Free By Chance by Sasha Kay Riley Page A

his mind wander there. He could put it out of his mind if he tried. Until Jane brought it up again. He knew she’d never let it go.

Chapter Eleven
     
    A WEEK and a half later, Vince and Wes left the farm in the hands of Anna and Jane—who was the one best suited to looking after the business side of things when Wes couldn’t—and made the hour drive to the hotel Mandy and Jeff had put them up in for the weekend of the wedding. They left Friday night and would be back sometime on Sunday, and while it wasn’t likely that much would be able to go wrong before they got back, Wes thought it best to have someone besides the stable hands there just in case something did. Whenever both he and Vince left for any longer than a day, he had someone keep an eye on things. When it wasn’t Jane or Mandy, it was Mark.
    It was a nice wedding, Vince thought. Jeff’s family was religious, so they had chosen to have the wedding in the church the family attended. Vince knew his sister was not at all religious, so it was obvious that she was just trying to please her new in-laws by having the wedding there. When he entered the church, he wondered with a touch of amusement if his presence would cause the roof to collapse, but apparently, being gay didn’t carry such powers. If there was a god, it must not care about him being there or him standing at the altar as part of the wedding party.
    After the ceremony, he smiled for more pictures than he could possibly count, then squeezed into the limo with the rest of the wedding party. The limo took them back to the hotel, where the reception was being held. It was a nice place with a patio outside and a decent bar. All the tables had glittering crystal centerpieces holding silver and red candles to match the wedding. There were flowers everywhere, and quiet music played from speakers on the walls.
    Vince wasn’t sure he felt like socializing very much, but Wes felt the same way and kept him company by the bar. At one point, Jeff’s parents approached them and started making conversation. Vince didn’t pay much attention and didn’t contribute unless he was asked a direct question.
    Did he think his sister had made a good choice in marrying Jeff? Of course.
    Was the ceremony nice? Sure.
    Isn’t the reception room just lovely? Yeah.
    Was he seeing someone? Not at the moment.
    Could he believe those gays thought they deserved to have these wonderful weddings?
    Just then Vince spotted Mark and his wife across the room. “Excuse me,” he said, not bothering to answer his brother-in-law’s mother’s stupid question. He took his drink over to where Mark and his wife, Leah, had just finished greeting Mandy and Jeff.
    “How is Justin doing?” Mark asked after they exchanged greetings.
    “Good,” Vince replied with a nod. “He actually found himself a new owner already.”
    Mark looked surprised. “That was fast. I knew he was a smart horse, though. How’s that boy that you picked up?”
    Vince grinned. “I’m glad you didn’t give him a shot. He’s great with the horses, and the biggest problem I have with him is that he doesn’t know how to drive. He gets along with everyone, has no drug or alcohol problems. We’re working on the driving. So you missed out.”
    Mark laughed. “I guess I did. Well, I’m glad you could help him. I hated turning him away like that, but it was too risky to take him on.”
    “It was worth it for us,” Vince stated with a smile.
     
     
    T HEY WERE halfway home Sunday afternoon, both of them nursing slight hangovers, when Vince’s cell phone rang. As soon as he saw Anna’s name on the screen, he was worried. He pressed the speaker button and answered.
    “Hey, you’re coming home today, right?” she asked.
    “Yeah, we’ll be there in about a half an hour,” Vince answered. “What’s going on?”
    She let out a deep breath. “There was an… altercation between Chris and Dustin this morning.”
    “What?” Vince and Wes both asked at once.