Owen stared at his brother and replied. “We’re bringing our brothers home. It’s time they returned to Wolfe Mountain.”
CHAPTER 9
Leslie waitedin the carpool line for Tucker. Her brown-haired, grey-eyed son jumped in.
“Hiya, Mom. Did you have a good day? How’s Conner?”
“Slow down, and I’ll tell you. Buckle your seat belt,” she admonished. “Mrs. Robins took him on the field trip to the museum. They’ll return about the same time as us. We’re picking him up,” she informed him.
“Will he have to live with his brothers?” he asked anxiously. “Did you ask them if he can stay with us?”
“He’ll be staying with us for now,” she assured him. “The funeral won’t be for a couple of weeks. It doesn’t matter. We’ll figure out a way to see Conner. We’re family.”
“But we ain’t blood,” he argued.
“Don’t use ‘ain’t,’” she admonished. “We aren’tblood,” she corrected. “When does love care about blood?”
“Jimmy says we can’t keep Conner cause we’re not blood related,” Tucker repeated.
Her hands gripped the steering wheel. Knowing they became most likely the talk of the small town.
“Jimmy doesn’t know everything,” she shot back. “Did Gramps treat you differently from Conner?”
“No,” he said sadly. “I miss him. Will we ever get to hike or fish again?”
“Absolutely,” she said. “Don’t worry. I promise we’ll find a way. Grandpa Jeremiah wanted you to love the mountain as much as he did.”
“We don’t own it. What if they stop us?” he pressed.
“Let me worry about the grown-up things? I need you to help Conner. He’s grieving his dad,” she told him. “Sometimes, friendship can aid in healing the heart.”
“Will it make yours feel better? You said Conner’s brothers, and you used to play together.”
“It was a long time ago. Right now, I’m worried about Conner. What do you say we warm up those giant steaks and have a feast tonight? I didn’t eat my dessert. We can share it,” she said, distracting her son.
“Yeah. Did you see how big mine was? It’s as big as my face,” he said excitedly. “Conner said he tried to eat like his brothers. They eat a lot.”
Chuckling, she tousled his hair.
“One day, you’ll grow as big as them, and you’ll eat like them. Even Conner,” she said, pulling into Mrs. Robin’s driveway. “Go get Conner and tell her I said thank you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, jumping out and running to his best friend.
Anxiety ran through her veins. It’s not as if she could keep Tucker a secret with Owen planning to bring his brothers home. How did she explain to Tucker, his best friend was also his uncle?
CHAPTER 10
Owen satat the computer and mapped his brothers' locations. He sighed when he realized he’d have to do something about Mason’s two sons. It’s one thing to kidnap your brothers, but an entirely different situation when it comes to two kids who have never met their uncle.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Elias told him for the hundredth time. “Cade, Dillon and Mason have military experience. Wyatt will put up a fight. He’s never gotten over what happened.”
Grunting, Owen glanced up from the map. “None of us have healed from it. It’s time we at least come together. I asked Gunny and his son-in-law to research our brothers. He’s sending over the information on each of them.”
“Did you tell him what you planned to do?”
“I’m not stupid,” Owen said, frowning. “Gunny’s always treated our family with compassion. I’m not about to let him go to jail for becoming an accomplice.”
“What about me?” Elias exclaimed. “You didn’t ask me how I felt about it.”
