Chapter Seven
Ira climbed out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. He grabbed a towel and slipped into his swimsuit and hobbled to the hot tub in his backyard. Every morning and evening this week he’d been grateful to have the tub to climb into. Ranching was hard work. Harder than he expected.
He wasn’t weak. He could carry a wounded buddy, and both their packs, out of a bad situation. He was trained to jog for miles in full combat gear. Admittedly, he’d lost some of his fitness after being shot, but he’d also been working hard to regain his strength. Ranching was almost enough to beat him. His determination was flagging.
Luckily, he was marginally less sore today over yesterday. In time, he might just get the hang of working for a living. After nearly a year of convalescence and gradually building back his strength, he had the go ahead for full physical activity. He wasn’t ever going to run a marathon or be a heavy competition lifter, but he was good to go. He just had to wait for his muscles to catch up to his brain.
He climbed up onto the low deck encasing the tub, pushed the button to remove the cover and when it was out of the way, climbed into the soothing bliss of bubbling water. He had a date tonight and didn’t want to be too stiff to play proper host. But first, he had to loosen up and put in a full day’s work on the Bar 3. Today they were repairing the cabin roof which meant peeling off the old shingles and putting on new ones. It promised to be a bear of a day.
Forty-five minutes later he entered the Flint kitchen through the back door as had become his habit after watching what his father and half-brothers did.
The place was a zoo. Kids ran everywhere, people chattered. Was he mistaken? Was today a day off work? Because this felt like a party. Surely, he wasn’t crashing a party.
“Ira, come in,” Robert called out from the table where he sat with two school aged girls on his lap. Probably his young granddaughters. “Meet my family. These two princesses are my granddaughters, Daisy and Jane. The two hooligans are Ken’s kids, Gary and Zander.” Robert introduced the adults, most of whom Ira had seen around town. There were two teenage girls, Hannah and Casey, they were part of his brother Justice’s family.
There was one new face.
“This one,” Robert said his voice bursting with pride as he slung his arm around a pretty twenty something woman, “Is our daughter Beth. She’s studying to be a nurse. Once she graduates, she’s coming home and working at the hospital.”
“Da-ad,” Beth grumbled, rolling her eyes. “I haven’t decided where I’m going to work yet. Plus, it depends on who is hiring when I get out of school. I’m not in a rush to make any decisions; I want to finish school before I decide.”
“We have guests,” Robert chided. “Play nice.”
Beth rolled her eyes again and turned to Ira. “Nice to meet you, Ira. Welcome to the Bar 3. I hope you enjoy working here.” Despite her frustration with her father’s attempts to control her career, warmth and welcome rang in Beth’s voice.
“Nice to meet you, Beth. Nice to officially meet all of you. I’m really enjoying working here.” It was surprising just how much he was enjoying the manual labor and ranch work. An honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. That the work kept him fit was a bonus.
“Mommy, is that man my uncle?” Daisy piped in; her brows scrunched together.
“No, dear, why do you ask?” Tricia, Riley’s wife, and Daisy’s mother, asked.
Ira’s heart jumped to his throat. This is not how he wanted his relationship with Robert to come out into the open. He was hoping to plan the revelation, not have it thrown into the open by an innocent, curious child.
“’Cause, he looks like Grampa and Daddy. I remember when I saw him on my birthday.” She stared at Ira as if trying to figure it out.
“That is so weird,” Jennifer said from where she leaned against the counter by the sink. “She’s right. You guys do look a lot alike.”
“Lots of people have dark hair and green eyes,” Tricia explained patiently.
Ira didn’t miss the frowns marring everyone’s expression. This was going to end badly.
“Are you like a long-lost cousin or something?” Jennifer asked.
“Um. No. I am not your cousin,” Ira responded, wishing he could tell the truth. He glanced at Robert and then at Sue. Robert looked worried; Sue lips were pressed together tightly, like she was biting back a comment.
“Robert,” Sue said, her voice ringing with warning. In unison, every head in the room pivoted toward the family matriarch and then to the patriarch.
“Hop down girls,” Robert said, helping Daisy and Jane off his lap. Moving slowly, like a man on his way to the gallows, Robert stood and crossed the room to stand beside Ira. Sue joined them, taking Robert’s hand.
Every nerve in Ira’s body wanted to bolt, to forget he’d ever come to Coyote Creek, but he held his ground. The longer this was delayed, the worse the situation got. Truthfully, Daisy’s observation was probably a blessing in disguise.
“Everyone,” Robert said and cleared his throat. “I want you to meet Ira Castillo. My son, and your half-brother.”
“What?”
“No way?”
“What the hell?”
