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Chapter Nineteen
Life on the farm had been perfect these last few months. Quiet, busy, prospering.
It wasn’t always easy, and Percy never for one moment thought it would be.
But he loved every minute of it.
Sharing this life with Albie. Sharing his bed.
They’d brought eight broodmares and one young colt back with them from the mob of wild brumbies, and it was a good, solid start to securing yearly sales moving forward.
And the mountains in spring and summer?
The most beautiful part of the country Percy had ever seen.
Wildflowers, cool breezes on warm days, and the bluest sky you could ever imagine.
Elsie and Clara still worked hard, and they’d never been happier. Clara laughed more and more, her confidence growing every day, and Elsie now rode Minnie some days out to help round up cattle.
Des and Robert found themselves going back to town a time or two, but Percy wasn’t sure if anything would come of it. He hoped it would, not that he was game to ask. It seemed an unspoken rule that Elsie and Clara were not a companionable option, as if they somehow knew they only had eyes for each other.
And if Des and Robert knew the same about Percy and Albie, they never let on about that either.
Percy was certain Des knew something, knew that they shared a bedroom at least. Maybe he thought it was innocent. Given the lack of bedrooms, there were few options of rooms... But there was a time or two when he’d had to snap his fingers to get Percy’s attention because he’d been staring at Albie a beat too long.
Not as stealthy as he’d thought.
Des would just smile and shake his head, then repeat his order.
But Percy couldn’t help it. Just seeing Albie across the paddock or in the stable, or God forbid, on his horse, Percy was lost to the sight of him. His heart skipped a beat every time and fluttered back to life. It made his breath catch, his blood sing.
He loved him more each and every day and still could hardly believe that this was his life. That he got to be his truthful self, that he did an honest day’s work every day and could spend every night in the arms of the man he loved.
He almost wished his parents could see him now. Not in bed, of course. Not even with a male lover. But just how happy he was. How productive and hard-working he was. How he’d found a place where he was accepted and loved, with this group of misfits.
His new family.
Percy couldn’t ever imagine being happier.
Until Albie found him mid-morning, mucking out stables, sweat dripping down his face, ignoring the flies and the way Ox kept trying to nudge him into the wall. Albie walked in, his short-sleeved shirt open at the collar, his skin glistening with sweat, and he was smiling like the devil.
Percy stood up straight, stretching his back, and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “What’s that look for?”
“So, I was thinking...”
Percy found himself smiling right back at him. “About?”
“Well, I was thinking it might be time.”
“For what?” Percy only now noticed that Albie was holding a folded letter.
“For you and me to go spend a day or two down on the lowland,” he said. “Maybe find the best spot to build a hut.”
Percy gasped. “You got it?”
Albie held up the letter, grinning, and he read the first few lines. “To the concern of Mister Albert Bramwell. We acknowledge receipt of your application and hereby grant permission?—”
Percy threw his arms around Albie and had to stop himself from jumping with excitement. “Albie! Do you know what this means?”
