by T. A. Chase
The rest of the people considered him a friend and didn’t cross the street when they saw him walking toward them. It was those he chose to think of as friends, doing his best to ignore the few who hated him. It sucked that his brother-in-law was one of the haters.
“We do what we must for those we love.” Dilys grinned at him as he rolled his eyes. “I know it’s bullshit, but it sounds good. Actually, most people don’t like you here because you’re kind of an ass, not ’cause you take it in the ass.”
Cai covered his ears. “La-la-la. I don’t want to hear my sister talk like that.”
“Idiot. You do know I have sex.” She waved her hand at her stomach. “Do you think it’s immaculate conception?”
“I prefer to believe that’s how it happens,” he said, then grinned. “Okay. Let’s move on to some other topic. Do you know where Ma gets those extra groceries she gives out when money’s tight for folks?”
Dilys fiddled with her glass. “I might know something about it.”
Studying her, he asked, “Ma—or Owain—tell you?”
She snorted. “Of course not. They’re not sharing their secrets. Mostly because I’m pretty sure the town might get up in arms if they knew.”
“Knew what?” He had a sneaking suspicion about what she was going to say.
“Where the food comes from. Why sometimes certain bills are paid without anyone knowing about it. How Bronwen manages to afford living in the city on what we send her.” Dilys held up her hand. “I’m not saying anything else, Cai. You’ll have to figure it out on your own. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. Also, I don’t want the charity to stop. We all need help from time to time, and as long as it’s not illegal, I don’t really care where it comes from.”
She heaved herself up, then leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Remember the party’s at one. Of course, I’ll see you at church as well.”
It was his time to snort, but he nodded. He went to church because his ma wanted him to and because it was a place to see friends. Not because he believed in religion. Oh, Cai believed in God. There were too many miracles in nature for him not to believe. He just didn’t accept that he could be found in a building.
“Just be careful driving around. That baby looks like he’s going to pop out any minute now.” He followed Dilys to the door and waved as she climbed into the truck. “Maybe get that deadbeat of a husband to do something besides sit on the couch and drink,” he muttered before going back inside.
Dean and Sam rushed in, heading to their food bowls in the kitchen. Cai gave each of them a scoop and put fresh water in their dish. Once they were taken care of, he headed to the bathroom for a shower. He needed to get cleaned up and dressed before he went to the mine.
CAI LEFT his lunch pail in his truck but grabbed his hard hat. As he made his way toward the main building, he saw Owain strolling up from the mine.
“Hey there,” he called, and his brother waved. “Ma had Dilys drop off some groceries, so we don’t have to worry about getting anything.”
“Cool.” Owain slapped him on the back. “I didn’t wake you up when I got home this morning, did I?”
Shaking his head, Cai chuckled. “You need to be careful drinking, man. Good thing you were at Callahan’s and he let you stay there.”
Owain frowned. “Why wouldn’t he let me stay? He’s my friend.”
Cai bit his tongue, not wanting to say anything. “She’s as big as a house. She also reminded me about Davy’s party on Sunday. You’ll make it, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll be back by then.” His brother looked at him with a rather enigmatic grin. “You have a meeting with Mr. Callahan today, don’t you?”
“Why do you call him Jim when we’re not at the mine, but Mr. Callahan when we’re here?” Cai propped one of his hands on his hip.
“Because here he’s my boss and I respect him for that.” Owain nodded at the building. “He’s already here. Hell, he got here shortly after I did. Must have stayed up when I got up. Been talking to the engineers.”
“Probably about the new ventilation shafts he wants put in,” Cai muttered as he began to walk.
Owain grunted. “Good. A couple of the tunnels are getting stuffy.”
He swung around to glance at Owain. “Did you tell your shift boss? We’ll need to know which ones.”
“Yes, I told Masterson and Pa both. I’ll tell you as well. Just in case neither one of them mentions it.”
Cai paid close attention to the tunnels his brother named. Oxygen was very important in the shafts. While putting in more vents was extra work like his pa had pointed out, Cai couldn’t get too upset with that. He remembered listening to his grandfather talk about a time when the miners had to demand better conditions to work in. So many men had been lost because of unsafe equipment and the mine owners taking shortcuts to make more money by spending less.
“Cai, get your ass in here,” Pa shouted from headquarters.
Owain chuckled. “You better go before he comes and drags you in by your ear. He hates talking to Mr. Callahan even more than you do.”
Rolling his eyes, Cai slapped Owain’s shoulder. “Be safe. I’ll see you later.”
“Have fun.” Owain spun around to head to his truck while Cai took a deep breath and walked into the building.
The mine’s main office was a simple one-level building with four offices. Sally, the receptionist and sort of personal assistant to the mine supervisor, greeted Cai as he stepped into the front room.
“Hey there, Cai. Your pa and the others are in Timmons’s office. There’s coffee and donuts in there if you want some.” She smiled, holding out her hand. “I’ll take your hard hat.”
He handed it over without arguing, though he sighed and she laughed.
“You men look like you’re facing the devil instead of young Mr. Callahan. He’s not nearly as bad as his father, though he is much cuter.” Sally winked at him.
