Ever since he was a little boy, there had been one thing that would calm and sooth Lucas, one thing that would touch his soul, no matter what was going on, no matter how much he hurt inside.

The farm.

In the pasture where cows used to graze, there was a gentle hill, and atop the hill was an ancient oak, older than the farm itself. Its branches curved downward, reaching toward the ground. It had been the best climbing tree when he was young, and later during his teens, it had been his thinking tree, a place where he could come and sit and work things out in his head.

A place where he could be alone, when he needed to be.

Like now.

He sat with his back against the vast trunk and looked down at the pasture below. It didn’t take his pain away—the agony of losing Ash was still there, with all the ache and anger and confusion it had caused—but there was room for all those feelings out here. The land welcomed the feelings; it didn’t judge. It didn’t try to make things better, it let him be himself.

The conversation with his father hadn’t gone as well as he’d planned.

I imagined that when I told him Ash and I were over, he’d be so happy he’d call off the sale. But he didn’t. He said he’d think about it.

But thinking about things wasn’t his dad’s strong suit. Lucas knew what his dad really meant. He would forget all about it, and accept the money when it came in, and act surprised that the sale had gone through, as though he’d had no part in it.

It was all for nothing, then. Losing Ash, losing the land…and will Ricky even stop there? What if he keeps coming back until all the land is gone? Then where will I be?

He heard a car on the old dirt road that followed the fence-line of the pasture, but he didn’t look around to see who it was. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t anyone he wanted to talk to. Maybe it was surveyors again, taking the measure of everything that could be snatched away from him.

When he heard the car come to a halt, he squeezed his eyes shut tighter. Go away, whoever you are. Was it Pete, coming to try to cheer him up with stupid jokes? Maybe Simon, with nice responsible words about how time heals all wounds?

“There he is,” said a voice, just distant enough that he couldn’t quite make out who it was. “Up there by the old tree.”

“I told you he was probably up there,” said someone else.

Finally, he looked.

And he blinked, because what he saw didn’t make sense.

Pete was there, along with Rex and Simon.

But they weren’t alone.

There was Ash, coming up just behind them.

Ash had someone with him. Was holding that someone by the arm, with the grim look of a prison guard leading a prisoner to the electric chair.

The fact that the prisoner was Ricky made Lucas feel a sudden shock. He stood up from his spot by the tree.

“Guys…what’s going on?” he asked. He had horrible visions of everyone picking up rocks to throw at Ricky.

Once they reached the top of the hill they stood in a circle, with Rex and Ash flanking Ricky.

The guys were in their usual clothes, and Ricky looked like he was in the same cashmere turtleneck he’d been wearing when they last met.

On the other hand, Ash was dressed to kill. The black of his business suit stood out against the green grass. His lines were so sharp, he looked like his suit could cut someone. He looked formidable.

He looked dangerous.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering why I gathered you here today,” Ash said.

“Well, no, you explained it in the car,” said Pete.

“Shh!” said Simon, elbowing Pete in the ribs.

But instead of looking angry, Ash actually smiled. “That’s true. I couldn’t help myself. I have been practicing this speech all day.”

Lucas said, “Would somebody mind telling me what the hell is going on here? Why is Ricky here? Did you come to steal more of my land?”

“This is goddamned kidnapping,” said Ricky.

“Oh, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about Ricky anymore,” said Ash. “Lucas…look. I am so sorry about the way it ended between us. I kept trying to figure a way out of our problems, kept trying to think my way through them. But you know that I love you, don’t you? Letting you go…that was because I loved you, and I was so afraid of seeing you get hurt.”

Lucas bit his lip. “Too late, I’m already hurt.”

“Things between us were always going to be hard, if only because of our history, and because no one wanted to see us together. No one would understand. Not your friends, not my family, no one. But over time, we could have convinced them. We could have made them see that we belong together. Right, Rex?”

Lucas looked over at his best friend, shocked to see him nodding. “Rex…what’s going on?”

“What’s going on is that I’m learning to grow up and forgive,” said Rex. “I don’t think hanging on to the past has been good for me…and I really hurt you, by demanding you choose between your friendship with me, and your relationship with Ash.”

“Well, I wasn’t allowed to make the choice,” said Lucas. “Ash made it for me.”

