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Mike’s giddiness increased as Daddy put the last of their bags in the back of the truck and closed the door. His momma had already hugged him four times, and Easton and Allison had left in their fancy SUV an hour ago. Opal had left a few days ago, her residency in California a busy and vibrant thing she couldn’t just leave whenever she wanted.
Mike didn’t have a vehicle here, but he and Hunter had plans to go shopping to get one. He figured he’d get a truck, because everyone at the farm had one, and he wouldn’t be a real cowboy if he bought an SUV.
“Michael,” Daddy said.
“I’m going to be fine,” Mike said. “I’m off the narcotics now. There’s hardly any pain from the surgical site.”
His daddy shook his head, a smile playing with his lips. “I wasn’t going to say any of that.”
Mike wasn’t wearing his sling right now, because he’d been advised to have periods of time where he used his arm as normally as possible. He slept with it on, so he didn’t accidentally hurt himself in the night by rolling over or something similar. He always put it on after his physical therapy, because that hurt and the sling held everything in place.
Most other times, Mike didn’t wear it, and he had another appointment to see the doctor and they physical therapist next week. He’d have to drive himself to it, and a certain nervousness accompanied the excitement over such a thing.
He was a small-town boy and driving into the bigger metropolitan area of Denver would be new for him. He told himself he’d done plenty of new things in his life, and this would just be another one.
Daddy hugged him, and Mike lifted both arms to return the embrace. He smiled as he did, because having the use of both of his arms was such a miracle. “I love you, Daddy,” he whispered, well-aware of his father’s age. He hadn’t met and married Momma until he was fifty, and they’d had Mike as quickly as they could.
But that meant Daddy was over eighty already, and while he was still quite spry, he was definitely slowing down more and more. “I love you too, my son,” he whispered.
“Is Momma gonna be okay?”
“It’ll take her some time, and she’ll probably call you every day, but yeah. She’ll be okay.”
She’d been fretting about leaving him, and Mike had told her over and over he’d be okay. He wasn’t alone here, though Uncle Gray and Aunt Elise were going north to Coral Canyon too. Jane still lived in the farmhouse, and four other cowboys lived out in the cabins. The Whettsteins came to the farm every day, two whole families worth of people.
Gerty would be moving into the generational house, and Mike couldn’t wait for their first lunch date there.
Hunter’s family stayed out at the farm quite often in the summer. Mike definitely wasn’t going to be alone here in Ivory Peaks.
Daddy stepped back and smiled at Mike. They stood almost the same height, with Daddy just an inch or two taller. “You take care of that girl,” he said.
“Daddy.” Mike rolled his eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you Gerty isn’t a girl anymore?”
“Seems like one more,” Daddy said. He looked past Mike, and he knew without looking that Gerty sat on the front steps of the homestead. She’d been trying to get a little boy to go to his counseling session, but the child wasn’t having it today. So Gerty had brought him to the homestead to play with marbles, and he’d happily done that instead.
“She’s somethin’ special.”
“We’re going really slow, Daddy,” Mike said.
Daddy looked at him. “Why’s that?”
Mike didn’t quite know himself, other than the fact that Gerty had told him she needed to go slow. “Because she wants to,” he said simply.
“But you’ve kissed her, right?”
Mike ducked his head, though he certainly didn’t need to be embarrassed about kissing Gerty. “Yes, sir,” he said.
“Then you best take care of her,” Daddy said.
“I think she’s the one who’s going to be taking care of me,” Mike said. The thought didn’t settle completely right in his head, but he didn’t hate it either.
“You let her then,” Daddy said. “Don’t be stubborn, okay?” He lifted his eyebrows, and Mike nodded.
“Yes, sir,” he said again.
Daddy grinned at him and pulled him into another hug. “If you need me to come back, you donothesitate to call me. Understand?”
“Yes,” Mike said, leaving thesiroff this time.
