by Sable Hunter
After the girls strolled away, Benjen stalked over to the grill. The guys were whispering, Daniel had his hand on his hip, his dark eyes drilling a hole into Easy. As he neared, he could hear their eldest brother dressing Easy down.
“You’ve been drinking! What the hell has gotten into you? You know better than to pull this shit! And in front of Benjen’s guest? What were you thinking?”
“Leave me alone, Daniel. Dammit!” He glared at his brothers. “Why don’t you all leave me the hell alone!”
“Sounds like a good idea to me, asshole.” Sam turned the meat over on the grill and shut the lid.
“I can’t believe this. We come together for you, jerkwad, and you insult a woman who means the world to me!” Benjen was still so angry his chest was heaving.
“Cool it,” Daniel said, placing a steadying hand on Benjen’s shoulder. “Obviously, your brother isn’t himself.” He gave Easy a withering glance. “Care to explain yourself?”
Ezekiel hung his head, then darted a sidewise glance at Benjen. “Sorry. I had a few too many I guess.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Yesterday was the day…. I just have a hard time dealing with the anniversary, you know?”
The other three stared at him, frozen for a moment. “Fuck…” Daniel turned his head to look out over the ranch. “I didn’t realize the date.”
“I did,” Easy said evenly. “I can’t forget, it was my fault.”
Just that fast, Benjen was transported back in time.
He stood next to his brother as they waited out in front of the arcade next to Easy’s stalled truck. He knew they were in trouble. Their father had told them specifically to come straight home after football practice. He didn’t approve of some of Easy’s friends.
“We’re in deep shit. Why did I let you talk me into this?”
“Aw, shut up. You wanted to come as much as I did.” Easy slung his backpack to the ground.
“Hey, you’re my ride!” Benjen argued. “What else was I supposed to do? Besides, I’ll be punished the same as you and it was your fault.”
“Oh, shut up. All Dad will do is give us more chores. He might ground us for a week. He remembers what it’s like to be young.”
“And in love…” Benjen mocked his brother. “Selma Vargas is the reason you wanted to come over here today. And she didn’t give you the time of day, did she?”
“Shit. We should’ve walked home.” Easy kept his eye on the road, watching for their father’s truck.
“Dad would still find out. You don’t have enough money for a tow. You couldn’t just leave your truck here.” Benjen glanced around. “Hey, where’s my backpack?”
“You probably left it inside. There comes Dad, you’d better run get it.” Easy picked up his own backpack and stood straighter, steeling his spine for the confrontation he knew was coming.
Benjen dashed in, determined not to make his father wait.
About that time – Benjen heard a horrible noise. When he ran outside, it was to see his father’s truck crumpled up against a large concrete light pole. A big semi had run a red light at the intersection and plowed right into the Ford F150 on the driver’s side.
He could still remember their screams.
“It wasn’t your fault, Easy. It was an accident.” Benjen laid his hand on his brother’s shoulder.
“Of course, it was.” Daniel reinforced the statement.
“If I’d obeyed him and come straight home. He’d be alive today.”
Easy’s tortured voice hurt Benjen’s heart. “Hey, we don’t know that. Fate is a fickle bitch.”
“Hey, give me a hand with this food.” Sam tried to break the mood. “Give me that bowl of melted butter so I can baste this hunk of meat.”
Daniel did as Sam asked and Easy stuffed his hands in his pockets and faced Benjen. “I’m sorry I insulted your date.”
Benjen smiled wryly. “Maybe you can show her your better side. She’s a lady. She’ll forgive you.”
“I hope so.” Easy rubbed his eyes. “I just feel like shit and I took it out on all of you. I’d planned to come home and just slink off to my room, but I got Sam’s text. And it just pissed me off…”
“What pissed you off?” Daniel asked disbelievingly. “Your family worrying about you and wanting you to show up for dinner pissed you off?”
“Explain yourself, Easy. You’re not making sense.” He knew his brother. Ninety-nine percent of the time he was a reasonable human being. Almost.
“Fuck. I don’t know.” Easy pulled a lawn chair up and sat down in it. “I feel dizzy.”
Sam handed him a bottled water.
