GLITTER GULCH

Chapter 32: Wave Goodbye

Breakfast was a solemn affair. News of Cye's departure was having a negative effect on everyone. Well, everyone but Philip. The prick kept droning on and on about how everything was going to be so wonderful now that Cye was coming back with him.

Kento wanted to punch the simpering, annoying prick in the face.

This was NOT a good day.

Catching a worried glance from lavender eyes, Kento pushed his food around on his plate. He'd already snapped at Sage twice this morning. Not because the cowboy had done anything wrong, but simply because Kento was jealous of the peaceful smile the blonde was sporting. Actually, Sage was genuinely concerned and had tried to find out what was wrong with Kento, which only served to make the big guy madder.

Everything was wrong.

He'd gone into the room that he and Cye used to share and seen the rumpled bedsheets. The prick's clothes haphazardly lying on the floor. Cye had blushed and started trying to tidy up while Kento was in there, but a scowl from the mountain man - which he truly hadn't meant to give to Cye - and the schoolteacher had fled from the room, taking the stray clothing and shutting the door behind him.

Kento had managed to hold his composure until he heard the soft click. Then he had sunk to the floor, buried his head in his hands and cried. Cried like a baby. And hoped to high heaven that Cye would leave him be for a while. He wouldn't have been able to stand the schoolteacher seeing him cry.

He was going to lose Cye.

To a whiny, snot-nosed prick who had the means to fulfill Cye's dreams.

Kento stabbed the yolk eye of his egg and watched as the yellow slime spread across his plate. I can't even read. How am I supposed to get Cye a teaching job that he deserves? Somewhere prestigious. Somewhere he can gain fame and credibility. It definitely isn't here in this backwater town out in the middle of nowhere.

Kento sighed. Cye needed to leave. Needed to go back to England and achieve his dreams. He didn't need an uneducated sod like Kento holding him back.

But that didn't make it hurt less.

"Yo, Ken!"

The mountain man looked up. "Huh?"

"You okay there, buddy? Ya look a little outta it."

Kento picked at the food on his plate, letting the yellow yolk spread like a disease to the cleaner, less crowded portions. "Yeah. I'm okay. Why?"

Rowan obviously didn't believe him. The dark blue eyes dared him to lie again. "Ya haven't eaten your weight in food yet."

"Oh." The plate was shoved away. "I'm just not hungry, I guess."

The Yankee raised an eyebrow and looked at the others for confirmation of what he'd just seen. "Well, we were just discussing how Cye should stay here. Those kids need him far more than students at some university, don't ya think?"

All eyes were on Kento. He took a deep breath and barely managed to avoid seafoam-green eyes. "That's up to Cye. If it's what he wants to do, then he should do it," he said gruffly.

"So, what about it, Cye? Ya gonna stay?"

Kento stared at his plate, not daring to breathe.

"The children are very-"

"Of course he's not staying!" Philip practically came out of his seat.

Rowan rolled his eyes and did stand up, leaning over till his face was merely two inches from Philip's. "I'm not talking to you, ya whiny, self-absorbed pri-"

"How dare you! Why don't you and your whore-"

"What the fuck did ya just say, you son of a-"

"Excuse me." Kento shoved his chair away from the table. "I think I'll go now. If anyone needs me, I'll be working on the new barn. Gentlemen. Ladies."

The argument stopped abruptly when Kento stood up, both men expecting the mountain man to join in, but when the big man walked quietly out the front door, the fight was forgotten. Cye muttered, "Pardon me," and fled to the sanctity of his bedroom, shutting and locking the door behind him.

Everyone but Rowan let out a collective sigh. He bit his lip and glared at Philip, then swore out loud and followed Kento outside.

He found the mountain man by the burned out barn, clearing away the rest of the rubble. "What the hell was that in there?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not? Because you're being a chicken shit? You're just gonna let Cye walk away without a fight?"

"That's none of your business." Kento really wanted to punch something. All he could think of was that Rowan had better stay the fuck away.

"None of my business? What the...? I have never seen ya back down from a fight, Kento. Since when did you turn into such a pussy?"

Hands balled into fists and the mountain man struggled with his instinct to shut the blue-haired Yankee up. "Fuck you, Rowan! Just because the love of your life pawed you from the moment he first met you doesn't mean that everyone else will have it so easy!"

"Excuse me? Cye has been fawning over ya since he got here, ya stupid idiot!"

