Gatekeeper's Secret
Copyright© 2026 by Fick Suck
Chapter 11
Grady answered his cell. “Hey, Grady, it’s Laia. We’ve got a problem.”
He was trying to get the gravel out of the treads of his work boot using a long-necked screwdriver without taking off his shoe. Sitting on the back steps of the porch while the wind blustered past, his face was screwed up in a mask of frustration.
“What?” The exasperation was front and center.
“My father says you’re a high school dropout,” she said. “He doesn’t want me to date a man who has no future. He’s forbidden me from going out with you tonight.”
“What?” Grady shouted. Randy, standing over by the open barn, turned to look at him with concern. “I didn’t drop out; I’m finishing online and in fact, I will complete my course work before everyone else who is in school. It’s a new world. What the hell is his problem?”
“He said, ‘no’ and he put his foot down. Mom agrees.”
“Then, that’s that,” Grady said, ready to hurl his phone across the back. “I don’t fight parents, and I don’t sneak around them, nor do I expect you to do the same. I can’t make the blind see or the deaf hear either. Laia, this just dandy sucks. I’ll see you around. Bye.”
He shoved the phone back in his inside coat pocket and zipped up his jacket. He stomped across the yard to the barn and told Randy his bad news.
“Can’t catch a break, can you?” Randy said, nodding his head as if he were giving sage advice. “Happy or sad that you didn’t bed her when you had the chance?”
“I don’t know,” Grady said. “Did I dodge a bullet or miss an opportunity? Fuck ‘em all.”
“On the bright side, Mrs. J and I have come to a possible understanding,” Randy said, adjusting his jeans. “She knows if she tries to stop us, she’s going to lose Darla. However, she is not willing to give us carte blanche either.”
“Glad to hear,” Grady said, sounding neither glad nor truly listening. He held up his hand and began ticking off points with his fingers. “I’m eighteen years old. I own a ranch. I have tenants. I was a caregiver for my grandparents. I’ve got my own truck.”
Randy piped in. “You do your own laundry. You cook, in some fashion. You clean the toilet. You own a truck. What else could a girl ask for?”
“Or her father,” Grady said. “Deaf, dumb, and blind; they’re all deaf, dumb, and blind. Now, I’ve got blue balls to boot.”
“Hey, they’re still attached to your body,” Randy said with a big fake smile. He put a few of his tools back in his tool bag. “I faced that fear today and I’m here to tell the tale.”
“Great. Is the toilet installed?”
Randy nodded his head. “The old wax ring was gone and there was some corrosion on the floor. I did a thin layer of floor leveler and let it dry most of the morning. The sink and cabinet are done, but I couldn’t test the lines because I have no idea where the shutoffs outside the building are. I finished the commode a couple of minutes ago, but again, no flush.”
Grady walked into the back of the barn to the corner nook on the left. “The shutoffs are here, and these are the drains for winterizing. The run is too far for the winter if no one is using the bunk house. I’d have cracked pipes every spring.”
“Makes sense,” Randy said, eyeing the setup. “What’s for lunch?”
“Tacos,” Grady said. “I got the seasoned chopped pork with pineapple heating in the oven. Everything else is good to go. You get the women, and I’ll get Mr. Jenkins.”
“O, I got the woman.”
“Spare me,” Grady said, “and screw you too. I feel like I’m condemned to a life of blue balls.”
“The outlook does not look good, my friend. With Christina Witt hanging around, you are looking at a long dry pussy season. You might want to consider upping the speed on your internet connection. Just saying.”
Grady shot him the middle finger before going back to his truck. He got everyone fed with a minimum of fuss. By the time he cleaned up and got back down to the front gate, all the cinder block was in place and extra rebar had been tossed into the holes. Both the window frame and the door frame had been tucked into their slots. The bucket brigade was pouring cement from the top.
“This shack is going to be the only thing standing when the big one comes,” Enrique said. “Seriously, the marines could come busting through the gate and this building will hold. We can cap it with the pre-fab roof today and Monday we can wire the circuit panel.”
“They’re forecasting snow after midnight,” Mr. Jenkins said. “The cap must be on before we leave tonight. We’ve got a butt load of additive in the cement so it will cure, but only if we keep the water out. We should wrap the structure in blue tarp too.”
Randy nudged him in the ribs, “You see, you would have had to cancel tonight anyway. She would have left you stringing for another week, Grady.”
“I don’t get it,” Grady said.
Mr. Jenkins came over and put a hand on Grady’s shoulder. “I overheard. You’re expecting a woman when you’re dealing with a child, Grady. You’re a different breed. You’ve got responsibilities that most people your age cannot imagine they’ll confront for five or ten years. You’re dating girls your age when you want to date women your age. I don’t know too many of those.”
“Darla? Randy?”
“They got some of it right and some of it they are still fumbling about, trying to figure out their responsibilities and the consequences of the choices they’re making. They’re good kids all in all, but there are challenges. You’re one of the challenges.”
Grady wanted to reply, “You don’t know the half of it,” but he kept his thoughts quiet. Instead, he changed the subject, “I should have looked more closely at the weather report. I’m running Randy home tonight and should probably stock up on a few items just in case.”
“We can manage without you easily at this point,” Mr. Jenkins said. “Why don’t you run Randy home now and do your errand. Where we might need you is hauling this roof to the top of the gatehouse, and every hand is necessary to get it up.”
Grady snapped his fingers. “There’s a tripod with a pulley on in the back of the second shed. We haven’t used it in years, but if I remember it was taller than I expected. Let me run get it.”
“We’ll get it,” Mr. Jenkins said. “Delegate and let the rest of us do what we already know how to do. Go run and we’ll put you to work when you come back.”
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.