Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
“So, Allie tells me you’re Dad’s boyfriend.”
Ellis glanced sideways at Zane, who was breaking ice on the watering trough, the icebreaker thunking regularly.
“Looks like it, yeah.”
“You know that he really loved my pop, right? Pop and me were buds, and Dad loved him. When Pop died, I thought he was gonna totally lose it.”
He nodded, knowing that he was going to have to do this super careful, and he wasn’t sure how.
The simple fact was that, yeah, he knew Ichabod had loved Chris. The sweet man had been in mourning for four years, had been raising four kids by himself.
Ellis knew.
“Your dad talks about him a lot. I’ve seen lots of neat pictures, and I know that he was a good guy. Not a rancher from what I understand, but a decent man.”
“No, he wasn’t a cowboy. He liked to buy and sell stuff. He was a business guy in sales.” Zane swallowed hard. “I miss him a lot.”
“I bet you do.” Ellis stopped and gave Zane all his focus. “You do realize I’m not trying to be another dad or anything like that? That’s not— I like your dad a lot, and I’m really into him, but I’m not trying to be your parent.”
“What about the girls, though? They deserve somebody who wants to be their dad.”
Fuck, he had no idea what to do, so he went with what he knew best—the bald truth. “I don’t think that we’re there yet. Me and your dad haven’t talked about it, but you know that I care about all y’all kids. That’s the best I can give you right this second.”
Zane stopped whacking to give him a searching look. “That’s fair. I just don’t want you to break his heart.”
“I’m going to do my damndest not to. I’m into him, Zane. And you kids make me happy. And I’m a cowboy, and that’s about as touchy-feely as I get.” He smiled a little.
“Cool. Just so you know, I’m not gay.”
He blinked at Zane. “Okay…”
Did he give off “I’m-into-teenagers” vibes? Because that was disgusting.
“I mean, it seems like everybody’s gay. I like girls. You know how weird it is to have two gay dads and be into girls? Now I have one gay dad and a gay dad boyfriend, and I’m still into girls.” Zane waved the icebreaker around in the air.
Ellis stood frozen. He didn’t know how to deal with this, and he was going to have to figure it out—right now.
Was it wrong to pray for an avalanche or an earthquake?
He cleared his throat. “No, bud. I don’t know that, but I got to tell you, I know how weird it is to be the only gay kid in a cowboy family, and to have a mom who married and lost or divorced three husbands. So, I get weird teenaged years. I do.” God, please let that work.
“Yeah, I guess straight-bashing isn’t a thing. And the girl I like, she totally is cool. Not a bigot.”
“Well, that’s good, huh?”
“Hey, I was raised right. I don’t put up with that shit, pardon my French. If you’re a bigot, you don’t get to be with me.” Zane’s chin lifted. “You don’t even get to hang with me. You take your stuff and you go because there’s something wrong with you.”
Ichabod had done a good job with this kid.
“I like that, buddy. A lot. I feel the same way. When it comes time to hire hands, that’s my philosophy. We’ll take all kinds of cowfolk here, but no one who has hate in their hearts.” He believed in do unto others, dammit.
“All right, that works for me.” Zane nodded, so serious, trying so hard to be an adult when he didn’t have to be.
Of course that was the lesson all kids had to learn, wasn’t it? That they didn’t have to be a grown-up when they were teenagers, and somehow everyone spent a hell of a lot of time doing that.
“You looking forward to having your grandparents out?”
Zane shrugged again.
It astounded him, how much expression Zane had in those shrugs. He could have an entire conversation and never open his mouth, just move his shoulders around in different positions around his head. It was sort of like semaphore.
“Yeah, they’re cool. They’re artists like Dad. And they’re totally weird goth people. Totally.” Zane shot a grin at him. “You ever seen the Beetlejuice movie? Those are my grandparents.”
Ellis thought perhaps that was something Ichabod might have told him and warned him about. They were going to have to have a little talk about what exactly that meant.
Were they going to try to raise spirits over Thanksgiving dinner?
All the girls ever talked about was stuffing.
“No sh—stuff? Really? Goth people.” He shook his head. “I didn’t expect that, bud.”
“Yeah, no one ever does.” Zane started chopping ice again. “It’s sort of like the Spanish Inquisition. No one ever expects it.”
That had him chuckling because he understood the TV reference for it. “Oh, Monty Python. Very nice. Well, I hope they don’t dislike the cowboy type, but I guess we’ll see.”
“Oh, they liked Vic fine. I mean, as much as anybody liked Grandpa. I loved him, you know? But a lot of people thought he was pushy and sort of rigid.”