That last comment hurt. Kento lowered his eyes, clenched his jaw shut, and began throwing aside burned wood with a little more gusto.

"What?! You don't want him doting on ya?"

"It's not that, okay?!"

"Then what is it?"

"I don't want to talk about it!"

"Yes. Yes, you do! Or you wouldn't still be standing here throwing charcoal around!"

"No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do! What, he not good enough in bed for ya?"

"No, we haven't even really..."

"He still a virgin and you're worried about deflowering him?"

"No. It's just-"

"Then what? Why won't ya-"

Kento wheeled to face Rowan, the anger and hurt on his face obvious to even a blind man. "You said it yourself! I'm a fucking idiot, okay?! I don't know how to read or write! I have no education! How can I offer Cye the kind of life he needs? The kind he deserves? Fancy pants in there has a hell of a lot more to offer a wonderful, smart, educated person like Cye than I do!" The stunned look on Rowan's face embarrassed Kento even more. "Now you know, so back off!"

"That's it? You think Cye would be better off with a whiny prick who's full of himself and hardly even gives Cye the time of day simply because you can't read?"

Kento plopped down in the middle of the ashes. "Yeah. He deserves more than I can give him, Ro."

"Bullshit. What's the real reason?"

Kento had had enough. "You know what? Fuck you, Ro. I don't have to take this from you." He struggled to stand up, but a hand on his shoulder threw him off balance.

"Yes, you do." The Yankee searched for a suitable place to sit down next to the big guy, but there was no way in hell he was going to ruin a good pair of pants, so instead he stood there and glared. "If I left you to yourself, you'd ruin your life. I've learned that over the years. Can't leave you alone for a second."

"Go piss on a coyote, Ro."

"I would but the damned things don't stand still long enough."

The mountain man at least had the graciousness to snort, then there was an uneasy silence.

"Come on, Ken. I hate ta see ya this way. Cye's a great guy and I think-"

"A great guy that deserves something better."

Finally ignoring the soot and ashes, Rowan plopped down next to Kento. "I think he's already got his eye on something better."

Kento frowned. "Knock if off, Ro. I'm serious."

"So am I."

Kento swiveled to face Rowan. "I'm nothing compared to that guy, Ro. I'm uneducated, uncouth, have horrible table manners. I'm bigger than a barn and I eat like a condemned man at his last meal."

"So?"

"So?! Cye deserves better than that. He deserves someone that can take him to all those fancy places like the theater or a nice restaurant. He needs culture and refinement, Ro, and I can't give him that."

"What makes you think he wants all those things, Ken?"

"Cause he talks about it. The stuff he used to do and he gets all wistful and shit. I can't compete with that."

"So that's it?"

Kento nodded.

"You're givin' up? I don't believe it! Ever since I first met you you've always fought for what you wanted. Why give up now? You even defended me sometimes from that dumbass Walt."

Kento managed to chuckle. "Walt was a big bully. He didn't really want to fight."

"Yeah. But you did and ya had a mean right cross for a six-year-old."

The mountain man nodded and then smiled. "Remember that time you talked him into standing on top of that pile of horse shit because you said it would make him taller?"

Rowan laughed. "It worked until he started sinkin'. He smelled like shit for a week!"

"Or that time you caught that skunk and told him it was a cat…" Nervous laughter bubbled up and eventually fizzled out.

"He really hated us."

"'Cause you were smarter than him and I could kick his ass."

"Yeah." A slight pause while the Yankee tucked the strand of blue bang back into the rest of his hair. "I've been meaning ta ask ya, what's up with ya stayin' with him?"

"Ahhh. His wife died not too long ago, and everybody thinks he did it. Kaos said it was some kind of infection, but you know how people are. I felt sorry for the little shit." Kento sighed. "He loved that woman. He just had a real funny way of showing it. I know it's no excuse for how he behaved, but…"

"His parents were like mine. He dealt with it differently I guess."

Kento looked over at Rowan and smiled. He could always count on Ro. He rubbed his forehead with his hand, leaving a big black smudge. "Sometimes I wonder if I'd befriended him like I did you, would he have turned out like that?"

Rowan sighed. "I don't know. But it's too late now." Cobalt eyes locked with caramel brown, then the Yankee stood up and tried to dust off his trousers. "We all have 'what ifs,' Ken, but they never do ya any good. Think real hard before ya let Cye become another 'what if.'" He walked away leaving the mountain man sitting on a pile of ash. Kento looked like a king whose kingdom had fallen to ruin. Rowan just hoped that the big guy didn't give up.

