Ty hugged his mom and shook his dad’s hand before introducing Landon. Mrs. Coil settled everyone in the living room, Mr. Coil and Landon in worn, comfortable chairs and her and Ty on the couch. They discussed the drive down and the weather before the real awkwardness set in.
Ty cleared his throat. “Where’s Kurt?”
Mrs. Coil spoke. “He’s running a little late. First-calf heifer.”
“Ahh,” Ty said.
Landon had Googled ranching in preparation for meeting Ty’s family, so he knew the basics of beef-cattle operations. He wondered if the Coils used a controlled or year-round breeding program, but he wasn’t about to risk putting his foot in it by asking.
“Denise and Jessica will be here soon,” she said cheerfully. “They made a quick run to the grocery for me.”
“You should have called my cell, Mom. We could have stopped on the way in and saved them a trip.”
“Oh, they didn’t mind. Jessie’s got a little crush on the grocer’s boy. Well, I suppose it’s more than a crush. They’re going to prom together.” Her warm smile graced Landon. “It’s so nice to meet one of Ty’s friends. Since he moved to Austin, we just don’t get that opportunity.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too.”
“Ty tells us you’re going to find a cure for cancer.”
Landon nodded and then, comprehending exactly what she’d said, shook his head. “Um. Maybe.” He struggled to explain without going into the complexities that made most people’s eyes glaze over. “I’m trying, but I may not be the one to find it. And there will be a lot of different cures. Maybe I’ll find a piece of one of them.”
“My dad died of cancer,” she said, smiling sadly.
“I’m sorry,” Landon said sympathetically. When people found out what Landon did, they naturally told him about the people they’d loved who’d fought or were in the process of fighting cancer. Some successfully. Some not. At first it had bothered him. He’d felt guilty that he hadn’t yet found the cure that could have saved the ones who’d died. It had taken a few years to move beyond that guilt. But it still added a sense of urgency to his work. He’d also realized that people sought a little hope because they knew they’d face it again someday, that their loved ones weren’t immune, didn’t have any special powers of resistance. “I know it’s too late for your father, but we’re learning more every day.”
He glanced at Mr. Coil, wondering who in his family had been touched by the disease. But Ty’s dad sat quietly, his face a stern mask. Almost disapproving. Did he look at everyone like that? Tempted to tug at his hair, Landon instead flattened his palms on his thighs and sat a little straighter. He focused on his breathing to calm his racing heart. In for two counts. Out for four. In. Out.
Ty spoke up. “What do you think of the Longhorns’ chances for a national championship this year?”
Mr. Coil frowned sternly at his son. “Not good.”
That was it. If possible, the man was terser than Landon. He swallowed a nervous laugh at the thought. He didn’t want Mr. Coil to think he was laughing at him.
The soft hum of an engine mixed with the steady thrum of rain turned everyone’s attention to the front door.
Mrs. Coil jumped up. “That’s Denise and Jessica.”
They came in with plastic bags and feminine laughter and youthful energy. Jessica and her mother were tall, but Jessie’s hair was a lighter shade of blond.
After more introductions, the women retreated to the kitchen in the back of the house, leaving three men, two who would rather poke out their eyes than carry on a conversation. So Ty talked, and Landon smiled stiffly and nodded, and Mr. Coil remained silent.
After about twenty minutes of Ty’s running commentary on a football season that was still more than four months away, Kurt arrived, and Mrs. Coil called them to dinner.
Between the three women and Ty and Kurt, the conversation was livelier, and Landon was content to listen and answer the occasional question directed his way. It gave him a chance to study Ty’s family. Kurt was the spitting image of Ty and apparently just as much the extrovert. Sometimes, they talked over each other in an effort to gain control of the storytelling.
After they finished trying to one-up each other with calving stories, Denise spoke to Landon. “Jessie’s going to Texas Tech next fall. She’ll be pre-med.”
“That’s great.” He focused on Jessie. “What are your plans for your undergrad degree?”
“Biology,” Jessie said.
Landon nodded, pleased to have something in common with at least one of Ty’s family members. “That’ll give you a great foundation.”
“She got a full-ride scholarship,” Ty said, his expression as proud as if she were his daughter.
Kurt’s previous good mood disappeared. “Yeah, but that leaves four years of med school to pay for.”
