A Secret to Shatter by Katie O’Connor
Chapter Five
Ira sat in his Jeep at the end of the Bar 3’s long driveway. He stared at the enormous yellow house in the distance. Half of him wanted to cut and run. He wasn’t ready for this. It was enough that he’d met his absentee father and heard his lame excuse for not being part of Ira’s life.
Okay, maybe not lame. Robert’s version of the story agreed completely with his mother’s. Being excluded from his sire’s life rankled. Half of Ira’s childhood had been spent wishing for his dead father. It cut deep to learn his father was alive and well. The adult in him understood, but the lonely, fatherless boy deep inside was still angry.
From what he gathered listening to gossip and seeing the Flints around town, Robert had three daughters younger than Ira. Five boys older, three girls younger. Ira should have been part of the family. He wanted to be angry with his mother. But he couldn’t find it in his heart to be angry at a dead woman. He was however, disappointed she had never told him the truth. Water under the bridge. He’d been deprived of a father and all his siblings. A sin he was finding hard to forgive, even if Robert had welcomed him home with open arms.
Time to move on and get to know his father and the mass of half-brothers and stepsisters. It dawned on him that Sue was now his stepmother. A father and a stepmother. Guess he wasn’t an orphan any more. The thought did weird things to his stomach.
Despite his own inner turmoil, Ira had promised to show up for work and Robert was expecting him. One thing Ira was, was a man of his word. He’d agreed to work at the Bar 3 to help take a load off Robert’s shoulders. He’d be paid a living wage and he’d have the chance to meet his entire family. He just didn’t like starting those relationships with a lie. He’d prefer to come out as Robert’s son right from the beginning. Robert hadn’t really left him a choice.
He slipped the Jeep into gear and pulled into the yard, parking near the house. He slid out and paused, taking in the barns and other outbuildings. He’d been here before, but he was still amazed at the wealth and complexity of the ranch.
“Hey. Morning. Can I help you?” A cheery female voice called out.
He pivoted his gaze to the front porch. A pretty, dark blonde-haired girl in sturdy outdoorsy clothing stood on the top step smiling at him. “Hi.” He walked toward her. “I’m Ira Castillo. I’m here to see Robert.”
She skipped down the stairs, the wooden beads on her necklace clacking with each step. She thrust her hand at him. “Candice. Third youngest Flint child. Mom and Dad are waiting inside. Let me show you in. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.” He shook her hand and followed when she jogged back toward the house. Candice, his sister. Third youngest she’d said. She seemed nice enough. Outspoken and cheery.
She opened the door and two dogs exploded outside. “Hey,” she called, “Who let you guys inside? You’re supposed to be outdoor dogs.” The lead dog yipped once and headed for the barn, the other dog hot on its tail.
Ira watched them go.
“The husky looking one is Kettle Corn. The black lab is Blackie. He’s new and a bit out of control. My nieces, Daisy and Jane, chose his uber original name. What can you do? Kids.”
“Are they friendly?” He’d met Corn on his previous visit when he first came to town. The dog seemed friendly enough.
“Yes. Dad wouldn’t keep an animal that wasn’t kid and animal friendly. Both of those,” she waved vaguely in the direction the dogs had gone, “are rescues. Riley gets a lot of strays at the clinic.”
“Riley?” he asked, knowing full well his half-brother was one of the local veterinarians. Before coming to town, he’d accumulated as much information on the family as he could. He believed in being prepared.
“My brother. The vet. Youngest of five boys. All older than me.”
Her openness surprised Ira. She didn’t hesitate to share personal information with a stranger. Was she just gregarious, or was she careless? Of course, in a town this size, it didn’t take long to learn who was who, and who you needed to keep secrets from. Mrs. Adelson would share your secrets in a heartbeat. Honey, on the other hand, must hear a lot of stuff, but he’d never once heard her gossiping. He respected her discretion.
“You coming, or what?” Candice asked. “Mom and Dad are having coffee before the day starts.”
