Page 75 of The Cowboy's Christmas
Chapter Sixteen
“This is it,”Ty said as he pulled the truck to a stop on a hill overlooking a small farm—the farm he and Austin had grown up on.
Quinn had spent four days on the 46 Ranch, living in a trailer that was a lot more comfortable than it looked on the outside, and helping where he was needed.
He was glad he’d made himself available because it allowed Ty and Shelby to continue visiting Austin and Kristen in Bozeman until they’d finally brought their baby home a day ago, and he and Les had time to talk.
He enjoyed hearing the old man’s take on life, along with stories about local people he didn’t know. But maybe someday he would. He was mulling over a few ideas concerning his future.
After seeing the place where his brothers had spent their childhood, he planned to hit the road for a Christmas Eve drive home. Or halfway home. He was fully capable of driving all night and figured that after a certain hour on Christmas Eve, he’d have the road to himself, but he wasn’t certain he wanted to do that. He wasn’t in a hurry to return to the Neary Ranch. And, once there, there was nothing saying that he had to stay. Especially if he helped Jim find a replacement driver. He might find himself back in the Marietta area, near his brothers, sooner rather than later.
He wanted roots.
Go figure.
“It didn’t look this good when we lived here,” Ty said, shifting his position behind the steering wheel. “They’ve painted and roofed. The barn is new. The old one was an abomination.”
“Did you like living there?”
“For the most part,” Ty said. “Dad struggled with farming. He gave up his rodeo career to take over the farm, then failed. It was hard on him. He tried to hide it, but kids know.”
“Les said something about his difficulties,” Quinn said, studying the sturdy homemade swing set in the backyard, remembering the rickety steel and aluminum set he’d had for a short time. “Did you guys play on that?” He pointed at the apparatus with a lift of his chin.
“Oh yeah. It was the source of many injuries. We didn’t just play. We climbed the frame, fell off regularly, bailed out and broke arms.” Ty smiled, a distant look in his eyes. “Good times.” He glanced over at Quinn. “But they weren’t all good. Honestly? Our dad lived under a mantle of failure. It wasn’t until he could start supporting our rodeo careers that he came alive.”
“Lived through you.”
“Right. Before that, there were some grim years.”
“I guess the hard part for me, even though I understand it, is that he had another kid out in the world and never checked up on him.”
“How do you know?”
Quinn blinked at his brother. Howdidhe know? “I never heard a word about him checking up on me.”
“No offense, since I didn’t know your mom, but is it possible she didn’t tell you everything?”
“She told me about you and Austin. And my dad. She was honest in that way.”
“And maybe she didn’t think your dad deserved time with you. Maybe you were all she had, and she didn’t want to share.”
“Maybe,” Quinn admitted, somewhat stunned at the idea. Maybe she hadn’t wanted to share. He’d never know. She was gone.
Ty shrugged, then put the truck in gear. They drove down the hill and past the place where his brothers had grown up in a tight family unit. With a dad who’d had a hard time dealing with failure.
Maybe it hadn’t been roses.
They drove the loop back to the 46 Ranch in relative silence, both lost in thought, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable ride. He might look like Austin, but he and Ty had more in common, to the point that he’d almost—almost—talked to him about Savannah, the woman he couldn’t get out of his head. The woman who said she couldn’t afford to fall in love with him.
After pulling to a stop near the 46 Ranch barn, Ty shut off the ignition and turned to Quinn.
“Hey, I know you’re all packed up, but if you want to stay for Christmas, you’re more than welcome.”
“Maybe next year.” He gave Ty a wry grin. “I mean it.”
“I never doubted you,” Ty answered in an equally wry tone. “We’re family. Like Shelby keeps telling me, we don’t have to stand in the shade of the past.”
“Right.” He opened his door and got out, stretching as he gave the 46 one last look. He felt good here. And surprisingly, he felt like he had stepped out of the shade of his past.
