CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX Benedict

H etero hair. A strange thought to be having while doing my best to be present for and enjoy an evening with people I barely knew. Hetero hair was the term I used when trying to determine if a guy was gay or heterosexual. In my opinion, if he had hair growing on the back of his neck in between haircuts, he was heterosexual, straight, unbothered by needing a trim between cuts.

Gay men kept the growth neatly shaved between haircuts. Straight men didn't give a shit. But Hunter was gay, and he had hetero hair. A sign that he didn't follow the grooming rules of fussy gay men. The way in which he carried himself also indicated that he probably didn't follow many of the rules the gays I knew strictly adhered to. But I'd still trim his hair regularly if he were my man.

Watching Hunt as he interacted with his friends was nice to witness. He had his back to me currently while he joined Jay at the grill on their back deck. A strong and wide V formed on Hunt's muscular back, cotton fabric of a thin T-shirt stretched across a strength I could imagine holding onto while underneath him.

Wranglers hugged a biggish ass and muscular thighs. The man had zero body fat while, at the same time, seeming thick. He was built big. All over. He turned to check on me, flashing a brilliant smile, his buzzed-blond hair shimmering in the late afternoon sun. Hunter Copeland was something. And that something was all man.

"He's handsome, isn't he?" Jennie said, waking me from my tour of Hunter's physical qualities. "He's as nice as he is to look at, too."

I didn't look away from Hunt, happy to stare at him. "Is he always this quiet of a man?" I inquired, finally looking away from him and connecting eyes with her.

"Sort of," she admitted. "A spark has been missing for a while, doctor."

"Call me Ben, please," I asked. "I'm here as a friend."

"As I know you've no doubt heard, Hunter is experiencing a rough time getting over Mark's passing. Him being here tonight is a big deal, Ben," she shared. "A very big deal."

I watched as Jay and Hunter made conversation, Jay flipping burgers and Hunter standing near, pointing out the large flames and laughing. You could tell they were friends as well as coworkers. Two extremely masculine men hanging out on their day off. I liked how at ease Hunter was and the way he turned periodically to check where I was. He'd find my location and smile sheepishly before turning back to his conversation with Jay.

"How long have they been friends?" I asked, motioning to them. "They seem close."

"Friends since Jay joined the force five years ago. Jay is Jill's cousin. Mark's cousin too. Hunter is older than Jay and they weren't buddies in school. But Hunter treats him like a little brother even though he's his boss now," she said. "We love him like family."

"And with Mark?" I asked. "Were you all close as couples?"

"Actually, no. Mark and I were very close, and Jay and Hunter were too, but we didn't do a lot as couples," she explained. "Truthfully, I'm surprised Hunter came when Jay invited him."

I faced her, curious about her comment. "Really?" I asked. "I get the impression that everyone is one big happy family in this town."

"We are," she agreed. "But Hunter died a little himself after Mark's death. I'm not positive, but I think this is the first social thing Hunter has done besides show up and sing at Smitty's. We all know he's singing to Mark when he's there. Well, until last week, of course," she added.

"What happened last week?" I asked, imagining Hunter naked and on top of me when I should've been focused on Jennie's words.

"You showed up at Smitty's."

"No," I argued. "That's not true."

"That song was for you, Ben. I felt it the moment I witnessed his single focus on you. Most folks wondered as well, but I knew for sure."

Hunter shifted his stance, moving his weight from one leg to the other, his perfectly nestled ass cheeks shifting along with his legs. His biceps exploded when he tucked a hand into his back pocket, blocking my view. I'd only ever seen one other man this masculine in every single move he made. That was Rocco. But there was one stark difference between the two. Hunter had an unspoken class. Rocco could be a tool.

The more I studied Hunter from a distance, the more I wondered what he would taste like, feel like. I liked my men tough and manly. He seemed to fill the bill perfectly. My choice of Rocco was because of the same traits, but Rocco treated me poorly. I doubted, for some strong reason, that Hunter would.

"Time to eat, you two," Jay hollered, carrying a plate of burgers, some with cheese, toward the patio table.

Hunter stood by the two chairs where his beer and my wine were; I assumed waiting for me to join him. When I got near, he pulled my chair out and waited for me to sit. The act was so foreign to me that I was unsure of what to say. At first, I felt it feminized me, but subconsciously knew that Hunter wouldn't want to convey that message. He was being a gentleman. It was as simple as that.

"There are a couple of veggie burgers," Hunt pointed out.

He remembered I was vegetarian, which I wasn't completely committed to all the time. Particularly today because the burgers looked juicy and smelled amazing. I liked that he'd remembered the conversation from when we'd first met, when I'd told Jill that I was a vegetarian.

"I hope you enjoy the veggie ones," I stated, grinning at him and reaching for a real burger.

He gave me a sweet grin and lifted the plate for me. "Have two," he said. "Put some meat on those bones."

I stuck an elbow gently into his side and we locked eyes until it got uncomfortable. I liked being around Hunter. It was easy and light and he helped me relax. Something I was never good at in front of strangers. Oddly, we felt like we fit.

"Gosh!" Jennie exclaimed, leaning into Jay. "You two are just so cute together." She gazed at us with the kindest of smiles. "Don't you think so, honey?" she asked Jay.

He wasn't prepared for that sort of question and squirmed nervously in his chair. Hunter locked eyes with him and cleared his throat. "This is where you say, ‘ Yes, honey, ' Jay."

Jennie held Jay's chin and wiped at the corner of his mouth. "Jay thinks I've done lost my mind," she said, setting the napkin she'd used on Jay on her lap. "He says I watch too many of those romance movies on the Hallmark channel. But I can't help myself," she added. "I want everyone to have love."