Unscrewing the top, he took a long swig. “Sometimes I get angry that we’re doing family stuff. Eating. Partying. Falling in love.” He looked up guiltily at Daniel, then Benjen. “It doesn’t seem right that we’ve moved on after Dad died.”
“We didn’t stop living when Mom died. Not even Dad. We mourned. We picked up and kept on. That’s what she would’ve wanted and it’s what our father would’ve wanted too.” Benjen felt like he was right. “I lost Kelli. I loved Kelli. I mourned her. The same with Dad…but we’re not dead, Easy. We’re still alive. People who love you don’t want you to cease to exist when they’re gone.”
“I guess.” Easy sighed. “Doesn’t make it any easier.”
“Look, we’re here for you, man.” Benjen knelt by Easy.
“That’s right. You’re not alone,” Sam told him, waving a pair of tongs in the air.
“Right. Talk to us,” Daniel agreed. “You won’t find your answers in the bottom of a bottle, that’s for sure.”
“You’re right.” Easy stood and gave his brothers a hug, each in turn. Nodding his head to the right, he told Daniel and Benjen, “You two probably need to check on the girls. No telling what kind of plan they’re hatching between them.”
“You’re right about that.” Daniel chuckled. “Where are they, anyway? Do you see them, Benjen?”
“No. I don’t.” He peered into the shadows. “It’s getting dark. I guess we’d better go look around.”
“Well, hurry back. This prime rib will be perfection in about ten minutes,” Sam muttered as he tended to the grill. “Easy, do you want to be my taste-tester?”
“Hell yeah, I do.”
… “Anyway, the Blackhawk brothers can be a force of nature. After Daniel found me walking home from the grocery store pulling my supplies in a little red wagon, he stopped and rescued me. He helped me bake pies that night, then when he found out I was living in Reverend Mike’s storeroom behind the Dam Pub, he put his foot down. The man insisted I come home with him.” Sara leaned against a tree trunk, gazing out over Honey Creek.
“And the rest, as they say, is history?” Apple laughed as she pulled her arm back and let a stone go, smiling as it skipped over the moonlit water.
“Well, no, not exactly. We had our ups and downs. So, you and Benjen?”
“We’re just…”
“Friends?”
“I’d have to say more than friends.”
“Lovers?”
Apple giggled at Sara’s open, out-spoken nature. “We’re taking it slow.”
“I understand. Benjen is a very special man. He’s deep. Sincere. An old soul, I guess you could say. Like Daniel, he has this amazing capacity to love.”
“I know he does.” The conversation was beginning to make Apple a bit uncomfortable. “I come with a lot of baggage. Benjen could do so much better than me.”
“Baggage?” Sara repeated the word teasingly. “If you want to know about baggage, girl, I can tell you about baggage.”
“Oh, okay.” Apple teased back. “We can compare, but I can promise mine is a steamer trunk compared to your carry-on.”
“Sara!”
“Apple!”
“I think we’re being summoned,” Apple whispered.
“We’re over here!” Sara called, catching Apple’s hand. “But this conversation is not over. Do you want to have coffee soon?�
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“Sure, I’d love to,” Apple agreed.
“Great. I’ll call you,” Sara promised as the Blackhawk brothers joined them. “Everything okay?” she asked her husband.
“Yea, everything’s fine.” He wrapped his wife in a hug. “Are you two about ready to eat?”
“Starved,” Apple admitted as she leaned into Benjen, who cuddled her close. “I feel like I should’ve brought a dish.”
Sara waved off her concern. “All I did was slice vegetables. Sam, our master chef, grilled it all. This is an easy dinner.” She giggled. “Except for Sam, I guess.”
“Oh, he enjoys it. I think Sam considers himself to be the next Bobby Flay or something,” Benjen muttered as they moved back toward the Rock House.
As the two couples strolled in the twilight, Benjen slowed their gait so they could have a few moments of privacy. “I want to apologize for Easy again.”
“Hey, it’s okay.” She rubbed her palm on his arm. “No hard feelings at all. Stop worrying about it. I could tell by his face that he regretted what he said the moment he said it.”