“As smart as she is, she’ll be able to get scholarships for that, too,” Ty said, then winked at his niece. “And I can help out.”
Jessie smiled shyly. “Thank you, Uncle—”
“Didn’t know reporting paid so well,” Kurt said with a forced smile that looked more like a snarl.
“It doesn’t,” Ty explained. “ But I’m just one person. I don’t need much.”
“She can get a student loan if necessary. Besides, one of these days you’ll have your own family to take care of.”
A shadow passed over Ty’s face, and Landon wondered what he was thinking. He’d never expressed an interest in children, not that they’d ever discussed them. It was difficult to believe Kurt was only a few years older than Ty and already had a kid graduating from high school. The brothers were at completely different stages in their lives.
“Don’t be stubborn. There’s no sense going into debt.” He grinned teasingly at Jessie. “Not when her favorite uncle can help her.”
“I can take care of her myself. I don’t need your help.” Kurt leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “She might not even get in to medical school. I hear it’s tough.”
Landon jerked his attention to Jessie, who was staring at her plate. He couldn’t believe her dad had just said that. It was almost as if he didn’t want her to succeed. After the exuberance of the last hour, silence punctuated the group like an exclamation point.
Ty opened his mouth to speak several times before finally shaking his head and saying, “Do you know how rare a full ride to a major university is? Getting into med school will be a piece of cake.”
Kurt didn’t answer.
Mrs. Coil interceded. “Now, Kurt, honey. Ty’s your brother. There’s no shame in accepting help from him. I’m sure if your positions were reversed, you’d help him out.” She stood. “I fixed two kinds of pie. Chocolate and pecan. Which do you want?”
The abrupt change of subject startled Landon. It was as if she were saying, “Case closed.”
When the three women disappeared into the kitchen with the dinner plates, it occurred to Landon that he was experiencing a different culture. He was accustomed to men helping out with meals—prep and cleanup. It was all part of the way they interacted. Everyone in and around the kitchen, talking, cooking, doing the dishes. Sitting at the table while the women took care of everything felt weird.
Mr. Coil cleared his throat, interrupting Landon’s thoughts. Judging from his narrowed gaze, Landon didn’t think he was gonna like what he had to say.
“Don’t they have any barbers in Houston?” he asked.
Landon’s skin heated. His brain shut down at the implied criticism.
“
Dad
,” Ty practically shouted.
“Jason Coil, I can’t believe you said that.” Mrs. Coil stood in the doorway with two pieces of pie, her lips pressed tightly together. She shot her husband a disapproving glare that made Landon think of his oldest sister. Nikki didn’t let her husband get away with any crap. Mr. Coil seemed to shrink under his wife’s disapproval. She set one of the slices of pie in front of Landon and patted him on the shoulder. “Your hair is beautiful. Don’t you even think of cutting it.”
Ty looked like he was debating whether to strangle his dad or crawl under the nearest rock. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice a whisper. Beneath the tablecloth, he fleetingly touched Landon’s hand. Landon appreciated the risky gesture, but his unfailing optimism began to flail. If Mr. Coil needed to criticize something as innocuous and unimportant as the length of his hair, there was no way he’d accept Landon as Ty’s lover. No way in hell.
* * *
The next morning, Landon was ready for a fresh start. They met Kurt and his family outside the wheat-colored brick church in town. Landon hadn’t been to church in years, but Ty assured him that his jeans, boots and black button-down would fit right in. He’d been right. Most of the men wore dark jeans and long-sleeved Western shirts and of course their cowboy boots and oversized belt buckles. The women looked like springtime in their flowery dresses and strappy heels. The children running around the gravel parking lot were miniature versions of their parents.
The sky was blue and the sun bright. Not a puddle in sight. Hard to believe after yesterday’s heavy rain. Even the thought of sitting through a sermon with Ty’s family didn’t dampen his mood. After all, it was Easter Sunday. Landon didn’t buy into the whole God thing, but he’d been raised a Christian. Easter was a day for new beginnings. It was just what he and Ty needed. A new beginning with Ty’s family.
