River of change, p.1
River of Change, page 1
part #7 of River's End Series
River of Change
by
Leanne Davis
River’s End, Book Seven
www.leannedavis.net
Table of Contents:
Copyright
Dedication
Other Titles by Leanne Davis
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Dear Reader
My Other Titles
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
River of Change
COPYRIGHT © 2018 by Leanne Davis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Contact Information: dvsleanne@aol.com
Publishing History First Edition, 2018 Digital
Digital ISBN: 978-1-941522-52-3
River’s End Series, Book Seven
Edited by Teri at The Editing Fairy (editingfairy@yahoo.com)
Copy Editing: Jeannie Brooker
Cover Design by Steven Novak (novakillustration@gmail.com)
Dedication:
To Sue Krause
For all our years of summer camping trips and the FUN we manage to have together. From Washington Park and our very own “enchanted forest,” to Fort Casey, and of course, the endless trips to the property.
Love you always, my dear friend!
Other Titles by Leanne Davis
Diversions
River’s End Series
River’s End
River’s Escape
River’s Return
River Road
River of Fire
River’s Lost
River of Change
River’s Destiny
The Sister Series
The Other Sister
The Years Between
The Good Sister
The Best Friend
The Wrong Sister
The Years After
The Broken Sister
The Perfect Sister
The Lost Sister
The Remaining Sister
The Step Sister
Daughters Series
Christina
Natalie
Melissa
Emily
The Zenith Trilogy
Zenith Falling
Zenith Rising
Zenith Fulfilled
The Seaclusion Series
Poison
Notorious
Secrets
Seclusion
Chapter One
CALEB HAYES STOOD AT the side of his little brother, watching his brother’s groom walk towards him. Caleb swatted his neck, tugging on the damn, constricting collar. My brother’s groom, he kept repeating. Even now, a year later since he learned his brother’s shocking secret of marrying a groom instead of a bride, he was still astonished.
Caleb was nowhere he ever dreamed he’d be standing in his lifetime.
Change. For Caleb it was a dirty word. He hated change more than he hated working, which rated a close second. But change was never, ever a positive thing in his experience. The first great change he remembered was when his mom left them. He was only a young teen when she decided their life didn’t appeal to her and she moved far away to live with her new boyfriend. He, his brother Jordan, and his little sister, Lynnie, lived with their dad, Chuck. But Mom was out of the picture. No more family. No more motherly love.
Change meant his mom left. That caused pain. Pain, he figured out pretty quickly, must be avoided at all costs. Ergo, pain, both physical and emotional, was the direct result of change.
For over thirty years, Caleb tried to live without changing anything. He resisted it until there was no other option. He lived at home without a job until his father threatened to kick him out; and he had no choice but to change and get a job. Change also came when a fire ripped through River’s End last summer, exploding the old mobile home they owned. Change meant he was basically homeless now, along with his father.
Last summer, however, was the mother of all change. It started with Jordan coming out, admitting he was gay before proposing to his… intended out of nowhere. It happened while they were celebrating their sister’s marriage to her longtime boyfriend, Ian Rydell. Now, Ian was Jordan’s best man. Not Caleb. Okay, maybe that was because Ian was easygoing and didn’t care a shit about the gay factor. Perhaps that affected Jordan’s decision. But still. Caleb was his brother’s right hand for all their lives and vice versa. Now he chooses Ian Rydell to be the best man?
Caleb wasn’t exactly thrilled to attend his sister’s wedding to Ian to begin with. Ian was so smart and industrious, while Caleb did all the grunt work for Ian’s family. He did anything and everything on their ranch that he was ordered to do. They were slave drivers too. No doubt about that. Naturally, he was ambivalent already about the marriage between Ian and Kailynn. Then his little brother, unexpectedly, and from out of nowhere, got up and made a big speech before he proposed… to another man.
He and his father were sitting together and were both appalled. Sucker-punched. Bamboozled. And betrayed. No way could Jordan be gay. No! Caleb saw Jordan having sex with women before and more than once. He knew he wasn’t mistaken on that. But no. Jordan was announcing his long-enduring love and proposing to… Pedro! The very thought of it still made Caleb fight the urge to stick a fork in his eye. He refused to think about all the implications it involved, much less the sex. He could not think of his brother and sex and Pedro. No.
Pedro was younger than both of them by several years, and a Mexican immigrant that started working at the Rydells years ago. He was quiet, and spoke only broken English. After several years of working beside him, that was all Caleb knew about him. He might have gone on and completely ignored Pedro. Sure. The guy didn’t speak English. What could they possibly commiserate over? Now, however, the quiet, solitary, non-English-speaking man was about to be his brother-in-law?
He shuddered.
See?
Change. Never, ever a good thing.
So, there he stood, not even the best man at a gay wedding.
A legal gay wedding.
