Chapter 2
Clark slowed downto allow the snow plow to go past him, then he turned into the driveway of Erin’s Way. He sent up a prayer as well as a curse when he saw that no other tracks had been made in the snow, and knew that Clemmons guy hadn’t come here yet. Then again, the only indication that this was a ranch was the sign overhead, the house was almost half a mile from the road, and couldn’t be seen from there. He cursed when he remembered in the nick of time about the curve in the driveway, and he made it, not going into the ditch. He’d done it before when he had just first learned to drive, and it had been a bitch getting the vehicle out. That and the fact that his axle had broken because of the deepness of the ditch and his driving fast. Remembering that time, he slowed to a crawl, and sighed in relief when he saw his home in front of him. He loved that the downstairs was lit, but scowled when he saw almost a dozen vehicles parked there.
Parking close to the door wasn’t an option, so he parked the furthest away. When he exited, he grabbed his seabag, threw it over his shoulder, and trekked through the shin-deep snow. Less than forty-eight hours before it had been eighty degrees where he was and the sun had been shining.
“Welcome to Colorado,” he said to himself as he kicked the snow off his shoes on the steps leading to the back door, and frowned at the wheelchair ramp to the side. He shrugged as he opened the door, and was hit with warmth, laughter, lights, and the feeling of home, unable to distinguish the smells of food cooking He put his bag to the side, hung up his coat, and removed his shoes. As he approached the kitchen, he wanted to take everything in before his presence was known, so he stood in the shadows and looked in. He saw a bunch of women he’d never seen before, then his former teammates, and finally, three men that had been like grandfathers to him growing up. It looked like the men were working in the kitchen, and the women were sitting around the table laughing and talking. He didn’t see Erin anywhere. He tuned into the conversation around him, and took a step forward. When Virgil caught sight of him, Clark quickly put his finger to his lips, and one to his ear. The older man nodded, then leaned in and said something to Floyd, who in turned said something to Wendel. They both looked at him and grinned. Without saying a word, Wendel pulled dishes from the cupboard and set them aside, while Floyd took a beer from the refrigerator
Clark watched the women, and smiled when one of them looked at another in shock.
“What did you say?” One women, who he would later learn was Pru, asked the woman in a wheelchair. He assumed that was Naomi.
“I don’t do pumpkin.” Her statement was met with utter silence, and several people had their mouths hanging open.
The first woman leaned back in her chair, and let out a bellow. Clark winced at the sound, and he was several feet away. He chuckled at what she bellowed.
“RICEWOMAN! Get your ass in here! We have an intervention to do!”
It took about three minutes before Erin appeared, and she scowled at the woman. “What’s got your panties in a pinch, Pru? I was on the phone.”
Clark hoped it was Jake.
“We have a problem here.”
“What?”
“Naomi said she doesn’t like pumpkin.”
Clark covered his mouth as he released a small sound at his sister’s expression.
“Come again?”
The woman in the wheelchair shrugged. “I don’t like pumpkin.”
“Anything?”
“What do you mean anything?”
“Pumpkin anything? Anything with pumpkin in it? Bread? Coffee, latte, pie?”
Clark saw that with each item Erin named, Naomi would shudder. “Nope, nothing.”
“Then what the hell do you like?”
“Apple cider. Apple pie. Apple fritters, apple cake, apple donuts. Anything apple, but not pumpkin.”
“Ah, okay. So, we’re here tonight to discuss Thanksgiving dinner. Tomorrow we’ll be making pies. In years past, and when we were younger, Mom would make an extra pie and we would eat it the night before. Are you saying you won’t eat any pumpkin pie?”
“Correct, but if you want, I can make an apple pie or two.”
Clark took that opportunity of silence to step into the kitchen and add his two cents worth.