Cai didn’t know how to reply to that, so he chose not to say anything. Just nodded then wandered down to Timmons’s office, where he could hear voices. It sounded like Pa was arguing about putting in more ventilation shafts. Cai simply wanted to go in and tell him to shut up. Callahan wasn’t going to change his mind and throwing up roadblocks would only make him angry.
“Oh there you are, Cai,” James spoke over Pa’s rambling when Cai walked into the room. “I’m sorry I made you come in earlier than your shift, but I wanted to talk to all the shift bosses along with the foreman and the supervisor. Figured it would be the easiest way to get it all done in one day instead of making you all sit through several meetings.”
James held out his hand and Cai shook it, ignoring how his groin tightened at James’s firm grip. One thing he always noticed about James’s hands was that they weren’t smooth. They had calluses and scars, which Cai assumed came from all the exploring and hiking the man did. In fact, their hands were similar, though Cai’s were from working the mines and scraping a living out of the land.
“Mr. Callahan,” Cai said. “I heard you talking about adding more shafts. Do you have a plan where they should go?”
“Yes. I already gave Benjamin the schematics and the material has been ordered. Mr. Rees has been informed of when I’d like them completed by.” James tilted his head toward the blueprints rolled out on the large table in the office. “Would you like to look at them?”
“I would.” He strolled over to the plans before glancing at his pa and Timmons. “I’m sure they mentioned that first shift has reported a couple of the shafts are getting stuffy.”
The looks on both men’s faces told him they hadn’t informed James about it. As much as he wanted to roll his eyes at his pa’s stubbornness, Cai kept his face blank.
James frowned. “We hadn’t gotten that far yet. Do you know which shafts?”
Cai pointed them out and James flipped through a thick three-ring binder. Any reports on the different shafts and tunnels were filed in the binder along with being put on
the computer. The company liked having redundant reports in case something happened to a copy.
“There doesn’t seem to have been any reports filed on those shafts yet,” James murmured, and then he set the binder down to grab a pad of paper. “There shouldn’t be any problem switching up the ventilation additions to those shafts instead of the ones the engineers had chosen. I’ll call them up and have them work on plans to put these in. I appreciate you bringing this to my attention, Cai.”
“You’re welcome, sir.” Cai stiffened as the shift change signal blared. “Is there anything else you needed from me?”
James’s blue eyes met his and Cai suddenly thought of several different things James could need from him. Fuck! Not the right thoughts to have in front of my pa and my boss. He blinked, trying not to react. Cai swore James winked at him before he turned to look at Timmons and Pa.
“Thank you, Cai, and you can go. Could you make sure to write up reports on those shafts for the binder at some point?” James gestured toward the table.
Cai nodded. “I’ll do it tonight when I take my lunch.”
Shaking his head, James told him, “You don’t have to do it on your lunch. Come in early before your shift, write it up, and make sure you have Sally add the time to your pay sheet.”
“Okay, sir.” Cai gave his pa a little nod before leaving the office. It was time to get to work and ignore all the odd feelings he was having about James.
Chapter Five
“ARE WE on for some exploring?” Owain burst into James’s house and flopped onto the couch. “I’ve only got two days before I have to be back here for church and Davy’s party.”
“Just let me finish getting my pack ready and we can head out.” James glanced around the door of his bedroom to grin at his friend. “You want to fill the cooler? There’s beer and food, unless you want to take some fishing gear to catch our dinner.”
He heard the door of the refrigerator open and close. After stuffing the last pair of socks into his backpack, James double-checked to make sure he had everything, then zipped it up. He slung it over his shoulder before wandering out to the living room where Owain waited with a cooler.
“We can take the fishing gear as well,” Owain commented. “I know a great little pond where I’ve caught some nice fish. We can camp there and use it as our base.”
“Sounds good.” James stepped out onto the porch, then smiled as Pharaoh came racing around the side of the house. “Let’s go, boy. We’ll have some fun.”
Owain tossed all their stuff into the back of his truck and climbed behind the wheel. “The trailhead is about ten miles out of town. We can leave my truck there and hike to the first cave.”
James motioned for Pharaoh to jump in the backseat before he got inside. “Great. I’ve been looking forward to this. Christ, I hate staying in the city.”
“I’d love to live in a city. So many people and so many different things to do.” Owain turned on the vehicle as he talked.
“You know you have a place at my apartment in New York anytime you want to go there.” He gripped Owain’s arm. “My place is yours.”
His best friend snorted. “Your pa would have a fit if he knew I was crashing with you. Why do you still have a place in New York? I thought you moved back to Charleston.”
Shrugging, James glanced out the window. “I did. Sort of.”
“‘Sort of’? Does your pa know you’re not planning on staying?” After pulling out onto the road, he headed north. “You are the golden boy, after all.”
“It’s not so much I don’t plan on staying. I keep my apartment because there are times when I like going into the city. I see plays and concerts. Hang out with friends. It’s not where I want to spend a majority of my time. Hell, I don’t even want to spend a lot of time in Charleston and it’s not nearly as big.” James wrinkled his nose. “Listen, I’m not really complaining. At least not too much. I know how lucky I am, but there are times when I wish I hadn’t been.”
