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“I…” He swallowed, because he had been heartbroken the last time he’d made his return to the family ranch. Heartbroken he hadn’t been signed by the record label. Heartbroken the woman he’d been in love with had not returned the feelings. Calamity now toured on her own, a huge country music solo artist, and her parting words to him had been, “You’re goin’ nowhere, Kyle. Nowhere, fast.”
He hated thinking she was right, and he hadn’t dated until Maddy though he and Calamity had broken up almost five years ago.
Five years, he thought. Had it really been that long? Had he done anything with his life in that time?
Calamity had been right. He’d gone nowhere. Tucked his tail and gone home, where his parents and siblings had nursed his bruised ego back to health.
“I wasn’t that bad,” he finally said.
“Yes, you were.” Mama went back to her papers. She tapped on her keyboard and didn’t look at him when she continued. “You weren’t yourself, I know that. I prayed day and night that you’d find yourself again. I don’t want to go through that again.”
Kyle said nothing, because perhaps he had lost himself. Maybe it had taken him a while to find who he was again. “I’m older now,” he said. “Less…idealistic.”
Mama cocked her head and gave him a smile. “Kyle,” she said again. “You’ve always had big ideas. And big dreams. I’m not going to say don’t follow them. I just think…I think you should be careful about where they lead you, and what they whisper to you in your quietest moments.”
Kyle narrowed his eyes at her, trying to understand what she meant. Before he could ask, Blake said, “Mama, can I get that receipt for the sprinkling system repair? I’ve got Boyd on the line, and he’s sayin’ he didn’t get the check.”
“That man,” Mama said. She picked up her phone from the cradle. “Line three?”
“I’m handling it,” Blake said.
Before he’d even finished those three short words, Mama punched the button and barked, “Boyd, that check cleared our account on Friday.”
Kyle took that as his cue to leave, and he stood and faced his oldest brother. “Heya, Blake.” He hugged him, glad when his brother pounded him on the back in return.
“You doin’ the cornhole this year?” Blake asked. “Family signups close tomorrow, and I didn’t see your name on the form.”
“That’s because Becks has us doing all these goldarn forms.” He shook his head. “I don’t know anyway. Todd’s probably playing with Laura, and…” His mind wandered to the strawberry blonde down the hall and around the corner. “I don’t know.”
“Ask Maddy and sign up,” Blake said. “It’ll be fun.”
“Who’s Nash playing with?” Kyle asked. He wasn’t the brightest star at math, but with Blake and Gina, Todd and Laura, and now Kyle and Maddy, that only left five Stewarts. Holly and Sierra always teamed up, and he’d bet his entire yearly salary that Jesse and Adam would be partners this year.
That left Nash out in left field, alone. He’d always been a bit of a loner inside the Stewart family, with Adam the black sheep and Jesse the dark horse. He had no idea what his siblings said about him, probably that he had his head in the clouds, the same way Mama just had.
She bickered with Boyd on the phone as Blake and Kyle left her office. “Nash isn’t signed up either,” Blake said with a frown.
“You didn’t even know he wasn’t signed up,” Kyle said.
“No,” Blake said. “I did. I was going to talk to him too.” He possessed a wild look in his eye, though, and Kyle grinned at him.
“Sure, I believe you. Does Gina let you lie like that to her?”
Blake’s frown deepened, and he added a growl to it.
“Hey!” Becks called from her office across the hall. “Don’t make him mad. I need him in here for a discussion about new wiring on the fifth floor.”
Kyle watched Blake’s entire body deflated, as if Becks had just punctured his lungs and all of his life was leaking out. He started to laugh, because Blake was the responsible, eldest son. He’d taken on the responsibilities of the lodge last year, and he had the strong, wide shoulders to do it.
Kyle would’ve crumbled by now. Todd probably could’ve done it, but he wouldn’t have liked it. He didn’t even like being in his office in the barn for longer than sixty minutes. Set a timer and everything, so he could get back outside as soon as possible.
“Go on,” Kyle said. “Go figure out the wiring on the fifth floor. I’ll go talk to Nash.”
“Thanks, Kyle.” Blake clapped him on the shoulder again and then went behind him and into Becks’s office. Kyle took a deep breath and faced the hallway. He made the turns and ended up in the kitchen.
Mid-morning, without a formal lunch being served, the kitchen sat in relative stillness. Gina and another man, Harold, still worked, baking up desserts for that evening’s dinner rush. Ashley and Nash had partnered last year, but that had been when Nash was interested in the blonde. He’d also been interested in Starla, and his indecisiveness had killed both relationships.
They also shared an office, and Kyle saw that the door stood wide open. He went right to it, found Nash at one desk and Ashley at the other, and knocked on the already open door. “Hey,” he said as they both looked at him.