He could use a cup of coffee. He’d been up too early, unable to sleep due to nervous energy over starting work and meeting his new family. Meeting his sister, with all her exuberant energy, had calmed him. With luck, all his siblings would be so easy to get along with.
He followed her inside and slipped off his new, still stiff, cowboy boots. He’d prefer to wear combat boots, but the cowboy boots seemed less revealing. Sometimes, conforming to norms could be valuable for fitting in and avoiding questions. When in Rome and all that. His past wasn’t a secret, but he wasn’t about to share it freely either. Nobody needed to know how many people he had killed as a sniper. Nor did they need to know how each and every death haunted him, despite counseling.
“Mom, Dad? Ira’s here.” She headed to the back of the house, nodding for him to follow.
The house was tidy. Family pictures hung on virtually every wall and lined up like perfect soldiers on the fireplace mantle. The furniture was sturdy leather and looked brand new. Leather made sense. Robert and Sue had six grandkids. The youngest was five, the oldest seventeen. He cast a silent thanks to the patron saint of small-town gossip, whoever that might be.
The kitchen was half painted. Creamy ivory covered two of the walls, the remaining walls maintained their faded pastel green. All the trim was taped in preparation for painting. Solid wood cupboards lined the walls and the countertop was gleaming marble. They must be in the middle of a kitchen renovation. The appliances were dated, but serviceable. He wondered if they’d be replaced as well.
“Ira, come in,” Robert greeted him. “You remember my wife, Sue?”
“Hi, Sue, Robert. Nice to see you both again. I’m ready to work. Where do I start?” He’d prefer to get to know these people, his family, better, but didn’t want things to become awkward.
“You’re not starting anything until you’ve had coffee and a muffin or two. I baked lemon poppyseed muffins this morning. You’ll get breakfast every morning you work.”
“I appreciate the offer, ma’am, but I can provide my own food.”
“Not on my ranch you won’t.” She glared at him, hands on her hips.
He flashed a look at Robert who shrugged as if to say don’t bother arguing. “You might as well accept gracefully. My Sue loves to cook and bake. She’s not happy unless she’s feeding someone.” The smile he gave his wife was almost embarrassing in its tenderness.
“Gross,” Candice complained. “They’re always doing those PDAs.” She rolled her eyes.
PDA, the shortened form of public displays of attention had always amused him. Ira could tell, for all her complaints, she loved her parents and their affection didn’t bother her.
“Thank you, Sue. I’ll be happy to have breakfast here on the days I work.” He’d be more than happy, he’d love it. He could already tell the familial love and camaraderie on the Bar 3 were amazing. They called to him, pulling him in. He couldn’t resist, even if he wanted to.
“How do you take your coffee?” Sue asked.
“Black, straight up, thanks.” In seconds, she slid a steaming mug and a plate of muffins in front of him.
“Tomorrow will be real breakfast. I serve at seven.”
“I’ll be here.”
Ira sipped his coffee and looked around the room. “This is delicious coffee, not at all like the sludge I got in the mess hall. Thank you.”
Sue preened at the praise.
Candice waved and slid out of the kitchen. Twenty seconds later, the front door banged shut.
“Let’s get started,” Robert said. “Breakfast and coffee come first in the morning. That’s when we plan the day. Today we’ll check the cattle. We’ve only got a few cows who haven’t birthed yet this year.”
Ira nodded his understanding. He knew a fair bit about ranching. He’d studied up when he learned what his father did for a living. He had zero hands-on experience, but he was more than ready to pitch in and learn.
“If the cows are good, we run the perimeter fences on the quad once a week” Robert continued. Run them year-round, and after every storm.” Robert chatted about the daily routines, weekly routines, and monthly routines. By the time he hit yearly, Ira was done.
“At the risk of being rude, can I suggest we get to work and discuss this as we go? I’m itching to get started and not much for sitting around. No offense, Sue. The coffee and muffins were delicious. I appreciate them. Thank you.”
