Gatekeeper's Secret
Copyright© 2026 by Fick Suck
Chapter 29
“I swear you ride these horses more than we do,” Christina groused as they made their way up the middle trail.
“Your mom was complaining about you, and you were wearing the Mask of Malevolent Death. I figured you could use a break. It just so happens that I could use a hand and an extra set of eyeballs as I conduct another survey of the season,” Grady said. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
“You’re an asshole,” Christina said. “I hate everything and everyone with extreme prejudice. When I’m gearing up to smite the impudent, you show up with a smile and a horse. You’ve ruined a perfectly good bout of teenage angst at its angriest and by an oath to all the Norse gods, I shall never forgive you.”
“Suck it up, buttercup,” Grady said. “Then again, I never thought of swearing out curses in the name of pantheons of pagan gods. Do you think it works?”
“Makes me sound smart,” Christina said with a shrug. “I only got on the waiting list of the two universities that I wanted; the curses were not effective sad to say. One of Admission Offices said I should be able to start second semester. I assume I will take the slot of those who fail in the first semester, which sounds ghoulish.”
“Is there anything you’re happy about these days?”
“I like Rosie the cat. I like her attitude,” Christina said. “She’s a bad ass and she doesn’t take crap from anyone, especially Mom. Mom draws near the cat, and she is out of there. The presents she leaves for Bri are more than I could have imagined. I admit, I’m envious of a cat, which is pathetic.”
They rode further up the trail until they came to the standing markers. When Christina froze in her saddle, Grady pulled out his list of instructions he had spent part of the last evening writing and editing. He needed someone to help his new alien assistant integrate into this world and he could think of no one else who was as critical and discerning of details as Christina. She might have easily sussed out that Grady’s new hire was not normal, and he was not confident a statement of ‘he’s on the spectrum’ would hold water. Grady hoped to preempt that confrontation by making her the problem solver and native guide.
As they rode back to the ranch, Christina began asking about the new hire. As Grady fed her vague answers, she offered suggestions and case scenarios like she was born to the task. He encouraged her while all the while smiling to himself for his cleverness. As the ranch came into sight, he had a sneaking suspicion that his cleverness might come back to bite him in the butt.
“What do you think of Linh?” he asked, trying to change the subject.
“She is a deluded woman,” Christina said. “Abandoning San Fran for here? What was that girl thinking? She’s still interested in you, but her mother is like the Tiger Mom. Mrs. Trang will rip your intestines out with her bare claws if you come too close. Blue balls for Grady.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You want to fuck Linh, and she wants to fuck you; that’s not in Tiger Mom’s plan for her daughter.” Christina waved her arm in dismissal. “Off you go.”
“Linh wants me?” Grady asked.
“Did you not hear me? No cookies for you,” Christina cawed.
“Maybe I could kidnap her, smuggle her off to the ranch and we could live happily ever after,” Grady said, rubbing his hand together.
“Yeah, that’s using your brains there, cowboy. You sound like another country bumpkin who’s believes that sitcoms are the real world,” Christina said. “It could happen!”
Grady threw up his hands. “I was joking; I was being sarcastic.”
“Whatever,” she said. “What’s for lunch?”
“No cookies for you,” Grady snapped. “Gruel and water, maybe a saltine for dessert.” He shrugged. “Your mom bought the groceries. I wasn’t paying attention to what she loaded into the kitchen.”
“She probably bought skim milk,” Christina groused. “What’s the point of that tasteless crap?”
Grady offered to put away the bridle and saddle for her, which she accepted. When he returned from the tack room, she was already brushing down her horse. He took care of his horse and followed her over to the house. He had been joking when he mentioned gruel, but the joke was on him when Jessica offered a simmering pot of oatmeal. She was feeling nostalgic.
“I think I need to make a run into town,” Grady said, eyeing the offerings in the refrigerator and the freezer.
“If you’re going, would you do me a favor?” Jessica asked. Grady nodded.
“Chocolate ice cream,” Christina called out.
“Hush, would you cruise past the Holiday Inn out on State Road 550? I want to know if there are any vehicles with California plates,” Jessica said.
“If he drove,” Grady said. “He could have flown into the big city and rented a car also.”
“Just check for me, please?”
“Will do,” Grady said. With a mental shopping list and a half-dozen cloth bags for shopping, Grady slipped out the back door, walking as fast as he could for his truck. When he was on the road, he turned up the volume on the satellite radio, blasting the irritating women out of his head.
When he got to town, he debated where to begin. He swung over to the farm store first. Halfway down, past the irrigation parts, he found two prefab henhouses. Neither were built but the store had some color photos of what the finished products were supposed to look like if built correctly. Grady was not impressed.
The owner came over to inquire if he needed any help. When Grady demonstrated his reluctance to trust the product, the owner gave Grady the twenty questions routine, nicely. After Grady admitted he was not as knowledgeable as he could be on the subject of egg layers, the man suggested that Grady speak with someone who kept a small flock of chickens to get a better idea of what he wanted. When Grady asked if he knew anyone to ask, the man suggested Mrs. Trang at the Vietnamese restaurant. She only used eggs from her flock in her cooking.
Grady decided that the Norse gods were sending him a message. Either they were sending him a gift to use, or they were sending him to his early death. No matter the divine intent, he was ready to answer their call. His bravery held out until he pulled his truck into the parking lot and shut down the motor. Ten minutes passed before he grabbed the door handle while chastising himself for being a coward.
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