“Uh, video games. Video games. And then there’s the video game part of their life that’s going on right now alongside the video games. Have I mentioned the video games? I might need to mention the video games.” Ichabod’s eyes rolled like thrown dice.
“You’re just mad that they didn’t ask you to play.”
“Oh, absolutely. I live for it. I actually don’t mind playing games. I’m pretty good at some of them. I just like sleeping more than I like them.”
“Now that I understand. So…you got a second to talk?”
Ichabod arched one eyebrow. “Are you quitting? Because if you’re quitting, no, I don’t have a second to talk. You’re not allowed to talk to me until you decide you’re not quitting.”
“I’m not quitting.” He was, in fact, fighting to keep his job.
“Then yes, I have plenty of time.”
“Perfect. I—I do have kind of a tough thing to talk about to you, though.”
Ichabod put his sketchbook down. “You’re all right, yes?”
Now that honored the hell out of him. That the very first thing that Ichabod would do was to assure that he was all right. That honored him on a deep level. “Yes.”
“So what’s up?”
He took a deep breath. “Do you know who Rick McIntyre is?”
Ichabod frowned enough to cause a line to form on his forehead. “I do. He was Chris’s stepbrother. Vic was married to his mom after Chris left home. He was furious about Vic’s will.”
That was sort of what he had been afraid of. “Yeah. You know him? I mean, did you meet him before?—"
“God, no. I’ve met him once before the funeral, and he seemed like a nice enough guy. I don’t know that Chris ever said much about him. I mean, they weren’t close. I think they did that thing where you go and see each other on random holidays because your parents were married when you were adults, but you don’t even know each other’s names. Is he sick or something?”
“Not exactly.” Ellis felt a prickle on the back of his neck that was partly shame and partly worry that if he told Ichabod all about this shit he was gonna lose the easy friendship and subtle or maybe not so subtle flirtation they’d established. That would be worse than losing the job.
He forged on. “Anyway, Rick is pretty pissed at Vic for dying and leaving the ranch to your kids.”
“Yeah, he’s made that clear.” Ichabod’s eyebrows flew up. “It makes no sense. He was Vic’sstepson.”
“Yeah. I don’t know why. I didn’t say it made sense. I know that he wanted the land so he could sell it off to a developer.”
“Ew! I mean why would you put a development right smack out here in the middle of all of this ranch land? The people on either side would be negatively affected by that.” That nose wrinkle made him want to smile.
“I agree, and it would use up resources that the city doesn’t want to extend out this far.” Ellis shrugged. “Like I said, I didn’t say it made sense. I just said that was what he wanted.”
Ichabod continued to frown at him, and suddenly this frown deepened into a scowl and suspicion entered his eyes, which Ellis hated to see, even if he had to understand why it was there. “How do you know about all of this? Obviously you know this Rick guy, but how do you know him?”
Ellis faced Ichabod’s head-on and met his gaze directly. “He’s also my half-brother.”
Ichabod’s mouth literally dropped open, and he stared at Ellis as if he’d grown two heads. “Your half-brother.”
“Yep. Look, I know you have no reason to hear me out, but I’m asking you to anyway.” Ellis leaned a little closer, not wanting to get into Ichabod’s personal space so much as to impress on him how sincere he was. “Rick is the one who suggested I apply for this job when it came up.”
When Ichabod opened his mouth and drew in breath to say something, Ellis held up a hand, and he was surprised when Ichabod stayed quiet.
“I needed a job, and I thought when I applied at Cowboy Wanted that I would check out the situation and see what was what, and if it seemed like a good place for me then I would just stay.”
Ichabod hadn’t stopped frowning, but the wheels were clearly turning. “Right, but if Rick suggested that you take this job then there was something he wanted from you.”
That was what made his gut churn. “He did. He wanted me to inform on you—so to speak. He didn’t ask me to sabotage the ranch or anything, he wanted me to tell him if you were struggling or if you were gonna be able to stay here or not. I haven’t told him dick, honey. I’ve been putting him off because that ain’t right. I work for you, and the cowboy’s loyalty is to the brand. That’s how it works. And I like you and the kids too much to do you even a little dirty.”
Speaking of the kids, little Chrissy ran up to him waving her hands and shaking spray and water everywhere. “Bell! Waddy!”
