Cowboy Town by Kasey Millstead

cheating on me.  I had to get away.” I admit softly.
    “Moron,” Jackson mutters.
    “Pardon?”
    “He’s a moron.  Any man who cheats on a woman is a scumbag, but a man who cheats on a woman who looks like you, well, he’s a fucking moron.  His loss is my gain though – you know, one man’s trash is another man treasure.”
    “Uh, Jackson, I’m not sure I’m okay with you referring to me as trash,” I say giving him a chance to take it back or correct himself.
    “Ace, I don’t think your trash, he’s a moron and didn’t look after his woman.  Now that woman is sitting in my lounge room, with me, on my lounge, playing ‘question for question’ and I’m thinking I’m pretty fuckin’ grateful for his moronic behavior because now, I get the treasure that he tossed out.”
    “Oh,” I mouth.  Well, when he puts it like that…
    “Your turn,” he looks at me expectantly.
    “Hmm, tell me about the Station,” I say and then immediately, I regret it.  I should have asked him about Dannika – especially with the reply he gave just now about cheating men being scumbags and morons.  Damn it.
    “Well, I take care of the cropping side of things and Jeremy takes care of the cattle.  We’ve got a bunch of people who work for us, some permanent; others are backpackers looking for casual work.  We run Braham’s – they’re a breed of cattle with a large hump on their back,” he elaborates when he sees my confusion, “on Jeremy’s side and he uses helicopters to muster them.  Over this side with the cropping, we sow wheat, oats, barley and lucerne crops.  Some we make into hay to sell, some we leave for feed and some we harvest and sell to Corporations who make stock feed or human feed, such as your cereal or bread,” he finishes proudly.
    “Wow, that’s awesome.  Maybe one day you’ll show me around,”
    “We’ll talk about that later.  My turn: What’s your real name?”
    “You already know the answer to that.  If you hadn’t heard it before, you certainly heard it when I told your parents.”
    “Yeah, but I told you, I want you to tell me.”
    “Eden Cross.  If you’re nice, I’ll let you call me Edie.  Speaking of names, you told me only you could me Ace, yet you let Oscar call me Ace.”
    “Oscar is the exception to the rule.  Always.”
    “I can see how that would be so.  Where’s his mum?”
    “She took off when he was born.  Claire is her name.  Jeremy dated her for about a year, I guess.  They broke up amicably, and a couple of weeks later she found out she was pregnant.  She didn’t want the baby – wanted to give it up for adoption.  Jeremy said no way and anyways long story short, there were lawyers involved and contracts were exchanged.  Jeremy gave her the option of being in his life if she wanted to, she declined.  Left when Oscar was two days old – the same day Jeremy brought him home from hospital.  Haven’t heard from her since.”
    “Oh my god,” I whisper.  “I thought you were going to tell me she was at their place sick in bed or something.  I didn’t expect that.”
    “Yeah, it’s fucked up on her behalf but he’s a champion kid.  He loves the farm life and Jeremy spends most of his time helping him develop more social skills.  He’s come a long way in the last two years – before that, you couldn’t even look at him, even if he knew you.  Except for me, Jeremy and Dad, no one else could touch him, or talk to him without him initiating the conversation.  Jeremy does a great job with him.”
    “I agree.  He’s such a beautiful kid.  A mini Jackson and Jeremy Henley; he’s going to be a heart breaker for sure,” I laugh
    “You sayin’ I’m beautiful, Ace?  That I’m a heart breaker?” He grins his sexy, cheeky grin.
    “No,” I scoff.
    “My turn again,”
    “What? Wait, I didn’t have my question.”  I want to ask him about Dannika.
    “Yeah, you did.  You asked about Oscar’s mum.”
    God fucking damn it!