“I expect I’ll be hearing from him tomorrow morning, then,” their father said. “He’s never been one to keep his thoughts to himself.”
Jeff looked quite pleased at the thought of a confrontation, which didn’t surprise Danny in the least. His father loved a good fight and he was bored to tears stuck at home.
“I don’t know how Doug stays in business.” Their father was still talking. “And, there’s only his sister up there with him. I bet she won’t stick around.”
“How do you know?” Danny and his Mom asked at the same time, and then high-fived each other. “Women can run ranches. She can do whatever she wants.”
“I suppose so,” his dad grudgingly conceded.
“You need to get with the times, Dad,” Evan said. “If you said that to Sue Ellen’s face, she wouldn’t take it well.”
“She’d definitely whoop his ass,” Danny added.
“I’d pay to see that.” Evan set down his glass. “And, seeing as Sue Ellen has a bit of a thing for you, Danny boy, she’d probably do it for you if you asked.”
“Sue Ellen has good taste,” Danny’s mom agreed before turning back to her ex-husband. “Now, did you tell the boys about my plans?”
“Haven’t had time,” Jeff grumbled. “You only told me this morning.”
“I’m planning on flying back to New York next week.”
“Okay.” Danny was surprised she’d been able to stay for so long already. “You must have missed a lot of work stuff, right?”
She smiled at him. “To be honest, most of it I’ve handled online or by phone, but there’s a big charity board meeting coming up and I need to be there in person for that.” She sighed. “And I miss Ellie.”
“When do you think you’ll get back here?” Evan asked the question Danny hadn’t wanted to. “Otherwise Dad’s gonna sulk like a baby.”
Leanne reached over and took Jeff ’s hand. “That’s up to your father. If he wants me to come back, he’ll let me know.”
Danny glanced at his father’s stormy expression and got to his feet. The last thing he needed when his nerves were already on edge was to watch his father lose his temper.
“I’ll help you clear the table, Evan.”
“But I’m not finished,” Evan protested as Danny fixed him with a pointed stare. “Or, maybe I am.” He started gathering up plates. “How about I load the dishwasher while you make some more coffee and deal with the pans?”
“Hey, I cooked,” Danny reminded his younger brother. “So, you get to wash the pans.”
A while later when both Evan and his father had disappeared into their relative bolt-holes, Danny gave the kitchen countertops a last wipe down and set the rest of the meal in the refrigerator for when Kaiden came home from the Garcia Ranch. His brother was combining his carpentry business with helping manage the ranch and was a very busy man these days.
Danny was just about to check his phone when his mother joined him in the kitchen. Personality wise he was most like her, being the quiet determined type who just got on with shit while everyone else screamed and hollered. Twenty years ago, she’d walked out on his father to teach him a lesson—a lesson Jeff had only recently learned, and he had tried to make amends for depriving his kids of their mother. They all bore the scars of that decision and even after a couple of years of her regular presence at the ranch, Danny still wasn’t quite sure how to deal with her.
She helped herself to some coffee and leaned up against the refrigerator, her mug cupped in her hands. She was of average height and her hair still held a glint of the red Ben, Evan, and Daisy had inherited.
“Can I ask you something, Danny?”
“Sure.” He put down the kitchen cloth. “What’s up?”
“Is there something I should know about you and Faith McDonald?”
It dawned on him that she hadn’t been around when everything had gone down.
“Dad didn’t tell you about that?” he hedged.
She wrinkled her nose. “I think that was during the height of the divorce wars, so no.”
Danny hesitated. It wasn’t just his secret and he’d promised Faith. “If there was anything you needed to know that affected the here and now, I’d definitely tell you.”
“You would?” She looked hopefully up at him.
“Yes, but anything that did happen went down a very long time ago when we were kids, and it’s best to leave it in the past.”
She sighed. “If only stuff stayed in the past, we’d all be fine.” She met his gaze. “If things change on that score, you promise to tell me?”
Danny nodded. “Definitely, but we’re different people now and I can’t see Faith being the kind of person to hold a grudge.”
“Well, she hasn’t come home for almost seventeen years, so I’d say she feels bad about something.”
Danny smiled. “Now you sound like Dad.”
“You don’t say.” She sighed. “He’s really mad I’m leaving. He seemed to think I’d come back for good.”
“Hardly surprising.” Danny raised an eyebrow. “You know what he’s like. He complains all the time about us all being here and ruining his life, but the moment we want to leave, he gets all salty about it. He still hasn’t forgiven Ben for moving two miles down the road, Kaiden for working outside the ranch, and Adam for sharing Lizzie’s apartment and commuting up here to work.”
“I know.” She sipped her coffee. “How would you feel if I moved back here permanently?”
Danny blinked at her. “What about your work in New York?”
“As I said, I can manage most of it from here.” She eyed him carefully. “You don’t like the idea?”
“It’s not up to me to tell you and Dad how to manage your lives,” Danny said carefully. “Would you live here? And what about Ellie? Would she come with you?”
“You’re really good at answering questions with questions of your own.” His mom chuckled. “I’m not sure about living here on the ranch, to be honest. I might rent something in town.”
“Are you worried Dad’s not going to get better?” Danny asked flat out. “Do you think you need to be close for his benefit?”
She set her mug down on the counter. “I think you and your siblings are more than capable of looking after your own father if that’s what you’re getting at. I’d like to come home. I really miss this place and, seeing as I have the kind of life and financial resources to live wherever I like, I decided I wanted to make a change.” She shrugged. “What’s going on with Jeff certainly made me come to a decision faster, but we’d already discussed me moving back here before he had his heart attack.”
“I think you should do what you want to do,” Danny said slowly.
“Thank you.” She offered him a smile. “That’s very sweet of you.” She turned to the sink. “I’ve spoken to all of you now and no one’s told me I’m a complete fool. I’m a different person from that scared girl who let herself be pushed out of her own family and your father definitely knows it.” She held out her hand. “Are you done with that mug, dear? Give it to me and I’ll rinse it out and stick it in the dishwasher.”