Jackson nodded. “All right.”
The two men walked side by side toward the main barn that stabled the dozen or so mares living on the ranch. The stallion barn stood a hundred yards away, but Jackson forced himself not to look at the big red structure. He hadn’t stepped foot inside it since that fateful morning, when his big brother had pummeled him with his fists and probably would’ve beat him to death if their father hadn’t intervened.
“It’s dang good to see you,” Kurt said gruffly. “Your mother and I miss you.”
His throat tightened. “I miss you too.”
“Yeah?” His dad cocked his head. “Sometimes I wonder.”
“Shit, Dad, you know I do.”
“Funny, ’cause you don’t seem inclined to come visit us.”
“You know why I can’t,” he said in a low voice.
“Can’t? Now that’s bull crap, son. You choose not to come home to see your family. No can’t about it.”
Jackson gritted his teeth. “You say that as if I’m missing out on a welcome parade or somethin’, but we both know there’s at least one person on this ranch who don’t wanna see me.”
His father sighed. “Your brother is a mule-headed fool. Always has been. I told you this once and I’m gonna say it again—you need to be the better man in this situation. Forgive him, Jack. It’s the only way our family will ever be whole again.”
“Forgive him?” he echoed incredulously. “For that to happen, Shane needs to actually apologize first. You know, for almost beatin’ me within an inch of my life? He never told me he was sorry, Dad. Not even once.”
“He is sorry,” Kurt said quietly. “You can see it on his face whenever y’all are in the same room.”
“That’s not good enough. I need to hear him say it.”
“Lord, how’d I end up with such a stubborn lot?”
Jackson rolled his eyes. “We got it from you, old man.”
The two men reached the barn’s big red double doors, but rather than go inside, Jackson’s father turned right on his heel. “C’mon, let’s head back. Your mama is clamoring to see you.”
Their walk could probably have been considered pointless, but Jackson knew his father had needed to say his piece away from prying eyes. On the way back to the house, they didn’t talk about anything of importance—Jackson simply chatted about his life in San Diego, while Kurt filled him in on what he’d missed on the ranch. The subject of Shane and Tiffany’s wedding didn’t come up at all, but the couple’s wedding photo was the first thing Jackson encountered when he strode into his childhood home. It hung proudly in the front hall, and he had to forcibly tear his gaze off the picture, refusing to let any emotions surface.
He hoped his mom and sister hadn’t been grilling Mia in his absence, but when he entered the kitchen, he discovered that Mia was holding her own. She and Arlene were chatting a mile a minute about gardening, but the animated conversation halted abruptly, because the second he walked in, his mother put down the knife in her hand and rushed over to hug him again.
“Sit,” she ordered, her soft brown eyes glimmering with joy and affection. “I want to know everythin’ you’ve been up to these last few years.”
He smiled. “You already know. We talk on the phone once a week.”
“Oh, is that right?” Her meaningful gaze shifted to Mia. “Because clearly you’ve been keepin’ a few secrets from your mama, young man.”
“I told you I was seein’ someone,” he protested.
“Mmm-hmm, but you didn’t tell me how utterly delightful she was.”
From her perch by the counter, Mia blushed, but she didn’t look put off by the compliment.
Chuckling, Jackson slid onto the stool next to Mia while his mom resumed her dicing. Neither Arlene nor Evie allowed the couple to help out with the cooking, so for the next hour they sat there while the two women puttered around the kitchen, the conversation flowing without a single pause or awkward silence. Jackson’s father didn’t say much—he was more of a listener than a talker—and eventually he excused himself so he could go feed the horses.
A feeling of pure contentedness filled Jackson’s heart as his little sister told him about her college classes and his mom talked about her volunteer work at his old elementary school. Lord, he’d missed this. The warmth, the laughter, the love.
And he knew Mia was enjoying it too. She and Evie got along so well it was as if they’d known each other forever, and she’d already won over the gardening-obsessed Arlene thanks to her choice of profession. He was bursting with joy as he watched her interact with the female members of his family. Mia hadn’t been lucky enough to grow up in a cozy, loving home, and he wanted her to experience it firsthand, to see how wonderful it could be.
But of course, just when he’d allowed himself to relax and was basking in the radiant feeling of being home again, the mood changed from happy to tense as if someone had flicked a switch.