Page 83 of Forever Finds Us
My little brother had changed since last I saw him.
No longer was he the scrawny teenager or the thin, heroin-addicted and malnourished man from my memories.
He looked like a different guy completely. He looked… healthy.
Logically, I knew he couldn’t have grown in height, but it seemed that way because strong muscle and a clear head had transformed him. He stood tall in the middle of a field of grasses and meadow flowers. Was he taller than me? How had I never noticed that before?
A long, thin, silver dog whistle dangled from his lips as he faced away from my approach, his hand in the air, giving silent signals to two huge, fluffy, white dogs in the distance.
Whatever command he gave stopped them. They both sat where they’d stood a moment ago, waiting for further instruction.
I wanted to call out to him, wanted to see his face light up when he recognized me like he had when we were kids. I lifted my hand, but his name stuck in my throat.
Twenty years of separation and shame choked it right out of me.
I stopped at the gate, waiting for the right words to come, but the dogs spotted me before that happened, and they shot across the field, two white bullets of energy headed right for me. Dixon still hadn’t seen me, so he cursed and blew the silent whistle again, but the dogs paid no mind.
Finally, he turned to follow them and try to bring them to heel, but when he saw me, he froze.
Thank God there was a fence between the dogs and me. Their deep, booming barks startled me, and they jumped at the gate, trying to get to me and nearly knocking the whole thing down. They seemed friendly, but they were still young, and they were huge, like two miniature polar bears, with black noses and deep brown eyes that seemed almost human.
The gate latch was a few feet away, so I walked to it, unhooked it, and inched through, trying not to let the dogs out, and was immediately bombarded with paws on my chest and lapping tongues trying to get to my face.
“Down,” Dixon told them, and one dog sat, but the other raced around me in a circle, sniffing and whining, wanting attention. “This damn dog. Don’t pet her yet. She hasn’t earned it.”
Nodding, I waited.
Dixon blew the whistle again, and I could hear it now, but barely because the sound was so high pitched, like a train whistle blowing miles away.
The silence between us was uncomfortable, so I asked, “What kind of dogs are these?”
“Great Pyrenees. Livestock guarding dogs. Usually, they’re raised with the animals they’re meant to guard, but these two are rescues. They’ve never worked a farm before.”
I wondered if Rye and Bax back home could use a couple of guardian dogs. We had Figaro and he did a good job, but as the ranch grew, we’d be raising more and more cattle and sheep.
The thought made me realize that the ranch and our family’s land had become home again. I hadn’t thought about Sheridan or considered it my home since I left it weeks ago.
“What’re you doin’ here, Brand? How’d you even find me? Didn’t I just tell you not to bother lookin’?”
“Uh, well I called the rehab place.”
“Miss Julie ratted me out?”
I shook my head. “No, though it wasn’t for lack of me tryin’, but she told me no over the phone, so we flew here. She still wouldn’t tell me though. But there was a guy?—”
“Nesty,” Dixon guessed.
“Yeah.”
“That tattletale.”
“Listen,” I said, stepping closer, “I…” What the fuck was I here to say? But I remembered my promise to Roxanne. “The family, Merv and Abey. Bax. They’re goin’ out of their minds with worry, Dixon. I think it’s time we tell ’em what’s goin’ on. They need to know about Kel, but they want to know you’re okay.”
“I’m not ready.”
“Okay, I understand.”
“That’s it?” he asked. “You took the time and paid money to travel here and find me, and you’re just gonna accept it?”
