~*~
The first son-of-a-bitch that came through that front door was going to have a boot up their ass and a fist in their mouth, Eric decided when he saw the cloud of dust traveling toward his house.
He didn’t need a confrontation with his brothers. They had no idea what he was going through. His entire family had betrayed him on both sides and now the woman he loved had too. He was fed up.
Russell’s truck pulled up first with him and Dane inside. Gerald and Ben were in the next truck that pulled up. What could they possibly have to say?
He waited with his fists ready for the first brother to walk in the door, but no one came. What in the hell were they doing? It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen them.
Eric moved toward the door, but still no one came it.
Swiftly, he pulled it open. No one was on the porch.
He stepped out and looked around the side of the house. The only evidence that his brothers were there were their trucks parked outside. He moved back to the front door. Perhaps they headed up to the barn. But as he walked into the house he found them. There they stood, all four of them, shoulder to shoulder with their arms crossed in front of their chests.
“Going somewhere?” Ben asked.
“Get out!”
Dane shook his head. “Sit down.”
“Kiss my ass,” Eric said as he took a step toward his brothers and in unison they moved a step toward him—stopping him.
Russell motioned toward the couch with his head. “Sit. You ain’t going anywhere.”
“I don’t have to go. You do. This is my house.”
Ben clucked his tongue. “Seems to me Elias Morgan owns it.”
Eric bolted toward Ben first, but only found himself on his ass in front of the wall made of brothers.
Gerald held out a hand to help him up. “You upset Mom. No one goes for that.”
Eric let go of Gerald’s hand as soon as he was solid on his feet. “Your mom. Not mine.”
“Just as much yours as mine. Don’t play that desperate card with us. She fixed your wounds, fed your stomach, and comforted you when you needed it. She washed your clothes and cheered you on at every damn basketball game you ever had. So get off your high horse and sit down,” Gerald said through gritted teeth.
Fine. He’d appease them. Eric walked around the sofa and sat down. Each of his brothers then filed in and took a seat around the room.
Dane clasped his hands together and leaned his arms on his thighs. “What is this about your mom having more kids?”
“Tyson Morgan,” Eric said with a shake of his head. “She ran away when she was sixteen. Came back when she was eighteen and pregnant. Had him, left him with Elias, and ran off. She didn’t get far though. Somehow she ended up with dad and here I am.”
“Dad must have fallen in love and…”
“I don’t think that’s really how the story goes.”
Dane sat back in his chair. “I’m sorry, man.”
Eric ran his hands over his hair. “What do you do with this when you’re forty? How do you accept this?”
There was silence for a moment.
“What about Tyson? What did he say? Did he know?” Ben asked.
“No. His whole world has been rocked. Elias said he wanted to move her into town so we could all visit her. That leads me to believe he was going to tell Tyson at some point.”
Russell ran his hand over the growth of whiskers on his chin. “Damn. I can’t imagine how I’d feel.”
“That’s not all. Someone is killing off their cattle too.”
Ben’s forehead creased. “The Morgans’ cattle?”
Eric nodded.
“That says they didn’t kill ours.”
“I don’t think they did.”
Gerald stood and paced the room. “Then who? Who else wants this land?”
Eric shook his head. “I don’t know, but I’m thinking there is more than one deal going on and Byron’s weaknesses were used against us.”
“Do you think Tyson knows anything?”
“No. But I’m thinking together we can find out.”
Dane let out a long breath. “What about Susan? Do you think she knows what’s going on?”
Eric tossed his head back against the couch and covered his face with his hands. “No. I actually don’t think she knows.”
Gerald stood at the edge of the sofa next to Eric. “You were an absolute ass to her. You deserved the smack she laid on you.”
He couldn’t deny that. He did deserve that.
Russell scratched his head. “If you don’t think she’s involved you need to apologize.”
“God, now you sound like Glenda.” That received a few chuckles. “But you’re right.”
“Maybe she’s just catering for them. What else could she be doing?”
Again, Russell was right and Eric was getting tired of his little brother having all the common sense.
“She’s working with Lydia, Tyson said. Maybe she’s having a surprise tea party or something.”
Gerald smiled. “We certainly aren’t getting an invitation to that.”
Eric stood. “Okay, get out now. I have to drive to town and grovel.”
Gerald slapped him on the shoulder. “I’m going back to Mom’s. Did you see that dessert Susan brought? I’m not letting that go to waste.”
They all moved to the door and filed out. As the others walked to the trucks, Dane turned around. “Come back and apologize to Mom.”
“I will.”
He watched his brothers drive away as he leaned against the doorjamb. He wondered which woman would be harder to apologize to. The one he’d neglected most of his life over pride or the one he neglected only a day after telling her he loved her.
Eric watched as the dust kicked up again and soon his father’s truck pulled up in front of the house. What had they all thought he would do to come in shifts?
His father parked and climbed from the truck. “You don’t look any worse. I figured they’d have hog tied you and I’d have to come cut you out of it.”
Eric snickered. “I’m surprised they didn’t. I think they were pretty mad.”
“Everyone had a right to be.”
How could he possibly deny that? “I’m sorry.”
“You’ll tell that to your mother. To Glenda,” his father added as if suddenly he wouldn’t have called her Mom.
“I will. I owe her and Susan both an apology.”
“Good. No matter what happens romantically between you and Susan, you can’t leave it like that. I don’t think she knew who Elias was.”
“I don’t get it. I parked right behind her when I went there. How could she not have seen my truck?”
His father looked outside at the old truck, which had been on that land driving through fields for nearly twenty years. “I’ve never been on a piece of land that didn’t have some beat up piece of crap pickup like that one. Trust me, it doesn’t stand out as much as you think it does.”
“What do you think she was doing out there? It doesn’t line up right.”
“I think she was hired for a job. She won’t tell anyone, but I have no doubt that she’s telling the truth.”
Eric pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just when I find the perfect woman I mess it all up.”
“I’ll let you blame this on Byron too,” his father joked. “Without the mess he’s put us in, life would certainly be boring.”
Eric narrowed his gaze on his father. “They’re losing cattle too. I think this is bigger than Byron. I think Elias is into something too. Someone wants all of us off this land and they’re pushing us out.” The realization of that hit him too. “I’ll bet that’s why he’s so eager to move Mom.”
His father winced at that. “I guess it’s time to embrace family, Eric. You need Elias and he needs you.”
The words had Eric’s heart racing. He hated to admit it, but he knew his father was right. It was going to take more than his Walker pride to get them out of th
is.