could come home,” Gabe said. “There’s room for you here. There’s work here, too.”
Although they’d been over this before, Clay answered patiently, “As the family grows, the potential for success is spread over more and more people. The company you’ll keep is excellent, but opportunity is limited. And if everything goes as planned here, I may be able to settle in permanently. And you have cousins here, as well. We could work together. Nathaniel has asked me to do some hiring, and I’m going to need a part-timer. It could be ideal if you want to go to school out here, too. But this is up to you. You might try it, son. Give it six months and see how it goes.”
There was only silence on the phone.
“Take some time to think it over, Gabe,” Clay said. “I don’t want you to have regrets.”
“I need to be with my father,” the boy finally said. “Grandfather says you need looking after.”
Clay let out a bark of laughter. “Does he, now? I’ll have to thank him for the confidence he shows in me. School starts out here very soon, Gabe. I’ll come and get you ….”
“No, let me come on my own. I’m not a kid. I want you to show some confidence in me.”
It was settled that Gabe would drive himself from Flagstaff; he was adamant. He owned a little green truck that Clay had helped him buy last year and he saw himself as a man capable of traveling alone. He wanted a couple of weeks to say his goodbyes, then he would be on his way.
Clay wanted to make the trip with him, but he had to remind himself that when he was Gabe’s age, he was already a father. They may have lived with the family, but that didn’t mean Clay wasn’t up through the night when Gabe was hungry, teething, sick or just asserting himself. Clay hadn’t left the boy to seek a better life for them until Gabe was eleven, and even then he was back home often to be sure he was not forgotten.
“I’ve hoped for this day to come for a very long time, Gabe,” Clay said.
Clay wasted no time in speaking with Nathaniel about Gabe. “He won’t be staying with me, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he camped the occasional night. He’s going to stay with my sister and her family in Grace Valley. It’s close so I’ll be able to see him all the time, but the most important reason is that Ursula is a gifted teacher and her children have all been great students. She gets very involved in their homework, she knows all the teachers, and she’s devoted to Gabe, who is far smarter than he realizes. She’ll coach him in the SATs—he needs to retake the tests for college. But I want to bring him on as a hand, Nathaniel. Given that my father and uncles have raised him, he knows about horses and—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Nate said, holding up a hand. “Wait a minute here. Isn’t he just a little kid?”
“He’s seventeen. Ready for his last year of high school.”
Nathaniel rubbed the top of his head. “When you mentioned that you had a son, I assumed … Clay, you’re not that old yourself.”
Clay grinned. “I was seventeen when he was born. His mother was a teenager, also, and wanted to give him up, but I couldn’t. I brought him home to the family.”
“How is it I’ve known you so long and didn’t know the details about your son?”
Clay chuckled with some embarrassment. “I didn’t throw that around a lot, but one of the reasons I traveled back to the reservation so often was more because of Gabe than other family. Since I was never married to the boy’s mother, it was important that I be there for him. With your permission, if he proves competent— which he will—I’ll give him some work around the barn after school and on weekends. It’s important he work, earn a little money. And frankly, we need good help.”
“Sure, I don’t have a problem with that,” Nate said.
Clay grinned and stood a little taller. “I’ll see if I can refine the boy’s farrier skills and train him on our digital equipment so he has a trade, but I want my son to go further in his life than I have.”
“Shew,” Nate said. “Didn’t he live with you and Isabel?”
“It was complicated. Her family wasn’t exactly into my bringing a kid along into our marriage. And besides, I was raised a certain way, a traditional way, surrounded by family who all took a role. In our community it really does take a village. Despite the fact that I grew up to make some stupid mistakes, I know it wasn’t really the fault of my teachers. Gabe visited me in Los Angeles, but for all kinds of reasons it wasn’t the right place for him to stay. The only person invested in him was me and I had too much responsibility. It prevented me from keeping a close hand on him. And Isabel’s father… he never seemed to warm up to Gabe. For that matter, he never really warmed up to me. And Isabel had trouble, as well—she’s not very maternal.” He shook his head. “Gabe had fun there on visits, but it wasn’t a good place for a young boy. Gabe was at that age. He needed a lot of positive reinforcement and a firm hand.”
“Bring him on,” Nate said. “I can’t wait to meet him. Why did I think your life was uncomplicated?”
“I have no idea, Nathaniel.”
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