“Yeah, and I’m taking that back,” said Ash. “Lucas, I want you to forgive me for that. I want you to take me back.”

“Take you back? Dude, first you’ve got to explain what’s going on. Why is Ricky here? Ricky, what the fuck are you here for?”

“Your little friends dragged me here,” said Ricky. “They said if I didn’t come voluntarily, they were going to tie me up and gag me.”

“I don’t think anyone said gag,” said Pete. “At least, I’m pretty sure I would’ve made a joke if someone had.”

“In any case,” continued Ricky, “they forced me here, but they wouldn’t tell me why. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Whenever you and Ash get together, someone is going to get hurt. Isn’t that the way it always goes?”

“Now now,” said Ash, “let’s not play innocent victim, shall we, Ricky? After all, you’re the real reason Lucas and I couldn’t work it out. Your scheme to steal our land drove a wedge between us…exactly as you planned.”

“Obviously not quite well enough,” muttered Ricky.

“It’s amazing how pain can clear your head,” said Ash. “It lets you focus on the important things. Like timing. Like how strange it was that Ricky waited until now to have his revenge on us.”

Lucas shrugged. He still felt wary around Ash…and yet drawn to him at the same time. They couldn’t possibly get back together at this point, could they? But he had to hear Ash out, because what he was saying seemed to hint and deeper secrets.

“I think Ricky picked the best possible time, didn’t he? It sure as hell caused us plenty of agony.”

“Right, but if he’s as shrewd a businessman as he pretends to be, there were other times he could have swept in, that would’ve caused much more damage. For instance, right after my dad went to jail, when Callum, Evan and I were trying to keep the company afloat. He could have come in then and totally wiped us out.”

“But he didn’t,” said Lucas.

“No, he didn’t. And ask yourself another question, Lucas. He’s buying land on both our properties…but not much land. He’s a billionaire software developer, he could have just come through and offered our dads millions of bucks to buy all the land, and kick us off.”

“But he didn’t,” said Lucas. He stared at Ricky, whose guilty face gave him an idea—or at least the hint of an idea—that told him where Ash was going with this.

“No, he didn’t,” said Ash. “I know my reputation around town is pretty evil. People see me as a scheming, money-hungry executive. Now, I’m not evil, I hope all of you agree with me on that. But I have made a career of being able to figure out other people’s plans, to study them, to figure out their weak spots. And the more I thought about it, the more I thought Ricky’s plan had a lot of weak spots. In fact, it seemed…almost impromptu. As though it were motivated less by revenge, than by a sudden need.”

“Oh for god’s sake,” said Ricky, “are you going to drag this out forever?”

Ash crossed his arms. “I mean, if you want to tell this part, go for it.”

“I’m broke, okay? Nobody knows. My biggest investors have backed out. I’m borrowing money from one guy to pay the next, just trying to keep everyone from leaving at once.”

“If you’re broke,” said Lucas, “then why are you buying land?”

Ricky jerked his thumb in Ash’s direction. “It’s his dad. If there’s one thing everyone in business knows, it’s that Archibald Cray knew how to hide things. Hide money, hide losses. When he went to jail, I realized that he might be in a position to help me…and might want to help me. I could offer him a ton of money for the land—the last money I’d be able to lay my hands on, before the world realizes I was ruined. But it wouldn’t be a real purchase. Archibald was going to hold the money for me, to keep it safe while my company was dismantled. Of course, he’d receive a hefty fee for the service, in addition to the actual price of the land.”

Ash nodded. “That’s why my dad was so keen to keep the land deal going, even though Callum and I could have paid off his lawyers ourselves. It wasn’t just about raising the money for his appeal, it was about getting far, far more than that.”

“Okay,” said Lucas, “but what does any of this have to do with me? I’m sure my dad didn’t enter into any big schemes with you, Ricky. Please tell me he didn’t.”

“Nah. That was Archibald’s idea,” said Ricky. “He knew your dad is always hard up for cash. And if you thought Ash was buying your land—”

“And Ash would think I was buying his…you were just sowing confusion.”

Ricky nodded. “I mean, let’s face it, it was a pretty good plan. You two would be at each other’s throats, unable to stop fighting for long enough to prevent the deal.”