He wasn’t sure about that change. First, the change in federal law shocked him. He hadn’t liked hearing about it, of course, ‘cause it was change. Man and woman, not man and man and all the Bible says. He was pretty clear on that, although he hadn’t been to church in… well, hell, maybe fifteen years. But still, he clearly remembered that caveat.
So now it was legal. He scoffed. Whatever. Had so little to do with him. Until his sister’s wedding and the grandiose announcement in front of most of the town of River’s End. It completely humiliated him and his dad. Jordan tried to talk to him. Full of apologies, he tried to explain why he didn’t tell them first, saying he didn’t know how to tell Caleb. He was afraid to lose Caleb. All the usual excuses. Change. That day, Jordan completely and irrevocably changed in Caleb’s eyes.
Still, Caleb was standing there, wasn’t he? A witness.
And he hated seeing how happy his brother appeared. That left a bad taste lingering in Caleb’s mouth. He really hated the whole thing. He glanced across at the couple now standing before an arbor overlooking the river on a specially selected area of the Rydell River Ranch. His brother and Pedro rented a small, one-bedroom house across the river in town. Together. They would now live together. That chafed at Caleb’s craw. He and Jordan were living with their dad until the fire burnt them out. Now, Dad lived with Ian and Kailynn in their big ass house near the river. He and Jordan lived there too, sharing a room, but Jordan was moving out. He was about to be without him. Sure, he figured one of them might someday marry a broad and raise a mittful of kids in River’s End. Maybe they’d share beers at neighborhood barbecues and watch their rugrats playing together. Sure, he understood they’d eventually have to change. But to change like that?
No. Never.
He glanced over at the attendants he saw on Pedro’s side. He ignored them, of course. Not like your typical, normal bridesmaids. No. They were Pedro’s… what? Best men too? Two other Mexicans Caleb didn’t recognize were there. And… what was that? On the very end, he spotted a woman.
Who knew? A pair of breasts were in attendance at a freaking gay wedding. His blood zinged. He drank several nips off his flask to muster the courage to go through with it. His fingers twitched, aching to draw it out of his inner pocket and take another nip.
A woman was part of the wedding party. He tipped forward just a few inches so he could see her over the bodies of his brother, Pedro, and the other men. His brother and Pedro were holding hands as they exchanged their rings and vows. He flipped his gaze up to the woman. He needed
The woman might have been around his age. Yes, she didn’t seem as young and coltish as a twenty-year-old. But heck, no wrinkles, and he could live with that. She had dark, glossy, black hair that cascaded over her shoulders and down to her waist. She also had the dark tones of her obviously Mexican heritage. But her skin wasn’t as dark as Pedro’s. Her face was pleasant; heavy eyebrows over thoughtful, black eyes. His gaze scanned downwards towards the more interesting goods. Nice… he thought and almost said out loud as his gaze gobbled her up. She had a nice rack too, set off in the ruffled, scoop-necked blouse she wore. It was tucked into a skirt that skimmed her knees and swooshed around. She wore wedge-type sandals that added several needed inches. She wasn’t tall. He almost rubbed his hands together in a salacious manner. He liked ‘em small. He was tall, and it made him feel so much bigger and manlier when they were petite like her. And she was enticing. Her waistline was narrow, and her hips were voluptuous, but not fat. He wasn’t a fan of fat girls. No, she was womanly and still on the thin side.
He blinked when she suddenly started clapping before the few in attendance joined her. His gaze reluctantly left the señorita and returned to his brother before he jerked his head away. No. He should have been blinded. They were kissing. Each. Other. Two men. Right there in public. Well, maybe not in public, as it was on private land and a private wedding, but still, they were not in a bedroom.
Change really, really sucked.
Finally, it all ended. They were smiling and holding hands, fairly skipping towards the back of the crowd. Okay, no skipping, but overly happy. Jordan was visibly thrilled, and Caleb could not figure out what to do about his brother being so elated in this way.
He followed behind, loath to appear too joyful a participant as if that would make him seem gay too.
He straightened up suddenly when he realized he was right next to the busty little señorita. Taking out his flask and tipping a generous portion into his mouth, he assumed she wasn’t Pedro’s one lesbian friend, and hoped he’d maybe find a way to make this evening turn around into something less… odd. And so full of change. Right down to his brother, whom he thought he knew better than anyone else in the world. If that weren’t change, then what should he have called it?
****
Josefina Ruiz clapped her hands together, blinking rapidly as hot tears threatened to fall from her eyes. He did it. Pedro finally came out. And in a fully surprising fashion. She worried constantly about her little brother. He was so quiet and incredibly sensitive. Most people didn’t know he was in a room even if they were standing behind him. His English was much better than he pretended. But using broken English made most whites assume he couldn’t speak well so they generally avoided him. The trouble they had understanding his thick accent outweighed any urge to communicate with him more often than not. She frequently admonished him for doing that. He always responded with a small, heart-melting grin and ducked his head without ever changing. He barely even spoke to her in their native language and she could speak as fast and fluidly in Spanish as he could. But he rarely gave her the opportunity.
