Chapter Twenty-Nine

"I don't want that gun in my home. Leave it on the porch," Jacob ordered as he rose from the table when Brody and Elizabeth walked in. Brody looked down at the revolver on his hip and shook his head, "I only take my gun off for one thing and it sure ain't sitting here talking to you."

Jacob crossed his arms over his chest, "That's the rules here. No revolvers in the house," he repeated in a no nonsense tone of voice.

Brody stuck his thumbs through his belt loops and leaned his weight on his good leg, "I ain't leaving the gun on the porch and I sure as hell ain't standing out in the cold."

"Brody..." Jacob warned but Brody cut him off.

"What damn good is this gun gonna do me if I leave it on the porch? If there's one thing the life I've led has taught me, it's to keep my gun with me all the time."

Thomas stepped into the house and Brody looked at him to see that he had indeed removed his gun from his holster, "Where the hell is your gun, Thomas?! Don't tell me you let him talk you into not wearing it in here! You've been supposed to be looking out for my wife all these months! What the hell were you gonna do if something bad happened? Ask the thieves, attackers or murderers to wait just a minute while you go and get it?!" Thomas looked from Jacob to Brody and wondered which man he should listen to... He quickly determined that Brody was scarier and he stepped back out long enough to grab his gun.

"I give up, Brody," Jacob said as he flopped himself back down in the kitchen chair. "Come on in and sit down so we can talk."

***

"So how is that you are alive when your wife thought you were dead?" Jacob asked once everyone was eating supper.

"A man found me and patched me up," Brody replied simply.

"And what took you so long to come look for your wife?" Jacob asked with annoyance. Knowing Brody he'd been too busy doing his own thing to give any thought to his wife.

"I thought Elizabeth was dead. The men that shot me had a gun to her head and just before I lost consciousness, I heard a gunshot. I had given her mama's necklace and the man that found me also found that necklace in a pool of blood."

Jacob looked at Elizabeth and saw that she was indeed wearing his mama's old necklace, "That still doesn't explain what you've been doing for six months or what you came back here for," he said looking back at his brother.

Brody shoved a big bite of fried potatoes into his mouth, "I thought my wife had been murdered by a bunch of bastards in a plot to steal her ranch... I think what I was doing for those six months should be pretty self explanatory." he growled with an indifferent shrug, "As far as coming back here, I guess I thought coming home might help me deal with losing her."

Brody felt Elizabeth's hand squeeze his thigh in comfort and he lowered his hand beneath the table and took her hand in his. Silence fell over the table as only the sound of silverware scraping against plates and people chewing filled the air.

Finally Susie spoke up, "Where did you get that scar?" she asked quietly, pointing at Brody's cheek.

"The war," Brody replied simply. He wished he could tell the girls apart but it had been too long since he'd seen them.

"We know that!" Sally exclaimed. "But how?!"

"Don't worry about it," Jacob scolded. "He obviously doesn't want to talk about it." Susie lowered her eyes back down to her plate looking ashamed as Sally glared at her oldest brother and an angry blush covered her cheeks.

"So what are you going to do from here?" Jacob asked his brother. Brody looked at Elizabeth and she nodded. They had talked after their nap at the hotel and he had told her about Anita's death and about the ranch now belonging to him. He had told her about the money her father had also left to her and they had come up with a plan that would give everyone an easier life.... If Jacob could be talked into going along with it.

"How attached are you to this place?" Brody asked as he looked around the kitchen. This cabin was no longer home. As a matter of fact he hated being in here because it made him remember what had happened all those years ago.

Jacob saw the haunted look in Brody's eyes and couldn't help but feel sorry for his younger brother, "I'm not so much attached as I am stuck, Brody. I got two girls to raise and no other way to make money other than to try to raise some cows and pigs and sell them every now and then."

"So it's been hard?" Brody asked.

Jacob nodded, "A heck of a lot harder than it was back when it was three of us men running the farm and mama, Christine and Catherine doing the rest of the stuff 'round here."

"What would you say to leaving here?" Brody asked and Susie and Sally's heads snapped up.

"And going where?" Jacob demanded.

"Texas," Brody replied.

