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Hammering from inside his house was a dead giveaway. He bought his parent’s house a few years ago and had it moved to the ranch. The plan was for him to get it livable and then move in, but, like anything personal, it got pushed to the back of the list. Knocking on the open door, he looked up and then right back to what he was doing. “Can I come in?”
“Door’s open. There’s nothing stopping you.” He might have been my oldest friend, but he was the one I wanted to punch on a daily basis. The smell of turpentine was overpowering and I walked over to a window and slid it open. That was all I’d need to do was to pick a fight with a stoned Nash.
He had about six projects going, and he wasn’t getting any of them done, but that’s what he did when he was fighting his demons. I usually made it a point to not push him when he was like this, but it wasn’t his normal attitude. There was something more going on.
“Thanks for the hospitality,” I muttered as I walked in the house. It looked just like it did when we were kids, minus the holes in the plaster walls and the dust that covered every surface. “So, where is he this time?” I leaned on the stair railing.
“In town at The Fencepost. I talked to Hank. Sounds like he’s been there all afternoon.” Nash set another nail, and pounded it in, in three hits.
“You think this is my fault? For bringing Nora here?” I narrowed my eyes and stared at him.
“No, I don't think that’s it at all. I would have done the same thing if I’d seen her there.”
“So what’s bugging you?” I was still a little lost at how this was something I was facing wrath for.
“Seeing you with Cooper. I don’t know. I guess I missed the man that used to be that for me. It’s all been so fast, and I miss who my dad was with my mom. God, Kipp, I'm a thirty-seven-year-old man who’s having to deal with his parent’s divorce, and be a parent to his father.” He dropped his hammer and moved to sit on the stairs.
“You heard from her lately?”
“No, not since she left. It’s like I don’t exist. I get it, Kipp, I’m a grown man but she’s still my mom. How could she just walk away?” He hadn’t talked much about his mom leaving, and while I understood the being left, I didn’t understand it being willing. My father had died, his mom left. “Moms aren’t supposed to leave, you know. They were supposed to be happy and run that damn coffee shop together, but now he’s there, miserable, and in so much debt because of it he can’t even get rid of it. Even if he could, who the hell would buy it in that town?” Fred was too proud to accept help from Nash, so even though Nash could take care of everything financially, his father would swallow tacks first.
“The ranch could buy it in secret. Send someone in saying they’re interested in it, and make him an offer. He could still run it if he wanted something to do but the financial strain would be gone.” I shrugged. What most people didn’t understand about the five of us was that we’d made a fortune working private security. The things we did, and how we worked, earned us a lot of credibility and we were busier than we’d ever expected, so money wasn’t tight.
“I don’t hate the idea, but we’d have to form a separate company.” He was starting to come back around. He always did. He just needed to talk it out, and I was the only one he would open up to.
“Child's play, Cooper could do it,” I said as I grabbed a hammer to help him.
“Kipp,” Nash began as he started hitting another nail.
“No need.” I brushed it off, because it didn't matter. Thirty odd years of friendship didn’t end just because of a few words. That’s not how I worked. Nash was more than a friend, he was a brother.
We’d worked in almost silence for hours before we decided to head back to the house. “You get this worked out?” Griff asked as we walked into the kitchen. The smell of hamburgers and fresh buns wafted through the room. I wondered how she managed to accomplish that since we’d gotten back from our horse shopping spree.
“Yeah, it’s good,” Nash answered as he took his seat.
“Well, I was wondering if I was going to have to send out a search party. Nice of you to join us,” Nora said as she sauntered into the kitchen and leaned against the counter.
“Sorry, Nora. It was my fault.”
“Nash, it’s never your fault, always his.” She pointed at me and Nash laughed, nodding.
“Didn’t take you long to figure that out.” His pissy attitude was gone and I was the brunt of the jokes. I didn’t mind.
“What is this gang up on Kipp day?” I mumbled as I put the fixings on my burger.
“Oh, I think you can handle it.” She slapped my shoulder as she walked by. She fit in with this crowd. It was hard to believe she hadn’t known us her entire life. If she kept touching me, though, I was going to have serious problems, because her touch was electric and went straight below my belt. She’s your employee, don’t even think about it. That’s a sure way to mess up a good thing. You’ll just be looking for a new cook. Every relationship you touch goes south. She could go south and I wouldn’t complain. Holy shit, where did that come from? Lost in thought, I started coughing. I dropped my burger onto my plate, and Griff leaned over and slapped me on the back. Catching my breath, I reached for my water and drank the entire glass. Okay, the dueling angels on my shoulder needed to take a hike.
“Thanks, Griff,” I huffed, leaning back in my chair. I didn’t dare look over at Nora. It would be my undoing for sure. Out of my peripheral vision I kept an eye on Nora buzzing around cleaning up. I knew we were late, but I wondered if she’d eaten and where was Cooper?
The others excused themselves from the table and left for their own areas of the house. “Is there a reason you keep staring at me?” Nora asked, not turning to look at me.
“Did you and Cooper eat?” I pushed my chair back from the table and the legs scraped along the floor. She turned, and I noticed a pinched expression on her face.
“Yes, we ate when Griff and Ryder came in. Why are you so concerned about my eating habits?”
“Like I told you last night, we all work together here, and at the end of the day, we all eat together.”
“Well, maybe you could be here on time and then it would ease your mind.” She turned and went back to scrubbing the already spotless stove top. I didn’t want to pick a fight with her, but I also didn’t want to spend another day without her around, so I knew when to shut up. It had taken me years to learn, but maybe I was finally figuring it out. “I’m going to be out most of the day tomorrow. I’ll need to take lunch with me.” I moved toward the door.
