The Fall

by Kate Sherwood

  “No idea. Joe might know. Does it work?”

  “Seems to.”

  They continued the walk-through with only a few more bits of random praise or apology for Joe’s behavior, then walked outside to find the cowboy himself leaning on the back of the pickup, silver ladders safely stowed away.

  “What’d you see?” Will asked.

  “Looks good. Steel’s in good shape. Maybe a couple hours to fix a few loose spots. A day for a cleaning and a coat of paint. But it’s solid.”

  Will seemed pleased, and that cemented Mackenzie’s decision to trust the man. He wasn’t trying to pretend the roof needed more work than it did. He was happy to discuss the issue in front of Mackenzie, not trying to control information or manipulate anything. “I’ll put some paperwork together,” Will said. “I’ll prioritize stuff, like you said—what needs to be done, what should be done, what you could do at some point if you felt like it. Okay?”

  “Sounds great,” Mackenzie agreed. “Thanks for coming by.” He held out his hand for another firm but not crushing shake. By the time he’d turned toward Joe, the man was already heading for the passenger door of the truck. Obviously he wasn’t interested in any departure rituals.

  Mackenzie watched the truck pull away and wasn’t surprised to see the door of the house across the street open almost immediately. Lorraine Liverson had introduced herself that morning, inquiring none too subtly into Mackenzie’s background, his plans for the church, his plans for himself, his marital status…. He had almost expected her to pry his mouth open for a look at his teeth. Now she was back, her manner exaggeratedly casual.

  “Oh, the Suttons came by? I hope they said good things about your project!”

  Mackenzie decided it was time for a little prying of his own. He’d heard the recommendations from his local lawyer and his real estate agent, but Lorraine probably had her own collection of data ready for review. “One of them did. Will. I haven’t gotten a quote from him yet, though.”

  “It’ll be fair, whatever it says,” Lorraine said confidently. She was one of those women who seemed to have gotten frozen in late middle-age. He couldn’t have said whether she was in her fifties or her seventies, but her eyes were still bright, and her voice was strong as she said, “The Suttons have been in Falls Creek since the settler days, and they’ve always been honest. A lot of the last generation moved away, but Will’s father stayed, and he started that company… must be coming up on forty years ago now.” She smiled, pleased to have found a justification for her gossip.

  “The father’s retired now? Is Will in charge, or the other one?”

  “Malcolm passed about five years ago, along with his wife, Susan. They were lovely people. It was so sad… an icy night, and their car just slid right in front of a gravel truck out on Bayersly Road. All those kids left behind.” She sighed, then brightened. “Lucky that Will and Joe were old enough to take care of the younger ones. It would have broken Susan’s heart if her brood had been split up.”

  “A brood? How many kids are in a brood, exactly?” Mackenzie had only wanted to know whether the contractors were honest, but now he was finding himself intrigued by the rest of their story.

  And Lorraine was happy to share. “Well, the twins, obviously. That’s two. Then a bit of a gap, and with the handful those two were when they were babies, I can’t blame Susan for waiting a bit. Then Sarah. She just got married this summer, to Dave Henderson. They’re a good family too. Dave works for the municipality, Sarah does the office stuff for her brothers.” She paused for Mackenzie’s encouraging nod and having received it, moved on. “Nick’s the next one, and he’s away at school. Studying business, last I heard, so I guess he’ll probably be staying away, although….” She paused as if there was actually a piece of information she wasn’t sure she should share. “That comes with its own set of issues. Then Ally. She’s a bit… well, I’d say it’s because she was raised by her brothers, but that’s only been for the past few years, and Ally’s been a tomboy since she was born. Hard to get her out of the barn, as I hear it.”

  Lorraine seemed done, but it was possible she was just pausing for a well-deserved breath. “So, five of them?” Mackenzie prompted. “That’s the brood?”

  “Well, that’s that generation. They’ve started on the next, as well.”

  That made sense. Mackenzie hadn’t noticed a ring on either brother, but they must be in their late twenties, so it would hardly be surprising if one of them had begun reproducing. “Will?” he guessed. He couldn’t imagine the taciturn Joe as a father.

