Page 27 of Rocky Mountain Devil

Funny. The world could change in an instant, but some things? Like instantly reverting to feeling like a naughty child about to be chastised?

It seemedsomethings never changed.

Chapter Six

Never had a day passed so slowly.

After his wake-up session with Jeff that morning, Rafe ended up wandering over to Gabe’s far earlier than expected. There hadn’t been enough weeds to destroy, and he was still uptight, and he stomped his way across the barn floor to where Gabe was measuring feed into bags.

His brother stood, offering a hard hug and a firm pat on the back. “Good to see you. I figured you wouldn’t show up for another couple hours.”

“Had a rough morning,” Rafe admitted.

“Shit.” Gabe caught him by the shoulders, worry on his face. “What did Ben—?”

“Not him this time. Although it’s pretty sad I have to say that.”

“Yeah, well.” Gabe returned to his task, Rafe slipping into position to hold the sack open. “We both know how it is.”

“Has it been bad this summer?”

“No worse than usual.” Gabe shrugged. “In fact, he’s been out of sight more often than not. I hired a few extra hands to help, and we’ve been trading off more tasks with the Six Pack and Moonshine clans, and neither of those choices sat well with him.”

“But you got to make them, right?”

Gabe nodded. “You know he signed control over to me years ago, so there’s nothing hecando except be miserable about it. I give him a list of tasks to help with every week like always, and he does them or not, depending on his mood.”

It was screwed up, and it was wrong, but like Gabe said—it was just the way it was for them in the Angel clan.

“Mom okay, though? I worried about her all summer.”

“She’s fine.” Gabe hesitated. “Miserable, but fine. Allison goes over as often as she can, but Ben scares her, and she really doesn’t like having Micah around him, either.”

This was more than screwed up, to have a family like this. “How can he stand to have his own daughter-in-law frightened of him? How can he stand having his sons barely able to look at him?”

“I have no idea what goes on in that stubborn brain of his, but I know this.” Gabe tied off the final bag at his feet and gestured Rafe toward the door. “I refuse to let Ben be more than a passing thought. I’ve got too many things to be thankful for to get dragged under by him and his issues. You need to do the same. Get out of that yard, Rafe. We might have to work with him occasionally, but the less we see of him, the better.”

“Funny. I’m sure you were the one to suggest I move into the loft.”

“You were seventeen years old at the time,” Gabe snapped, “and it was better than living under his roof.”

“And now it’s better that I’m close enough to be there if Mom needs me,” Rafe bit back before taking a deep breath. “Enough—this is not what I came over here for.”

Gabe caught him by the shoulder again and squeezed. “Me, neither. I missed having you around, bro.”

“Didn’t miss you one bit,” Rafe lied. “Or Allison. Or that kid you guys found under a cabbage leaf. He seems to have doubled in size since I left. What the heck are you feeding him?”

“Organic growth hormones,” Gabe gibed, but he positively beamed with pride as he led Rafe toward the back of the barn. He paused, tilting his head toward the second barn where they kept the horses. “Want to go for a ride? I can tell you most of what we’re working on while we’re out. I need to check a few fields.”

“God,yes.” That was exactly what he needed to settle his soul.

They saddled up quickly then met in the yard. Rafe patted Belle’s withers fondly before mounting and following Gabe up the narrow trail leading to the ridge.

Even after Gabe’s comment about catching him up on what needed to be done, they rode without speaking for the next fifteen minutes or so, just taking in the morning. Brothers who had worked together for most of their lives, sharing a time of wordless communication. They alternated taking the lead. Gabe dismounted to open a gate. Rafe walked Belle through, Hurricane bumping his nose into Belle’s flank as he followed along so Gabe could close the gate behind them.

His brother swung into the saddle, his eyes flashing for a moment as he glanced ahead. Rafe clued in fast enough—both of them still silent, but the challenge was blatant. They were only a few steps away from the path that led to the lookout, and a shot of good-natured competitiveness flared.

Gabe oh-so-casually tapped his fingers on his thigh. Rafe didn’t bother to hide his grin, counting down with each motion.