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“I put in extra basil for you,” Caspian said to me.
“Thanks, little brother.”
A painting of our family motto, SLURFPIG, hung on the wall. I gave it a nod. Not that I needed the visual reminder to remember the pledge Pop had made to us all those years ago.
“Mama, did you tell him?” Caspian asked, pushing his hair away from his forehead. He wore it kind of long these days, and it always looked as if he’d just stepped out of a woman’s salon,what with the hair gel and what looked like blond streaks put in by a professional. I never tired of giving him grief.
“Yeah, she told me,” I said.
Pop put an arm around my shoulders in a half hug. “Sorry, buddy. This has brought up a lot of bad memories for us all.”
“Thanks, Pop,” I said.
“Do you think it could leak back to us?” Caspian asked, untying the green apron he had around his waist. “Hurt the ranch at all? Creep guests out?”
“It could,” I said.
“Or bring some in,” Pop said. “Annie’s pretty famous now. Maybe people would be curious enough to come stay in one of the cabins.”
Scout had ambled over to sit near the oven, essentially in the way of anyone who needed to use it for meal preparation. A pan of corn bread on the second shelf appeared nearly done. I’d been hungry before, but this news had squelched my appetite.
“We don’t need to worry about it,” I said. “If we’re a little slow for a season or two, I can float us.”
“Absolutely not,” Pop said. “That’s your money. You earned it.”
“Thanks, Pop, but the whole reason I worked so hard all these years was to make sure this family never had to worry about money ever again.”
“You’re a good boy, but we don’t need it,” Mama said. “The ranch is in good shape. All paid off and everything.” She smiled and exchanged a look with Pop. They’d gone without luxuries for years to pay off the ranch. Pop had stayed with the bank up until five years ago when they paid off the loan once and for all. Now, he and Mama bought real estate and houses in the area for investments. Pop still did most of the work himself, even in his fifties.
“I hardly think about that time. It’s as if it happened to some other family.” Caspian went to the refrigerator and pulled outbeers for himself and me. “I can’t even remember much before Pop came.”
My brothers had said similar things to me in the past. It seemed I was the only one who remembered our real father enough to still hate him.
“I’m sure it’s the same for Annie,” Caspian said. “And now it’s all out there for everyone to see. Those people are disgusting.”
“I know,” Mama said, sinking onto one of the barstools. “We’ve all moved on, and now the story’s back. Do you know they showed crime scene photos?”
“No wonder Annie lost it,” Caspian said.
We were interrupted by Soren and Rafferty filing into the kitchen.
Soren greeted everyone, looking grumpy as usual, and went straight to the refrigerator for a beer. “Resting grump face” is what we called him. Even now, as an adult, he always looked slightly less comfortable inside than outside, as if he couldn’t breathe properly behind closed doors.
Typically, the dude ranch was quiet before Thanksgiving, only to pick up in the month of December, giving Soren a respite from taking tourists out for sleigh and horse rides. He wore his usual uniform of a thick flannel shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots.
Rafferty was on the phone, advising a patient about taking their antibiotic with food. He made an apologetic face and mouthed “sorry” as he ran one hand over his closely cropped brown hair. We were of similar heights, but my middle brother had wider shoulders and an air about him that reeked of steely determination. Getting through medical school was not for sissies.
When he hung up, Rafferty apologized again. “That was a patient of mine. The poor thing’s nervous about her prescriptions. She thinks they might have some kind of tracking devicein it. I have had the same conversation with her several times of late.”
“Oh dear,” Mama said. “That must be so hard for her.”
Thad’s voice called out from the foyer. “Sorry I’m late.” Seconds later, he appeared and kissed Mama on the cheek. “Good gracious, that smells good. I’m hungry as a bear.”
“Where have you been? You’re all dressed up.” Mama smoothed the sleeve of his cashmere sweater. I’d given it to him for Christmas last year, and he’d told me he loved how soft it felt against his skin. I had a few more ordered to give him this coming Christmas. He was not a man who ever bought anything for himself. In fact, he would give away his most prized possessions if he thought someone was in need.
“I was in town. Meeting about the fundraiser. We have way too many needy families this year, so we’re trying new tactics to raise money.” Thad looked around the room at each of us. “Is something the matter?”
His hair, dark and thick like mine, had been cropped short on the sides but hung longer in the front. He looked like one of those pop stars in a boy band.
