Page 27 of On the Land, We Shoot Straight
Grady sat up, bringing his knees up with him, the blanket stretched like a tent across his thighs.
“I think you askin’ what I know about helpin’ a buddy out.”
Cole didn’t say anything.
“Whaddya know about that?” Grady asked.
Grady was watching Cole, and it was bright enough he could see him shrug, glance over and then away again quickly.
“Just that it happens.”
“It happens, does it?”
Cole shrugged again. “Yeah, you know…” He waved a hand around. “On account of men not havin’ a woman or whatever.”
“Most of ’em got a woman.”
“You know what I mean.”
Grady did know what he meant. What he didn’t know was why Cole was asking.
“What of it?”
Cole turned his face up and looked straight at Grady.
“What about us?”
“What about us?” Grady repeated dumbly. Surely Cole wasn’t asking.
“Why don’t we, you know.”
“Help each other out?”
“Yeah.”
Grady blew out a breath.
“I don’t reckon that’s a good idea.”
“’Cause you got someone in town?” Cole put an odd emphasis on town—derisive and dismissive all at once.
“I ain’t got one person for anythin’,” Grady heard himself saying and wondered why he was getting into this.
“So, you do it then?”
“Jesus.”
“What?”
“Okay, first of all, we can’t do it ’cause you breakin’ all the rules.”
“What rules?”
“We don’t talk about it. You’re talkin’ about it. If I wanted to talk about it, I’d screw a woman.”
That shut Cole up. Grady settled back down and thought that’d be the end of it.
“What’s the second of all?”