  And there was the moment’s hesitation again before Lorraine threw caution to the wind and leaned in with a wicked smile. “Nick! When he was still in high school! And not with the sort of girl who you’d want raising a little one, if you know what I mean. It wasn’t that long after their parents died, so everyone was pretty understanding about his little mistake. And Austin’s a complete charmer, bright and happy all the time, and Lord knows the whole Sutton family just dotes on him. So it all worked out okay, really.”

  “Sounds like it,” Mackenzie agreed. “And they all work for the construction business? But Will’s in charge?”

  “The construction is Will’s,” Lorraine said, “but Joe helps out sometimes. The rest of the time Joe looks after the… well, folks around here call it the ranch, even if that’s a bit of a strange word for this part of the country. But it’s over a thousand acres, most of it only good for grazing and logging. You can’t really call that a farm, can you?”

  Mackenzie had absolutely no idea what he’d call it, and Lorraine didn’t seem too concerned about his opinion, anyway. “I don’t actually know why he was with Will today, to be honest. It sure wasn’t for the sales pitch.”

  Lorraine snorted. “He didn’t seem too friendly? I’m not surprised.” She shrugged philosophically. “It’s probably the gay thing.”

  It hit Mackenzie almost like a slap. He’d thought he was prepared for small-town attitudes toward his sexuality and had absolutely considered homophobia as a possible barrier to setting up his wedding chapel somewhere like Falls Creek. But he couldn’t believe it was being treated so casually. “You’re saying he was rude to me because I’m gay?”

  Lorraine looked startled. “No. I’m not sure I’d call it rude, but the way he acts? Distant, kind of? I always figured it was because he’s gay. You know, he’s always been a bit different, so he’s never really tried too hard to fit in. He just hangs out on his ranch, being a lonely cowboy….” She trailed off and fixed her gaze on Mackenzie. “But you say you’re gay as well? I mean, I can’t say it didn’t cross my mind. But it seemed rude to ask….”

  “Joe Sutton is gay.” Mackenzie had always prided himself on being able to read people and certainly on being able to pick up on that little spark from a man who was noticing Mackenzie’s undeniable charms. But he’d gotten none of that from the cowboy brother. “That’s confirmed? Or you’re just guessing?”

  “Well, I haven’t been there in the room with him and another fella,” Lorraine said with an arched brow, “but it’s general knowledge. He’s never tried to hide it, not that I ever heard of.”

  “Maybe he just couldn’t be bothered to speak in order to deny it. He doesn’t seem like someone who cares a whole lot what other people think about him.” Mackenzie was trying to figure it all out. He wanted to find a mirror and make sure he still looked like himself. First Nathan had dumped him for that twenty-year-old, and now a man living in what must surely be a gay desert had crawled right past Mackenzie’s bountiful oasis?

  “You could ask Nancy Yeats’s nephew, if you wanted. Trevor something or other. He lives over in Darton, and I guess the two of them were seeing each other for quite a while.” Lorraine’s grin was a mix of curiosity and mischief. “If you’re interested, I can find out if he’s seeing anyone right now. I haven’t heard of it, and usually that’d be a good sign that it isn’t happening, but like I said, Joe’s a bit different. A bit more private tha
n most folks.”

  Private was not a good enough excuse for failing to pay attention to his surroundings or, more importantly, failing to pay attention to Mackenzie. But none of that needed to be shared with a woman who clearly gossiped as a way of life. He smiled brightly. “Oh, no, I’m not interested. You know, not like that. I was just curious. I wanted to know what kind of people I’d be doing business with if I had the Suttons do the work on the church.”

  “The best kind,” Lorraine said firmly. “You couldn’t do better.”

