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“Yes, ma’am,” the boys said eagerly.
In a matter of minutes, the table was set, and the casserole dishes were ready to dish out.
“There was a time when one or two dishes was enough,” Mom said with a laugh. “Now I make four and pray it feeds us all.”
“Jenson and his crew aren’t here tonight. That lightens the load a bit,” Sawyer, the oldest brother, commented.
Mom frowned. “I know, but I hate when everyone isn’t here. And poor Sierra. The baby has cried all day. I made an extra dessert, and I need one of you boys to take it to them after we eat.”
The sons nodded in agreement as they took their seats.
James Macklin, the patriarch of the family, took his place at the head of the table. “Let’s bow for prayer.”
Garrett folded his hands on the table and closed his eyes as his brothers did the same.
Later that night, after dinner was done and the dishes were washed and put away, Garrett took dessert to Jenson and Sierra’s house. Jenson looked frazzled when he opened the door and accepted the dish. He thanked Garrett, but didn’t invite him in.
Garrett chuckled to himself as he walked back to his truck. He was glad his brothers were happy with their wives and kids, but that would never be him. As he made his way back to his own house, he enjoyed the solitude and the thought that he would get a quiet night’s sleep before waking up to his faithful livestock.
* * *
Elise Hart didn’t knowwhat quiet was like anymore. As she tried desperately to finish the load of laundry piled up on the couch, she could hear the boys wrestling in the room above her, even though they were supposed to be asleep long before now.
“Ethan, Noah!” she called out. “Get in your beds now. No more talking.” She paused and listened as the sound continued. Rolling her eyes and dropping the shirt she held in her hands, she moved to the steps. “Boys,” she tried again. “It’s time to be quiet. If I hear anymore, there will be no TV time tomorrow night.”
That seemed to get their attention, and she could hear the boys bounding into their separate beds and lowering their voices to a whisper. Elise sighed. Maybe they will go to sleep eventually. She returned to the couch and flipped on the TV before she went back to the pile she not-so-affectionately called “Mount Laundry.” She hadn’t figured out how it managed to grow so quickly. Once in a while, she felt like she was “all caught up,” only to be completely overwhelmed with the amount again in a day or two.
With three neat stacks of clothes piled on the coffee table, one for her and for each of her younger brothers, she collapsed onto the couch. “I’ll never know how you did it all, Mom,” she said to the empty room. Of course, her mom had probably learned it all more gradually. Elise was twelve years older than her brothers. After struggling with secondary infertility after Elise was born, they were thrilled to find out they were expecting again. You could have blown them over with a feather when they found out they were carrying twins. Elise had been beyond excited. As a twelve-year-old girl, she was getting two real life baby dolls to play with.
She never would have guessed that she would be left to raise them on her own.
Their life had been normal. Elise had gone off to college and was just a semester away from graduating when her parents died in a terrible car accident. Elise had literally been picked up off the floor of her dorm room by the Resident Hall Director after she got the call. For a few minutes, she was sure she might lay on that floor and never get up.
Then she remembered her brothers. Noah and Ethan had been spending the night at a friend’s house. Elise didn’t think as she grabbed her keys and drove the hour and a half home from the university campus and picked them up. The three had hugged and cried for the entire night.
When morning came, Elise didn’t know what the future would look like. The only thing she knew was that she had to move home and stay with her brothers.
That was six months ago. Now they had managed to make it through the funeral and ten painful months of sorting through the family finances, property, and various business dealings. Her parents had lived a simple life, with her father working at an office downtown and her mother staying home with the boys. They had enough to get by, and Elise had worked hard to make up the difference by earning college scholarships. Now that her parents were gone, Elise wasn’t sure how she and the boys would make it.
They must have finally fallen asleep because she didn’t hear anymore pounding or even whispering.
Elise’s thoughts ran over the schedule for the next day and the next few weeks, until she was overwhelmed and stressed. With a shake of her head, she grabbed the remote and flipped the TV to a familiar sitcom. She hoped it would distract her for a little bit until she drug herself off to bed.
2
Garrett lifted his cowboy hat and wiped the back of his arm across his forehead. It was only early June, but the Texas heat was here to stay. Just as he was catching his breath from the long morning of working with the cattle, Jenson pulled up beside him.
“Hey, Mom wants you to come by the house by three o’clock.”
Garrett furrowed his eyebrows and glanced at his watch. “It’s two forty-five right now. We’re not done for the day.”
“I know, but she gave instructions. We can handle it here.”
“What does she want me to do?” Garrett racked his brain. His mom had been in the fixer-upper mood lately, and it wasn’t unusual for her to ask him or one of his brothers to hang a picture, paint a wall, or move a piece of furniture. But none of those things were on a strict timeline. What could she want him to do specifically at three o’clock in the afternoon?
“She didn’t say. Just said you need to be there.” Jenson shrugged.
Garrett sighed. He didn’t mind helping his mom out, but he hated leaving the work to his brothers. Sitting on his horse getting the work done made him feel useful. “Well then, I guess I better get going.”