Owain shot him a look. “You do realize how that sounds?”
James snickered. “Yes, I do. Hey, I’m human and I have the right to hate my life as much as the next person. Or wish it were different. Then I kick myself in the ass and acknowledge how good I really have it.”
“I hate when you’re reasonable like that. I kind of like it when you start whining. Makes me think you’re human and not some kind of saint.”
“Trust me. I’m no saint.” He bit his tongue and tried not to think about what he’d done in the shower that morning while imagining Owain’s older brother in there with him.
“Of course you aren’t. No one is.” Owain paused for a moment, then said, “Except for Bronwen. That girl is a saint for going to school then being willing to come back here to work.”
James tilted his head as he thought. “I don’t think that makes her a saint. She loves this town and the people in it. Hell, your ancestors came over from the Old Country together. The dirt of these hills runs in her blood.”
Owain nodded. “You’re right. I’m the only one who doesn’t see myself living here until I die. I can’t see the other three ever leaving here permanently.”
“You could be right about that, though Bronwen might end up loving the city so much that she spends most of her time there instead of here.” James rubbed his hand over his mouth to hide his smile. He knew how much Bronwen was looking forward to coming back home for good, and there was no doubt she’d be staying in Willow Hollow until she died. Once she finished medical school, of course.
Owain shook his head. “I don’t see her doing that. God, she cried when Ma and Pa took her to the boarding school. I thought she was going to be sick until Cai talked to her. I have no idea what he said, but she stopped crying, sucked it up, and graduated with honors.”
The power of the older brother. James wished he’d had one when he was a teenager, especially once he’d decided to tell his parents about his sexual orientation. It would have been nice for someone to have his back. Of course, he was assuming any sibling of his would support him. He glanced over at Owain.
“Why didn’t you have a problem when Cai told you he was gay?”
Jerking his head around for a quick look, Owain asked, “What makes you think he told me he was gay?”
He blinked. “I just assumed he said something about it.”
“You have met my brother, right? Do you really think he’d tell any of us who he likes having sex with?” Owain grimaced. “God, I think he’d rather have his fingernails pulled out with pliers than talk to anyone about that.”
“Then how do you know he likes guys?” James reached back to scratch Pharaoh’s ears.
Owain snorted. “I’m not blind. I see how he looks at you, and no straight man looks at another man like that. He might not have said anything to confirm which side he plays for, but he’s never denied it either. Plus being friends with you has given me gaydar.”
Rolling his eyes, James punched his friend in the arm. “Gaydar? Asshole. Is that your superpower now?”
“Of course. Haven’t I helped you pick up guys in the clubs when I’ve visited you?” He sounded so smug.
“Idiot. First of all, I don’t need your help. Second of all, we went to gay clubs. It’s not hard to pick up a man at a place like that. Besides, you like going for the free drinks, though I know you have gone off with a guy or two yourself.” He didn’t usually remark on who Owain spent time with—because he didn’t care, for one thing, and because it was none of his business. Just like it was no one else’s business who he had in his bed.
Chuckling, Owain nodded. “You’re right. I have and it was fun.”
“You should thank me for being your wingman at the straight clubs so you could pick up girls. Trust me, having me there did get you laid a time or two. Girls love gay guys.”
It was true. He’d discovered that while in college and had tons of girl friends who worked very hard to fix him up with any cute gay boy they knew. James wasn’t ashamed to a
dmit he took advantage of their eagerness. He’d gotten a lot of ass in his twenties, at college and while living in New York City. Once he’d turned thirty, he’d slowed down a little, deciding to work on quality relationships instead of quantity.
That wasn’t working out so well at the moment, but James was willing to kiss a few more frogs to find the right guy. While he would’ve liked to have a husband by now, he truly wasn’t in any hurry and didn’t want to end up with the wrong one.
“Guys. Girls. It’s all the same to me. As long as everyone’s happy when it’s over, I’m good with either sex.” Owain wiggled his eyebrows as he looked at James. “The trailhead is right up on the left. Like I said, we’ll park my truck there, then hike in to the stream. Set up camp before going to the cave. It’s only a short hike from there. Pharaoh can guard our stuff while we’re gone.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
He wanted to keep talking about Cai, but he knew it would only encourage Owain’s illusions that Cai liked James. There wasn’t any way he wanted to hear more about that, especially when he didn’t believe it.
Owain parked the truck and they climbed out. While they were putting on their packs and grabbing their fishing gear, Pharaoh dashed from tree to tree, sniffing all the amazing scents out there. James grinned. He’d always felt a little guilty for keeping his dog in Charleston. In the city, there wasn’t as much room to run around as there was out in Willow Hollow.
“Let’s go.” He whistled to get Pharaoh’s attention, then followed Owain down the trail.
While visiting all the different mines with his father, James had discovered he liked wandering the forests, exploring the abandoned mines and the caves in the West Virginia hills. Then he’d started traveling the world and spending time in other caves, finding pieces of himself in those exotic places. Yet there’d always been a part of him that called this place home and it was here he was truly happy.