“The one thing he didn’t expect,” said Ash, “is that we’d meet at Karl’s wedding. And that I’d confront you.”

“And promise to destroy me, if I remember correctly,” said Lucas, giving Ash a hesitant smile.

Ash looked so fucking hopeful at that moment, seeing Lucas smile.

Could this work out?

It wasn’t possible, was it?

“But what about his threats to keep buying more land? To buy the company?”

“It was a bluff, to distract us. He knew I’d be so caught up wondering how to save the company, that I’d take my eye off the real plan, which was to funnel the money into the land for safekeeping.”

Pete spoke up brightly, “And he would’ve gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids!”

“Pete!” hissed Simon, elbowing him again.

“The problem with you guys is, you think I’m a fucking villain,” said Ricky. “I worked for years to build my company. If anyone should understand that, Ash, it’s you. And now they’re taking it away. All these people who were happy to give me millions of dollars of investment, rushing away because they don’t believe in me. I’m not a villain. Hell, I’m not even as bad as Archibald. I didn’t break any laws. I didn’t steal a dime. Every dollar I was trying to save, was a dollar I had earned myself.”

“Yeah, you’re a real hero,” said Ash.

“So…it’s over?” said Lucas. “Nobody’s going to try to buy the land out from under us? Everything is…safe?”

Ash smiled, only this time it was a hard smile, a smile full of wicked intent. “Oh, I should say so. I’ve made a little deal with Ricky. Everyone, meet the newest investor in Cray Reliable. Ricky’s going to park what little money he has left with us. It will help our balance sheet tremendously…and it’s going to keep his hands off my land. With the added bonus that my dear old dad can remain in jail, where he can’t do any harm.”

Ricky shrugged. “It isn’t how I wanted this to end. You guys made my life hell. I wish I could have made you pay for that.”

“I think we’ve been paying for years now,” said Ash. “In fact, I think we’re all paid up. There’s just one more thing. Lucas…could I talk to you privately?”

* * *

The car sped off, bouncing down the rutted dirt road, and Lucas grinned as he saw Ash wincing every time the car bounced.

“They’re going to destroy my suspension,” Ash said.

“I can’t believe you let Pete drive your car.”

Ash turned to him. “I needed to be alone with you. Look…I can understand if, after all this, you don’t want me back. I think I’ve fixed all the external problems. But I can understand it if you don’t want to forgive me for breaking up with you. I could even understand it if you didn’t want to get back together.”

Now that it was out in the open, Lucas wasn’t sure how to say what was in his heart. He put his hands in his pockets, and paced away from Ash. The tall grass of the pasture brushed against his pants legs. There were no more cows in the field to keep the grass under control, nobody to eat the clover blossoms that were beginning to be heavy with bees.

“You know, I think we both started off with some terrible ideas,” Lucas said finally. “Me, I believed people couldn’t change, not deep down. And you believe people are unforgivable.”

Ash nodded. “It’s a pretty grim philosophy.”

“But I think we’ve proved each other wrong. The only thing you used to care about was winning. Winning against me at any cost. And yet, you were willing to give up everything, to save me from Ricky’s plans. I’d say that’s a change.”

“Hell, there’s more to it than that,” said Ash. “If I’d kept thinking that Ricky was just irretrievably evil, I never would have figured out how to stop him. I had to get past all that, to stop thinking of him as unforgivable, to understand why he was doing this to us.”

“Our whole lives people taught us we had to win against one another,” said Lucas. “Everyone kept pushing us to be rivals at everything. It’s so easy for us. We know how to be enemies. But I don’t know how to be…your boyfriend. But I want to learn.”

Ash grabbed his hand. “I want to learn, too. I think we can figure it out. Don’t you? I mean, give it a chance, Lucas. If we can survive Ricky and our dads—not to mention the wrath of Rex—we can survive anything.”

Lucas smiled then, an honest, open smile, with a lightness in his heart he hadn’t felt since all this began. “Maybe we could even go out to dinner or something…you know, without battling evil billionaires or criminals or anything.”

“What, just have dinner? Like normal people?”

Lucas pulled Ash into his arms. “You’re right. We should probably defeat a few more evil people while we eat. Do you know of any more?”

Then he kissed him, under the wide-open sky.