“Yea, he told us that he was upset. Yesterday was the anniversary of our father’s death. I’ve always known Easy blamed himself, but I didn’t realize until tonight how much.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I’ll tell you about it sometime.” He rubbed her back as they walked. “Easy likes to pretend he’s a playboy and I guess he is…” Benjen sighed. “Now, I’m beginning to wonder if his manwhore act is some type of defense mechanism.”
“Sara is right. You are deep.”
Benjen opened his mouth in faux surprise. “You two were talking about me? What else did you say?”
“I’ll never tell!” Apple laughed and he kissed her soundly. “I’m so glad you’re here with me.”
Overhearing Benjen’s last comment, Sara added in her two cents, “I’m glad she’s here too. I needed someone else on my team.”
“Awww,” Daniel pouted, “I thought we were on the same team.”
Sara pinched his waist playfully.
“Where’s the beef?” Benjen called out to Sam.
“Waiting on you guys. Soup’s on!” he called.
When they arrived, Easy met them and held out Apple’s chair for her at the patio table. “Allow me.”
“Thank you.” She gave him a grateful smile. Apple was relieved. She couldn’t stand the thought of being a source of conflict between the siblings. Even before Benjen explained his thoughts on what was going on with his brother, she hadn’t considered for a moment that he’d seriously been coming on to her.
After a few moments of horsing around, the Blackhawk family settled in for the meal. Sara seemed so comfortable with them all. Apple felt envious of the obvious affection between the group. Despite the tense moments with Easy, the other brothers treated him with care. Sitting next to Benjen, she couldn’t help but contemplate what she’d learned about his father. How awful for Easy to bear such a burden of guilt, even if wasn’t warranted.
“This looks wonderful, Sam,” Apple complimented the chef. She admired the beautiful cut of meat, a pan full of corn on the cob, and a platter of mixed grilled vegetables. When her eyes lighted on the gorgeous pies piled high with fluffy meringue, her eyes bugged out. “Oh, my goodness. I just gained five pounds looking at those desserts.”
“And they’re just as good as they look,” Easy confided from his place on Apple’s left. “Wait till you taste them.”
Apple sighed. “I shouldn’t. Like you said earlier, there’s too much of me.”
“I don’t think that’s what I said…” Easy murmured uncomfortably.
“I’ll handle it, Easy, but no.” Benjen was emphatic. “And no red-blooded man would think you were anything but perfect.”
“Here, here.” Sara raised her glass of ice tea. “I agree. Apple you’re simply gorgeous.”
Apple blushed furiously. “Let’s eat. Could I have some corn?” she asked Easy to pass the pan. Anything to get the attention off of her.
“So, you look older, Ezekiel. Do you feel any wiser?” Sam asked with a grin.
“No, I sure don’t,” Easy admitted as he forked a piece of meat, then passed the tray to Apple. “I do have some decent news, though. If anyone’s interested.”
“Of course, we’re interested.” Daniel frowned at his brother. “This is damn good.” He waved his fork at Sam.
Sam nodded his thanks, then, with everyone else, turned his attention to Easy.
“Well, I ran into Philip McCoy downtown the other day and he said they’re looking for someone to help run their ranch down in South Louisiana.” He paused for a couple of beats. “He offered me the job of foreman and I think I’m going to take it.”
Easy’s words might well have been boulders being catapulted over a castle wall. They fell hard on his family.
“You’re leaving? To work for someone else?” Daniel asked harshly, his eyes flashing fire. “What about this ranch? Your home?”
“Ah, come on.” Easy lifted his hand in the air. “You all don’t need me here. Even though you have your own thing going, Daniel, you set everything up so well, the ranch runs like clockwork. Benjen is like Dr. Doolittle with the animals and with his fancy degree, he can make this ranch an even bigger success. Sam is a natural planner, he’s detail oriented. He already supervises the day-to-day operations. And me? I’m just one of the hands whose last name happens to be Blackhawk.”
“Yes, your name happens to be Blackhawk,” Benjen inserted. “This ranch is your heritage.”
Easy pinned Benjen with a stare. “Well, I presume I can come home. I’m not saying I’ll stay away forever. This is a learning experience for me. My chance to see what I can do. Here, I know I have you guys to bail me out. There, I’ll sink or swim on my own.”
