Leaving Home by Chase, A. (life books to read .txt) 📗

hospital. A family friend had told him she had been diagnosed with cancer, and he’d hoped she would’ve been willing to see

him, since the illness was so serious. Yet he’d been turned away at the front desk.

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LEAVING HOME T.A. Chase 31

Peter took a deep breath when he realised he’d forgotten about his mother for a little

while. Maybe it was a good thing that he’d run across Chaz. Helping Chaz had allowed him

to push away the hurt and sadness that had been threatening to swallow him when he’d

stopped at that alley.

The phone rang before he could start freaking out about what to do about his family.

He dashed across the room, then answered it.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Peter. How are you doing this afternoon?” Les’ voice came over the phone.

“Afternoon? Maybe where you are, but for me it’s still morning,” he joked as he sat at

the desk. He turned the computer on while waiting for Les to speak.

“Oh right. You’d think I’d remember that, as many times as we’ve come over here.”

Peter could hear the smile in Les’ voice. He watched the computer screen light up.

“Shouldn’t you be at a horse show or something?”

Les sighed. “Yes. We’re actually on our way to the show grounds. Juan’s last class of the day is in about a half-hour, so we want to get there in time to see that.”

“How has he been doing?”

Juan was Tony’s nephew, who’d come to live with Tony when he was sixteen. The boy

had come out to his family and they had disowned him, just like they’d done with Tony.

Thank God, Juan had Tony and all the people who had become Tony’s family to support

him.

“Really well. He’s placed first in two classes, and second in a third. This class has the stiffest competition for him, but I think his horses are good quality, so he has a chance to win.

As long as he doesn’t get too cocky.”

Peter loved listening to Les discussing different classes and horses. It was clear the man knew his horseflesh and the people who rode them. He wasn’t Juan’s trainer, but Juan

could’ve done worse than choose Les.

“Well, he is Tony’s nephew, so you might have to keep an eye on him about that,” Peter

reminded Les.

Les chuckled. “True. I’ll make sure to let Tony know you said that.”

“Thanks. Throw me to the wolves.” He brought up some of the spreadsheets he needed

to go over for the ranch. “I’m planning on paying the vet bills, and the farrier ones as well.

Plus I’ll be placing the feed order.”

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LEAVING HOME T.A. Chase 32

“Fine with me. Just email me the totals for all of them.”

It was something Peter always did. Les trusted him to make payments and orders, but

he liked to look over the numbers when he had the time.

“I’ll do that.”

“How did your friend enjoy the guest suite last night?” Les’ casual question caused

Peter to jerk slightly.

“Oh. Chaz says he had a good night’s sleep. I’m running him back to Cheyenne today

to grab his truck.” For some reason, Peter felt nervous, wiping his hand on his jeans.

“Isn’t he staying for a longer visit? Seems strange to stay for one night.”

He’d never really lied to Les, and he discovered he didn’t want to start.

“Actually, I ran across Chaz in an alley in Cheyenne.”

“Peter, you know what we’ve told you about going into alleyways. You weren’t hurt or

anything?” Les’ concern vibrated over the phone.

Peter shook his head, forgetting Les couldn’t see him. “No, I’m fine. I couldn’t leave

him lying there, Les. He needed a place to clean up and sleep.”

“Doesn’t he have a hotel room or something? What was wrong with him?” Les was

going into worried older brother mode.

Sighing, Peter leant back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling. “Yes, but at the time he couldn’t remember where it was and he didn’t have a key on him. I’ll admit I wasn’t

thinking very clearly myself. I’d just got some bad news. All I really wanted was to get home and lick my wounds.”

“What bad news? Peter, do you need us to come home? We will, or, at least, Randy and

I can fly home tonight if you need us.”

Les’ offer touched Peter. It reminded him that he was part of a special family who

would do anything to help him, even if it meant flying overnight from Germany to be there for him.

“There’s nothing you can do. Stay there and cheer Juan on. I’ll talk to you about it when you get back next week.” Peter didn’t want to ruin Les and Randy’s vacation. “I can deal

with it for now.”

Les was silent for a few minutes, then said, “If you think Chaz should stay at the ranch, then you offer him the guest suite. I’m sure you had your reasons for bringing him there. I trust you, Peter, and you won’t let anything happen to Margie, or any of the other guys.”

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LEAVING HOME T.A. Chase 33

“Thank you, Les. To be honest, I think it might be a good idea for Chaz to stay here.

Maybe he needs a friend or two to keep an eye on him.” Peter wasn’t sure how he was going to help Chaz, but he wanted to try.

“Everyone can use a little help once in a while. We just have to be willing to ask for it.”

Les sounded like he spoke from experience, and Peter knew how difficult it had been for Les to come back from his injury. “Now that’s settled, I have to go. We’re almost at the show grounds, and I know you have things to do as well.”

“Yes, sir. I’m sure I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Peter didn’t mind Les checking in every

day.

“Tell Margie I’ll call her tomorrow as well.”

“I certainly will, and tell the guys I said hi. Hope they’re all having fun.”

“Will do. Goodbye.” Les hung up.

Peter set his phone down, and got the email ready to send to Les. The spreadsheets and

bill payments were sent, then he placed the feed orders. When he thought of the amount of