“Or, we could have mincemeat,” he said as he named his own favorite holiday pie. He grinned when everyone in the room turned to look at him, then he braced himself as Erin screamed, launched herself toward him and landed hard into his chest. He hugged her to him and felt her tears as she buried her face into his neck. He also felt her arms and legs wrap around him. He turned in a circle for a couple of turns, then was engulfed by the three older men. They were all hugged by his former teammates.
“I can’t breathe,” Erin said, and the men backed away. Clark set her on the floor, then wiped her tears. He kissed each of her cheeks, and then her forehead.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
Someone in the background said, “Who is that?”
With a grin, Clark took Erin’s hand and they turned to the group. Clark noticed that each of his former teammates, except for Reid, stood behind a woman, and had a hand on a shoulder. The only two women that didn’t have anyone standing behind them were Pru and Naomi.
“Ladies, I’d like you to meet my brother, Clark. Clark this is everybody. You know the guys, and starting with this end, we have Naomi Alcott, to her left is Pru Tibbs, next to here is Adele Shultz. On the other side of the table at the far end is Opal Morris, next to her is Marcia Ramos.”
Clark nodded to everyone and cleared his throat. “So I’m not repeating myself, I’m here to tell you that I’m out. I got my DD214s last Thursday.” A cheer went up and Naomi looked at Erin.
“What are those?”
“No clue.”
“Discharge papers,” Clark asked. “You’re not former military?” He knew she wasn’t, but he wanted to test the waters to see if he could get close to her to find out what she knew about Patrick Clemmons, maybe he could help Jake out in his investigation.
“No.”
“Okay, but I’m home for good. I know I have a lot to learn because it’s been a long, long time since I’ve been home. I also know that Erin’s made a lot of changes around here. I know I can’t see it now, but I’ve been talking to her when I can over the years.”
“What do you mean, you can’t see it?” Naomi asked in shock. “Do you want your place at the table back?” She started to roll her chair away from the end, but he stopped her. “No, you’re fine right there, I can sit off to the side. And it’s snowing like hell out there.”
His statement caused the others to jump to their feet and go to the nearest window. He took a seat beside Naomi and smiled when Wendel set the place setting in front of him. “What are we doing?” Clark asked in confusion of the older man.
“Having a pot luck late lunch, early dinner. We’re here to discuss Thanksgiving and who’s bringing what. Reid and I are doing the turkey and stuffing.”
“Will you be frying one?” Clark asked then scowled at his sister as she picked up a rock glass with a small sliver of amber liquid in it. “Is that Dad’s whiskey?”
“No, it’s my whiskey. I have one shot every night. I did save a bottle of Dad’s if you want it. It’s in the office.”
“Or,” Virgil laughed from the kitchen stove. “We have beer.”
“I’ll take the beer.” He knew that Virgil knew the time Clark had gotten drunk on the whiskey he’d stolen from his father. He had never been able to tolerate it afterward, no matter how many years passed. He shuddered at the memory, and wrinkled his nose when Virgil laughed at him as he brought him the beer Floyd had removed from the fridge earlier.
“I sense a story there,” Naomi said quietly from his left.
“There is,” he said as he leaned in to answer. “I stole a bottle of Dad’s whiskey when I was fifteen. I went to the barn and drank it. Virgil found me when I was puking my guts out and I thought I was going to die. I haven’t touched the hard stuff since that night.” He smiled when she laughed. He really liked the sound.
“So,” he said a little louder. “How come you don’t like pumpkin? Did anything happen to make you not like it?”
“No, no childhood trauma or anything, it just leaves a funky aftertaste in my mouth.” She shrugged and gave him a look with a wrinkled nose, which he thought was cute. He watched as the men that had been in the kitchen started setting dishes on the table, and his stomach growled. That was when he realized he’d only had one slice of toast at the hotel earlier that morning, and had drank coffee or water the entire trip. No one really said anything as they filled their plates and started eating.
Clark was halfway through his first plate, when Reid asked him a question, “When did you get out?”
At the same time, Denver asked, “How was the last mission?”
