Sitting at the booth in his RV, Eli sipped his coffee and turned a page of the newspaper. He glanced out the window and wondered for the hundredth time what was going on with Harris. His brother had been acting strange for days, and after supper the previous evening with the ladies, he'd taken off without saying where he was going. He'd just given some lame excuse about needing to air his head out. Eli had been asleep when Harris returned, but heard him rise early that morning and leave again. His brother's peculiar behavior was starting to piss him off. Of course, right now, anything would piss him off. Dancing with Angel had been a mistake, but she'd looked so forlorn when Harris asked Lucinda to dance, that he couldn't help himself. And the fact that she was tipsy from the wine hadn't helped either. On the dance floor she'd cuddled up to him like they were lovers and made his miserable heart even more miserable. Since Angel had started working for them, he'd hoped, or rather dreaded, that Harris would finally recognize her for the woman she'd become, not the child they'd grown up with. Hell, he'd recognized her womanhood when he was fourteen. Sometimes he just wanted to blurt the fact that he was in love with her and be done with it.
He heard Harris' truck pull up to the RV. "It's about time." he muttered aloud, saving choice words for when Harris walked through the door.
Harris stepped inside the RV and said by way of greeting. "I've got to talk to you about something important."
"It's about time you got back!" Eli barely controlled his temper. "What the hell is going on with you?"
Harris remained in the doorway. With no explanation he said, "I've hired a driver for our RV."
"Huh? Now why would you do that? I'm perfectly capable of driving it while you drive the other one." Eli waited for his explanation.
Finally, Harris puffed a breath, stepped aside, and motioned someone into the RV. Eli frowned as an older man who looked like he'd had one hell of a ride during his lifetime, stepped inside holding his hat to his side. He was still frowning when Harris said, "Bro, I'd like you to meet Lucky Larry, my birthfather."
Although Eli heard his brother's words, he couldn't wrap his mind around them. He stared at Lucky Larry until the gray-haired, haggard looking cowboy with piercing brown eyes, shifted his gaze away. Slowly, Eli stood and said evenly, "Harris, can I speak with you in the other room?"
Harris nodded and followed Eli to the back bedroom. As soon as the door shut, Eli whispered, "Are you shittin' me? You hired the man who abandoned you?"
Harris shuffled from one foot to the other. "Yup."
"Why?"
"It's a long story."
"Harris, right now, I've got nothing but time."
Harris' shuffling turned into a defiant stance. "I don't have to explain anything to you. I hired him," he hesitated, "just like I hired you, and if you don't like it, you can leave at any time."
Eli glared at his brother, refusing to respond.
Harris released a long sigh and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. It's just that, well, you're going to have to trust me on this." He placed a hand on Eli's shoulder and waited for his brother's reaction.
Eli puffed air through his cheeks. Throughout the years he and Harris had often squabbled and said hurtful things, each realizing the other had a short fuse, and he knew Harris didn't mean the words anymore than he would have. Finally, in an attempt to diffuse the situation, Eli said, "He has to sleep on the lower bunk, because I'm not giving up the upper one."
Harris almost smiled. "Okay."
Eli couldn't help but get a parting shot in. "I sure hope you don't end up regretting this."
In a raspy whisper Harris replied, "Me, too."