he was a friend of the family. They didn’t know much about Jericho, nor did they need to. He had more than proved himself to the family.
He stood about six-four and was an imposing character with dark features, long hair tied into a ponytail at his neck and a scar slashed across the side of his face. No one knew his nationality, but Egan said he was part white, black, Mexican and Indian. He’d grown up on the streets of Houston, involved in gangs and drugs. Today Quincy would trust the man with his life and the lives of his brothers. He had completely turned his life around.
Elias grabbed a pitchfork, too. “Can you believe ol’ Pax’s getting married? A bull must have dumped him on his head. Why get married when he has the pick of every pretty buckle bunny on the circuit?”
Quincy worked without answering. He didn’t want to have this discussion.
“And Jenny? I wonder if he’s told Jenny.”
“That’s none of our business.”
Elias leaned on the pitchfork. “There’s going to be fireworks, I tell you. Jenny Walker is not going to take this without a fight and I have a front-row seat. Oh, yeah. I see a catfight in Pax’s future.”
Again, Quincy didn’t respond. They finished unloading the hay and Quincy started to jump onto the tractor to take it back to the equipment shed, but Jericho stopped him.
“I got it, Quincy. Mr. Abe is probably waiting on his supper.”
“Thanks, Rico.”
As Rico drove the tractor and trailer from the barn, Quincy brushed hay from his clothes. It stung down the back of his shirt and clung in sweat-slick places. He needed a shower.
“I’ll see you at the house,” he said to Elias.
He and Elias lived with their Grandpa Abe, who was getting up in years and at times appeared to be a little senile. They refused to let him use the stove anymore because he’d set the house on fire twice. These days Grandpa was happy to let Quincy or Elias do all the cooking. Eden, Falcon’s daughter, helped out when she could.
There were four houses on the property. Their mother, Jude and Zane lived in the big two-story log house at the front. Falcon’s wife had returned after many years, and they now lived in the old family home where Quincy, Elias and Egan used to live. Falcon and Leah had wanted their own house, so the brothers had happily relocated to Grandpa’s. Egan had gotten married and moved out. Now Quincy and Elias were left to deal with the old man.
Grandpa’s place wasn’t far from the old house, and then there was the bunkhouse where Paxton, Phoenix and Jericho lived. They had a commune right there in Texas. The thought brought a smile to his face and he wasn’t in a smiling mood.
So many women in the world and he had to fall in love with the one woman he couldn’t have. The only way to get over it was to stay away from Jenny. And he planned to do just that.
* * *
QUINCY OPENED THE gate in the old chain-link fence and walked up the steps of the white-board house his grandfather had built for his wife many years ago. It had been redone over the years and held many memories.
Mutt, Grandpa’s dog, wasn’t on the front porch to greet him. Quincy couldn’t remember how old the dog was, but he now had arthritis and didn’t leave the yard. He was an outdoor dog and only came inside when it was cold. And he didn’t like it then. He had a bed on the front porch and the back.
Opening the front door, he heard the TV. Loud. Grandpa was losing some of his hearing. He sat in his recliner, Mutt on his lap, watching an old Western.
Grandpa, with thinning gray hair, stooped shoulders and bowlegs, was about the orneriest character you’d ever want to meet. But he was fiercely loyal and devoted to his grandsons, as they were to him.
“What’s wrong with Mutt?”
Grandpa stroked the small black-and-white mixed breed dog. “I guess he’s just lonely.”
Quincy felt a tug on his heart, for he knew that was Grandpa’s way of saying he was lonely. He usually spent time with them on the ranch, but today he’d been absent. Maybe Grandpa was feeling bad.
“Are you okay?”
“Healthy as a horse,” Grandpa replied. “I knew you’d be tired so I put baked potatoes in the oven and there’s steaks in the sink you can do on the grill.”
“Thanks. I’ll take a shower first. I’m sweaty and I’ve got hay all over me.”
“Suit yourself. Where’s Elias?”
“He’s on his way.”
“He better hurry up. Those potatoes’ll be ready in ten minutes.”
Grandpa was in an unusual mood this evening. It wasn’t like him to plan supper. On second thought, Quincy went into the kitchen to check on things. The potatoes, wrapped in aluminum foil, were sitting on top of the stove. Quincy shook his head, placed them inside and turned on the oven. The steaks were thawing in the sink. That was good.
After taking a shower and changing clothes, he seasoned the steaks and placed them in the refrigerator and then went outside to the back porch to clean the grill.
He kept waiting for Elias to show up, but as usual, Elias was dragging his heels. Quincy sat in the living room with his grandfather watching the Western. Suddenly, Grandpa turned off the TV.
“What do you think about Paxton?” Grandpa asked.
Not again. Why was everyone asking him that question?
He rubbed his hands together. “None of my business.”
Grandpa pointed a finger at him. “You need to find yourself a woman.”
Quincy groaned. This was Grandpa’s standard lecture to his grandsons. Find a woman, get married, have babies and be happy. Sometimes it just didn’t happen like that.
“And not Jenny Walker,” Grandpa added for effect, and he had Quincy’s attention.
He didn’t know, did he? He couldn’t.
His eyes narrowed. “Why do you say that?”
“She’s over here all the time and it’s not to see Paxton, because he’s not here. She comes to see you.”
“She likes the paints and she’s good with them. I don’t have a problem with that because I’m busy on the ranch.”
“Not all the time, so don’t fool yourself, boy. I’ve seen the way you look at her, and that’s just asking for trouble. You’re a Rebel and you never cross that line. There’s a lot of lines us Rebels have crossed, but we don’t go after our brothers’ girlfriends. Not even if they’re an ex.”
Elias stomped in, preventing Quincy from answering, and he was grateful for that small act. For the first time, he didn’t know how to respond to his grandfather. He thought he’d kept his secret hidden. If his grandfather could gauge his feelings about Jenny, how many other family members had?
Did