Denver looked at the others and shrugged. “They were heading out a couple of days after I left the base.”
“That one was successful, we returned last Tuesday, late, did the debrief on Wednesday, I was handed my DD214s on Thursday, and I took Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to pack up my apartment, loaded up, and headed for home early yesterday morning.” He frowned with a forkful of food halfway to his mouth. “Today is Tuesday, correct?”
“Correct,” several of the people at the table answered.
“Good, then I made it home in time for Thanksgiving.” Clark continued to eat for a few seconds, then looked up and stared down the table at his sister. “How many people will be here?”
“Everyone at this table now, and any of the hands that don’t have holiday plans.”
“You’re giving them the holiday off?” Clark continued to ask, and when it occurred to him that it was deathly quiet, he looked up at everyone and saw them look from him to Erin.
“What?”
“Do you have a problem with me giving my employees off for the holiday?”
“Not at all, I was just wondering who would be filling in for them?”
“Us,” Naomi said from beside him. When he turned to frown at her, she remembered what both Denver and Erin had told her. She didn’t back down. “There are enough of us here to cover both ranches. Depending on how much snow we get that will determine if we turn the horses out or not. I know you haven’t been here for some time, but not all the horses here on Erin’s Way are inside and in stalls. However, all of the ones over at Broken are.”
“How many horses do you have?”
“Twenty-five at the moment.” Her answer must have shocked him, because he stared at her with wide eyes, then jerked his head toward his sister.
“You said there were only a few.”
“Yeah, the last time I talked to you, there were. Don’t worry, we have everything under control.” Before he could say anything, she shook her head at him. “Sorry, I’m not being a bitch, but we have a lot to talk about. I’m glad you’re here, I really am, but a little heads up might have been nice.”
“I’m sorry for that, but I really wanted to get back here. I know we have a lot to talk about. I’ll shut up and listen, taking mental notes. If I have a question, I’ll ask it.”
“Thank you.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with our LT?” Reid asked Clark with a scowl.
“Yes, who are you?” Perry asked.
“Last time I worked with you,” Lloyd spoke then, “You barked orders, kicked ass, then asked questions later.”
“What they said,” Denver said as he agreed with his former teammates.
Clark shook his head, set his fork down, and sipped his beer. He settled back in his chair, and because his plate was empty, he cradled his beer on his flat stomach and looked at the others. “I know all you men know me as your boss and friend. However, I also know that even though I grew up on this ranch, I left here when I was eighteen. I am now thirty-one. That’s thirteen years that I don’t know jack shit about this ranch. The last time I was home was when we got back from Operation Gold Rush.” He finished his beer, sat forward, folded his arms on the table before him and looked along the length of it to Erin.
“I know I have a lot of shit to know, to learn, to understand, and to see. You’ve been doing it by yourself and I’m sure the guys have helped when they could. I was only asking so that you wouldn’t be spread thin.”
“Thank you for that explanation, but no, I’m good. I’ve had to do some revamping in the last couple of days, but I’m good. We’re good. And, yes, you have a lot to know and understand. Again, I’m not being a bitch, and I’m not withholding your inheritance from you, but I feel you need to be caught up to date before we can go see Liam.”
“Who’s that?”
“Our lawyer.” She grinned when he wrinkled his nose. “Okay, again, I’m not being a bitch, and you know I’m not military, but Reid and the others have explained things to me. Right now, you need to understand that on this team, I’m number one.”
“Well,” Reid said, and grinned when everyone looked at him with raised brows. “I’d say more like a commander.”
“Okay, I get that.”
“Who’s your number two? Reid?”
“No, for Broken, it’s Naomi. If you want to get technical, she’s number one over there. If you want to know anything about The Broken Wheel Ranch, you go to her. Here, at Erin’s Way, Wendel, Floyd, and Virgil are technically number one, two, and three. I’ve yet to figure out who is actually in charge of Riceman Stallions, but we can get into that tomorrow. Tonight is not only our monthly dinner, but we’re discussing Thanksgiving.” She looked at everyone at the table then grinned. “While I love pumpkin pie, and there will be some here, if you don’t like something, don’t eat it. I for one, detest one thing, and I actually gag if it’s on my plate.”
