Page 76 of My Cowboy Freedom
Sure, I did. Christ, who wouldn’t? “Yourboyis a grown man.”
She pursed her lips. “I know that.”
“Look, your godson is—”
“Did Rock tell you how he came to live here?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I know about the lightning.”
“Before I came here to the Rocking C, I worked for Rock’s mother, Cheryl. Well, I worked as a maid in her mother’s house when I was fresh out of high school. It was my first job. Cheryl and I were similar in age and we became friends, in a way. Years later, I went back to work for Cheryl and her husband. Cheryl was unhappy when I left to come here, but it was better pay and benefits and she understood.”
If I knew nothing else, I knew relationships could be fucked up. I’d seen every variety: healthy and uplifting, yeah, but also unequal, desperate, dependent, and sometimes, downright harmful.
No maid is friends with her employer. Even if she thinks she is.
“At any rate, you heard what happened. Rock was a junior in high school when he had his accident.”
“Lightning splash.”
“Right. And after that, he—” She turned and leaned against a fence post. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“Sure.”
“I didn’t like Rocky so much, before.” She scattered a bit more feed. A fat, crested chicken sauntered up to her and pecked the corn at her feet. “He was a spoiled little asshat who never lifted a finger to help anyone but himself.”
“That don’t sound like Rock.”
“I know, right?” Her brows lifted comically. “He came out of his ordeal a lot nicer to be around. But he also stopped hiding who he is, and his parents can’t handle that at all.”
“You knew he was gay?”
“Of course I did. He didn’t hide things from me, didn’t think he had to. I was only the housekeeper.”
If there was bitterness to her words, she didn’t appear to taste it still.
“So they shipped him here to be with you? Out of sight, out of mind?” I hadn’t seen my mom since they arrested me, so I knew how he must feel. “At least they didn’t toss him out on the streets.”
“They wouldn’t do that. Didn’t Rock tell you anything about his family yet?”
“Only that it’s big.”
She nodded at a chicken that looked like it came from a kid’s cartoon. “The chickens are his friends. This one is Lola. She’s an Ameraucauna. Between you and me, he likes the fancy egg-layers. Mam’selle Lola’s eggs areblue.”
That made me smile as she put her arm through mine, surprising me again with her warmth. Her kindness. “Ask him about his family. If you want to understand what’s happening here, you have to ask Rocky about his dad.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
We walked along a ways before I made up my mind to answer the question she’d asked earlier.
“I like him.”
“I know.”
“It’s not about sex.” Her words didn’t imply anything weird, but I wanted to reassure her I wasn’t some horndog.
“’Course not.” She elbowed me and took off quicker than a woman her age should have been able to. “What with Rock being old and ugly and all. Nobody gonna hit that.”
“Shi—” I caught the word before I took off after her. “Shoot, Miss Elena. Something tells me you’ve got a wild streak.”
