“Goddammit! Glenda, you fucking stink. Get off that thing and go to bed!” A voice sounded from the basement door. The smell of cigarette smoke wafted down as Dunc kept staring at the screen, trying to ignore her mother.
“Keep smoking hag, maybe you’ll die. Shut. The. Fucking. Door!” Dunc yelled, but as before, her eyes stayed on the screen. She clicked file after file, reading the contents.
It was very clear this person ran the business. Ranch hands reported to him as well as security. This person would lead her to Austin if he was in this company. Dunc kept going. Cara’s name was mentioned, intervention, flight schedules, and a string of files from an overnight security watch. The IP address never faltered, and Dunc opened the only picture files in the email. They were of a naked man. Well, a half-naked man. He was having his picture taken in the dead of night, walking out of some log cabin. The whole right side of his body showed. He was good looking if you liked tall, handsome men. Dunc didn’t. Dunc preferred the ladies, but she could see where someone would find that picture hot. Dunc saved the file on her computer, planning to sell it later.
From there, every shot showed this guy until he was bending down, kissing another man. It wasn’t Austin, but the car was expensive and the license plate showed. Dunc sat back, looking at the screen. Why would this be here? The fucking Fisker was from Texas. These were taken in Texas. After a minute, Dunc kept going through the messages, paying closer attention. Cara, Texas, gay men kissing. It wasn’t three emails later Dunc found a series of emails from Cara, addressed to Austin. None of them made sense to Dunc, and it didn’t look like Austin ever responded to any them. They were from months ago, but about the same time the photos were taken.
As the pieces came together in Dunc’s mind, she opened the photo again and ran a scan on the face. Thirty seconds later she had a name, Kitt Allen Kelly. Austin had photos of a naked man in his email. Those were the only photos in all of his email. She didn’t follow entertainment news because it wasn’t about her, so Dunc quickly opened a browser and did a quick search of Austin’s name and the word gay. The results filled up the page. She opened story after story. There were too many rumors swirling about Austin’s sexuality for this to be a coincidence. Now, all she needed to do was pin it down.
The cell on her desk rang. Rich. Enabling the voice altering device, she answered on the fourth ring. “I said I would call you when I found something.”
“Your time’s coming up and we’re out of money. What’ve you found?” There was fear in his voice, and Dunc smiled. There was that internet group reputation at work.
“Fuck off! You’ve wasted my time.” Dunc disconnected the call and scrambled the number. As she sat staring at the screen, her heart began to pound. She had what every other news agency wanted on the planet, a link to Austin Grainger being gay. No way was she giving the information up for a measly ten thousand dollars. Try ten million dollars.
Dunc worked faster now, the drink and adrenalin kicking in. She narrowed in on the IP address and pulled up Kitt Allen Kelly’s background in a few keystrokes. As the pieces fell together, a smile tore across her face. Now, what tabloid would pay the most for what she had?
~~~~~~
The stars twinkled as Kitt lay on his sleeping bag, trying to get some shut eye before his midnight shift of watching both the cattle and the kids began. He tucked himself away from everyone while he tried for sleep. It was their last night out. He was dirty, gritty, and still fully clothed.
He dropped his cowboy hat over his face, but quickly punched it off when only images of Austin appeared behind his closed eyes. Austin smiling, sulking, angry, disappointed. It didn’t matter which look, they all clouded his mind. He was so in love with Austin. The hiding made everything harder. It was a depth of love he felt deeply in his soul. Austin proved every single promise he’d ever made to Kitt. He stuck around. They were solid, and it sure did seem their futures were tightly woven together.
Kitt crossed his arms over his chest and adjusted his body, trying to get comfortable on the hard ground. The smile formed easily. His life couldn’t be any better than it was right now. A shooting star shot across the night sky, and as Kitt closed his eyes to sleep, he sent a wish to the heavens. No matter what happens, let Austin stay just like this in his heart forever.
~~~~~~
After so many months of pulling off this secluded, private, and secret home, Austin couldn’t believe he stood on his front porch with the local law enforcement, Sheriff Wilson. A man he’d apparently gone to school with. Sheriff Wilson was a few years older than Austin, and he stared hard trying to pair the right kid in his memory to this man.
Wilson grew into a full-fledged old man. Despite his age, he’d apparently been sheriff of this community for quite some time. He was balding, with deep gray in his hair and didn’t take too kindly knowing Austin lived here and he had no idea.
It was early in the morning, the day after Verne’s hospital run and a full investigation began. Austin supposed by the time the sheriff made it to his door, he’d known Austin lived in the area. Wilson didn’t seem surprised when he opened the door, but the sheriff also wouldn’t come inside the house. The entire interview took place on the front porch. The sheriff asked the usual questions. What did Austin see, what occurred from his perspective, how he helped in getting Verne to the hospital.
Jose stopped by last night to let him know Verne survived, but was in very critical condition. It didn’t look good. His blood alcohol levels were high and that tied the hands of the hospital staff on treatment options. Per the sheriff’s update this morning, Verne was still in about the same condition. Life support kept him alive, and they were trying to find any next of kin while hoping for a miracle.