“What’s that?” Naomi said as she picked up a dish, and started placing the items on her plate. She looked up after no one said anything. She picked up a green bean and bit into it, closing her eyes to savor the flavor. She opened them and saw the expression on Erin’s face.
“Green beans,” Erin, Reid, and Clark said as one.
“I remember when she was little, Grandpa tried to give her green beans fresh from the garden, and thankfully we were all outside. She copied him and took a bite, then leaned over and tossed her cookies. I know this isn’t appropriate at the dinner table, but to my knowledge she’s never eaten one since.”
“I haven’t. Just because someone doesn’t like something, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make it for the rest of us. I only ask, for me only, but I only ask if you make something with vegetables, you either refrain from using green beans, or tell me about it.”
When everyone looked at her funny, Reid chuckled. “She loves homemade pot pie, and I make it for her. Because of her strong dislike of green beans, I don’t use the canned mixed vegetable. I buy frozen of different kinds. You know, things like corn, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli. I use fresh when I can, but we keep frozen on hand in case of an emergency.” He laughed again, and Clark approved that he reached out and touched her hand, or where her hand was supposed to be. He didn’t know how long it would take him to realize she didn’t have one. “When I purchased groceries for the first time here, we unloaded them at the cabin, then brought them here. For the life of me I couldn’t understand why there were no green beans, because I knew I had purchased at least six cans of them.”
“What happened to them?”
“Erin left them at the cabin.”
Everyone laughed as they finished their meal, and they regaled Clark with stories of how they came to live in the cabin, but when they met their soulmate, they moved in their cabin with them. When some of the women started making noise about leaving, Clark looked at his watch and was shocked by how long it had been. He quickly helped clean up the table, then said he’d go out with the older men to help with the nightly chores. Everyone had to wait for him, because when he’d arrived, he’d set his pack down just inside the door and removed his boots. He hadn’t realized everyone else had left theirs on.
Outside he looked up and smiled at the cloudless night, but flakes of snow were still coming down. It turned out that everyone except for Erin had come outside. He saw the women following Naomi to a smaller truck, and watched in awe as she got herself out of the wheelchair and into the driver’s seat. Before he could respond, she leaned down, got her chair folded, and tossed it behind the seat. He stood there in awe, and didn’t look away until Reid stood next to him.
“Holy shit, you’re going to let her drive?”
“Better her than me.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Her truck is rigged with hand controls, I have no fucking clue how to operate it. If you try to help, she gets testy, and it’s easier to stand and watch, in case something goes wrong. Pru will ride with her to make sure they get home safely.”
“Do all the women drive separately from the men?” Clark asked as he saw the men escort the women to one truck. They kissed them, then watched as they drove away, following Naomi toward what he remembered as the center of the ranch. He assumed that was where The Broken Wheel was. The men quickly joined him and Reid.
“The ladies will do chores over there, we’ll help here, and if you’re not too tired, we’d like to have a couple beers with you,” Perry spoke for the group.
“Not at all.” He turned to look at Reid. “I’m assuming I’m in my old room here at the main house?”
“Yes, Erin and I are in the master.”
“Okay, let’s get going.” He turned on his heel and all the men turned, and from inside the house, Erin saw how they walked in an arrow formation, with Clark in the lead, and the others spanned out, following him. She also noted that all of their heads were on a swivel and wondered if that was how they walked while on a mission. She shook her head as she went into his old room and started making his bed. She had a feeling it would be a long night for all the men. Not that she was begrudging them spending time together, but she had a feeling they’d be up reminiscing and drinking beer. She hugged the pillow she’d just put the fresh case on and did a happy dance. Her brother was home.