Page 19 of When The Dust Settles

“Tyler’s happy living with his daughter and her family for six months and his son and his for the other half of the year. He don’t never get bored, he says, and he gets to spend time with all his grandchildren. I would never mess that up by invitin’ him back to the Red, especially after all the work Stef went to, to bring that family back together.”

“Sure.”

“But Tyler knows he’s always got a place with me and Stef.”

“Yeah.”

“And you. You know that.”

“I do.”

“I don’t know Cyrus or his lot well, and Brandon punched Stef that weekend Char got married,” Rand said tightly. “I don’t reckon I’ve ever forgiven him for that.”

“I ain’t heard that story.”

“Have Stef tell you. The part where later on Stef has to carry Brandon up out of a ravine is funny when he tells it. I don’t find it quite so amusing.”

“I’ll have to remember to ask, that sounds like quite the story.”

He made a noise. “If I could get Glenn on the ranch, though—that’d be good.”

“It ain’t like he couldn’t be, and he could keep that fool horse of his there too.”

Rand growled. “Why in the hell that horse ain’t on the Red is beyond me.”

“He’s proud, you know that.”

“I do. It’s how we were all raised. To not ask no one for nothin’.”

“Yep,” Zach said quietly.

“You’d think family wouldn’t count, though.”

“Yeah,” Zach scoffed. “You surely were not raised by Rayland Holloway.”

“Thankfully not.” Rand sounded somber as he said it.

“Hey!” Mac yelled, but he sounded far away, too, like Zach, so I let the sound wash over me without any fuss.

“Why’re you shoutin’?”

“I just—you’ve got a lot of blood on you.”

“It’s not mine,” Rand informed him. “I’m cleanin’ Glenn up, as you can see.”

“What’re you doin’?”

“I’m fixin’ to stitch him up, Maclain,” Rand said sarcastically. “What the hell does it look like?”

“Yeah, okay.” Mac coughed. “Just be careful.”

“Be careful?”

“Please.”

Momentary silence before Rand spoke again.

“Mac?” Rand sounded confused.