"You sound like Mark right now," Hunter said.

"That's exactly right, Hunt," she agreed. "We both loved our Hallmark romances."

Jennie stared at us, hesitating, before giving Jay a look that seemed to ask if she could spill the beans on something she was itching to get to.

"Go ahead and tell them," Jay said. "She thinks the two of you are like one of her movies," he said, not waiting for her to speak.

"Well, they are," she insisted, scooping potato salad onto her husband's plate. "And I just might send a letter to Hallmark and tell them this exact story."

I was so taken with the comedy of it all and the sheer sweetness of Jennie that I couldn't hold my voice in. "Do they do gay love stories?" I asked.

Jennie's nose scrunched up, and she turned to Jay. "You know what? They actually don't. I don't think," she added. "Mark used to point that out too, Ben."

Hunter wiped his mouth before speaking. "And he was none too happy about it, Jennie," he added to the conversation. "Said he thought they might be too churchy."

The moment Hunt said the words, we all looked at each other. I wondered if bringing up religion in front of his Mormon friends was a bad idea. Hunter suddenly realized what he'd said. Jennie and Jay both looked confused by the hesitation of both Hunt and me.

"I don't know if they're churchy, per se," Jennie said. "But they barely kiss in those movies. I want more steam," she declared.

"And what did Mark think about the movies, Jennie?" I asked, trying to act as comfortable about the Mark topic so as not to make them feel awkward discussing him.

"He wanted more steam too," she offered. "And more ghost storylines. Mark was big on the ghosts and the afterlife stuff."

"That he was," Hunt added. "And the steam. I agree on the steam."

Jennie set her burger on her plate and reached across the table, holding one of each of our hands. Both mine and Hunt's eyes fell to our joined hands before looking at Jennie. I held my breath because I figured we were about to hear a fantastical story.

"That is why Mark came to me," she whispered, checking with Jay to see if she was overstepping.

Hunter had already told me that Jay had clued him in about Jennie's beliefs beforehand. And I'd had the talk with Jennie last week at her appointment, so I'd say we were all pretty much prepared for her.

"Easy, honey," Jay spoke.

"It's perfectly okay, Jay," Hunt said. "I, for one, am dying to hear what happened. Aren't you, Ben?"

"Heck yeah. Anytime a ghost story involves me, I want to know all the details," I concurred. "Especially ghost stories about love."

"See?" Jennie spouted. "They like ghost stories too."

Hunter and I leaned back in our chairs. Jay exhaled and shook his head gently. I, for one, was excited to hear her story. The more time I spent on the back deck of these fine people's home, the more I found myself enjoying the experience. I'd never been invited to a bar-b-que with friends before and was having a terrific time. Better yet, this evening was turning out to be even creepier, but more fun , than I could've imagined.

"Full disclosure first," Jennie began. "I was watching Patrick Swayze and that movie, Ghost."

"Got it," Hunter interjected.

"So I was most likely predisposed to accepting messages from the beyond. Plus, Jay had brought the local paper home, but I hadn't seen your cover picture for a couple of weeks after you arrived, Ben," she disclosed.

"That is true," Jay agreed. "She did not see the picture. That part is definitely true."

Jennie continued after getting Jay's supportive testimony. "I was on edge when Patrick's character was attempting to haunt Demi's character. Remember, Whoopie thought Patrick was nuts, but I believed him straight away, you know?"

"The story, honey. The story," Jay repeated.

"Okay. So anyway. I was a tad scared in this part of the movie and reached for something to hide my face behind," she said.

"She used the paper," Jay interrupted breathlessly, causing Jennie to exhale in frustration.

"Am I telling it, honey? Or are you telling it?" she asked.

Her use of the word honey was less endearing this time, but Jay sat back, and Jennie refocused on the two of us.

"So," she began again, pausing to give Jay some side-eye. Like us, he remained quiet.

"After the scary part was over, I moved the paper away from my face and noticed you on the cover, Ben. Of course, like everyone in town, I thought you were so handsome," she said, leaning into Jay to reassure him she was all his.

I glanced at Hunt to see how he was doing. So far, so good.

"Get ready," she warned, running her hands over her arms. "Oh my gosh! I'm getting goosies again."

"Stay calm, honey," Jay whispered.

"When I was looking at your picture, Ben. I heard a voice over my shoulder. Just like in the movie. I darn near jumped off the couch, but when I turned to see who had spoken, there was no one in the room."

"Oh my," I said involuntarily, getting into her story more than I had expected. "What did the voice say?"

"It was Mark. Did I say that part yet?" she asked.

"They know it was Mark, honey. Go on," Jay urged. "Tell them what he said."

"He told me to make sure that Hunter works with you to save Triple H Ranch," she revealed, motioning to me. "Mark seemed very concerned and insisted that your love will save the town. That is why I begged Jay to get you two here so I could relay the message. That and I agree with Mark about your love story."

Hunter practically gasped after she finished. So loud, in fact, that we all instantly looked at him. "What?" I asked. "What is going on, and where is Triple H Ranch?" I added.

Hunt cleared his throat and reached for his beer bottle, but before he drank from the bottle, he set it back down on the table. "Mark, or whoever spoke to you, actually mentioned Triple H, Jennie?" he asked. She nodded enthusiastically. "That is impossible," Hunt insisted.

"Why?" a chorus from the three of us asked.

"Mark couldn't have known about the ranch," Hunter said. "I mean, not about a reason to be concerned. Mark died before this issue came up."

I had zero idea about this ranch or any supposed drama. "Who owns this ranch?" I asked, beyond curious about what the drama was over it.

All three sets of eyes landed on me. "You do," Jennie stated. "You're one of the three H's."