5
RED
“Dad, have you seen my red ball cap?” Wyatt calls out from his room. You’d think that having two weeks to pack, he’d be ready to leave on time. But a quick glance at the clock on the kitchen wall tells me we’re thirty minutes away from our planned departure and he’sstilllooking for things.
I shake my head with a smile as I enter his cluttered room. “You mean this one?” I hold up the red cap in question. Wyatt lets out a groan of relief, snatching it from my hand.
“You’re the best!” He grins and slips the cap on his head before spinning it backward. “Thanks.”
“No problem, kid,” I reply, patting his back before taking in the mess of clothes and gear spread across his bed. “Thought you were almost packed?”
Wyatt scratches his head sheepishly. “Uh, kinda?”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “Alright, bud. Finish up and come down when you’re ready. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us, so we’ll hit the road as soon as Mags arrives.”
Leaving him to his last-minute packing frenzy, pride mixed with a tinge of nostalgia swirls inside of me. Our boy—now a man— is grown now and about to embark on his own adventure.Time sure does fly by, doesn’t it?
“See you downstairs, yeah?”
“Yeah, Dad. Thanks. Just want to make sure I’ve got everythin’.”
“If you don’t, we can always grab stuff in Anchorage before your flight. As long as you’ve got the essentials, you’ll be fine. It’s not like you’re not comin’ back, kid. Hell, I’ll probably shut the door to this mess and leave it here for you.”
“I know, it’s just…”
“Yeah, Wy. I know,” I say before lifting my chin and making my way back to the kitchen.
“Is hestillpackin’?” Rhett asks from his spot at the kitchen table.
“Yep,” I chuckle as I grab a thermos to fill up with cowboy brew for the road before pouring myself a fresh cup to drink while I wait for Wy.
"You ever think back to whenIwas his age, scalin’ fences I had no business climbin’ just to get a taste of the rodeo?” he asks.
“The way I remember it, you didn’t climb the fence completely, you fell the rest of the way, remember? You were about to break your neck and I managed to break your fall.”
Rhett grins. “Oh yeah. That too,” he says with a laugh.
“You were a damn fool with a big ego and a hard head,” I muse. “But I couldn’t fault your determination. Look where it got us.”
“Yep. Bonded for life now. Wouldn’t have it any other way, old man.”
My brows jump. “Who are you callin' old? I've only got ten years on you."
“Yet you’re about to have an almost eighteen-year-old son workin’ his tail off on an Alaskan crab boat in the Bering Sea.” He shoots me a challenging smirk.
“HowdidI get to be so old?” I groan.
“Well, I’m sure me, my brothers and this ranch here have helped with all that gray in your hair.”
I quirk a brow at his own smattering of silver on his head. “Pot callin’ the kettle black there?”
Rhett runs his hand through his hair. “I’ll have you know my wifelovesmy salt and pepper hair. Apparently, it makes me lookdistinguished."
“Mmm hmm…” I hum as I take a big gulp of my coffee.
“Do you have all the details about those meetin’s you’ll be havin’ on the trip?” he asks, pivoting the conversation seamlessly.
“Sure do. I’m goin’ to catch up with Rod at the Ninilchik rodeo about securin’ a contract for us havin’ first option on any retirin’ animals from him. Then I’ll visit those potential clients on our way off the peninsula before we head to Palmer. I’ve got it all scheduled,” I tell him.