There were some dreams that were worth fighting for.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like Kento was going to do any fighting.

It came time for Cye and Philip to leave. As they passed out their goodbyes, Rowan stole glances at Kento who looked completely miserable. Damn him! Why doesn't he do something? Fuck! Guess I'm going to have to figure something out. Shit!

"Hey! You know, Anubis and I have ta go inta town and get his things - oh yeah, Rosemary, Ani's moving in - so why don't we take you guys on the wagon? Then you won't have ta worry about the horses once you get inta town."

"We wouldn't want to trouble-" Philip began.

"That would be wonderful, Rowan. Thank you," Cye said.

"Great! Ken, you gonna come and help us…"

But the big guy had already left the room. Rowan sighed. Okay. Guess I have to go with plan B.

They loaded Cye's and Philip's things onto the wagon and not for the first time nor the last, Rowan wished Kento was there to help. The prick's steamer trunk was back-breakingly heavy and the sod refused to help them get it onto the wagon. If Anubis hadn't been there to smooth things over, Rowan would have left the piece of shit behind.

And the trunk.

He smiled at his own joke.

"Be good," a voice warned.

Rowan stared at Anubis. "I am being good. I haven't hit him or thrown him out of the wagon, have I?"

"No, but you were thinking it."

"So?" Rowan folded his arms and glared. "He deserves it."

"He'll hear you."

"Again, I say, so? He's a prick. He deserves to know. I don't like him. He doesn't like me. The feeling's mutual. We both know that." Rowan turned in his seat and shouted to Cye. "So, you changed your mind yet?"

Wide-eyed, Cye glanced at Rowan, then at Philip, then back to Rowan. "Um- no?"

"Damn," the Yankee hissed and turned back around.

"The only way he'd change his mind is if Kento were to come and get him."

Rowan gritted his teeth and growled, "Yeah. I know."

Everyone was silent the rest of the trip until they pulled up outside Kayura's Saloon and said their goodbyes. Rowan made one last attempt to persuade Cye to stay, but the schoolteacher turned shy and avoided the Yankee's questions.

As he watched the Brit board the stagecoach, he noticed the slight hesitation and one last desperate look before Cye climbed aboard and waved goodbye.

"Damn, Kento. That pussy," Rowan snarled, but he managed to wave to the carriage as it pulled away.

"You what?!"

"Here's your money. All of it. Now I am leaving." A heavy clink as a bag of gold coins landed on the small mahogany desk. Kayura paused a moment before reaching out and picking it up. She opened the satchel and stared in amazement at the golden coins. It was more than enough to cover Anubis' debt, but she still didn't want to let him go.

"You can't leave!"

"Yes, I can."

"How did you get all this?"

"Mr. Strata. He gave me what I needed. I'm going to work it off. With him. And only him." There was a satisfied smirk on Anubis' lips. "We've made arrangements. I'm going to go live with him on Halo Ranch."

An aggravated twitch worked its way over Kayura's right eye. Not now. He couldn't do this to her now! Why today? Why today of all days? Tonight was the social at Judge Dais'! The Mayor had already paid her for Anubis' time.

"Well, you can't leave yet. You have to attend the dinner at Judge Dais' tonight." She smoothed down her gray dress and adjusted her ample cleavage.

A dark scowl crossed the redhead's face. "No. I don't. There's my payment. It's all there. Count it. I'm leaving now."

"Sekhmet has already paid for you."

The scowl deepened. "So? That's your problem, not mine."

Lady Kayura sighed. Anubis could be so difficult at times. "I'm afraid it's your problem. The money has already been applied to your debt." She took a couple of the coins out of the bag and tossed them to him. "You were bought and paid for before this bag came into my hands, and I haven't signed anything."

"You can't do that."

Kayura raised a neatly trimmed eyebrow. "I can and I will. If you don't go to the Judge's party tonight, I'm not signing anything and your debt doubles. Sheriff Kale will be most interested in helping me find you, I'm sure."

Anubis clenched his jaw and glared at Lady Kayura. She held up her chin and stared right back, regardless of the fact that she wanted to crawl under her desk and hide from those steel gray eyes.

"This is it, Kayura. I do this and I'm out. No more. And I still move out today. I'm taking my things and going."

"Fine. Be there tonight and I will have your papers. After the evening is over, I'll sign them and then I don't care if I never see you again."