But his renewed optimism disintegrated while he listened to a preacher use Christ’s death and resurrection to condemn everything that was wrong with today’s society, from scientists espousing evolution to the lack of prayer in school. And of course, what fire-and-brimstone sermon would be complete without an attack on gays. It ended with a promise that those who didn’t repent would spend an eternity burning in the Devil’s presence. The sermon, although it was really more of a rant than a sermon, made Mr. Coil’s comment about his hair a nonissue. By the time Landon walked out of church, he was alternating between disbelief and anger. He loved Ty. No question about it. But he’d reached the point where he didn’t much care what Ty’s parents thought of him. If they believed that crap, he didn’t want anything to do with them. And he was having trouble understanding why Ty cared what they thought.
So much for new beginnings.
Jessie rode back to the house with them. The atmosphere in the truck was tense. At least, it seemed that way to Landon. Maybe he was just hypersensitive. He tried to let the beautiful day, the warm sun, sink into his cells and displace the negativism of the morning. It wasn’t working.
From the backseat, Jessie blurted, “I don’t believe that.”
Ty glanced at the rearview mirror. “What’s that?”
Jessie didn’t speak right away and when she did, her words came slowly. “Well, any of it. First off, I have a problem with people claiming that the Bible is the word of God. How do they know that? There are so many contradictions. Would an all-knowing, all powerful entity be so fickle-minded?”
Landon’s shoulders lowered a bit as a little of the tension eased from them. How many other people in the congregation were like Ty’s niece?
“And what the preacher said about gays going to hell. I don’t believe that. Do you?” She didn’t wait for an answer but continued as if she were thinking out loud. “It doesn’t make sense to me. If a man murders someone and then accepts Jesus Christ as his savior, he gets to go to heaven. But if a man loves another man and lives a good life helping others, he burns in hell. For that matter, a man can be straight and live a good life, but if he doesn’t accept Jesus Christ, he goes to hell. Reverend Whitehall makes it sound as if God is awfully full of himself.”
Landon chuckled at that, and he noticed Ty was smiling, too.
“Depends on your definition of hell,” Ty answered, his expression turning serious. “Now if you’re talking about the fire-and-brimstone kind, then no, I don’t believe that. But if you’re talking about hell on Earth, well, I’ve seen plenty of examples of it, including what I witnessed during that sermon.”
He had to admire the way Ty cut to the chase. Landon could have thought about Jessie’s question all day and not come up with such an articulate explanation.
“Do you believe a wife should submit to her husband in all things?” Jessie asked.
An image of Nikki giving Jake an earful popped into Landon’s head and a snort of laughter escaped him. Ty shot him a grin, and Landon knew they were both thinking of his sister.
“No, and I don’t want you getting involved with a man who thinks like that,” Ty answered. “That boy you like, the grocer’s son, is he like that?”
She didn’t answer.
“You’re smart enough to get a full-ride college scholarship,” Ty said. “Don’t you think your opinion counts as much as a man’s?”
“Yes, but sometimes...”
“Why would God give you a brain if He didn’t expect you to use it?”
“Yeah, I wondered about that. It’s just that...” She sounded unsure. “I think differently from people. Sometimes I worry that I’m wrong. That something’s screwed up in me.”
Landon knew how difficult it was. Being different. Questioning accepted beliefs. Coming to different conclusions. It was confusing and lonely. He’d found one like-minded soul in high school. A few more in college. He’d be willing to bet Jessie hadn’t. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be bringing it up with them.
“There’s nothing wrong with you,” Ty said.
Landon’s compassion overrode his shyness. He cleared his throat. “Um, Jessie, I don’t know if you’ve made plans for the summer, but MD Anderson has an internship program for graduating high school students. If you’d like, I can see about getting you in.”
“Oh. My. God. Seriously?”
She sounded so excited he hoped he could get it cleared. “I can’t make any promises. The application deadline has passed, but we didn’t fill all our spots.”
“But maybe?”
“Yeah. I suspect your grades and test scores are good enough. You’d need some teacher recs.”
“Sweet.”
“All right, then. I’ll make some calls, see what I can do.”
“Thank you so much. I can’t believe this. I can’t wait to tell Mom.”
As Ty parked the truck in front of his parents’ house, Landon looked back at her and said, “Remember, I’m not making any promises. But even if the internship doesn’t work out, maybe you can come to Houston for a week or two and help me out in the lab.”