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“You got a girlfriend, bro?” Mitchell leaned towards the screen. “Well, no wonder you’re not paying attention to Mom.”
“Says the man who couldn’t be bothered coming home for Christmas,” Ellie
muttered.
“I had a game the next day, or did you forget? Anyway, I sent her a present.”
“It’s fair enough for Jackson to want to meet someone,” Dermott said. “Life can’t be all work and no play.”
“Yeah, how’s that working for you, Dermott?” Cooper said with a smile. “Sick of baby duties yet?”
“It’s why I’m the only one of you who knows it’s important to balance work with the rest of your life.”
And it must be easy for him to say that, living on an island paradise. Jackson stifled the pang of envy, forced himself to wear something that might pass less as a grimace and more as a smile.
“But I still don’t get why the ranch isn’t doing well. Where’d all the money go?” Cooper asked.
“Bills. Electricity. Feed. Wages. Vet bills. We’ve had a few tough years, Coop,” Jackson said. “But you wouldn’t know about that, would you? Not when you’re living in an office twenty-four seven.” He couldn’t help the bitterness in his tone.
“Hey, I get out for at least an hour each day.”
“Wow,” Dermott said.
Mitchell rolled his eyes.
“He’s got no idea, has he?” Ellie muttered.
None of them did.
“Well, you’re gonna have to figure something out. We can’t let Mom get any worse than she is,” Mitchell said. “Why isn’t she a part of this conversation?”
“She’s asleep,” Ellie said.
“At this time of day?” Dermott said. “I always remembered her as being busy, always busy.”
His words struck a memory of something Lexi had said just yesterday. Busy, busy, busy. He felt a pain in his heart at how he’d left things. He’d have to make it up to her. Somehow. Yet another thing to add his lengthy list of obligations.
“She wandered off the other day,” Ellie said.
“What?” Cooper crossed his arms.
“We couldn’t find her for at least an hour. When we did, she was in the machinery shed. I bet she hadn’t been there for years.”
“She was dressed in her nightgown and had bare feet,” Jackson said. “She called me Donald.”
As expected, his brothers’ jaws dropped. From somewhere he heard the faint sound again, like Miguel was chopping wood or something.
“No way.”
Mitchell softly cursed.
“I hate that name,” Cooper said, face expressionless.
“She’s not good then,” Dermott said.
“No.”
“And you’re telling us there’s no money to look after her.”
