It was early June in Kentucky and the vicious, sweaty heat was already taking its hold. Cooper pickup another bale of hay and pitched it to his brother on the wagon. The whole time he was muttering under his breath. He just came down for a visit to his parent's home in Pendleton County. Now he was stripped to the waist in borrowed jeans and his old work boots he parents never threw away sweating his ass off pitching square bales. It wasn't just hot work; it was hot, itchy work.
"Hey city boy anytime you need a break we'll let you ride the wagon for a couple rounds." His brother Clayton teased.
Camden chuckled from the other side of the wagon. "You know bro, you need to get a boyfriend to drag out here and pick up your slack."
"Fuck off. I don't need a break and I'm not slacking."
There were a few more good natured comments thrown around before they drifted quietly back onto the rhythm of their work. As brothers they had given each other hell all while they grew up. They knew not to take any of the comments made to each other too seriously but the city boy comments always stuck in Cooper's throat. They started that when he went to UC to college and announced his intentions to go into advertising. He knew they were kidding around. That they didn't care that he wasn't like them. Cam had a degree in Ag Sciences and Clay had one in Veterinary Medicine.
They both lived right there in Berry, having bought farms adjacent to there parents. Only by ten months Cam was older and he never let either Cooper or Clayton for get it. Cam worked for the County Extension office as 4-H agent. He loved working with the kids, helping them with their activities. The biggest project the 4-H had was the live stock classes. Every year kids raised steers, lambs, and hogs to show at the county fairs. So late July, early August nobody saw much of Cam unless they ventured near the barns at the fair grounds.
Cooper's younger brother was Clayton. He was thirteen months younger was the baby for eight years before their sister Cathryn came into the picture. And as it turned out he was the smartest of the group of boys, much to his dismay when he was younger. Having a quick mind and photographic memory may have been great in school where he was able to jump a head a grade into his brothers' class. But at home in was like having a kick me sign tattooed on your forehead in flaming neon colors. Later on Clay was able to use his smarts to slick though college and vet school in only five years. He took extra classes every semester and a full load every summer but it was worth it to be free of school and working with the animals he loved so much.
Cooper looked up at the sound of a diesel pick up approaching the field they were working. The driver jump out of the cab and started towards the field. It was his sister Cat. Great, was his only thought, now he had his whole family there to torment him. At sixteen, Cat was the perfect imagine of the totally hot, but untouchable farmer's daughter. Untouchable because she had a daddy and three older brothers that out intimidate or just out right pound any guy they got close enough to breath on her. She was had long legs, blue eyes, and blonde hair like her brothers. Today he was earning a skinny tank top and jeans over her voluptuous figure. All three of her brothers were glad they were the only ones in the field with their dad driving the tractor.
Cat pulled on a pair of gloves and went to work on Cam's side of the wagon. Cam of course took mock offense to this. "Hey, I don't need your help, the city boy on the other side of the wagon does."
"Yep, maybe then we can pick up the pace, if the city boy and the little girl can keep up." Clay quipped. If Cooper disliked being called a city boy, Cat loathed having being a girl thrown in her face. She worked extra hard to be as good as the boys, then better.
Cooper smiled at her as she came over to his side of the wagon. "Don't mind them. We such just thank God that the jack ass genes skipped over us."
Cooper could tease Cat until she turned red and was ready to beat him black and blue, but he was her favorite. It was him that would usually call an end to the torment and tell the others to back off. She could talk to him about personal matters and he wouldn't laugh. He trusted her first with the news that he was gay and she didn't tell a soul. "Thank God. I don't know were the genes came from, Mom and Dad is normal."
"Well, remember Great Uncle Robert, he was a nut job, probably filtered down from there." Cooper said just loud enough for the others to hear.
"You know your right. I can see a lot of Uncle Robert in those two. It's a good thing we don't have sheep."
By the time Cooper got back to his house he felt like someone tied him up a burlap sack and beat him with a tobacco stick. Not only did his muscles hurt he was pretty sure his bones were aching too. He took a shower at his parents before changing back into his clothes and pouring himself into his Mercedes to drive home. At his home in Campbell County he pulled off his clothes and got into the shower in hopes of working loose some more kinks.
After the shower Cooper looked briefly at his bed but then saw the clock on his night stand. It was only 9:30. He cursed to himself. He was only 25 not 95. There was no way he could justify going to bed at 9:30 on a Saturday night. Moving carefully he crossed to his closet and started pull out clothes. He would just head over to the Broken Saddle and see what was going on. He hadn't been there in a few weeks having to be out of town on conferences.
It didn't take long for Cooper to get there but by 10 the place was already starting to get packed. He worked through the crowd with ease and made his way to the bar. Having caught the attention of the bartender he waited for his beer. After passing over his bills he started to head over to his favorite table when someone stepped out in front him. He started to side step the person but then he looked up into familiar brown eyes.
"Hey didn't think you were ever coming back for that game of pool." Jimmy said with his usual shit eating grin on his face.
