Mark took the girls in with all the bags, but was back out in minutes. “The ladies are keeping Cam company.” He looked down. “What can I do?”
“Help me unload these guys? Fire first, I think.”
“Sure. I watched them load, so I know we have to release the trailer ties. So we’ll do Fire and leave her tied until we get him settled.”
“Cool.” He could do that. Most trailer ties took a sharp tug to release. Then they opened the gate and secured it open before he opened the first partition and grabbed Fire’s lead rope. “Okay, buddy. Be nice to me, huh. Back it up.” He kept his voice calm and firm like Cam always did, and Fire danced a moment, but then backed his ass up right out onto the ground.
“Come on, good boy. There’s water and sweet feed and a warm barn.” He led Fire in, and the big gelding knew right where to go, what to do, and he was happy to be home. “I hear you. Me too. I’ll be right back.”
He repeated the whole process, getting Copper Penny settled in her stall, and by then, the house was filled with Halleys.
He grinned, because he and Mark walked into a buzzing front room, and Mark’s eyes went wide. “So many people.”
“Yeah. Tell me about it.” He held his arms open as Jesse ran to him.
“Unc!”
“You know it, son.” He scooped the little boy up and a dozen Halleys fussed at him about his back.
“It’s okay. I’m feeling pretty good.” He let Jesse pat his cheeks and kiss him.
“Uncle Mark, come meet Granny Halley!” Rachel grabbed Mark’s hand and started tugging. “She’s real nice, she’s Daddy Cam’s momma.”
“Yes, baby, I know I’ve met her before.”
Pam looked at Mark and smiled, the expression warm and fond. “Well, good Lord and butter. Mark Bray. I haven’t seen you in a month of Sundays. What have you been up to?”
Mark pinked and offered her a warm smile. “Oh, I went in the military, went to college, and now I’m working. I just hadto come and see all these hooligans.” Mark looked a like he was gonna swallow his tongue. It was great.
Stephen glanced at Mitch, then at Cam, then at Mitch again. “Have you noticed that when the girls call him ‘Daddy Cam’, it sounds like they’re saying ‘Nanny Cam’?”
“Baby brother, I love you. Shut up.” Cam didn’t seem too worried, but he was looking tired.
He leaned in, searching those green eyes. “You okay? You need the pain pill yet?”
Cam shook his head. “I think I’m all right right now, babe. Thanks.”
Stephen snorted. “‘Babe’.”
“Shut up, you.” Cam pointed one finger at his brother. “I can tell stories.”
Stephen raised his hands in surrender.
Someone came through the front door—Leanne with the baby in one arm and a pan of something covered in foil in the other.
“You want me to try to get rid of some of these folks?” he asked.
Cam rolled his eyes. “I’d love to see you try. Really, the only thing to do about this is to just let them come in, wander about, stick food in my face, and then everybody will leave. But they didn’t get to actually see me be in the hospital, so everybody has to look and fuss. I know that you’re not used to this…”
Mitch glared at Cam. “I got used to it.”
He wasn’t sure how, not really. He’d been solitary for a long time, then it had been him and Allison. Then him and his girls.
Now he was…part of the Halley clan, and it didn’t seem like any of them were letting him go.
“We got a new horse. We got to go to the Lego store. We got to go to Walmart a lot. We got to get in the hot tub. Daddy Camsaid that we get to have a hot tub of our own.” Rachel was going ninety to nothing.
Bekka was over there with Lori and the older cousins talking Girl Scouts, he was sure. And Sarah was…missing.
