“Sixteen years makes for a hard habit to break.”
Landon finished battering and rinsed his hands off. When he turned to speak to Jay again, he noticed his friend had wandered into the living room and was taking stock of things on Landon’s shelves.
“I didn’t know you went to Millsap’s.” Jay turned surprised eyes on Landon after picking up Landon’s framed diploma. “That’s a—a smart-kid school.”
Landon smirked. “You almost called me a nerd, didn’t you?”
“Well…” Jay drawled, then studied the diploma.
Landon walked over to look at the diploma in Jay’s hand. “Yes. It’s a nerd school. Some people call in the Harvard of the South, but I definitely wouldn’t go that far. It was challenging, though. So. Much. Writing.” He still got cramps in his hands thinking about all the essays he’d written in his undergrad program.
“Landon Dwayne—” Landon rolled his eyes at the cocked grin Jay threw at him when he said Duh-wayne in a thick, southern drawl—“Petty. Bachelor of Science in History.” Jay seemed suitably impressed, which made Landon want to preen. Instead, he waved it off and grabbed the frame, placing it back on the shelf.
“It’s one syllable. Dwayne.”
“Uh huh.” Landon flipped Jay off. “So how does a Millsap’s boy end up hauling wood chips for a living?”
Landon sighed. “Well, Daddy’s old business partner retired, then they lost a few drivers to the rail road. Then right when I thought I’d gotten enough employees in to leave, Donny—the man you replaced—decided he could make more money driving down to the Nissan plant in Canton. I hadn’t taken a job yet, so it just seemed best to help out while I could.”
Jay shook his head. “Seems like a waste.” His head jerked up, face apologetic. “I don’t mean—”
Landon laughed. “No, it’s okay. I understand. Even my mama says all the time it’s a damn expensive education to be squandering driving a big rig. Thankfully, grants covered most of my tuition or she’d be a lot more vocal about my decision to stay around here.” Although, Landon himself was starting to want more. After five years longer than he’d intended to be doing the family business, he was starting to chafe.
“I’d want my son to take this education and better himself. Not that I think your folks don’t want you to. Just seems like a shame.” Jay’s sympathy made Landon sigh.
“You know the men like my dad. Born and bred here, think it’s putting on airs to move up and out. That’s why he was all but willing to help me pay to build this house.” Landon snorted. “I sometimes think the only reason he deals with my being gay is because he knows I’m not getting any action here.”
Jay shuffled uncomfortably and Landon wished he’d kept his damn mouth shut. He didn’t know why he’d said that. He grimaced. “Want another beer or something?”
“Yeah, sounds good.” They went back to the kitchen.
“So what about you? Any trade school?”
When Landon passed Jay another beer, Jay plopped on one of the barstools on the opposite side of the kitchen island from Landon. “Not really. Before I really got my head wrapped around the fact I’d graduated high school, Beths came up pregnant, right before her first year of nursing school. Took less than a week before I was hitched and moving up to be in Columbus, closer to her school.”
“Damn.” Landon couldn’t imagine. “That had to be… rough.” Especially since Landon knew Bethany had lost that baby not long afterward.
“It was what it was. Figure we’d have ended up hitched either way. Didn’t really know any different in those days.”
“Yeah,” Landon said and took a swig of his beer to quell his need to hug Jay right then. Jay sounded almost defeated, a little lost. To keep the mood from getting maudlin, Landon teased, “Back in the Victorian Era of the ‘90s.”
Jay humphed. “You’d be surprised.” Okay, so Jay was taking a trip to introspective land.