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Ben leans against the railing, ankles crossed, sipping his coffee.
It’s been us four for the past twenty-seven years, but things are changing. Ben proposed to his high school sweetheart who has a fifteen-year-old son. Once his house is done, they’ll move onto the ranch. These impromptu early morning meetings my dad calls are either going to get bigger or stop all together.
Something in my chest tightens. I’m not big on change.
“Is that what this meeting is about… you kicking me out?” Ben asks. He’s never been a morning guy, and I’m sure he got used to his cushy life in San Francisco.
“You gotta try one.” Emmett holds up his half-eaten donut in front of Ben.
Ben rears back. “If I want one, I’ll grab one. I don’t need one you had your mouth all over.”
“You act like I have cooties. We’re not five.” Emmett finishes his second donut with a pout.
I think Ben and I both forget how sensitive Emmett is. Sure, he deflects it with humor, but I’m sure the fact that Gillian will be joining our family feels weird to him too. He doesn’t remember Mom. Then again, sometimes I feel guilty at the end of a long day when she hasn’t crossed my mind.
“You sure about that?” Ben asks.
Emmett places his coffee on the railing, storming toward Ben.
“Enough,” Dad says, pulling his attention from the lake in front of us. “Ben, you have a family now, which means you need to fly from the nest.”
As usual, my dad’s tone leaves no room for argument.
Ben scoffs.
“But that isn’t what this is about. Last night, I heard something. I have some news.” Dad sips his coffee, puts it on the table between us, and rests his forearms on his legs.
“Are you getting married?” Emmett asks, grabbing two donuts at once.
“Fuck off, Emmett,” I say.
Dad doesn’t say anything, burying his head in his cup of coffee again.
“I’m just saying… if I can get donuts like this every morning…” Emmett licks his fingers one at a time.
“It’s about the Wilkins’s ranch.”
My feet fall to the porch, and I sit up in my chair. Something about the tone of his voice makes me tense. “What about it?”
“Calm down, cowboy.” Emmett chuckles.
Ben punches Emmett in the arm.
“Ouch. Fuck. Damn it, that hurt.” He goes to punch Ben, but Ben dodges him, and the two weave around one another, coffee spilling on my porch.
“Enough.” Dad eyes both of them.
Ben gets one more playful slap on Emmett’s cheek, and they separate.
“You two finished?” Dad asks, and my brothers sober. “We all know the flood a few years back wasn’t good for their land. I thought things were improving, Monty got a crop of soybeans last year, but rumor is they’re behind on payments.”
“What are you saying?” I broach the real question at hand.
“They might lose the ranch.” He leans back in his chair, resting his ankle over his knee, picking up his coffee mug.
“Fuck,” Emmett says.
“Sadie ever say anything?” Ben asks me.
