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And he’d proven his point because he’d meant to try tofigure out why Tom seemed so distant with him.
Josh’s eyes narrowed, proving he was still working on theproblem. “Tom, you been listening to rumors? I thought you left that church ofEzekiel’s.”
Damn it. He should have known. His stepfather was busy atwork trying to undermine him in any way he could.
Sometimes he wondered what the hell he’d done to the manbeyond wanting to have his own life, besides thinking for himself. “What’s hesaying about me now?”
Gail looked toward her father, her mouth a flat line. “Youwant to tell him what all you old men are talking about down at the seniorcenter? Want to admit the nasty rumors you told me? Go on, Dad. You always toldme I should never say something about a person if I wasn’t willing to say it totheir face.”
Tom’s whole body went tight.
“Yeah, I’d like to hear it.” Josh’s tone was glacial.
Someone needed to dial the tension back. He knew how hisstepfather worked, and Tom was of a mind-set that certain rumors could worryhim. His daughter, while religious, wasn’t superstitious and didn’t believeSatan was around every corner. But there was a harder, more old-school bedrockto Tom’s faith that hadn’t been instilled in him by the Willow ForkPresbyterian Church. “Tom, what did he tell you? Did he say that the cattlegetting sick is God’s judgment on us? Particularly you, for being too tolerant ofsin?”
Gail’s head fell back and she groaned as she looked herfather’s way. “Your prejudice is going to cost us the best big animal vet we’veever had. Grim, I…”
“Gail, it’s okay. Let me talk to him.” He gentled his voice,the same way he would around an anxious animal. “I know you don’t agree with mylifestyle or the way the Barnes-Fleetwood family chooses to live, but do youhonestly think God is punishing you for not… What exactly do you think he’spunishing you for?”
Tom’s expression went mulish. “Your stepdaddy was pointingout that God has rules and when we don’t follow them, he punishes us. Like inthe Bible.”
“He sent his only begotten son to earth so he wouldn’t haveto punish us anymore.” If there was one book Grim knew backward and forward itwas the Bible. It had been the only book he’d been allowed to read from theages of twelve to sixteen. “Our sins are forgiven through him. No need for theAlmighty to hurt some cows to make a point. This was a problem with thealfalfa. We all get ours from the same place, and that’s why we’re all havingthis problem. It was contaminated with blister beetles.”
Tom’s eyes went wide with understanding. “Oh, no. I’m glad Ididn’t give that to the horses.”
Because the toxins associated with the beetles was almostalways deadly to horses, but cattle and sheep handled it better. “We’re goingto help you dispose of any leftover alfalfa, and I’ll file all the forms so thefeed store will replace the feed, and they’ll handle my bills since this wastheir responsibility. But I don’t want you to worry about anything but takingcare of your herd. I’ll work with Gail to make sure everything gets done.”
Tom sighed, and his hands found his pockets. “I’m sorry,Grim. Your stepdaddy is a powerful preacher.”
“Of hate,” Gail said under her breath.
“I didn’t know about the beetles,” Tom admitted. “And one ofyour brothers mentioned that you might…well…you might be trying to wrangle upsome business.”
Josh cursed but Grim stayed calm. Of course they had. If hewondered what he’d done to his stepfather, he definitely wasn’t sure what he’ddone to his brothers.
Josh was his brother now. Olivia was his sister. He’d loveto see someone try to tell Olivia they were kicking one of her brothers out oftheir home.
But then Olivia had been raised in love. Maybe that was thedifference. His brothers hadn’t been strong enough to withstand the constantwear down their stepfather had given them. They’d been torn down to their basicforms and rebuilt into something Ezekiel Smith wanted them to be. Grim hadn’t.He’d been stronger—and it was strength, he realized now. It wasn’t stubbornnessor stupidity. It was strength. It was the will his biological dad had wantedhim to have, had gifted to him.
“Tom,” Josh began.
But this battle wouldn’t be won with intimidation. This wasa battle that could only be won with kindness. He gestured for Josh to let himhandle it. “Tom, I promise on the soul of my father—my real father—that I wouldnever harm an animal or put one in danger for any amount of money. I believe inwhat I do. I’m sorry if they said those things about me, but they are not true.All I can ask you to do is look back at my actions and watch what I do goingforward.”
“Like you’ll come back around,” Tom said with a defeatedshake of his head.
“I’ll be back by tomorrow to check on your herd,” Grimpromised. “And if you need anything at all, I’m a phone call away. If you’reworried I’m harming your herd in any way, I’ll find another vet to come outhere for you.”
“Why would you do that?” Tom asked.
“Because he’s a freaking saint,” Josh grumbled.
Poor Josh. He wanted to kick some ass in defense of hisfamily, and no one let him do it. “Because I’m a vet and I won’t let my clientsdown. No matter what Ezekiel says. What I’ve figured out recently is that mytime with that man was an aberration. I had a great dad. He taught me a lot,but he died. And then I found two other dads who loved me for no other reasonthan the fact that I needed love. They taught me I’m capable of anything,including caring about people who don’t care about me.”
Tom’s eyes came up, and there was a sheen to them. “Damn,Grim. I’m sorry. You should know they’re talking about you.”
“No one else believes them,” Gail said, her eyes rolling.
But there would be others. At least he seemed to have fixedthings with Tom. He would have done that for Gail’s sake alone. Gail had alwayssupported him, had helped him ease into the community after he graduated andfinished his internship. “It doesn’t matter. I’m going to clean up, and I’llget that paperwork done in the morning, if you don’t mind.”