Sue laughed. “Told you he was going to be a good hire. Your boy has a lot of you in him.” She love-punched Robert in the shoulder.
“Sh,” Robert hissed. “We’re keeping this on the down low for now.”
“The down low? What are you, a teenage spy?” She laughed. Her easy grin turned to a thoughtful frown. “I’m telling you both, right now, keeping this a secret isn’t going to end well. You’re breaking a bond of trust with your family, and they aren’t going to appreciate it. If I hadn’t known about Ira before we married, I’d have kicked your ass to the curb when I found out you were keeping him a secret from me. Some secrets shouldn’t be kept. Family needs to pull together and stick together. You’re messing with dynamics beyond your control, you mark my words.” She shook her finger in time with her head.
Ira agreed with Sue, but wasn’t about to go against his father’s wishes. Yet. Time would tell. He wasn’t prepared to keep their secret long. The dishonestly sat heavy in his gut making him wish he’d skipped the coffee.
“Yo, anyone around?” A man called from the front door.
Sue’s face lit with happiness. “In the kitchen, Justice. Come on back. We’re just having coffee.”
The twin thump of boots hitting the floor proceeded the soft footfalls of stockinged feet. “Morning,” Justice declared coming into the kitchen. “Whoa. Sorry, I didn’t realize you had company.”
“Justice, this is Ira Castillo. I’ve hired him to help out around here. Ira, this is my eldest son, Justice.”
Ira stood and offered his hand. “Nice to meet you, Justice.”
“Call me Flint, nobody but Mom and Dad call me Justice. Nice to meet you. It’ll be good to have extra hands around here. Dad can step back a bit and with your help, we can get caught up on maintenance. We need to put a new roof on the cabin before it starts leaking.”
“Sounds good to me.” Ira rose to shake his brother’s hand.
“Don’t be thinking you’re in charge,” Robert warned.
“You know as well as I do the roof needs to be fixed. You and Mom honeymooned in the cottage. Are you going to let it fall apart? You’ve got two strong backs and four strong hands. We can have it shingled in a couple days at best. Calving’s near done.”
Robert squinted at Flint. “Just because you are back to work doesn’t mean you’re in charge.”
“Hell, Dad. It’s my fault we’re behind on basic maintenance. I intend to take charge of catching up on it. And unless you’re prepared to knock me down to stop me, you might as well agree. I’ll be putting in longer days for a while, to catch up.”
There was an invisible, but palpable tension between the duo that spoke of words unsaid and stories untold. Ira’s interest was piqued.
“Stop it, both of you.” Sue glared back and forth between the two men. “Don’t be so darned stupid. It isn’t your fault you had to dedicate yourself to finding Hannah. Two years of back maintenance is nothing. You’ll be caught up in no time. Stop blaming yourself for what happened with Hannah. She’s back and she’s safe. After that, nothing matters. Though I do wish you’d marry Amy.”
“Mom,” Flint’s voice rose in warning.
“Don’t you sass me. You love Amy. You proposed, didn’t you? Why don’t you get married already?”
“We’re not talking about my love life. We’ll marry when we’re ready. We’re still getting to know each other. It isn’t easy blending two families. Especially when they have issues. Casey and Amy have barely started to get to know each other.”
Suddenly, Ira understood. He’d been in town last winter when crap hit the fan. While Flint was looking for his runaway daughter, he’d stumbled upon a missing teenage girl, Casey. RCMP officer, and now Flint’s fiancé, Amy, had taken the child under her wing. Working together, they’d managed to find Flint’s missing daughter, Hannah, and bring her home. No wonder the man was being cautious about rushing into marriage. He had a relationship to rebuild with his daughter before taking on a new wife and her foster child.
“I’ll just head out to the barn and look around, unless anyone objects.” Ira cleared his plate and mug to the sink. He had to get out of here. For all that these people were his family, it didn’t feel right to land in the middle of what was clearly an ongoing argument.