need.
    It was still dark when he arrived back at the farm the following morning. Everything was still wet from the rain, but the clouds were gone, and the spring sun would dry everything pretty fast. He let the horses out into the pastures and spot-cleaned the stalls. He was just finishing up when he heard the phone ring. Figuring it rang both in the barn and at the house, he answered it. “Laughton Farms. Can I help you?”
    “Oh, thank goodness.” The woman on the line sounded frazzled. “I was wondering if you board horses.”
“Yes, we do, and we