  Lorraine started telling a story about the Suttons helping out some poor family that had lost everything in a house fire—well, of course the whole community had chipped in, but the Suttons had done the biggest part—and some people might say that’s because they’re blood, but really, they’d be third cousins at best—because it was Susan Sutton’s grandmother? Yes, grandmother, Maggie Johnson—she was from out in Newfoundland, back before it was even part of Canada, and she’d carried that accent with her for her whole life…. Mackenzie tuned out. Joe Sutton was openly gay. And Mackenzie was a model, for Christ’s sake. Maybe his career hadn’t quite taken off, but that was because Nathan hadn’t really liked it. He hadn’t been rude enough to try to forbid it, but he’d be grumpy for days before and after Mackenzie went out of town for even a couple days, and there just weren’t enough shoots in Toronto to propel someone into the modeling elite. The first time Mackenzie turned down a New York job, Nathan had leased him a silver Mini convertible as a reward. Mackenzie had been thrilled by the symbol of Nathan’s affection and by the adorable new wheels. But being a good boyfriend had made it a bit difficult to be a good model. So, no, it wasn’t as if Mackenzie had set the world on fire as a model. Still, he must be a tastier piece of ass than Nancy Whoever’s nephew!

  Mackenzie forced himself to pay a bit more attention to Lorraine’s chatter, but the biggest part of his brain was still focused elsewhere. He was not going to be ignored by some desperate hick pretending to be a damn cowboy. No. Joe Sutton was about to get his world rocked. “Nobody puts Baby in a corner,” he muttered to himself, and then he smiled when Lorraine shot him a quizzical glance. “I’ve got to go,” he said without trying to explain. “But thanks so much for catching me up on all this. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

  He beat a hasty retreat inside and went to sit in the sanctuary of the church. A lot to think about. And a lot of things to do, things actually based around the important points of building a successful business and keeping himself out of the poorhouse. But his mind kept drifting back to the tall cowboy who’d told him he had bats in his belfry. And then ignored him. What the hell was Joe Sutton’s problem?

  Chapter 2

  “WHAT THE hell’s your problem, Joe?” Will was driving, which meant he didn’t get to use his traditional ‘I’ll stare at you until you talk’ technique. So Joe didn’t really feel compelled to speak. He stared out the window at the passing fields. Davidson’s canola was at least a week ahead of VanDayn’s, even though they’d planted at the same time. Might be a different variety planted, might be different sun exposure. Might be the soil, Joe supposed, although he didn’t think he’d seen much difference. He should probably ask Terry Davidson about it. The ranch didn’t usually plant canola, but….

  Joe’s reflection was interrupted as the truck swerved onto the shoulder of the road, kicking up a plume of dust behind it. Damn. They’d just turned onto their own road and were only a couple miles from their driveway, and Joe had begun to think he was going to get away with his escape. But he didn’t get to ignore this conversation; Will wasn’t messing around.

  “I’m serious, Joe.” Will was staring at him now. Joe wasn’t looking in that direction, but he could feel his twin’s gaze drilling into him, right behind his left ear. Experience had taught him it was an irresistible force, and he knew he’d be defeated eventually, but he always resisted anyway. He squinted at the speck on the horizon. Hawk? No, there was another, and another. Turkey vultures. Over by the railroad tracks, it looked like.

  “Hey, asshole, I’m talking to you.” Will didn’t sound mad. Not even frustrated, really. Just gently amused. He knew Joe was resisting, but he also knew Joe would lose. And Joe knew it too, because the pull was getting stronger, the urge to turn his neck almost irresistible. He looked desperately over the landscape. A fallen tree, too rotten to be any use as firewood, but maybe something interesting living in it. What would Joe find if he dug his fingers into the mealy wood pulp in the middle of that stump?

  “Hey, Joe?” Will’s voice was light and inviting, and damn it, Joe instinctively turned his head before he remembered he wasn’t supposed to. He’d been caught in the trap of his own distraction. And once he was looking at his brother, the game was over. Will was gracious enough to keep his smile from being too triumphant. “Joe. Hey. I was just wondering what you thought about the new guy? And the church idea? I mean, gay weddings, way up here—you think that’ll work?”

  “No idea.” That was true enough. Joe hadn’t given the issue enough thought to have an opinion, and he wasn’t one for thinking out loud.