"What's in Texas?" Jacob asked.

"My ranch," Brody replied. "Our ranch," he amended, looking over at his wife.

"Ranch?" Thomas asked as he took a big drink of water. "What ranch?"

"McCready ranch. Of course I'm thinking 'bout changing the name to Atkinson."

"I thought Braxton had the ranch?" Thomas spoke up.

Brody shook his head, "He decided to give it to me."

Jacob snorted, "Decided at gun point you mean."

"No," Brody shook his head and remembered the branding iron he'd used on Braxton's head. "No, it wasn't at gun point."

Elizabeth realized that at the rate the men were going, it was going to take all night to finish the conversation so she stepped in, "Bottom line is this." she said in her most no nonsense, ranch boss tone of voice. "The ranch is wealthy. It's prosperous. The girls would have everything they could possibly need. I don't want to live in the ranch house because there are too many bad memories there for me now but I see no reason why you and the girls shouldn't live there. Brody and I can build our home somewhere else on the property."

"But.." Jacob started.

"Now before you say you don't know anything about ranching or you don't feel right moving in out there let me tell you that between me, Brody and Thomas we can teach you everything you need to know and we're changing the ranch's name to Atkinson Spread just as soon as we back. Since you're an Atkinson that means it's yours too." Elizabeth leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her belly, as if daring him to argue with her pure and simple logic.

"I don't..." Jacob started but was cut off again by Susie and Sally.

"It sounds like fun!" Sally exclaimed.

Please Jacob! I don't want Liz to leave without us and I want to get to know Brody!" Susie added.

Jacob sighed and stood from the table, "I'll think about it." He walked back to his room, closing the door behind him.

"He's not mad," Susie said quickly as Brody grumbled under his breath. "He's just confused about what to do.'

"If he'd use the half of his brain that has common sense he'd see that this farm is a lost cause and he'd come back to Texas with us," Brody grumbled.

"Whether he decides to come or not, I'm coming." Sally assured her brother.

"You'd leave Jacob and I?!" Susie exclaimed.

Sally nodded, "I think Brody knows more about life than Jacob and I'd like to learn what goes on around a real live ranch."

"Sally, Jacob might hear you. How do you think that would make him feel?" Elizabeth scolded.

Sally blushed, "Might make him see some sense," she muttered and Brody laughed out loud. Everyone looked at him with confusion.

"I'll be damned if you aren't just like me, Sally." he said in response to their looks. "We get that from mama... Hot headed, proud, stubborn and driven for excitement and adventure. Nobody tells us what to do and we always know best."

Sally smiled proudly, "Good for us." she said sitting up a little straighter.

"Of course..." Brody added, looking over at Susie who was sitting there looking a little hurt. "Jacob and Susie are more like pa was. Peaceful, calm, hardworking folks who just want to be left alone to live their lives without too much excitement and bothers. Which is a good thing, I think. The world needs both types of people to keep itself balanced."

"What kind of person am I?" Thomas asked with a grin.

Brody raised a brow as he glanced at the boy, "The kind that needs to get his ass back to Texas, round up some men and get busy building Elizabeth and I a house."

"Brody!" Elizabeth exclaimed at his rudeness.

"That's alright, Liz. I'll head back in the morning. It'll feel good to go back to Texas.. Texas is home." Thomas said with a grin.

"What about us? When are we going back?" Elizabeth asked Brody.

"Just as soon as you have that baby," he replied looking down at her belly.

"Babies," Sally cut in.

"Babies," Brody agreed and then he looked at Thomas, "I'll expect our house to be finished."

"Yes sir." Thomas agreed.

"How quickly you take over the roll of boss," Elizabeth said with a roll of her eyes.

Brody wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple, "Get used to it, cowgirl. I am the boss now."

"In your dreams," she said with a raise of her eyebrow. She moved her hand up his thigh, higher and higher until he jerked and nearly knocked his glass of water off the table.

Elizabeth smiled and wiggled her eyebrows, though no one else at the table knew what had caused Brody's sudden clumsiness or the grin on his face, "I'm still the boss," she insisted.

Brody nodded, "Yes ma'am."