Ellis shrugged. “A lot of the older generation of cowboys can be. Although I reckon Vic probably wasn’t that much older than me.”
Zane gaped at him. “Oh, he was totally older than you. He was like, so old.”
Ellis sprinkled some ash mixed with sand along the walkway as he and Zane headed back toward the house. “You listen to those girls talk—your sisters—and they would say that I’m the oldest man they’ve ever met.”
Zane laughed, the sound almost exactly like a honking goose. “Well, they don’t remember Grandpa very well. They don’t remember Pop at all. But I know better. You’re not old. Not that much older than Dad anyway.”
“Thanks, kiddo.” He looked up as Michael came pelting out of the house with Mavis, who had elected to stay inside where it was warm rather than be out where he had to chop ice.
“Can I go see the horses with you now, Ellis?”
“Sure bud, you got your muck boots on so you don’t slip and slide?” He had intended to go inside and thaw out, maybe have a cup of coffee before he went to the barn and did anything, but he supposed he could rearrange his schedule.
“Uh-huh. And you put down all the stuff so that we don’t fall, right?” Michael was so earnest staring at him with those big eyes.
Zane scoffed and headed inside, giving him a thumbs up. Ellis figured that amounted to what was a good talk with a teenager. It was better than a glare, for sure.
“Michael.” Ichabod stood in the doorway to the main house.
“Let Ellis come in and warm up,” he said.
“And when he’s ready to go to the barn, he’ll tell you.
It’s not like you’re going anywhere today.
” School had been cancelled, which took an awful lot in this area, but this ice storm was something else.
It wasn’t even Thanksgiving, and they were socked in. It was kinda crazy.
“Aw, okay.” Michael traipsed back into the house, not terribly disappointed, and Mavis followed at his heels, ready to get back in there and lie down on her big pile of blankets. She was getting spoiled with all these babies.
Ellis stepped right up to give Ichabod a kiss. “Thanks, babe. That does me some good. I can use a cup of coffee and maybe a piece of toast or something. Breakfast was fine but it didn’t stick to my ribs this morning.”
“Mmm.” Ichabod felt him up a little bit. “I can tell. Your nose is all red and your lips are a little blue.”
“It is chilly out there.” He stomped out of his boots and shrugged his coat off. “The horses are all put away nice and happy, though, so we’re good to go.”
“Good deal. I can’t really work in the studio today.
It’s too cold to pound clay, so I think I’ll check some emails and update my website.
Maybe make a banana bread. We’ve got all the stuff for banana bread, and the kids like banana bread.
What’s your position on banana bread?” As Ichabod talked, he leaned in closer, eyebrows waggling, making Ellis chuckle.
“I am a huge fan. My mom’s housekeeper used to bring it to me all the time. Banana in the winter, zucchini in the summer.” That bread still made his mouth water.
“Excellent, I have an amazing recipe that was my granny’s. I’ll make two loaves.”
At his wide-eyed expression, Ichabod shrugged.
“If I don’t make two loaves, there won’t be enough for any of us to have a second slice.”
“Ooh! Banana bread with butter out of the oven!” Little Allie’s eyes lit up. “I love that.”
Ichabod gave him a glance as if to say, “See?”
Ellis snorted. “Who wants to help me mash bananas?” He washed up real good at the sink.
“Me me me!” Allie raised her hand, and little Chrissy did as well.
“Me too? Belly-Bell! Me too?”
Allie’s head tilted. “Who?”
“Bell!” Chrissy pointed to him. “Him’s our Bell!”
Allie grinned and nodded like that was that. “Okay. Belly-Bell, me and sister want to help.”
Ellis tilted his head. Belly-Bell, huh? He guessed it was better than them deciding to call him Ellie. He grinned. “Well get yourselves up to the table. Chrissy, you need a lift?”
“Uppies, Bell. Uppies.” She held her arms in the air to be picked up, and he scooped her into his arms as Ichabod chuckled.
“No, sister! Belly-Bell!” Allie giggled hard.
“Well, I hope you like nicknames.”
He shot Ichabod a grin. “Yeah, yeah, and apparently I need to ask you about your folks.”
Ichabod rolled his eyes. “They’re artists, they’re fine, they’re a little goofy and gothy and hippie and very Gen X-y.”
“That sounds…different. What’s their position on me?” That was what he wanted to know. The rest of it was details.
“Mom wants to know if you’re willing to raise Angora sheep or…Angora rabbits? I don’t remember. She always wants either llamas or alpacas. I don’t know. She’s got plans. Dad’s going to sit and watch football.”