  But Will nodded like he’d said something profound. “Yeah. It’s a gamble, for sure. Beautiful building, though. You’ve always liked that church, haven’t you? I know you were sad when it was put up for sale. We thought someone would buy it and turn it into a house, lose all that charm. So this is good news, really. Someone keeping it for more or less its original purpose.”

  “Guess so.”

  Again, Will nodded as if Joe was actually contributing to the conversation. “And the guy seemed nice enough. A bit… what’s the word I’m looking for? He seemed a bit….”

  “Gay?”

  “Hey! No stereotypes here. I was thinking more like… flamboyant, maybe?”

  Will had dragged Joe to a couple of Toronto’s gay pride parades, back when Joe was still figuring things out. They both knew the church guy was pretty damn low on the flamboyant scale. But compared to other people in the area, Will probably had a point. “Didn’t notice,” Joe said. “The roof looked good. The basement okay?”

  “Needs some work if he wants it to be nice enough for a reception, but structurally, it’s fine.” Will grinned. “I’d say the guy’s structurally fine too. Right?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t check out his basement.” Probably a mistake, but as always, Joe had trouble resisting the opportunity for a play on words.

  Will seized on the weakness. “You didn’t check out any part of him, from what I could see. Good-looking guy like that, single guy like you… seems like you might have at least given him a once-over?”

  “Had my mind on the job. I’m a businessman, Will.”

  “Not usually.”

  “Turned over a new leaf.”

  “Yeah? When?”

  “Sometime this morning. Right after you said you needed my help on a new project. But….” Joe held out his hand in a vaguely leaflike fashion. “It’s not a healthy leaf. It doesn’t like growing on me.” He crinkled his fingers. “It’s drying up… it’s dying….” He wiggled his fingers as his hand fell to the seat of the truck, showing the rain of leaf fragments as it dissolved. “It’s dead. It was killed by realizing that you don’t need my help at all and were just trying to set me up with some guy you’d never met, based on the sole criteria that we both like dick.” Joe shrugged. It was hardly a new phenomenon. “Now I’m back to my old leaves, and they want to go home and get some work done. So if you could maybe drive the truck instead of just sitting in it, that’d be great.”

  But Will didn’t seem inclined to follow Joe’s suggestion. “You need to get out more. You’re like a hermit or something. You’re not as young as you used to be, you know.”

  “We’re the same age, jackass.”

  “You wouldn’t know it by the way you act.”

  “I’m not the one who has to pull the car over to have a conversation. I’m still young enough that I can drive and talk at the same
time.”

  “Yeah, you were talking up a storm.”

  “I had nothing to say.”

  Will sighed and finally turned to look out the windshield. “He seemed okay,” he offered.

  But Joe wasn’t playing that game. “He seemed like a complete pain in the ass. I bet those jeans cost two hundred dollars and came prefaded.”

  “But his ass looked good in them.”

  “Are you sure you’re straight? They say it’s pretty likely for twins to have the same sexual preference.”

  “Are you sure you’re gay? Or maybe you’re… what’s it called? Asexual.”

  “Yeah. I think maybe I am. So you should respect that and back the fuck off.”

  “When’s the last time you got laid, Joe? Just how long’s it been?”

  Jesus, this conversation was getting annoying. Joe smiled at his brother. “It’s been a while. But that’s just because the guy’s dick was so huge he kind of tore me open. Did some serious damage. And now my asshole’s all gaping and gross. I shit myself sometimes. I thought you would have noticed the smell. Actually, I think maybe I’ve got a bit of a load in my jeans right now.” He unbuckled his seat belt and shifted around. “Can you smell for me, tell me what’s in there?” He moved fast, grabbing Will’s head and pushing it down toward the seat. “Smell my ass for me, okay?”

  Will resisted, of course, but he was laughing harder than Joe was, and that made him weak. Having the steering wheel in his lap probably didn’t help, either. Joe managed to get his brother pretty much horizontal before he hoisted himself up and started aiming his ass in the general direction of Will’s face. It was gross and immature, and Joe would never have done anything like it with anyone else in the world, not even the other members of his own family, but this was Will. He and Joe had shared a womb, a cradle, and practically everything else. A little ass-smelling between twins was nothing to get upset about.