Bane leaped up to join us, taking a few moments to knead on the cover before curling into a tight red ball of fur between Bishop and me.
I kissed his lips softly. He drifted off quickly, his steady sounds of sleep should have comforted me, but my mind was a whirlwind of thought, worry, and guilt. We’d let our guard down. That was on us, me and Landon, for pulling those extra hands from the dig site. I would never be able to forgive myself for the injuries Bishop and Veer had suffered tonight.
About an hour into my flagellation, my phone buzzed. The sound was loud and jarring in the quiet of a summer night. I slid from under Bishop, taking care that his head came to rest gently on his pillow, then snatched the vibrating phone off the nightstand and padded out to the living room in my briefs. The room was warm, and I threw the front door open then stepped outside to stare up at the sliver of moon.
“Hey,” I said into the cell.
“I was about to hangup and come check on you two,” Landon replied.
“Bishop was sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake him up so I snuck outside.”
“Ah okay. Sorry to disturb you. We were worried.” I found that quite touching considering Landon was my employer. He and Montrell were genuinely caring people. I’d had many a boss who were not over my years. “So, Mark just left. We told him everything that’s taken place since…well since forever ago it seems. He was not overly impressed with us not contacting him about the theft at the house although he did understand. He did express a desire to get the curio dusted for fingerprints but since all the glass is now in the trash and the cleaning crew has been here…” He sighed deeply. “Since it’s such a small office he has there in Copper Falls there’s no lab of any sort, so they’ve put in a call to Jackson Hole for their forensic people to come out. Montrell and I are waiting for them to show up now.”
“I hope they can find something to clear Will.”
“Me too. There’s been too many secrets on this ranch to suit me. Anyway, he’s now at the cabins talking to Veer. He wanted to come out and get a statement from Bishop, but I told him that could wait until tomorrow. I could tell that you were really distressed seeing him hurt.”
I nodded even though the man couldn’t see me. A coyote howled nearby and one of the horses in the barn whinnied at the sound.
“It was upsetting,” I said, my throat suddenly thick. I looked from the moon to the stars. The hundred billion trillion of them in the inky blackness. My vision blurred. A tear escaped. I dashed it away with haste. Landon had no clue why I’d been so rattled. Perhaps it was time to come clean with the man. “When you first came out here you asked me about my past. Why and how I’d come to be working at the Prairie Smoke. I lied to you.”
“About what?” He sounded tense. So I told him. Everything. Just as I had told Bishop.
When I was done the moon and stars were still in place, but I felt as if I’d stepped through some sort of portal onto a planet with zero gravity. The weight of keeping Kailey’s death and my guilt over not being there for her when she passed over had held me a prisoner for ages. Bound with lead shackles my soul had been unable to fly, to find any kind of peace. Now, I felt lighter. It was amazing what the mere act of speaking of something painful to people who cared could do for a man’s spirit.
“If you want me to leave the ranch, I’d understand. I lied to you,” I said at the end.
“Nate, dear God, as if I would hold that tiny little omission against you,” he coughed out. “Give me a moment.” I waited, the soles of my feet resting on the worn planks of my tiny porch, my eyes on the cosmos. He cleared his throat and blew his nose. “Okay, I’m better now. You’re not going anywhere. Do you really think I could survive one day without you running this ranch?”
“Well…”
“No, be honest.”
That made me smile a bit. “No.”
“Damn right. So you’re staying right here until you retire.” I chuckled. “Nate, I am incredibly sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. It was years ago but I still think of her daily.”
“As you should. Tiny angels should be carried in our hearts and memories forever.” He coughed again. I gave him time. “Okay, so, I want you to go to bed. Try to sleep. Mark will be out tomorrow, or today I suppose, to speak with Bishop. I need you to keep a tight rein on Kyle until this is settled. We have no proof of any kind that the sunny little clan we live next to have anything to do with any of our problems.”
“Agreed, and I’ll sit on him no worries.”
“Good man. Now go to bed. We’ll talk more later tomorrow. Today. Whatever the fuck.”
“Thank you, Landon. For being so understanding.”
“Thank you for being such a fine man and foreman. Go to bed. Rest easy. We’ll figure all of this out.”
“Night, boss.” I ended the call then took another few moments to find the Big Dipper before my sight touched on the Tetons. Their earth song played in my ears, and I was healed yet again. I slid in beside Bishop and Bane, sleep avoiding me, and spent the night listening to the concerto of nature wafting through my bedroom window as my lover slept at my side.