From around the counter, the older man came, and he went right to his grandson.
“My boy. I see you snuck back onto the rez trying to avoid me. I’m surprised you came to dinner. Did you have to be held at gunpoint?”
Oh, well, there were definitely things he’d rather be doing, and all of them were not at this cabin.
“Yes,” Ethan said, not mincing words.
Gene just laughed.
“Well, never let it be said I don’t like committing a felony or two across state lines.”
Timothy headed toward the man, knowing his grandson was not amused with being there. While Ethan had a poker face, he definitely wasn’t pretending he wanted to be here. His body language said it all.
“Welcome, Gene. May I call you Gene?” he asked, holding his hand out.
Gene shook it in welcome, even though they’d already had a conversation where they met and exchanged pleasantries.
“Absolutely.”
From where he stood sipping his beer, Callen gave his brother a wide berth. With Ethan, you never knew when the viper would lash out and strike.
Plus, he was still thinking about what he’d seen in his cabin's living room earlier. Now, his brother was put together and polished. Then, he was raw and free.
It was the enigma that was Ethan Blackhawk.
“Hey, EJ.”
Ethan moved and sat on the couch to make himself as comfortable as he could be here in this cabin. What he’d rather be doing was anything but this.
Only, he came here, so this was on him, and no one else.
“Hey, CJ,” he offered back.
Well, at least no one got punched in the face. So, there was that. Apparently, the man who was dating his brother managed to soothe the savage Ethan.
That was a skill not many had.
“It’s good to see you,” Callen said, sitting across from his brother in a chair so that Gene could sit beside Ethan. Whatever magick he was wielding, keeping Ethan calm and civil, he definitely wanted him to keep doing it.
Ethan stared at his brother, and he missed seeing him. He missed that connection, and he was sorry that he was such a shit human being to him.
Deep down, he knew it would take time to mend those broken bonds. Hopefully, the letter he wrote to him would start that off. For now, though, his guard was up for one reason.
TIMOTHY.
For now, his brother wasNOTthe enemy. There was another target in the room.
It was the man who had let him be taken by CPS all of those years ago, like he didn’t matter. Then, he’d been so grateful when he aged out and was able to come home.
Now, he saw that he was sugarcoating his feelings, so he had a place to be.
It hadn’t been a good homecoming.
“Sorry about confiscating your cabin,” Ethan said. “I didn’t want to come here. The Shaman is a lot to deal with. We cleaned up and put it back together again,” he said, knowing his brother had seen exactly what went on there.
From another chair, Timothy sighed.
“And he’s in the room. Maybe bitch about me in the treehouse where I can’t hear you,” he suggested. “Since I’m getting older and my hearing isn’t what it once was.”