She found it hard not to worry about Pedro. He was Latino and gay and quiet in a world that wasn’t really friendly to any of those in the singular, but all rolled into one? It made her worry constantly about him until Jordan Hayes came into the picture.
She had to admit being shocked when she learned about the relationship. But that was years ago. Four, or maybe five? She couldn’t remember exactly, but her then twenty-year-old brother was acting very strange. Back when Jordan and Pedro first got together, he was secretive and often gone for unexplained periods of time. It was hard for her to miss. At the time, all six of them lived together in a single-wide trailer in Brewster, Washington, about twenty minutes from River’s End.
When Pedro was eighteen, he was hired on as seasonal help for the Rydell River Ranch. It was the biggest private operation in the area. After that, they kept him on pretty much all year round, except perhaps in the dead of winter.
He flourished there, and they were far more respectful in their treatment of him than most people were. He met another worker who was on a par with him: Jordan Hayes.
They started working together and eventually became friends. Most astonishing to Josefina was that Pedro was speaking in English to Jordan. Jordan was the best listener. Most people talked at Pedro, but rarely to him. For some reason, Jordan managed to get through to him and drew him out of his shyness. At times, it was debilitating and managed to interfere with his normal functions in daily life.
Josefina was extraordinarily protective of her little brother. He’d always been freakishly small for his age, and never, ever talked. He was the object of scorn and ridicule in school that most often came from whites. But other Latinos went after him too. When he reached his teens, she started to suspect he was gay. She believed he’d always known that. But quiet Pedro never felt the need to state it.
Until Jordan Hayes came along. Jordan started hanging around a lot. Like crazy amounts of time and one day, Josefina had asked him, “Are you sleeping with my brother?”
Jordan was absolutely appalled at her question and stormed out of their small trailer, only to return a week later.
“How did you know? Did he tell you?” Jordan asked Josefina.
“He never tells me. You know how Pedro is.”
He nodded, his eyes flashing at her words. “Yes,” he said softly. “I do know him. No one else does.”
“No. They don’t. So, you must understand how unique you are.”
Jordan’s back went rigid and he stared at her open-mouthed. “No. Never. I’ve never been unique a day in my life.”
“I don’t mean because you’re gay. I mean because of the connection between you. Your relationship.”
“No. I’m not gay.” Jordan’s head shook vigorously, and he was adamant. She scratched her head. Did he not realize having sex with her brother was gay sex? Not that she cared. Long ago, it may have been an issue for her, but not now, although it was still a secret.
“Um. Okay. But I meant, he doesn’t really let anyone inside his inner world or thoughts. So, you’re unique.”
Jordan was a white, slim guy whose hair was a little too long and he usually wore nothing fancier than a stained t-shirt and a pair of jeans and boots. Josefina was a little shocked to realize that he was Pedro’s taste in men. A quintessential, red-necked cowhand, to be honest. And he appeared heterosexual in a strong, beer-drinking, light-your-fart-on-fire way. Which she saw as a man that could protect Pedro. She worried so much about Pedro being the target of homophobic hatred or worse, violence.
But with Jordan? No one would suspect. Jordan swore all the time and his English was grammatically off. She might have spoken better English than he did. She just never bothered saying so.
Eventually, Pedro grew tired of hiding it and having Jordan act like he wasn’t gay. She wasn’t sure what Jordan thought. That he was bisexual? It was just because of Pedro? For a while, he seemed angry at Pedro, as if it were Pedro’s fault that Jordan wanted him. But that slowly changed into a fierce protection of Pedro. Then Pedro dumped Jordan and told him it was over. Six months later, Jordan surprised everyone when he unexpectedly proposed to her brother during his sister’s wedding. Josefina desperately wished she’d been there to witness it.
But even better, now she was witnessing this.
As a brand new married couple, they chose to hyphenate their names together as Hayes-Ruiz. Josefina was surprised when Jordan took their name. He looked at her strangely. The one thing Jordan Hayes did not embody was a bigot. He was surprisingly accepting of all. She loved that about him.
Her brother finally had someone who could protect and love him. Someone he could trust and be open to, which wasn’t an easy endeavor for her brother to achieve.
The wedding parties were split right down the middle. Jordan’s side was white. Josefina didn’t know any of them personally but had heard mostly good things about them. On Pedro’s side, the number of attendees was huge. Starting with her dad, siblings, and two sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins. His family numbered in the dozens perhaps. Friends and family all interacted without prejudice or intolerance and all lines crossed. A few small-minded folk from her community boycotted the wedding out of ignorance and discrimination towards her gay brother. She spat on them. The rest? They were nothing less than wonderful. Her heart warmed and swelled with rejuvenated hope for all of humanity. Pedro’s family and friends were a boisterous, warm group. They catered the affair while the Rydells provided the setting and wedding decorations.