“Llamas and alpacas, yes. Rabbits and sheep no.” He tilted his head. “Though I would consider a conservation herd, like churro sheep.” Angora anything was a giant pain in the butt, but alpacas were hearty.
“Cool. I told her it was up to you, and I mean it. I’m going to get the kids a puppy for Christmas. That’s my extent with animals. Thinking about getting a cat for myself.”
“What kind of dog?” He wasn’t sure that Ichabod was ready for a dog.
“Saint Bernard—they’re fuzzy.”
Oh dear God. That was… wow. Although Saint Bernards were great with kids and not too high-energy due to their size. “The only drawback to them is they don’t live as long as some of the other breeds, honey. Is six to eight years enough?”
Allie’s eyes went wide, and she stared at him and then at Ichabod. “Daddy? Is that bad? Is our Santa puppy going to die?”
Ichabod stared at him, and Ellis winced. Oh, he was so not getting laid tonight.
“I’m not going to get you a dying dog, but everything dies.
” Ichabod closed his eyes and sighed. “Which was this remarkably gothy thing to say right now, given that we were talking about my parents. We’re not going to have to worry about your puppy dying.
It’s just—” He pointed imperiously. “Christ! Mash bananas!”
He chuckled. “Right. Sorry, guys. Sometimes I forget I’m the only one who grew up on a ranch.” He kissed Chrissy’s cheek before putting her in her booster. “We got lots of bananas, kiddos.”
“Naners!”
“Yeah.” He peeled bananas, and each girl got a plastic fork to moosh with. He smashed about triple the amount they did in a quarter of the time, but it was hilarious to watch them.
Chrissy ate as much as she smooshed, and Allie was…enthusiastic. Banana flew through the air, and Mavis licked it right up, not snapping at it so she didn’t bite a careless child’s hand.
They sang some songs together. Ellis taught them a couple of old cowboy ditties he’d learned from a roving hand when he started out at his first ranch.
Zane even stayed with them instead of going off to play video games, even though he scoffed a little bit at the singing.
He was entirely too cool for that. But Michael, he was pretty good at yodeling.
“Okay, guys, that’s the bread in the oven. What should we do while we wait for it to cook?” Ichabod gave him a sidelong glance that told him what he would like to do, which made Ellis hope he didn’t spring wood right there in front of all the kids.
“We could play Uno,” Allie said.
“We could watch a movie!” Chrissy threw her arms up, banana flying again because her hands were covered in it.
“I’m going to go play some video games,” Zane finally said, getting up from where he’d been sitting at the table. He ducked his head, not looking them in the eye. “This was fun though.”
“Thanks for all your help, son.” Ichabod reached out to clap Zane on the shoulder. “I appreciate it.”
Ellis heard what the kids probably didn’t in that statement. It was more like, “Thanks for hanging out with us, Zane. Thanks for spending time with your brother and sisters and being with me. I know that it’s hard as a teenager and you did it.”
“Sure.” Zane flushed a bright pink and slumped his way out of the room.
Ellis grinned at Ichabod and picked up Chrissy to take her to the sink to wash her hands. “What kind of movie did you want to watch, kiddo?”
“Blue’s Clues.” It didn’t matter what time of day it was. It didn’t matter what they were talking about, whether it was a movie or TV. It didn’t matter to Chrissy. She wanted to watch Blue’s Clues.
“Michael, what’s your vote?” Ichabod asked.
“Well, if the horses are settled for right now, I would play Uno with Allie.” Michael stared at him as if willing him to say he would go back out in the cold to the barn.
“Why don’t we give it a little bit of time, maybe while the bread is baking.
That way you can play a game of Uno with me and Allie, and your dad can do a little bit of his computer work while he’s watching Blue’s Clues with Chrissy.
Does that sound like a plan?” Ellis squinted and ducked his head, wiggling his shoulders a little bit, like he was encouraging everybody.
He didn’t want to be high-handed and arrange everybody’s day for them.
“I think that sounds great,” Ichabod put in. “I do need to do a little bit of my admin work. Come on, Chrissy-do,” he said after Ellis had washed her hands. “Let’s go watch Blue’s Clues.”
Chrissy leaped into her dad’s arms, and Ellis dried his hands off before going to get the deck of Uno cards. Mavis went with Chrissy because the couch was more comfortable than the cold floor, he was sure. But everybody else stayed at the table with him, and they had a roaring game of Uno.
Somehow he had gotten himself folded into this family and they were all treating him like one of them.
Ellis sure hoped it stayed this way because he thought it might break his heart if he lost this.
And that was something he would have to look at deep inside later on when he was alone.
Now he had a couple of miniature card sharks to deal with.