“I didn’t know the McCoys had a ranch in South Louisiana,” Sam muttered, his countenance sad at the thought of his brother leaving home. “What size outfit are we talking about?”
“Bigger than our ranch, by far. Belle Chasse is where the Highland McCoys hail from. The place belonged to their mother, a plantation is probably a better description. They raised cattle, grew rice, sugar cane, and cotton. It was a huge operation until Katrina and it could be again. Lately, they’ve hired a ranch manager by the name of Jed Vincent, who has a lot of ideas. Anyway, Philip is spearheading the project. In fact, he’s stopping by later tonight to talk to me about his plans.”
Daniel poked his vegetables with a fork, deep in thought. “Wow, this is sudden.” He smiled at Sara who was rubbing his shoulder in empathy. “Since meeting Jaxson at the support group and Sara getting to know the McCoy sisters, I thought I knew the family pretty well. Jaxson and Heath serve as the primary ranchers at Highlands and Ten has his wind farms, but I thought Philip was an archaeologist, a professor at the University of Texas. How did he end up focusing on cattle and crops instead of unearthed bones and pottery shards?”
Easy took a long sip of tea, appearing to continue the process of clearing his head from the abundance of alcohol he’d consumed in the last twenty-four hours. “Well, like us, the McCoy men are finding their niche. Jaxson will undoubtedly be the backbone of their Texas Ranch. Heath’s focus is split between the resort he and his wife own, plus the energy company that’s branched out into rocket fuel. Tennessee has his wind-farms down in Southwest Texas. The girls are married, of course. Ryder to her billionaires and Pepper to her rock star. Yes, Philip’s first love is archaeology and the kicker…” He grinned and shook his head. “I hope I can remember what he said – oh, yea – Philip thinks Belle Chasse may sit atop a series of ancient Indian burial mounds, maybe even a whole Pre-Columbian city like the one near St. Louis.”
“Cahokia?” Apple asked, then covered her mouth. She knew this was an intense moment for the family and she felt a bit like she was intruding. “Sorry. I spent some time near there when Alan was stationed at Scot Air Force Base.”
“No problem, baby,”
Benjen assured her, taking her hand.
Easy nodded at Apple. “Yes, Cahokia sounds right.”
“Well, what I don’t understand,” Sam spoke up, is why they’re planning on restarting the ranch business if the whole place may turn into one big archaeological dig?” Sam asked.
Easy shrugged. “From what Philip told me, the family doesn’t want the land to lay fallow, but he wants to protect and study any historical significance the ranch may have.”
Benjen was torn between finding what Easy said fascinating and feeling an immense sense of loss. “Look, I can’t deny this sounds fascinating, but if you’re leaving because I made some noise about wanting to be the one to live at the homestead, we can certainly come to some arrangement that will satisfy all of us. You leaving your home never remotely entered my mind. This ranch belongs to all four of us. Always has. Always will.”
“I know,” Easy assured them all. He waved his hand around in the air, including everyone in his explanation. “You saw how I acted tonight. I’ve been going through some shit.” He gave Sara and Apple an apologetic nod. “I need to get away. Look at life from a new vantage point. I’ve been burdened with this immense amount of guilt and regret…”
“Damn, I feel like I’ve failed you,” Daniel muttered, hissing out a breath of repentance.
“No, you didn’t,” Easy countered. “You were our anchor. We wouldn’t have made it without you.” He raked his hand over his hair. “My problem is my own. Something I have to deal with and getting a different perspective will help. Believe me, this won’t be forever. I value my roots. I will come home.”
Seeing the mood at the table was anything but festive, Sara picked up a knife. “Pie anyone? Don’t we have more presents to give Easy?”
“Right.” Benjen dug in his back pocket to find the Lyle Lovett tickets. “Here you go, Brother.”
“Hey, great!” Easy exclaimed, accepting gifts from Sam and Daniel also. “And two pies! I’m going to have a good time making myself sick.”
After dessert, Apple helped clean up. As the girls carried the leftovers and dirty dishes inside the house, Sara spoke softly to Apple, “Sorry there was so much drama tonight.”