As Brandon took the first step down from the porch, an unfamiliar voice sounded from the open barn door. Jay's bitten off cry of pain came, sharp and agonized.
He headed that way, as quickly as he could. Standing just outside the barn door, he looked through the crack where the door was hinged. A much larger boy sat across Jay's back. From what Brandon could see, he was alone, but Jay was no match for him.
"I do, so! I do have a pa!"
Brandon's gut twisted, his bruised lips tightening painfully. How often had he been taunted the same way? He started to take a step around the door, into the sunlight, but the other boy's words turned his blood to ice.
"Who would that be, you little blanket baby?"
Blanket baby. Rage rose up inside Brandon, but he managed to quell it, not realizing for a moment that his own heart was beating the answer. The other boy said something and Jay responded, but Brandon didn't hear it for the angry rush of blood through his head.
"Who's your pa, then?"
"Mr. G-Gabriel. He's my pa. And if you don't get off me, you'll have to answer for it."
The other boy hooted with laughter, making no move to rise. "What'll he do?" he mocked, putting a knee in Jay's back.
Brandon stepped into the light, wiping all emotion from his face. He cocked the rifle and stood, his feet braced wide apart. "Get off," he warned tightly. "Or I'm liable to show you."
The boy's head jerked up, his smirk fading quickly. He made no move to rise, at first, and Brandon took a step closer.
"Get off. Now."
Reluctantly, Jimmy released Jay and stood up. He cocked his head as Jay struggled to his feet, wiping the dirt from his face.
"You okay, son?"
A wide grin split Jay's face. He nodded. "Yes. I'm okay."
"My pa said you begged him to leave you be," Jimmy said sullenly.
Brandon didn't speak for a moment, and then he said, "Your pa's a liar, boy, if you're Arnie Smith's son."
Jimmy moistened his lips, his hands fisting. "Mrs. Taylor hurt my pa, mister. Doc says he can't walk for a while."
"Then, I'll wait."
"Wait?" he asked warily. "For what?"
"To kill him," Brandon answered softly.
Jimmy swallowed hard and took a step back involuntarily. "Kill him? You – you wouldn't—"
"You tell him I'll wait. I want to be fair…fair as it'll be between him and me."
"But – you're a gun hawk! It can't ever be fair!"
Brandon smiled coldly. "I'll give him better odds than waiting for him in a dark stable. That must run in your family." He jerked his head to the side. "Now, get out. And tell him what I said. He needs to get his affairs in order. I'll wait, but not forever. I'm ready to wrap this all up tight, myself."
Jimmy glared at Brandon, pushing past Jay on his way out the door. Once he was outside, he turned back to look at Brandon. "The breed says you're his pa. That true?"
"His name is Jay," Brandon replied stonily. "I better never hear you call him anything else." Somehow, everything had been taken out of his control. He glanced at Jay. His decision about staying had just been made. "He's mine, and what's mine, I protect." He nodded at Jimmy. "You tell your pa that, too." As Jay moved closer to him, the bond between them was forged. In something so unexpected and simple, his life had taken on a new direction. And, he thought uncomfortably, so had Allie's.
Jimmy turned and ran as if the hounds of hell were on his heels.
As he disappeared in the dusty road, Brandon looked down at Jay. He knelt slowly in the dirt, eye-level with the boy. Looking into Jay's dark eyes, he found himself faced with no choice but the one he'd just made. He opened his arms to the boy, and Jay carefully hugged him.
Brandon's throat tightened. He wasn't sure if Jay's reticence was due to his uncertainty or caution at all the bandaging. His lips curved up against Jay's skin, his left hand stroking the child's silky hair. He held him away after a moment, looking him over, wiping away a streak of dirt under Jay's eye with his thumb.
Jay brushed himself off, suddenly unable to meet Brandon's eyes.
"Hey."
Jay stopped moving, but still didn't look up. Brandon tilted his chin up until his coal black eyes met Brandon's. "You know, Jay, I didn't lie to you before. I'm not your real father." He shook his head at the words he'd used. He was saying it wrong. "What I mean is—" He blew out his breath. This was a commitment he'd never intended to make, but one that couldn't be avoided now. Jay was depending on him. And so was Allie. "I will be your father, now – for as long as I can."
Jay looked up at him in sudden horror. "You mean – you might leave? But you can't!"
"Hey – listen to me. You know, I'm – not so good at this father stuff. I never—" He stopped and sighed, wondering how to continue. "I never had a father, either. Maybe I won't know how. Or maybe I won't be a good one," he finished softly.
"You will," Jay answered quietly. "And this ranch will be great, someday. When we get the cattle and the other boys to help – you'll be their father, too, right?"
"What?"